Idle courtiers

Chapter 228 Winter Solstice ([-])

"You don't need to go to work, you don't need to study at Wang Shizhen's place, and you can just sleep in. It's great!"

Early in the morning, Zhou Nan woke up to the sound of birds.

Looking out of the window, there are catkin-like snowflakes in the air.A flock of sparrows landed in the snow and flew up again.

Early in the morning, the house was busy, and the maids and boys were coming and going in and out of the yard, sweeping the snow, and hanging red lanterns, everyone's face was full of joy.

Zhou Nan seems to have returned to the days of Anton’s hometown. At that time, he was a majestic official history in the county government, and the Shizhi County was a person who didn’t care about things. People control.

When I came to the capital this time, I went to the pedestrian department every day to go to Wang Shizhen's place, and I usually didn't go home until dark.The most damning thing is that the government agencies of the Ming Dynasty only have two days off on the first and fifteenth day of each month.

Today I can finally take a good rest, very comfortable.

But, tomorrow Zou Yinglong will go to Sijing to inspect pedestrians, how should he deal with it?

Beside him, Xun Fangyu had already woken up.Zhou Nan turned over and looked at each other.

Her face flushed, and the faint freckles on either side of her nose darkened.

For an old couple, she is still shy.

Zhou Nan: "Are you awake?"

Xun Fangyu said kindly in a low voice, "Today is the winter solstice, there are many things at home, and I still have a lot of work to do."

Zhou Nan: "Since you are awake, why are you still staying on the bed? Are you reluctant to leave the master?"

Xun Fangyu was ashamed, buried her head in Zhou Nan's arms, and said: "If I want to get out of bed, I have to turn over the master, which is a great disrespect."

Only then did Zhou Nan suddenly realize that the ancients had to comply with etiquette even when sleeping as a couple.Usually, the husband sleeps on the outside of the bed, while the wife sleeps inside against the wall.In this way, if the wife wants to get out of bed, she has to roll over her husband.

In a feudal society where the husband was the guide for the wife, this is already a great disrespect.

Therefore, the wife has to ask the husband to bend his feet when getting out of bed.

When they were in their hometown, Zhou Nan and Sister Yunniangsu were not so particular about being together.This Xun Fangyu came from a wealthy family, and he didn't know how much feudal dross was indoctrinated by Mrs. An on weekdays, so he kept his etiquette.Normally, it's okay, but when you wake up at night, you sleep really comfortably, but you are woken up by your little wife, it's not a pleasant experience.

Zhou Nan said several times to let Xun Fang not be so particular about his language, but it was of no use.

Seeing that Xun Fangyu was like a bird clinging to a person, he was immediately moved and hugged her: "There's no need to get up, let's sleep until noon."

Xun Fang said in embarrassment: "Master, it's broad daylight."

Zhou Nan: "I can't control it, today is the holiday."

The maids outside realized that something was wrong in the house, they all blushed and quietly exited the courtyard.

Snowflakes cover the ground that has just been swept.

As for Jingcha, tomorrow's matter will be discussed tomorrow. There must be a way for the car to reach the mountain, so the old driver can just drive.

*************************************************
At this moment, in Xiyuan, the cabinet is on duty.

Early this morning, Emperor Jiajing, who lived deep in the meditation room, visited the cabinet in person. He was accompanied by the eunuch Huang Jin, the chief inspector of ceremonies, Chen Hong, the chief of the chief inspector of ceremonies, and four other eunuchs.

At the same time, the four cabinet ministers, Yan Song, Xu Jie, Lu Ben, and Yuan Wei were already waiting there.

The emperor, the ministers of the cabinet, and the minister of ceremonies, today, the chairman, CEO, board of supervisors, and all members of the board of directors of this Daming company were present.

These 11 people are the core decision-makers of the Ming Dynasty. Any word or decision made by any of them will directly affect hundreds of millions of people.

In addition to these 11 people, there are more than a dozen people wearing low-grade official clothes and palace clothes.They all sat silently in front of the long table that had already been prepared.On the case in front of him, there are abacus and a mountain of account books.

Today's weather is not very good, there are snowflakes outside, and the sky is gloomy.

Dozens of candles have already been lit in the duty room, illuminating the inside as bright as day.

Emperor Jiajing sat on a chair with a calm expression on his face. As usual, he only wore a thin Taoist robe and a golden crown on his head.

Huang Jin waved to a young eunuch, the eunuch understood, and quickly ran to the door, intending to open all the doors and windows for ventilation.

Yan Song, who was dozing next to him, was shocked, and Jiajing said: "Close the doors and windows, the elders in the pavilion are all very old, how can they blow the wind."

"Yes."

The doors and windows were closed again, and there was hot air, which was indescribably comfortable, and all the elders in the pavilion continued to look relieved.

Huang Jin: "Master, can we start?"

Jiajing nodded: "Today is the winter solstice, everyone must be eager to go home and reunite early, hurry up!"

After the words fell, the crackling sound of the abacus sounded, and the eunuchs and scribes before the long case got busy.While doing the abacus, he recorded the calculated numbers in the account book.

These people are temporary accountants drawn from various prisons and yamen.

That's right, today is the most important day of the year for the Ming Dynasty, because every winter solstice, the Ming Dynasty has to make a budget for the coming year, which is related to the smooth operation of various ministries.If the budget is not enough, then nothing can be done.

As time passed, an eunuch finished the calculation, put down his pen, dried the list with his mouth, and presented it to Huang Jin with both hands.

Huang Jin didn't speak, and looked at the list carefully by the candlelight.

Another book office also wrote the list, but this time it was presented to Yan Song.

Yan Song, who was taking a nap, suddenly regained his energy, and straightened up to carefully look at the list.

After paying the bill, the two moved their sore wrists, picked up the grinding ingot, and started to grind it in the inkstone.

Soon, there were more and more lists, and they were finally collected in the hands of Emperor Jiajing.

At this time, the emperor's forehead was dripping with sweat, which shone slightly under the light.

Seeing this situation, Huang Jin, who has served Jiajing for more than 20 years, naturally knows that the emperor is paying attention.He tiptoedly twisted a hot towel to impress the emperor, and put it back into the golden basin.

The abacus beads were still ringing crisply, like a gust of wind and rain.

Although the emperor of the Ming Dynasty looked calm, there was a trace of dissatisfaction in his eyes.

Jiajing has not been in court for nearly 30 years, but as the master of the whole world, the account of the entire court expenditure is kept in his heart. He is even more familiar with the financial situation of the entire country than everyone present, and he is so accurate that there is no single figure .

A courtier jokingly said that if anyone in the entire Ming Dynasty was the most suitable to be the Minister of the Household Department, it would only be today.Sometimes, the emperor even bypassed the cabinet and household ministers, and directly issued a decree to intervene in every expenditure of the state's finances.

In this way, the Hubu is simply a decoration, and the Hubu Shangshu is also the most tasteless among the ministers of the Central Ministry.

Putting down the ledger in his hand, Jiajing looked at Yan Song: "Old Yan Ge, is Hu Zongxian back?"

Yan Song bowed his body: "I have arrived in Xiyuan, and I am waiting."

Jiajing: "The battle was hard. He left Fujian and Zhejiang's thousands of troops and returned to Beijing. He must have encountered difficulties?"

This was said without a trace of emotion, but Yan Song's heart trembled, and his cloudy old eyes returned to clarity: "Returning to Your Majesty, this year is the re-examination for Beijing officials every six years. Shi, as usual, I will go to Beijing to give my speech."

Jiajing said lightly: "He came to ask me for money, he chose the right time."

Yan Song was shocked again, feeling the unhappiness in the emperor's heart.His bright eyes just now returned to chaos, pretending not to understand.

Next to him, Xu Jie said: "A war is actually about logistics, money and food. The old minister heard that the soldiers on the front line in Fujian are still wearing summer clothes. The winter in the southeast is colder than that of our capital. The logistics are not good, and the morale of the army is unstable. Hu Zongxian is also difficult."

He said with a smile: "Your Majesty, you may think that the climate in the southeast is warm, and there are only three or five people who have snow in a year. In fact, they are all wrong. I am from Songjiang, but I know the situation there. Although there is no ice and snow over there, it is fatal to freeze people."

"It's cold outside our house in winter in the north, but when we come back home, there are fire kangs and earth dragons, and we are sweating because we only wear a single piece of clothing. But there is no custom of facing the fire in the southeast. It's cloudy. It's colder than outside when you enter the house. It's the most difficult. The old man is already old, and he will ask the bones to retire in a few years. At that time, I have to ask His Majesty for a favor to stay in the capital , and never return to the bitter cold south of the Yangtze River.”

Hearing what he said was interesting, everyone smiled slightly.

Jiajing was originally from Huguang, so it is natural to know what the winter in the south is like.Hearing Xu Jie's explanation, his complexion brightened, and he sighed again: "I have forgotten this point. The soldiers in the winter are still wearing summer clothes, so it is difficult for Hu Zongxian! Yan Song, after we have calculated the expenses for next year, call him See me!"

Hearing that the emperor meant to allocate funds to Hu Zongxian, Yan Song heaved a sigh of relief: "Yes, Your Majesty."

The abacus was still ringing, and after saying this, Jiajing frowned: "This year, the imperial court has a total of 200 million taels of silver in Taicang, and the expenses of all ministries alone have exceeded this amount, and the southeast is at war again. I want to ask, is there so much money?" Where did the money go?" His eyes were shining and he looked at Yan Song.

Yan Song knew that the emperor's question was not simply about the state's financial expenditure, and his eyes were still confused: "We need to investigate thoroughly."

These words shocked everyone, and if this happened, there would be another huge disturbance.

"How to check?" Jiajing was aggressive.

Yan Song: "The old minister will send someone to collect the accounts of the various ministries and calculate them. Now it is the time for the Beijing inspection, and they can be combined for the examination."

Jiajing was very dissatisfied, and smiled coldly: "Mr. Ge's method is easy, and he will explain to a few incompetent ministers when he encounters something. If you can explain to me, who should I explain to? In the end, no I didn't see any silver either."

This is already a very serious accusation, the voice of the abacus beads stopped, and a dignified atmosphere permeated the cabinet duty room.

After a long time, Jiajing stretched his waist, and said lightly: "After all the calculations, you are just making a fuss about the 200 million taicang silver. It is difficult. Since there are already plans for various expenditures of the court next year, The regulations, that's it, yes, Huang Jin, use the seal!"

"Today is the winter solstice. If I keep you, it will be unreasonable, so we separate. Yan Ge is old and has worked hard. Chen Hong will help him."

……

After finishing the affairs of the cabinet, Yan Song returned home in a sedan chair.

As soon as he got off the sedan chair, the tiredness and turbidity in his eyes were swept away, and his steps seemed light.

An old servant stepped forward to support him, and said in a low voice: "My lord, Hu Zongxian has arrived and is waiting in the study. Mr. Xiaoge is talking with him."

Yan Song showed joy: "Ruzhen is here, so fast. Qing'er is so sick, why don't you stay in the house and run to see Ruzhen?"

Walking into the study, I saw a tall middle-aged man in a red official robe sitting there, talking softly with his son Yan Shifan.

That's right, this person is Hu Zongxian, the commander-in-chief of the Anti-Japanese War in the Ming Dynasty.

Yan Song: "Ruzhen, I just heard that you came to the capital, why don't you rest for two days, and then run to Xiyuan?"

In the vast night, Hu Zongxian looked back.But I saw that the snowflakes were falling finely outside.In the wind, the teacher's snow-white hair was blown a little messy.Only then did I realize that the teacher was wrinkled and already very old.

Hu Zongxian felt sour, and hurriedly knelt down: "Successful Hu Zongxian pays homage to his mentor."

(End of this chapter)