The Prosperous Era of Longwan

After making an agreement with Zhu Dashou and others, Wei Guangde went to the gate to talk to Zhang Ji. Naturally, he asked him to go to the restaurant he mentioned last night to book a restaurant. By the way, he also informed Lao Kan and the others that Lao Kan would be there in the afternoon. To inform everyone of the same year.

Now that Wei Guangde had twenty thousand taels of silver sent from his family, he felt confident again.

As for the money, you have to make it after you use it up. You are already an official. As long as you survive the first few years, you are afraid that you will not make any money.

After getting off duty in the afternoon, the four of them got on Wei Guangde's carriage and rushed to the restaurant. Not long after arriving, all three hundred new scholars arrived.

That is to say, only four qualified candidates from this subject were summoned so that the Jinshis could arrive so neatly.

Soon, everyone took their seats in the restaurant. It was naturally impossible for three hundred people to crowd on the first floor, and there were dozens of tables upstairs and downstairs.

Wei Guangde and the others were sitting upstairs, but it didn't take long for the four sponsors to get up and start toasting in turn around the table.

There are more than thirty tables, and at each table they have to chat with the people at the table. In fact, it is nothing more than asking them how they are observing politics in the yamen, and asking everyone to contact them if they have anything to do in the future.

In fact, when we come here today, the Jinshi all know that as they are of the same age, they are a natural small circle, and they will help and support each other in their future career.

Now that I see several people sitting around the table toasting and chatting about things in the yamen, I naturally understand their purpose.

After toasting upstairs, the four of them went downstairs. The order was not based on the results of the palace examination, but everyone came first, then arrived and sat down randomly. Those who came first saw that the main table of Wei Guangde and others was upstairs, so naturally it was upstairs. Occupied the position.

Later, naturally, I could only go up to say hello and then go downstairs to find a seat.

Fortunately, everyone has had a few drinks before, so they are not unfamiliar.

After Wei Guangde and the others went downstairs, several of the talkative Jinshi upstairs also stood up to toast the others and began to get close to them.

Lao Kan and Zhang Ke were also sitting downstairs. Lao Kan came from a business family and his ancestors also had officials, but that was a long time ago, so he was no stranger to welcoming people and sending them off.

Although Zhang Ke is not a family of officials, the Zhang family can be considered a gentry family in Hukou.

So the two of them were naturally invited by Wei Guangde to go downstairs to receive guests and help Wei Guangde take care of the guests downstairs.

When Zhu Dashou, Wei Guangde and others were toasting to the table in front, they heard Zhang Ke from the table behind him asking a Jinshi next to him, "So, except for the warehouse in the Yamen, the warehouse in your household department is already empty. ?”

"I heard that this is the case. Now when the money is transported to the capital, it cannot enter the warehouse, so it is taken away by the ministries who use the money. I have also heard that, I have never been to the bank, so I don’t know what it looks like. Anyway, it is said that rats starve to death. All over."

"Can the salary be paid on time?"

"Do you still lack that little money?"

"No matter how small a mosquito is, it's still meat. The money I brought to Beijing has already been used up."

Zhang Ke said at this moment, "I don't know when my family will send money. Guangde and Daoting may be the only ones with money now."

"The Daoting family should have money to do business. No matter how hard it is, they can still survive by borrowing money from businessmen in Beijing."

Wei Guangde, who was talking to Zhang Ke, knew him. His name was Zhang Shida, whose courtesy name was Zicheng. He was from Jingyang, Shaanxi Province. Perhaps because he knew that his hometown had suffered a major earthquake, his rankings in both the general examination and the palace examination were very poor. He ranked among the top 202 in the palace examination, and there was only one behind him. Li Shihan, who was at the bottom, was also sitting next to him.

What is very interesting is that these two people who are at the bottom of the list are both watching the government in the Ministry of Household Affairs.

"I heard that all the money that was intended for salary distribution has been used for disaster relief. Da Situ planned to go to Chang Ying Treasury of Taipu Temple to borrow money for salary payment. Anyway, the horse market has stopped now, and the money that was originally intended to buy horses is all idle.

In fact, there is still money in the silver vault in the back hall of the Yamen. It is said that there is a lot of money, but I don't dare to touch it. "

At this moment, Li Shishan said from the side.

Wei Guangde was toasting here, chatting with the people at the table, and listening to the conversation at the next table.

Well, a lot of useful information is revealed in casual chats.

"What kind of money? You are so poor now, and you still have money that you dare not touch?"

Zhang Ke asked curiously.

"I heard from Chief Zhang in private that this is the salary and reward that should have been given to King Yu Qiantai in the past two years. Someone above him has spoken to suppress it."

Li Shiyan muttered softly.

"What? Who dares to do this?"

Zhang Ke said in surprise.

Wei Guangde was also horrified when he heard this. Has the fight between the two kings in Beijing spread to the court?

When Wei Guangde heard the news, the first thing he thought of was that King Jing's people had ordered to deduct His Royal Highness King Yu's salary and annual gifts to cause trouble for his third brother.

"I don't know. The rank is too high. Director Zhang was hesitant when he spoke. He didn't dare to mention it. He only revealed it when he was drinking a few days ago."

Li Shida shook his head and sighed: "I heard before that the two kings of the capital were fighting fiercely. This time I saw it."

"Who says it isn't?"

Li Shiyan answered.

"How much money was deducted? Why didn't Prince Yu report it to the emperor?"

Zhang Ke was very curious. His salary, salary and annual gifts were withheld. This was a naked slap in the face. It could even be said to be contempt for the royal family. How could Prince Yu tolerate this?

"I heard that Prince Yu's palace was perfunctory because of insufficient support from the household department. As for the complaint, I don't know about that. We only entered the Yamen for a short time, how could we know this.

However, there were rumors in my hometown that the emperor seemed to like His Royal Highness Prince Yu. "

Li Shishaan said softly.

"Oh, but that's not it."

This rumor was also circulated in Jiangxi, and Zhang Ke was no stranger to it. He just nodded and said unwillingly, "You are a nobleman from Tianhuang, how can you insult him lightly."

"So, although I won't give you any rewards because of my salary, I don't dare to use them for other purposes. After all, they are all rewards from the emperor. They are temporarily sealed in the yamen's bank. Once the superiors tell me, they will be sent to everyone immediately."

Li Shida explained in a low voice the purpose of the batch of silver, which was to bully honest people. He was relying on the fact that Emperor Jiajing might not like his son so he dared to be so presumptuous, but he was also worried that King Yu would really go to the emperor to complain about his poverty, and things would get messy by then. No, so the money that should be given will not be reduced at all, it will only be temporarily stored in the treasury.

"The boss of your household department is really mean, and he can do this kind of thing."

Zhang Ke shook his head and said disdainfully.

"Who says it's not? It's really not authentic."

Several people were still talking about this matter in low voices. It was obvious that someone above wanted to squeeze out the money and make things difficult for King Yu, but King Yu obviously didn't have any good way to solve it.

Wei Guangde was chatting and laughing with the table of Jinshi on the side, and he was also muttering in his heart, what did King Yu's staff do for food.

Wei Guangde knew that the people in charge of Prince Yu's Mansion now were Gao Gong, Chen Yiqin, and Yin Shizhen. The reason was naturally that Gao Gong was still a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, while Chen Yiqin and Yin Shizhen were in charge of review at the Hanlin Academy. There were only three of them. They have all been sent by Emperor Jiajing to Prince Yu's Mansion to serve as Prince Yu's lecturers and teachers for Prince Yu.

Wei Guangde had never met Gao Gong and Yin Shizhen, but he had met Chen Yiqin once. He was also present when he went out for a drink last time and had a few words with Wei Guangde, so Wei Guangde knew this person.

After hearing Zhang Ke and the others talking about the Ministry of Revenue withholding the salary and annual gifts from Prince Yu's palace, Wei Guangde immediately thought of Chen Yiqin. No wonder he felt very tired and old when he saw this man.

Thinking about what I heard in Jiangxi before, I am afraid that everyone who was sent to Prince Yu's Mansion at this time was having a very bad life.

But of course Wei Guangde didn't think so. He knew clearly in his heart that King Yu was the most likely to ascend the throne after the death of Emperor Jiajing, as long as he didn't die first like his two brothers.

In the past, Wei Guangde had never been able to find a chance to contact people from Prince Yu's Mansion. Now that he heard the news, Wei Guangde naturally had some thoughts in his mind.

Without revealing anything, Wei Guangde still toasted with Zhu Dashou and the others table by table. Even when he arrived at Zhang Ke's table, Wei Guangde still didn't reveal anything.

It was getting late and it was almost time for the night ban. Only then did all the Jinshi stop drinking and having fun, and stood up to say goodbye to Wei Guangde and the others.

Although I have an official status, I don't have any official position. I am afraid that I will be blocked during the night ban, and then the censor will complain to the superiors. Don't throw away the hard-earned future in a daze.

Wei Guangde returned to Jiujiang Guild Hall, washed briefly, then lay on the bed and began to think about what he had heard before.

Someone from above instructed the Ministry of Household Affairs to withhold Prince Yu's salary and annual gifts. Logically speaking, Prince Yu's palace should not remain indifferent.

Moreover, even Jinshi like Li Shihan and others who had just joined the Ministry of Household Affairs to observe government could hear about it, and it was impossible for the generals in Prince Yu's Mansion not to hear about it.

This matter is really weird.

Wei Guangde muttered in his heart, a little confused.

Early the next morning, Wei Guangde got up and went to the front lobby to have breakfast. He saw Zhang Ke sitting there and eating, so he walked over to sit next to him. The two exchanged a few words casually.

"Hey, by the way, Guangde, you must have heard about King Yu and King Jing in the capital, right?"

Zhang Ke may have remembered the gossip he heard yesterday. Seeing that no one was nearby, he suddenly whispered to Wei Guangde.

"I've heard of it. I heard someone mention it when I was in Nanchang City."

Wei Guangde didn't say much, and just said that he knew about this before.

"I heard yesterday that King Jing had instructed the Ministry of Revenue to suppress the salary and rewards that should be given to King Yu."

Naturally, Wei Guangde would not say that he had listened to their conversation yesterday, but he still pretended to be surprised and said: "How dare they? If King Yu sues the emperor, can the Ministry of Revenue resist it?"

"The Ministry of Household Affairs is very clever. Not all of it is withheld. Every year, most of the salary and rewards are kept in the bank and are not given. I can make do with only two or three months of silver. Unexpectedly, the life of the majestic prince is actually successful. so."

Zhang Ke was still narrating the news he heard yesterday in a low voice. Wei Guangde frowned slightly and interrupted: "Isn't he afraid of the emperor's investigation?"

"I don't know. Anyway, that's how it is now. They just go to the Ministry of Finance to ask for money."

Zhang Ke shook his head and said: "Prince Yu's Mansion, Gao Gong and Chen Yiqin both went to the Ministry of Revenue to ask for permission. It is said that it is time again in the past few days. The ministers and ministers of the Ministry of Revenue are all hiding from each other, and the chief ministers below can't talk or do anything. What do you think? This is a big deal."

"hehe."

Wei Guangde just smiled. As the saying goes, children who cry are fed by milk. King Yu did not cry or make trouble after suffering such a heavy loss. There will be troubles ahead.

Although Wei Guangde wanted to rely on Prince Yu, he would not deliberately curry favor with him. After all, it was about Datong. Emperor Jiajing was still living well in Xiyuan, so what would it look like in the eyes of others.

I have been reading Taoist books these past few days, in order to write a better Qingci and show my face to the emperor?

Besides, if you try too hard to befriend the prince, you might be accused of alienating the Tian family and having evil intentions. You don’t know how you will die by then.

The current direction of the capital is obviously towards Prince Jing. Prince Jing's Mansion also sent someone to give him a gift last time.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde grinned and didn't know what to say about this.

When Wei Guangde arrived at the Hanlin Academy, he followed his past habit of going to the Inspection Hall to check on the progress of book revision, and then returned to his office to read Taoist books, hoping to improve his writing skills.

But I always feel like I can't calm down, and what I keep thinking about is the affairs of Prince Yu's Mansion.

King Yu had been deprived of part of his salary and all rewards, but he did not dare to complain to Emperor Jiajing. This was strange.

Did Emperor Jiajing know about this?

If he ordered it, it makes sense, but why would he do it for his own child?

What if Emperor Jiajing didn’t know about this?

What does Jin Yiwei do for food?

Jin Yiwei dared to hide such a big matter and not report it?

There were too many questions that he couldn't think through, and Wei Guangde's thoughts quickly became confused.

He was so confused that he couldn't read the book. Although he had read several pages, when he recalled what he had just seen, Wei Guangde was surprised to find that his usually good memory had actually declined at this time, and he could not remember it at all.

Wei Guangde felt a panic in his heart, but then the content he had read yesterday and the past few days clearly emerged in his mind.

Fortunately, there is no problem with my memory. Maybe I just didn't read the book because I was restless.

Throwing the book on the table, Wei Guangde simply stopped reading it, closed his eyes and meditated. He had to think this through first, otherwise he would not be able to calm down.

Perhaps under the influence of Zhang Tongzhi when he was in Jiujiang Mansion, Wei Guangde now prefers that King Yu can ascend to Dabao, rather than King Jing as many people in the capital now speculate.

However, Emperor Jiajing must have known about this, but he kept it secret. Why?

They have bullied the emperor's son. Isn't this obviously a slap in the emperor's face?

Thinking quietly, Wei Guangde suddenly remembered what he heard someone say when he was in Nanchang City before.

King Yu is a bit indecisive, but King Jing is quite methodical in dealing with people. If he treats people wrongly, King Jing is indeed the best candidate for emperor.

indecisive.

Wei Guangde seemed to have caught something. Could it be that Emperor Jiajing was training Prince Yu?

Test King Yu's decisiveness in situations of trouble and see if King Yu can solve the problem with his own meager strength?

Wei Guangde scratched his head unconsciously. He had not thought through the previous questions and seemed to have added new conjectures.

What did King Yu think?

With King Yu's own strength, he certainly cannot affect the affairs of the court, and he should not be able to solve it himself.

But the strange thing is that he didn't dare to complain to the emperor.

Maybe the rumors are true and the emperor really doesn't want to see his son?

In other words, King Yu was worried that this matter was done under the emperor's hint, so he didn't dare to ask?