Talk about the world of mortals in detail

When Pei Changtian was astonished, on the Golden Palace of the Imperial Palace, the civil and military officials from the capital lined up to go to court on the fifteenth day of the lunar month.

It can't be compared with the Great Court Meeting, but officials from various ministries in the capital with a certain level will also be present. The person at the front of the queue of officials is naturally Chu Hang, who ranks first among the officials.

Many of Chu Hang's disciples were somewhat excited when they saw Chu Hang coming, but some were worried, and many other officials also looked at the old prime minister.

Chu Hang turned a blind eye to everything around him, and only smiled back at those who came to salute him.

"The Emperor has arrived——"

The eunuch's voice came from above. Today's Emperor Dayong strode forward. When he arrived in front of the dragon throne, Chu Hang and his ministers shouted together.

"Welcome Your Majesty—"

The emperor, wearing a dragon robe and a black gauze winged crown, looked at Chu Hang for the first time.

"My dear friends, no courtesy!"

After saying this, the emperor immediately showed concern.

"Prime Minister Chu is not in good health these days, and I am always worried about him. Today, Prime Minister Chu came to court. He should be in good health, right?"

Chu Hang bowed again to the emperor.

"Back to Your Majesty, I am in good health. Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty!"

The emperor nodded and looked at the officials below.

"Today, my dear friends, do you have anything important to report?"

After the emperor finished speaking, Yu Ziye, the supervisory censor among the officials below, raised his head and subconsciously glanced in the direction of Chu Hang.

Chu Hang seemed to be aware of it and glanced at the supervising censor. The officials on the side of the censor's desk, the censor Zhongcheng, were now vacant. It seemed that his majesty had given permission for him to retire and return to his hometown.

Yu Ziye usually knew how to flatter the emperor, but when facing Chu Hang, he was still frightened. He didn't expect that Prime Minister Chu would come to court today.

But no matter how worried he was, he had to bite the bullet, so Yu Ziye was ready to stand out from the crowd, and he wasn't the only one anyway.

Just as Yu Ziye stepped out with one foot, someone stepped out first.

"I have a notebook to write -"

His voice was loud and full of energy, which startled the nearby officials and some who were absent-minded or anxious. It was none other than Zhongshu Ling and Shangshu Zuopushe, who was also the emperor of the two dynasties. Chu Hang of the division.

At this moment, even the emperor sitting on the dragon throne was slightly shocked.

Many of the civil and military officials above the court felt their scalps were numb, and many of Chu Hang's disciples were excited. Among these people, there were both decent people and people with evil intentions, or Worry or joy are not enough.

The emperor frowned, but tried to speak calmly.

"Is there anything you can report to Prime Minister Chu?"

Chu Hang looked at the emperor and took out the memorial and presented it. The eunuch on one side came down to take the memorial and hurriedly sent it to the emperor. At this moment, Chu Hang spoke.

"Veteran, I would like to report that drought has been severe in many places on Lingdong Road and Hexi Road since the beginning of last spring. Lingdong Road can still maintain some harvests based on the drought-resistant canals built during the Chengxing period. There was no harvest in Hexi Road last year. Food prices in various states have skyrocketed. Merchants Hoarding stuff."

With that said, Chu Hang glanced at the officials present, and then raised his head to look at the emperor.

"We, the ordinary people, may have some surplus food and savings, but they cannot withstand the collusion between officials and businessmen for continuous exploitation. Although they are not starving to death all over the land, disasters have already arisen."

"Officials from the two sixteen states have made more than twenty memorials, but they have been suppressed in the province for several months without anyone paying attention. So far this autumn, there has not been much rainfall in the two states. I am afraid there will be another drought in the coming year!"

What?

The emperor looked shocked, he really didn't know about this.

Not to mention that the emperor didn't know, in fact, Chu Hang also knew about it not long ago. At the dinner table a few days ago, when the incident in Lingdong was discussed, Qi Zhongbin had a vague idea of ​​it, and after careful calculation, he revealed the matter at that time.

For this reason, Chu Hang made a special trip to various government offices to search for evidence. As expected, he found many suppressed memorials, and was a little angry for a while.

Although Chu Hang looked calm at this moment, his voice was deafening in some people's ears.

"I want to impeach my servant Zhan Shiwei and the governor of the six states. I hope your majesty will decide this matter as soon as possible!"

Zhan Shiwei, who was among the officials, was so frightened that he broke out in cold sweat.

"Zhan Shiwei, is there any problem?"

Zhan Shiwei hurriedly came out of the queue and said tremblingly.

"Your Majesty, I have only just found out about this. How dare I do this? Prime Minister Chu, Zhan definitely did not suppress the memorial on purpose. Your Majesty, please see clearly. I have been wronged."

"In other words, there are indeed two memorials from various states pressing down on Menxia Province? Li Aiqing?"

As the first-in-command under the door, the waiter trembled with fright and hurried out.

"The old minister has committed the crime of neglecting the investigation. He dare not excuse himself. Please punish him, Your Majesty!"

The emperor patted the dragon chair.

"There are memorials, go get them all!"

"Yes Yes Yes!"

There was a lot of discussion in the court, and several officials from Menxia Province left in a hurry. After a while, some people returned to the Golden Palace holding many memorials and documents.

In front of the civil and military officials of the court, memorials and documents were read out one after another.

It turns out that the drought in Liandao was not limited to last year. In fact, signs of the drought had already appeared the year before last, because the harvest the year before was extremely poor, and last year many places were even more severely affected by drought. Lack of rain and drought were common, and they were barely supported by some large water bodies.

During the prosperous days of Dayong and Taiping, most people's families had surplus food or funds. However, during natural disasters, the little things the people had could not withstand the consumption. Even if they should have been able to withstand it, they might not be able to withstand it due to some special circumstances. Things suddenly became unbearable.

For example, the annual income paid in the records of the Ministry of Household Affairs did not change much in the two states in these disaster years. However, the situation among the people and the situation of some officials and merchants is worthy of scrutiny.

A court meeting that might have originally targeted Chu Hang and his representative factions suddenly turned into a serious political meeting.

Many officials were even more panicked. Prime Minister Chu simply did not show too much specificity. Although the emperor was angry, he did not publicly express his guilt.

"Your Majesty, the scope of the disaster is extremely wide. Please decide on relief matters first."

Officials from the Ministry of Revenue have made a rough calculation

The emperor also nodded and looked at the officials present.

"The top priority is to transport grain for disaster relief, prepare grain for the coming year, control merchants' hoarding, boost the confidence of the victims, and order the supervisory censor to serve as an imperial envoy to supervise Yu Ziye, an official from two states."

"I'm here!"

"You go there."

"I obey the decree!"

The emperor nodded and then glanced at the ministers.

"Is there anyone who is good at water conservancy, understands the terrain, and can farm all night long? Is there someone from the Ministry of Industry?"

The officials in the Ministry of Industry all looked at each other in confusion. Most of the officials in the Ministry of Industry now came from the imperial examination. Although they have handled some things, they are inevitably worried about such big things, and no one dares to take the initiative to take responsibility.

An angry look appeared on the emperor's face, and at this moment, Chu Hang spoke again.

"Your Majesty, I, this old minister, can go to Lingdong Road and Hexi Road again. When it comes to water conservancy, topography, farming and relief, no one knows better than me."

"Prime Minister Chu."

The emperor was stunned for a moment.

"Xiang Chu, you are old and in trouble, so..."

"His Majesty!"

Chu Hang directly interrupted the emperor's words, but this matter was nothing to him. He took a step forward and spoke calmly.

"Thanks to the Emperor's perseverance, Mr. Chu became an official without taking the imperial examination. He went through three dynasties. Not only did he work hard, he was diligent and diligent, but he did his best. There are many people in the court who respect me, and many who are afraid of doing it. Do it in my name." There are also many people who form cliques and seek personal gain."

Chu Hang glanced at the officials in the DPRK and the Central Government, and began to list the actions of some officials and mention some phenomena in the government and the public. Some named them by name, and some stopped at the last minute.

Unexpectedly, these words came from Chu Hang's own mouth. Everyone in the court, both informed and uninformed, felt absurd, even the emperor himself.

But at the same time, my heart was touched.

But Chu Hang's words haven't stopped yet.

"I feel the trust and support of the three generations of emperors, and I feel ashamed that I was unable to take care of the emperor's worries at all times. Now that I am old, I am no longer able to do what I want. If I have to hold on for several years, I will be strong on the outside but weak on the inside."

This is not like a petition from an official, but more like a self-reported statement by an old minister. The words are sincere and touching, causing the court to fall into silence.

"Although I am old, I still have some strength left. I cannot lead hundreds of officials, but I can adapt to local conditions."

After talking for a long time, Chu Hang finally gave up.

"Please give me your Majesty's permission!"

Asking an old prime minister to go to the disaster area should not be agreed to both emotionally and rationally, but at this moment, he may be moved by Chu Hang's words, or it may be a way that fits the emperor's own plan.

The emperor stood up from the dragon throne.

"In that case, please leave it to Prime Minister Chu!"

Chu Hang bowed and saluted the emperor above.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your permission!"

At the end of the court meeting, all the officials withdrew, and the civil and military officials of the court were talking a lot when they left, as if the focus of political affairs had shifted from disaster relief to Chu Hang alone.

In the imperial study room, in addition to the emperor himself, some of his close ministers were also here.

"Prime Minister Chu can be said to have devoted himself to what Xu Zhongjing, Fu Bofeng and others did. It is unlikely that Prime Minister Chu would have done it."

Some people said this, and the emperor was somewhat emotional sitting behind the imperial court.

Of course, today's plan to launch an attack on a certain faction in the DPRK seems to have been put on hold.

Maybe the old prime minister could still hold the position of chief minister for a few more years, or he should sit for a few more years. When the emperor was thinking about it, Yu Ziye suddenly mentioned it.

"It's just that I'm still a little confused about one thing. There is a lot of backlogged memorials in Menxia Province. Of course, there are some dereliction of duties. Then how did Prime Minister Chu know so clearly?"

Several officials around him looked at Yu Ziye with different expressions, and the emperor behind the case also frowned and his heart skipped a beat!

Among the several officials who were also in the imperial study room, one took a deep look at Yu Ziye.

This sentence is not just a doubt. From the perspective of a minister, it is correct to think so. However, mentioning it in this way at this time cannot be said to be simply to share the king's worries.

——

Of course, it is impossible to spread the affairs of the court casually, but it is not difficult to know some things that interested people want to know.

Not long after the court meeting ended, Tan Yuanchang, who was temporarily staying in a large house in Chengtian Mansion, had already received the news, but he just sighed.

Yi Shuyuan and Qi Zhongbin set up a fortune-telling stall and wandered around the city. Naturally, they had some thoughts one after another, and they knew it after a little calculation.

There was a fortune teller's stall next to Jingchengfang Bridge. Qi Zhongbin, who had no customers at the stall, frowned, shook his head, and just sighed.

"Maybe I shouldn't talk too much."