"Sister obeys the order."

Ruan Lang took Zhu Qizhen's order with a solemn expression, then carefully placed the golden knife in the lunch box, and after knocking farewell, he turned around and strode away from Nangong.

Looking at Ruan Lang's departure back, a ray of spring sunshine shone on Zhu Qizhen's face, but it showed a different kind of gloom.

Also watching Ruan Lang's departure, Lu Zhong, who was notified by his subordinates to come to Nangong. Beside him was Zhao Hongjie and the commander of the Jinyiwei Pan Xin.

Originally, Zhao Hongjie was not qualified to stand here. After all, his official title was a fourth-rank commander, and his qualifications were still low. However, as a spy agency, the Jinyiwei easily knew his intimate relationship with Chen Yichen. Faced with the famous new star in the officialdom, the commander Lu Zhong also wanted to give him a face and get along with him.

"It was not time for delivery at this time, but Ruan Lang hurriedly carried a lunch box to Nangong, and now he left in a panic look. What did he discuss with the Emperor?"

Lu Zhong said this to himself. Since the right governor Zhang Fu appeared in Nangong, he had secretly changed from a small eunuch in the palace to a more professional Jinyiwei to monitor him.

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There is no way to monitor the content of the conversation in the Nangong, but the eunuchs, palace maids and concubines who come in and out every day have made detailed records. If the time is a little incompatible with the process, they will be paid special attention.

Especially Ruan Lang, an old eunuch who had been in the palace for a long time and had a deep experience, was the focus of taking care of him. This is why he showed a little abnormality when he came to Nangong today, and Lu Zhong, the commander of the Jinyiwei, led his subordinates to come. The political struggle cannot tolerate any negligence.

"If the commander wants to know what Ruan Lang has discussed with the emperor, then his subordinates will immediately order people to arrest him. As long as he is in the imperial prison, he will have to confess any hard bones!"

Pan Xin, the commander-in-chief, said something indifferently. The fundamental reason why the spy agency is loved and hated is here. Without the Emperor of the Jinyiwei, it is equivalent to losing his eyes and ears. But once the Jinyiwei is reused, there will be a scene where the laws and rules are trampled on.

"No, blocking Nangong has caused dissatisfaction with all the civil and military officials of the court. If people around the emperor are still arrested and imprisoned, public opinion may be detrimental to His Majesty and even the commander."

Zhao Hongjie blocked his words, and at the same time pointed out that this way of doing things would be backfired.

You should know that the reputation of the Jinyiwei is not good now. The commander-in-chief Ma Shun was regarded as a lackey of the eunuch party and was beaten to death by the civil servant group in front of the emperor. Lu Zhong got a flaw and was promoted normally. He was not close to Jingtai Emperor Zhu Qiyu, and he had no foundation or power in the court.

The rumors of treating the emperor harshly have spread widely, and many civil and military people in the court are dissatisfied, especially those rumors who hold Confucian justice. If the arrest is a big deal, it can be foreseeable that the censors of Kedao will continue to impeach. Not to mention that Lu Zhong himself cannot withstand it, even the power of the Jinyiwei will be affected in the future.

Everyone is on the same boat. Being an official is for power. No one wants the Jinyiwei to be constrained everywhere in the future, right?

But when he heard Zhao Hongjie's opposition, Pan Xin's face suddenly became sinister. The official position of commander Tongzhi was second only to the commander in the Jinyiwei, and was the most likely candidate to take over.

But in recent years, Zhao Hongjie held Chen Yichen's thigh and quickly promoted from a small family to a commander-in-chief. His momentum was still unabated and he had the possibility of winning the commander-in-chief of the Jinyiwei. How could Pan Xin be willing to do so?

"When was the Jinyiwei so timid when the Jinyiwei was so afraid of the matter? As long as he could pry out evidence of rebellion from Ruan Lang's mouth, what could those pens say?"

Pan Xin bluntly stated that he opposed Zhao Hongjie's words, but he still had the simple and rough behavior concept.

"What if there is no evidence, or if Ruan Lang refuses to admit it?"

Zhao Hongjie asked back, and Pan Xin's speculation was based on the fact that the other party had indeed acted rebellious, but now he was just panicking and had abnormal food delivery time. It was impossible to convict based on these two points.

"Haha, is Zhao Qianshi the first day he served as the Jinyiwei? After being admitted to the imperial prison, there are countless ways to make him plead guilty!"

Pan Xin's words made Zhao Hongjie feel speechless, so he could only shake his head helplessly. Fortunately, Lu Zhong is a wise person, or he is a timid person, and he understands how great the risk it means to use this method of betrayal.

So he reconciled from it: "Okay, there's a small matter that's endless debate. Pan Tongzhi, you immediately send someone to stare at Ruan Lang and see what he is going to do."

"Yes, commander!"

Seeing Lu Zhong finally appointing himself, a smug look appeared on Pan Xin's face. Zhao Hongjie, a foreigner who used to be Wang Zhen's godson and now now rely on holding Chen Yichen's thigh, was still not reused at the critical moment.

In fact, Pan Xin's idea was only half right. Lu Zhong handed over the task to him not because of the difference between closeness and alienation. More because it was not just because Pan Xin was afraid that Zhao Hongjie would seize the position of commander of the Jinyiwei, but the current Lu Zhong was also a little worried.

You should know that as the highest commander of a spy agency, the emperor does not value ability or talent, but absolute loyalty.

On the other hand, the ability to be loyal is worthless in the eyes of the emperor!

Lu Zhong urgently took office after his former commander Ma Shun died unexpectedly. He was not the confidant of Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu. So far, the two sides were still vaguely alienated. The core secret affairs were handed over to the eunuch Cheng Jing, the eunuch in charge of the internal officials, and the long-desolution Dongjishi Factory was also launched.

Dongjishi Factory is the famous "Dongjian" in film and television dramas. It was established as early as the Yongle period of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty. You should know that Zhu Di reigned on Jingnan to overthrow Emperor Jianwen before he ascended the throne to Dabao and became the Supreme Emperor of Nine Five. In a sense, it can be said that he was in a wrong position and had not experienced the conventional legal tradition.

In order to strengthen its own rule, most of the secret agencies such as factory guards were founded or expanded during the Yongle period, including the Dongchang.

However, with Zhu Di's death, the emperors of the Renxuan dynasty chose to be "Renzhi" to recuperate. The existence of the factory and ward institutions was obviously not in line with the interests of the civil service group. After all, no one wanted to be arrested from the bed in the middle of the night without the approval of the Three Judicial Departments.

So Hudong Factory was actually suppressed and only had a sign, and all the specific affairs were handed over to the Jinyiwei.

However, as Wang Zhen of the Orthodox Dynasty was in power, he served as the eunuch of the Silijian and also served as the factory manager of the Dongchang. In order to collect information and strengthen his control over the government and the opposition, the Dongchang, which was originally famous, developed to a certain extent. At least he transferred from the Jinyiwei to criticize people and set up the team.

Now that we have arrived in the Jingtai Dynasty, Wang Zhen’s consequences are ahead, everyone knows what kind of consequences will be. But the problem is that Zhu Qiyu has no choice. He really cannot find a court official who trusts enough and can use it. He can only continue to use eunuchs in order to maintain his rule, just like the previous emperors of the Ming Dynasty.

The Sili Supervisor was in charge of seals and the eunuchs on the pen were both old qualifications in the palace, and without making any major mistakes, Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu was not easy to move and could only continue to be wronged Cheng Jing as the eunuchs on charge of seals in the internal officials.

However, the Dongchang, which was originally controlled by the eunuch of Sili, made Cheng Jing the leader of the factory, which is why Zhu Qiyu's intelligence efficiency has increased, which makes Chen Yichen sometimes look at him with admiration.

"Hongjie, you are here to continue to stare at Nangong's every move. If you have any situation, report it to me immediately."

"Yes, commander."

Zhao Hongjie looked very calm and did not show any dissatisfaction because of the different treatments.

This performance made Lu Zhong feel very satisfied. He patted Zhao Hongjie on the shoulder and encouraged him: "If you are young and promising, you will definitely have a bright future."

"Thank you for your praise!"

Lu Zhong's words made Zhao Hongjie's face look instantly showing a burst of heart. Only then did the other party nod and left with satisfaction.

But just after Lu Zhong's back disappeared from the red wall of the Forbidden City, Zhao Hongjie showed a hint of disdain in his eyes, and then he indifferently ordered Wei San beside him: "Call a few people to follow Ruan Lang, remember not to let Pan Xin's people discover it."

Zhao Hongjie never believed in Lu Zhong's show of kindness, and it was even more impossible to eat the big cake drawn by the other party. The battle between the two emperors may be an unpredictable disaster for the people of the country, but for those with ambition and ambition, it is an opportunity to turn the tables.

Zhao Hongjie also doesn’t want to miss this opportunity!

The dark clouds in Nangong gradually became heavier, but time passed by minute by minute, and soon arrived on the first day of April of the first year of Jingtai.

The test of Jiji, which was postponed for a month, was held as scheduled on this day. Three hundred new Kogongs walked into this extremely longing Forbidden City with excitement and expectation, hoping to gain the appreciation of the emperor and be the best choice for the world!

Chen Yichen served as the president of the examination. In order to ensure the fairness of the examination, he would generally not serve as a document reading officer.

It doesn't matter if Chen Chen is concerned about this. Although the documentary reader has the power to recommend the Three Dingjia, he cannot form a friendship between teachers and students. After all, all the three hundred Jinshis are theoretically students of the emperor, and the benefits are far less than those of the president of the examination in the name of a teacher.

Just as the palace examination was in full swing, Chen Yichen and Jin Lian, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, were discussing fiercely how to allocate military pay to ensure that several wars were carried out simultaneously.

"Shen Zhongtang, I have already known the memorial from the cabinet to Your Majesty. The radical content is obviously based on your writing."

"I can tell you clearly that even if you have three million meters of grain transported from the south and two million taels of military pay confiscated, it is still far from enough to provide disaster relief and the expenses for war, and you must make a choice."

The various changes last year made the Ming Dynasty treasury squander all, and this year, internal and external troubles came one after another. Chen Yichen seemed to have a lot of money, but in fact, it would be far from enough to divide it.

The military household system established in the early Ming Dynasty was almost impossible to maintain. If you want to ensure the combat effectiveness of the troops in various places, you must implement the recruitment system. This is why the Ming Dynasty military officers had two sets of military ranks, such as the Hundred Houses and Thousand Houses, etc., correspond to small flags, general flags, guard commanders, command-level officers corresponding to garrisons, guerrillas, etc.

The recruitment system means that money and grain expenditures are higher. Unless you force men to strengthen your men, why should the common people work hard? Just a few noble and righteous slogans?

Before Chen Yichen went to the inland areas such as Shandong and Fujian. The average salary of a soldier is mainly based on the garrison system. One stone of rice and grain per month is enough. However, if placed in high-risk places like Jiubian, the recruited soldiers will be treated as one or two taels, which is equivalent to three to four stones of rice and grain during normal periods.

Moreover, it is not enough to distribute rice and grain alone. If you have families and young people, you have to pay two kilograms of saline and salt every month. Two pieces of cloth will be worth at least fifteen taels a year. In other words, it is not considered a wartime reward. If you want to maintain the Liaodong Army and Xuanda fronts, the salary will not be less than two million taels if you pay the actual salary.

Of course, according to the Ming Dynasty's corruption and deduction practice of plucking hairs, it is actually thankful that half of the soldiers who reached the bottom were actually at their hands.

The southern conquest army led by Wang Ji, the Bo Jingyuan, also had more than 100,000 troops. The military pay for the expedition to Luchuan would not be lower than that of the border troops, which was another two million taels of silver. In addition, it had to provide disaster relief and relief to the people, and exempt taxes and Qingmiao loans from severely affected areas, so at least one million taels of silver had to be prepared.

Chen Yichen's grand blueprint in the memorial, Jin Lian felt that even if he sold himself as the Minister of Revenue, he could not get enough money to start the war on the third line. At most, the court would have financial collapse if it lasted for half a year.

"After eliminating the need to provide disaster relief and help the people, the Liaodong Army will be given priority, followed by the Southern Conquest Army, and Xuanda will temporarily focus on defense. If the shortage of silver and money will be short, first arrears of Lumi and Luyin for the royal family, and then recover the land tax of the officials and gentry officials and gentry members."

Chen Yichen said this sentence with a expressionless face. In fact, when he proposed the plan during the cabinet's discussion, he had already expected this situation. The reason why he insisted on starting the memorial was that he asked for a price everywhere and paid the money on the spot.

Sure enough, when Chen Yichen said this, Jin Lian, the Minister of Revenue, looked shocked. The royal family, the royal relatives, were all people who could not afford to offend, and they all had the ability to do the heavens. In order to gain support from the royal family, today's priests must give priority to their emotions.

Not to mention the owed royal family members Lumi and Luyin, even if the national treasury is really poor, they have to pay first from the treasury!

"This matter is absolutely impossible. Besides, even if you owe the royal family Lumi and Luyin, it will only be hundreds of thousands of taels, and it is still a drop in the bucket."

Jin Lian directly rejected Chen Yichen's suggestion. In fact, in the early and mid-Ming Dynasty of the Jingtai year, the royal family expenditure was far from being able to drag down the finances. In the later period, the real impact on the finances were those vassal kings who did not pay taxes.

The salary of hundreds of thousands of taels of royal family cannot solve the financial crisis, but it can bring a sense of crisis to the emperor and the vassal kings. It realizes that the Ming Dynasty's finances have a possibility of collapse, and it is no longer the scene where the treasury is full of the past.

With this sense of crisis, a consensus will be reached soon. The huge fleet of treasure ships still docked in the harbor after transporting grain. In addition to Chen Yichen's share of the pie from Japan, the other controls are in the hands of local clans. They are also the biggest force in the North Korean opposing the opening of the maritime ban.

The vassal king Chen Yichen must not be able to move at present, and the owed money will be reimbursed as soon as possible after protests are submitted by local governments. His real goal is to rely on the financial crisis to pressure Emperor Jingtai Zhu Qiyu to open trading ports along the coast, and set up customs to collect taxes, and cancel the maritime ban in disguise.
Chapter completed!