PS: I'm sorry everyone, my mind is full of angry news, it's late.

The carriage and horses stopped outside the Chengtian Gate, and the two little eunuchs of the celebrant jumped out of the carriage with a smile on their faces and helped Shouhan out of the carriage.

"Thank you two little fathers-in-law for your guidance and guidance along the way."

Shouhan took out two rolls of silver dollars from the order and handed them to the two little eunuchs. "A little heart, I hope the little father-in-law will smile."

"This, General Jinwu is the ancestor of the prince and asked me to wait for me to serve well, how can I collect your money?!"

The two little eunuchs were polite, but their eyes were like leeches seeing blood, staring at the silver dollar wrapped in red mulberry paper.

"Please rest assured to accept it, and I hope that my father-in-law will not be too little."

According to the etiquette rules taught to Shouhan by the little eunuchs, Shouhan should walk along the Heavenly Street into the imperial city here at Chengtianmen. Led by a few leading eunuchs, he waited for the emperor to summon him in the Silence Room. During this period, several eunuchs came to teach various etiquette and precautions, as well as some tips when meeting the king. Even the details of how many gold bricks should be kneeling, the movement is relatively loud when kowtowing, and it seems to be very sincere.

Of course, there were a lot less gold coins and gems in Shouhan's purse.

After a while, a eunuch sent a decree ordering Shouhan to go to the platform to meet the driver.

Along the road between the palaces, Shouhan looked at the Ming Dynasty palace with some curiosity.

It is not the same as the Forbidden City in his impression, it is not so full of the color of local tyrant gold, red and rhubarb, full of gold dust. Rather, it is simple and elegant to see style and majesty.

Alas! It seems that there is nothing wrong with the existence of zài to determine consciousness. When the Manchu Qing Dynasty entered the customs, they were a group of nouveau riche from outside the customs. Pure tyrants.

In front of the Yuntai Gate of the Jianji Palace, he made a big salute according to the etiquette taught by the eunuch, loudly announced his official rank, and then knelt on the ground and waited. At this moment, Shouhan found that the eunuchs, captains, and warrior battalions around him were all looking at him with complicated eyes.

After a while, a eunuch in the palace came out to deliver a decree and ordered Li Shouhan to enter the palace to meet the emperor.

Following the eunuch who followed the edict to the palace, he took a few steps forward, and saw the throne in front of him. Follow the instructions of the eunuchs. He found a Linqing gold brick with an empty bottom, knelt down, and sang his name and rank aloud upwards.

"Minister, Li Shouhan, the general of the second rank Jinwu, knock to see my imperial majesty. Long live my emperor, long live, long live! ”

After a while. A young but tired voice floated down from the top of Shouhan's head. "You are Li Shouhan, the thief of Hexi and the king of Wanliqin?"

"It's Wechen!"

"Raise your head and speak."

"Your Majesty."

"Ome."

"The slave is here."

"Sit down."

Shouhan secretly glanced at the situation in front of the hall by standing up, and saw a young man in a blue and black dragon robe sitting on the throne of the coiling dragon. The throne was lined with eunuchs standing on both sides. Behind the young man, Wang Chengen was standing behind the throne with a slight bend, smiling at Shouhan.

Sitting on the dragon throne is undoubtedly the current Chongzhen Emperor. But to Shouhan's surprise, at a glance, he saw Chongzhen's appearance, and he was secretly surprised in his heart. If Lu Xiangsheng is less than forty years old and his temples are gray, it can also be because of the battle in the sand, and now Emperor Chongzhen is also gray! He ascended the throne at the age of seventeen, and by this year, the ninth year of Chongzhen, he should still be only twenty-six years old. The old man who was tortured by the cruel reality is like this. There is a tired look in Chongzhen's expression that emanates from the deepest part of his heart, but he is supported by a strong fighting spirit.

"Although I have to kowtow to you now, I am more comfortable than you on my own one-third of an acre! At the very least, I don't have as many bad things as you do! ”

Sitting on the chair brought by the little eunuch, Shouhan couldn't help but feel proud in his heart, looking at Chongzhen's appearance, he knew what happiness was.

Chongzhen also looked at him carefully, and said: "General Jinwu is loyal, although he is in a wild land, he still does not forget to worry about his homeland, and he came to King Qin in danger of thousands of miles of turmoil. The battle of Hexi Wu was a heavy blow to Dongnu, and this battle made me feel very comforted, and I paid tribute to Taizu, Chengzu and ancestors of all generations. ”

Shouhan said politely: "This is all thanks to the blessing of the saints, relying on the power of the ancestors, and it is also obtained by the soldiers with their lives, and the ministers dare not be greedy for heavenly merit for themselves." ”

The two gentlemen and ministers exchanged a few polite words, and it could be seen that a great victory had covered up the negative impact of Dongnu's entry into the Kou. Chongzhen was in a good mood, he said: "Aiqing came to the capital to work hard, and I intended to set up a banquet in the imperial garden to treat me." ”

Emperor Chongzhen drove the Xiyuan Cuihua Garden, and a gust of autumn wind blew, driving the hem of Chongzhen's blue-black dragon robe, and an undershirt floated up, revealing several patches and tattered hems inside, which surprised Shouhan.

However, surprises are yet to come.

Although he was mentally prepared for Chongzhen's living standard and the financial situation of the Ming Dynasty court in this era, there would never be a meal of one hundred and eight dishes, and just reporting the name of the dish could produce a famous cross talk joke; However, as an emperor, how can you have twenty or thirty dishes to invite soldiers who have made great achievements to eat?!

In the Huayuan Pavilion, there are eunuchs who bring wine and food.

It's just four side dishes, a bowl of brown rice, a pot of wine, and a steamed fish that is considered a meat dish, and the rest is nothing. And Chongzhen, there is not even this steamed fish! If you look at it purely from the cost of the court, the court of the Ming Dynasty is much less than the court of the Qing Dynasty. The so-called, "In the season of the Ming Dynasty, the fat powder money is up to 400,000 taels, and the internal charcoal is used to establish a reputation and make a name for itself, and the cost is even worse", "My Holy Zuren Emperor learned from the past and came to the rules, forbade the floating and returned to the simple, and hung it as a warning, and the family law is obvious" is actually nonsense.

Just compare the dietary expenses of the Qianqing Palace in the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the Ming Dynasty, there were 201 catties and 8 taels of pork per month, 3 geese, 4 chickens, 5 catties of smoked meat, 5 catties of chickens, and 195 catties of noodles. I won't repeat them one by one later, so as not to be suspected of cheating the number of words, and in the Qing Dynasty, pork alone has undergone a little quiet change, no longer counting in catties, but in mouth. The difference between the palaces is whether to supply one or two pigs per day!

"Wang Chengen! Wait for these traitors! How could the Son of Heaven be supplied with such a crude diet? It is not good for you to deceive me and the sword in the hands of the king's soldiers?! ”

Shouhan shouted violently, and the eunuchs who were waiting at the scene were all stunned from Wang Chengen down. It also surprised Emperor Chongzhen. Since his accession to the throne, no courtier has dared to speak so loudly in front of him.

Shouhan got up and left his seat, with tears in his eyes, and knelt in front of Chongzhen, "Your Majesty, you have suffered!" How can you eat such food?! Such a coarse diet is that even the soldiers in the camp refuse to eat! It must be this class of traitors, seeing that His Majesty is benevolent and friendly, so they deceive each other! Your Majesty, the minister will go out of the palace. Raise the troops. Please dispatch your majesty! ”

Shouhan's pretentiousness frightened the eunuchs present to their knees and tremble and cry.

Only Wang Chengen climbed a few steps forward and cried, "Emperor! Look! It's not the words of the slaves. Although General Jin Wu said this, he scolded the slaves and maids in person. Although the slaves and maids have grievances in their hearts. But also happy! Because, not only the slaves and maids said this, but also General Jingo! ”

This expression of the two xiàn. Chongzhen's heart swelled with warmth for no reason.

He held his hands weakly and motioned for Shouhan and Wang Chengen and others to get up.

"Now that money is needed everywhere, the imperial court is stretched thin on money and grain, and if I save a little in the palace, I can take out some money and grain to use elsewhere."

"Your Majesty, you are the weight of the world, you must not be so demanding of yourself! If there is a shortage of money in the palace, Weichen is willing to repay with family resources! To make up for the shortcomings?! ”

Although Emperor Chongzhen and the previous emperors of the Ming Dynasty above him had all kinds of problems, at least they did not use the country's customs duties as their own private treasury to supplement the expenses of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, nor did they occupy more than 1,000 places and more than 30,000 hectares of land in the inner circle of Gyeonggi as their personal imperial estate.

Although Shouhan's move has his own selfishness, from another point of view, he also hopes that the Ming court can support it.

When he said this, a thought flashed through his mind, "I don't know how things are going in Guangdong?" Have the overseers missed their scripts? ”

"Haha!" Chongzhen was very happy today, and he laughed heartily, "Aiqing, I know that your family is quite rich, and Nanzhong is also considered to be in good weather, but how much food can you supply me?" I have received a piece of your heart. ”

"If Your Majesty is not too little, minister, I am willing to repay this kind of silver," Shouhan took out a silver dollar from his purse around his waist, which was originally intended to be used to reward the little eunuch when he entered the palace, and he didn't want to come in handy here. "Five hundred thousand!"

500,000 silver dollars?! That's 500,000 taels of silver!? Even the purchasing power in the market is slightly greater! Now it was Chongzhen's turn to be surprised.

However, Shouhan had to surprise him a little more.

"Chen, I am willing to repay another 500,000 stone japonica rice to supply His Majesty!"

"Smack!"

The official kiln teacup in Chongzhen's hand fell to the ground, and the tea splashed his leg and kick, but he didn't realize it.

500,000 silver dollars is fine, but this 500,000 stone japonica rice is too lethal.

Nowadays, disasters continue in the north and south, and grain has become a hard currency that is harder than money. This grain can be exchanged for at least 1,500,000 taels of silver!

With these money and food, Chongzhen's confidence will be much harder, and many things that he originally wanted to do, but were limited by money and food, and he was powerless and unable to do it, can start to do it......

"Every year."

These two gentle words became the last straw that crushed Chongzhen's psychological defense.

Every year, there are 500,000 silver, 500,000 stone grain and rice, which is equivalent to an extra money and grain tax paid by the Huzhou government!

"Aiqing! What are you going to order? ”

In the end, it was not completely defeated, and Chongzhen tried his best to maintain a trace of sobriety.

"The minister only wants to ask His Majesty for one thing."

Shouhan said loudly.

"No matter how much money and food there is, it is a little bit of Weichen's heart to His Majesty, and these money and grain can only be put into the inner treasury. I can't enter the house. Worried, those silverfish! ”

When the money and grain are in the hands of the bigwigs in the household department and the cabinet, they are embarrassed to go out and greet people if they don't deduct six or seven percent of you. After counting the seven folds and eight deductions, it is good that these money and grains can be used in practice.

"Princess-in-law, I blamed you and your father-in-law for being wrong. This matter has to ask the prince and the father-in-law to work a lot. ”

The eunuchs present all jumped with their eyelids from Wang Chengen downward!

This is clearly handing over a large amount of wealth to our family?!

The eunuchs were no longer so enthusiastic about possessions. However, their greed is far worse than that of decent men and gentlemen.

"This?" Wang Chengen tried hard to suppress his feelings, and he was looking forward to Chongzhen making an attitude.

"It's up to you to go and deal with General Li's people!"

Afterwards, Wang Chengen had to face the eunuchs who were arguing, Wang Dehua, Cao Huachun, and the big eunuchs with face had to intervene in this matter.

However, in private, Shouhan also told him, "A stone in the south is more than a stone in the interior, and there are more of these." It will be handed over to the prince and your husband for disposal as consuming rice. ”

A pound in the Ming Dynasty should be 650 grams according to the modern unit of measurement. In this way, one stone is about 94.4 kilograms, while one stone of the Southern Central Army is 100 kilograms, which is more than ten catties, which is enough for Wang Chengen to eat the crotch of his fart oil.

Connection. In the eyes of the eunuchs, he was still Li Shouhan who was angry. Immediately became Marshal Zhao Gong!

One stone of japonica rice can now be sold for almost three or four taels in the capital. This is still the price of conscience, just the grain that can be sold openly (those extra rice) is about 30,000 stones, which is 100,000 taels of silver!

"If Your Majesty wants to practice internal exercises. Your subordinates can also sell some knives, guns, armor and equipment to the internal camp, and only charge some cost money and food! ”

The words have already come to this point, if Chongzhen doesn't accept the olive branch handed over by Shouhan, he will not be worthy of being the emperor.

Wang Chengen, who was on the side, walked forward quickly to Chongzhen's side, "Emperor, the slave maid has a little humble opinion. ”

"Say."

"At present, there is a great chaos in the two Guangxi regions, and the homeless people and bandits are swarming, and in recent days, urgent documents have come, and several prefectures and counties have been lost in eastern and western Guangdong and southern Guangdong, and there are as many as 100 large and small bandits, numbering as many as hundreds of thousands. The combat strength of the officers and men of the two Guangxi provinces was weak, and it was not enough to quell the chaos. In the shallow view of the slave maid, the combat power of General Jinwu's subordinates is so strong that Jiannu can't go against its edge. Moreover, Liangguang is adjacent to General Li's jurisdiction, so it would be better to hand over the matter of Liangguang to General Li. ”

"It's good! It's just that the current food is insufficient, which ......"

"Shouhan is willing to raise military expenses with his family wealth!"

"But, please also ask Your Majesty for a grace."

"Say."

"Please make a decree that when the ships under the command of the minister travel to and from the interior, there shall be no trouble or extortion of miscellaneous expenses."

Shouhan deliberately did not mention the matter of tax exemption, and the commercial tax of the Ming Dynasty was exempted as early as Chongzhen's accession to the throne under the righteous call of the Donglin gentlemen.

"That's as it should be! Companion, your celebrant immediately informed the cabinet, and drafted an order, the ships belonging to the Nanzhong Army are supplied with military supplies, and there is no difficulty and extortion everywhere, and the violators will immediately order Jinyiwei to be arrested and imprisoned! ”

With the 500,000 stone grain and rice and 500,000 silver dollars that he can expect every year, Chongzhen's confidence in speaking has also hardened a lot.

"Passing on the decree to the cabinet, Li Shouhan has made great contributions to the country, and awarded the governor Nanzhong all military and horse food and salaries, and according to the ancestral regulations for three generations. Order to reward two blue and white flags, two swords, standing melons, lying melons, my battles, ritual knives, bone duo, axes, gold chairs, pedals, water jugs, water basins, four large and small copper horns, and one golden umbrella with dragon pattern of treasure pearls. Reward the Imperial City for horseback riding. ”

Shouhan was not so familiar with the honor guard system of the Ming Dynasty, but Wang Chengen's face became more and more solemn when he recorded it. Chongzhen obviously selected some of the prince's honor guards and gave them to Li Shouhan!

Giving the Governor of Shouhan the errand of the Nanzhong Grain and Military Horses recognized the legitimacy of his rule over the various parts of the South, and he could officially open the government and appoint officials. Now, according to Chongzhen's intentions, he will choose some of the prince's honor guards and give them to him, so he still has the momentum? !

However, in Chongzhen's view, these are all benefits without expense.

General Jinwu and General Fengguo are all "loose rank" names, and Ming officials can get "loose ranks" according to their grades when they enter the officialdom. There are 30 ranks of military attachés, and each level corresponds to different standards. It is similar to the treatment of a certain level as said in later generations.

As for those honor guards, they are even more worthless, not long ago the Liukou captured Fengyang, and the banner of the Guyuan Zhenlong Emperor was erected, and the etiquette system of the Ming Dynasty had already been destroyed. Compared with the 500,000 silver dollars in real money and grain that comes in hand every year, this transaction is simply too cost-effective.

"Emperor, is there something ...... this?"

Wang Chengen stopped the pen of the record, knelt in front of Chongzhen and kowtowed.

"It's the master of ceremonies, and the old gentlemen in the cabinet may not be able to pass it."

Chongzhen snorted, "This group of useless things, when doing things, they are good at making things difficult!" ”

"Send a decree to make Xue Guoguan enter the cabinet!"

Hearing this, Wang Chengen's heart was relieved. In the eyes of the Donglin gentlemen in the DPRK, Xue Guoguan is an out-and-out eunuch. However, Xue Guoguan's recent actions were deeply appreciated by Emperor Chongzhen and regarded as Wen Tiren's second. From that day when the court publicly discussed the reward for Nanzhongjun and Li Shouhan, Chongzhen was very satisfied with him. And Xue Guoguan's repeated overtures to Nanzhongjun and Li Shouhan, how could he not understand his thoughts?

Since the Chongzhen Dynasty, the atmosphere in the DPRK has changed. In the past, the commanders of the border towns had to attach themselves to the doors of the bigwigs of the DPRK and China in order to obtain support for food and salary. is like Qi Jiguang, and he also wants to call himself a small one. However, since the change in the second year of Chongzhen, the bigwigs of the DPRK and China have been looking for generals with troops to be backers in the border towns. In this way, if he accidentally falls down for a while, there will be no murder, and there will be a comeback. For people like Li Shouhan, it is a role that must be won over in the eyes of all parties. Not to mention that his subordinates are brave and good at fighting, and the location is full of business opportunities, so it is worth doing some business with him!

However, at the time of the cabinet meeting, under the strong opposition of a Mr. Donglin, although Shouhan's reward was barely passed, his own position, General Nipin Jingo, changed a little.

Changed to a second-grade dragon and tiger general.

This is one of the official positions that the Wanli Emperor gave to the old slave wild boar skin.

"Think it is a warning from my king! Beware of the wolf ambitions of this generation! ”

In the history we are familiar with, Mr. Qian Qianyi, a gentleman who is famous for his words and deeds, said this proudly to his visiting colleagues. (To be continued......)