Why did the emperor rebel?

Chapter 826
Just after noon, Yu Zhai ushered in an old acquaintance.

"Yu Shibo?"

At the main entrance, Yu Mian, who had been reported by a servant, rushed to greet him, his face full of surprise.

In front of him, a soft tweed sedan was parked outside the gate, and in front of the sedan chair, Yu Shiyue in a crimson official robe stood with his hands behind his back.

Seeing Yu Mian coming out to welcome him, the cabinet minister smiled gently and said.

"Nothing to do today, the old man came to talk to your father and have lunch by the way."

Yu Mian looked up at the sky, it was indeed almost lunch time, but, after so many years of old friendship, doesn't this Yu Shibo know that his old friend never returns to the mansion at noon?

Yu Shiyue saw through Yu Mian's doubts at a glance, waved his hand, and said.

"You go to prepare. Before the old man came, he had already sent someone to the Ministry of War to call your father."

"By the way, the old man brought the best Jinhua ham, fresh lotus root, crispy yellow croaker, and fermented glutinous rice balls. You take them to the kitchen and make them quickly. Your father will be back soon!"

These words are more like the master's house than the master's house.

However, given the current relationship between the two families, Yu Shiyue was indeed similar to Yu Mian's elders. Seeing what he said, Yu Mian had no choice but to cup his hands, welcome Yu Shiyue in, and then ordered people to go down to prepare lunch.

Sure enough, not long after, Yu Qian's sedan chair stopped outside the door.

"Brother Shi Chao, what's the matter?"

Yu Qian traveled all the way, went straight to the flower hall when he entered the door, and just sat down, he asked directly. With this attitude, Yu Shiyue was speechless.

"Sit down first, and talk while you eat."

Yu Shiyue waved her hand, signaling to the people below that they could serve food. With this appearance, people who don't know it may think it's his house...

A series of exquisite dishes were served on the table, and even Yu Qian couldn't help but growl in his stomach.

Although he has never had a bad appetite, Yu Mian would not want to eat delicious food that is free, and these ingredients, which are not cheap at first glance, were not brought by Yu Shiyue.

Therefore, Yu Qian didn't refuse at all, picked up the bowl and chopsticks, and really started to eat.

Because I have to go to the Yamen in the afternoon, I don't want wine, and at their level, it's not a matter of business at the dinner table, so, looking at the dishes in front of me, Yu Qian didn't rush to ask more questions.

The two chatted about the gossip and anecdotes of the capital, and finished the meal. Afterwards, Yu Qian changed his clothes, came to the study, put a pot of tea, and the two sat opposite each other before talking about serious business.

But this time, it was Yu Shiyue who spoke first.

"Ting Yi, you have heard that today, His Majesty sent Duke Shu to Duke Cheng's mansion to announce the decree, ordering him to inherit the title and returning the hereditary iron certificate."

"heard."

Yu Qian's expression was very calm, he took a sip of tea, and there was no wave in the ancient well.

Seeing this situation, Yu Shiyue continued to ask.

"Then you have heard that His Majesty ordered Zhu Yi to continue to manage the young army in the imperial edict?"

Yu Qian continued drinking tea, but this time, he didn't speak.

He knew Yu Shiyue's reason for coming. A son of a noble without a title was the commander of the young army in the East Palace, and a top-notch noble who came to take care of the affairs of another young army was not the same concept.

At least, for Yu Shiyue, Zhan Shi of the Prince's Mansion, there is a big difference.

but……

"Brother Shi Chao, have you ever thought about what position should be given to this Duke if he is not allowed to be in charge of the Young Army?"

Putting down the teacup in his hand, Yu Qian sighed and asked.

Yu Shiyue was dumbfounded all of a sudden, yes, if he is not in charge of the young army, what should the Duke of the country do?
Sitting up straight, Yu Qian's expression also became solemn, said.

"In today's court, apart from Duke Feng Li Xian, Zhu Yi is the only duke who has grown up and is in the capital. With this level of status, any position in the military mansion cannot be bypassed if he is to be appointed. "

"Since the founding of my dynasty, no matter whether it is the first duke or the successor duke, they are all high-ranking and powerful people. Now, although the new Cheng Guogong is not very old, he has already reached the crown. , according to the usual practice, he will either be in charge of the military mansion, or he will be responsible for assisting the Beijing camp affairs."

"The two are in power, brother Shi Chao thinks, besides letting him stay in the young army, is there any better place to go?"

This……

Yu Shiyue sighed heavily, took a sip from the tea cup in front of him, and said.

"I actually understand this truth, but I'm just worried that this Cheng Guogong will not stop so easily."

As he spoke, Yu Shiyue frowned and said.

"Speaking of which, on that day, Your Majesty, you and Shen Shangshu?"

There is no need to continue, Yu Qian also understands what he is asking.

This matter is not considered a big secret, besides, it cannot be kept secret, so Yu Qian simply admitted it.

"The day before the crown prince left the cabinet, Zhu Yi came to visit me in person and handed me the land records of the noble families in Beijing who cultivated land on the border."

"Although it is obvious that there is still some concealment in this field book, and the authenticity cannot be guaranteed, but it will save a lot of trouble if you follow the map to find out!"

"Sure enough..."

Yu Shiyue sighed and said.

"I just said that day in the hall, why were you so straightforward, after thinking about it, there is nothing that can impress you except for the rectification of the military affairs."

"So, where is Shen Shangshu?"

Yu Qian nodded and said.

"After coming down to court, I met with Shen Shangshu, and he also received the field book, but Zhu Yi's book was bigger with him, and he promised to become the Duke's mansion just like the Marquis of Changping. Many properties on the border have been registered as military settlements."

"Besides, there are several honorable families who have good relations with Duke Cheng's government. They are willing to use half of the imperial court's redemption money to designate the border land as military settlements."

Hearing this, Yu Shiyue gasped.

He thought that Zhu Yi would pay a lot of money to persuade Yu Qian and Shen Yi to speak for him, but he didn't expect that this Duke of the State would be so willing to spend so much.

After hesitating for a moment, Yu Shiyue still couldn't hold back his curiosity, stretched out five fingers, and asked.

"With the status of Cheng Guogong's government, these years at the border, there must be this number?"

You must know that the main body of the invasion and occupation of military settlements is first and foremost the nobles in Beijing, followed by the suzerains and vassals in various places, and finally the many frontier generals.

When Zhu Yong was still there, the government of Chengguo and the government of the United Kingdom fought against each other, and they were the top nobles in the capital. Besides, Zhu Yong was also ordered to patrol the border.

Calculated in this way, Yu Shiyue felt that there would have to be tens of thousands of mu, or five hundred hectares, just for the invaded army farmland. He was already conservative.

However, what he didn't expect was that he only thought that he would be conservative, but he never thought that it was too conservative.

After a moment of silence, Yu Qian said.

"According to the field records handed in by Zhu Yi, there are now [-] hectares of border fields under the name of Duke Cheng."

Clang.

The teacup in his hand was overturned on the table, and the tea fell to the ground drop by drop, but Mrs. Yu was stunned.

Three thousand two hundred hectares? !

One hectare is 32 mu, what the hell is [-] mu? !

Are there really so many fields on the border?
Seemingly seeing Yu Shiyue's doubts, Yu Qian added.

"It's not just on the border. The farmland occupied by Duke Cheng's government on the border accounts for about [-]% of the total, and the rest are scattered in various places."

While talking, Yu Qian sighed and said.

"Actually, I have known for a long time that the real scourge of the occupation of military settlements is not at the border, but in various places. However, there are priorities. Rectifying the military settlements is not a one-day job, and we can only focus on the border first."

According to the records in the early years of Hongwu, there should be more than [-] hectares of farmland in the Ming Dynasty, accounting for about one-tenth of the total number of acres in the world.

Naturally, such a huge number cannot be concentrated at the border. In fact, the border army station accounts for roughly one-tenth of the total army station.

However, with the development of private land reclamation in recent years, this number is no longer accurate. According to the situation that Yu Qian had before and the situation reported by the censors of various places.

The private reclamation of fields on the border is relatively more serious. If these acres of fields are included, there should be about 15 hectares across the border.

On the other hand, in the interior, the actual number of military settlements is declining because of government expenditures such as rewarding official land, sealing land, and Wang Tian, ​​and the fact that there is not much room for reclamation in the interior.

However, even so, to eradicate the chronic disease of encroaching on military fields, we still have to start from all over the place.

However, this project is too huge.

Yu Qian has been busy for so long, and has just opened a gap in the border. Moreover, from the perspective of advantages and disadvantages, although the army station on the border does not have an advantage in the total number, it has an advantage, that is, it can supply the officers and soldiers on the spot , do not have to bear the loss during transportation.

This point is crucial to the nine-border defense line that Daming is about to build!

It took a long time before Yu Shiyue recovered from the shock and sighed.

"No wonder you and Shen Shangshu are working so hard, this Duke is really willing to spend his money!"

More than 30 mu of land, this is no longer a waste of money, this is the sale of the coffin!

"Hmph, I'm just not greedy enough!"

Hearing this, Yu Qian snorted coldly and said.

"Chengguo's mansion has [-] shi. Over the years, successive emperors have granted land one after another, at least hundreds of hectares. In addition, Chengguo's mansion has legally purchased over a thousand hectares of land in total. , the production of these fields is enough to support a county king's mansion."

"But these nobles are still dissatisfied, and they have stretched their hands into the country's military camps, just for their own desires and harming the country's interests!"

"Stop, stop..."

Seeing that Yu Qian started to carry out ideological education again, Yu Shiyue smiled wryly, finally woke up completely, and waved his hands.

"I understand the truth, but, Ting Yi, have you ever thought about it, after paying such a high price, will Cheng Guogong's mansion really only seek reinstatement?"

"You know, this Cheng Guogong is not just Cheng Guogong..."

Frowning, Yu Shiyue's tone was a little worried.

…………

"That's right. Although the fields have not been handed over yet, the fields are in the hands of Yu Qian and Shen Yi, so we can't help them."

In Duke Cheng's mansion, Zhang Min sighed with regret.

Although it is said that his British government didn't have any acres of land this time, Erye Zhang still felt a little distressed seeing the hundreds of thousands of acres of land being handed over to others.

Not to mention, those nobles who promised to redeem the land with Zhu Yi have been pestering him every day these days.

Of course Zhu Yi saw Zhang Min's careful thinking, and with a wry smile, he said.

"Uncle, there is a rule in the court. If you take advantage, you have to pay the price. The Ministry of War has not used thunder for a long time. It's not that they don't want to, but they just lack a reason."

"Repenting at this time, I'm afraid it's in line with Shaobao's wishes. He only needs to publish the field records in the court, and the consequences..."

"You're right, but, well..."

Second Master Zhang understands the truth, but this heartache is always inevitable.

At this time, Zhu Yi smiled and said.

"You don't have to be like that, sir. Think about it, if it wasn't for the fact that the Ministry of War owed us such a big favor, it would not be so easy to get back the title of my nephew. Besides, although the contract cannot be broken, there is still hope if we talk about the terms. of."

Hearing this, Zhang Min's eyes lit up, and he said.

"what do you mean?"

"If there is no accident, Shibo's hope of taking charge of the military mansion falls here!"

Zhu Yi grinned, revealing a bright smile.

"really?"

"nature!"

Seeing Zhu Yi's determined look, Zhang Min's expression finally relaxed, and said.

"Then thank you nephew!"

Zhu Yi said with a smile: "Shibo, you are welcome. You and I are now in the same spirit. It is a good family. Naturally, we should support each other."

With this conversation, most of the doubts in Zhang Yu's heart were obviously gone, he laughed twice, then shook his head, and said.

"To be honest with my nephew, in the past two days, the old man has always been a little flustered, as if he always felt that something was missing and never considered it. However, after hearing what my nephew said today, the old man can feel at ease."

After finally sending Zhang Xiang away, Zhu Yi finally breathed a sigh of relief, and turned her head, but she was still thinking about the conversation just now.

The breeze in front of his head was leading the way, but Zhu Yi didn't care much, and walked forward with his mind on his mind, but the further he walked, he felt that something was wrong with the scene around him.

It's almost time for lunch now, he almost left Zhang Min for dinner just now, and now he has finally sent him away, he should have gone back to the backyard for dinner, but now this place has just gone to the study...

So, Zhu Yi came back to her senses, frowned and said.

"Qingfeng, didn't I say I went back to the back house, Madam is still here..."

In the middle of speaking, Zhu Yi got stuck in the shell.

Because when he looked up, he saw a familiar figure.

Tsing Yi Xiaomao, dressed as a domestic servant, looks very low-key, but how can he not recognize who this person is.

This is none other than the admiral and eunuch of the East Factory, Shu Liang and Eunuch Shu, who came to proclaim the decree just now!

Beside Shu Liang, there was an old butler with a bitter face. Apart from the two of them, there were no other servants around the study.

Seeing that his young master finally came back, the old butler hurried forward and said.

"Master, according to your instructions, this nobleman wants to come to see you, but this old servant dare not stop him, so he can only bring the nobleman in through the small side door."

"But don't worry, no one will see the person that this old slave went to pick up in person, but you were entertaining guests at the time and didn't dare to disturb you, so you made the nobleman wait for a long time in the back room..."

The implication is that this time will not be short.

Moreover, the back room is connected to the study room. Sometimes Zhu Yi would rest in it when she was tired. There was a door in the middle, but there was another door outside.

What this means is that this guy overheard the conversation he had with Zhang Min just now.

Zhu Yi's scalp was a little numb, but she still approached enthusiastically and said.

"I kept my father-in-law waiting for a long time, Zhu's fault, Zhu's fault..."

Looking at the new Duke of Jin in front of him, Shu Liang still had the same smirk on his face for thousands of years, and it was even a bit thicker, said.

"Ah, the words of the Duke of the country can ruin our family. What is your status? Our family is just a dog next to the emperor. When we arrive at the Duke's mansion, let alone this moment, how long...doesn't it matter?" Have to wait!"

(End of this chapter)