Emperor Renzong of the Great Song Dynasty

In Yushi's Mansion, Bao Zheng looked at his wife Li Shi who was busy counting her luggage, and persuaded: "Madam, take a rest for a while, just leave these tasks to Bao Xing and the others."

Mrs. Li counted more than a dozen sets of winter clothes in the box—although winter has not yet entered, but if she leaves Beijing at this time, it will be difficult to return to the capital before the New Year's Eve.

Although she didn't know what Bao Zheng was going to do this trip, but it was nothing more than being ordered by the emperor to go to Beijing on business, even if it was the end of the year, she would not be sloppy at all.

"No," she shook her head and said, "Bao Xing is too rough. I don't trust him, I'd better pack it up myself. These are the thick clothes for you this winter. This box is heavy, and it's on the luggage cart. At the bottom, don’t drive on the road lightly, take it out and change it after it snows. I put the lighter clothes in autumn in that rattan box..."

Bao Zheng said: "Understood."

Mrs. Li instructed him again: "All the money is in the bag of broken flowers. If you ask Bao Xing, you must take it with you and don't show it to others. It's these belongings anyway. If they are lost on the way, it's not easy to turn them around."

He added: "There are still some small things..."

Bao Zheng suddenly said: "Madam, take your parents, brother and sister-in-law back to your hometown."

Li was puzzled: "What?"

Bao Zheng said: "Tonight, you also pack your luggage, and tomorrow morning, take your parents, brother and sister-in-law back to your hometown."

Bao Zheng's parents were getting old, and he was a dutiful son, so he couldn't bear to abandon his family and career to travel far away.

After he was nominated in the gold list that year, the Queen Mother and the Duke of Lai awarded him the post of magistrate of Jiangnan county. He resigned without hesitation and wanted to go home to take care of his parents.

This move rightfully angered the Duke of Lai and the Queen Mother.

Later, it was Fan Zhongyan who moved him with affection and reason, and let him understand that loyalty and filial piety can be both. The emperor will bring his parents, brothers and sisters-in-law to Bianliang, so that he can take time to go home while contributing to the court. Serve your parents.

However, because the emperor was a little shy in his pocket at that time, the house purchased for his parents was not very spacious.So Bao Zheng did not live with his parents, but rented a small courtyard separately.

Up to now, he is an official who serves as a servant of the imperial censor and knows chores. It is reasonable to say that he is not a small official. He can afford a big house and take his parents by his side to support him for the rest of his life.

However, his parents are old and it is not appropriate to move to disturb them, so the family has not moved, and they have lived apart until now.

Mrs. Li was puzzled: "It's so good, why did you bring your parents back to your hometown? We live together in the capital, and we can still take care of them from time to time, isn't it good?"

Bao Zheng sighed: "It's not easy to live in Chang'an. The capital is not a good place, so let's send your parents back to their hometown to avoid it."

He said again: "After you have settled your parents, you don't have to come back. You should all live in your hometown."

Mrs. Li was stunned for a moment, and after understanding the deep meaning of his words, she said angrily: "Where did you start? What do you mean I don't have to come back? Husband and wife are one body, where you are, I should be where you are. How can there be any reason to separate the two places? Is it possible that your lord is planning to resign from office and go back to the countryside in the future, and live the life of men farming and women weaving with me?"

Bao Zheng said: "No. It is because I still want to be this official, so you have to go home. It is too dangerous to be in the capital."

The emperor asked him to do something that was extremely easy to break into pieces.He is not afraid of being smashed to pieces, but his family...

Bao Zheng sighed secretly.

His parents are old and his wife is young, how can he rest assured.

He died willingly for the sake of what the emperor said.

But he couldn't let his family members follow him into this pit of fire.

Mrs. Li sneered: "My lord's words are so good and unreasonable. Why do you want to be an official, so we have to go back to our hometown? Could it be that we live in the capital and keep ourselves from becoming an official? The whole court, from Fan Xianggong to Cheng Menlang, I have never heard of any official who is eager to send his family back to his hometown."

Bao Zheng said: "The situation is special, and the official's secret decree asked me to do a job. I can't say it clearly, and let the opportunity go. In short..."

Mrs. Li threw the clothes in her hand: "I am your wife, what is the opportunity, what is the secret, can't you tell me clearly?"

Her eyes were slightly red, and her voice was choked with sobs: "Okay, let me take my parents back to my hometown suddenly, and suddenly I won't let me stay by your side. I am the wife you Mingmei is marrying. You should make it clear to me!"

Bao Zheng said: "I'm not sure about this matter, but you just..."

Mrs. Li sat on the stool: "If you don't tell me clearly, I won't leave!"

Bao Zheng said anxiously: "Why do you have to be stubborn at this moment, if you make a careless move, you will be killed..."

Li said: "I am a peaceful and kind-hearted citizen. How can I be killed?"

Bao Zheng was about to say something, but he heard a creaking sound outside the window, and it was Zhan Zhao who pushed the window and came in.

Seeing him coming, Bao Zheng said happily, "Xiong Fei, you..."

Zhan Zhao raised the burden in his hand towards him and Li Shi: "The things have arrived."

Bao Zheng said: "Great, now we can finally..."

Li asked: "Xiong Fei, what's in this bag?"

Zhan Zhao said: "Returning to Madam, in this baggage..."

Bao Zheng said loudly: "Don't say it!"

"...I entrusted my friends in the world to create a fake guide. In this way, my lord can leave Beijing without disturbing anyone."

Bao Zheng glared at Zhan Zhao angrily, but he shrugged indifferently.

Why hide something from Madam, anyway, she will know sooner or later.

"Fake Luyin?" Li Shi asked in surprise, "What's going on?"

She turned her head to look at Bao Zheng: "Didn't you say that the official ordered you to go out of Beijing on business? Why do you need a false guide when you go out of Beijing according to the order?"

She was a lady from an official family, and later married an official as his wife.In this life, let alone using fake Luyin, I have never even heard of Luyin being able to fake it!

Bao Zheng clenched his fists and coughed lightly: "Isn't this a secret decree? The official ordered us to act in secret and not to disturb others. The false route is also just in case."

Mrs. Li suddenly asked, "Does Mr. Gongsun know about this?"

Zhan Zhao giggled and said, "Oh, why doesn't he know, even the words on this road sign are written by him."

He opened the package, took out the guide that was rolled into a scroll, unfolded it, and showed it to Mrs. Li: "Look, madam, only Gongsun among us can write this handwriting."

I saw the handwriting on the road guide, neat and correct, boring and flat, it looks like an official font.

Although Bao Zheng is also a literati, he is a literati who takes a high-end route, and has never studied the style of subordinate officials.

Only a literati like Gongsun Ce who has more dealings with the lower class can master this kind of font that makes people drowsy after reading it.

Mrs. Li sighed, "Even Mr. Gongsun is messing around with you."

She said: "We dignified people, why do we need to use this kind of bullshit to cover up our identity? My lord," she looked at Bao Zheng: "What kind of job did the government ask you to do?"

Bao Zheng said: "This is top secret, don't let others know."

Li's anger rushed to her chest, and she thought, I am your wife after all, so in your eyes, am I actually someone else?

Before she could get angry, Zhan Zhao said: "My lord, I just heard the argument between you and Madam through the window. From my point of view, what Madam said is very true. You two are husband and wife. It is one body. Life is life together, death is death together..."

Bao Zheng shouted: "Don't mention that word!"

He himself is not afraid of death, but he doesn't want this word to have anything to do with his wife.

But Li said: "Why can't you mention it? This is the truth clearly! I, Li Yuanlang, am not a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death!"

Zhan Zhao clapped his palms and smiled, "Ma'am is so bold! Let's just tell Madam like this. The officials asked the adults to go out in disguise, and go deep into the North to see if the officials have colluded with each other and abused the people. Madam is also a lady of the government, isn't it? Those who grew up drinking dew naturally understand that except for a few high-minded people who are really persistent in their hearts, whoever has come out to be an official has never taken three melons and two dates. But according to the meaning of the officials, this After all, it is necessary to make a big move, even the slightest corruption must be banned. After the adults return from the North, they will be punished one by one according to the investigation of the adults."

Li Yuanlang took a breath: "This..."

She turned to look at Bao Zheng: "My lord, what Xiong Fei said..."

In her heart, she secretly hoped that this was what Zhan Zhao said to lie to her.

Bao Zheng nodded slowly: "That's it."

Li Yuanlang murmured: "This is really... this is really..."

This is really... going to turn the sky upside down!

Zhan Zhao continued: "Ma'am, tell me, when your lord comes back to the capital, you will reveal the corruption in the officialdom in front of the people of the world, and then the officials will make a big change in the officialdom based on these disclosures... At that time, the officials in the world will not Hate your lord?"

Li Yuanlang nodded and said, "Indeed."

Zhan Zhao said: "They hate your lord, they must want to kill you quickly. I certainly won't let your lord and madam suffer, but I'm afraid my wife and my wife will just..."

Although he has high martial arts skills, he is only a mortal.Protecting the lives of Bao Zheng and Li Shi in Bianliang City is already the limit, and if Bao Zheng's parents are added, it is almost impossible.

"Because of this, the adults want to send you all back to your hometown. If you are not in Bianliang City, you will not be so conspicuous, and it will not be easy for people to plot against you."

Li Yuanlang sat on the stool with his head down, silent for a long time.

She was silent for so long that Bao Zheng asked her softly, "Ma'am, what's wrong?"

Li Yuanlang stood up, looked up at Bao Zheng solemnly, and suddenly knelt down to him.

Bao Zheng quickly reached out to help her: "Why is this madam? Please get up."

Li Yuanlang said: "My lord loves me very much, and I can't bear to put my concubine in danger, so I tell my concubine to go away and return to my hometown to avoid disaster. But I am the same as my lord, I am not a person who cherishes my life and is afraid of death. If my lord really feels sorry for my concubine, I should As I wish, let me live and die together with the lord. Instead of leaving me in a safe place and watching the lord be crushed to pieces."

Bao Zheng took her arm and sighed: "Ma'am, why bother! Why do you need to involve your family in the affairs of the court!"

Li Yuanlang stood up and looked at him at the same level: "If it's an incident in the court, why didn't the officials issue an imperial decree to ask your lord to go out of Beijing as a serious imperial envoy, but to cover it up so as not to alarm anyone?"

Bao Zheng said: "This is a big matter..."

Li Yuanlang said with a smile: "That's right. The officials want you to find out corruption in the officialdom, so as to clear up the court situation. This is not just an ordinary political event, but a major event related to the well-being of the people in the world. Your lord is willing to work for the well-being of the people. He did not hesitate to risk his own life, and so did Yuan Lang. Please also send someone else to escort your parents-in-law back home, and ask me to go to Beijing with you on business."

Bao Zheng held on to her hand, pondered for a long time, and sighed: "I thought I got a virtuous wife, but in fact I got a bosom friend!"

"Okay, I promise Madam, I will leave Beijing with Madam and never leave again."

He said to Zhan Zhao: "I have to trouble Xiongfei to make a new road lead. Madam wants to go on the road with us."

But Zhan Zhao couldn't help laughing out loud: "Sure enough, it's still what Gongsun said."

Both Bao Zheng and Li Yuanlang were puzzled, and Zhan Zhao pointed to the fake guide in his hand: "Gongsun said a long time ago that Madam is a hero and must go with us. We wrote it together."

"Look here, there is a cloth merchant named Zheng with a wife, a servant, a bookkeeper, a guard, two carts and four horses, and a number of goods. They are operating from Bianliang to the north. There is a company please go."

Bao Zheng raised his head and smiled in amazement: "Sure enough, Mr. Gongsun has a clever plan."

Li Yuanlang said: "It's not that Mr. is a genius, but that Mr. knows people."

Zhan Zhao bit his cheek and smiled, "If he hears it, he must be humble again."

"By the way," Li Yuanlang said suspiciously, "I don't see Mr. Gongsun very often recently. What is Mr. Gongsun doing?"

"Oh, he was playing in the water with Senior Xia at Qingbei University."

"Playing with water?"

Li Yuanlang was puzzled.

Zhan Zhao said: "Yes, it's just playing with water. When I went to Qingbei University to find him last time, the two of them dug a big hole about ten feet wide in the ground, filled the hole with water, and they didn't know what they were doing. "

Gongsun Ce has been living in the university since he escaped from the Queen Mother Li Concubine and returned to Qingbei University.Even after Concubine Li entered the palace, he went back to work with Bao Zheng, but he still had to go back to Qingbei University to live at night.

Ask him why he has to go back and forth between the two places, wouldn't it be good to live in Yushifu like Zhan Zhao?He couldn't tell why, he only vaguely said what value Senior Xia needed his help to calculate.

"Oh, by the way, Bai Yutang was on the side at that time."

Speaking of Bai Yutang, he gritted his teeth again: "That kid is so disgusting! He trampled on our tiles, and we haven't settled with him yet!"

At the beginning, Bai Yutang snatched his giant tower without any reason, and even fought against him so much that he trampled half of the tiles in Yushifu, he has always been brooding.

He hugged Ju Que tightly in his arms.

This is his lifeline!Even dared to snatch Juque, this Liangzi he and Bai Yutang could be regarded as a knot.

Li Yuanlang wondered: "The weather is getting colder, what are you doing playing in the water? Besides, Mr. Gongsun doesn't seem like someone who delays serious business just for fun?"

Zhan Zhao said: "They said they wanted to calculate something, anyway, it seems to be related to the bicycle boat. He couldn't explain it clearly, and I couldn't understand it either. Who knows what they are doing."

Li Yuanlang said: "Then can Mr. Gongsun leave Beijing with us?"

Zhan Zhao smiled and said, "Madam, don't worry, look at Li, there is only one accountant. Besides him, who else is worthy to be the accountant. He said that their work is about to be finished, and it will be settled within two days at the latest. one by one……"

He looked embarrassed: "...I forgot about something. Anyway, the work will be finished soon. We are going to go on the road with Privy Envoy Di Qing. Di Qing still needs to make preparations. Gongsun will be able to Catch up and set off with us."

"That's good." Li Yuanlang breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm relieved to have Mr. Gongsun with me."

Zhan Zhao seemed a little unconvinced, and Bao Zheng also laughed and said, "Why can you feel at ease when you have Mr. Gongsun?"

Li Yuanlang sighed with a smile: "You two, one is impulsive and the other doesn't hit the south wall and doesn't look back. Without Mr. Gongsun's coordination and planning, I'm afraid that you will be plotted against by others just after you leave the capital."

She sighed leisurely: "Didn't you say that you will wait to go out of Beijing with the privy envoy? Then let's wait."

Inside Fengchen Palace, if Liu E felt something, she put down the playbook she was holding and asked out the window, "Who is there?"

At this time, the moon was already in the middle of the sky, the palace gate was locked, and everything was silent.

She didn't ask anyone to serve her. She lit a few candles and sat under the lamp to read some operas, but she heard footsteps outside the window.

The window was pushed open silently, and Zhao Yiyi and Liu En jumped into the room from the night.

Liu E raised her eyebrows: "It's late at night, why hasn't the emperor slept yet?"

Zhao Yiyi curled his lips: "Is this also called Ye Shen?"

Those who work in the emperor's business like them, as long as they have a diligent heart, there will never be a time when "it's late at night and the emperor should rest".

Although Liu E has never been an emperor, he has worked as an emperor for more than ten years in a down-to-earth manner, so he naturally understands this truth.

Otherwise, why did she stay up so late?

Isn't it just that after so many years of nights, the biological clock can't be adjusted for a while and can't fall asleep?

Liu E said: "It's not very late at night, and the palace gates are also locked. The emperor shouldn't come to my Fengchen Palace."

Zhao Yiyi said: "The queen mother is relieved, except for the three of us present, no one will know that I have been here."

He paused, then turned to Liu En and asked, "Right?"

Liu En nodded: "No one saw it."

Zhao Yiyi was relieved: "That's good."

Liu E looked at him: "Then why is the emperor here at night?"

She suddenly realized: "I know, the emperor must have come to visit Concubine Li."

Pretending to get up: "Concubine Li should have fallen asleep, I'm going to wake her up..."

Zhao Yiyi hurriedly said: "Stop, stop, the empress calm down."

Liu E sat back in her seat and said with a smile, "Emperor?"

Zhao Yiyi sighed: "It's alright, ma'am, Ming people don't say dark words, I'm here to conspire with my majesty."

Liu E said, "What are you planning?"

Zhao Yiyi said: "I have already sent Di Qing to the place where the army is stationed in the north. After arriving there, the unqualified troops will be uniformly abolished, and the qualified troops will be renumbered for training."

Liu E said: "Is it too fast? The Bianliang Forbidden Army has been laid off? They didn't make trouble?"

It is not surprising that those soldiers and ruffians of the Imperial Army can do anything once they are robbed of their jobs.

At this time, it seems not a good idea to send the only privy envoy who can suppress them.

Zhao Yiyi said: "The layoffs are over. The shipyard is located near the barracks of the Forbidden Army. I asked the owner of the factory to find a few nurses to go to the Forbidden Army to promote the good treatment of the factory, and immediately attracted them all."

Liu E nodded: "That's about the same."

Zhao Yiyi said: "There is another person who left Beijing with Di Qing."

Liu E asked, "Who?"

Zhao Yiyi said, "Bao Zheng."

Liu E said with a smile: "Every time this son goes out of Beijing, he can make some big moves. This time it will be exciting again."

Zhao Yiyi said: "I asked him to go out of Beijing to visit the charges of collusion and corruption with officials. After returning to Beijing, he will be released together."

Liu E said: "That's good. The current officialdom is really not comparable to that of Taizong's time. Officials corrupted and abused the people too seriously. It is time to rectify and rectify."

When she was in power, she also saw the officials colluding up and down and corrupting the government.

Ordinarily, the salaries given to them by the imperial court are not low, so why are they still so greedy?

Liu E was a little confused.

Zhao Yiyi said: "After he comes back, I plan to set up a new Yamen in the capital."

Liu E asked, "What Yamen?"

Zhao Yiyi said: "It is similar to Yushitai, but it has more power and responsibility than Yushitai. I plan to hand it over to Bao Zheng."

Liu E leaned over and asked in confusion, "What do you mean is greater power and responsibility than Yushitai?"

Zhao Yiyi said: "Although Yushitai is responsible for supervising all officials, it can only hear about things. Only when something is known to everyone, can it be included in Yushitai's book. As for the secrets of officials How can the censor know about private secrets, and how can he discuss them?"

Although Yushitai has the freedom to participate in whoever they want, but they do not have the authority and ability to conduct investigations and evidence collection.

The censors are all small officials who have just entered the official career. They have a blood that is not afraid of death, and even the prime minister dares to participate.

But if you don't have the right to investigate, how do you know who to join?

You suspect that so-and-so colluded with foreign officials to accept bribes, what about the evidence?

If there is no evidence, wouldn't that be a false accusation?

The prime ministers and senior officials who have been immersed in the officialdom for decades, even if they are really corrupt and broke the law, the evidence is not something you, a young censor in his twenties, can grasp.

However, the censors couldn't grasp the evidence, and there was no way to sue the high-ranking officials for breaking the law with reason, so in a fit of anger, they began...

... Climbing and biting.

Anyway, our censors are "rumours and events", and we are not required to have reasons.I've heard that you have misbehavior!I heard that you corrupted the law!

I just want to sue you!

These memorials of climbing and biting are in the hands of the emperor, and the emperor only needs to pick out the memorials of whom he wants to punish.

Anyway, each of you has a case in my hands.

As for whether these cases are true or not, no one cares.

The so-called power of the censor to supervise all officials is in name only.

Anyway, it was a gun in the hands of the emperor.

"So, I want to set up an agency with real investigative powers."

Zhao Yiyi said: "Let Bao Zheng be the leader to investigate officials' corruption and perversion of the law."