Chapter 90 The twenty-seventh round of anger, the emperor's strict decree angrily rushed to the first and auxiliary ministers

After breakfast, the emperor had half an hour to rest as usual.At the moment, he is playing a game of tossing gold with Sun Hai and his servants on the brick floor outside Dongnuange.This game is also very simple to say, it is to use white ash to draw 4936 squares on the brick floor, fill in each square with the name of a state, put a small magnetic bowl in the middle of the square, and the eunuchs participating in the game stand Thirty zhang away, hold a copper coin in your hand and throw it into the small bowl in the grid. If you hit one, the emperor will reward him with five silver coins, up to three times.Those who miss three times will be replaced, and another person will vote again.The emperor himself did not vote, but acted as an arbitrator. It was such a simple game, but he played it with gusto.

Let's say this morning, five eunuchs were changed in a row, but none of them hit the target.The fifth copper toss was Sun Hai. He tossed it twice without even touching the edge of the bowl. The third time the copper tossed fell into a small magnetic bowl and bounced out again. The eunuchs watching All feel sorry for him.Sun Hai wanted to get a reward, so he played to Zhu Yijun who was sitting on the wicker chair: "Long live, does the slave's copper coin count as a hit?" "Not counting." Zhu Yijun replied immediately. "But it popped out of a bowl." "Since it pops out, it can't be counted as a hit." Zhu Yijun crossed his legs and said proudly, "You want to cheat me of the reward, there is no way."

Sun Hai scratched his head and pretended to be wronged to make the emperor happy.Sure enough, Zhu Yijun was very excited, and shouted again: "Who's next?" "Slaves try." The speaker was Guest Yong. He was the same age as the emperor. He was fifteen this year. He was just in the stage of changing his voice. His voice was rattling, which made people feel awkward.But his voice today was particularly wrong, the emperor looked at him, and Fox questioned: "You seem to have something in your mouth?" "yes." The guest replied, reaching out his hand and pulling out a copper coin from his mouth.

"What are you doing?" Zhu Yijun asked. "Report to the emperor, this servant wets the copper coin with saliva so that it will not fly around." The guest made a grimace while talking.Zhu Yijun smiled and said: "When you fought ant wars back then, I knew you were a genius, so cast quickly." "Hey." Guest Yong first bowed deeply to the emperor to express his leadership, then rolled up his sleeves and stood on the throwing line, squinted his eyes to see a magnetic bowl, and threw it steadily.I saw that the wet copper coin fell into the bowl impartially, and it didn't bounce because it was wet.

The eunuchs exclaimed for a while, Sun Hai stretched out his hand to look at the grid, and shouted: "Long Live Lord, the guest shot is Yangzhou." "Yangzhou? Why is Keyong so lucky?" Zhu Yijun got off the rattan chair, looked into the grid, and asked, "Keepong, do you know the division and production of Yangzhou?" "The servant doesn't know." Ke Yong had a naive expression on his face. "You don't know, let me tell you." Zhu Yijun carried his hands on his back, a bit like a master's own words, and said enthusiastically, "The Huai and Yang areas. Yangzhou, Yizhen, Taixing, Tongzhou, Rugao, and Haimen are high-lying, lake water No steam. Taizhou, Gaoyou, Xinghua, Baoying, and Yancheng are like the bottom of a cauldron, and the lake is often flooded. Fortunately, there is a water embankment as a barrier. This embankment was first built by Zhang Lun, a transshipment envoy during the Tianxi period of the Song Dynasty, and because of Chen Deng in the Han Dynasty. The trace is to build an embankment in the middle of the boundary water, and the west of the embankment will become a lake, and the water veins of Tianchang and Fengyang will pass through Guazhou. It is a ditch, and the five prefectures and counties are called fertile soil. It starts from Shaobo in the south and reaches Baoying in the north. It is 340 miles away, and there was no gate in the past. In the sixth year of Longqing, the water dike broke, and the dike was built. You guys Remember that the decree to build gates was issued by me personally after I ascended the throne. In the next two years, thirty-six gates will be built, costing tens of thousands of dollars. This is not about the terrain, but also about the production. The biggest production in Huaiyang is salt There are three generations left over from the salt factory. However, the Changlu salt was stolen and sold in Huaiyang, and the Huai salt was stolen and sold in Jiangnan. He was a traitor in Menglang. Huaiyan's age class was 705,180, and the silver was 600,000 taels, which is more than other places. When Yan Maoqing was in charge of the Jiajing Dynasty, he wanted to use the increase as a meritorious service. Please add up to one million taels of silver. If the collection is insufficient, the counties and counties will be searched to exploit merchants. Under his rule, many merchants went bankrupt and complained. In the last years of Jiajing, strict divisions should be defeated. Yushi Xu Kuang impeached Yan Maoqing and Sinong reconsidered , the tax shall be reduced according to the original amount.

"There are five ponds in Yangzhou. One day, Chengongtang extends for more than eighty miles, and it is located in Chendeng of the Han Dynasty; one day, Juchengtang, sixty miles away, is located in Tang Dynasty; One day, the upper Leitang and the lower Leitang are ninety li each, both of which were created in the previous dynasty. For more than a thousand years, the water veins of Tianchang, Liuhe, Ling, Hong, Shou, and Si have been stored for more than five hundred li, and the water overflows. Stored in ponds, the lakes will not flood, and when the water dries up, the gates of the ponds will be opened to benefit the canal.

"I've already talked about this pond, and I'll talk about the customs of Yangzhou. Huaiyang was young, and his martial arts were arrogant, and he was a traitor. He often has the wind of a bad man's crotch. Feng and Ying practice martial arts and are chaotic, aggressive, and ambitious. The little Qinhuai is like white, with fresh clothes and beautiful appearance, lingering in the scene. There are still traces of the Six Dynasties, and the customs of ancient and modern are probably not far from each other." Zhu Yijun talked on and on for a long time. Most of the servants in front of him were illiterate. Although some of them could read a few words, how could they know anything? Now that they heard the emperor's grand remarks, they were all in awe.Sun Hai complimented at the right time:

"Long live master's good knowledge is really better than the number one scholar." "Blind. What champion?" Zhu Yijun glared at Sun Hai, "There will be an exam every three years, so the champion has to be appointed by me!" Sun Hai knew that he had said something wrong, so he quickly stretched out his hand to palm his mouth, slapped him and scolded at the same time: "Look at this stinky mouth of this slave, it's all about talking nonsense." Watching him play, the servants standing beside them all covered their mouths and smiled. One servant scratched his head and asked:

"The servant follows the Lord Long Live every day. I really don't know where the Lord Long Live learned such a great knowledge from." "Since I ascended the throne in the sixth year of Longqing, I have given sutra banquets. For six years, I have learned these knowledge of economics and economics every day. You slaves, how would you know." Zhu Yijun had a haughty look on his face, and all the servants nodded and bowed, and kept silent for the guests. At this moment, he said with a smile on his face: "Long live, the slave's silver reward has not been received yet!"

"I can't do without you," Zhu Yijun liked this clever and honest personal servant from the bottom of his heart. He waved his hand, and a servant brought up a wooden plate covered with red velvet cloth, and put five coins on it. Zhu Yijun Chao Ke pointed with a finger and said with a smile, "Take it, and I will reward you with Yangzhou." "Thank you Long Live." The guest stretched out his hand to take the silver and was about to leave when he heard someone scream "wait a minute", which made everyone look back, but it was Feng Bao who came in quietly.

Feng Bao hurried forward, twisted the ear of the guest, and shouted: "Quickly kneel down to Lord Long Live." Ke Yong didn't know what mistake he had made, and he didn't dare to defend himself, so he had to kneel down reluctantly.Zhu Yijun didn't understand, and asked in a daze: "Brother, what's the matter with the guest?" Feng Bao also knelt down with a thud - when he knelt down, none of the dozen or so servants dared to stand up, and they all knelt down one after another.Feng Bao said seriously: "Old slave Feng Bao, Lord Long Live, please take back your will." "What purpose?" "The purpose of giving Yangzhou to guests." Upon hearing this, Zhu Yijun burst out laughing, and argued, "I was only joking, but I only rewarded him with five qian." "The Son of Heaven is no joke." Feng Bao was more serious, "If the Lord Long Live does not take back his will, Yangzhou will be gained for nothing." "Okay, okay," Zhu Yijun snorted impatiently, and said, "I didn't say that joke just now." Feng Bao breathed a sigh of relief, and turned around to reprimand the guest: "You little slave, you really don't know the heights of the sky and the earth, the emperor gave you Yangzhou, you should be in awe, and you should say goodbye quickly, but you still beamed and said 'Thank you long live Lord', did you answer this question? You don't know what's good or bad." Ke Yongping suffered such insults since he was innocent, tears welled up in his eyes, but he dared not argue, he just shook his head and remained silent.After being disturbed by Feng Bao, Zhu Yijun lost all interest in playing, got up and walked back to the East Nuan Pavilion, Feng Bao followed him and walked in. Zhu Yijun sat down on the imperial couch habitually, and a servant had already served the brewed fragrant tea.Zhu Yijun took a sip, suppressed the unhappiness in his heart, and without looking at Feng Bao, he just lowered his head and asked: "Brother, what's the matter today?" Feng Bao bowed his body and said: "I want to tell you, Long Live Lord, another big event happened outside the Meridian Gate." "Outside the Meridian Gate?" Zhu Yijun said disdainfully, "Isn't it Wu Zhongxing and Shen Sixiao who knelt there wearing shackles? Today is the second day, right?" "Yes," Feng Baozou said, "it's not the matter of these two people, but two people are going to talk about it?" "Who?" "Ai Mu and Shen Sixiao are both working in the criminal department. Ai Mu is a member of the criminal department, and Shen Sixiao is the head of the department." "Where's their booklet?" "At the old slave's place." "read." "yes." Feng Bao unfolded Ai Mu's brochure and read it word by word.When he heard that "the minister heard about the ancient sage Emperor Ming, he advised people to be filial, and if he didn't hear about it, he took it away", Zhu Yijun became a little impatient, and when he listened patiently, he was already furious.scolded: "These two lunatics, dare to scold me!" Feng Bao looked at Zhu Yijun's flushed face, and took the opportunity to say: "I know a thing or two about the situation of these two people." "speak." "Three days ago, the night before the Hanlin Academy edited Wu Zhongxing and Zhao Yongxian, Ai Mu and Shen Sixiao were invited by Wu Zhongxing to have a banquet at Tianxianglou in Dengshikou. There were seven people in total. In addition to the above four, there are three people from the Imperial Academy, Zhao Zhigao, Zhang Wei, and Xi Confucianism. They are called a daily banquet, but they are actually arguing for Zhang Han and discussing how to make a discount, and oppose the emperor's condolences to the first assistant Mr. Zhang." "Oh, these people are so bold, how do you know?" "Since Mr. Zhang seized his love and the Hanlin Academy took the lead in slandering the discussion, the old slave secretly ordered the East Factory to serve as slaves and secretly spy on their whereabouts." "That's very good," Zhu Yijun nodded, and suddenly felt that Feng Baozhong was honest and reliable, so he forgot all his unhappiness and continued to ask, "What else did the spies of the East Factory investigate?" "They have discussed it long ago. Wu Zhongxing and Zhao Yongxian's book will be uploaded first, and Ai Mu and Shen Sixiao will follow up later." "Ai Mu and Shen Sixiao are even worse." "Ai Mu has always regarded himself as a celebrity, and he has some influence among the officials of the Qing School in the capital. Long live, do you remember the Winter Judgment in the second year of Wanli?" "I remember, at that time Mr. Zhang proposed that heavy codes should be used to control the chaos. I approved him and killed a large number of important criminals across the country. Why do you suddenly ask this?" "This matter has something to do with Ai Mu. He was dispatched by the Ministry of Penalties to supervise the execution of prisoners in Shaanxi. That year, Shaanxi only killed two people, ranking last in the country." "I remember," Zhu Yijun suddenly became angry again, "Mr. Zhang once reported to me on the platform about the execution of a prisoner. He once said that there was a member of the Ministry of Punishment, Wailang, who failed to supervise him. Why is this person still in office?" "The old slave said that Ai Mu is a celebrity, and he is a little bit cautious to touch him. In addition, Wang Zhigao, the official of the Ministry of punishment, also protects him." "Isn't Wang Zhigao Yuanfu's in-laws? Why do you want to protect him?" "Wang Zhigao is honest and upright, but he's a bit pedantic, and he's easy to admit to death, so he can't be in harmony with the chief assistant." "I see," Zhu Yijun bit his lip and thought for a while, then asked, "Ai Mu's book said that the demon star appeared, what's going on?" "Last night, there was indeed a broom star in the sky." "Ah, is this an evil elephant?" "Yes." Feng Bao swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and said what he had thought in advance, "The reason why the broom star is called a demon star is because when it appears, there will be disasters on the ground. Last night, there were three fires in the capital. Chongwenmen In addition, more than a dozen families were burned down." "anything else?" "And..." Feng Bao paused, pretending to be afraid and said, "This time the Broom Star invaded the Big Dipper, and the Emperor's Seat was threatened." "is it so serious?,, "This old slave never dares to joke in front of Long Live God." "How should it be handled?" "Usually, when encountering a celestial phenomenon where a demon star appears, the Lord Long Live will immediately issue an order to the cabinet, the five government offices, the six courtyards, and the major yamen, requiring civil and military officials to cultivate their own provinces, pray for disaster relief, and relieve the wrath of the gods." "Then immediately pass on the decree for me, and let the civil and military officials repair the province." Although Zhu Yijun pretended to be an adult everywhere, he still couldn't help showing the child's panic at this time, "The demon star invaded the emperor's throne, where did this demon star come from?" "Long live God, the moment a demon star appeared in the sky, Ai Mu Shen Sixiao gave this memorial to offend the emperor. Isn't this a lice on the monk's head-is it obvious?" "You mean, the thief Aimu called catch the thief?" "According to this old slave, it makes sense." Zhu Yijun's face darkened, and he said, "Let Jin Yiwei take these two down." "Of course, the old slave will deliver the decree immediately," Feng Bao said without moving his body, hesitating for a while, and then said, "Long Live Lord, do you want to ask the Empress Dowager for instructions on this matter, and see what her decree is?" "No need," Zhu Yijun replied resolutely, "The queen mother has made it clear that those who commit chaos will be severely punished." "Excuse me, Long Live Lord, how to punish severely?" "I have issued an order to the Ministry of Officials to inquire, and I have already answered yesterday. I gave Wu Zhongxing and Zhao Yongxian two court sticks of sixty, and they were demoted to gangsters, and they will never be used. Today, Ai Mu Shen Sixiao and his arrogance are even more arrogant. Add 20 sticks to each, and travel three thousand li, guarding the frontier and serving as an army." "Excuse me, Lord Long Live, when will the imperial staff be enforced?" "At the time of tomorrow, let all the ministers and workers above the fourth rank of Jiuqing, big and small, come to the Meridian Gate for punishment, and none of them are allowed to be absent." "The old slave obeys the order, and now go to pass the decree." Feng Bao got out of Dongnuan Pavilion, he changed his old habit of walking with eight-character steps, and left the Palace of Heavenly Purity in no time. The news that Wu Zhongxing, Ai Mu and the other four were going to be punished by the court spread all over Beijing that afternoon, and immediately became the main topic of conversation in the streets and alleys.Everyone in the officialdom knows what the court rod means, and it is one of the most severe punishments for criminal officials.Only officials who directly angered the emperor would receive this severe punishment.The criminal officer raised it from the imperial prison, escorted him to the outside of the Meridian Gate, and lay down on the felted floor with his head facing the three main halls.The guard in charge of execution holds a big stick—this big stick is specially made, and it is made of chestnut wood. If the person pulls along with the trend, the sharp barb will tear off a large piece of the victim's body including the belt.If the executioner is not merciful, let alone sixty, thirty, the victim's flesh and blood will be torn to pieces.Many tortured officials died under the court rod.Even if they don't die, nine out of ten people will be permanently disabled.The highest number of court rods is one hundred, but this has no practical significance. If you hit seventy or eighty times, the person is dead.There are very few records of survival of people with a hundred royal rods.The eighty imperial staff means that both feet have stepped into the threshold of Lord Hades.Therefore, when they first heard that the four of them were about to be imprisoned by the court, Wu Zhongxing, Zhao Yongxian was sixty, and Ai Mu Shensi was eighty, their relatives, colleagues and friends all changed their colors in shock and rushed to rescue them. However, since the incident of Duoqing, Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao have been in hotline contact through You Qi and Xu Jue, and Zhang Juzheng has been aware of the emperor's severe treatment of Ai Mu and others in time, which is even worse than that of the five mansions and six departments. Ministers know sooner.Before Ai Mu turned up, Zhang Juzheng went to the eunuch for the third time to ask the emperor to allow him to go home and guard the system.The emperor's reply was "Sir, if I beg a hundred times more, I won't allow it." After saying this, Zhang Juzheng had no room for maneuver.Although deep in his heart he longed for the emperor to have such a resolute consolation attitude, but at least on the surface, in front of anyone, he had to show a look of helplessness.It is better to guard against others than Fangchuan. Since Wu Zhongxing, Ai Mu and others are willing to take the risk and violate the letter, it is because they have grasped the common psychology of officials-if they do not go home and keep the system, they are unfilial. Thinking of this, Zhang Juzheng would fall into deep pain and melancholy.He can exercise his authority to make the country rich and strong, but he can't make those scholars who stick to the pedantic moral integrity change their minds.He deeply felt that meritorious service and virtue can be combined, but meritorious service and meritorious deeds cannot be achieved at the same time.The strong opposition to this storm of seizing love came not from those wealthy and powerful families who had been deeply offended by him, but from the scholars he relied on deeply, which especially chilled him. These days, in addition to the constant stream of people who came to express their condolences at home, the eunuchs in the palace also came to pass orders almost every day.This afternoon, the eunuch He Jin, the supervisor of ceremonies, came to the mansion again to convey the emperor's latest will: Wouldn't it be urgent and sincere to unite for the sake of staying in the world.Forbearance and disobedience? But today, you really can't leave me. A member of the court official sent by the supervisor of ceremonies, went with Qingzi to compile and repair his heirs and build the post, to bury Qing's father; after the day, welcome Qing's mother. Jing Shi Yang, with Quan Xiaosi.You should look up to me, and I will stay with you to my heart's content, so don't resign.All the yamen know this. As soon as the imperial decree arrived, the Zhang residence immediately became busy.However, on the second day after receiving the obituary, Jingxiu, as the eldest grandson, immediately set off to return to his hometown of Jiangling. Now he has probably passed through Henan and entered the border of Huguang, and he will arrive home in three or four days.However, Jingxiu's return to his hometown is only a notification, and the number one owner of the funeral should be Zhang Juzheng.The emperor wanted him to seize his love and provoke heated discussions. After more than ten days of fighting and contesting, the emperor's determination to comfort Zhang Juzheng became stronger and stronger.Seeing that he could not go home to keep the order, Zhang Juzheng decided to ask his two sons, editor Sixiu who had already achieved fame, to go home on his behalf to fulfill his filial piety and bury his ancestors.After the emperor learned of this, he first brought a message.It will be in the morning to send an eunuch to Jiangling to preside over the funeral with editor Xiu Sixiu.Just before the end of the afternoon, the official imperial decree arrived. Zhang Juzheng was very grateful to the emperor for this honor.The first assistant buried his father, and the emperor personally sent eunuchs to officiate the funeral. There is no precedent in the two hundred years of the kingdom.The editor Sixiu, who had already prepared his belongings and was ready to go, set off immediately after burning incense with his father to receive the order.The emperor personally allowed them to ride the station, and the sedan horse sent by the Jingnan station was waiting in front of the door. They wanted to rush to the Jingnan station immediately, and the eunuch Wei Chao, the eunuch Bingbi sent by the emperor, met them there, and then they drove together in the starry night. To Gangneung. Sending off the editor Sixiu, Zhang Juzheng felt empty in his heart. He went back to the study, drank a cup of tea, ate a few pieces of dessert, and was about to start browsing the memorials waiting for drafting tickets. You Qi knocked on the door and came in and handed it to him. A sealed envelope. "Whose is this?" Zhang Juzheng asked. "I don't know. The door gave it to me. He said that someone walked to the door and handed it to him, saying it was for you, master." Zhang Juzheng was puzzled, so he opened the letter bag, and took out a piece of incense paper with a light bamboo backing. On the paper, he wrote a quatrain and attached two sentences: It breaks my heart when I hear the obituary, Desperate to cry Baiyun to the autumn wind. The concubine has no chance to cry blood, The empty courtyard hangs itself at dusk. If you can keep the system, why seize the love Suppressing tears and offering sacrifices at a distance, not well-known Seeing this graceful handwriting, Zhang Juzheng's heart suddenly jumped wildly. He is too familiar with this handwriting, and even more familiar with the sentimental sentiment in the poem! "Yu Niang!" He ran out of the study and ran to the front door.He looked up at the entrance of the alley, there were very few pedestrians.Several sergeants on duty stood on both sides of the gate like clay sculptures of King Kong. He turned around and asked the gate standing in front of the hall: "Who gave you this letter?" "An old man." "elder." "Yes, it looks like Mr. Donghe." "Where are people?" "Leave the letter and leave." "Go and chase him back." "yes." Menzi agreed with his mouth, but walked slowly.Zhang Juzheng stomped his feet and shouted: "Hurry up!" Startled, Menzi didn't dare to be negligent, and ran towards the entrance of the alley as if flying.Zhang Juzheng watched his back disappear all the time, suddenly realized that it was wrong to stand at the door, and frowning back to the study. After a while, Menzi came to report profusely with sweat, saying that he could not find the old man. "Are you sure it's an old man?" Zhang Juzheng asked. "It's absolutely true." "What kind of old man is he?" "Skinny, seems to know a little bit of writing." "Got it, let's go." After Menzi left, Zhang Juzheng read the poem over and over several times, and Yuniang's graceful figure and sad eyes always appeared in his mind.Since last winter, after Yuniang left Jixianglu without saying goodbye, Zhang Juzheng has inquired about her in many ways, but so far he has not been found.In the past, Yuniang showed the idea of ​​becoming a monk out of world-weariness more than once, so the person in charge of Zhang Juzheng visited all the monasteries inside and outside the capital many times, and returned disappointed again and again.During the first two or three months after Yuniang left, Zhang Juzheng was in a bad mood.He was busy with government affairs during the day, but he didn't feel anything at all: at night, he felt bored.Since Yuniang left, he seldom went to the Fragrant House, and once in a while, seeing things and thinking about others would only make him sad.After several months of resentment towards Ai Ai, my mood finally calmed down and returned to its original state.During the period, Empress Dowager Li asked him about Yuniang's whereabouts. He dared not say that Yuniang ran away in anger because Shao Daxia was killed, but replied vaguely that Yuniang had escaped to Buddhism because of her long-cherished wish.Hearing that such a beautiful little girl can abandon the world of mortals and devote herself to self-cultivation, Empress Dowager Li has a better impression of her.She wanted Zhang Juzheng to send a message to Yuniang, and she still wanted her to come to the palace to discuss Buddhist affairs: Zhang Juzheng could only perfunctorily promise, but he really didn't know where this young swallow from Jiangnan was flying to.Just when he gradually forgot, this jade lady miraculously appeared again—not her person, but this infatuated note she brought: This quatrain, just twenty-eight characters, entrusts Yuniang's endless grief for his respected father. In the poem, she calls herself a "concubine", which shows that Yuniang still has not changed her true love for him.Xian Tingkong hangs himself at dusk, where is this Xianting? The news revealed in the poem, it can be concluded that Yuniang is still in Beijing, living in the same city but seems to be hard to see, Zhang Juzheng is already a heart full of scars, this All of a sudden it adds new pain.He got up and walked to the window, imagining Yu Niang's black clothes and staring at the wind, and the corners of his eyes became moist again.He really wished he could order Wucheng soldiers to search every house and find Yuniang again, but he couldn't do that.As the prime minister, and during the period of seizing love, An Neng mobilized many people for a little girl? All the words were golden, and he thought of these four hot words again.As for the postscript to the poem, especially the eight words "If you can keep the rules, why seize the love", it has expressed Yuniang's persuasion and resentment towards him.As a little girl who has nothing to do with officialdom, Yu Niang also hopes that he will keep the system. It can be seen that the concept of filial piety is not unique to scholars, and it has deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.Thinking of this, Zhang Juzheng felt a little scared. "It's easy to break the mountain, but it's hard to break the heart." Wang Yangming's famous saying once again stirred up anger in his heart. Just when Zhang Juzheng missed Yuniang, You Qi came to report to Wang Xijue to see him again.Zhang Juzheng was very annoyed at the role played by the academician in charge in this affair.At this time we met, but Zhang Juzheng had no choice but to withdraw his thoughts and ordered You Qi to lead Wang Xijue to the flower hall. Ever since the news spread that Wu Zhongxing, Ai Mu and the other four were about to be imprisoned by the imperial staff, the Imperial Academy seemed to be boiling.Zhao Zhigao, Zhang Wei, Xi Confucianism and others clamored to mobilize all those who disagreed with the Duoqing matter to sign a letter together.This way things will get worse and worse, Wang Xijue dissuaded them, and then came to Shamao Hutong alone, he hoped that Zhang Juzheng would come forward to persuade the emperor to take back the edict of the imperial staff. Zhang Juzheng dawdled for a while on purpose, when he entered the flower hall, Wang Xijue who had already sat down hurriedly got up again to greet each other.Zhang Juzheng returned the courtesy and sat down. He suppressed his unhappiness and asked coldly: "My lord Wang, what is the business here?" Wang Xijue heard the bones in the words, he cast a glance at Zhang Juzheng who was dressed in green, and replied cautiously: "The foolish position is here this time only for the matter of the imperial staff." "What can I teach you?" "Wu Zhongxing, Zhao Yongxian, Ai Mu, and Shen Sixiao have objections to the seizure of the chief assistant's love affairs. Yuzhi thinks that this matter is not a royal staff." "Then what should be done?" "They should be forgiven." "Then why don't you give the emperor a discount?" "The emperor is in a rage, how can he listen to a foolish job?" "Then why can't you find Gu?" "Yuzhi asks you to come forward to persuade the emperor to withdraw the imperial staff's will." Zhang Juzheng shook his head and prevaricated: "You just said that the emperor is in a rage, Wu Zhongxing Ai Mu and others offended the emperor, not me, under such circumstances, how can Bu Gu persuade the emperor." Wang Xijue knew that Zhang Juzheng hated these people deeply and refused to help them, but in the current situation, only his words could make the emperor change his mind. In order to save people, he had no choice but to plead bitterly: "Shoufu, the emperor's anger was caused by the incident of seizing love, and the incident of seizing love broke out because of you, the first assistant. The person who tied the bell is needed to untie the bell. If you want the four of Wu Zhongxing to be saved, only you, the first assistant. Come out." Zhang Juzheng replied immediately: "Bugu can't come forward!" "Why?" "This is the first time that the emperor has personally exercised his authority. If Bugu intervenes, where will the emperor's face go?" Seeing Zhang Juzheng's stern expression, Wang Xijue suddenly felt discouraged, but the sense of responsibility to save the same kind made him dare not give up. He persuaded again: "Shoufu, there is a sentence that you can't help but say, but if you say it, it may arouse the wrath of Shoufu." "Go ahead." Zhang Juzheng stroked his long beard habitually to calm his restlessness.Wang Xijue took a sip of tea and said slowly: "Shoufu, although Wu Zhongxing and the other four will receive the court stick, all the scholars in the world will be saddened by it." After hearing this, Zhang Juzheng was taken aback, then sneered, and said mockingly: "My lord, what does Mr. Wang mean, is that I, Zhang Juzheng, want to make enemies of all the scholars in the world?" "Stupid duty doesn't mean that," Wang Xijue hurriedly defended, "but it is easy to cause misunderstanding among scholars." "First of all, it was your lord Wang's misunderstanding. Didn't you wear a red robe and go to the cabinet to congratulate Mr. Lu Ge on his move to the left?" Wang Xijue's face turned red, and he simply said boldly: "It is true, and the foolish official does not agree with the first assistant seizing love." "The emperor wants to keep me, what do you say?" "You can wear the crown and go." "Aren't you asking me to be unfaithful?" "If the first assistant is willing to come forward to rescue the four of Wu Zhongxing, maybe we can win the understanding of the opponents." "I'm sorry, but the servant is hard to follow." "Shoufu, don't you think that Wu Zhongxing and Zhao Yongxian are all your disciples?" "They don't see me as the lord," Zhang Juzheng said, unable to hold back the anger in his heart, and said sharply, "The emperor wants me to seize love, you want me to guard, and what you are doing is not to force me, Zhang Juzheng. Is there a dead end, if you insist on your own views, the only way to be free is to die." Seeing that Zhang Juzheng had uttered unfeeling words, Wang Xijue could only let out a long sigh and got up to leave.Not long after he left, Feng Bao sent someone to send the visit list of the East Factory for the past two days.Since the establishment of the East Factory, it has been responsible for the secret mission of monitoring all officials. The East Factory has many dark threads scattered everywhere. These spies will submit the information they have obtained at any time. Report to the emperor—only the emperor can see the visit form of Dongchang, but after Zhang Juzheng became the chief assistant, Feng worried that he would actually play the role of "regent", so he made two copies of the visit form. One was sent to the emperor and queen mother, and the other was reported to Zhang Juzheng. Now, Zhang Juzheng was looking at the latest interview form, which consisted of more than 20 pages, almost all of which were the words and deeds of officials from various yamen in the capital during the incident of seizing love.Zhang Juzheng read it carefully, not letting go of any of the news.Many of them involved Ai Mu, and published the full text of the song "The Song of the Golden Thread" written by him in Tianxiang Tower. Before that, he had read Ai Mu's "Admonishing Juzheng and Seizing Sentiment". He admired Ai Mu's writing talent from the bottom of his heart, but at the same time he sighed that "Zhilan is on the way and has to be eliminated".Now when he reads the song "Golden Thread", he is deeply disgusted by this talented scholar in central Hunan, and he ridiculed in his heart: "The one who helps the country is a man. This is true, but who is helping the country?" Is it you or me?" Thinking about it, he couldn't help picking up his pen, and according to the lyrics of "Golden Hazel", he wrote the sadness, anger and pain in his heart: One day the autumn is strong, ask the lonely goose, and go away with the clouds, how many layers of Guanshan? I can't bear to see that the sages are all lonely, who is drunk with the wind and moon in Chang'an.In the cold night, the hometown is bleak.It is expected that when the old father's soul is floating in the sun, on the Jiangpu, the maple forest is dark for a moment.The liver and intestines are broken, and the stars are extinguished. I was slandered as the Son of Man, looking at the south of the Yangtze River, the smoke and water are vast, and weeping blood in vain.It is really difficult to promise the country with one's body, and advancement and retreat are related to fame.I wish I could stay away from Di Que. It's just that it's hard for Mingjun to give up, to help the community, and to create a career for thousands of years.Merits and demerits, and throw it away!