Coming out of the imperial study, Gu Bingqian, Han Yi, Zhu Guozhen and others slowly walked on the bluestone road in the palace, and the spring sun splashed heat from the sky unscrupulously, illuminating the whole earth warmly.

After the three of them walked for a while, Han Yi took a long breath and said, "Jiang Ninghou has finally extended his hand to Jiangnan, and I don't know if it's good or bad for Da Ming?" ”

Gu Bingqian was silent for a while and said: "Whether it's good or bad, Jiangnan should be governed, sixty percent of my Ming taxes come from Jiangnan, but in recent years, all parts of Jiangnan have become more and more disagreeable, and it is good for Jiang Ninghou to beat it in the past, so as not to make some people more and more lawless." ”

Zhu Guozhen snorted lightly: "Elder Gu Ge said it easily, have you ever thought that if the Marquis of Jiang Ning makes such a fuss, what will the gentry from all over Jiangnan think?" This time, Jiang Ninghou raided so many salt merchants and the sea in Shaoxing, which made people panic, if it caused turmoil, who would bear the responsibility? ”

"Unrest?" Gu Bingqian chuckled and said: "What kind of turmoil can there be, with the tens of thousands of troops of the Marquis of Jiangning there, who dares to stir?" ”

Zhu Guozhen frowned, and said, "Elder Gu Ge, have you forgotten that martial arts cannot last?" ”

Gu Bingqian sneered: "Martial arts can't last? Could it be that Lord Zhu had forgotten how the five hundred brocade guards under Tian Ergeng's command were slaughtered? It can't be destroyed by people with small words, right? ”

Zhu Guozhen was speechless for a while, and after a while, he was displeased: "Why do you frequently speak for the Marquis of Jiang Ning and Tian Ergeng today, could it be that you have forgotten your duty and position?" ”

"This pavilion is not speaking for Jiang Ninghou, but Jiangnan has been making too much trouble over the years." Gu Bingqian sighed lightly: "In the past two years, Wen Ning (Zhu Guozhen) and Yu Chen (Han Yi) have been idle at home, and the old man can only barely support him in the cabinet.

But what did you look at what those people in Jiangnan did? Every day, I know that I spend all day drinking, visiting the Qinglou and playing with thin horses, what are these things good for the country?

What's even more hateful is that they don't want to serve the imperial court, and they are desperately dragging the imperial court back, and the tea tax paid in Zhejiang last year was only 16 taels, what do they regard the imperial court? Three-year-olds? ”

Hearing this, Zhu Guozhen couldn't help but be speechless, he naturally knew these things, but he couldn't change them, because tax evasion in Daming is a trend, if you don't evade taxes, you will be embarrassed to say hello when you go out.

It sounds ridiculous, but it's just the way it is. Don't they know that if they don't pay taxes, the court won't have any money?

Of course they know, but everyone will have a fluke mentality, these people will think, anyway, I am not the emperor, what does it matter to me whether the Ming court has money or not, I just need to live a happy life.

As soon as he thought of these things, Zhu Guozhen felt heavy in his heart, in fact, he didn't want to change this situation, but even he shuddered at the thought of going against the gentry and merchants in the south of the Yangtze River.

Seeing Zhu Guozhen's ugly face, Gu Bingqian couldn't help but sigh: "Wen Ning, the old man knows that his talent is mediocre, and it is estimated that he will not stay in the cabinet for too long, and the cabinet will rely on you and Yu Chen to share the worries of His Majesty in the future, so the old man hopes that you can focus on state affairs in the future, and don't get involved in too much selfishness." ”

Gu Bingqian's words today can be said to be very heart-wrenching, Zhu Guozhen and the two of them glanced at each other, and at the same time bowed to him: "Thank you, thank you, for your teachings!" ”

"That's all the old man can say!" Gu Bingqian bowed his head slightly, "Look, when the three million taels of silver are escorted into Beijing, the people who come to us will definitely break through the threshold." ”

Ten days later

Next to the most prosperous Confucius Temple in Shaoxing Mansion, there were several brightly dressed men and three women, the male was Xuan Yu Xuanang, and the female was also outstanding in appearance and noble temperament.

Such a combination of men and women naturally attracted a lot of attention when walking on the street, but in the face of the eyes of everyone on the street, these men and women seemed to be very natural and careless, they were none other than Yang Feng and Hai Lanzhu, Da Yuer and Zhezhe.

It turned out that just two days ago, Yang Feng, who had roughly confiscated the assets of several sea and salt merchants, sent someone to pick up Hailanzhu and the girls, so that they could see the scenery of the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River.

When they walked to a place, Hai Lanzhu pointed to a nearby shop and said, "Xianggong, look at the cloth village here, the materials in it are quite good." ”

Yang Feng smiled slightly: "Since you like the fabric there, should we go in and have a look?" ”

After that, Yang Feng was about to take the lead in entering the cloth village, but unexpectedly, Hai Lanzhu shook his head: "Forget it, these fabrics are still not as good as those brought by Xianggong." ”

"I think so, too." Da Yu'er agreed on the side: "The color of these fabrics is still a little not bright enough. ”

Zhezhe also nodded and said, "That's true, you see that the dyeing of that batch of silk is not bright enough." ”

"You guys!" Yang Feng shook his head helplessly, once it comes to dressing up, no matter how capable a woman is, her IQ will show a downward trend, as has been the case since ancient times.

But fortunately, the three girls didn't discuss it for long, and a few people strolled on the street, looking at the bustling crowd and the surrounding shops, Hai Lanzhu couldn't help but say with emotion: "No wonder people say that Jiangnan is rich and rich, just look at Shaoxing Mansion, look at this posture even the capital is a little inferior." ”

Zhezhe took Yang Feng's arm and looked around while asking curiously: "Xianggong, didn't you say that the people of Shaoxing City flocked out of the city a few days ago, why are there still so many people?" ”

Yang Feng didn't answer yet, but Da Yu'er on the side pouted: "What's so strange about this, those people went out of the city to hide only temporarily, seeing that the situation in the city has calmed down, will it be difficult for them to stay outside the city and eat grass if they don't come back?" ”

"Exactly!" Yang Feng nodded: "After the second day, some people returned one after another, and by the fourth day, all the people who had left the city had basically returned, but those people were gone." ”

Seeing the inadvertent depressed look on Yang Feng's face, Da Yu'er pursed her lips and smiled, grabbed his other arm and comforted: "Xianggong doesn't have to worry, although Chen Fuyang's people ran away, but their family property is cheaper for you and the court, at this time, His Majesty must be happy, right?" ”

"What are you talking about!" Yang Feng couldn't help but cry and laugh, stretched out his hand and scratched Da Yu'er's upturned Qiong's nose, and scolded with a smile: "Your courage is getting bigger and bigger, even Your Majesty dares to arrange it." ”

"That's what it was." Da Yu'er whispered a little unconvinced: "Whoever has tens of millions of taels of silver will be happy." ”