Although Gao Pragmatic occasionally appears to be a maverick in reform, he is still relatively "in line with the trend" in these traditions, and of course he has three fires to burn when he takes up the new office.

Originally, Gao Pragmatic had a lot of slots in the financial system of the Ming Dynasty and wanted to spit it out, but he also knew that he couldn't become fat by eating one bite, and he forcibly stuffed too much into his mouth at a time, not only was he greedy and chewed, but he was also easy to choke to death.

Reform is of course necessary from a high vantage point, but when it comes to real practice, it is necessary to work steadily and steadily, and it is appropriate to take one step at a time. Therefore, three fires should be burned, but we can't expect to raise a fire to the sky, and a spark will be able to burn the prairie sooner or later, the real key problem is that the spark can be preserved.

There are many people who care about his three fires, in addition to the hundred officials outside the palace, the people in the palace also care about it, such as the young Ninety-Five Emperor, Zhu Yijun, the current saint Wanli Tianzi.

However, Zhu Yijun did not stay in Qianqing Palace today, but Yikun Palace.

Yikun Palace is located in the north of Yongshou Palace, the south of Chuxiu Palace, and the east of Changchun Palace. The east and west twelve palaces of the Ming Dynasty are respected, and they are respected close to the central axis, and they are respected by being close to the Qianqing Palace, and it is a palace that is quite noble in the harem except for the Kunning Palace where the queen lives.

The interpretation of "Yi" is to assist, because the queen's bedroom is Kunning Palace, Yikun is to assist the queen in managing the six palaces.

Probably because of this, the owner of Yikun Palace is the imperial concubine Zheng, the mother of the third son of the emperor, Zhu Changxun.

In addition, Yikun Palace is close to the Changchun Palace where Princess Yongning lives, which also has ulterior motives, and the owners of the two palaces understand it, but it seems that the two sides do not have much intersection because of this.

Zhu Yijun remained in the Yikun Palace tonight as he did most of the time, and Emperor Zheng's concubine was also waiting by his side as usual.

At this time, the emperor was reading a picture album, which was bought by Emperor Zheng's family from outside and given to her, and she thought it was novel, so she presented it to the emperor again.

This album is a foreign product, and it is said to be a Westerner's object, but it is not a figure painting, but a still life. Zhu Yijun looked at it for a while, and only felt that his painting skills were different from Da Ming, but he didn't feel that there were any special benefits, so he couldn't help but be a little interested.

When Emperor Zheng saw it, a delicate smile appeared on her face, and she quietly whispered a few words in the emperor's ear, causing Zhu Yijun to look surprised: "There is still a ...... for truth-seeking Uh, that kind of diagram? ”

Emperor Zheng pursed her lips and snickered, as if she turned her head a little shyly, but still replied, "How could it not be?" All the Western paintings of Daming were obtained by his fleet, and they were also circulated in the market, and I only learned about it when I heard the concubine mention it privately the year before last. Your Majesty, you think, since he got all the paintings, how could he not have them himself? ”

Zhu Yijun looked stunned at first, but immediately shook his head and said: "No, his fleet sells these things, it doesn't mean that he has them himself, I don't think he should be interested in these things." ”

Emperor Zheng Guifei was surprised: "The emperor is so sure? ”

"I've been to his house — oh, I mean the White Jade Building." Zhu Yijun shook his head and said: "Some people outside say that Baiyulou is like Lutai, but in fact, it is just a stone house, although the decoration inside is exquisite, but there is no such thing as a group of dancing girls. As for some people saying that there are a lot of LUO statues in it, I have also seen them, all of them are statues of little boys with wings on their backs, which are strange and strange, but there is absolutely no Y filth. ”

Emperor Zheng pouted slightly: "The emperor can trust him, how do you know that he didn't hide some people because the emperor went away." ”

Zhu Yijun frowned suddenly, his previous relaxed demeanor began to become stern, he turned his head to look at Emperor Zheng's concubine, and said slightly: "The important ministers of the cabinet, how can the harem be criticized?" ”

He threw the album in front of Concubine Zheng and slammed it on the table in front of her, no longer looking at it, but instead picked up a jasper cup from a rosewood coffee table next to him that was inlaid with snails, agate, jade, and Chinese jade to form a picture of a colorful lotus in a fish play, took a sip of hot tea, and sighed softly.

The atmosphere changed so quickly that the entire Yikun Palace, from Concubine Zheng to the palace maids and eunuchs, began to be worried, and they didn't even dare to come out.

Emperor Zheng Guifei was also a little flustered in her heart, but she knew that the reason why she could be favored was that she did not follow the emperor in everything like other concubines, so she usually had minor mistakes, and she would not apologize immediately, or say something like other concubines "The concubine deserves death" or something like that.

Normally, the emperor didn't mind, even if he was a little angry at the time, he would give up after a while. But today's situation seems to be a little wrong, the emperor turned his head and ignored her for a while, the entire Yikun Palace was quiet, this atmosphere even reminded her of when she sneaked into her ancestral hall when she was a child, and the ancestral hall was eerie and terrifying.

The rules of the harem of the Ming Dynasty are extremely strict, don't say that she is a concubine, she is the queen, and it is strictly forbidden to intervene in state affairs. However, this rule was not particularly effective in Emperor Zheng's concubine before, and the emperor could always open up quickly, but this time, the emperor seemed to be really angry.

At this time, Emperor Zheng's concubine remembered the warning that her family had warned her, Gao Pragmatic's status in the emperor's mind was extraordinary, and he might even be more important than King Lu.

Emperor Zheng's concubine originally wanted to continue the cold war with the emperor by temperament, but suddenly, Zhu Yijun "snorted" coldly, stood up and wanted to leave.

"Your Majesty!" Emperor Zheng knew that it was bad at this time, so she hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed his sleeve as usual, and said aggrievedly: "The concubine knows that she is wrong. ”

After all, the emperor really loved this different woman in front of him, and when he heard this, he took a deep breath and said sternly: "There is no child's play in the law of the country. The rules of the ancestors have been for two hundred years, even if I have to obey them, let alone the harem? High pragmatism is my childhood companion, good character, the world's crown, I know it well! ”

He was pretending to be stern when he said this, but when he said it, especially after talking about Gao Pragmatic, he actually moved into real anger again, and his tone was like a thunderbolt, as if it was already a black cloud that was about to destroy the city when the rainstorm was about to come.

The female eunuchs of the palace were trembling with fright by the emperor's roaring voice, and many of them even subconsciously "pounced" on their knees, and even the cronies and palace maids around Emperor Zheng's concubine were silent and trembling.

Emperor Zheng's concubine was about to cry, her eyes were red, and tears swirled in her eyes. But this time, the emperor may have mentioned that Gao Pragmatic "was my childhood companion, good character, and the crown of the world, I know it well", and then thought of the friendship over the years, and it seemed that he really moved the real fire, and still stared coldly at the eyes of Emperor Zheng's concubine.

At this moment, Emperor Zheng's concubine was suddenly really afraid, and she saw something indescribable in the emperor's eyes. It was an indescribable feeling, but she clearly found that in the emperor's mind, even she was not as important as Gao Shipra.

What she saw in the emperor's eyes was not only friendship, but also a unique trust, a trust that could be trusted with everything, without any other reason.

Emperor Zheng suddenly regretted a little, and felt that she should not have listened to the words of some people to test the emperor's views on Gao Pragmatic.

What a stupid temptation! Gao Pragmatism is simply Confucius alive in the emperor's mind, perfect!

Damned, sin deserved death!

Emperor Zheng herself didn't know who she was talking about in her heart, whether she was pragmatic or the person who instigated her to tempt.

"Your Majesty, the concubines don't dare anymore, you can dissipate your anger." Emperor Zheng's tears fell, fluttering, like a pearl with a broken thread, and a happy face like a pear blossom with rain, which made people pity.

The coldness in the emperor's eyes dissipated most of it, but for some reason, he just nodded and said, "I will wait and see." ”

Then he turned his head slightly and said to Chen Ju: "Go to Qianqing...... Kunning Palace. ”

Emperor Zheng's hand holding his sleeve loosened as if she had suddenly lost her strength, and let the emperor leave, she no longer had the vitality and confidence she had in the past, and she could step forward and pull him back with a clever smile.

No one dared to persuade him, even Chen Ju carefully bowed his body to lead the way, hoping that every step would be quiet, and it would not attract the attention of the emperor.

But the emperor had just walked a few steps out of the main hall before he couldn't help but ask: "Chen Ju, is it in Zhaohui Jinggongfang or in Baiyulou tonight?" ”

Chen Ju hurriedly stood up and turned around, bowed down and replied, "Back to the emperor, I am in Zhaohui Jinggongfang." ”

Zhu Yijun nodded, and said to himself: "Yes, he will officially take up his new post tomorrow, and he has to go to the household department earlier than usual, if he goes to Baiyulou tonight, it will be a little far." ”

Chen Ju said: "Yes, the emperor is very accurate when he sees things. ”

Zhu Yijun took a deep breath, waved his hand, and said with some annoyance: "You say, will it annoy me if you seek the truth?" ”

Chen Ju said cautiously: "Tonight's matter, the slave and maid will go and tell you in a while, there will definitely not be a single word leaked, and Dasi Nong will definitely not know about it." ”

"I didn't mean that!" Zhu Yijun suddenly became a little angry, and even stomped his feet, and said angrily: "I seem to have fallen into a trick, Shi Xing is not the one who seeks the truth from them, if he makes some demon moths, do you think that I did it on purpose?" Will he ......"

Chen Ju hurriedly said: "Emperor! ”

Zhu Yijun didn't continue, but just exhaled a rough breath.

Chen Ju swallowed and foamed, as if he felt a little uncomfortable in his throat, and quietly cleared his throat, then lowered his voice and said: "The emperor, you also said that Dasi Nong has a good character, and he can crown the world." With his old man's intelligence, even if something really happens, he will definitely be able to see through the tricks behind it, how can he be angry with the emperor?

Besides, the thunder, rain and dew are all royal graces, and with the loyalty of the great Si Nong, how can they have resentment because of this? Does the emperor still remember the incident of Dasi Nong's foreign appointment in Guangxi that year? How many people in the world think that Dasi Nong is going to become the second Yang Sheng'an, and they have resentment, and they ridicule it with literature, but they don't think about government affairs, and they waste all their skills?

But how did Dasi Nong do it? In Guangxi, he not only governed the local area on behalf of Zhang Ren, solved the problem of Tusi, but also helped the imperial court recover Annam, and even did a very good job in financial affairs. The slave maid heard that Guangxi's tax last year had reached 60% of Guangdong, especially the commercial tax, and even surpassed Guangdong!

Don't tell the emperor, the slave and maid were really shocked when they heard the news! Guangdong is so rich, can this commercial tax be surpassed by Guangxi? ”

Zhu Yijun was in a much better mood when he heard this, and nodded and said: "There is such a thing, it is said that it is mainly due to the sugar tax and the wood tax...... Oh, by the way, he also paid a lot of money, as if he paid more than 50,000 taels of vehicle and vessel tax alone? ”

"Yes, yes, the emperor's memory is really good, that is, the vehicle and vessel tax." Chen Ju sighed: "It's also interesting to say, this tax didn't exist before, and it was proposed by Dasi Nong himself at that time."

In fact, in Guangxi, apart from Jinghua, how many other people can meet the standard of paying vehicle and vessel tax? He set the tax almost for himself. The slave maid had also read a few history books in the study in the past, and she really couldn't find anyone who did this after looking through the twenty-four histories. ”

"yes, yes." Zhu Yijun sighed: "Heaven seeks truth to assist me, in the past, the emperor took the examination of wisdom and knowledge, and he was simply pulled out and left behind, if I don't cherish it, won't God punish it?" ”

Without waiting for Chen Ju to answer, he continued: "But I was very angry, and I didn't have time to think about it, and now that I think about it, Concubine Zheng's actions today are very unusual......"

Chen Ju also felt that Emperor Zheng's actions today were wrong, but he still pretended to be very surprised and let out an "ah".

There is a way to accompany the king like a tiger, as a person around the emperor, this kind of words can neither be listened to without reaction, nor can they be picked up indiscriminately, and Chen Ju is obviously a middle master, only used a surprised "ah" word, and he caught this word steadily.

Sure enough, the emperor analyzed along with these words, squinted his eyes slightly, and said: "Concubine Zheng knows the relationship between me and truth-seeking, even if truth-seeking was mentioned in the past, she only congratulated me on having such a courtier to assist, which is really a blessing for the society." Why did you suddenly change your temper today, and actually implied that seeking truth would be one thing in the light and one thing in the dark? Either someone taught her this, or someone encouraged her......

Hmph, that's great! There are people in the court who design for truth, and there are people in the palace who stretch out their black hands. I was afraid that some people were worried that Qiuzhen was in charge of the household, and the three fires of the local officials were about to burn on their heads, so they couldn't hold it back and jumped out one after another. ”

Chen Ju breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, but his face was extremely serious, and he nodded again and again: "The emperor is shining brightly, why didn't the slave and maid think of it!" ”

Zhu Yijun heard this, but he couldn't help but criticize him, and said: "You too, what do you do in Dongchang, you only find such a splash in such an important matter?" The nobles handed over the stickers to the Truth-seeking Mansion, what big deal can this be, it's nothing more than that little thing in the capital camp, you sent more than 20 people to monitor, what to monitor? Such a large group of people openly visited, could it still be a bad attempt?

On the contrary, it is the matter that should have been found out earlier that has been procrastinating, and it has been more than half a month and I have not been able to find out the details! I ask you, when and ...... Shi Xing Forming a tacit understanding? Did they meet privately? Or is there something in it? ”

Chen Ju hurriedly knelt on the ground and replied quickly: "The slave is a capital crime, and the slave is a capital crime." However, Dongchang and Jinyiwei have already found out a little, please give the slave a little more time to continue the investigation, and they will definitely be able to find out the truth. ”

Zhu Yijun took a deep breath and said, "What has been found out now, say." ”

Chen Ju said: "Since Dongchang and Jinyi Wei Pingsu did not dare to spy on the auxiliary ministers, they could only make a detour and verify it through some small people such as Menzi......"

"I'm asking about the result, not the process."

"Yes, yes." Chen Ju said: "Back to the emperor, there should be no private meeting, there must be a Chinese person among them, although it has not been investigated clearly, but all clues point to the palace." ”

Zhu Yijun's pupils shrank slightly, and he said coldly: "Hmph, it's really as I expected." ”

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