The Red Mansions

Daming Palace, Inner Study Room

The sun was very hot in the near noon, and the sun shone through the window lattice on the bookcase made of mahogany, and the spots of light were a little hot, and the heat of the hot summer was dissipated outside the hall amidst the ticking sound of melting ice.

Under the light yellow curtain hanging from the beams and pillars, several inner eunuchs stood with their hands down, not daring to breathe.

Jia Heng and Empress Song entered the palace together, and Emperor Chongping greeted him and said, "Dai Quan, take a seat."

"Thank you, my lord." Jia Heng thanked Emperor Chongping and sat down on the embroidered pier.

Here, Empress Song also took her seat, and under the majestic bun, the smile on that white and snow-like face faded away, and under her beautiful eyebrows, she said with concern: "Your Majesty, Deng Wengu just now It rang, saying that there was a fraud case in the imperial examination in Beijing recently, and I don’t know what happened?"

Emperor Chongping nodded, and said: "The real culprit has not been found out yet, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate is still investigating the case. I still need to find Ziyu to discuss it."

Emperor Chongping said, looked at Jia Heng quietly, and said: "This time the imperial examination fraud case, you also sent some Jinyi detectives to help Xu Deqing investigate."

Jia Heng nodded yes, pondered for a moment, and asked: "Your Majesty, this case should not be difficult to investigate. Has Your Majesty asked the chief examiners of the examination?"

When mentioning the matter of Cai just now, Emperor Chongping's expression unavoidably turned a little cold, and he said in a deep voice: "Cai has asked about it just now, but no one has admitted it, so it's not easy for me to interrogate them one by one."

Naturally, an emperor cannot try the case himself.

Jia Heng reminded: "Your Majesty, I heard that after the scholars learned about the fraudulent imperial examinations, they gathered people to besiege the yamen of the Ministry of Rites and the Gong Yuan. If there are indeed fraudulent cases, the scholars who were originally in the middle class may cause trouble again."

"I have already ordered that if there is indeed a fraudulent case, another Enke will be opened this year." Emperor Chongping said with a gloomy gaze, "If there is another opportunity to make trouble and deprive of fame, the three subjects will not be allowed to end."

This emperor was also a vassal king who came out of the hidden mansion back then, and with a few words, he hit the key point.

It is similar to the ban on the qualifications of the student's graduation certificate.

Empress Song comforted: "Your Majesty, don't worry, it won't be long before the case should come to light. It's already noon now, and today is the Dragon Boat Festival. There is a luncheon at Kunning Palace. Your Majesty should go and use some of it. "

"I'm not very hungry right now." Emperor Chongping's face softened a little, he glanced at Jia Heng, and said softly: "Have you made preparations for the wedding in these few days?"

Jia Heng said: "Weichen's side is ready."

Marrying a princess is a marriage bestowed by the heavenly family, and the place of marriage is the princess' mansion. Apart from the betrothal gift, he prepared a chicken, well, that's not wrong.

"Your Majesty, my concubine and Concubine Rong have already sent out invitations to each family and relatives in the past two days, and Jinling has also sent a letter to Jinyang, but Jinyang will not be able to keep up." Queen Song said pinkly. Slightly opened, he took up the conversation with a smile, as if talking about something strange, and said softly: "Jinyang has been talking and talking to the south of the Yangtze River for half a year. There is a shortage of ice and stones that my son planned to go to the palace to spend the summer, Jinyang is running an errand for the Zhen family, so it should be over."

Empress Song naturally didn't know that her sister-in-law had gone to the south of the Yangtze River to raise her baby, but she wished that Princess Jinyang would stay far away in the south of the Yangtze River and not come back, so that the House of Internal Affairs might fall into the hands of the Song family.

"She wrote a letter from Jinyang last time saying that she is managing the sea trade and making more money for the Ministry of Internal Affairs." Emperor Chongping said: "Since Jinyang took over the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the affairs have been handled in an orderly manner. The government has urgently deposited a batch of money from Jiangnan to Beijing, and if Xianning has nothing to do in the government after marriage, he can go to the House of Internal Affairs to help."

When Empress Song heard the words, her heart was slightly darkened, and she said with a charming smile on her snow-skinned face, "Your Majesty, the young couple just got married. They are newlyweds, so why are they so busy with these trivial matters?"

What she meant was, can we let Wei'er go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs while Mr. Zhao Ge of the Ministry of Punishment has an accident.

But this can only be said back and forth in the bottom of my heart.

Jia Heng watched the emperor and empress talking, and glanced at the plump and beautiful woman, feeling a little weird.

I always feel that the relationship between Empress Song and the emperor is more or less forced and laughing.

Or, is this the case for middle-aged couples who have lost their passion?

At this time, Emperor Chongping cast his eyes on Jia Heng and asked, "Ziyu, has the constitution of Chahar Mongolia been agreed upon? Ezhe sent me a memorial yesterday, saying that he wanted to lead the clan to take back the old place of Khan Court. Why is the most appropriate time to enter the army?"

Not long ago, Chahar Mongolia presented the Jade Seal of Chuanguo, and the court of Chen Han gave Ezhe Khan a large amount of coins and silk, and gave a mansion in Ren'anfang, Shenjing City, to settle Ezhe and his son.

But E Zhe still wanted to return to his hometown in Monan, and after Jurchen's defeat, the three tribes of Heshigten, Naiman and Aohan divided up the pastures that originally belonged to Chahar Mongolia.

Jia Heng said: "Weichen has been preparing to deal with this matter these days. There are about [-] to [-] cavalry in the Mongolian tribe in Chahar. Weichen wants to be organized into six guards and nomadic in Datong, Xuanfu and other places. After a period of time, our Han army will send troops together with them to retake the Monan Khan Court. At that time, our Han army cavalry can also go to garrison and train, and become a sharp arrow to attack the Jurchens!"

For example, in the 16th year of Chongping's "Operation Sharp Arrow", the Han-Mongolian joint military exercise must be carried out.

Smoke and dust billowed above the grassland, and cannons roared.

In fact, it was only a few days since Jia Heng returned to Beijing. Previously, he was enshrined as a knight, worshiped the ancestors, and then complained to all the golden hairpins, so he didn't have time to deal with these matters.

"The Jurchens will retreat, it's better to be safe, I'll leave this matter to you." Emperor Chongping said.

Jia Heng said: "Wei Chen will soon send the Beijing Camp generals to Xuanda to take care of this matter."

His current copywriting affairs are overall, and it is impossible for him to do everything for Xuanda and Dacheng himself.

Emperor Chongping thought for a while, and then asked: "Ziyu thinks that Chahar Mongols can run for my big man?"

Jia Heng said: "My lord, the Mongols grew up in the grasslands and are used to being unrestrained. Therefore, it is not appropriate for us to set up official control. The main thing is to control and influence the economy and the production of goods. For example, the clothes, housing and transportation of the Mongols are all up to me Influenced by the dynasty, in the long run, since it is integrated with our dynasty, once it is separated, it will be difficult to adapt, just like a wild horse raised in captivity, put on a bridle, even if it is released, it will be difficult to hide in the mountains."

At this time, the term economics was used, such as economic career, which has a different connotation from later generations, so Jia Heng gave another example.

Emperor Chongping looked thoughtful, and immediately said: "I plan to win his heart by marriage. I remember that Ezhe Khan has a daughter named Yaruo? I intend to choose a vassal king from the clan and ask to marry her." Yaruo, what does Ziyu think?"

Empress Song, who was quietly listening to Weng and her son-in-law's conversation, felt her heart move slightly. Under her beautiful eyebrows, her water-like eyes glistened, and she looked at Emperor Chongping.

Just now I heard what Ziyu said, the Mongolian tribe can be organized into six guards, if you really want to marry the daughter of Ezhe Khan, this will help you!

Compared with the possibility that the Nan'an family would intervene in the government in the future, these Mongols have no foundation in the court, but are easy to rely on as their arms.

Jia Heng thought for a while, then said: "I think it's okay to make peace with Mongolia, but I don't know what Ezhe Khan has in mind."

If Ya Ruo has never been in contact with him, um, it's not considered a gift, right?
Empress Song suddenly took over the conversation, and said: "Your Majesty, the concubine wants to accept a side concubine for Ran'er, so as to extend his heirs, what does Your Majesty think?"

Emperor Chongping looked at the eager Empress Song, remained silent for a moment, and said, "E Zhe regards her daughter as the jewel in his palm. After thinking about it, E Zhe may not be happy, and I don't want to force others to make things difficult. If I choose one of the daughters of the clan and marry E Zhe Son, or can it better reflect my sincerity towards appeasement?"

Empress Song: "???"

Emperor Chongping also narrated: "The daughters of foreign countries often don't know how to be kings. If they enter the clan, they may insult the blood of the Tian family."

He seemed to have forgotten that if Ezhe Khan intervened in the vassals' struggle for the reserve, there would be a risk of Hulu disturbing the Han Dynasty.

In fact, during the Han and Tang Dynasties, marrying a princess instead of seeking to marry a princess from a foreign land was sometimes out of such considerations.

Empress Song was so "pulled" at this moment, her heart sank into coldness, and the handkerchief she was clutching tightly, who was she guarding against?
Still in front of... Ziyu, why does His Majesty suspect her so far?

Jia Heng stared at this scene, feeling a surge of emotion deep in his heart.

It's not that Huang Mao, who was carrying a hoe, was ecstatic when he saw a crack appear in the corner of the wall.

In fact, he is the emperor, and he will suppress the Song family.

The Song Jing brothers of the Song family, who will be properly reserved for foreign relatives in the future, if they are not suppressed, may endanger the imperial power in the future.

Even if he married Xianning, he was also involved with the Song family.

In fact, the Son of Heaven didn't have many good choices. The concubine and concubine of the Song family were both in the harem. If another feudal clan was established, it would also cause turmoil.

"Since Prince Weikang was deposed, his son Chengjue County King seems to have several daughters under his knees, and the second and third daughters are waiting in his boudoir." Emperor Chongping thought for a while, looked at Queen Song, and said.

Empress Song seemed to take advantage of this with a faint sigh, and said: "If Princess Le'an is not missing, it would be appropriate to give her a marriage... But, she seems a bit old."

Jia Heng frowned, his eyes fixed.

Are you talking about Xiaoxiao?

Xiaoxiao's title is actually Princess Le'an, although he knew this title when he read Zhou Wang's file, but he was worried about causing Xiaoxiao's sadness, so he usually didn't call it by that title.

Emperor Chongping said with emotion: "Niece Xiao has been missing for several years."

The emperor couldn't help but think of Rong Yi's coldness, the girl who bent bow and archery since she was a child, if she is still alive now, she should also be a female general.

Emperor Chongping put away the memories of the past, and said: "Zitong, the daughter of Prince Weikang, you pick and choose, and choose a gentle and virtuous goddaughter from among them. I will make her a princess and promise to Ezhe's son Agula as his wife." .”

Empress Song smiled, and said: "The concubine asked someone to take the two of them into the palace to have a look."

Jia Heng took over the conversation and said: "Your Majesty, in recent years, the Heshuot Mongol Khan has grown in power and annexed the surrounding Mongolian tribes, threatening our northwest border. I should try to control it."

Emperor Chongping said: "There has been some unrest in the northwest recently. Jin Xuan, the younger brother of the king of Xining County, came to report the day before yesterday that Tai Yoshino Lichi of the Huite Department of Mongolia led troops to plunder the county towns north of Xining. His son Jin Xiaoyu was going to lead the army to crusade .”

As a party of princes, the Xining County Prince's Mansion has a certain degree of independent conquest power, but it often reports to the central court.

Jia Heng pondered for a moment, and said: "Since the Jiajing period of the previous Ming Dynasty, the seven guards of Kansai fell to the Turpan Khanate, the northwest barrier did not exist, and they were no longer able to control the old places in the Western Regions, and after the Zhu family lost control, until the Taizu and Taizong dynasties, they worked hard The Seven Guards of Kansai were regained, and the Handong Guard and the Five Guards of Anding Guard were once taken back. They were lost again during the Longzhi period. Only now did the rise of Heshuote Mongolia, and the Hulu harass the northwest border. When we free up our hands, we also need to solve it. Trouble in the Northwest."

Chen Han inherited Zhu Ming, and after the Jiajing Dynasty, he was busy clearing up the remnants of the former Ming Dynasty. It was not until the reign of Emperor Taizong that he focused on solving the border troubles in the northwest, but in the end he lost it.

In other words, after the Longzhi Dynasty, the great defeat in Liaodong led to the shrinkage of the Chen-Han territory across the board, and in the northwest, the Oirat Mongolian tribes were recruited and restrained.

"Previously, when Gu Shihan of Heshuote Mongolia defeated Quetu Khan, Jin Qing lingered on the bed. At that time, Liaodong Jurchens were causing trouble. Before they could intervene, the captives gradually became bigger." Emperor Chongping sighed and said : "Ziyu, what are your plans?"

Jia Heng said: "The imperial court has just experienced a great war, and the generals and soldiers are eager to feel at ease. The treasury is also costly. It is not appropriate to go to war at the moment, such as the Northwest quarrel. I think that the soldiers in Xining are enough to stabilize the Northwest."

Emperor Chongping nodded, and said: "Since the middle of last year, I have fought countless battles. It is time to rest and recuperate."

Jia Heng said: "If we want to pacify the Western Regions, I'm afraid that after the Liaodong is wiped out, we will be able to gather all the soldiers from all over the country, and we will have to go on an expedition. At that time, the Western Regions will be scabies to the big men."

Among the dynasties of the Central Plains, apart from the Song and Ming Dynasties, from the Han to the Tang, they would go on expeditions to the Western Regions when their national power was strong.

However, whether the Jurchen will contact Mongolia in the northwest and contain the big Han to share the pressure on the entire northern front seems to be unknown now.

Emperor Chongping said in a deep voice: "Liaodong is indeed my confidant's trouble, we must cut it off first!"

Wait until Liaodong is pacified, then regain the Western Regions and restore the territory of the former Han Dynasty.

Empress Song looked at the two people who were chatting with great interest, but she was not in a hurry, her Yingying eyes flicked to the handsome young man.

Your Majesty wants to build a great cause, and Ziyu is indeed his right-hand man.

Even if Ran'er ascends the throne in the future, he cannot do without such a good helper as Ziyu.

Emperor Chongping looked up at the sky, thought for a while, and said, "It's already noon today, I'm going to have lunch, I'm a little hungry."

Jia Heng cupped his hands and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

It seems that I can't go home to watch the dragon boat race with Xiangyun and Baoqin today, so I can only go in the afternoon.

The three of them talked and returned to Kunning Palace again.

Kunning Palace

At this moment, the wives of the various families who originally entered the palace early in the morning to celebrate the queen's birthday also left the palace, and the four great vassal kings also left. People accompanied Concubine Duanrong to talk.

In the hall, the dancers from the Taiyue Department have already started to dance, and the musicians on both sides are playing the qin and the zither, and the sound of silk and bamboo orchestras is full of ears.

Concubine Duanrong ordered Xia Shouzhong to greet Gong'e, and the eunuch placed fruits and refreshments on the small table.

Concubine Duan Rong, Princess Xianning, and Princess Qinghe had already sat down to talk with Princess Nanyang.

In addition, Mammy also led a ten-year-old boy, Chen Ze, the son of Concubine Duanrong, sitting beside Concubine Rong, with an innocent smile on his white face.

Concubine Duan Rong asked: "What has Master Lu taught you?"

Chen Ze said in a crisp voice, "Mother and concubine, according to Shi Ziji, Master Lu recently taught his sons to read history, and mentioned that during the Li and Tang Dynasties, the feudal town of Heshuo was a disaster and hijacked the central government."

In fact, Lu Li also mentioned that in the Han Dynasty, his relatives caused disasters and abolished the young emperor, but Chen Ze didn't seem to be a fool at his age, so he felt that his mother, concubine and elder sister would not be very happy if he said it.

Concubine Duanrong thought for a while, with a look of curiosity in Youli's eyes, she asked with a smile, "What did he say?"

Chen Zeqing said: "Master Lu said that at the end of the Tang Dynasty, warriors in feudal vassals were a disaster for the world. Warriors have a vulgar temperament. Once they have poor skills, they will be arrogant and arrogant. We have to guard against it."

Concubine Duanrong: "..."

What is this Bachelor Lu telling Ze'er about this every day?
Princess Xianning watched from the side, put down the teacup in her hand, and said softly: "Mother Concubine, when the master comes, tell brother well."

Noble Concubine Duanrong nodded, and said: "Although I don't study history very much, I also feel that these remarks are biased. Ze'er, Da Fan Shengruo also pays attention to both civil and martial arts when he governs the country. That Lu Xueshi is a civil servant, so it is inevitable that he will With a heart of contempt for military generals, Ze'er should not be fooled by his one-sided words."

She only hoped that her son would grow up well, and he would do his duty as a feudal clan. These tactics of guarding against warriors are not something ordinary clans should worry about.

How did that Xueshi Lu say this to Ze'er?It seems that the teacher needs to be changed.

Seeing Emperor Chongping coming, Chen Ze quickly approached and called out, "Father, brother-in-law."

Emperor Chongping looked at the boy, stretched out his hand to caress the boy's forehead, and said with a smile, "Ze'er, he has grown a little taller."

Jia Heng raised his eyes to look at the little boy, his expression softened a bit, and he said with a smile: "His Royal Highness, it's been a long time since I saw him, and he looks more and more energetic."

This is Xianning's own younger brother, and it is also his brother-in-law. Compared with the two kings of Wei and Liang separated by a layer, Xiaotong undoubtedly has more of his thoughts.

At this time, Concubine Duanrong, who led Zhou Guiren, Wu Guiren and other concubines, came forward, looked at Emperor Chongping and Empress Song with clear eyes under willow-leaf eyebrows, and said with a smile: "Just wait for Your Majesty and sister Woolen cloth."

While speaking, everyone sat down one after another.

Jia Heng and Princess Xianning sat at the same table, not far away were Qinghe Princess Li Chanyue and Song Yan.

Princess Xianning picked up a jug, filled the emerald wine cup with wine, and said softly, "Sir, this is realgar wine. Drinking it at this time is the most effective for dispelling poison."

Jia Heng glanced at Emperor Chongping and said in a low voice, "Xianning, I don't want to drink too much."

"Mister is drunk, I'll take him back." Princess Xianning said with a slight blush on her beautiful face, a little coquettishly.

Jia Heng nodded and said, "Then you can fall."

Then she looked at Li Chanyue who was on the side, met the star-ridden eyes, and nodded.

It's been so long since I've been back to Beijing, I haven't talked to Chanyue much, so let's stay with Chanyue later.

……

……

cabinet, mandarin hall
Han Huang entered the hall expressionlessly, waved to the salutations of several cabinet ministers around him, and sat down after arriving at the case.

Zhao Mo, a cabinet scholar, looked sad and worried, and said, "Mr. Han Ge."

Just now, the Holy Majesty left a separate performance, most of which was to mention himself.

Han Huang turned to look at Zhao Mo, shook his head, and gestured with his eyes.

Zhao Mo's face was pale, and his lips moved a little. He knew that there were too many people in the cabinet, so he didn't want to ask more questions, so he had to pick up the writing brush and a piece of rice paper, and wrote on it.

After a while, Han Huang took the rice paper handed over by the little official, and saw the neat handwriting on the rice paper, only two characters, how about it?
Nothing was said, but the two had worked together for many years, and they both understood each other's intentions.

The so-called how is the king's will.

Without thinking, Han Huang also picked up the brush and wrote two characters from the side.

Naturally, the rice paper does not say "run away", but "Two Rivers."

Zhao Mo took the rice paper and saw the two words, frowned, and immediately tossed back and forth in his heart, and in a moment, he realized it.

Gao Zhongping, governor of Liangjiang, implemented the Qingzhang Tianmu and One Whip Law in Jiangsu. As cabinet ministers, they could not object.

Zhao Mo's complexion changed, and he sighed secretly. He didn't pick up a pen to write anything, but just folded the rice paper in his hand and put it in the armhole.