Sure enough, the emperor's face was gloomy when he heard this, and Peng Zhu sighed lightly and interjected and asked, "Is there no other way?"

"Yes. Chen Xuan raised his head affirmatively, the emperor's expression was slightly bright, looking at him expectantly, Chen Xuan said: "It is winter, the Yellow River is frozen, many merchants' warehouses are empty, the ministers have discussed with them, you can borrow it for the hungry people to spend the winter temporarily, this is one; secondly, the imperial court can allocate part of the silver to the hungry people to repair some simple houses for the hungry people to spend the winter temporarily, after the winter, these houses can be renovated, and then sold to merchants as warehouses; third, there are many Taoist visitors near the imperial capital, and the emperor, these Taoist temples can be freed up for the hungry people to spend the winter. ”

The emperor thought for a moment and nodded: "Well, it's hard for you, you have no money and no food, you can do this, you have done your best." ”

The emperor's short words made Chen Xuan almost burst into tears, during this time, he was in a difficult situation, knowing that someone was plotting against him through this matter, but he could only hold on, expecting the emperor to make decisions for him.

The emperor saw that Chen Xuan's expression was a little excited, got up and walked in front of him, and said warmly: "I am not a dumb lord, who is doing things with all my heart, I know it in my heart. ”

The king of Yanping County glanced at Pan Lian, Pan Lian's expression was calm, as if he didn't hear it, Zuo Chen's brows were slightly furrowed, Gan Tang was also expressionless, and the king of Yanping County scolded in his heart, these old foxes.

"How much grain and how much silver is left in the treasury?" the emperor asked, turning his head to look at him.

The king of Yanping County took a deep breath and said slowly: "Back to the emperor, the ministers have checked the grain depots in the past few days, Liangzhou and Yongzhou, the three major grain kilns, the Pingkou warehouse has been emptied, and the Changkou warehouse has been emptied seventy percent, and the remaining Xingjin warehouse in addition to maintaining the needs of the camp in Pishan, it is also necessary to provide food for millions of people in the imperial capital, and the grain that can be used for relief and disaster relief is around 500,000 stones, but the emperor, there are hundreds of thousands of displaced people, and the ministers and ministers dare not guarantee that they can be maintained until the beginning of spring. ”

"How much grain is there in Xingjin Warehouse?" asked Peng Zhu interjected.

The king of Yanping County glanced at the emperor, the emperor frowned, and the king of Yanping County turned his head to Pengzhu and said: "Xingjin Cang has 16 million stones of grain, but these grains can not be moved lightly, from now to the beginning of spring, there are more than three months, and the grain will not be put into storage until June, according to past experience, the grain that can be received every year is about seven million stones, Lord Peng, the three granaries, is several years or even more than ten years of accumulation, if it is used up, there will be something in the future, the court can not take out the grain, then the world will be chaotic." ”

"What the prince said is very true," Zuo Chen also interjected: "It's not that the ministers don't give food, but they don't dare to give it, and the prince will talk about the situation of the silver." ”

The king of Yanping County sighed bitterly: "This is even more difficult, Your Majesty, this time to support the war outside the Saiwai, it all depends on the tax collected by Lord Ju and Lord Gu in Yangzhou for nine million taels of silver, but for the sake of these nine million taels of silver, Lord Ju and Lord Gu will sell all the salt taxes in Yangzhou for the next three years, and in the next three years, the tax revenue of the imperial court will drop significantly. ”

The emperor was silent, and Pan Lian slowly spoke: "The emperor is angry, it is the old minister who is not doing things well, but the emperor, it's not that the minister doesn't give it, but he can't give it, and the court has no money." ”

The emperor was a little irritable, neither left nor right, at this time, Zhang Meng spoke.

"The prince's statistics are correct, but the hungry people outside the city are the people of my Great Jin Dynasty, seeing the people struggling on the verge of death, if the court does not give relief, it will hurt the benevolence of the court; secondly, 100,000 hungry people, if someone takes the opportunity to stir up trouble and take risks, 100,000 hungry people will be in turmoil in the imperial capital, and the world will be shaken at that time, and the harm will be greater, so the court must provide relief. ”

Zuo Chen was silent, hungry and cold, if there were bold and reckless people, taking the opportunity to make trouble, even if it was suppressed in the end, it would shake the world.

"Zhang Qing is right, I still want to give relief, Lao Qi, allocate one million stone of grain to Chen Xuan, Chen Qing, is one million enough?" The emperor looked at Chen Xuan, Chen Xuan calculated, and shook his head slightly: "Not enough, at least one million and two hundred thousand stones." ”

The emperor thought for a while, gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, I'll give you 1.2 million stone of grain." ”

"Your Majesty, Emperor. Chen Xuan gave a deep salute, and the king of Yanping County thought about it a little and then gave a salute: "The minister's decree." ”

"As for the silver," the emperor pondered for a moment, and asked, "how much silver is needed to repair those simple houses?"

Chen Xuan silently calculated, raised his head and replied: "At least 100,000 taels of silver, in addition, the minister must also buy a batch of clothes, otherwise, he will freeze to death." ”

"Okay, I will allocate ten or 150,000 taels of silver to you from Shaofu," the emperor said and turned his head to Huang Gonggong and instructed: "Spread the decree, except for the Queen Mother, the rest of the people in the palace, the cost will be reduced by 30%, the first is mine, and all the old clothes in the palace will be sent to Jingzhao Mansion and handed over to Chen Qing." ”

"Your Majesty, this ,..." Huang Gonggong hesitated, his eyes were wet, the emperor frowned slightly, glared at him, Huang Gonggong choked and knelt: "Old, the old slave leads the order." ”

"The Emperor's Grace!"

All the ministers in the room knelt down, and Pan Lian choked up and said: "It is the incompetence of the ministers, which affects the emperor, and the ministers are to blame for their deaths." ”

The emperor sighed: "I know that it is difficult for you, but the world handed over by this ancestor cannot be damaged in my hands." ”

"Your Majesty, the minister is willing to donate 1,000 taels of silver, and in addition, let the old wife find it and send all the old clothes at home to Lord Chen. Zuo Chen raised his head and said loudly, one thousand taels is very small for others, but it is already very high for Zuo Chen, he is an honest official, his sleeves are clean, he never accepts bribes, he is the leader of the Qing Dynasty in Shilin, which is also the reason why Emperor Taiding chose him as the prince's master.

Zuo Chen's opening, Pan Lian and others also had to open their mouths to promise to donate, Pan Lian promised to donate 5,000 taels of silver, and Gan Tang followed closely and was willing to donate 3,000 taels.

The king of Yanping County reported three thousand taels of silver, but he didn't hear Xue Mi report the number, and couldn't help but turn his head to look at Xue Mi, Xue Mi grinned at him, he was a little surprised in his heart, but it was not easy to ask.

The other person in the room who did not donate was Zhang Meng, and after Zhang Meng said that, he did not speak again and remained silent. But if he didn't donate, not only would the emperor not say anything, but even Pan Lian and others couldn't say anything.

Zhang Meng has no money, in the palace, his status is very special, he does not have any official position, he is the emperor's friend of cloth, but he can participate in any court politics, and his influence on the emperor is very strong.

"Pengzhu, in the future, you will participate in Shangshutai's affairs. "The emperor made an order after being silent, Pengzhu returned to the court, last time he should have entered Shangshutai, but was blocked by Pan Lian borrowing Xue Mi, and now the emperor has issued an order again, the king of Yanping County moved in his heart, but Pan Lian lowered his head and said nothing.

After the emperor finished speaking, he turned around and left, the king of Yanping County was a little disappointed, last time the emperor proposed three candidates, Peng Zhu, Xue Mi and he Yanping County King, but this time only Peng Zhu entered Shangshutai.

Xue Mi followed the emperor back to the study, and along the way, the emperor didn't speak, and only after the study did he sigh heavily.

"Your Majesty, don't worry, with this silver and food, Chen Xuan can tide over the difficulties. Xue Yu smiled and comforted.

"You didn't donate just now. The emperor turned his head to look at him, Xue Mi still smiled: "Your Majesty, you don't know my little family background, of course I want to donate, but Pan Lian only donated 5,000 taels, isn't this fooling people, with the silver of his Pan family, donate 108,000 yuan, there is no problem, the emperor, the minister's family background is not thick, the minister will donate 50,000 taels, for the emperor to share the worries." ”

"Fifty thousand taels!" The emperor was not only happy, but also a little surprised, looked at Xue Mi, and suddenly asked, "Didn't you ask the queen for silver again?" ”

"How dare the minister," Xue Yu hurriedly argued: "Last time, it was the queen who gave me some silver, and this time it was the minister who earned some silver, so he simply took it all out and shared his worries for the emperor." ”

"What did you earn?" asked the Emperor.

Xue Mi laughed dryly, the emperor was a little unhappy, and looked at him directly, Xue Mi had no choice but to say: "The minister did business with people and made some money. ”

"Doing business with people?" the emperor was still full of suspicion: "It can't be a bribe." ”

Xue Mi cried out for injustice, and shouted with a little dissatisfaction: "Your Majesty, you can't wronged people, otherwise, the minister will donate." ”

"Say it quickly, less appetite here. The Emperor smiled.

"The minister did business with the Hanhai Trading Company, the Hanhai Trading Company made a good cloth, and also made out the wool, the Chen's family got the distribution rights of the Hanhai Trading Company in Hedong and Bingzhou, in addition, the Hanhai Trading Company and the minister built two wool workshops in Hedong, and also earned some silver, to be honest, the minister only earned a total of more than 40,000 taels of silver, and the silver rewarded by the mother last time was not used up, and the minister added a little more to make up 50,000 taels of silver to relieve the emperor's worries. ”

After hearing this, the emperor looked at Xue Mi, Xue Mi's expression was calm, the emperor felt that he was telling the truth, the cloth of this Hanhai Trading Company was good, and the palace purchased a lot, and Xue Mi should make money selling his cloth.

"This Hanhai Trading Company is quite good at making money. The emperor said, at this time, Zhang Meng came in, and the emperor casually motioned for him to sit down, and then continued: "You have a relationship with that Liu Han, what do you think of this person?"

Xue Mi breathed a sigh of relief and smiled: "Your Majesty, what about this Liu Han, Xiao Chen feels that this person is extraordinary, both civil and military, but his background is poor, if he is born in a family of scholars, he will definitely be able to enter the phase." ”

Saying that, Xue Mi looked at the emperor, and continued: "Your Majesty, this Liu Han, the minister recommended him to the forbidden army, and now he is in the forbidden army, and the team is positive, it seems to be the team is positive." ”

The emperor smiled: "It seems that you and he are not too familiar with him, he was promoted in the forbidden army, and this person has not long been in the imperial capital, and this Hanhai trading company has become prosperous." ”

Xue Mi wondered in his heart, what is the emperor doing? He added three points of caution and said tentatively: "Yes, he has made a lot of strange things, and the briquettes and stoves he got recently are also very popular. ”

"The imperial court is in a difficult situation now, and gave Chen Xuan 150,000 silver, which I estimate is not enough, and Qin Tianjian Jingtang reported that it will snow again this year, and once the news of the relief spreads, the number of displaced people will increase. ”

The emperor said slowly: "I am worried that this bit of silver is not enough, you come forward and persuade the merchants to let the Hanhai Trading Company take the lead, what do you think?"

Xue Mi was even more vigilant in his heart, but he didn't know how to explain it for a while, so he could only agree first: "The minister will do his best, but, Your Majesty, you also know that the big merchants in this imperial capital all have backgrounds." ”

Suddenly, I saw Zhang Meng sitting on the side, and I had an idea: "Your Majesty, if this is not the case, let Mr. Zhang help me, you know, I am stupid and stupid." ”

The emperor turned his head to look at Zhang Meng, who nodded slightly calmly: "The grass people are willing." ”

The emperor nodded: "Okay, Zhang Qing will go and help him, this is not for you to enter the Shangshutai, there is a complaint in my heart." ”

Xue Mi smiled, shook his head and said: "The minister doesn't dare, the emperor, the last time the minister went back and thought about it, the minister's experience is still less, and the qualifications for entering Shangshutai are not enough. ”

The emperor smiled: "You boy, belong to the monkey, climb the pole! Go, you will definitely give it to you." ”

Xue Mi smiled and left, the emperor's expression gradually sank, Zhang Meng sighed softly, and the emperor stood in front of the window, looking at the dry plum trees in the courtyard.

"Pan Lian, hum, Zhang Aiqing, do you think it's time to take Pan Lian?"

"It's not time yet. Zhang Meng said calmly: "Pan Lian's bad deeds are not obvious, and the queen mother is hindered, the emperor, don't touch him for the time being, keep the situation stable." ”

The emperor has a trace of impatience, since he ascended the throne, Shang Shutai has been controlled by a few old ministers left by his father, want to do something, they are constrained in everything, and now the court situation is becoming more and more difficult, the imperial treasury is empty, the Hu tribe outside the Saiwai is in turmoil, and there is no power to help internally, the Xinzhang River is just a small river, after the embankment breaks, the court can not take out the silver relief, and has to borrow from all around.

"Your Majesty, don't worry, it's just a little difficult, what's there to worry about," Zhang Meng frowned slightly, and there was a hint of reproach in his tone: "Actually, if you want to get silver, you only need to catch a few corrupt officials." ”

The emperor couldn't help but smile bitterly again, and the king of Yanping County made a big move in Duzhi Cao, and recovered more than one million taels of silver, and the courtiers complained, and he also had a reputation for being mean and unkind.

"Don't be in a hurry for the time being, the silver that Gu Wei got in Yangzhou can last for a year," Zhang Meng continued: "However, Yangzhou's tax reform must be grasped quickly. ”

The emperor was irritated again and shouted: "Sheng Huai is there, and it is difficult for Gu Wei to move. ”

"Your Majesty!" Zhang Meng shouted in a low voice, the emperor suddenly hesitated, felt that he was a little out of shape, sighed deeply, calmed down slightly, Zhang Meng continued: "We have a problem with our decision-making, although Sheng Huai is a thorn in history, but he can't resist the will of the imperial court, your emperor, you are the first to make a decree, let Ju Yi and Gu Wei preside over the tax reform of Yangzhou silk and iron grain." ”

The emperor nodded slowly, Zhang Meng drafted the edict, the emperor stamped the jade seal on it, and then asked the eunuch to send it to Shangshutai for sealing.

Turning around, the emperor saw Gonggong Mu standing silently in the corner.

"Sheng Huai. ”

Zhang Meng frowned slightly, he didn't like to let the internal guards get involved, but... , couldn't help but sigh softly, Sheng Huai should be beheaded according to the crime, and his family should be assigned to Liangzhou or Leizhou.

"The old slave has been arranged, the purge of Yangzhou's internal guards has ended, there is already a plan for Sheng Huai, and there should be news within half a month. Father-in-law Mu replied in a low voice.

The emperor nodded, turned around and sat down behind the bookcase, and began to review today's recital, and Gonggong Mu quietly withdrew.

Out of the imperial study, Father-in-law Mu took a deep breath, his spirit was slightly slight, he looked up at the thick clouds, and then Shi Shiran left with his hands behind his back, and the two little eunuchs hurriedly followed.

After the winter, Lin Gonggong's health was not good, and he stayed in the house every day, and the fire in the room was burning, and the house was full of medicinal incense.

"Lie down, don't get up. ”

Father-in-law Mu stepped into the room, Father-in-law Lin struggled to get up, Father-in-law Mu hurriedly appeased, Father-in-law Lin was not reluctant, sat on the couch, bent down slightly, and regarded it as a gift.

"Look at your body, it's like this every winter, how good is it to go on like this. Grandpa Mu sighed, Grandpa Lin looked thinner and thinner, his face was pale, and there was no blood.

"Alas, my body is not angry, and I can't share my godfather's worries. Father-in-law Lin hugged the quilt and said, "What's the matter with my godfather?" ”

"It's still for Sheng Huai," Father-in-law Mu said: "The emperor is a little anxious and wants to get rid of Sheng Huai as soon as possible." ”

Gonggong Lin didn't speak, since the order went down, Liu Han didn't report the action plan, but just reported that he was thinking of a way, whether this way came up or not, he didn't know anything about it, this has never happened in the history of internal guards.

Father-in-law Mu looked at Father-in-law Lin, he knew very well the difficulties of his proud disciple, he had to complete the task without causing a great impact, the gate valve family, the Shilin clan, all regarded Neiwei as a thorn in their eyes, and they couldn't wait to remove the internal guard, so he had to act carefully.

"What's the difficulty?" asked Grandpa Mu.

Gonggong Lin reluctantly smiled: "What the godfather said, if there are difficulties, we have to do it, our internal guard is a royal dog, no matter how difficult the bones are, we have to gnaw them down." ”

Speaking of this, he sighed: "The order has been given, and Liu Han also replied, but he didn't say how to act, he just said that he was doing it." ”

"Oh!" Father-in-law Mu frowned, and said with some displeasure, "How can this be." ”

Father-in-law Lin shook his head: "Godfather, my son thinks differently. ”

"Oh, tell me, what do you think. Father-in-law Mu looked at him with some puzzlement.

"This Liu Han has just joined the internal guard, and it has only been more than three years since he returned to my Dajin, and he is not familiar with my internal guard's behavior, my son thinks, the means he wants to take this time are probably different from the past, godfather, my son thinks, wait first, if he doesn't do it well, it will not be too late to punish. ”

Gonggong Mu frowned and thought for a moment, and said: "I gave a guarantee for half a month in front of the emperor, and immediately ordered him, within ten days, there must be a result." ”

Gonggong Lin was slightly stunned, and then nodded clearly: "Yes, my son will give the order." ”

"Have you found out about the Wang family and the King of Qi?" asked Gonggong Mu again.

Gonggong Lin shook his head: "I was about to tell my godfather about this, King Qi sent Fu Xian, a member of the palace, to Jizhou, in the name of celebrating the birthday of the second master of the Wang family, to the Wang family, our people started on the way back to Fu Xian, but I didn't expect to meet the people of the Tian family, but I didn't succeed, Wheat, and I gave the report that I had just arrived to my godfather." ”

Maizi hurriedly took out a report from the bookcase next to him and sent it to Grandpa Mu.

Mu Gonggong opened the report and saw that it was the report of the Jizhou internal guard, he hurriedly read it, and then frowned and said dissatisfiedly: "What are you doing, the Jizhou internal security failed this operation, and it should be severely punished!"

Father-in-law Lin was slightly stunned, looked at Father-in-law Lin's expression carefully, and pleaded in a low voice: "What Godfather said is that Godfather, my son has been in charge of the internal guard for many years, and the strength of the internal guard has been declining year by year, and the son is duty-bound." ”

"Don't think like this," Father-in-law Mu sighed: "Your difficulty, I know, but the government is difficult, the emperor has not long ascended the throne, he is eager to revitalize, and his actions are inevitably extreme, you have to understand the emperor." ”

"Son doesn't dare," Lin Gonggong hurriedly argued, his face flushed, his chest was stuffy, and a violent cough erupted, and Maizi hurriedly stepped forward and patted him lightly on the back.

Father-in-law Mu sighed: "Don't think about it, take a good rest, and recuperate your body, what about Father-in-law Bai?"

"I went back to my ancestor and went to the harem, I heard that it was the virtuous concubine Niangniang, so he went over to take a look. Wheat said.

"Concubine Xian has it, what does it have to do with him. Father-in-law Mu frowned and said, the harem has the rules of the harem, each palace has a special person in charge, there are people in the palace of the virtuous concubine who are in charge, the internal guard that Gonggong Bai is responsible for, and the affairs of the harem concubines are not his business.

Wheat didn't dare to answer, Lin Gonggong coughed up phlegm, this was easier, Wheat hurriedly sent tea, Lin Gonggong rinsed mouthwater, touched his chest, and felt better.

"Godfather, the matter of Jizhou, the son thinks that it is better to use people, and the son is worried about the imperial capital," Lin Gonggong said, Mu Gonggong was a little surprised, others don't know, he knows that he is his godson, he has been in charge of the internal guard for a long time, and he is very sensitive to the court situation.

"My son hasn't figured out a few things yet," Gonggong Lin didn't wait for Duke Mu to ask publicly, and then explained: "First, why did the old ancestor of the Wang family rob the Yellow River waterway, and why did this old ancestor Taoguang have been obscure for nearly ten years, why is he so tough on this matter?"

Second, the king of Qi, the prince of the vassal and the family is a taboo, the king of Qi is not unaware, occasionally drinking, it is nothing, but why does the king of Qi dare to be so bold, and actually join forces with the Wang family to snatch the waterway of the Yellow River?

Third, what is the relationship between the Wang family and the Qin family, the emperor invited the Qin family back to the imperial court and was responsible for the counselor military aircraft, but because of the Zhaoyang incident, the Qin family and the Wang family joined forces, and the first emperor divided and ruled the two families, and now the Qin family and the Wang family are moving at the same time, and the son is a little worried. ”

Gonggong Lin said a little anxiously, and couldn't help but gasp a little, Gonggong Mu couldn't help frowning when he heard this, this is indeed some problems, but he didn't think about this, he was slightly contemplative, he said: "Check these slowly, pay attention to the camp of Bishan, and check the others slowly, King Qi, hehe." ”

After a pause, Gonggong Mu said again: "Okay, the internal guards of Jizhou will be fined for one month, and Feng Tao will be ordered to reflect on it, and if there is another mistake, he will be severely punished." ”

"My son got it. "Gonggong Lin owes his thanks, Feng Tao, the head of Jizhou's internal guard, was single-handedly promoted by him, however, this mistake is not trivial, this time the news was sent by the internal guard lurking in the Wang family, the ancestor of the Wang family is very strict in prevention, it is difficult for the internal guard to sneak in, this time, the Wang family is bound to investigate, in case it is exposed, the loss will be greater.

"Pay attention to the Bishan camp and the forbidden army," Mu Gonggong said again: "Especially the Bishan camp, there is no room for error." ”

"My son understands, but Lin Bailin's father-in-law...."Lin Gonggong said carefully.

In the Pishan camp supervising the army is another disciple of Mu Gonggong who is also surnamed Lin, called Lin Bai, this Lin Bai is also related to Lin Gonggong, the two entered the palace at the same time, and worshiped under Mu Gonggong at the same time, but the two of them have a suspicion, Lin Bai controlled the Pishan camp, and the internal guards controlled by Lin Gonggong were very repulsive, and Lin Gonggong did not want the relationship between the two sides to be too tense, and also restrained his subordinates from infiltrating the Bishan camp.

"I will remind him, however, you don't have to worry about brotherhood anymore, this is doing things for the court, not your Lin family's business. ”

Father-in-law Mu's words were a bit heavy, Father-in-law Lin hurriedly confessed, and Father-in-law Mu reminded again: "There are also the Admirals of the Nine Gates and the forbidden army, these must be strengthened." ”

"Godfather, rest assured, the internal guard has always been arranged in this regard. Lin Gonggong said.

After saying this, Father-in-law Mu got up and comforted Father-in-law Lin with warm words, asking him to take care of himself and not be too tired, and then left.

After sending off Grandpa Mu, Wheat quietly returned to the room, and Grandpa Lin was still sitting, looking at the top of the bed with blank eyes.

(End of chapter)