Shipin Dalizheng

Steward Lu agreed, then returned to the Earl's Mansion and said to the person from the Relief Office, "Before our young master left, he asked us to take good care of Feng Xiangjun. But, gentlemen, think about this for a moment. Is this something you can ask of a little girl? She's already donated. If you have the ability, go and collect it. If not, forget it. Do you really expect Feng Xiangjun to cause a scene with her grandmother and aunt, and then snatch the money and give it to you?"

The visitor also felt embarrassed. This was already embarrassing for Feng Xiangjun, so he hurriedly left the Annan Marquis's residence. When he returned to the relief office and saw Shangguan saying this, he was scorned by Xu Tou. "I told you to go directly to the Feng family to ask for it. You have to go through so much trouble and get people to look you in the eye. Go directly to Master Ma. If he can't help, just give the dowry list to the Ministry of Revenue and let them collect it."

Shangguan hurriedly said, "If we hand it over to the Ministry of Revenue, the money won't reach our relief office. Who knows where it will be allocated to? No, no. I'll go talk to Lord Ma about it."

As the head of the Sinong Temple, Lord Ma didn't have the power to enforce the law. He didn't have the courage to organize a team to go to the Marquis of Jing'an's mansion to collect the donations. He was at a loss for words. After thinking for a while, he said, "His Majesty has bestowed upon Miss Feng Liu the title of Xiangjun for her kindness. It would be a joke if we couldn't collect the donations. It would be better for me to go to the palace and report to His Majesty. I trust His Majesty will make the decision."

Madam Ma stopped him, "Don't! Your Majesty has just confined Marquis Jing'an and his son. Anyone with a bit of common sense in the court knows that the Feng family has lost the emperor's favor, and there are many who want to deal with them. Don't bother Your Majesty with such matters. In my opinion, it would be better to think about whether Marquis Jing'an has any enemies and ask them for advice."

After much thought, Lord Ma thought of Zheng Jiu, the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, and his advisor Tang Chuyun. It was unknown what was wrong with these two, but they had been biting Marquis Jing'an like vicious dogs for several months, and they almost came to search his house every day.

In order to prevent the money from being intercepted by other departments, Lord Ma took the gifts to Zheng Jiu's residence.

Zheng Jiu no longer lives in his original home. He moved to a new house with his son and his lawyer. I heard that he was preparing to marry a new wife, but for some reason, he didn't get married.

When Lord Ma arrived, Zheng Jiu was teaching his son to read. Zheng Baoer had lost a lot of weight and was no longer a little fat boy. He became more polite to people and knew that he had to greet guests and asked the servants to serve tea.

Zheng Jiu didn't even raise his eyelids. His daily work scope had nothing to do with Sinong Temple, so he felt there was nothing to talk about.

Lord Ma stiffened his lip and bowed, "Zheng Shaoqing, I have something to ask for your advice."

"what's up?"

Zheng Jiu's tone was indifferent, and the corners of his slightly widened eyes were red, as if he had not slept for many days.

"Zheng Shaoqing, you're well aware of the current situation in the imperial capital. The treasury is out of money and food, and the victims from all over the country are pouring in. If we don't take care of them, they'll starve to death..."

"I don't have any of what you're talking about." Zheng Jiu said, calling out to Butler Zheng, "Bring two hundred taels of silver to Lord Ma."

This is treating Ma Dashan as a fundraiser, and Mr. Ma blushed.

"It's like this, Zheng Shaoqing. We still have a little food, some good and some inferior, which can last for more than a month. However, medicinal materials are extremely scarce. If an epidemic breaks out, the entire imperial capital will be in danger..."

"Take another three hundred taels to make up five hundred taels."

Lord Ma's heart was pounding as he quickly said, "It's like this. Miss Feng Liu donated a dowry worth over 100,000 taels. But it's all in the hands of the old lady of the Marquis of Jing'an. I don't know how to ask for it. What do you think..."

Hearing the words "Miss Feng Liu", Zheng Jiu was a little distracted for a moment, "Her dowry..."

"Yes, if we can get it back and buy all the food and medicine, we can probably get through this year. It will also prevent many people from starving to death around the imperial capital. Isn't that a good deed?"

Zheng Jiu was lost in thought for a moment, then whispered, "You're right, it's a meritorious deed. I'll go and ask for her dowry."

Master Ma swallowed his saliva and was about to express his joy when Tang Chuyun's exasperated voice came over, "Zheng Jiu, don't take on so much. It's time to end it. This unclear entanglement is not good for anyone."

Lord Ma blinked his eyes, not understanding. Wasn’t Master Tang also after Marquis Jing’an?

Tang Chuyun took a deep breath and said, "Master Ma, I have a plan that can help you recover the Sixth Miss's dowry money, and it won't be your fault."

"What's the plan?"

Tang Chuyun whispered something in his ear, and Master Ma nodded repeatedly, "Excellent, excellent."

Then: "What about the five hundred taels of silver?"

After sending Master Ma away, Tang Chuyun looked at Zheng Jiuzhi and sighed. What kind of personality was this? Even he, who had never been with a young girl before, guessed that the Sixth Miss was trying to refuse to enter the palace and that was why she made that scene. But he was taking it seriously.

No wonder he could never win over the Sixth Miss. Judging from his personality, it was obvious that he had been manipulated by the Sixth Miss. It was obvious.

"Tomorrow, the Sixth Miss's dowry will be auctioned off. No one will tell you what you want to do then. No matter what you do, I will definitely buy some."

Zheng Chang remained silent until Tang came out and whispered to him, "I've heard that General Fu has had an accident in the south."

Zheng Jiu jumped up from his chair and rushed to the palace.

A low pressure filled the Qinzheng Hall of the Imperial Palace. Zheng Jiu was on leave today and not a military officer, so he was stopped outside. After a long while, the adults who had participated in the meeting came out and whispered to each other.

Zheng Jiu stepped forward and asked Lord Liu, the Minister of Justice, "What happened in the south?"

Lord Liu sighed, "It's said that General Fu was bitten by a snake while traveling through Blind Mountain. He didn't take it seriously at the time, but the poison was so strong that he's now bedridden. A group of bandits in Blind Mountain are said to have heard about the gold mines in southern Xinjiang, and they've gathered several thousand men to disrupt the court. General Fu's lieutenants are inexperienced and have suffered repeated losses. He's now requesting reinforcements."

"What did your Majesty say?"

"Your Majesty asked the Crown Prince for his opinion. He said he was willing to lead the troops himself and had already appointed several deputies to accompany him, including General Fu's son Fu Qingshi."

This southern expedition has already begun to show results. It seems reasonable that Fu Qingshi wants to take over the credit from his father, and others can't say anything.

Zheng Jiu frowned, "Is there any silver left in the treasury?"

"Definitely not."

The treasury was empty, and the court needed to send more troops to southern Xinjiang. Where would the money and food come from? This became a major problem. The officials were all wondering if His Majesty would make trouble again, slaughter a few fat pigs, or raid a few mansions. Many were trembling with fear.

However, the solution to this kind of thing was so dramatic. Nangong Yan only released the news that he was about to lead his troops to the south. In the evening, many officials spontaneously sent silver to the East Palace. General Wang, the commander of the Left Guard, and Lord Zhan of the Zhan Mansion received a lot of money.

At the same time, Nangong Yan issued a grain collection order, requiring all grain merchants in the imperial capital to unconditionally supply the grain in their hands to the imperial army. His promise to the grain merchants was an IOU for return in a good year and a plaque inscribed with the words "Serving the Country and the People".

Of course, the major grain merchants wouldn't stand for it! They protested, they argued, and they gathered outside the Eastern Palace on a hunger strike. This protest lasted for two days. Finally, several heads rolled down their feet. The grain merchants were shocked to discover that the Crown Prince, who had always loved the people like his own children and was known for his benevolence, also had a ferocious face.

On the day when the news of the reinforcement of troops was announced in the palace, Lord Ma visited several families overnight and encouraged them to accept Xie's dowry, which was only 80% of the market price.

These families, including the Yong'an Earl's Mansion and the Cheng'en Marquis' Mansion, especially the Cheng'en Marquis' Mansion, decided to buy Xie's Jinlou the moment they got the news. The estimated value was 100,000 taels, but they only spent 80,000 taels.

On the same night, Lord Ma bought out several pharmacies and a grain store, and hid the grain in an abandoned house.