Chapter 61 Thirty-fourth chapter Wu Qing Bo recommended officials for personal gain Qiu Deyong dismissed because he belonged to a dog

After the Empress Dowager Li and her party left the Li Tiezui Character Testing Hall and returned to the palace, they had nothing to say that night.After eating breakfast the next day, a servant came to report that Li Wei, Bo of Wuqing, and Li Gao, father and son of Qianhu of Jinyiwei, had come to wait outside the gate of Qianqing Palace. "Why did you come so early?" Queen Mother Li asked in her heart.For several days, Li Wei hastily sent letters to the palace asking for a meeting.Empress Dowager Li was so entangled by him that she had no choice but to agree to see him this morning, but he came so early.Every morning, the little emperor had to listen to the scriptures in the East Pavilion. The Empress Dowager Li didn't want his father to meet his grandson, who was the Ninth Five-Year Supreme, so she sent a message to meet in the West Pavilion.

After a while, Li Wei and his son walked into the West Pavilion under the leadership of Qiu Deyong.Once seated, Empress Dowager Li asked:  "Father, what's the matter with you, you want to see me so urgently?" Li Wei looked around and asked, "Where is our grandson?"  "Every morning, he has to listen to the scriptures." Empress Dowager Li saw that although Li Wei was dressed in a python robe and jade belt, his behavior did not improve at all, which was not much better than when he was a mason.It's hard to say much because of the relationship between father and daughter, so I can only ask in a business-like tone, "Father, what's the matter with you?"

 Seeing that the daughter did not want to talk about family affection, Li Wei's sense of superiority of the old abbot immediately lost a lot, so he rubbed his hands together and said:  "This matter was brought up by your brother Goudan. Our tongue is so short that it's not clear, Goudan, tell me." Goudan is Li Gao's nickname, and Li Wei yelled every sentence, which made Li Gao blush and was not helpful.Empress Dowager Li also found it indecent, and complained: "Father, Li Gao is also an official with a thousand households in Jinyiwei and a fifth-rank official, how can you keep shouting like shit?"

 "I'm used to shouting, but it's hard to change my words." Li Wei smiled self-deprecatingly, pointed at Li Gao and said, "Thanks to your sister, you are no longer a bitch. What you want to say, you still ask your sister to show mercy .” Empress Dowager Li cast her eyes on her younger brother Li Gao, waiting for him to speak. "Sister," Li Gaoxian yelled sweetly, then bowed his body, and said in a flattering and envious way, "Now you are the queen mother, and our nephew is the emperor, but he is too young to ask questions. You are at the helm of the current political situation."

 "Who said this?" Queen Mother Li asked sullenly. "That's what you say." Although Li Gao was outside, he was always afraid of this unsmiling elder sister, so he was very cautious when talking to her, "Everyone said that you are a good queen mother. " The Empress Dowager Li gave him a blank look, and replied angrily: "The Good Empress Dowager is not only me, but also the Rensheng Empress Dowager Chen." But Li Gao couldn't hear the words, flattering himself: "But you are the emperor's biological mother, the situation is different."

"What's the difference? Chewing your tongue outside, you don't understand the court etiquette, maybe you don't understand either? If you talk nonsense, don't see me from now on!" The Empress Dowager Li was furious and scolded her head and face. Li Gao was so frightened that his legs became weak and he almost rolled off the stool.Li Wei felt distressed when he saw it, but on the surface he said:  "Good scolding, good scolding, dog—ah, Li Gao, you just don't have a clear head, your sister is steering the helm of Daming Jiangshan, you just know it, and you still need to blow the trumpet outside? Gossip less , or tell your sister about it."

"Father, let's talk about it yourself." Li Gao muttered.His face was so pale that he hadn't recovered from it, and he sat there, looking up at the cracks in the bricks on the ground.Seeing this, Li Wei had no choice but to bite the bullet and say: "Caifeng, your father is still an uncle." This sentence came out of nowhere, but Empress Dowager Li didn't understand it, so she hurriedly asked, "What's so important, Dad, please explain clearly."Li Wei rubbed his nose and raised his voice: "We mean, My daughter, you have become the queen mother, and we are still Wu Qingbo."  "Ah, you mean this."

  Empress Dowager Li suddenly understood what her father meant.Since Empress Dowager Li entered Prince Yu's Mansion that year, as her status has risen steadily, Li Wei's father is more expensive than a daughter, and his status has also risen accordingly.When his daughter was granted the title of Duren, he was rewarded with a hundred households of Jinyiwei; when his daughter gave birth to a prince, he was promoted to a thousand households of Jinyiwei;In addition to rewarding a big house in the capital, he also gave 3,000 mu of good land in Cangzhou.After three years, the prince was officially established, and Li Wei was promoted to Wu Qingbo.In addition to enjoying first-class treatment with salary, he was also given 2,000 mu of good land in Tongzhou.In just ten years, he has reached the high position he is today from a small Jinyiwei with hundreds of households.It must be known that in the past two hundred years of the state, the highest honor that a person with the status of the head of the country can obtain is - Bo, and the next level is Duke and Marquis.Most of these two are hereditary, and those in power are all descendants of the founding heroes.His father was so anxious to see her that he wanted to raise his status to a higher level...Seeing his daughter was deep in thought and silent, Li Wei tentatively asked: "Caifeng, look at this thing on your father's head." Bo character, should I change it?"  "What should I change?" Queen Mother Li asked calmly. 

"Of course it's the word Hou."  "Hou, isn't that a level up?" "Daughter, you have been promoted from a noble concubine to a queen mother, and you have not been promoted to a higher level? As a father, according to the old rules, it is time to go up to a higher level." "Dad, let me ask you, Jun'er is now the emperor, he Can I go up one more level?"  "The emperor has reached the top, where can he go up?"  "The highest rank of the head of the state is uncle, which is established by the imperial court system. You Wuqing uncle has reached the top, how can you be promoted? You want to be equal to the status of Dingxi Hou Jiang You, Cheng Guogong Zhu Xixiao and others, Their ancestors were either the founding fathers or the heroes of Jingnan, you are not! Our ancestors are peasants, so we don’t have this honor! Although the Empress Dowager Li spoke politely to her father and did not get angry, Li Wei could still listen to what she said. I was dissatisfied, and my heart didn't work, so I went straight and said: 

 "We disagree with your reasoning. The common people know that overnight steamed buns are not fresh. Those hereditary princes have eaten their ancestors' little credit for two hundred years, and they are still eating them now. Just say Cheng Guogong Zhu Xixiao, who stood first in the court, what credit does he have? He is far behind us. We gave birth to a good daughter, and our daughter gave birth to an emperor. On this point, who can compare with us? Huh? He deserves it, so do we! If he deserves it, we deserve it too! Don’t think that Li Wei can’t read a lot of Chinese characters, but if he tries harder, he’s still a set of nonsense and nonsense. Listening to his complaints, Empress Dowager Li was both angry and funny, so she had to explain patiently: "Father, the family has family laws, the state owns the state laws, everything must be done according to the regulations, and you can't mess around!" "

"National law, the national law is set by the emperor. Now our grandson is the emperor, and his words are the imperial decree. He said that his grandfather should be Wu Qinghou, who would dare to say no?"" Do you think the emperor will be left alone?" Empress Dowager Li raised her eyebrows and said angrily, "The eyes of the people in the world are sharp! The emperor has done something wrong, let alone being scolded a hundred years later, it will be difficult to pass the court even now. Jun'er's grandfather, the Emperor Jiajing, likes Taoism and is good at Zhaiqiao, and led a group of demons to burn Danzao to Da Nei. What happened, Hai Rui came out, carried the coffin to the court, and handed over the book to accuse the emperor Now, Emperor Jiajing is dead, but when scholars mention Hai Rui, they are still full of praise. Daddy, this is very popular!"  Li Wei was very sad when he heard the Queen Mother Li's words. He sighed a few times and said "I can't talk about these big things as a father. You just said that what the emperor wants to do is afraid that all the officials will object, but it is also their official suggestion to give us a rank and a title."  "Whose suggestion?" Queen Mother Li asked vigilantly.  "We can't tell, you dog, tell me." Li Wei was in a hurry, and called out his son's baby name again.Li Gao, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, complained in his heart that his sister was unkind, but he didn't dare to show it on his face.At this moment, the father persuaded him to come out to speak again, and he couldn't shirk it, so he had to say: "A few days ago, Wang Shilang visited our house."  "Which Wang Shilang?" Queen Mother Li asked.  "Wang Xilie, the left servant of the Ministry of Rites."  "What is he going to do?"  "He goes, he goes..." When Empress Dowager Li pressed her for questioning, Li Gao's tongue became clumsy, and he could not speak in a vague manner. Empress Dowager Li hated his brother's incompetence, and reprimanded him: "Speak louder. A big man, buzzing like a mosquito." Buzz, what are you talking about! Say, what is Wang Xilie going to do?" "He said, my father can be promoted to a prince." "What else did he say, please tell me in detail."  "Wang Shilang said that according to the practice of the country, the highest honor of the head of the country can only be uncle, but the situation of our father is different. First, before our father, no grandson of the head of the country became emperor. Some of them died before their grandson ascended the throne, and some had grandsons but were not princes. Therefore, our father is a special case; second, Wang Shilang still mentioned you."  "What are you talking about?" Queen Mother Li asked .  Li Gao swallowed his saliva, and continued: "Wang Shilang said, sister, you were promoted to be the Empress Dowager of Mercy, and equal to Empress Chen, who was promoted to be the Empress Dowager of Rensheng. This is also a special case. With this special case In the past, our father was promoted from Uncle Wu Qing to Marquis Wu Qing, which is also a matter of course.""Did he really say that?" "That's it, besides Li Gao, there are our two ears." Li Wei interrupted hastily. The Empress Dowager Li asked again: "Since Wang Xilie said so, why didn't he see that he had a book to submit?" Gong Zhe, Wang Shilang can't be a family."  "Why?" "The official book must be signed by the Minister of Rites, Wang Shilang is not.""After a while, he wants to be a minister," Empress Dowager Li sneered, and asked Li Gao, "Do you know who Wang Xilie is? " "I know. According to the rumors in the capital, he and Wei Xuezeng are two high-ranking generals.""Since you know this level, why do you still want to associate with him?" This question made Li Gao dare not speak.Li Wei began to speak again: "Caifeng, don't focus on people. Wang Xilie ran with Gao Gong earlier. It's true. If you have milk, you are a mother. This is human nature. Gao Gong has no milk for him now. Wang Xilie Eat it, why is he still following that bad old man? He will only open his eyes wide and find a new backer."  "This kind of person is even more unusable!"  "My daughter is talking nonsense." Li Wei smiled and said, "Girl, you probably don't remember. When you were three years old, your father took you away from relatives, and a yellow dog in his family came up to bite you. Dad I went to stop him, but I was bitten by that animal, so far, there is still a scar on the ankle. Later, my father brought the yellow dog back, hung it up and beat it, and then fed it well. Within two months, the big yellow dog got used to its new owner. Some children in the village tried to bully you, but the big yellow dog jumped on it and bit you. In those years, my father was working as a mason and he often didn’t come home. Thanks to that A big yellow dog will protect you."  Empress Dowager Li understood what Wu Qingbo meant by telling this story.But because I listened to Li Tiezui's advice yesterday at the character test shop, I have become particularly taboo on the word "dog".She looked at the timekeeping incense in the copper stove, and after almost an hour, she felt that the conversation should be over, so she said: "Father, why are you talking about these old sesame seeds and rotten beans?" Then she called the servant, Order to see off. Li Wei still had a lot to say, but his daughter did not dare not leave when she asked him to go, so she lingered to the door and turned back to Queen Mother Li and said: "Caifeng, Wang Shilang intends to let us be the lord, you have to take this matter to heart.""Go, go."   Empress Dowager Li waved impatiently.Li Wei was a little angry, so he couldn't help but raised his voice and shouted: "You son of a bitch, let's go!"  Looking at the figures of Uncle Wuqing and his son leaving in a hurry, Empress Dowager Li's head overturned the bottle of five flavors, which was very unpleasant.Ever since Li Tiezui tested three characters yesterday afternoon at the word testing hall, Empress Dowager Li suffered from insomnia all night after she came back.Because the son needs guardianship as a minor, their mother and son live in the same room.She got out of bed several times at night, and walked gently to the son's bed across the street. Seeing his son sleeping soundly, her heart was filled with love, sweetness and pride, and at the same time, she understood more clearly the sacred responsibility she should shoulder.It has only been more than two months since my son ascended the pole, but there is not a day of peace in the capital.The national treasury is empty, the officialdom is fighting, the ministers of Jiezhou have different dynasties, and the drought in the state capital is hard to repay. One after another storm comes unexpectedly.All of these made her worry all day long, making it hard to sleep or eat.For example, some time ago, Zhang Juzheng asked for a decree to implement the discounted salary of pepper and sumac. Because of the complaint from Wu Qingbo and others, she was so angry that she asked her son to bypass the cabinet and directly order the Ministry of Households to cancel the discounted salary in kind for the nobles.She did it out of necessity, and she also knew that it would bring trouble to Zhang Juzheng's administration.Therefore, for many days, she and her son lived in the palace and did not receive any ministers.She wants to take this opportunity to test Zhang Juzheng, firstly, whether he is truly devoted to their mother and son; secondly, in the face of such a crisis, to see how he strategizes and overcomes the difficulties.The news from various channels during these times proved that Zhang Juzheng had no complaints against the emperor.On the one hand, he tried every means to open up financial resources, and on the other hand, he did not relax his treatment of Beijing and Cha, and put the punishment of corruption in the first place.What he did made Empress Dowager Li feel at ease.She asked Feng Bao to tell Zhang Juzheng the story of Yao Chong in the Tang Dynasty. Firstly, she tactfully expressed her trust;She believed in Zhang Juzheng's talent, but she was worried because she was afraid that he would use the power for himself and make the emperor stand up.Therefore, she took the method of pulling and hitting Zhang Juzheng. "You can't blindly win over such a capable minister." She often warned herself in her heart that although she had always had a good impression of Zhang Juzheng, she had to restrain her personal relationship for the sake of her son.Recently, she often feels physically and mentally exhausted, because she feels powerless to cope with such a chaotic court situation.As is the usual way of a woman, she always seeks the protection of the gods in times of distress, and she did the same.Her father mentioned the big yellow dog just now, and it reminded her of the "Mad Dog Barking Day" mentioned by Li Tiezui yesterday. Who is the mad dog?She was deep in thought, and when Empress Dowager Li was sitting in the West Pavilion, thinking about it, she suddenly heard someone softly shout: "Empress Dowager!" Looking up, she didn't know when Qiu Deyong had knelt in front up. Since the accident with his nephew Zhang Dalang, Qiu Deyong seems to have become another person.In the past, he always smiled when he saw people, but now his head droops and he can't lift his spirits.He always felt that Zhang Dalang died unjustly, but he had nowhere to confide in.The day before yesterday, he made a "weeping" character in the character test library, which made him feel even more sad.Yesterday afternoon, when the Empress Dowager Li went to the word testing center and refused to let him follow, he knew that he had violated the taboo and felt uneasy.At this time, the Ministry of Rites sent someone to inform him that he had gone to Mount Tai to pray for disaster relief in the first half of the year.He pondered for a while, and then discussed with Liao Jun and other friends. Everyone felt that this matter involved Queen Mother Li, and it might be an opportunity, so they encouraged him to directly complain to Queen Mother Li.After thinking about it, Qiu Deyong had no other choice, so he agreed to act according to plan. When he saw Empress Dowager Li sitting alone in the West Pavilion after Uncle Wuqing and his son left, he plucked up his courage and walked in.  "What's the matter with you?" Queen Mother Li asked coldly. "Report to the Empress Dowager, Taishan has committed a crime.  "What's the matter with Mount Tai?  "At the end of April in the first half of the year, the slave was ordered to go to Mount Tai to pray for the relief of the Emperor Longqing. When he came back, he brought you some gifts for the Queen Mother."   After this said, Empress Dowager Li remembered.Qiu De used that time to bring her a pair of jade bracelets and some souvenirs when he came back from Mount Tai.Then asked  "What's wrong with this little gift?"  "In the eyes of Mr. Wang Guoguang of the Ministry of Household Affairs, this is not a trivial matter." Qiu Deyong explained in detail how Yang Yong met Zhang Juzheng when he met Zhang Juzheng, and finally said nervously , "Now Yang Yongcheng has been detained in Beijing to explain the problem, and the Ministry of Households has sent people to the Ministry of Rites to check the accounts.""What about the audit?" "I report to the Empress Dowager, I don't know if I should say something or not.""Speak." "Shoufu Mr. Zhang knew that the five thousand taels of incense tax silver missing from Mount Tai was bought as a gift for the empress, and he even ordered the Ministry of Households to send people to the Ministry of Rites to check the accounts. Isn't this aimed at the empress?"  "Presumptuousness!" Empress Dowager Li was furious, stood up abruptly, pointed at Qiu Deyong and cursed loudly, "Bold slave, dare to talk about the chief assistant, what should I do?"The kneeling Qiu Deyong was so frightened that he fell on the ground, tapped his head on the brick floor, and replied tremblingly: "You should die, you should die." The Empress Dowager Li saw how he was sifting chaff, and she felt pity for him and hated him at the same time. He shouted sharply: "Kneel up and answer.""Yes." Qiu De propped himself up on the ground with both hands, then knelt and straightened up tremblingly.  Empress Dowager Li sat back on the yellow silk embroidered chair and asked: "Who told you what you just said?""Yes, it is...Ji Yougong, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites." “How do you know him?”  "The slave does not know him, he asked someone to find the slave." "Hmph, why did I look for you? It's because you are the steward of the Qianqing Palace. According to the "Law of the Great Ming Dynasty", the internal servants who make friends with foreign officials should be executed as Ling Chi, do you know?"A few cold words from the Empress Dowager Li , Like a thunderbolt from the blue, Qiu Deyong's face was ashen-colored from the shock, and beads of sweat oozed from his forehead. Out of instinct, he whispered: "Qi, Qi reported to the Queen Mother, slaves, slaves have not, have not made friends Foreign minister, Ji Yougong was the one who looked for the slaves. I only met him once. what? "" belongs to what? "Qiu Deyong didn't understand.   "Let's ask your zodiac sign, what do you belong to in the twelve zodiac signs?"  "Report to the empress, slaves are dogs." "Understood, step back." Qiu Deyong withdrew in fear, he didn't understand why Queen Mother Li suddenly asked him about his zodiac sign.He had served Empress Dowager Li for six years, so he could clearly see that after the death of Emperor Longqing, the beloved Empress Li seemed to have become another person.  But said that the two consecutive meetings after breakfast, Queen Mother Li's mood has been completely destroyed.After walking slowly in the west pavilion for a while, and sipping a cup of clear honeysuckle tea, he arrived at the east pavilion accompanied by Rong'er. There were four people sitting in the East Pavilion, besides the little emperor Zhu Yijun, there were also Feng Bao, the eunuch holding a tooth card, and Zhu Yijun's personal servant Sun Hai.Seeing Empress Dowager Li coming in, Feng Bao led the two servants and knelt down to greet her, and the little emperor also left the embroidered chair and stood with hands down. The Empress Dowager Li stepped forward and helped the little emperor to sit on the embroidered chair again. She also sat down on the embroidered chair next to her. She pointed to the stool and asked Feng Bao to sit down. Then she asked him: "Today, what excerpts did you read to the emperor?"   "I have read five papers in total." Feng Bao glanced at a pile of memorials piled up on several cases, leaned forward and replied, "The first paper is a letter sent by Yin Zhengmao to report to Wu Sili, the director of Libo County. He collaborated with Pan Yaji, the chief of Simiao Cave, and beheaded both of them according to the military law. The second is the manuscript of the impeachment of Yin Zhengmao by Xu Xinzhi, the prefect of Qingyuan Prefecture, saying that Yin Zhengmao seized the emperor's prestige, and his parents The power is self-defeating, killing innocents indiscriminately. Although Wu Sili was at fault, he was not guilty of capital punishment. He suggested that the emperor dismiss Yin Zhengmao and investigate. The third document was from the Ministry of Officials, reporting the implementation of the Jingchao. Officials with these four kinds of misdemeanors should be punished more severely. The fourth note was submitted by Ji Yougong, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, saying that the special envoy of the Joseon Dynasty congratulating the emperor on his ascension to Beijing, the entertainment expenses needed should have been allocated by the Ministry of Households. , but the Ministry of Households refused to accept the payment. Instead, the Ministry of Rites was required to spend the money and taxes that should have been used for the examination. This violated the court etiquette. Please ask the emperor to issue an order to be responsible for the Ministry of Households. The fifth note is the supervisory censor The first chapter of Ou Sui's impeachment against Mount Tai pointed out Yang Yongcheng, saying that he embezzled five thousand taels of incense tax silver from Mount Tai and used it to bribe important officials in the capital. Compassionate Ning Gong, so blatantly attacking the Empress Dowager, should be punished even more.” After Feng Bao finished the contents of these five excerpts in one breath, Empress Dowager Li asked the little emperor, “Jun’er, what are these What should I do with the booklets?" "After returning to my mother, I have ordered my companions to issue all draft papers to the cabinet." "Yes, let Mr. Zhang handle it." Empress Dowager Li took the warm tea from Ronger and sipped it He took a sip and asked Feng Bao, "Who is Ou Sui?" "Supervising the Censor."  "This brochure has been written, what else?" "The servant heard that he was a Jinshi in the second year of Longqing, and Zhang Ju is his seat master."  "Ah, no wonder!" Empress Dowager Li sighed, with a look of gratitude in her eyes, and then said, "In our opinion, First let Jin Yiwei arrest Yang Yongcheng and torture him. How can such a greedy person be lightly forgiven, what do you think, Jun'er?" "The queen mother is right, let's do it like this!" Zhu Yijun obeyed his mother's advice, and Queen Mother Li nodded in satisfaction.Suddenly he frowned again and asked: "Jun'er, out of the five papers today, two are about the Ministry of Rites. I met Uncle Wu Qing this morning, and Qiu Deyong. They are all related to the Ministry of Rites. What is the Ministry of Rites going to do?" " Empress Dowager Li's words were vague, and Zhu Yijun half-understood, unable to answer a word.Feng Bao knew it well, seeing the little emperor in a daze, he whispered: "It's no wonder, Wang Xilie is Gao Gong's best friend." When Queen Mother Li heard this, the ferocious big yellow dog that her father told about flashed into her mind immediately.She thought in her heart: "Perhaps this Wang Xilie is that big yellow dog." She wanted to say a few more words on this matter, but after talking for two consecutive hours, she was already feeling tired. After yawning, she rubbed her sore eye sockets, and said to Feng Bao:  "In the past two days, you are looking for someone to be the steward of the Qing Palace."  "Then Eunuch Qiu what?" "Alas, Qiu Deyong is a responsible person. His nephew Zhang Dalang was stabbed to death. He dared not tell us such a sad thing in his heart. We originally said that we should send a Taoist decree and give Zhang Dalang a shirt. Now it seems that there is no need."  "Mother, why is this?" Zhu Yijun asked with wide-eyed eyes. The Empress Dowager Li stroked the little emperor's head, and said softly: "Jun'er, it's not that your mother is cruel, who told him that Qiu Deyong is a dog."Attentive Feng Bao saw that the Queen Mother Li When he said this, tears welled up in his eyes.