Number of People

  Chapter 809: Brother and Brother

  When King Zhongshun entered the palace, he just caught up with Lu Song coming out of the East Study Room.

  Seeing that Lu Song, who had a slightly gloomy face, seemed to be thinking about something, and was about to pass by him but didn't notice him, King Zhongshun couldn't help coughing dryly.

   "Ah, Lu Song has seen the prince." Lu Song woke up with a start and hurriedly clasped his fists in salute.

   "I just came out from Brother Huang? How is Brother Huang feeling today?" King Zhongshun and Lu Song have always had a good relationship in private, but King Zhongshun also knows that this relationship is best maintained at present.

As Lu Song who is in charge of the power of Long Jinwei, even if he is himself, he should not be too close to him. Although the emperor's brother has a lot of trust in him, King Zhongshun knows that the throne of power has been contaminated, and he can't tolerate other things. If you can't grasp a boundary, then no matter how close the relationship is, it may be the same.

  Lu Song smiled wryly and shook his head, "After the prince is gone, maybe the emperor will be in a much better mood."

   King Zhongshun's heart sank.

  Brother Huang has not been in good health for the past six months, and even his temper has become a little irritable. A few days ago, King Shou and King Fu went to visit Brother Huang who was lying in bed, but they were both reprimanded.

King Fu didn't even throw a cup of medicine, which almost broke his head. He was so scared that King Fu couldn't sleep well in the mansion, and even Concubine Su hurried to Emperor Yonglong's clothes and waited on him for a few days, in case someone took the opportunity to slander To add insult to injury to his son.

   "What happened?" King Zhongshun couldn't help asking.

Lu Song shook his head, but subconsciously glanced around. It wasn't a secret at all. The prince would know as soon as he went, so Lu Song didn't intend to hide it from the other party: "The emperor is not very satisfied with these things. , Liaodong’s lion’s mouth is a big one. I’m afraid the cabinet and the emperor have some disagreements on the imperial examination questions, and the spring drought in Shaanxi is getting worse. The news from the Chief Envoy of Shaanxi is very bad. Harassing southern borders,..."

   King Zhongshun was taken aback, "The situation is so bad? Has the cabinet come up with countermeasures?"

"It's more than that..." Lu Song sighed, "Your lord will know when you go to see the emperor. The emperor has been in a bad mood for the past few days. The countermeasures brought out by the cabinet are all stable, but it is difficult to solve the problem. , or the time is too tight and demanding, and it is too late."

Hearing such a situation, King Zhongshun regretted entering the palace at this time, but he had already reached the door of the East Study Room. Naturally, King Zhongshun couldn't go back, and the more upset the emperor brother was, the more he would show It's the right thing to do.

  So after saying goodbye to Lu Song, King Zhongshun still made up his mind and went to see him outside the East Study Room.

  The servant led King Zhongshun out of the study, and after the notification, King Zhongshun entered calmly.

Emperor Yonglong's complexion didn't look very good, but it wasn't that Lu Song said that he was in a bad mood, but that he still had a sick look, which made King Zhongshun couldn't help but say: "Brother Emperor, court affairs are important, but Your body needs to be taken care of more, now this Great Zhou Dynasty can leave anyone, but you can't leave alone."

"Hmph, Lao Jiu, I'm afraid many people will feel uncomfortable after saying this." Emperor Yonglong raised his eyelids, then lowered his eyelids, flipping through the memorial on the desk, "I see many people wish I could keep Bedridden, some people hope that the government will run according to their ideas, and some people hope that I will simply die, so they have other ideas."

   King Zhongshun was taken aback.

In the past, although the emperor's brother also revealed such meanings faintly, he had never vented his inner dissatisfaction so bluntly. Of course, this may also be an emotional outburst that only occurs when facing himself alone. The two brothers grew up together. Growing up, my elder brother has always been humble in front of outsiders, and only occasionally let it go in front of himself.

"Brother Huang, you are serious. The people in the cabinet have always been mature and prudent, but without Brother Huang as their backbone, they would not be able to come up with a real and practical strategy..." King Zhongshun is not easy to talk about this topic, but he can't help it To answer, I could only bite the bullet and say, "As for the boss, it's just some small tricks, and it's just a bid to sell the first."

Amused by King Zhongshun's last words, Emperor Yonglong laughed, "Old Nine, I didn't expect you to use some flattering words to make me happy. This is really rare. Seeing Lu Song It's not that exaggerated. I won't face such annoying things that day? I look at this chair with red eyes, but I'm sitting on pins and needles, and I can't sleep well. Why is my leisurely and peaceful King of Loyal and Filial Piety so bothered? Look at the white hair on my two temples, which grows day by day. Being the emperor will reduce my lifespan by at least twenty years!"

  King Zhongshun quickly shook his head, "Your Majesty, don't say such unlucky words. Your Majesty's dragon-horse spirit will last forever..."

"Okay, the words of the fourth brother are just to fool outsiders. Are you and my two brothers still talking about these interesting things?" Emperor Yonglong waved his hand indifferently, and a look of yearning flashed in his eagle eyes, "I also hope to be like my father." Live a few more years like this, but everyone is different, so I have been cultivating my mind and nature, except for court affairs, I basically have no other hobbies..."

Only with this compatriot of the same mother, Emperor Yonglong can let go of other fetters, and say things that he can't say to others at will. This is why Emperor Yonglong cherishes the relationship between himself and this compatriot of the same mother. The brother also helped him a lot, but he was too greedy for money.

  But if he is neither greedy for money nor manly, I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to confide in him again.

Emperor Yonglong never believed in loyalty. If a person has no desires, it can only show that this person has a big conspiracy. Even if it is the cabinet members, Emperor Yonglong is very clear about their intentions. It is good to leave a name in the history books, either to leave a rich political legacy for the descendants of the family or students, to inherit their political ideas, or to win more for their villagers. Interests and actions are nothing less than these three.

   Without these plotting desires, Emperor Yonglong would not be able to trust this group of people, although they also have many problems.

  Facing the emotion of the emperor's brother, King Zhongshun could only keep silent, this topic was not something he could talk about.

Emperor Yonglong quickly withdrew his love for his sons and daughters and regained his calmness as an emperor, "I'm afraid Lu Song told you that I thought this year would be better, but I didn't expect the news to be disappointing again and again. The spring drought in Shaanxi is far beyond the tone, and the summer harvest in northern Shaanxi and even Gansu may have serious problems again. The chief envoy of Shaanxi has written a letter requesting that taxes be exempted for three years, and there is still a need to adjust grain for relief. The price of grain in Yulin has doubled compared to October last year. twice as much,…”

   King Zhongshun also trembled in his heart, this is really too bad news.

  According to the usual practice, a mild winter followed by a drought in spring will inevitably lead to a plague of locusts. The harvest in Shaanxi this year will be dangerous.

And Shaanxi has always been an unstable place, especially in northern Shaanxi, which has always been full of bandits and chaos. Feng Tang can still be stable in Yulin, but now the governor of Nine Frontiers has been replaced by Chen Jingxuan. However, he is not as prestigious as Feng Tang. Guyuan General Soldier Hou Xiaoduan is a descendant of Duke Xiu's family, but he is a good-for-nothing old man. I am afraid that once there is a bandit chaos, it will be difficult to control the situation.

"Brother Emperor, Shaanxi is the key point of the northwest frontier. It must not be chaotic. I'm afraid that the relief food must be arranged and deployed as soon as possible. Otherwise, once there is a bandit chaos, the expenses will not be suppressed by some food." Can live."

King Zhongshun still saw this very clearly. The bandit rebellion broke out in northern Shaanxi in the thirteenth year of Guangyuan, and it took two full years to suppress it. The military expenditure exceeded five million taels, so Emperor Guangyuan also Mentally haggard and depressed.

"Why don't I know this truth?" Emperor Yonglong's face became more and more gloomy, "But where does the food come from? Henan is also affected by the spring drought. The food prices in Luoyang, Kaifeng, and Zhengzhou have nearly doubled. Shanxi itself No guarantee, Huguang seems to be doing well this year, but the transportation of Huguang's grain to Shaanxi is another big problem, hey,..."

"Brother Huang, no matter what, this matter has to be done ahead of time. Shaanxi must not be messed up, otherwise the reputation that Da Zhou won in Ningxia, Gansu and even the land expansion will be in vain." Zhongshun Wang said in a deep voice: "This is related to Da Zhou's future,..."

  Emperor Yonglong was shocked, and Lao Jiu's reminder made him even more vigilant.

Tuotu Hami and Shazhou are his greatest achievements in the past two years, and he has also won the praise of scholars in the north. If there is a chaos in Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu will definitely be affected. It would really be a big joke to repeat the story of the year before last. At that time, the reputation of the scholars in the north will definitely be reversed. In addition, the gentlemen in the south of the Yangtze River who are already close to the boss may even criticize themselves for wasting food, fodder and money.

"Old Nine, do you think it was a bit hasty for me to change Feng Tang from Sanbian to Liaodong?" This kind of words can only be said in front of his brother Yonglong, "I feel that Chen Jingxuan is a little softer, and I can't control it. A three-sided situation."

"Brother Huang, Chen Jingxuan has been working in water transportation, and he doesn't know much about the military affairs of the border areas. He also served as the commander-in-chief of Jizhen for too short a time. Fortunately, the Mongols who are mainly dealt with on the three sides, as long as the Tumed people can't deal with the storm, the problem will be solved. No big deal, if banditry really breaks out in northern Shaanxi, as long as the supplies of food and grass can keep up, I believe Chen Jingxuan and He Shixian can still suppress the situation." King Zhongshun knew what his brother was worried about, "It's hard for Chen Jingxuan to say, but He Shixian He can be regarded as a frontier general, even though he is not as famous as Feng Tang, but his performance in quelling the Ningxia rebellion is remarkable, so don't worry too much, Brother Huang."

  (end of this chapter)