Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

As night falls, the lights of Yongfang are bright.

As the recent personnel changes and disputes in the court have become more and more frequent, there have been frequent exchanges between officials, and Xu Pu, as the leader of Qingliu, has become the target of visits by officials.

The protagonist tonight is Li Min, the former Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. The former Minister of the Ministry of Revenue seems to have let go of all the knots in his heart, and his brows have now relaxed.

There are three large round tables here. In addition to Li Si, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue and other senior officials at the ministry level, they are mainly composed of doctors or Yuanwailang from various important departments of the six ministries, and then there are several low-ranking and powerful people.

The lowest official position was actually Yang Tinghe, the eighth-rank Hanlin reviewer. Yang Tinghe's father, Yang Chun, was Xu Pu's disciple, and he got along well with Xu Yuangai, who was about the same age, so he was invited by Xu Yuangai to come here to have a meal.

Li Min, with a glowing face, raised the wine glass in his hand and said to the officials present: "I will host a banquet for you at Xu's house tonight! I am grateful that you are willing to come to my farewell banquet and drink from this cup together!" "

"I wish Li Shangshu a safe journey and a glorious return home!" All the officials picked up their wine glasses and responded together.

Although Li Min resigned due to displeasure with the emperor, with the joint efforts of his civil servant group, their retirement benefits were also very generous, and he decided to go back and become the emperor.

After Li Min took a sip of wine, his whole face turned red and he raised his hands and said: "These are the top dishes of various restaurants in the capital, as well as the anchovies from the south of the Yangtze River. Everyone must eat and drink well tonight!"

The officials have already noticed that tonight's meal costs a lot of money, and every dish is very particular.

Yang Tinghe was born in a family of Sichuan officials. When he was studying in the Imperial College, he was adopted as his son-in-law by Huang Mingshan, the then Prime Minister of the Imperial College. He had been well-informed in the capital over the years, but when he looked at this table, he realized that this former Minister of Household Affairs was. There is truly a treasure trove of gold inside.

Although delicious food comes first, some people still don’t know how to taste it.

Xie Qian was cared for by Li Min in the past and still owes Li Min some money. It is natural that he cannot refuse this invitation to attend the farewell banquet. Just looking at the shad, I just hate that there are too many spines.

Moving from Zuo Shuzi to Hanlin to study as a bachelor, this would be something worthy of celebration, but it was ruined by someone at the table, and he had to accompany him with a smile.

Someone who had a similar experience to Xie Qian was Cheng Minzheng, a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy. He had already seen that his position as a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy was about to expire, but he never thought that Xu Pu, an old man, would play such a trick.

It's just that he and Xu Pu are from the same hometown, and he has been supported and cared for by Xu Pu along the way. Naturally, it is difficult to show his face to Xu Pu, so he also has to accompany him with a fake smile.

After three rounds of wine, five flavors of food.

Xu Pu has never been a person who only wants to enjoy himself. When he saw that the atmosphere was about to get better, he coughed lightly towards Ye Qi, the left minister of household affairs.

Ye Qi nodded understandingly and said to Li Min, who was at the same table: "Li Shangshu, you live next door to Xie Yikui. It is said that the imperial court confiscated a lot of property from Xie's house. Is this true?"

As soon as this was said, the officials present put down their wine glasses and looked over curiously.

"This is completely someone deliberately spreading rumors to slander our Qingliu. I don't know the others yet, but Xie Yikui is a good and honest official, how can he be corrupt? Although Jin Yiwei transported more than ten carts of heavy objects to Dongchang, I have someone in Jinyiwei, and they are all filled with rocks dug from the lake in the backyard!" Li Min said loudly and disdainfully.

Lake rocks?

When the officials present heard that this was the case, they were shocked and had a hint of excitement in their eyes.

"Is it true or not? All the rocks are from the lake?"

"Li Shangshu has always had great supernatural powers, how can this matter be false?"

"If that's the case, let's go to the hospital together and talk about it!"

…

Some of the officials were a little unbelievable at first, but Li Min's news has always been reliable, and it was also in line with the court's reaction these days, so their minds became active again.

They had earlier made a big fuss about the case of Chen Zhun, the eunuch who had embezzled 500,000 taels from the eunuch Bingbi. However, it was only when Emperor Hongzhi suddenly raided Xie Yikui that they had to stop. Now that they learned that His Majesty had pulled an empty city, they naturally It's time to attack again.

Especially in Xie Yikui's case, a large amount of corrupt money was not found, so they could continue to flaunt themselves as incorruptible civil servants, thereby forcing the emperor to abandon eunuchs and reuse their civil servants.

Seeing that the time had come, Ye Qi, the left minister of the Ministry of Revenue, immediately added another fire and said: "I heard that your Majesty has intended to train thirteen eunuchs to go out of the capital to control thirteen provinces!"

"It is unprecedented to use eunuchs in such important ways. Let alone create a prosperous age in the Ming Dynasty, I am afraid that a century-old foundation will be ruined in one day! As ministers of the Ming Dynasty, we absolutely cannot allow His Majesty to do such nonsense!" He Congdang, the left minister of the Ministry of War, expressed his position strongly. .

The officials present all agreed. After learning that the Jin Yiwei was transported out of Xie's house outside Hushi, their confidence instantly became stronger, and they immediately geared up to do something big.

Xie Qian and Yang Tinghe are both smart people. Xie Qian understands that his teacher is unprofitable and does not get up early, while Yang Tinghe is a politician with considerable wisdom, but they all look thoughtfully at the man sitting at the head without saying a word. Xu Pu.

The smartest politician is undoubtedly the one who said nothing, but the people below have already done everything they want to do, and he, Xu Pu, wants to officially take up the banner of fighting against the imperial power.

"Tomorrow we will go up together to admonish His Majesty!"

After everyone discussed it, they all reached a consensus, and tomorrow they will go together to show off their civil servant muscles to the new monarch, letting him understand that this court still has to rely on their civil servants.

"Come, let's drink this cup together!" Li Min seemed to be in a good mood tonight, and immediately raised the wine glass in his hand and said excitedly.

Although he was ostracized by the new king and had to leave the court, he directed such a show before leaving, which is something worthy of bragging.

"There is no way to go without friends. Who in the world does not recognize you and drink together!" The doctor from the Literary Selection Department of the Ministry of Personnel said in a formal manner, and then he raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp.

Li Min naturally knows the importance of "confidant from the end of the world". It is precisely because of this group of "confidants" that the nephew of his clan will be taken care of when he becomes an official in the court.

As for the local government, there is no one to fawn over, not to mention that the magistrate of Xuzhou and the magistrate of Xiangcheng only nodded and bowed to him, a second-rank imperial official who became an official. These two people were actually promoted by him.

At sunset, it's a new day.

The Forbidden City is shrouded in dark clouds, but the majestic palace remains unabated.

Song Cheng, who was dressed as a fifth-grade official, looked a little haggard. He just packed himself neatly, but came from the direction of Xie's house and followed Xiaohuangmen to Qianqingmen to ask for an audience.

There are many things in the world that cannot be solved by hard work, and there is still no trace in the account books.

After Song Cheng reported the situation in Dongnuan Pavilion, he felt deeply ashamed and said: "I have failed to fulfill the divine grace, please punish me!"

"This is a matter of finding a needle in a haystack. Song Aiqing stayed at Xie's house for three days. It's been a hard time. You should go home and rest today!" Although Zhu Youtang was disappointed, he was also considerate.

Song Cheng felt Zhu Youchan's care, and a warm current suddenly surged into his heart. Suddenly, as if he wanted something, he immediately took out a deposit slip from his sleeve and said: "Your Majesty, this is what I found among the books in Xie's house. A deposit check of Xie Yikui’s stolen money can be regarded as Xie Yikui’s stolen money, and it is now at your disposal!”

"Deposit the vote? Submit it!" Zhu Youtang showed a little interest and immediately ordered.

Although he had already understood the financial industry of this era, they were all banks and pawnshops that mainly focused on lending. There were only a few money shops that were solely responsible for deposits and withdrawals, and none that were engaged in business such as drafts.

In fact, the credibility of money shops in this era has not yet improved, especially without the endorsement of a strong business gang. Nowadays, deposit checks are usually less than 10,000 taels.

After all, money shops now only have the function of depositing and withdrawing money. Who is willing to hand over his property to a money shop easily?

Song Cheng gave the deposited ticket to Liu Jin, and Liu Jin transferred the deposited ticket to Zhu Youtang.

"Haha... Thirteen thousand two hundred and thirteen taels, that's a lot! Song Aiqing, this thing is easy to hide, haven't you thought about taking it for yourself?" Zhu Youtang saw that the amount on it was already It was exciting enough, and I couldn't help but ask curiously.

Song Cheng raised his face to look at Hongzhi and said, "I am on an errand according to the order, and I will not take any ill-gotten gains!"

Zhu Youtang was very satisfied with Song Cheng's ability to stick to his principles. He just handed the deposit check to Liu Jin to cash it. When he saw the amount on it, his heart suddenly moved slightly.