Chapter 66 The third time the veteran was deceived and suddenly faced disaster. Zhai Kui summoned a meeting to teach the opportunity

It was about halfway through Yinshi, and the sky was still as dark as the bottom of an old pot.Located on the side of Chongwenmen Street, the mansion of Zhu Heng, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Shiguan Hutong, the gate was suddenly knocked loudly. When the door was opened, it was seen that there were two ebony fire signboards in the palace. Answer: "The emperor sent a decree to ask Mr. Zhu to go to Zuoyemen immediately to meet him." After saying that, he drove his horse away.The door didn't dare to neglect, so he woke up the butler and reported to the master.Zhu Heng, who was still asleep, didn't think much about it after he was woken up, thinking that he was using bank affairs for the Hangzhou Weaving Bureau, and the emperor wanted to question him face to face, so he hurriedly took a bath, changed clothes and took a sedan chair to leave.Outside the Zuoye Gate, it was still dark, only the eight red lanterns hanging in front of the eaves of the Wufeng Tower swayed and gave off some light.The bearer called the door on his behalf, and the guards inside the door answered, asking Mr. Zhu to wait outside first, and then open the door after receiving the order.Zhu Heng had no choice but to stand in the doorway and wait.

But it is said that the imperial city built in the 14th year of Yongle is a copy of the Nanjing imperial city, but the scale of the system is more solemn and magnificent.The outer wall of the imperial city is seven feet high, with a circumference of 3,125 feet and nine feet and four inches. There are six gates in total, namely Daming Gate, Chang'an Left Gate, Chang'an Right Gate, Dong'an Gate, Xi'an Gate, and Bei'an Gate.There is also a city within the imperial city, which is commonly known as the Forbidden City.The three halls of Huangji, Zhongji, and Jianji, as well as the two palaces of Qianqing and Kunning are all in the Forbidden City.The inner city wall is 236.2 feet long from north to south, and 202.9 feet long from east to west. It is still seven feet high.There are eight gates to enter the Forbidden City, namely Chengtian Gate, Duanmen Gate and Meridian Gate (commonly known as the so-called Wufeng Tower). To the west is Xihua Gate, and to the north is Yuanwu Gate: Except for the Li Dynasty, the emperor usually received ministers, sometimes in the Wenhua Hall and sometimes on the platform.Generally, when the minister is interviewed, he will wait in front of the Zuoye gate first after receiving the notice.

Not long after Zhu Heng arrived at the Zuoye Gate, the Five Watch Drum was played on the Wufeng Building.This was the time when the cold was at its worst: the sky changed in the middle of the night after the addition, and the knives-like north wind shook the mountains and the ground, and the breath turned into ice on the face.But it's much colder outside the left door than other places.Between the Meridian Gate of Gein's Duanmen Gate, there is a huge square surrounded by towering walls, and there is nothing in the middle.The cold wind that squeezed in from the end gate came whistling, blocked by the closed Meridian Gate, and swirled back again, with such force that it could pull down trees.After standing staggeringly in this huge wind vent for a while, Zhu Heng froze into a popsicle.The leader of the sedan chair class saw that the owner was being tortured at such a young age, he couldn't bear it, so he stepped forward and asked: "Master, beside the left door, isn't there a room specially prepared for the officials waiting for the order?"

"Yes, how many rooms are there?" Zhu Heng answered with a cough. "I'll ask them to open the door." The team leader went forward and knocked on the left door as he said that. After knocking more than a dozen times, he heard someone answer from inside: "Who is it?" "I'm Master Zhu's family, I think..." "Go, go, go," before the team leader finished speaking, he heard the impatient roar inside, "The emperor hasn't issued an order yet, just wait." "My master has been waiting for half an hour, and the north wind outside He's so big, he's almost frozen into a popsicle."

"What can we do, we're not gods, we can control this shitty north wind." "Isn't the official waiting for the order worth the house? Please open it and let my master go in to keep warm:" "There is a house on duty, but there is no fire person in charge of the house on duty." "Please look for it..." "Where are you going to get the skills? Tell your master to bear with it and stand up, and it will be dawn in no time." After finishing speaking, no matter how many times the team leader begged, there was always a response.Zhu Heng, who was huddled in the corner of the doorway, heard this conversation, heaved a long sigh, and suddenly had the feeling of being bullied by a dog.The team leader was clever, and he felt a little puzzled by today's events. Anyway, Zhu Heng was still a second-rank official in the imperial court. The gatekeeper treated him so arbitrarily, which was unreasonable both emotionally and rationally.After thinking about it, he seemed to have found the reason, so he approached Zhu Heng's ear and said softly:

"My lord, from a young point of view, these rootless guys are deliberately punishing you." "Really?" Zhu Heng's lips tapped from the cold. "The dog thinks you don't give the road ticket." The team leader said and found some broken silver on his body, and asked Zhu Heng, "Why don't you call them again and pass in this 'road ticket' ?” "Talking!" Zhu Heng rolled his eyes at the head of the squad, and cursed, "This old man's name has been clean all his life, how can he be insulted today." The team leader didn't dare to say more, but in his heart he blamed the master for being straightforward.In addition, the Forbidden City is heavily guarded and there are many gates. There are more than one hundred gates with plaques inscribed by emperors in previous dynasties alone.Although these dental eunuchs are not high-ranking officials, but because they guard the door for the emperor and borrow the power of the emperor, they don't pay much attention to them even if they are three princes and nine ministers.Around the late Yongle period, such an unwritten rule came into being: all officials who enter the National People’s Congress to be interviewed by the emperor, one person will pass the door, and each time they pass through a door, they must send a piece of money to the official on duty at the door, saying "Elder-in-law has worked hard!" It's gone", the duty officer replied with "Go away", and then sent them off with a smile on their faces.Over time, this sub-money has a very appropriate title called "road ticket".It doesn't matter how much the road ticket is, as little as one or two, and as many as ten or eight.From Duanmen to Yuntai, there are six gates to go through. Although each gate does not give much, but the sum is not a small amount.It is a great honor to be summoned by the emperor as an official of the imperial court, but the expropriation of road tickets by the gatekeeper is also a considerable burden. Some honest officials often complain about this, but there is nothing they can do.There are also some officials who want to bite the bullet and refuse to give in, the gatekeepers will stop him and make things difficult for him, and he is often punished for delaying the time of meeting.Once a county magistrate had an audience with the emperor and brought with him forty taels of silver ingots.The gatekeeper lied to him that he was a country bumpkin official, and even coaxed and bluffed, he only passed through four gates, and all the money he brought was extorted.There was no ticket to pass through the fifth gate, and the gatekeeper was a vile master who dug holes and maggots, so he deliberately pointed the wrong way and let the county magistrate walk into the courtyard where a noble concubine lived.Trespassing into the Forbidden Palace without authorization is a violation of the rules of heaven, and should be punished greatly. Although many officials came to rescue him, the county magistrate still suffered a broken leg from the imperial staff, and was dismissed from his post and returned to his native place, never to be used again.After hearing such painful lessons, who would not be terrified of the officials? Therefore, they all hold the attitude of letting things go and letting others lose money and avoid disasters, and everyone has enough money for "road tickets".Of course, among the officials, there are also those who do not believe in evil. Every time they enter the palace and pass through those heavy gates, they walk away like stubborn donkeys.Hai Rui was like that back then, and now Zhu Heng, who is waiting outside Zuoye Gate, is also such a tough guy.

Zhu Heng and Gao Gong were Jinshi in the same year.He is five years older than Gao Gong, and he is over sixty-seven this year.He served as Minister of the Ministry of Industry twice, and this second time has been seven years, and he is still in office now.At the beginning of Zhang Juzheng's tenure as chief assistant, in order to stabilize the situation, he retained three veteran ministers.The first is Yang Bo, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, the second is Ge Shouli, the left governor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the third is Zhu Heng, Minister of Industry.All the Beijing officials still remember that on the eve of the death of Emperor Mu Zong in the sixth year of Longqing, this stubborn old man was so angry that he wanted to beat the Dengwen drum because of the Chaobai River project funds.Among the ministers of the Ministry, Zhu Heng is notorious for his stubbornness.In his mind, there are only things without human feelings.He is very strict about all the duties and powers of the Ministry of Industry. If it is not in compliance with the rules, he dares to disobey even the imperial decree. point.

Maybe it was a pity for the heavens, but when Zhu Heng was suffering in the doorway, the north wind that had been tense for a while suddenly weakened.Zhu Heng kept stomping on his feet that were numb from the cold, and kept grabbing the snot that hung from his nose.Feeling a little better now.Suddenly, through the thick door wall.A faint voice of conversation could be heard from inside: "Damn it. Why did the north wind stop?" A shrill voice cursed for no reason: "Yeah," another voice, which was more oily, said, "My surname is Zhu, isn't it?" "This old shit, let's ask for a value house to live in. He made trouble for it. This time, he took the opportunity to make him suffer."

"It's not enough. Heaven help him." "...,' Zhu Heng heard it clearly, but felt like someone had kicked his heart.He bit his darkened lips, stared blankly at the long dark sky, and remembered something that happened in Dongyue last year: The major yamen in the capital and all the houses in the imperial city, the Forbidden City, whether they are being built or repaired, are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Household Affairs.To the left of the Meridian Gate, there are always five duty rooms. This is the temporary rest place for the officials waiting for the court. At the same time, some scroll boxes are also stored.In the winter of last year, Wang Qi, the new official on duty at the Meridian Gate, suddenly turned inward and asked the emperor to live in these five rooms.The emperor sent it out and asked the Ministry of Industry to consider it.Zhu Heng became angry when he saw the excerpts, and he scolded the eunuchs for their audacity, and even hit the idea on the duty room of the officials waiting for the court.In the name of the Ministry of Industry, a public order was issued, saying that the five value houses were built by Emperor Yongle out of compassion for the officials of the court. After that, after more than a hundred years and eight emperors, the value houses have never been easier.How can we change the ancestral law now, and change the value house of the officials to the gatekeeper's private house? After reading this official book, the little emperor criticized: "Since it is the residence of the yamen guilds, it is not allowed to discuss it in the future." A small turmoil can be considered to subside.Zhu Heng has so many important things to do every day, and once these small things are over, he forgets them all.I didn't expect to offend this low-minded door official.Given this opportunity today, I intend to punish him to death.

After stamping his feet for a while, Zhu Heng felt a little warmer.He didn't want to stay in the doorway and listen to "gossip" and get angry, so he rubbed his face and paced to the square, and the team leader followed him every step of the way.At this time, the sky was about to light up, and it was the coldest time of the day.Zhu Heng approached Duanmen with one foot high and one foot low, and the weakened wind suddenly picked up again, causing Zhu Heng to stagger and stand unsteadily.Seeing that the cold wind was blowing more and more intensely, the ground shook and the mountains shook again in an instant.Zhu Heng leaned against the high wall, feeling that the thick wall was also shaking.He suddenly felt a trace of fear, and a phantom of the sky falling and the earth falling appeared in front of him.The squad leader hugged the skinny Zhu Heng tightly, as if he was hugging an icicle.Worried that something might happen to the old man, he yelled loudly:

"Master, let's go back!" "Back, where?" "go home:" Zhu Heng shook his head desperately, his tongue was stiff, and he couldn't utter a single word, but he still continued intermittently: "We, we, we wait, wait for the emperor, the emperor...," But at this time, a huge palace lantern on the Wufeng Building was blown off its hook, Ren Feng tore and fell, and fell heavily in front of Zhu Heng.Seeing a fireball flying down in mid-air, Zhu Heng was caught off guard and screamed in fright.Immediately a mouthful of phlegm was stuck in his throat, and Cici couldn't spit it out, and he passed out after a while.The squad leader held him with one arm, shook his head and beat his vest with the other hand, finally made him "cough" the phlegm.Although the person woke up, he was already so soft that he could only breathe in but not out. It took about half an hour before the sky slowly brightened.In the north wind that stirs like knives, the black city walls, towering pavilions, dense cornices, and smooth floor tiles all seem to be made of ice.The team leader took great pains to move Zhu Heng into the sedan chair and curled up, and then knocked on the door. His fists were pounding painfully. It took a long time before he heard someone coming from inside and shouting through the crack of the door: "Master Zhu, please go back, the emperor has something to do today, the meeting has been cancelled." The team leader didn't answer, but ordered the bearer to get up the sedan chair quickly, and flew back to Shiyan Hutong. When Zhu Heng returned home, his lips were purple and his limbs were stiff, and everyone hurriedly carried him to the hot kang. There were several thick quilts, and it took more than half an hour to relax.It was said that they were going to see the emperor, the whole family was very excited, but they went out and carried them back like this, all the hundred and ten masters and servants in the house panicked.Zhu Heng's imperial wife was already old, so how could she survive such a fright? She stayed by the bedside, unable to think of anything else to do except to wipe away her tears one by one.Fortunately, the housekeeper Zhu Lu was in a stable position, so he hurriedly asked the cook to boil a bowl of thick ginger soup, brought it to the bed, pried open Zhu Heng's mouth and poured it little by little, and then rolled the quilt tightly to sweat.After tossing and turning like this, Zhu Heng, who had been in a coma for a long time, woke up after about a turn of the cards.His mind went blank, he forgot what had happened, looked at the faces of the people around the bed with tear stains, and asked puzzledly: "What's the matter with you?" Seeing that he was confused, the old lady was heartbroken, she just pursed her mouth and cried.Or Zhu Lu squeezed forward and replied: "Master, it's five watch today, and you froze outside the Meridian Gate." After mentioning this, Zhu Heng woke up, remembering the humiliation and suffering he had received outside the Meridian Gate in the morning, and suddenly had a headache like a needle prick.He already had asthma, and after this cold, he had a severe attack.His throat sounded like a bellows, and his mouth was so wide that he couldn't breathe. The maid raised his pillow, and the old lady tried to find out the "Liu Shen Shun Qi Pill" that was always kept at home, and let him take it. Only then did he calm down again, and when he stopped coughing for a while, Zhu Lu asked: "Master, don't you think this is a bit strange?" "Huh? You mean, say..." Zhu Heng coughed again, and the maid hurriedly beat him on the back. After spitting out the phlegm, the butler continued: "Young Majesty is only twelve years old, and there is no urgent matter in the court. How could he pass the decree to see you so early? Now that the decree has been delivered, why did he suddenly disappear?" "what?" "I think it's probably the eunuch's tricks." Zhu Lu said with certainty, "My lord, when you go to the palace on weekdays, you never give a road ticket to the gate-keeping officer. The hearts of these guys are made of scale hooks. It's pleasing to the eye." "It makes sense," Zhu Heng nodded slightly, and then questioned, "It's the eunuch's fault for not opening the door of the duty room to let the old man suffer from the cold, but I don't think they have the courage to spread the imperial decree. The crime of deceiving the king, who dares?" Zhu Lu thought about it, so he stopped talking.At this time, Menzi came to report: Pan Jixun, the left servant of the Ministry of Industry, came to visit.Zhu Heng knew that Pan Jixun's visit was definitely not an ordinary visit, so he couldn't refuse to see him.According to the rules of scholars, the formal reception should be in the living room, and if it is a close friend, it can also be extended to the study.Like Zhu Heng, Pan Jixun is also a well-known river control expert, but he is not in agreement with Zhu Heng in terms of river control strategies. However, Pan Jixun is an honest gentleman. , Zhu Heng attached great importance to him, and the Ministry of Industry discussed with him every major matter, and the hall official Zuo Er got along very well.Zhu Heng wanted to arrange to meet in the living room, but he couldn't stand up, so he had to ask his family to avoid him, and invited Pan Jixun to meet him in front of the bed. Guided by Zhu Lu, Pan Jixun walked into the room, and caught a glimpse of Zhu Heng lying on the bed with a sallow complexion and sunken eye sockets, with haggard features and haggard eyes.I couldn't help feeling sour, I went to hold Zhu Heng's hand in front of the bed, and said with tears in my eyes: "Master Zhu, you have suffered." "It's a waste of suffering," Zhu Heng said mockingly to himself, "The eunuchs bribed God to punish me because the old man refused to give the road ticket." " "Master Zhu, I'm afraid things are not that simple," Pan Jixun sat down in front of the bed, and said worriedly, "It was just after midnight today, and Sun Long, the eunuch of the Hangzhou Weaving Supervision Office, came to the Ministry again to ask when will the emperor's dragon robe be transferred? send?" "This transfer can't be posted!" Although Zhu Heng was seriously ill, he was still so decisive when it came to business. "We all know the meaning of Lord Butang, so we rejected Sun Long and told him that this matter has to be reported to the emperor, and we will discuss the issue of labor costs and silver. Then Sun Long left angrily, leaving a word before leaving." "What words?" "He said, Master Zhu has been guarding the gate outside the Zuoye Gate for two hours, so you might want to wait a few more times? Judging from his tone, Master Zhu's torment must have something to do with the Yiwen weaving in the south of the Yangtze River. .” "So, is it Sun Long who falsely preached the imperial decree?" "The lower officials have doubts about this." Pan Jixun thought for a while, and then said, "However, Sun Long would never dare to do this without anyone's support." "Who is this person?" Zhu Heng asked. "Then who else? Falsely preaching the imperial decree is not something ordinary people dare to do." Pan Jixun is a cautious person and speaks with discretion.Zhu Heng thought that that person was Feng Bao, but he couldn't say it out loud.Immediately, he became irritable again, and the blood surged up, and his eyes kept fainting again.The family members were so panicked that they poured ginseng soup and pinched people, and it took a long time to wake them up again.Pan Jixun was afraid to stay here and cause trouble, so he left quietly.Zhu Heng opened his eyes and couldn't see Pan Jixun. He was so full of words that he couldn't find anyone to talk to. After panting for a while, he got a burst of strength and got out of bed with a force, and asked the maid to take the official robe to replace him. he puts on. "What do you want?" Madame asked. "To the cabinet." The madam was anxious, and scolded: "Look at you, the wind can blow you down, how can you go out, lie down on the bed quickly." "Don't worry, the old man's tone will not be broken for a while." As Zhu Heng spoke, he coughed again, but despite his family's dissuasion, he stubbornly went out and boarded the sedan chair. Zhang Juzheng entered the valuable room early in the morning, and the handyman had already heated the earth dragon very warmly. Zhang Juzheng went to the inner room to take off the windproof cloak, and then took off the lambskin jacket worn in the official robe, and then came out to ask questions. Yao Kuang, the secretary who was waiting by the side: "Is Mo Wenlong here?" Yao Kuang replied: "Yesterday, the notification was half past Chenshi, and now it is still a quarter away from Chenshi." "As soon as others arrive, lead them to me." After Zhang Juzheng finished speaking, he frowned behind the big red sandalwood copywriting, and sat down on the rose chair with openwork huanghuali backrest.A folded box with a seal was placed on the desk. The memorials that the emperor had seen were all sealed by the supervisor of ceremonies, and sent to Zhang Juzheng's office every morning for drafting tickets.Zhang Juzheng ordered Yao Kuang to unseal the box, picked up the topmost memorial, and saw the inscription on the cover: "Minister of Industry Zhu Heng, please reduce the amount of silver used by the Hangzhou Weaving Bureau." He opened it immediately and read: Yesterday, the eunuch Sun Long, the admiral of the Hangzhou Weaving Bureau, came to the Ministry to preach: This year, the amount of silver used by the Hangzhou Weaving Bureau will increase to 800,000 taels of silver.As usual, if half of the headquarters is paid out, 400,000 taels of silver should be allocated.The minister said: This increase is too large and has no rules to follow. If you want to beg Shengming, you can use it at a regular rate. The ministers and others saw that: the ancestors were used by the state, and there was a quota for weaving.Emperor Mu Zong used no more than 200,000 taels of silver to make clothes all the year round, and only 400,000 taels in the early years of Cheng Zuo.And for this expense, the supervisor of ceremonies and the headquarters must discuss the fixed amount, and then ask for silver from Ming Sheng.Half of the cost of silver taels will be paid by the internal treasury and half by the headquarters. This time, the use of silver suddenly increased to a huge amount of 800,000 taels, and the supervisor of ceremonies did not discuss with the headquarters beforehand, so he independently reported the matter and asked for an order.It is against the rules to do so.Therefore, the Department refused to transfer the text. Looking up to the emperor's heir to ascend the great treasure, he repeatedly issued edicts of lenient sympathy, bowed himself to frugality, and took the lead in the world.Xin Xin at home, Fang Xing was reborn.Since then, there have been more and more compradors, and their expenses have gradually increased. When there is a shortage, ministers and others are really worried.If you dare not avoid troubles and blasphemy, please let me know.I hope that the emperor will obey the words of the ministry and cut the silver taels of the previous item by more than half.In the future, if it is necessary to pay for offerings, it will be used in the inner treasury according to the old system of the ancestors.The ministers and others have nothing to fear. After reading this memorandum, Zhang Juzheng said three words "good" repeatedly in his heart, read the book carefully from beginning to end, and then put it down.While thinking about how to draft a ticket, Yao Kuang brought in Mo Wenlong, the prefect of Hangzhou. Mo Wenlong went to Beijing to report on his work on the 5th, and Zhang Juzheng had met him three days ago, and he had talked about everything that should be discussed, and he should not have seen each other again.Ge because he heard yesterday that Sun Long went to the Ministry of Industry to handle the transfer of documents and asked Zhu Heng to come out, so he knew that there would be a disturbance.Zhu Heng and Feng Bao were not the type to calm down, let alone this matter involved national finances, and it was the first major event that occurred in the Spring Festival of the second year of Wanli.Zhang Juzheng knew from the bottom of his heart that no matter how he looked at it, he could not stand idly by on this matter.Of course, he could play tricks, keep neither party offended, and leave the final arbitration to the emperor, but he didn't want to do that.From the time he took office as chief assistant in June of the previous year to the end of the first year of Wanli year and a half, he focused his energy on rectifying the administration of officials.In order to solve the phenomenon of Wen Tianwuxi's slack in government affairs that had accumulated for many years, he pioneered the "examination method" to restrain officials.The content of this "examination method" is: all the daily official affairs of the government and the affairs in charge of each government office assigned by the emperor's decree must be handled by a dedicated person and completed within a time limit.Every thing done, its completion must be recorded in the book for inspection and verification.In the future, all officials will be promoted, rewarded or dismissed based on the records in this "examination book". This reform seems simple but very effective. Since its implementation, all major yamen in the capital have swept away the old The tired style of handling affairs with mushrooms soaked in cold water. Every time a task is taken over, the officials involved no longer dare to be perfunctory. The situation in the past where orders cannot be enforced and prohibitions cannot be stopped has fundamentally changed. The reason is that the officials Afraid of recording dirty deeds in the "examination book" and cutting off the road to promotion. Now that people are in control, Zhang Juzheng wants to start financial rectification from this year, which is the second year of Wanli. However, before the well-thought-out package plan that he had considered for many years had time to launch, a contradiction in the use of silver by the Hangzhou Weaving Bureau occurred. He immediately felt keenly that this matter provided an excellent opportunity for his financial reform.Based on this consideration, not only did he not have the leisure time of "the snipe and the clam compete for the fisherman's profit", but he could not sleep or eat at night. It has always been handled by the deputy of the Hangzhou government office. In order to find out the situation, he temporarily decided to meet Mo Wenlong again. Mo Wenlong was in his early fifties. After he passed his citizenship, he had never been exceptionally promoted since he was a ninth-rank county master. He just climbed up to the current Hangzhou step by step by relying on the three-year examination to be promoted to the first level. The magistrate took office.He has worked hard in this position for six years, and was promoted last year. However, because Hangzhou is an important place for wealth in the south of the Yangtze River, there are many people vying for this position, and the Ministry of Officials will not give up for a while.Zhang Juzheng then decided to let the mature and prudent Mo Wenlong stay in his post, and promoted him to a higher level, with the title of Chief Secretary of Zhejiang Province, the third rank, to participate in politics.This arrangement naturally made Mo Wenlong happy, and he felt grateful to Zhang Juzheng in his heart. Since it is the second meeting, there is no need to exchange pleasantries.Zhang Juzheng quickly cut to the chase and asked: "How far is the yamen of the Hangzhou Weaving Bureau from your yamen?" "It's not too far away, it's all near Qingbo Gate." "Do you have many visits?" "not much." "Why?" "They are imperial envoys." Zhang Juzheng heard that there was a hidden meaning in Mo Wenlong's words, so he didn't ask any more questions, but just jokingly said: "You can't afford to provoke, can you?" Mo Wenlong grinned as a default. Zhang Juzheng then asked: "How will your government cooperate with the official affairs of the Hangzhou Weaving Bureau?" Mo Wenlong shook his head, hesitated for a while and asked with a wry smile: "Master Chief Assistant, do you allow me to tell the truth?" "Of course you have to tell the truth." Mo Wenlong stretched out four fingers, and said decisively: "Four words, it is miserable." "Where is the pain?" "First, the most difficult thing is to assign work to the weavers and make dragon clothes for the emperor. The fabric is very particular, let's say a piece of red makeup flower over-the-shoulder python satin. From silk reeling to dyeing, every process is not sloppy at all. A piece of satin has been woven with untold hardships, and the supervising eunuch of the imperial envoy will inspect it. If a defect as large as a grain of rice is found, the piece of satin will be considered useless. Still haven't given it back." "why?" "The reason the imperial envoy said is that this is a fabric specially woven for the emperor, and no matter what they say, they can't be allowed to spread to the people." "So, the Zhihu in Hangzhou suffered from this imperial envoy?" "That's not it." Mo Wenlong continued with a helpless expression, "Even if a piece of satin has passed the inspection, the Weaving Bureau is only willing to pay twenty taels of silver?" "How much is it actually worth?" "It's worth eighty taels." "Won't Zhihu lose money?" "That's right, otherwise it would be unspeakable for the lower officials." Mo Wenlong seized the opportunity to complain, and simply vomited, "So, allocating weavers for the Weaving Bureau every year has become the number one headache for the Hangzhou government. The weaving bureau is only willing to give 20 taels of satin to a bolt of 80 taels of silver, and the Hangzhou government government picks up a little here and there, and then makes up 20 taels for the weavers. Even so, no weavers are willing Dry." "Then how do you apportion it?" "Every year when the plan of the Weaving Bureau is completed, the government will send people to gather the weaving households according to the lijia, and draw lots by division, and whoever is caught will be the one." "There is no way to go on like this for a long time." "The lower official knows that this is not the solution, but there is no good solution. What I just said is the first difficulty. The second difficulty is the embroiderer. A piece of satin is cut into a garment according to the pattern, and then the gold and flowers pattern is embroidered on it..." "Okay, you don't need to talk about this." Zhang Juzheng interrupted Mo Wenlong, "Based on this, we can roughly know that every process is strictly controlled, and the weaving bureau pays very little wages, right?" "yes." "You have been the magistrate of Hangzhou for six years, and you are very familiar with the inside story of the Weaving Bureau. Today, you tell me the truth, how much money does it cost to make a dragon robe?" "The payment from the account of the Weaving Bureau is less than two thousand taels of silver, and our government office has to post two thousand taels of silver." "It's only four thousand taels in total?" "Yes," Mo Wenlong replied affirmatively, "This is already a full count." Zhang Ju happened to be silent for a while.Then he took a long breath and sighed: "Emperor Longqing was relatively frugal during his lifetime, and the dragon clothes made for him are the cheapest, but they are only 20,000 taels of silver a set." "That's right," Mo Wenlong looked at Zhang Juzheng's heavy face and replied cautiously, "The next official was appointed as the magistrate of Hangzhou, and he happened to make dragon robes for Emperor Longqing for four years. He made a cheap one the year before his trip. It's eight thousand taels of silver." "How much is it actually worth?" "This dragon robe only cost three thousand taels of silver." "Where is the dragon robe that costs 20,000 taels of silver?" "The official has already said, four thousand taels of silver." "Four thousand taels of silver, paid from the account of the Weaving Bureau! In fact, it is only two thousand taels. It is only one-tenth of twenty thousand taels of silver. Where does the rest go?" Zhang Juzheng was very furious, he slapped the desk and asked.In fact, he didn't ask Mo Wenlong, but blurted out angrily.Mo Wenlong was ignorant, but he thought he was the one asking the question. He broke out in a cold sweat, straightened up and replied: "Looking back, Mr. Fu, the Hangzhou Weaving Bureau is directly under the jurisdiction of the inner government, and the lower officials have no right to intervene in the bureau's accounts." "I didn't ask you." Seeing Mo Wenlong's misunderstanding, Zhang Juzheng explained, "I was just thinking, there is such a huge disparity between the cost of a dragon robe and the price of silver, why no one cares about it." "It's out of the question." Mo Wenlong muttered softly. "Why?" "From Emperor Hongwu, the founding sage, to the present, the price of dragon robes has been hanging high. This has become a rule, and no one doubts whether it is reasonable." "Could it be that the huge price difference has made the imperial envoys greedy?" "Master Shoufu has never been to Hangzhou, so he doesn't know how extravagant the daily life of the eunuchs under his supervision is." Mo Wenlong said angrily, "These people often have big banquets for guests, and cooking with guns and dragons is only a common thing. The cruise ship belongs to the Weaving Bureau." Previously, Zhang Juzheng had always suspected that the silver used by the Weaving Bureau was a false report, but he did not expect that the loophole would be so big.The country's taxes are limited, and the people are not able to make ends meet every year. The Ministry of Households wishes to break a penny into several halves. However, these eunuchs are so profligate.Even though Taicang is a mountain of gold and silver, even if the mountain of gold and silver is piled higher than Jingshan, it is still not enough for these prodigal sons to swallow it up.Thinking of this, Zhang Juzheng blurted out: "Mo Wenlong." Mo Wenlong hurriedly stood up and replied, "The officer is here." Zhang Juzheng motioned him to sit down, and then asked: "My servant heard that you are from the same town as Zhang Jiayin, the governor of Yingtian who has become an official?" "yes." "Zhang Jiayin is a well-known and capable minister. In the fifth year of Longqing, he was promoted from Fang Langzhong of the Ministry of War to Yingtian Fu Yin because of the recommendation of his servant. In one year, he became famous in politics. He was deeply loved by the local people. On the fourth of the sixth year of Longqing In July, Gao Gong was dismissed because he offended Gao Gong by handling the Anqing Mutiny. After the servant presided over the cabinet, he wanted to reinstate him, but it happened that his family Ci Shengxian had to win love for three years. Last month he had a letter to the servant, Yan Zaizhi "Yi" has a lot of experience." Hearing the first assistant's praise of Zhang Jiayin, Mo Wenlong, as a fellow villager, also felt that his face was bright, and replied: "Zhang Jiayin is a well-known talent in his hometown, and has won the respect of scholars." "He is not only a talented man, but also a rare follower." "Xunli?" Mo Wenlong was taken aback. "Yes, Xunli!" Zhang Juzheng answered decisively, "Mo Wenlong, you should take him as an example and be brave in doing things." "Yes, I will keep in mind the teaching of the first assistant." Mo Wenlong had just said this sentence in response to the scene, and suddenly realized that there was something in the first assistant's words.After hesitating for a while, he replied, "I have been in the officialdom for so many years, I am not greedy, and I am not afraid of suffering. The only thing I lack is the word 'courage'." "And what I want from you now is precisely the word 'courage'," Zhang Juzheng said to Zhang Jiayin. Remonstrance, to open up the eyes and ears of the emperor." "What are you admonishing?" Mo Wenlong asked a confused question hastily. "The silver used by the Weaving Bureau to make dragon robes." "This……" "Is there any problem?" Zhang Juzheng's gaze was as scorching as fire.Mo Wenlong felt uncomfortable all over, and replied timidly: "The lower official said that the price of dragon robe wage silver has been set in this way since Emperor Hongwu. It has been two hundred years. After nine emperors, it has never been changed. This has become an ancestor's rule." Mo Wenlong's words concealed his scheming, because when Zhang Juzheng first served as the chief assistant, when he first met the emperor to state his strategy for governing the country, he once said "everything must follow the ancestral system, and there is no need to make it easier".This remark was published in the residence newspaper, and it has been widely heard all over the world.It did have a stabilizing effect on the chaotic and wildly speculative court situation at that time.In the past year and a half, Zhang Juzheng's general rule of the country is basically consistent with this sentence.Therefore, Mo Wenlong specially proposed the words "ancestral rules" to remind Zhang Juzheng that this matter should not be touched randomly.Zhang Juzheng has a clear mind, how can he not understand what Mo Wenlong said? He felt that not only Mo Wenlong, but also the whole officialdom, had the problem of not knowing how to judge the situation and grasp the method of flexibility, so he took the opportunity to express his point of view : "The rules of the ancestors are not monolithic, there are good and bad. Good rules, not a single word can be changed, bad rules, outdated rules, all have to be changed. For example, the weaving bureau's practice of using silver to deceive the sky, It’s not just bad, it’s downright bad, how can we not change it?” Hearing this loud tone, Mo Wenlong knew that the first assistant had already made up his mind, and he had long since hated the domineering imperial envoys of the Weaving Bureau, so he replied straightforwardly: "The chief assistant wants to start the Wanli New Deal, and the lower officials have no one to welcome them. It is a minister's day to correct and dismiss extravagance and dedication. The lower officials will leave for Hangzhou tomorrow. As soon as they return to the government office, they will immediately write a report." "How many days will it take you to return to Hangzhou?" "Half a month by water, ten days by land." "It's too late," Zhang Juzheng showed an eager look on his face, "I think it's not too late, you go back to the inn right away, write the paperwork and send it to the Secretary of General Administration, and then leave for Hangzhou." Mo Wenlong didn't understand why Shoufu was in such a hurry, but he didn't dare to ask.Just as he was saying goodbye, Yao Kuang ran in with a panicked expression, and said to Zhang Juzheng: "Master Shoufu, Zhu Heng, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, has been carried into the cabinet." Zhang Juzheng couldn't help but be shocked, he hurriedly asked: "What, you brought it in? What happened?" "I heard that he was frozen in front of the left door." Yao Kuang then gave a general account of what happened in front of Zuoye Gate in Wugengtian. After Zhang Juzheng listened, he reprimanded: "Why did you report something so important now?" Yao Kuang replied: "The young one only found out about half an hour ago. Since he saw that the chief assistant was talking with Mr. Mo, he didn't come in to disturb him." Zhang Juzheng couldn't ask in detail in his desperation, but said to Mo Wenlong, "Go back and do as the servant said, hurry up!" After that, he got up and left his seat, and went out to meet Zhu Heng under Yao Kuang's guidance.