King Xiang of the Red Chamber

Chapter 11 The Local Officials of Jinling
Orthodox ten years, May sixteenth.

Outside Yingtian Xinggong, cars and sedan chairs came one after another, all of them were officials from Jinling, the number of them was almost a hundred.

This is not an exaggeration. The chief secretary is in command of the inspectors, and there are at least 500 officials above the seventh rank, and they are still coming in a steady stream.

Most of them are middle- and lower-level officials in blue robes, and a few purple-robed officials are interspersed among them.

Now in the Ming Dynasty, official uniforms are not only judged by mending grades, but also have special regulations on the color of the uniforms.

The first and second ranks are red, the third and fourth ranks are purple, the fifth, sixth and seventh ranks are blue, and the seventh and lower ranks are blue.

Officials of different ranks chatted in different circles at this moment, waiting for the opening of the palace gate.

Zhu Jingyuan notified Chen Chu to discuss the matter at the second quarter, that is, at 07:30 in the morning, and this group of people came at seven o'clock.

Usually do things evasive and gossip, came to see and very active, since the contradictions and funny.

Outside the palace gate, when everyone was discussing, a small blue sedan slowly approached the palace gate.

The sedan chair stopped, and an official wearing a four-rank men's uniform and a black gauze hat came out from inside.

This person looks elegant and easy-going, but his body is thin and pale, obviously he is not in good health.

"I've seen Master Lin..."

"Master Lin, please take care..."

The person who came here was Lin Ruhai, the inspector of salt censor, who was in charge of salt affairs with the transfer envoy of Jinling, and was the God of Wealth on the ground of Jinling.

Of course, the main reason for Lin Ruhai's popularity is his bright and smooth official career.

Born in the Hou family, he was a high school student when he was young. He first served as an editor in the Imperial Academy for four years, then transferred to the cabinet as a Zhongshu Sheren for three years, and was transferred to the Metropolitan Procuratorate to serve as the inspector of salt and censor until now.

This kind of resume can be regarded as a template for entering the cabinet and worshiping the prime minister, and most of the officials present are incomparable.

Although Xunyan Yushi only has the sixth rank, but Lin Ruhai has been promoted to Doctor Zhongxian, which is the rank of the fourth rank.

In other words, if Lin Ruhai wants to be promoted in the next step, the worst thing is that he will be a vassal from Taiwan.

"Brother Ruhai, you have counted!"

The person who greeted Lin Ruhai was an official in his fifties, the same as Lin Ruhai's from the color of the official uniform and patch, and he was also a senior official of the fourth rank.

"Brother Shun Xing, stay safe and sound!" Lin Ruhai stopped and walked to salute.

"I eat and sleep well, and everything is fine... Brother Lin, you need to take better care of me. My Yanyun Yamen depends entirely on you to manage it so that it can turn around safely!"

It was Zhang Shunxing, the transshipment envoy of Jinling who answered Lin Ruhai's conversation, and the two of them could be called partners.

In the current era, the salt industry and other things belong to the state monopoly, and the transfer envoy Yamen is responsible for coordinating the salt production, and the patrol salt censor is responsible for contacting salt merchants for sale.

The two Gods of Wealth were chatting, but they didn't know that someone was chatting with them at the palace gate not far away.

"Old Zheng, according to my opinion, the military expenditure should let them find a way..."

"Don't say anything else, just let the salt merchants shed some blood, and things will be easier!"

"The prince is chasing us every day to raise money to clear the treasury. He's going to drive us all to death. I'm afraid it won't work!"

The person who spoke was He Gujin, the procurator, who was in charge of the punishment of criminal names and prisons in Jinling province, and had a high status in Jinling official circles.

He Gu Jin was about 40 years old, after saying this, he stroked his beard, and kept staring at his partner beside him.

He Gujin can be called a partner, of course, is Jinling's chief envoy Zheng Xianlin, but the latter has a sad face at the moment.

The chief envoy is in charge of saving money and food, but now the accounts of most prefectures and counties in Jinling are somewhat unclear, and he, Zheng Xianlin, is the first person in charge.

Immediately after entering the palace, the prince wanted to ask about money and food again, which made Zheng Xianlin not worried.

"Old Zheng, you just said something... everyone is pointing at you!"

"Okay, can you let me be quiet for a while? Go away if you talk again!"

"All right, I won't talk anymore, you have to think about it yourself!" He Gu Jin flicked his sleeves, and did not say much after that.

As time passed, more and more officials came, making the outside of the palace even more lively.

Friends, discussing political affairs, sighing, cursing in a low voice... It can be said that officials are performing all kinds of life.

In the palace at the other end, Zhu Jinghong was wearing his unique hat under the service of several eunuchs.

Put on the black soap boots, first wear the underwear as a single, then wear the lining as a lining, and then put on the round-neck robe with four dragon red cloud patterns.

In today's Ming Dynasty, not only officials and nobles are demoted to rank, but also royal family members.

This has led to the current strict distinction of ranks. For example, princes can only wear four dragon robes, while county kings can only wear two dragon robes.

The emperor's son is the prince, which is also an old thing in the previous dynasty. Since the ancestors, it has been changed to the son of the son as the prince, and the son of the concubine is the king of the county unless Jia En is granted.

Now that you have put on your clothes and shoes, it is time to arrange your hair. This is also the most troublesome step and takes more time.

Of course, the eunuchs are busy with all this, and Zhu Jinghong only needs to sit down.

"Tea……"

Sitting in front of the round mirror, the eunuch was arranging the hair bun. Zhu Jinghong gave a casual order, and immediately the eunuch was greeted with warm tea.

When he took a sip of tea, before he could savor it carefully, he heard the eunuch's voice outside.

"Master Thirteen, the crown prince sent his servants to ask, how long will it take for you to go there?"

The name of the visitor was Zhang Xin, he was the Chief Eunuch of the East Palace and a confidant of Prince Zhu Jingyuan.

This was the second time he came to urge him to ask, which basically allowed Zhu Jinghong to conclude that he did not agree to Gao Shuyan's request at all, but the crown prince asked Gao Shuyan to ask him for help.

Otherwise, how could this fourth brother urge himself many times, obviously because he was worried that he would be late!
"Understood, tell fourth brother... I'll be right there!"

In fact, at this moment his hair bun has been arranged, and Yu Hai is putting a net towel on him to fix it. Finally, Deng An brought the Wushayi Shanguan.

Putting on the crown and hat, looking at himself in the mirror, who is dignified and overbearing, Zhu Jinghong was a little lost for a while under the background of the eunuchs around him with low brows and pleasing eyes.

This is no more handsome and noble than that "Emperor Weng"... due to objective conditions, Zhu Jinghong couldn't help but sigh.

Thinking for a while, that he was going to teach those senior officials in Jinling a lesson, Zhu Jinghong only felt that life was infinitely beautiful.

Following the way he remembered, Zhu Jinghong turned around slowly, and said in a deep voice with his hand on the leather belt, "Go to Yong'an Hall!"

Yong'an Hall is the main hall of the Jinling Palace, where the prince will receive ministers today.

Surrounded by a group of eunuchs and guards, Zhu Jinghong walked slowly towards Yong'an Hall.

At this moment, the gate of the palace has been opened, and nearly a hundred officials present have been lined up according to their ranks, and they are walking towards the depths of the palace.

The people who were chatty just now put on a unified and serious face, and they blended into this majestic palace very well.

On both sides of the Royal Road, there are elites of the Beijing camp with distinctive armor. The eyes of these people are like sharp swords, sweeping back and forth on the officials.

Soon, the officials came to the gate of Yong'an, where they were replaced by Dragon Guards with better armor and more gorgeous lining.

After entering the palace gate, crossing the courtyard, and following the steps on the left and right sides, the officials walked up to the platform of the main hall, and entered the main hall one by one under the guidance of the officials.

Everyone stood in groups, quite a bit like Beijing's constant court.

At this moment, in the hall, Zhu Jinghong was listening to Zhu Jingyuan's orders, and at this moment he only felt that his ears were about to get callused.

At this point, his fourth brother also warned him to keep a good sense of proportion and not to let the officials get down too much.

"Your Highness, all the officials have arrived, please ascend to the palace!"

Gao Shuyan's reminder made Zhu Jingyuan stop admonishing and relieved Zhu Jinghong.

"Master Thirteen, it's all up to you later!"

"Don't worry, I have my sense of proportion!" Zhu Jinghong replied helplessly.

Fortunately, Gao Shuyan didn't babble, after getting a positive answer, he stopped talking and followed Zhu Jingyuan to the main hall.

(End of this chapter)