Chongzhen Sunset Song

?one

Afterwards, Xizhao went out of the palace several times according to this, and by the first month of the next year, he had raised about 10,000+ taels of silver.

"These silver taels should be taken to Shaanxi by Yushi Wuzheng and handed over to Yang He for disaster relief." Chongzhen said to Zhou Yanru in the South Study Room of Qianqing Palace.Xizhao handed over the bank note to Zhou Yanru, who took it with both hands, showing doubts on his face.

"This silver is...?"

"You just take it." Chongzhen interrupted Zhou Yanru's question, not wanting to explain where the money came from.

"Yes." Zhou Yanru didn't ask any more questions, took the bank note, saluted and left.

"Zhang Dexiu." As soon as Zhou Yanru walked out of the hall, Chongzhen called for Xizhao.

"The villain is here." Xi Zhao replied.

"Go to the sandalwood cabinet over there and take out the things in the upper drawer."

"Yes."

Xi Zhao obeyed, went forward and opened the drawer, only to see ten shining large silver ingots and a ball-shaped light jasper pendant neatly placed inside.

"You are young, but you have done a good job. These are your rewards."

Hearing the words, Xi Zhao hurriedly turned to look at Chong Zhen, only to see Chong Zhen was smiling slightly, warm and moist like this jade.Xizhao suddenly felt confused, not knowing how to answer.I have been out of the palace for several times, and if I were to talk about rewards, I would have already reserved enough for myself, but now the emperor, who doesn’t know about it, wants to reward me for my meritorious service... When it comes to money, Xizhao always treats the more the better. Only this time, facing the emperor who has been suffering from financial problems, he has already kept a lot of money privately, and he is really ashamed to receive such a reward again.Looking at the tempting silver in front of him, he hesitated for a moment, and finally broke his heart, leaned over and said:

"The emperor has given me a reward. Serving the emperor is a villain's duty, so I dare not accept this reward. Now that the national treasury is empty, although it is a drop in the bucket, the reward should be used to subsidize the national economy."

Chongzhen was startled, a little surprised, and then said: "This is the inner treasury silver, and it is my personal reward to you."

"The emperor is Daming, and Daming is the emperor, there is no difference to the villain." Xi Zhao said respectfully, "If the emperor wants to reward, then only give this jade to the villain, since the reward has been rewarded, the villain has also been fulfilled." This meager heart for the country."

Xizhao's firm tone made Chongzhen feel touched after the case.He pursed his thin lips slightly, looked at the setting sun that followed his brows and eyes, and after a long while, he nodded and said:

"Alright, it's rare that you have such a pure heart, it's commendable, and I won't force you." Chongzhen smiled again, then stopped looking at the sunset, reached out to take the memorial, and unfolded it on the case.

"It would be great if all the officials in the court were like this." Chongzhen murmured.

two

Although he misunderstood Xizhao's intentions, Chongzhen never misunderstood the so-called heart of the courtiers.

For a while, Mr. Zhou Yanru, the chief assistant of the cabinet, was worried every day.It's not that he's worried about the financial constraints, and he doesn't care too much about the effectiveness of recruiting rebellious bandits. What worries him most is that Wen Tiren, the second assistant of the cabinet, the same party who brought down Yuan Chonghuan with him, is afraid that he is no longer reconciled to being the second assistant. position.He no longer just followed his own opinion, and even dared to draw up votes without his knowledge.Even though he still greeted him early and greeted him late, he was as respectful as before, but Zhou Yanru could faintly smell a hint of ambition between the corners of his eyes and brows.

It really is this moment, that moment.The accomplices conspired together back then, but now that the strong enemy has been eliminated, he has turned to eyeing the position of the chief assistant.For this person, you must prepare early.Zhou Yanru thought.

And this Mr. Wen Tiren Wen has been preoccupied recently.His concern, of course, is not the empty treasury and ineffective appeasement, but how to fight back after toppling Yuan Chonghuan, pull down Zhou Yanru who was originally on the same front, and take the position of chief assistant into his bag middle.Inciting officials to impeach is almost the only way.But Zhou Yanru was a man of quick-witted nature and good at guessing the holy will, so he won the emperor's trust. If impeachment was normal, the emperor would definitely protect him.How can the emperor no longer protect him, or can't protect him?Both are not easy. It seems that this matter still needs to wait for a good opportunity and discuss it in the long run.

In this way, although Zhou and Wen have their own selfish intentions, due to the lack of timing, they are still calm and peaceful.But the shrewd ministers, big and small, in the imperial court saw the clues early on.Among this group of elites, some worshiped the Zhou sect, some followed the Wen sect, and some were more cautious. They waited and waited and circled around until the situation became clearer.In the blink of an eye, the first month passed, and the period of the triennial examination was approaching.Not many people know that under the cover of the calm, the two factions that have been suppressed for a long time have already set their sights on this test and secretly competed with each other.

In the south study, Wang Chengen reported the important matters in the memorial as usual.

"Do you think that the number of memorials suing Zhou Yanru has increased recently?" Chongzhen flipped through the memorials and asked suddenly.

Wang Chengen thought for a while, and replied: "Back to the emperor, this is probably because the chief examiner of this test did not appoint the second assistant Mr. Wen as usual, but the first assistant Mr. Zhou himself. This violation of the rules will naturally Aroused all kinds of dissatisfaction among the officials."

"Hmm..." Chongzhen pondered for a moment, and then said, "It's a good thing to do it yourself, and it's not a big problem."

"Your Majesty is right." Wang Chengen rolled his eyes and said again, "However, among the candidates in this examination, there are Mr. Zhou's brother-in-law Chen Yutai and the son of a close friend Wu Weiye, so most of the ministers believe that Mr. Zhou personally took the post. The main test is to facilitate fraud..."

"It's nonsense." Chongzhen frowned and interrupted Wang Chengen's words, his voice was not high, but he said firmly, "Zhou Qing is a clean and bright official, and will not do such dirty tricks."

"Yes..." Seeing that Chongzhen was displeased, Wang Chengen agreed and kept silent.

"Can the 10 taels of silver be handed over to Yang He?" Chongzhen asked again.

"Going back to the emperor, counting the days, Wu Tong should have arrived in Shaanxi, and the silver should come in handy." Wang Chengen replied respectfully.

"That's good." Chongzhen nodded.

three

During these days, Liang Yi's health went from bad to worse.Every now and then, I have to rest in bed for a few days.In her spare time, Xizhao often visits him, talks with him, and relieves her loneliness.

"Hey, it seems that the time is not long." Eunuch Liang leaned against the bed, sighed, closed his eyes, and clasped the "Puji Fang" by his hand.

Xizhao moved the chair closer and helped Eunuch Liang tuck in the quilt. "What are you talking about? You have always had sharp eyes and ears, a healthy body, and know medical skills. You will definitely live a long life." Xi Zhao comforted.

"Hey, hehe. People are mortal, so doctors can't heal themselves after all." Eunuch Liang moved his body, heaved a sigh of relief, and asked, "How is your majesty recently?"

"Okay. It's just that the eunuchs made too many comments, which disturbed the emperor." Xi Zhao replied.

"Hey..." Eunuch Liang shook his head and smiled helplessly, "These officials, who are they targeting?"

"Most of them are from Mr. Zhou, the chief assistant."

"Oh?" Liang Yi narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment, "Sure enough, one mountain cannot accommodate two tigers."

"What does Mr. Liang say?" Xi Zhao blinked.

Eunuch Liang relaxed, and his face was kind again.

"Earlier on, our family felt that Zhou Yanru and Wen Tiren had similar abilities and auras, and forming a gang was just a temporary solution. Now that we are separated as the chief assistant and the second assistant, it's time for fire and water to become incompatible." Eunuch Liang Said lightly.

Xi Zhao was stunned for a moment, not understanding the meaning of Liang Yi's words: "What does the speech officials have to do with Mr. Wen?"

"Do you think it's just a coincidence that the officials are eyeing the chief assistant at the same time?" Liang Yi looked at Xi Zhao with deep meaning in his eyes.

"Oh...that's how it is." Xi Zhao suddenly realized and nodded, "Elder-in-law never asks about political affairs, but he sees it so clearly."

Eunuch Liang smiled lightly. "Don't ask, but you have to understand. You have to understand everything before you can get away from it." He paused for a moment, and continued, "However, in this palace, being on the cusp of the storm, and being able to die, is considered a blessing. For more than a year, every time I look at you, I think of myself back then. I was young, innocent, and thoughtful, but like a newborn calf, I didn’t know danger. I have been able to be safe so far because of the teachings of my predecessors. In the future, you will It’s good to restrain yourself. Power, money, these are things outside of the body, don’t be fooled by fame and wealth, and get yourself involved in the torrent.”

"Don't worry, Eunuch Liang." Xi Zhao smiled humbly, "De Xiu remembered."

four

Liang Yi's guess was indeed good.

Lord Shoufu, who is favored by the emperor, is not easy to mess with, and the speech officials naturally know this well.And the person who dared to impeach so impeachment was Cifu Wen Tiren.Just when the memorials of the officials were either rejected or retained, and everyone thought that the position of the chief assistant in the emperor's heart was unshakable, things unexpectedly and imperceptibly changed slightly.

In a blink of an eye, February will end, and the examination will end.

"Your Majesty, this is the list of candidates for this exam." In the afternoon, Wang Chengen came to the South Study Room with a dossier.

"Well, present it."

Xizhao took the file from Wang Chengen's hand and presented it to the emperor with both hands.Chongzhen opened the list and looked at it, but his brows gradually became deeper and deeper. "This No.1 is...Chen Yutai..."

"Yes. I will try No.1, Chen Yutai. No.4, Wu Weiye." Wang Chengen lowered his eyes, not showing his expression.

"Chen Yutai...Wu Weiye..." Chongzhen looked solemn, closed the file and pushed it aside, pondered for a while, and said, "Bring me the test papers of these two people."

"Yes." Wang Chengen accepted the order, turned around and left the door.

About an hour later, Wang Chengen returned to Qianqing Palace.

"Your Majesty, this is the test paper of Chen and Wu, please have a look at it."

Chongzhen took the two test papers filled with elegant lowercase letters, and took Chen Yutai's first to read.Between the lines, I can only feel that the writing style is vigorous, the diction is clever, and there are indeed unique insights in it. Although it is difficult to call it a talent of the world, this No. 1 winner can be regarded as quite satisfactory.Chongzhen nodded, picked up Wu Weiye's article again, and before he could read it, his eyes were attracted by the eight big characters next to it:

He is upright and elegant, and his feet are extravagant.

These eight characters are clearly my own handwriting!Chongzhen suddenly recalled that a few days ago, Zhou Yanru had brought a volume to himself for review.After reading it, I felt that the article was good and worthy of praise, so I took a pen to approve the horoscope.It turned out that the article was written by Wu Weiye, the son of his good friend.Chongzhen looked at this test paper that he had read and admired, and his heart suddenly sank. The accusations in the impeachment memorials these days turned into doubts, and finally spread uncontrollably.He put down the test paper and pushed it far away, but still felt irritable, so he stood up and left the table without looking at the test paper again.Although it is common sense to submit the examination paper to the emperor for reading, why did Zhou Yanru only submit this paper to me, and why did he submit the examination paper of this person.The name and life experience are all sealed in the front of the volume, and he should not know whose article it is.If it was intentional, then the fraud would be irrefutable; or was it just an accidental choice, all this is just a coincidence?Fraud and coincidence, one side is a major fault, the other side is no fault; there is only a thin line between the two, and they are both speculative, with no evidence at all, and only rely on one's own opinion.

Do you believe him or not?

For a moment, Chongzhen suddenly felt that this situation seemed familiar.

Yes, wanting to believe but not daring to believe, such a hesitant mood is exactly the same as it was a year ago.

"Your Majesty." Seeing that the Emperor did not speak for a long time, Wang Chengen had to call carefully.

Chongzhen didn't seem to hear it, but just stared at the calligraphy and painting on the wall absent-mindedly.

"Your Majesty?" Wang Chengen glanced at Chongzhen's back, and called again.

"Ah, huh?" Chongzhen came back to his senses.

"Should we thoroughly investigate this matter?" Wang Chengen asked.

"Hmm..." Chongzhen remained silent for a while, and secretly reconsidered his decision.

"No need."