rebirth first official

When Gao Zhanming went out, he was arguing with Gao Huachong, so he didn't pay attention to being summoned by the Queen Mother, but he left the Zongxue in a sedan chair, and he began to feel a little uneasy: How could the Queen Mother summon him?For what?Could it be that incident on Fragrant Hills annoyed the Queen Mother?

Not long after, the sedan chair arrived outside the gate of the palace. Gao Zhanming couldn't enter the palace with the sedan chair, so he got off the sedan chair with the palace people who came to pick him up and walked to Xianju Palace.

Gao Zhanming was looking at the expression of the eunuch who led him along the way.The eunuch looked normal, walked with ease, and treated Gao Zhanming kindly. Gao Zhanming asked him about the purpose of the empress dowager summoning him. Although the little eunuch didn't know, he said that the empress dowager was in a good mood these two days. It seems that the empress dowager summoned him Entering the palace doesn't seem like asking a teacher for a crime, so Gao Zhanming heaved a sigh of relief.

The little eunuch led Gao Zhanming outside the Xianju hall and left. The big eunuch Guo Yulian greeted him personally, looked Gao Zhanming up and down, and said with a smile, "You are Gao Zhanming?"

Gao Zhanming hurriedly bowed to Guo Yulian: "Caomin has seen my father-in-law."

Guo Yulian supported him and said: "Hey, don't be too polite, come in with me, the Queen Mother has been waiting for you for a long time."

Gao Zhanming followed Guo Yulian into the Xianju Hall.

Gao Qiang was sitting in the side hall, when he saw Gao Zhanming coming in, he waved his hand, and the maids and eunuchs who were waiting around went down.Guo Yulian led Gao Zhanming to Gao Qiang, and said with a smile, "Queen Mother, Mr. Gao is here."

Gao Zhanming hurriedly knelt down and saluted: "Cao Min sees the Queen Mother."

Gao Qiang said with a smile in his voice, "Good boy, get up and sit next to Ai's family."

Gao Zhanming got up a little uneasy, and sat next to Gao Qiang, while Guo Yulian quietly retreated and closed the hall door.

Gao Qiang took Gao Zhanming's hand affectionately, looked at his face carefully, and said melancholy: "Ming'er, you look more and more like your father." As he spoke, tears filled his eyes, and he took out a silk scarf Lai wiped away his tears, and said, "He is the youngest brother of the Ai family, and the Ai family loved him the most since he was a child. It is a pity that he left too early and did not enjoy a few years of happiness. If he leaves, you will be left poor My child, the Ai family is trapped in this deep palace, your uncle An Guogong is busy with state affairs, and your other uncles are not in Beijing. You have no one to rely on, and you have suffered a lot. Fortunately, you have grown up, Seeing your current appearance, Ai Jia is very pleased."

Gao Zhanming didn't expect Gao Qiang to treat him with such an affectionate attitude, as if he was trying to win him over.It seems a little inappropriate to use the word win over. After all, Gao Qiang is the queen mother who listens to the government behind the curtain, and he is just a young man who lost his father in the Gao family. At least Gao Qiang said these words, which shows that he is of value to Gao Qiang.As for Gao Qiang's affection, it may be able to move people to the real Gao Zhanming, but for him, a three-point trust is enough-even if Gao Qiang is in the deep palace, he is not concerned about things outside the palace. It is not ignorant, if Gao Qiang really loved him so much, how could the former Gao Zhanming suffer so much?

However, it is always necessary to save face, Gao Zhanming hesitated for a moment, and whispered: "Auntie."

Gao Zhanming's aunt meant to be probing. After all, Gao Qiang was the number one woman in the world, and even the emperor dared not call her mother.However, in Gao Qiang's eyes, his hesitation seemed even more pitiful to Gao Zhanming.She shook Gao Zhanming's hand firmly: "Hey, good boy."

Seeing that Gao Qiang was not annoyed, Gao Zhanming felt relieved, and lowered his head pretending to be timid, looking very embarrassed.

Gao Qiang grabbed Gao Zhanming's hand, and emotionally told him about his father Gao Yuanqing who died early: "Aijia still remembers that when your father first came to Beijing, he was about the same age as you are now, and seems to be older than you. You are still younger. At that time, the Ai family had just entered the palace not long ago, and had not yet given birth to the emperor. They had no relatives in this palace, and their lives were very difficult. The late emperor also liked your father very much, and called him into the palace every month to accompany the late emperor Playing chess, every time he came out from the Xiandi's palace, he would come to Ai's family to talk with Ai's family, and when Ai's family saw him, they forgot all the unpleasant things."

Gao Qiang told Gao Zhanming about the time when she and Gao Yuanqing were still in Jindi, and talked a lot, Gao Zhanming gradually let go of restraint, and his expression and behavior became a lot closer to Gao Qiang.

Gao Zhanming said: "I remember when I was young, my father told me that my aunt was the best to him. If there is any good thing, I will always remember him. When I grow up, I must respect my aunt. I was still young at that time, and I was not sensible. Later, my father After we left, my life with my mother...was not very good. Sometimes I felt uncomfortable, and I would think of what my father said. I studied hard in Zongxue, thinking that I would be able to stand out in the future and serve the queen mother and uncles , I have lived up to my father’s expectations of me back then.”

Gao Qiang said comfortingly: "Good boy, Auntie didn't love you for nothing."

Gao Qiang opened the box on the side, took out a collection of essays written by Gao Zhanming, and said, "You are a smart child. Although my aunt is in the deep palace, I have heard some things about the outside world before. Your uncle and Zong The instructors in the school said that your articles are well written, did you write these articles?"

Gao Zhanming took the anthology and flipped through it, it was the article he had stolen by Gao Liang earlier.He said, "I wrote it."

Gao Qiang said: "I heard that your article was plagiarized by Gao Liang before, so I asked him to show it off and deceive him. Fortunately, what is yours is yours after all, and now the truth is revealed."

Gao Zhanming said: "Yes. It is thanks to my aunt and uncle that I can be given justice."

Gao Qiang smiled, took out another piece of silk from the box, and said, "Is this article also written by you?"

Gao Zhanming took it and looked at it, but it was the article that Gao Liang wrote on Xiangshan that day.He turned his mind and couldn't figure out what Gao Qiang was thinking, so he pondered for a moment and said vaguely: "Isn't this beautiful sentence in parallel prose written by Su Hanlin?"

Gao Qiang let out a low laugh, and said: "Aijia has already read Su Hanlin's original text, and Aijia knows which ones were written by him and which ones were written by others. Then Gao Liang plagiarizes your article and takes it for himself. Yes, it's really hateful. If Ai's family was you, you would want to make him embarrass himself in public. It's human nature for you to use small tricks."

Gao Qiang is a female class, although her writing is not good, and those profound and obscure allusions are not clear, but as the empress dowager, there are not a few capable people around her who can write well and understand rare allusions.She specially ordered someone to read this parallel essay, and analyzed it word by word. She understood how Gao Zhanming compared the emperor to King Han Cheng to satirize the emperor favoring the Zhao family.The aides around her told him that comparing this article with Su Yu's original text, although they were written by the two, the style of writing was exactly the same, and the newly added paragraph was written in the style of Su Yu. People who know how to imitate and write are definitely not people with mediocre literary talents, otherwise they cannot do this.

She also secretly sent someone to arrest Gao Liang, threatened him, and Gao Liang was so frightened that he recruited everything, saying how Gao Zhanming wrote the article in his study for him to steal, and how Gao Zhanming did it. It ruined his reputation, and even Gao Liang has fallen to this point. He himself still doesn't understand where the article touched the emperor's scales.As long as a caring person thinks about it carefully, he will know that Gao Liang is telling the truth.If he had that kind of literary talent and imitated Su Hanlin's style of writing to write an article satirizing the emperor and the Zhao family, why would he still want to copy Su Yu's article, causing himself to be exposed by Su Hanlin in public, embarrassing?It must have been deliberately designed by Gao Zhanming.

Seeing Gao Qiang's determined appearance, Gao Zhanming knew that she had found out the ins and outs of the matter.When he set up this bureau, he also knew that there were flaws in this bureau. As long as someone has the heart to investigate, everything will be revealed.

So Gao Zhanming quickly got up and knelt down in front of Gao Qiang, saying: "The queen mother redeemed her sin. My nephew is really out of breath. That Gao Liang is insidious and cunning. He plagiarized his nephew's articles without any fear, relying on someone in the school to back him up. , once the nephew testifies against him, he will bite the nephew back. After thinking about it, the nephew has no other choice but... only..." He bit his lip hard, with a face of suppressed resentment appearance.

Gao Qiang looked at Gao Zhanming's reaction with satisfaction, and after he finished speaking, he said unhurriedly: "Get up, good boy, if the Ai family wanted to blame you, they wouldn't let someone invite you here in a sedan chair."

Gao Zhanming looked up at Gao Qiang pretending to be terrified, seeing that her face was indeed calm, he was relieved, got up and sat down again.

Gao Qiang said: "If you say that Ai's family is not angry at all, it's just coaxing you. No matter how hateful Gao Liang is, he came to the banquet in the face of our Gao family. You made him humiliate in public, and you have hurt our Gao family to some extent. But afterward, Aijia also thought about it from your standpoint, you are a poor child, if not, then Gao Liang might not be willing to plead guilty and return the article that plagiarized you to you. So Aijia gave up. You have ended up in such a state, and no one will avenge you, so you can only do something wrong, speaking of it, I blame Aijia and An Guogong for not taking good care of you."

Gao Zhanming hurriedly said: "My aunt said this, which made my nephew feel even more uneasy."

Gao Qiang unhurriedly took a sip from the Dahongpao beside him, put down the teacup, and said, "You compare the emperor to King Han Cheng? That's really outrageous."

Gao Zhanming carefully looked at Gao Qiang's face, making sure she wasn't angry, and then said: "Nephew... I was really angry for a while, so I couldn't help but add a few words when I was making a fuss. My nephew never disrespected the emperor. I mean, it's just...it's just the Zhao family...it's really hateful."

"Oh?" As soon as Gao Qiang heard Gao Zhanming mention the Zhao family, he immediately became more energetic, and even sat up a little higher, "I'm not angry? What did the people of the Zhao family do to you?"

Gao Zhanming said: "Although my father left early, he treated me and my mother very well. Apart from my mother and me, he didn't have any other concubine's heirs." Gao Yuanzhao died in his early twenties , and have no chance of leaving any more offspring.

Gao Zhanming said: "The property he left for me and my mother was enough for our mother and son to spend our lives in peace. But after he left, my mother was a womanizer and couldn't support such a large family business. I became a family thief, so I lost a lot of property. I have no father since I was a child. Seeing other people's father and son reunion is always the saddest time for me. Everything and every word my father left me is very important to me. It is the most precious, so if someone dares to plot what my father left me, I will never give up easily."

Gao Qiang was very pleased when he heard this: "The house thief you are talking about is your concubine's uncle, no wonder you let the Criminal Ministry arrest him. You have done a good job in this matter, and it has been difficult for you these years."

Gao Zhanming said: "Yes, but things stolen by house thieves can still be taken back, but if they are taken away by outside thieves, it is difficult to take back."

Gao Qiang was taken aback: "A foreign thief? You mean... the Zhao family?"

Gao Zhanming said: "Yes, it is the Zhao family. The Zhao family is very ambitious. As a border warlord, they used the influence of Concubine Zhao to extend their hands to the people's livelihood in the capital. Over the years, they wanted to share profits from the Gao family. So many properties were opened. The other properties of our Gao family were controlled by uncles. It was difficult for them to start, but my father left early. Many industries in China were annexed by them. As for the spices, the spices originally used by the big households in Beijing and the royal court all came from my house, but since the Zhao family opened the Hengyuan Incense Shop in the capital a few years ago, they used threats and lures. They snatched all the incense offerings from several big families, and even intercepted the incense used by the court. The original property left by my father to my mother and me is running out because of the Zhao family. I am afraid that my mother and I will not be able to bear it anymore."

What Gao Zhanming said was biased.It is true that the Zhao family annexed their business, but Tang Gan's greed and incompetence and Tang Xue's cowardice were the main reasons for his family's defeat.What's more, in the matter of doing business, if you like it, you can buy the goods of whoever's product is good. The Zhao family did get some convenience from the Tian family, but why didn't the Gao family not?It's too much to say coercion and temptation.

But Gao Zhanming is not afraid.He knew that Empress Dowager Gao hated the Zhao family to the bone, if not for the Zhao family's military power outside, she would have ripped apart Concubine Zhao Guifei long ago.When Gao Qiang mentioned the Zhao family to him, it was obviously to test his attitude towards the Zhao family. As long as he said that the Zhao family was not good, Gao Qiang would be satisfied. The more he gritted his teeth, the more Gao Qiang would resonate.He made rumors and exaggerated, but he did what he liked for Gao Qiang.

Sure enough, after hearing Gao Zhanming's words, Gao Qiang slapped the coffee table hard, and was furious: "It's unreasonable! Such a Zhao family, the Ai family doesn't know, how dare the Zhao family act so arbitrarily and recklessly! It's hard to treat people from our Gao family Put it in your eyes!"

A few years ago, she knew about the emperor's replacement of the supplier of imperial incense, but she was the queen mother.She wanted to be in charge of the harem and meddle in government affairs. She wished she could take everything into her own hands. Some things were unavoidable. She didn't have the energy to take care of it at the time. Gao Yuanqing died, Gao Zhanming was young, and Tang Xue The two of them would not come to the palace to cry to her, they have already changed, and after a few years, that's all they can do.As for the property outside the Gao family, she has no energy to manage it. It is managed by a few brothers of the Gao family outside, but these princes and princes of the Gao family are busy with a large amount of property and government affairs in their hands. But come on, who has the time to worry about Gao Zhanming's life?The outsiders were also aware of this point, and Gao Zhanming's family property was reduced to where it is today.

Gao Zhanming pretended to be angry and resentful, Gao Qiang gritted his teeth and said: "The Ai family doesn't know about these things, since I heard what you said today, the Ai family will not ignore it! Don't worry, as long as the Ai family is still sitting in this palace for a day, His Zhao family must never want to be happy. This matter will be handled by the Ai family, and the supply of royal incense in the palace next year will definitely come back to you!"

Gao Zhanming couldn't help but be overjoyed.With this line back, he has another way to make money, and he can slowly return his business to the way it was when Gao Yuanqing was there, even better than it was back then, and it's just around the corner.With money, he can do more things.

Gao Zhanming and Gao Qiang confessed several crimes of the Zhao family together, Gao Qiang said: "Ming'er, the Ai family is looking for you today, not only these things, but also other things they want to talk to you about."

Gao Zhanming hurriedly said, "Auntie, please tell me."

Gao Qiang said: "If you remember correctly in Egypt, you were born in the year of Ding Chou, almost the age to start a family and start a business. It is said that you have extraordinary literary talents, so Aijia has read these articles of yours specially, and many princes and ministers are also there. Look, your insights are really outstanding. You said in the article that the total amount of wealth in the world has been fixed. If the treasury is rich, the people will be poor, and if the treasury is poor, the people will be rich. Increasing taxes is to compete with the people for profit. This has been the case in all dynasties. If the country is rich and the people are safe, then the total amount of wealth in the world should be increased. This is the act of double wealth. This is the first time Aijia has heard such an argument. It is very interesting. I called you into the palace today to listen to you in detail. How to achieve double wealth?"

Gao Zhanming said: "My nephew has read the history books thoroughly. In the previous dynasty, many emperors and emperors of the Ming Dynasty, in order to expand the territory, wanton conquests made the barbarians frightened and did not dare to invade our country again. However, training troops to strengthen the country requires a lot of military expenses, and most of the treasury's annual expenditure is spent on In the end, the barbarians were pacified, the people were poor, and the national treasury was empty, and it took several years or even decades to support the people. My nephew thought that training troops to strengthen the country was a necessary measure. If there is no territory, how can we talk about the country? Do not increase taxes and fill the national treasury. However, if there is no natural disaster, the production of the world is fixed, and the annual rice harvest is only so much. Increase taxes, the country will be strong and the people will be poor. The only way is to increase production. In this way, both Guarantee the survival of the people, and the country will be rich.”

Gao Qiang asked, "How to increase production?"

Gao Zhanming said: "This is not something that my nephew can do alone. My nephew has heard that some people have wonderful methods, either in terms of farming or irrigation. Some can produce ten tans of rice, while others can only produce five tans. In addition, there are also skilled craftsmen among the people who invent things such as wooden oxen and horses to replace manpower and improve efficiency. However, these methods are often not popular among the people for one reason: Tibetan Some people will pass on the wonderful methods to their children and grandchildren, but the children and grandchildren may not be able to inherit them. Often after a few years, those wonderful methods will be lost. It is a pity. The reason why people hide their secrets is only for profit. I don’t want to spread this method to the outside world to produce something that others can’t grow. I can make more money if I am the only one in the world. This is a good thing for the individual, but it is not good for the development of the country.”

Gao Qiang nodded: "That makes sense. You continue."

Gao Zhanming said: "My nephew thought to himself that if he wants to increase the world's production, it cannot be done by one person alone, and he needs the support of the court. Those capable people are nothing more than a profit. He monopolizes the secret method alone, and he can earn more than others in his life. 100 taels of silver, the imperial court will set up funds to collect these secret methods. For 100 taels, the imperial court will give him 120 taels, and then popularize this method in the world. Once production is increased, the imperial court’s annual tax revenue can also increase, so it is not 120 taels The gain of the taels of silver has increased. In addition, the imperial court can specialize in the establishment of official departments, funding from the treasury, and cultivating skilled craftsmen. Anyone who can invent magical techniques to improve production and control famines, whether it is carpenters, metalworkers, farmers, merchants, or even lowly slaves, As long as you offer advice, you can be rewarded with a lot of money. With a big reward, there must be a brave man."

Gao Qiang didn't seem to be very interested after hearing this: "It's indeed a good thing, but there will be some charlatans who use this to deceive us, so how should we deal with it?"

Gao Zhanming said: "This is inevitable. Once this policy is implemented, it will take several years to see results. The imperial court can give those skilled craftsmen a sum of pension every year. It doesn't need to be too much. Salaries are distributed according to class, and then open up fields and workshops. Test those secret methods, if they are effective, spread them out, within three years, and after three years, if they are effective among the people, they will be rewarded with a lot of money."

When Gao Zhanming said this, he paused for a moment.His articles are all about people's livelihood, but he knows that in Gao Qiang's mind, people's livelihood is not the first priority, but the power that comes first.So he thought about it for a while, and said: "If this policy is implemented, the expenditure of the imperial court will definitely increase in the first few years, and the benefits will be seen after a few years. My nephew thinks that this method should be done sooner rather than later. Let's talk about the current situation in the court. Even the court has to be taboo. Although there are [-] soldiers in Gyeonggi, it is still too few. After all, the soldiers in Gyeonggi are not the same as the heavy soldiers in vassal towns. Local warlords are fighting on the battlefield. They have been trained, have fought actual battles, and are well-trained. My nephew said something taboo, in case, in case the feudal town rebelled, the [-] soldiers in Gyeonggi may not be able to handle it. Therefore, if the military power of the feudal town cannot be weakened, Gyeonggi should set up more The military strength is the only thing. How can the chief of the feudal town be willing to be weakened? If the feudal town is weakened, what should we do if foreign enemies attack? Therefore, this method is the worst policy, and the best policy is to strengthen the defense of the capital. To increase troops, you must have money. To win the hearts of the people, the common people will voluntarily enlist in the army to defend the imperial power. If we can increase civilian production, one will fill the treasury, and the other will win the hearts of the people. If it goes well, we will see results within three to five years.”

Gao Zhanming's words really hit Gao Qiang's sore spot.Her taboo towards the Zhao family is because the Zhao family, as the governor of the feudal town, has rich people and strong soldiers in the area under its jurisdiction. She has always wanted to cut down the feudal clan, but there are many obstacles.She doesn't know if Gao Zhanming's method is feasible, but Gao Zhanming's position is surprisingly consistent with her.So she praised repeatedly: "Good! Good! Although I don't know if this method is feasible, but your ideas and vision are very outstanding! After hearing what you said today, Aijia is like bathing in holy water! Although you are young, you have With such knowledge, the Ai family originally wanted to wait for you to be a few years older before asking the emperor to call you into the court, but now it seems that since ancient times, heroes have been born as teenagers, so it shouldn't delay your age! You go back and wait. In a few days, the Ai family will issue an edict to make you a Chaosan Lang. The Ai family is short of capable and caring people, so you come to the Ai family and take care of those treacherous villains for the Ai family!"

Hearing this, Gao Zhanming hesitated for a moment, then got up and bowed to Gao Qiang, and said softly, "Aunt, my nephew wants to take the imperial examination."