Number of People

  Chapter 670 E-shaped scroll wind rises

  Changle Palace.

  From the sixth year of Yonglong, Zhang Ye moved here. It is not far from Renshou Palace, and it is more spacious and quiet. At the same time, it is farther away from Yangxin Palace and Qianqing Palace.

I don't know the reason, but after turning over a year, Zhang Ye felt that his body was not in good shape. After catching a cold, he kept coughing non-stop, and he didn't get better until February, but then he had hot flashes, sweating and loss of appetite. Not good, which made him feel more and more the influence of his age.

  I thought back then that I was also a heroic character who mounted a horse, carried a gun and dismounted with a sword. Why do I have to weigh how many steps I take now?

   "Gu Cheng, you can accompany me for a walk."

   Seeing that Gu Cheng's eyes were still steady with his hair on the sideburns all gone, Zhang Ye felt more at ease. As long as Gu Cheng was around, he would not become deaf and blind, and everything was under control.

   The two slowly walked out the door. Outside the window, the spring was bright and the breeze was gentle, attracting waves of Lin Tao.

"Lin Hai died of illness, and the fourth son came to me a few days ago and became more diligent. Hmph, he is eyeing my little private money. Didn't he say that the strategy of opening the sea can bring a lot of income to the court? "Zhang Ye's eyes were blurred, he seemed to be looking into the distance, and seemed to be thinking about something.

"Returning to the emperor, there is a lot of momentum for opening the sea, but no cash has been seen so far. The emperor has allowed the Zhongshu Division to be in charge of the opening of the sea, but the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Industry are also arguing with the Zhongshu Division. Whether Bian can implement it or not, it is because they cut a knife on the salt merchant that they should have gained something, but now that Chai Ke is guarding the door and scolding at the household department for three days, Feng Tang and Chen Jingxuan are unwilling to take office, the emperor may be really anxious .”

"Chai Ke is so shameless? Hasn't he always boasted of his image and dignity?" Zhang Ye laughed dumbly, put his hands down behind his back, bowed slightly, and touched the flowers with his fingers, as if feeling the vitality in the spring of Yonglong's eighth year. "Let's start with the salt merchant. Is it killing the chicken to get the eggs, or drinking poison to quench thirst?"

"That was urgent. Neither Feng Tang nor Chen Jingxuan was willing to take up the post. The household department owed more than one million silver to everyone, and Zheng Jizhi promised Li Sancai to repair the river works and water transportation. It is said that it will cost 800,000 taels. It is estimated that even Chai Ke is starting to worry about whether Jiangnan can really get the money as Feng Keng said." Gu Cheng pondered for a while, but couldn't answer the last question of the Supreme Emperor.

"Well, if the court of the three salt merchants is ruthless, they may be able to reap two or three million yuan, but this will chill the hearts of the salt merchants. If there is no explanation, the money of the salt merchants in the future may not be good. I'll take it." The corners of Zhang Ye's mouth grew a bit disdainful, "Zheng Jizhi and Guan Yingzhen are also jumping the wall, and the fourth child and Ye Xianggao are also pretending to be deaf and dumb. What benefits does Fang Congzhe get?"

This topic is even more difficult to answer, but seeing Zhang Ye twirling the petals and turning his body slightly, he knew that this topic could not be avoided. Yes, but later it was voluntary, and the matter of Yinzhuang was also voluntary, but because of the support of several princes in Beijing, it still had some impact on Jiangnan,..."

   "Oh? Old Nine?" Zhang Ye's eyes were fixed.

"Well, it is said that Prince Zhongshun invested 80,000 taels of shares in Yinzhuang first, and then increased his investment by 70,000 taels, making a total investment of 150,000 taels. He is the largest shareholder of Yinzhuang, and several other princes also contributed. The total investment is around 500,000 taels,..."

   Gu Chen's words made Zhang Ye fall into silence. After a long time, Zhang Ye said quietly: "Isn't Lao Jiu acting like a demon like this, and I'm not afraid of Lao Si's reaction?"

   Gu Cheng hesitated for a moment, as if he still hadn't understood the meaning of Taishanghuang's words. Before he could speak, Taishanghuang shook his head sadly.

"I don't think so, why does the fourth child care about this now? He's afraid that the ninth child can take the lead to help him out, hehe, this group of people who are usually crying and crying for poverty, cursing and begging for money in the ancestral hall every year during the Chinese New Year, behind their backs The guy who pokes my spine can easily hand out hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, which makes me feel chilling."

  Gu Cheng was silent.

In the thirty-fifth year of Yuanxi, Emperor Yuanxi went south to the south of the Yangtze River for the last time, which cost a lot of money. Numerous, causing small-scale mutinies continue.

  At the time of the battle of the Nine Ministries outside the Guan, the Ministry of War ordered Liaodong Town to send troops to intervene to prevent the Jianzhou Jurchen forces from growing. However, Li Chengliang refused to intervene in the battle on the grounds that Liaodong Town had insufficient food and low morale, which directly led to the defeat of the Nine Ministries.

  The final result is that Jianzhou Jurchen took the opportunity to rise, and eight years later conquered and annexed the former Haixi Jurchen overlord - the Hada tribe, which directly caused the Haixi Jurchen to no longer be able to compete with Jianzhou Jurchen, and the entire situation outside the customs began to get out of control.

As if realizing something, Zhang Ye laughed self-deprecatingly, "I know that going to the south of the Yangtze River has caused a lot of infamy, I'm afraid even Gu Cheng is a little dissatisfied in your heart, right? Is it okay to go to the place I like? When I went to the south of the Yangtze River, I would have no chance. I know very well that I know how much money the court really spent. Some people always want to shift the responsibility to I don't care about it, but if I want to take the opportunity to do something that endangers the country, I can't allow it."

  Gu Cheng was a little puzzled, what happened to the Supreme Emperor today, who talked so much?

   "Gu Cheng, I've been nagging a little bit today, it seems like it's unavoidable when people get older." Zhang Ye's pace became slower and slower, "What's the trouble with Lin Ruhai's death?"

Gu Cheng shivered, weighed it carefully, and said: "As far as I know, although Lin Ruhai was seriously ill, according to what the doctor said, he should have been able to last for a month or two, but suddenly died of a serious illness within a few days. There are still some doubts, and his son-in-law Feng Keng has some doubts. It is reported that he has taken over Lin Ruhai's original staff and is investigating. They suspect that there should be people from the Jianghu involved,..."

   "Oh? Is there any basis? Or is there any point?" Zhang Ye stood still.

Gu Cheng also stood still, "Lin Ruhai should have made arrangements before, so his staff members have already joined his son-in-law Feng Keng. Can learn more, but…”

   "But what?" Zhang Ye asked.

   "Tao Guolu, the salt transport envoy, has been very active since then. As far as I know, after he took over the transfer of salt envoy Siyamen in the two Huaihe capitals, he has issued several salt quotations,..."

  Zhang Ye's eyes turned cold.

   It doesn’t matter who the salt references are signed to, and it is difficult to find out in a short period of time why these salt references were signed out, and they may even go astray.

But Lin Ruhai is his own person, at least on the bright side, even if this person is a little distant in the final stage, but the impression given to the outside world is still his own person, if the cause of death is really suspicious, then all the focus will be gathered on himself.

   But Tao Guolu is so arrogant, this is a kind of provocation to himself.

But the salt transport envoy is no longer something he can intervene in. The original default was that the patrol salt censor should be arranged by himself, but the salt transport envoy has never considered it, but at this time there is no suitable candidate for the patrol salt censor to continue the stalemate. Let the people behind Tao Guolu benefit.

   "Gu Cheng, do you mean the fourth or the eldest?" Zhang Ye naturally knew that Tao Guolu had a complicated relationship with Prince Yizhong, but at this time he always felt that it was not that simple.

   "I don't know." Gu Cheng lowered his head.

   "I don't know? Do you not know, or dare not say?" Zhang Ye said indifferently.

   "My lord, the matter is over, not to mention that Lin Ruhai himself is indeed terminally ill, why bother..." Gu Cheng persuaded.

"Gu Cheng, do you think this matter can be settled like this? If it is really that simple, why would Feng Keng ignore the investigation?" Zhang Ye said coldly: "Lin Ruhai's daughter promised to Feng Tang's son, Feng Tang He is about to take up the post of governor of Jiliao, and Chen Jingxuan will be transferred to the post of governor of the three sides, the fourth brother is really good at it,..."

  Gu Cheng seemed to have realized something, but he always felt that there was still something behind him, and he couldn't figure it out.

   "My lord, do you mean that Feng Tang will feel that this is aimed at him?"

"Whether Feng Tang thinks so or not, but his son just got engaged to Lin Ruhai's daughter, and it was Qi Yongtai who made the attack. This is a fact. If Lin Ruhai's death is suspicious, who is the most suspicious?" Zhang Ye's eyes became more serious. A bit sharp, "I'm afraid that the boss is being used by others without knowing it."

"My lord, even if Feng Tang has some doubts, he is about to go to Liaodong..." Gu Cheng's meaning is also very simple. Even if Feng Tang suspects that Prince Yizhong did it, it will not have much impact. After all, the journey to Liaodong is thousands of miles away. However, the pressure of Jianzhou Jurchen alone is enough to make Feng Tang have no time to estimate other things.

   "Why don't you talk to Prince Yizhong, Prince Yizhong, Prince Yizhong has been here less these days,..."

Zhang Ye shook his head. Although Gu Cheng is his confidant, he has always been only in the circle of Long Jinwei, and he can't see so far. The fourth child may be dragged on due to the situation, but if he realizes that the boss is unwilling to be lonely, he has to do it. Is it a risk?

  I told my boss, would he believe it? Besides, if you talk to him yourself, it may only be counterproductive.

   It's just that even if you can see and think about some things, others may not be able to think or believe them, and even if you believe them, you may not pay attention to them.

  Sometimes Zhang Ye himself feels tired. The two sons are so worried, and there is one who contributes to the flames.

  Maybe this is the destiny, even if it is me, I can't stop certain things from slowly sliding towards the track I don't want to see, and I don't even know how to stop it.

  (end of this chapter)