serious man in the red chamber

Chapter 240 The Emperor's Appetite

The side hall of Qianqing Palace is brightly lit.

Dozens of bowls of various dishes, large and small, were placed on the long dining table.

Emperor Jianwu sat at the head, and Wang Hetang sat next to him.

The eunuch on duty filled Emperor Jianwu with wine, and poured another glass for Wang Hetang.

Emperor Jianwu picked up the wine glass: "It's really hard for you this time. Come, I will have a drink with you." After speaking, he drank the wine in the glass.

Wang Hetang held up the wine glass with both hands and drank the wine: "It is nothing to be able to successfully complete the errand assigned by His Majesty."

Emperor Jianwu looked at Wang Hetang with a smile, and then glanced at the eunuch on duty.

The chief eunuch understood, and quietly shook his head to the other eunuchs.

The eunuchs all retreated quietly.

Wang Hetang understood, and quickly stood up.

Emperor Jianwu waved his hand: "Sit down, sit down. If you have anything to do, talk slowly while eating."

Wang Hetang replied: "Yes. Ouyang Lin, governor of Liangjiang, is old and sick. Please resign from his post as governor of Liangjiang and return to his hometown to retire!" He said, taking out a memorial from his sleeve and presenting it to Emperor Jianwu.

Emperor Jianwu took the memorial and unfolded it, then nodded with satisfaction.Then he put down the memorial and said to Wang Hetang: "The opening of the sea ban solved the food problem, and added an extra tax. But the two rivers are the fundamental wealth of the imperial court, so they can't be messed up. It's not time to split the two rivers, you say Tell me, who is the best to send?"

Wang Hetang picked up Emperor Jianwu's bowl and filled it with a bowl of rice, put his hands in front of him, then filled another bowl himself, then sat down, and slowly replied: "Because the court has focused its energy on pacifying In terms of the rebellion, the provinces did not work hard to implement the New Deal, which led to the ineffectiveness of the New Deal. Especially in Liangjiang, because Jiangsu and Anhui provinces were involved in the flames of war, Ouyang Lin directly stopped the New Deal, which can be said to be a failure.

It’s good to say that there are no big families in Anhui, but Jiangxi is different. Before the war, the imperial court confiscated a lot of money and food from Jiangxi, and now they have to take food from their mouths. I heard that because His Majesty decreed that Anhui Province will be exempted for three years. With regard to taxation, most of the big families in Jiangxi have the intention of complaining about their ministers. The emperor should transfer a person with background, reputation and ability to take over as the governor of Liangjiang.

In addition, Ouyang Lin is an old relative of the Jia family, and if his memorial to resignation is approved at this time, there will definitely be people with malicious intentions spreading rumors behind his back, so we must guard against it! "

A trace of smile flickered across the corner of Emperor Jianwu's mouth: "Well, you and I thought of going together."

Wang Hetang smiled compensatingly: "The emperor is wise. Lin Ruhai is a gentleman, and he has a clear and firm stand in the face of big right and wrong. He will not take money from the Jia family without a bottom line like Ouyang Lin, and do things for the Jia family.

I heard some news in the navy camp." Having said that, he glanced at the emperor.

Emperor Jianwu: "Speak."

Wang Hetang hesitated for a moment: "The Yangtze River Navy sold two warships that are still operational to the Jia Family Chamber of Commerce."

Emperor Jianwu said calmly, "Go on."

Wang Hetang stood up again: "The artillery on the ship has not been dismantled, and Jia's Chamber of Commerce has hired a large number of sailors and gunners from the Yangtze River Navy."

Emperor Jianwu: "The Jia Family Chamber of Commerce also bought three warships from the Guangdong Navy."

Wang Hetang was secretly startled: "What are they trying to do?!"

Emperor Jianwu changed the subject: "The Division of Tixing sent news from Mobei. The north is an extremely cold place with extremely bad weather and few people. Nanyang is a good place with rich products. I heard that rice harvests three seasons a year."

Wang Hetang is so shrewd, he was taken aback for a moment, and hurriedly followed him: "This minister also heard some news at the Tianjin Wharf. Many places in Nanyang are not the barbaric places in our impression, on the contrary they are very rich. I heard that there are still The remnants of the Ming Dynasty once occupied the island to establish a country, but unfortunately they died in the hands of the Xiyi people.”

Emperor Jianwu: "Shui Rong took his cronies to Nanyang."

Hearing this, Wang Hetang was shocked, and looked at the emperor suspiciously.

Emperor Jianwu went on to say: "The demise of the Manchu Tartars is imminent. The court will not only recover the Liaodong region lost in the hands of the former Ming Dynasty, but also include North Korea into the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the north will usher in complete peace.

Next, the imperial court will focus on developing the southern region.Not only must the problems in the southwestern region be completely resolved, but the troops stationed in Yunnan, Guizhou and other places should also be allowed to go abroad, and Annan, Siam and other places should be brought back into the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

In addition, the Guangdong Navy will also launch an attack on Nanyang in the name of chasing down the rebels of the Water Soluble Department. "

After a pause, "This is what our monarchs and ministers are saying, don't say it now, it's not the time yet."

Hearing this, Wang Hetang was really shocked, and stood there in a daze, motionless.

Emperor Jianwu asked: "Do you think that I am so overjoyed that I have resorted to fighting for my own selfish desires and resorting to military force?"

Wang Hetang quickly replied: "I dare not!"

Emperor Jianwu sighed softly: "I am also on the verge of death and have no choice but to announce the matter of Mei Changwen asking for the crown prince. You should have heard about the future. There are many more, and you can't hide. With the continuous battle, the army of the Great Zhou The strength will become stronger and stronger, and the power of the Jia family will also become stronger. Will they be willing to let the Ninth Prince be just a happy prince?

I am not the emperor, and I will not use the lives of my parents and children to cut off the power of the military.I have made up my mind, when the time comes, I will entrust those lands to my sons, and let them defend the court. I think I am healthy and strong, and there is no problem in living to the age of six or seventy. I can train a qualified successor. I will leave him For decades, none of his brothers dared to disagree with him. "

Wang Hetang hesitated for a moment, then asked, "What about decades later?"

Emperor Jianwu was at a loss, stood up, walked to the window and looked at the night sky in the distance: "Then only God knows."

"Your Majesty, the slave is back." Dai Quan's voice came from outside the hall.

Emperor Jianwu came back to his senses: "Come in."

Dai Quan walked in lightly, stared at Wang Hetang for a moment, then walked to Emperor Jianwu: "Your Majesty."

Emperor Jianwu: "Speak."

Dai Quan: "Yes." He took out a piece of paper from his sleeve and presented it to Emperor Jianwu, "The old slave just went to the prison of the Ministry of War to meet Jia Yucun, and he recruited everything."

Emperor Jianwu: "Oh?" He took a look at the ink note and asked, "Did you startle the snake?"

"No."

Said, leaning into Emperor Jianwu's ear, Dai Quan told what happened in the prison of the Ministry of War, then took out a bank note from his sleeve, and said: "Mr. Ning Guo said, and those who see it will have a share. 5000 taels, 1 taels for each of Shoufu and Wang Ziteng, 1000 taels for each of the five children of the Jia family, a total of 5 taels."

Looking at the silver note in Dai Quan's hand, Emperor Jianwu snorted coldly: "There are ulterior motives!"

"I'm talking about that evil obstacle." Emperor Jianwu added.

Dai Quan: "This banknote"

Emperor Jianwu replied lightly: "You can take it if I give it to you." Then, he turned his gaze to Wang Hetang, and said with a smile: "It's cold, so I won't keep you. Hurry up and go back home to reunite with your family. Let’s talk about other things after the New Year.”

"Yes."

Wang Hetang gave a deep bow, and then slowly backed out.

Watching him retreat, Emperor Jianwu paced a few steps habitually: "Is there any problem with Tianjin?"

"The Supervisor of Rituals discovered the killer in the Prince's Mansion of Yizhong County when he was monitoring the Kong family."

Dai Quan quickly replied: "According to the time, the passenger ship will arrive at Tianjin Wharf on the evening of the 26th of the twelfth lunar month, and the case file will enter Beijing on the 29th."

Emperor Jianwu turned around and said, "Then in the early morning of the 29th, decree to confer that trash as Duke Yansheng."

Dai Quan: "Yes."

Emperor Jianwu went on to say: "Tell Mei Changwen that on the 29th, I will see the Mei party's memorial to the impeachment of the Nanzong Kong family and the memorial to the clan."

Dai Quan replied loudly, "Yes."

Standing there silent for a moment, Emperor Jianwu walked to the dining table, picked up the memorial to Ouyang Lin asking for his resignation, turned around and walked out, saying, "Ask Jia Hu, what happened to the Yangtze River Navy?"

(End of this chapter)