The fifth year of Jianwu came in celebration, and the capital celebrated the New Year. Thanks to the blessing of the emperor and grandson, the annual reward is more generous than in previous years, and the petty officials and officials of the yamen can buy more New Year's goods, which drives the prosperity of all industries and everyone is happy.

When the excitement finally ended, after the Shangyuan Lantern Festival, everyone's life returned to normal, and Jiang Anyi also began to go to the Zhan Mansion in the East Palace to run errands. There are a lot of socials in Beijing, and Jiang Anyi has spent almost every day at the wine table in the past half a month, the prince's banquet, the Li Mansion's family banquet, the Yu Shixiang's invitation, the Xiong's Mansion banquet, and Fan Shiben, Liu Yixing, Tian Shoulou and others to drink, Zechang's classmates' invitation, the imperial examination in the same year, etc., I can't wait to conjure up a few bodies to drink.

The crown prince ascended to sit in the Wenhua Hall to accept the worship of the subordinate officials of the East Palace, from August last year to now, it is a good thing, and Shi Chongwei has to bring out a smile in every pore. The subordinate officials of the East Palace are also strong, the position of the prince and the prince is stable, our East Palace team will be properly used in the future, last year many people were optimistic that King Chu An was unwilling to come to the East Palace, and now he is changing his way to find someone to go to the East Palace to mix an errand envoy, even if the position is one or two orders lower, he is willing to give in.

Xiong Zhiren had some worries, he heard his daughter return to Ning and said that there were several new Zhaoxun and Fengyi in the East Palace, and the status of Zhaoxun and Fengyi was low, so they were not a threat to the crown princess, but Xiong Zhiren knocked on the side and asked and learned that the prince's time in Duanben Palace had decreased significantly, and he went to Duanbengong to see his son, and he gradually got along with the princess and became respectful. With the emperor's grandson Shi Shousheng here, the position of the crown princess will not be shaken, seeing his daughter's unconcealable sadness, Xiong Zhiren said a few words of relief, and had the heart to find an opportunity to remind the prince.

The prince encouraged his subordinates a few words, got up and went to Zichen Hall to discuss matters, Xiong Zhiren called Jiang Anyi and asked him to go to the official mansion with him. Xiong Zhiren was a guest of the prince, and the official party only occasionally came to sit next to the palace of Qin, and the official party was very quiet. The deacon was dismissed, and only Xiong Zhiren and Jiang Anyi were left in the house, Xiong Zhiren smiled and said: "The ninth day of the first month is not full of fun in my house, Anyi is not happy, and he runs away from the table when he is only halfway through the wine, so you owe the old man a meal." ”

Jiang Anyi smiled bitterly: "Gong Xiong, Jiang has no choice, how dare Gong Fang (Fang Linbin) not go when he summons me, and besides, Gong Xiong also generously let me go, how can I mention it again today." Xiong Gong is hot now, how many people line up to invite you to dinner can't wait for the opportunity, if Xiong Gong is willing to appreciate the light, come to my house at any time, Jiang personally cooks a family banquet for Xiong Gong. ”

"That's decided, when the old man is busy with this, he will definitely take the dog to the house to disturb it." Xiong Zhiren said with a smile. The incident in Suxi County shows Jiang Anyi's wisdom, Xiong Zhiren is getting closer and closer, and of course he will not miss such an opportunity to get close in private.

After taking a sip of tea, Xiong Zhiren said with concern: "The sixth prince gave a banquet, even three cups of respect for Anyi, everyone knows that the prince is very important to you, but the old man saw that Cheng Mingdao, the right concubine of Chunfang, had a look of jealousy, and Anyi must not be guarded against." ”

Jiang Anyi was somewhat aware of it, and when he dealt with Cheng Mingdao several times, he always felt that this person was yin and yang, and his speech was prickly, thinking that he just felt that he was valued by the prince and robbed him of his scenery, Jiang Anyi didn't bother to pay attention to it.

"Gong Xiong has good intentions Jiang Mou, but the world is difficult to complete, and Jiang Mou can't please everyone, just want to be himself." Jiang Anyi thanked.

Xiong Zhiren sighed: "The Mid-Autumn Festival in Anyi has the saying that 'the moon is cloudy and sunny', which can be said to see through the world, but the old man's heart for gain and loss is too heavy and he loses his calm. Briefly told Jiang Anyi about the indifference of the crown princess, Xiong Zhiren said: "The old man is not competing for the favor of the little girl, the young man is not for me, the old man is afraid that the prince will miss the big thing because of the woman." The prince trusts An Yi very much, and if An Yi finds an opportunity to persuade a few words, the old man is grateful. ”

Jiang Anyi was quite embarrassed, how could he intervene in the prince's private affairs, seeing Xiong Zhiren's face full of sincerity, he couldn't bear to refuse, so he had to respond vaguely: "Jiang wrote it down." However, the palace is a private matter, and it is not easy for the foreign minister to intervene, so Xiong Gong may wish to remind the princess to mention it to the queen. ”

Xiong Zhiren shook his head again and again, he also knew that it was embarrassing for Jiang Anyi, and the queen doted on the prince, wishing that the prince could give birth to a few more royal grandchildren, and spread out the branches, where would the prince be restrained. Thinking of his daughter's resentful face, Xiong Zhiren couldn't help but sigh again, this matter is difficult to complete.

In the imperial study, Shi Fangzhen also felt upset. Huang Pingjuan, the imperial historian, asked to investigate Guantian, Guantian was too involved, and Shi Fangzhen wanted to focus on the Northern Expedition first, and then spend a few years to eliminate this trouble after pacifying the north, leaving the prince a peaceful and prosperous era in the future.

However, Shi Fang really ordered Long Wei to secretly investigate Guantian's malpractice, and at the same time let cronies from all over the country report Guantian's situation. In addition to the magnates and officials embezzling the people's fields, many local officials used the barren fields of the mountains as fertile land and distributed them to the adult people, while renting the fertile fields to tenants who did not have land to collect heavy rents to make profits, and some treacherous people put the fields in the names of officials, making private profits and reducing state taxes......

Jiangnan transshipment made Yuan Decheng play in the secret twist: "...... The land of the people in the south of the Yangtze River is decreasing, and the number of people renting official land is increasing, the taxes are getting heavier and the country is not growing, the people's strength is gradually exhausted, and the people are still unable to make a living after ploughing and weaving ...... cold."

Shi Fangzhen couldn't sit still, and ordered: "Spread the crown prince, the king of Chu'an, the political hall and the three courts under its jurisdiction, the imperial historian Huang Hua, and the officials and the household department to the imperial study to discuss matters. ”

Seeing that the eyes of the Son of Heaven fell on him, Kong said: "Long live to prepare for the northern expedition, the cost of the camp in the north of the town is very large, and the country should be quiet and not moving, so let's wait for the northern expedition." ”

Ma Sui sincerely despised it, and if he wanted to talk about the Sacred Heart Kong Province, he was definitely the first, and these words went to the heart of the Son of Heaven. The prince said with a smile: "The elder Kong Xiang has become a country, and his sons and daughters are also in this opinion, the disadvantages of the official field are the disease of the accumulation of years, and the relationship is too important and too wide, so we can't rush it, or wait for the success of the father's northern expedition to destroy the withering and decaying with the power of great victory." ”

Shi Fangzhen asked, "Ma Qing, what do you think?" ”

As Ma Suizhen expected, Kong Sheng's words were in his heart, and the prince also had this opinion, if Ma Suizhen also agreed, Shi Fangzhen would no longer consider cleaning up the official fields. Ma Suizhen had already considered the matter of Qingtian, and said with confidence: "What the prince and Kong Xiang said is very reasonable, but the matter of Huangzhuang in Suxi County is known to the whole world, and if the court does not say anything, I am afraid that the subjects of the world will be disappointed." ”

Shi Fangzhen's eyes sharpened, paying attention to Ma Suizhen.

Ma Suizhen continued unhurriedly: "Long live the state and county officials and fields may as well first let the state and county officials make their own inventory, return the encroached fields before April, compensate the people for their losses, and sort out the relevant documents, report the self-inspection situation to the court, and welcome the court's inspection and acceptance." The court encouraged insiders to prevent officials from colluding and committing fraud through the Tong Kuang report, and then according to the situation reported by the prefectures and counties, and in accordance with the example of clearing the acres of land in those years, select one or two states that were not strict in self-inspection to conduct verification, severely punish the officials who are perfunctory, and deter others. ”

The advantages of this are obvious, it has little impact on the entire system of the court, and it can maintain the balance of officialdom, but the thunder is heavy and the rain is small, and the effect is not great, and it will definitely relapse after that. What Shi Fang really wants is time, and the biggest advantage of this is that he can temporarily appease the people in the country, not intensify the contradictions, and wait for his victorious return from the Northern Expedition to deal with it. Having already approved Ma Suizhen's proposal in his heart, Shi Fangzhen turned his gaze to Duan Cizong, Yu Zhijie and others, and these people expressed their approval.

Ma Sui was really proud, he was four years younger than Kong Province, thinking that Kong Province Zhishi could take over as the left minister and become the head of the civil ministers.

"Since all the secretaries agree with what Ma Qing said, the matter will be decided, and the academy plans to summon the world, and the prefecture and county will immediately conduct an inventory of the official fields after receiving the will, and be sure to eliminate the malpractices, and if they are found out, they will be severely punished."

Shi Chongjie, the king of Chu'an, who had been standing silently, said respectfully: "Father, the responsibility of the Guantian Clearance Envoy is heavy, and the non-virtuous person is not enough to serve it. ”

The prince was immediately anxious when he heard this, after Jiang Anyi arrived in the East Palace, the reputation of the East Palace was rising, and the matter of Suxi County saw Jiang Anyi's wisdom and bravery, and the Guantian Clearance Envoy was clearly offending people's work, and letting Jiang Anyi serve as the Clearance Envoy obviously wanted to cut off an arm of the East Palace, and he resolutely could not agree.

Shi Chongwei hurriedly said: "Father, the affairs of the East Palace are complicated, and they can't be taken care of by Master Jiang. Lord Huang, the imperial historian, was loyal and upright, and took the lead in proposing to clean up the official field, and the ministers thought that Lord Huang was the most suitable candidate. ”

Shi Chongjie said with a smile: "Father, brother, and son recommended Master Jiang out of a public heart. Cleaning up the official land is a thankless task, and if there is no competent person to supervise the matter, it will definitely go through the motions, and it will not help. There are four reasons why Erchen recommended Master Jiang, one of which is that Master Jiang's talent is well known, and he will definitely be able to find out the malpractices when he serves as the official field clearance envoy; Second, Master Jiang once inspected the acres of land and investigated the malpractices of the Jiangnan Transshipment Division, and the matter of Guantian was also caused by the emperor's brother taking him to inspect Suxi County, which was considered a providence. ”

Shi Chongwei wanted to argue a few words, but he couldn't speak.

"Third, the investigation of the official field is very important, without the cooperation of the father, the emperor's brother and the ministers of civil and military affairs, it is difficult to do it, Jiang has won the trust of his father and the emperor's brother, the official Duan is his teacher, the household department is his mentor, and he is young and energetic, which no one in the court and the central ministers can match; Fourth, it is also the place where Erchen is best optimistic about Lord Jiang, who has the courage to do things, never fears difficulties, and can only be competent if the problem of cleaning up Guantian is handed over to the hands of Lord Jiang. ”

Shi Chongjie said everything right, and praised Jiang Anyi highly, Shi Fangzhen nodded frequently, quite moved. Shi Chongwei was in a hurry and couldn't think of a way.

Yu Zhijie was a little unhappy, hundreds of officials in the court, how could they think about letting Jiang Anyi come out if there was something, Jiang Anyi had offended everyone, how would he be in the court in the future. Yu Zhijie is sixty-three this year, and he asked himself if he would not be able to do it in the court for a few years, and it is very likely that the Son of Heaven will consider replacing him after the Northern Expedition.

People come to work for their children and grandchildren when they are old, his two sons can't inherit the family business, and the future of his grandchildren still counts on his son-in-law and Jiang Anyi, a disciple, the shortcomings of Guantian have lasted for more than a thousand years, and they have never really been solved, Jiang Anyi is afraid that it will be difficult to get out of it, and the prince is in a hurry and can't speak, so Yu Zhijie plans to say a few words for his disciple.