Ming Dynasty 1566

Chapter 15

"Godfather." As soon as he stepped through the door and called out, Li Xuan felt a little dizzy.

——Red lanterns, red candles, red silk curtains, even the quilt on the bed and the cushions on the chairs are all red, and the whole bedroom is flushed red!
What made Li Xuan even more astonished was that Yang Jinshui was sitting at the banquet table, and Yun Niang was also sitting there, wearing a scarlet kimono!
Li Xuan didn't dare to move.

Yang Jinshui's face was full of kindness: "Come, sit here."

Only then did Li Xuan move his feet, walked to the bottom, and slowly sat down next to the chair.

"No." Yang Jinshui stopped him, "Sit there today." He pointed to the empty chair between him and Yunniang.

Li Xuan was stunned again, and squeezed a smile: "Godfather, you always know that your son is timid, so don't scare me."

"I'm thinking about it again." Yang Jinshui said calmly, "If I tell you to sit, you can sit."

Li Xuan was still standing there: "Godfather is kind, but son doesn't dare to disobey the rules." When he said this, his heart was beating even more, and he sat down next to the lower chair.

Yang Jinshui stopped persuading him: "Then Yunniang, you also sit here."

Then Yun Niang walked over to Li Xuan with the wine glass, and sat down next to him.

"Godfather!" Li Xuan stood up from the chair again like a spring, and there was already some panic in his voice, "What do you always want your son to do?"

Yang Jinshui: "I'm so thoughtful, it's worth my loving you."

Li Xuan's face became even more panicked, and he stared fixedly at Yang Jinshui.

Yang Jinshui turned to Yun Niang: "Bring that cup of puffer fish to Xuan'er."

That Yunniang took a blue-glazed porcelain soup cup and put it in front of Li Xuan, and then lifted the lid of the cup for him.

Li Xuan's eyes straightened, looking at the soup in the cup, it was like seeing poison!

Yang Jinshui: "What's wrong? Like seeing poison?"

Li Xuan was even more confused and froze there.

Yang Jinshui reached for his cup of puffer fish soup, picked up the spoon, scooped out a spoonful of soup and drank it, then put down the spoon: "Among so many sons, you are considered filial. You gave this puffer fish last year and kept it in the pond. Here, I was thinking about asking you to eat it together someday. Today, the specially invited Yangzhou master made it, but you didn’t eat it.”

Li Xuan immediately raised his hand and twitched his face: "My son is confused! I'll eat it right away." As he spoke, he stretched out his hand to pick up another soup cup, lifted the lid, picked it up and drank it.

"Hot!" Yang Jinshui shouted, "Drink slowly."

Li Xuan had already been scalded, at this moment he opened his mouth and took a breath, put down the soup cup, and sat down next to the chair again.

"Pour the bar." Yang Jinshui said again.

That Yunniang picked up the jug and then picked up a huge wine cup and poured a full glass for Li Xuan.

Li Xuan was a little nervous again: "Such a big cup..."

Yang Jinshui: "You are smart. You were right just now. My godfather has something to tell you today. Just three sentences, just say one sentence after drinking a cup. Drink this cup first."

Li Xuan had no choice but to pick up the wine glass, drank it in a gulp, and then looked straight at Yang Jinshui.

Yang Jinshui: "The first sentence, you have said behind your back several times that one day you can sleep with Yun Niang, and death is worth it. Have you said that?"

Li Xuan was so frightened by this jump, he immediately jumped up, pushed the chair away and knelt down.

Yang Jinshui also stood up: "Look, look, you just said the first sentence, so what should I say about the last two sentences?"

At this moment, Li Xuan was too scared to answer, and kept kowtow on the ground.

Yang Jinshui winked, and Yunniang bent down to help Li Xuan, but Li Xuan hurriedly moved aside as if he had seen a ghost.

"Get up!" Yang Jinshui's voice became hard.

Then Li Xuan was stunned again, standing up while supporting the chair, trembling a little.

Yang Jinshui: "Help him sit down."

Yun Niang supported his arm again, and Li Xuan sat down firmly.

Yunniang filled his big cup with wine again.

Yang Jinshui: "Drink it."

Li Xuan's hands trembled, holding the glass of wine, he drank it with great effort.

Yang Jinshui: "Second sentence, how does godfather treat you?"

Li Xuan was about to stand up again, but was held down by Yun Niang who was standing beside him, so he could only sit there and say, "Godfather treats his son with an overwhelming kindness...the son will not be able to repay it even if he dies..."

"Conscientious." Yang Jinshui answered loudly, "Pour wine."

Yunniang filled his cup with wine again.

This time, without waiting for Yang Jinshui to say anything, Li Xuan took up the wine and drank it, but Yang Jinshui stretched out his hand and held it down: "This glass of wine is waiting for me to finish talking, you can drink it if you are willing."

At this time, Li Xuan was no longer as scared as before, and replied loudly: "My life is originally my godfather, it's up to me whether I want it or not, just tell me quickly."

Yang Jinshui: "Okay, then I will say the third sentence. You will sleep here tonight, and Yunniang will sleep with you."

Even though he understood, Li Xuan still froze after hearing these words.

Yang Jinshui stood up: "I've finished my three sentences. You can decide whether you want to drink this glass of wine." After speaking, he walked towards the door, and closed the door behind his back.

Li Xuan finally came to his senses, suddenly turned his head to look at Yun Niang, and shouted loudly: "Give me a cup, serve me!"

It was about Yin time, and before dawn, the large flat in front of the governor's office was full of soldiers.There is a circle of torches on the outside, and soldiers with guns stand like nails; on both sides of the splayed wall are two rows of torches, and soldiers with swords standing.

Through the open gate, you can still see the soldiers lined up to the second and third halls illuminated by two rows of torches!

No one made a sound.There was no wind that night, and even the flag on the long flagpole was hanging dead.It reveals even more terrifying chills!

It's about to kill someone.In front of the flagpole in Daping, there were four pillars for killing people. Chang Boxi was tied to one of the two pillars, Zhang Zhiliang was tied to the other, and the other two were left empty.

"Who!" Suddenly there were shouts and questions from the periphery of Daping, and a team officer led two soldiers to greet several lanterns.

"It's from the Yamen of the Weaving Bureau." The lantern replied.

It was four soldiers, guarding three people who came over.

One of those three people was Li Xuan, obviously drunk at this time, walked over with the help of two eunuchs.

The team officer: "Is it the Xin'an River that supervises Li Xuan?"

One of the eunuchs supporting him nodded his head, but Li Xuan himself raised his head, squinted his eyes, and replied: "It's me... let's cut him down..."

The team officer: "Help me over there."

The party walked up to the pillars in Daping, and when they saw Chang Boxi and Zhang Zhiliang tied to the pillars, Li Xuan stopped walking: "You guys came first..."

Chang Boxi closed his eyes, but Zhang Zhiliang seemed to have seen a life-saving straw: "Eunuch Li, we are wronged! Go and ask Eunuch Yang for mercy!"

Li Xuan: "Please...what's the matter? I'm worthless... Come on, tie me up too."

That Zhiliang was so desperate that he burst into tears.

Seeing him crying, Li Xuan laughed to himself, and suddenly sang a Kunqu opera: "'When dawn comes, whoever is stained with frost and the forest is drunk, always tears away from others...'" While singing, he actually pushed away the two eunuchs who were helping him, Drunk with a dancing posture: "'Hate to meet late, resentment to go back sick, willow silk grows, jade is hard to tie...'" Singing here, before making a stable appearance, he fell drunk and sat on the ground.

The two eunuchs immediately took his arms and pulled him up.

The team officer and the soldiers were all taken aback by him, and they looked at each other.

Li Xuan: "...Quick, fast, tie me up too..."

The officer of the team said, "Your Majesty has something to say. Eunuch Li is from the palace and cannot be tortured." Having said that, he turned to the two eunuchs on the left and right: "First help him to the gatehouse to watch."

The two eunuchs helped Li Xuan, followed by four soldiers, and walked towards the gate.

A few huge candles were burning, and Yang Jinshui, Zheng Michang, and He Maocai were all sitting on the chairs in the signing room of the governor's office with sullen faces, waiting for Hu Zongxian who was reading the memorial.

Since there was no wind and several people were sitting stuffy, the sound of insects in the courtyard of the Governor's Office was extremely loud, which was disturbingly loud.

"Why didn't you write the words about asking the imperial court to delay changing rice to mulberry?" Hu Zongxian put the memorial after reading it on the big case.

Both Zheng Michang and He Maocai looked at Yang Jinshui.

Yang Jinshui sat there coldly with his eyes closed.

Zheng Michang had no choice but to reply: "We have repeatedly discussed with Eunuch Yang. Changing rice to mulberry is a national policy. Whether it is delayed or not is not something we should say. If the court reads that we are flooded, the emperor is wise, and a decree will be issued. We won’t change it this year, and we will obey the policy at that time.”

Hu Zongxian: "What if the court has no decree not to change it?"

Zheng Bichang: "Then we have no choice but to resign ourselves to it."

Hu Zongxian stood up suddenly: "You are reluctant to do what you want? What is your difficulty? The fields of tens of thousands of people have been flooded, and many households have no food now, and there is no harvest after autumn. Now they can't even borrow a bucket of rice. Changing rice into mulberry, can mulberry seedlings be eaten?"

He Maocai: "Then just don't change the rice fields into mulberry fields now. The fields are already flooded, and many people still have no food."

Hu Zongxian: "The government asked the imperial court to transfer grain and borrow money, and asked the people to plant rice seedlings as soon as possible, and there will be some harvest after autumn. The grain borrowed will not be repaid this year, and will be returned in three years. Therefore, rice cannot be changed into mulberry within these three years. According to this Write down your meaning!" Hu Zongxian said as he picked up the memorial and put it in front of the case.

Zheng Michang and He Maocai were silent, and they both looked at Yang Jinshui again.

"If it is written like this, I will not sign it." Yang Jinshui finally spoke, but his eyes were still closed.

Hu Zongxian no longer gave him color, and immediately asked: "Then what does Eunuch Yang mean?"

"I'm a weaving bureau. I just weave silk for the imperial court. What can I do?" Yang Jinshui still closed his eyes.

Hu Zongxian: "For the sake of silk, you don't care if people starve to death or force people to rebel?"

Yang Jinshui opened his eyes: "That's your business."

Hu Zongxian's eyes flashed, and he looked at Yang Jinshui fixedly.

There was deathly silence in the signing room, and the chirping of insects in the yard became loud again.

Suddenly, Hu Zongxian slapped the big case with a palm: "It's also my business to burst the ground and flood the fields!"

Yang Jinshui was taken aback at first, but then regained his composure, and slapped the coffee table beside him, and stood up: "Who broke through and flooded the field? You broke the dike, and if you want to kill someone, I'll send you Li Xuan too." Here comes, what else do you want? Hu Butang, you local officials can look at the height of the mountain from one mountain to another. I can’t, I only have a cloud above my head, and this cloud of mine is in the palace! You don’t need to buy Gelao’s I'm in charge of the palace! After turning around, Eunuch Lu will tell the emperor."

Hu Zongxian's eyes were burning, but he stopped arguing with him and said, "There is no need to ask Eunuch Lu to tell the emperor. I am the governor of Zhejiang Province. I can also go to Beijing and see the emperor. The man here is Ma Ningyuan Come in!"

Zheng Michang and He Maocai were stunned immediately, Yang Jinshui also immediately lost the arrogance just now, and the light from his eyes gradually subsided at this moment, and the three of them couldn't help but look towards the door.

Ma Ningyuan was still wearing the casual clothes, and he was very calm when he walked in.

The three of them looked at Ma Ningyuan, but Ma Ningyuan didn't look at them. He went straight to Hu Zongxian and took out a stack of confessions from his lapel: "How to destroy the embankment, who conspired, and the crimes are all written on it. I Signed, both Chang Boxi and Zhang Zhiliang signed. Now present it to the Minister."

Hu Zongxian looked at Ma Ningyuan deeply: "Let it go."

Ma Ningyuan put the confession on the big case with both hands.

Hu Zongxian: "Go down."

But Ma Ningyuan took a step back and knelt down: "I will leave as soon as the day breaks... I owe the great kindness and virtue of the Ministry Hall, and I will only repay the humble job in the next life." After finishing speaking, he kowtowed heavily to Hu Zongxian , then stood up, without looking at the three people anymore, and strode out.

The three of them were all in a daze at this moment.

Hu Zongxian: "Do you want to read this confession again?"

None of the three said anything.

Hu Zongxian: "If you don't want to read it, don't read it. I, Hu Zongxian, also hope that this confession will never be seen by a second person. But the people in Zhejiang have been turned against, and the Japanese pirates took the opportunity to cause a big trend. I, Hu Zongxian, will not only sacrifice this head Therefore, I can’t let some people mess up Zhejiang and my Ming Dynasty by changing rice to mulberry! I have no way out, and you don’t want to look for a way out. Let me ask again, Do you want to change this memorial?"

The three of them stared at the ground and fell silent for a while.

Yang Jinshui said: "Since the minister said so, it is really for the good of my Ming Dynasty, what else can we say."

He Maocai looked at Zheng Michang: "Should we change it according to Butang's wishes?"

Zheng Michang: "Okay." After speaking, he walked slowly towards the desk.

A few days later, the memorial and a letter jointly signed by Zheng Michang and He Maocai were first delivered to Yan Shifan, and then Yan Shifan delivered it to Yan Song.

"Okay, okay..." After reading the memorial and letter, Yan Song said two words 'good' in succession.When he spoke, his mouth was trembling, and even his head and whiskers were trembling, all of a sudden showing the symptoms of an old man's stroke.

Yan Shifan was running back and forth like a trapped animal, but when he saw Luo Longwen and Yan Maoqing, the servant of the Ministry of punishment, walking towards Yan Song in panic, he also stopped and looked at his father.

Luo Longwen and the other two had already rushed to Yan Song's side, supporting him and stroking his back: "Ge Lao, Ge Lao, don't worry, don't worry..."

Yan Song slowly stopped trembling, but his eyes were still straight, looking at the memorials and letters on the desk in front of him.

"People's hearts are like water!" Yan Maoqing said indignantly while continuing to caress Yan Song's back, "It's absolutely unimaginable that Hu Ruzhen has come so far."

"Okay!" Yan Shifan gritted his teeth, "We can lift him up, but now we can trample him to death! Wenhua, instigate the royal memorial and impeach him immediately!"

"Shut up!" Yan Song regained his breath, and that skinny old hand slapped the memorial in front of him.

Yan Shifan remained silent, but his eyes were still sideways, staring fiercely at the ground.

Yan Song: "Let me ask you, I ask you, what happened to the destruction of embankments and flooding of fields?"

Naturally, Luo Longwen and Yan Maoqing didn't dare to answer, Yan Shifan didn't answer either, his eyes were still sideways, looking at the ground.

Yan Song: "Say!"

Yan Shifan: "Let's talk about it. The national policy of changing rice to mulberry can't be pushed back, and Hu Zongxian has both ends. If the fields are not flooded, they can't be changed. If the fields are flooded, they can be changed. That's all."

Yan Song wanted to speak, but felt that he couldn't lift his breath, so he stopped there and slowly closed his eyes.

Luo Longwen gave Yan Shifan a look, signaling him to calm down first.

Yan Shifan walked to the chair and sat down.

Luo Longwen whispered softly in Yan Song's ear: "It was our fault for not asking Elder Ge for instructions beforehand. The original intention was to fear that Elder Ge would be worried, and wanted to report to Elder Ge in detail after finishing the work. The fields in those nine counties in Zhejiang, this year The young crops in the country always have to be changed into mulberry seedlings. If it is not flooded, it will be changed, and if it is flooded, it will be changed. "The people can let them know, but they can't make them know." The common people don't understand the difficulties of the court, so we can only do this. Originally like For such a thing, as long as Hu Zongxian has the same caliber as Zheng Michang, He Maocai and Yang Gonggong, he can report a natural disaster and it will be over. I didn't expect him to be so unreasonable this time. Fortunately, he still had some scruples, so he only reported a river The embankment is in disrepair. I think it’s nothing more than a problem, and the big thing has not yet reached the point of being out of control.”

"The national policy of changing rice to mulberry cannot be implemented, and the general situation is out of control!" Yan Shifan became anxious again, "Now he is forcing Zheng Michang, He Maocai, and Yang Gonggong to jointly sign this book, and openly proposed not to change it for three years. The state treasury Look, can it last for three years?"

Yan Maoqing: "He said that if there is no reform for three years, then it will not be reformed for three years?"

Luo Longwen: "It's not that he said that if he doesn't change it for three years, he won't change it for three years. If Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng have this reason to coax together, things will be difficult. What I'm worried about is that Hu Zongxian still has Ma Ningyuan's If Eunuch Lu has scruples, he may not stand up with us. I think the most urgent thing is to go to see Eunuch Lu immediately, and then go to the emperor together. Only the emperor is determined to change rice into mulberry, and the rest The next thing is easy to handle."

Yan Shifan's complexion gradually improved, he glanced at Luo Longwen approvingly, and then at Yan Song.

Yan Song sighed: "It's 81... this life should be in your hands..."

Luo Longwen and Yan Maoqing immediately took a step back and knelt down.

Yan Shifan's face was full of boredom, but he had no choice but to kneel down.

Yan Song supported the desk and stood up, and slowly picked up the memorial: "Follow your order, I will enter the palace."

(End of this chapter)