Daming prepares the emperor

The Yamen of Caoyun River Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang.

There is a scent of tea in the hall, and the light and long-lasting smell is obviously only available in the new spring tea.

Sitting alone on a chair in the middle of the hall, he fanned the mist above the teacup with his hands, inhaled deeply, and his face was full of intoxication.

"My lord, you are still drinking tea here."

There was some commotion by the door. A figure in official uniform threw away the book office that he wanted to inform, and hurried in from the outside. Before the person could cross the threshold, the sound hit the wall and fell everywhere.

"What's the rush, did Daming Law say that I can't drink tea?"

The man who came in was short and short. People often say that being an official requires at least a good-looking appearance. He looks decent, so that he can be liked by his superiors and not be hated by the people.Although he doesn't have an advantage in height, he has no major facial features. His eyebrows are thick, which make his eyes sparkle. His face is square, but he is decent.

The one sitting and drinking tea had a thin face, more like a traditional literati in the stereotype, with a leisurely expression, a pair of red and phoenix eyes, and a nice voice, not in a hurry, as if he was telling a story.

"The law of the Ming Dynasty never said that you are not allowed to drink tea, but the law of the Ming Dynasty said that if you embezzle 60 taels, your head will be gone! New officials next year will still see you being stuffed with grass and hanging on the top of the yamen! "

Lu Yiliang stood in front of He Yonglian, snatched his teacup with his hands, and put it on the table with a loud snatch: "There is a Jin Yiwei guarding the carriage at the inn ahead, have you heard the news?"

"Received." He Yonglian glanced at him and picked up the teacup again.

"Will you die if you don't drink this horse urine every day?" Lu Yiliang is obviously a very irritable person, "Hurry up, go to the shipyard with me, and call out those craftsmen to lecture them."

"Ma Niu is talking about wine, but I'm talking about tea." He Yonglian said, "Drinking alcohol will make people confused, drinking tea is for meditation."

"Oh?" Lu Yiliang raised his eyebrows, "You mean you panicked too?"

"What's the use of calling them now." He Yonglian said, "Those who should be greedy with us have already been greedy, and those who are not greedy are holding back their energy, and it is too late to kill immediately."

"Why is it too late?" Lu Yiliang said, "I have a good relationship with Xing Ming, first ask him to lock those people into the classroom, without giving them food or drink, and if they are willing to sign the paperwork, they will be sent back, and if they are unwilling, they will be killed. It is death in fear of sin."

"Afraid of crime at this juncture, what crime are you afraid of?"

"Stealing things, slandering the court, robbing other people's concubines, you can commit any crimes you want!" Lu Yiliang became angry, "I said Mr. He, I don't usually see you being timid, what's the matter, suddenly changed your mind today, Has it really become the same as the name?"

He Yonglian was not angry at all, and even took another sip of tea before saying: "Don't think about it, what is the origin of Jin Yiwei, it is the emperor's man, dyed in the big dyeing room in the capital, like meat with a hob, The imperial prison is used to arresting high-ranking officials, and it seems like they are playing with officials of our level, and they will accidentally expose their badges to a postman?"

Lu Yiliang recalled it a bit: "You mean, they let us know their identities on purpose?"

"Yes, I only figured it out last night." He Yonglian nodded, showing a teachable look, "They just want to see us in a hurry, and when we are in a hurry, it is easy to make mistakes. Now we cover up our mistakes and hit them right now. Not only that, but they didn't reveal it sooner or later, and chose the present time, there must be a deep meaning."

"What's the meaning?"

"You only know that Jin Yiwei is here, but do you know that Li Yinbing is also here?"

"Li Yinbing?" Lu Yiliang was an official after all, so he was in no hurry at this time, and sat down next to He Yonglian, ready to listen to his detailed analysis.

"Li Yinbing helped Lord Yang defeat Zhang Chang, and now he is a big celebrity in front of him. It shouldn't be difficult to guess what's the meaning of coming here this time?"

Lu Yiliang sneered: "Do you still need to guess? I know the answer with my toes. It's not just to get a few more officials surnamed Huai down, so that people surnamed Zhe like you can climb up."

"You can't say that." He Yonglian said seriously, "Old Lu, how many years have we been friends? When Huaixi was still in power, you were also helping me. Feng Shui turns, and no one knows that the court will rise tomorrow. What waves, they are also on the mission of water transportation, we don’t need to lose our minds, and we are in the arms of those people.”

Lu Yiliang ignored him.

"Even if you don't work here anymore, you have many friends and many ways, and you want to quarrel with me, at least you can survive this disaster. When they leave, we will make trouble no matter what, what do you think?"

Lu Yiliang glanced at him, his expression relaxed.

"If you fall down, can I still be okay?" He Yonglian added a piece of firewood, "We have worked together for so long, we know the bottom line. You know what unconscionable things I have. I also know who you took money from. There is no need to fight in the nest."

Lu Yiliang understood that he was telling the truth. Back then, the two of them, one from Huaixi and the other from East Zhejiang, were assigned here to manage the oil and water errands of water transportation. It is true that you fought life and death for a while, and then whoever figured it out first, shook hands and made peace, covered up that there was nothing wrong with each other, and unexpectedly reached the current state of harmony.

"I'll trust you once." Lu Yiliang took a deep breath, "This time is no better than the previous inspection. It's really a gamble. Old He, don't forget, I'm not easy to bully, I'm dying It’s hard to say who will bite out.”

He Yonglian took this warning and poured him a cup of tea: "Don't worry about Li Yinbing, he is a mercenary villain. Because of that person's matter, he has been rejected by the Holy One, so he relies on the prince and Master Yang is supportive. Let's honor him with some money and give him some gifts, things are easy to talk about. The only worry is this one accompanied by Jin Yiwei."

"This person..." Lu Yiliang subconsciously lowered his voice, approaching He Yonglian, "How much do you know about this person?"

"I know he was a good player before he went crazy, and he made a lot of political achievements in the tea tour in Zhejiang." He Yonglian said, "I have some friends in the capital. The incident was a big one before. I wrote to ask, and they said Yuan Kai It was involved in the dispute between the Holy Majesty and the Crown Prince, and he failed to answer the question of who is right and who is wrong."

"I'm Yuan Kai, and I can't answer it. Even if the old man is happy for a while, he will feel that I dared to slap the prince's face afterwards. It's not like a pig looking in the mirror!"

After Lu Yiliang said this, he tilted his head and said, "I'm not interested in how he got so unlucky, I just want to know, he really ate—"

"I have to talk about you. It's okay for you to tell me these things. Yuan Kai is here. If you mention this in front of him, even gods can't save you."

"I'm not that stupid."

"Then don't ask if there are any of these." He Yonglian said, "He came with Jin Yiwei! On the surface, those Jin Yiwei are temporary soldiers, but in fact they are the eyes and ears of the emperor. Whether Yuan Kai eats shit or not, he We are already the emperor's people, even if he wants us to eat with him, we have to admit it! Not only do we admit it, but we also have to prepare spoons."

Lu Yiliang saw that he spoke so firmly, and the impatience that had just been suppressed surged up again in his heart: "Then do you think this Yuan Kai will sell Yang Xian's face? Yang Xian is now focused on doing what his superiors have told him. This pushes you out, there are many people who want to be officials, and there is no shortage of us."

"There are many people who want to be an official, but who will do this job without being greedy? Who can say that he is better than us?" He Yonglian said, "Yuan Kai will not betray Mr. Yang's face, he will only investigate to death, crazy After recovering from his illness, he is not afraid of anything now, and besides, he really dares to indulge himself, those Jinyi guards are not just for nothing."

"Then let's..." Lu Yiliang gesticulated on the neck.

He Yonglian looked at him with wide-eyed eyes: "What are you thinking about? Although the soldiers to fight Sichuan have just been sent out, I am just like cutting melons and vegetables. Outsmart, outsmart."

"Didn't you just say that he is not afraid of anything." Lu Yiliang frowned, "Then let's wait for death. Tell me, jump into the river or hang yourself."

"We can't move him, so let Li Yinbing come. They are both inspectors and censors, and neither is worse than the other. They both hold the imperial decree and patrol on behalf of the emperor. What can Jin Yiwei do? They are not officials after all, so they can't play. this game."

After a pause, He Yonglian added: "There is only one credit, but there are two people. What do you think they should do?"

Lu Yiliang patted his thigh: "I understand, you are really a ghost, whoever gets promoted if you don't get promoted."

"I would like to borrow your good words." He Yonglian smiled, "What we have done may not be able to catch them. Many of those ships have already been dispatched. The accounts of the Ministry of Accounts and the accounts of the Ministry of War are there seamlessly. We are not the only ones who are at fault when things go wrong. Those who transport food, those who buy food, and those who write paperwork, who has clean hands? Put your heart in your stomach and go back to sleep."

Lu Yiliang was refreshed by what he said, cupped his hands, got up and was going to go out, he was stunned halfway, turned back, grabbed He Yonglian's teacup again, put it down, and said: "No, you After talking for a long time, where can I find the credit for these two people? Where can I find a scapegoat."

He Yonglian was taken aback by him, almost spit the tea out of his mouth, coughed and said, "You can still think of this."

He was not surprised, it seemed that he had planned it long ago.

Lu Yiliang thought for a while: "Is it the newly appointed prefect of Hangzhou? I heard that he made the yamen a mess, and many people hated to join him."

He Yonglian said: "That's what the officials said, and the common people call him Master Qingtian."

"Just him?" Lu Yiliang said contemptuously, "The surface of donkey dung is smooth."

"No matter what the people say—these two censors won't ask mudlegs anyway. The rich and wealthy businessmen are on our side. As for you, the prime minister is still surnamed Li, and there are so many nobles. Are you looking for No one to help? Ask them to give some convenience. So much money is paid up every year, and it’s time to contribute when it’s critical.”

"Okay." Lu Yiliang thought for a while, "I'll write a letter to Mr. Hu, and now the Huaixi faction is the one who can speak the most."

"Is there anything else?" He Yonglian signaled him to leave quickly.

"I'm fine." Lu Yiliang said honestly, "But I saw a sedan chair outside just now."

"The sedan chair? You didn't say it earlier!" He Yonglian stood up abruptly, "Go ahead and have a look, I'll come right after I change my clothes."

"You hurry up."

Lu Yiliang nodded and strode out.

---

After chatting with Li Yinbing for a while, He Yonglian came out wearing an official uniform. Compared with Lu Yiliang, Li Yinbing's attitude towards him was more than three times better.

"Master Li is here, hurry up, please come inside." He Yonglian quickly walked over and said with a smile, "I have heard that you are coming, but I didn't expect it to be today. I didn't prepare anything, but there are newly arrived tea leaves and fruits in the room, please Appreciation."

There was a smile on Li Yinbing's face, but his tone was still serious: "I came here for the emperor's will, not because I have the desire to travel around the mountains and rivers. We meet to discuss business, so don't say anything in the future. It's time for hospitality! Let's go in and talk about it later."

"Yes."

Surrounding him into the hall, there were only three of them left. He Yonglian brought tea, and Li Yinbing, who was full of business before, took it without thinking. A letter came: "This was given to me by Mr. Yang before I left Beijing. Please take a look."

He Yonglian opened the letter by light, read it carefully line by line, made sure that all the metaphors were understood, and all the explanations were memorized, then he cupped his hands and said: "Thank you, Mr. Li, I understand what Mr. Yang means, never It will embarrass his old man."

Li Yinbing nodded: "It's good that you have the numbers."

Lu Yiliang on the other side walked over slowly, put down a plate of fruit on the table on his left, and said respectfully, "Why don't you try some, my lord?"

"Since I'm here, another censor will be here soon." Li Yinbing picked up an orange, peeled it, and said, "Brother Jing Wen is different from me. Emperor Ming, the results of this investigation must follow his will, and the credit must also be on him, so I can only assist from the side."

The orange skin was separated from the light yellow meridian. Li Yinbing was about to put the pulp into his mouth when he suddenly found that the touch in his hand was wrong. He looked down and saw that it was an orange, it was clearly carved in one piece gold!

"..." Putting the gold into the peel and rewrapping it calmly, Li Yinbing turned his attention to Lu Yiliang.

Lu Yiliang immediately showed a flattering smile: "These fruits are hard to find in the capital. Your Excellency is here in Hangzhou. Naturally, you should try these new things. I have ordered the servant to pack a small bag for you to use later. .”

Li Yinbing's eyes changed, he finally looked at Lu Yiliang with a gentler gaze, and said kindly: "You have a heart."

With just such a sentence, Lu Yiliang knew that he was stable on Li Yinbing's side, and the only obstacle was Yuan Kai who hadn't come to Hangzhou yet. He must, must find a way to get him to express his opinion!