Survival countdown

Wende Hall.

Emperor Yuanshou immersed himself in political affairs, and his highness stood Zhao Zaizhi and Prince Donggong.

Flipping through the notebook from Dingzhou, Emperor Yuanshou closed the notebook and said with a flickering expression, "Second brother, come over and take a look at this notebook."

The prince approached, picked up the booklet and read the ten lines at a glance.

Emperor Yuanshou: "Xiao Liu said that he had hunted a falcon with pure white jade claws. Remembering that I had taught him how to hunt and cook falcons, he hurriedly ordered people to send the falcon back to Beijing. There were also auspicious omens along the way. Taishan Stone and Bai Nanke—Yue Niao is mostly born in the south, so it is named Nanke, I am curious how Xiaoliu caught a Bai Nanke in the north."

The so-called Bai Nanke refers to the albino peacock, and the Buddhist Peacock Ming King is revered as the Buddha's mother, which is the most meaningful birthday gift for the Empress Dowager's birthday.

"Sixth brother has always been clever, eclectic, likes to make friends, and doesn't care about his background, so it's not unusual for him to have friends from all corners of the country to help him find Bai Nanke." The prince said carefully, "Speaking of which, sixth brother will go to Dingzhou to join the army. There were also five or six years, although my Huo family's children guarded the frontiers, defending the family and defending the country did not forget the fundamentals, and this was also my duty, but the sixth brother left his father, his grandmother, and the capital and his familiar relatives at the age of fourteen or five. We have not returned to Beijing so far, and we don’t know how he is now. The garrison looks at Bianyi, thinking of how miserable he is, the sixth brother must be very homesick, and miss his father, grandmother and imperial concubine very much."

Emperor Yuanshou: "Xiao Liu has been away from Beijing for too long, and it is true that he hasn't come back for a long time."

Prince: "Grandmother's birthday is a joyful event for the whole world to celebrate. Father, why don't you take the opportunity to call the sixth younger brother back to Beijing to have a family reunion and surprise Grandmother. I remember that Grandmother liked Xiao Liu very much and often praised Xiao Liu for his filial piety. I often say that I haven't seen him for a long time."

"You have filial piety." No matter it's true or not, no matter whether you have small thoughts or not, the filial piety of children and the harmony of brothers can make Emperor Yuanshou sympathize.He thought for a moment, then sighed: "The Empress Dowager really misses Xiao Liu. The imperial concubine didn't say anything, but she thought about it in her heart. Forget it, she asked him to personally escort the tribute back to Beijing. The Empress Dowager arrived before her birthday. If she missed her birthday, she didn't have to come back. Wait for him to go to Dingzhou."

The prince's heart trembled, and he almost had a wrong thought. Fortunately, he was sober. He might not succeed in intercepting the sixth brother. If the sixth brother missed the queen mother's birthday, he would definitely anger Emperor Yuanshou, but he might not really pursue it.

"Sixth brother must be very happy to know that he can return to Beijing, and we brothers can also get together."

Emperor Yuan Shou looked calm, with a smile on his lips, and looked down. He saw the stack of memorials sent by Zhao Zaizhi today, which were all sent to Beijing from other provinces. He thought it was He Shou and didn't pay much attention. He casually picked up a book and opened it to read, his eyebrows furrowed unconsciously.

The prince closely observed the expression of Emperor Yuanshou, and naturally found this subtle change, so he couldn't help looking at the memorial, but it was a pity that he couldn't see the details of the memorial from his position, so he quietly cast his eyes on Zhao Zaizhi.

Zhao Boyong lowered his eyebrows and lowered his eyes, expressionless, unable to guess his thoughts.

At this moment, Emperor Yuanshou picked up the second memorial, glanced at it two or three times, and then threw it back. After reading five or six copies in a row, he slapped the memorial suddenly with a sullen expression.

The prince quickly lowered his head and took two steps back. From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Zhao Zaizhi's calm and calm posture, and couldn't help feeling that these old officials really did not move in the face of danger.

"All the excerpts today are from the south?"

Zhao Boyong replied: "A total of 180 copies from the four provinces of Liangjiang, Fujian and Guangdong."

Emperor Yuanshou: "You have read these excerpts, and you know what they are here to perform?"

Zhao Boyong: "A total of 38 people from the 180 prefectures of the four provinces and the provincial ministers Zhang Shuoling and Zhang Shizhong jointly signed to protect Ma Deyong, the magistrate of Hongzhou, Jiangxi. The crime Ma Deyong committed was to escort the tribute Yingde stone. The official food boats refused to give way, causing the tank boats to capsize, and the official food and tribute sank into the river together, killing and injuring ten people."

The prince was shocked when he heard the words. The tribute has always been charged with the crime of negligence of the supervisor, ranging from loss of office to serious loss of head. Auspicious stone Deshi is not the queen mother's favorite, but it was sent by Changping Princess in the name of Hongzhou magistrate. Congratulations from Beijing represent the heartfelt wishes of her own daughter whom she hasn't seen in 20 years, and it means a lot to the Queen Mother.

Yingde Shi Shenhe, when it was passed back to the palace, the queen mother was sad, and Emperor Yuanshou was furious, and ordered people to take down the supervisor Ma Deyong and put him in the prison.

What's more, the other party also committed the felony of overturning the official food, and there is no doubt that he will be sentenced to death.

But he didn't expect that Ma Deyong would be able to survive the crisis. He asked more than 100 officials from the four southern provinces to jointly protect him, and Zhang Shizhong, who is also known as the deputy prime minister, took the lead. Is the seventh-rank official still a rare and honest official?

A magistrate in a mere prefecture, what kind of crouching dragon and phoenix chick can be called a joint guarantee by 180 officials?

Emperor Yuanshou raised his hand: "Prince, you go down first."

The crown prince said respectfully, "My son, please leave."

The prince withdrew from the Wende Palace, unable to listen to the conversation inside, thinking that there seemed to be a big article here, so he hurriedly discussed the matter with the doormen of the Eastern Palace.

In this matter, there were only Emperor Yuanshou, Zhao Boyong, and the eunuch in Wende Hall. Emperor Yuanshou turned his fingers once and for all, and his old eyes fell on Zhao Boyong below from time to time. People can see that he is plotting in his heart, but they cannot guess the content of the plot.

The hall was so quiet that one could hear the sound of breathing. The eunuch buried his head to the bottom and was forced into a cold sweat by the tense atmosphere. From the corner of his eye, he quietly looked at Zhao Boyong, and found that the chief executive was very calm, as if he was too slow to notice Yuan Yuan. Emperor Hunting's unhappiness.

After a long time, Emperor Yuanshou said, "Chengjie, do you think Ma Deyong should be spared?"

Zhao Boyong: "Returning to Your Majesty, Ma Deyong deserves death for his dereliction of duty. But if it is not a good official, why would there be 38 officials from 180 prefectures in four provinces who jointly signed the guarantee? These 180 officials are not from the same batch of Jinshi, there are also They are not colleagues, not from the old department, not to mention people who are not the same teacher, and they are not cronies. Even if they are cronies, who would jointly protect a seventh-rank local official in exchange for His Majesty questioning the possibility of being a crony?"

Emperor Yuanshou: "Do you mean to spare Ma Deyong? According to the law, if you don't give way, you should be dismissed and exiled if you overturn the official rations. What's more, the tribute he was in charge of sinking in the river is not only an ominous sign, but also disappointed and sad for the Queen Mother. If I don’t chop off his head, I’m doing him a favor, but I still want to spare him? It’s just a dream!”

Zhao Boyong: "If Ma Deyong makes amends and makes up for his mistakes, he will be spared."

Emperor Yuanshou: "Make up for it after a dead sheep? The two hundred shi of grain and the Yingde stone shipped from Guangdong have all sunk in the river. Could it be possible to send someone to salvage it?"

Zhao Boyong: "The magistrate of Hongzhou wrote a letter saying that Ma Deyong had dismantled his ancestral family business, re-shipped a batch of high-quality Yingde stones from Guangdong, and purchased more than 200 million stones at a high price from two Zhejiang grain merchants. The food has already arrived in Kyoto Prefecture, and it is preparing to cross the water gate outside the city."

"Oh?" Emperor Yuanshou became interested, and leaned over to ask: "Does he still have such abilities? It took a lot of money, materials and manpower to transport it all the way. Scattering the family wealth... Heh, the family business of the ancestors is not thin ah."

Zhao Boyong: "Jiangnan is rich and rich, and its foundation is solid, which is really unusual."

Emperor Yuanshou: "I have done this, and I have no choice but to show grace."

Zhao Boyong knelt down: "Your Majesty is wise."

Emperor Yuanshou: "Forget it. After all, it's the Empress Dowager's birthday, so it's not appropriate to see blood. Since the world is being pardoned, Ma Deyong will get some kind of grace. If I can make the Empress Dowager happy, I will not only not punish him, but reward him."

Zhao Boyong said again: "Your Majesty is merciful!"

Emperor Yuanshou: "All the memorials have been delivered today, go down and get busy."

Zhao Boyong: "The minister resigns."

Stepping back step by step, when they reached the gate of the hall, they met King Kang who came to see him. After saying hello to each other, they withdrew one by one and entered the hall.

King Kang walked a few steps, and suddenly turned his head to look at Zhao Boyong, who was walking away. He turned his mind around a few times, and came to Emperor Yuanshou and said, "Brother Emperor, all the birthday gifts from various places have been sent to the Hall of Compassion. I found a juggling show among the people, it is very interesting, many dignitaries in the mansion have invited them to perform in the mansion, I heard that they recently arranged a performance of the Eight Immortals to celebrate the birthday, and the performance has not yet started. My minister invited them to perform on the Empress Dowager’s birthday on his own initiative.”

Emperor Yuanshou: "You have a heart."

King Kang was not surprised to see that Emperor Yuanshou was absent-minded. He is the most filial brother. Last year, he was bitter about not being able to hold the queen mother's birthday. This year, he personally took care of everything. Why didn't he care now?

"Brother Huang has something on his mind? But it has something to do with Zhao Zaizhi?"

Emperor Yuanshou knocked on the table: "Come up and take a look at these memorials."

Kang Wang was kind and good, and after reading the three memorials carefully, he felt that something was wrong. He quickly flipped through six or seven memorials, and was shocked: "They are all here to plead for Ma Deyong? Who is this Ma Deyong, who has such great ability? To be able to transport another batch of Yingde stone from Guangdong within ten days, and to raise 200 million shi of grain from grain merchants in Zhejiang and Zhejiang!"

Emperor Yuanshou: "What I care about is this list of guarantors. There are 180 people. There are people from the four provinces of Liangjiang, Guangdong and Fujian."

Kang Wang: "A cronies? But he is a seventh-rank judge and has no connections. How can he attract so many people to protect him? Even if he is sent to Hongzhou prefect Guan Wenbin, I don't see how many people can protect him. "

Emperor Yuanshou: "Do you know in whose name the Yingde stone from Guangdong is paid tribute?"

"Borrowing Guan Wenbin's name, it is actually Princess Changping's filial piety—" King Kang was startled, and looked into Emperor Yuanshou's dark eyes in astonishment: "Is it Changping?"

Emperor Yuanshou's silence meant the default.

Kang Wang had a strange intuition: "Both Guan Wenbin and Ma Deyong are from Changping? For Ma Deyong, the eldest princess would not be so stupid to expose her cards."

Emperor Yuanshou: "She is demonstrating to me. She is in Jiangxi, but she can send Yingde stone from Guangdong. It is also on the queen mother's birthday. The tribute birthday gift has to be sold to the queen mother under the name of Guan Wenbin. Yingde It was an accident that De Shi sank into the river, and it was a good opportunity for Changping, but for the Empress Dowager, it was not Ma Deyong, but Changping, who went bankrupt and exhausted his thinking."

Kang Wang was cautious: "What is the princess's intention?"

Emperor Yuanshou spit out two words: "Go back to Beijing."

King Kang reacted immediately: "Zhao Zaizhi will not agree."

Emperor Yuanshou: "So he personally sent this stack of memorials to me early in the morning. He excused Ma Deyong every word, but reminded me that this is all Changping's masterpiece! Opportunities will definitely kill Changping."

Kang Wang: "But the eldest princess made this move because she was afraid that the queen mother would miss her very much."

Emperor Yuanshou: "You still don't understand the point."

Kang Wang: "Huh?"

Emperor Yuanshou sighed heavily: "I really don't want to fight with my own sister to the death, and I don't want the queen mother to be sad. I hope... I hope there will be no other twists and turns."

King Kang didn't quite understand Emperor Yuanshou's melancholy, he only thought that he was worried about the empress dowager's eagerness to miss her daughter, and that he would not be able to balance the relationship between Princess Changping and the Zhao family.

***

At the end of September, the Queen Mother's birthday, everything is in order, all officials came to congratulate.

In front of the Hall of Ciming, there are golden chrysanthemums in the courtyard, and the palace people come and go frequently, and a stage is set up in the front hall, and there are already opera troupes singing on the stage, and there are wives and officials sitting below.

Huo Jingtang and Zhao Baiyu were also there, occasionally whispering a few words.

When the Queen Mother entered the arena, everyone knelt down to congratulate the Queen Mother on her birthday.The Empress Dowager smiled and made people get up, so there is no need to be too polite, and the birthday banquet celebrated with the people will be more comfortable.

At this time, a group of people came in one after another. The leader was a handsome young man, followed by a group of eunuchs who were pushing a cart. On the cart was a cage as high as a person, and a beautiful albino peacock was imprisoned in the cage.

Zhao Baiyu: "I heard that the Sixth Prince brought Xiangrui from Dingzhou back to Beijing to celebrate the Queen Mother's birthday. It must be him."

As soon as the words fell, the heroic young man over there knelt in front of the queen mother and made a formal ceremony: "The grandson has met the emperor's grandmother, and I wish the emperor's grandmother a blessing like the East China Sea and a long life like Nanshan."

It took nine kowtows to pay homage to Emperor Yuanshou, and the etiquette was so polite that no one else had anything to say.

The descendants are all around, the queen mother was so happy today that she couldn't close her mouth from ear to ear, she turned her head and said to Emperor Yuanshou: "I heard that the strange stone from Jiangxi has arrived in the palace?"

Emperor Yuanshou knew that she would ask, so he replied respectfully: "In the small garden behind the Hall of Ciming, it is placed as a rockery. If you want to see it, I will take you there."

Queen Mother: "Go and see."

Zhao Baiyu was far away and couldn't hear what they were saying, so he watched them leave.

Huo Jingtang asked him: "Want to see it?"

Zhao Baiyu: "Left and right are their family affairs, I'm not interested." As he was speaking, he saw the eunuch next to Emperor Yuanshou turn in from a courtyard gate in front, and walked towards the small garden of the Ciming Hall. Follow Ma Deyong.

"How could it be him?"

Huo Jingtang: "Huh?"

Zhao Baiyu: "It's Ma Deyong."

Huo Jingtang thought for a while: "The boat capsized while escorting the Yingde stone tribute, and Ma Deyong, who sank the tribute and official rations together? Isn't he waiting in the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice to be punished?"

"Within ten days after the incident, he sold his properties and re-imported Yingde Stone and more than [-] stone of official grain to the court." Zhao Baiyu frowned: "It stands to reason that he is not qualified to participate in the birthday banquet due to his grade. , not to mention making amends this time, and it is even more impossible to be called into the palace."

Being able to be called into the palace on the day of the birthday banquet is 100% a reward for preparation.

Huo Jingtang thought for a moment: "Ma Deyong belongs to Princess Changping?"

Zhao Baiyu hissed: "Have you been beating people in the school field for half a year? I didn't say anything, and you knew it?"

Huo Jingtang: "There are all secrets in the officialdom, not many people know about it, but ten and a half months ago, when Shen He was discovered, at least Princess Changping used the name of Guan Wenbin to donate the Yingde Stone. If you know it, you are forced to know it. Princess Changping is the only reason why the queen mother can lose her composure and summon Ma Deyong regardless of past suspicions."

Zhao Baiyu: "What do you think Princess Changping is doing this play for?"

"What else can I do other than bowing my head and wanting to go back to Beijing?" Huo Jingtang propped his chin with one hand and looked down at him: "Xiao Lang is so worried, but is he worried?"

Zhao Baiyu smiled and shook his head: "The princess and I have no mother-child relationship."

Huo Jingtang patted the back of Zhao Baiyu's head, slid his palm to the back of his neck and stroked him twice, silently comforting him: "Of course the Empress Dowager hopes that the princess will return to Beijing, so that the love between mother and daughter will be taken care of, but it's a pity that the Zhao family and the princess are not so close." It's easy to reconcile. As long as Your Majesty takes Zhao's face into consideration, the Empress Dowager will not recall Princess Changping unwisely."

In the Empress Dowager's heart, the emperor weighs more, and the overall situation is even more important.

"However, sending the Yingde stone is a process of melting ice. Take it slowly, at most two or three years, and the next government will be able to welcome it back with the amnesty of the world."

How could Zhao Boyong be forced to agree to Princess Changping's return?Zhao Baiyu couldn't think of the reason, and he didn't bother to think about it, so he left it behind.

When the birthday was over and all the officials left the palace, it happened that the eunuch next to Emperor Yuanshou came to see Huo Jingtang and Zhao Baiyu away from the Hall of Compassion.

Huo Jingtang asked straight to the point: "When the Empress Dowager summoned Ma Deyong, what reward did she offer?"

The eunuch smiled apologetically: "It's nothing, just a garden, a house in the south of the Yangtze River, a thousand hectares of fertile land, plus some gold and jewels, and His Majesty will promote him as the general judge of Hongzhou."

Jewelry, gold and silver were rewards from the queen mother, and I was afraid that they would be rewarded to the princess through Ma Deyong, but it was unexpected that Emperor Yuanshou let Ma Deyong pass the sentence directly.Regardless of Ma Deyong's status as an eunuch or his original seventh-rank judge, he is not qualified to serve as a general judge. It must be known that there is an order from the imperial court, and he can be promoted to magistrate after three general judges.

A prefect of a state, a senior member of the fifth rank, how many Jinshi will not be able to earn this official position in a lifetime.

Could it be that Emperor Yuanshou knew that Ma Deyong was the servant of Princess Changping, and in order to appease the Queen Mother, let Princess Changping be taken care of in Hongzhou, so he specially promoted Ma Deyong?

Or maybe Princess Changping, who helped him balance the two rivers, was in trouble, so Ma Deyong was promoted to help her?

Zhao Baiyu scratched his nose and didn't ask any questions.

The chief eunuch sent the two Buddhas out of the Ciming Hall and then slipped away non-stop. The remaining two were walking on the palace road and met the sixth prince and his party.There was Zheng Chuzhi in it. After the Huainan case, Zheng Chuzhi kept a low profile. When he met Zhao Baiyu, he was at least a little polite on the surface.

The sixth prince took the initiative to move forward, with a handsome smile on his handsome face: "Xiao Liu has met my cousin and my sister-in-law." His eyes quickly swept across Zhao Baiyu's face, and then looked at Huo Jingtang, very pleased. Frank, much more straightforward than Donggong.

Huo Jingtang nodded: "Going home?"

The sixth prince: "Second brother and fifth brother invited me to the East Palace for a small gathering, do you want my cousin and sister-in-law to come together?"

Huo Jingtang: "No, just go."

Zhao Baiyu: "I listen to the king of Xiaojun."

The sixth prince: "Okay. I just arrived in the capital the day before yesterday. I met my mother and concubine after meeting my father and emperor. I originally wanted to go to Zongzheng Temple to meet my third brother, but I was not allowed to enter without an edict." When he mentioned his elder brother, a flash of light flashed across his face. Dim, "Father does not agree with me going to Zongzheng Temple."

Huo Jingtang: "After a few days, Your Majesty's anger subsides, and you can request another order. After all, we are brothers, and we have a deep brotherhood, so Your Majesty will not be cruel to the end. However, Zongzheng Temple has always been the place where criminals of the royal family are detained. Go, so you don't get hurt."

The sixth prince said with a smile: "I killed the enemy in Dingzhou, and I was bloody. How can I be afraid of bad luck? Any bad luck that comes to me will probably be torn apart by the evil spirit." Sister-in-law Gao Yiqingtian’s reputation is far-reaching, and Zhaowen is like a thunderbolt, seeing her today, she deserves her reputation. Another day, Zhaowen invites my cousin to drink tea, and I hope that my cousin will not dislike my behavior.”

Zhao Baiyu: "It's a great honor."

Separated from each other, go a long way.

Zhao Baiyu: "Open your mouth and shut your sister-in-law, it's so weird."

Huo Jingtang: "I'm almost suspecting that the person I'm sleeping with isn't Xiao Lang, next time I'll ask him to call him another name."

"I'll take a bath tomorrow, how about you?"

"Xiao Lang has arrangements?"

"I want to go to Baohua Temple for their monthly vegetarian banquet. If you don't come, I'm bored by myself."

"Tomorrow, I will take the group of thorns to the outskirts and run around several mountains until sunset. There is plenty of time."

The shadows of the two were stretched very long by the light and shadow, projected on the palace road, gradually drifting away.

***

In early winter, the weather turns cooler.

The number of water boats on the river decreased, Zhao Baiyu was reading the account books in the water transportation yamen, and Yan Bing, who was studying hard in the mansion, ran in panting and said, "Wulang, Mrs. Ji, please see me!"

Zhao Baiyu: "Which Mrs. Ji? The wife of the prefect Ji?"

Yan Bing nodded heavily.

Zhao Baiyu got up quickly: "Didn't she go to Jiangxi with Master Ji?" Before leaving, he told Liu Dujian to do the yamen affairs well, and then rushed back to the county prince's mansion with Yanbing.

"Prefect Ji has been sent to prison and is about to be escorted back to the capital. Mrs. Ji has come to ask for your help!"

"what happened?"

"I don't know the details, it seems to be corruption."

Zhao Baiyu knew that Ji Xingbang was a human being, not to mention that he had specially reminded him before that nothing would happen to him. Could it be that he got caught and fell into a trap?

Without wasting time speculating, Zhao Baiyu hurried back to the Prince's Mansion. In the side hall, he saw Mrs. Ji, who was full of dust and haggard face. When she saw him, she immediately rushed over and knelt down at his feet.

"Master Zhao, please save my master!"

Zhao Baiyu helped the man up: "Get up and talk. Yan Bing, pour some warm water and ask someone to prepare some meals. Sister-in-law, don't panic, and talk to me carefully."

Mrs. Ji didn't care about Zhao Baiyu's iron post, and hurriedly said: "My master was accused of embezzling 50 taels of silver. It was because the official came to search and went to the temple in the neighboring house to offer incense and escaped unharmed, and I found you here all the way north, please help our master for the sake of the past."

"Corrupting 50 yuan is a capital offense! But I know that Mr. Ji acted impartially and strictly. He was loyal and responsible when he was the prefect of the capital. He never accepted bribes or corrupted a cent. I don't believe that Mr. Ji changed his sex within a year." " Zhao Baiyu praised Ji Xingbang with good words, and appeased Mrs. Ji, "Tell me, but someone framed you?"

Mrs. Ji was on the verge of crying. Since the accident happened to the master, it was as if the thunder had fallen suddenly. She was really caught off guard. She searched for the old acquaintances of the master, but no one could help her. There is a master who used to be an ex-department Zhao Baiyu who always believed that he was innocent.

"It's a trap set by the Jiangxi business gang!" Mrs. Ji gritted her teeth: "Master is also in charge of water transportation as a transfer envoy. Not long after he took office, the local business gang came to make friends. Master wants to spend the three-year term in a safe and stable manner. The businessman has been in close contact and made a confession. He repeatedly refused the invitation of the merchant gang, and blocked a merchant ship at a pier because of his duty. He offended the Jiangxi merchant gang. The master knew that the local merchant gang was powerful enough, and he was careful enough. He told us that we must never accept any gifts, even if It’s a piece of cloth, a barrel of oil, you must refuse!”

"So, how could you fall into the trap?"

"Hundreds of secrets and sparseness, that group of people are pervasive! You also know that the master likes calligraphy and painting, especially likes to practice calligraphy. A local Confucian scholar sent a greeting card, saying that he will make friends through writing and make friends through calligraphy. When we met, he praised the master's calligraphy and painting. Possessed in form and spirit, comparable to everyone in the world, shamelessly asked the master to write ten sets of calligraphy for him. In less than half a month, he came to the door again, saying that all ten sets of calligraphy in his hand were sold for a thousand gold, and offered him a thousand gold. I begged the master to write again."

Zhao Baiyu frowned. Didn't he say that he didn't know how Mr. Ji's handwriting was?

Mrs. Ji smiled wryly: "How can he not know how well his handwriting is? But the person who pushes the calligraphy is a local Confucianist, and the person who buys the calligraphy doesn't know who the writer is, and he doesn't come to ask for help. There is no profit in the process." Xun spends a lot of money, besides sincerely appreciating his writing, what other reason is there? Being in the game, obsessed with obsession, getting deeper and deeper, in the end, Luoyang paper is expensive, and a word is worth a thousand gold!"

"One thousand taels of silver?"

"It's a thousand taels of gold!" Mrs. Ji slumped her shoulders: "In less than half a year, there were 50 taels more, and the merchant gang came to him and asked him to open the door for water transportation. But for some reason, he went to the princess mansion, and when he came back, he began to explain. The funeral. I was in the dark, and didn’t take it seriously at first, only knowing that he rejected the Jiangxi business gang’s request, and it didn’t take long for someone to report that the master accepted bribes for selling calligraphy.”

After listening to the whole process, Zhao Baiyu understood that Mr. Ji still fell into the trap.

The local business gang is more powerful than the local officials, and they are more like a local emperor. If Mr. Ji doesn't show face, they will naturally try to get Mr. Ji off the horse and replace him with an obedient one.

In my previous life, I was bored lying on the hospital bed and read a 5000-year ancient history. The articles about bribery and bribery in it had a lot of background.

There are four ways of giving and accepting bribes, one is elegant bribery, the second is commercial bribery, the third is stealing, and the fourth is bullying. The word "bribery" can also be changed to the word "greedy", and the latter two belong to the early The dynasties used power to embezzle power without much technical content.

For example, Sima Jiao, the former Cao Si in Huainan, used his power to hide good land, and ransacked the people's land tax on good land, and corrupted a large amount of tax revenue, which is a kind of theft and corruption.

As for elegant bribery, it means bribery and corruption by using things such as writing, calligraphy and painting, and it can also be used to frame upright and honest officials, so that they have to be forced to collude.

Mr. Ji just fell into the trap of "elegant bribery". This trick would not be considered brilliant if it was used in the corrupt Qing Dynasty, but at this time, a simple trick can get rid of the officials who are not in line.

--------------------

The author has something to say:

I wrote down all the words mentioned in the comments in the previous chapters and thought about them slowly.

Stealing and Corruption: Not all officials ask people to do things at any time, and offer money. They can only embezzle from other places, such as changing account books to steal taxes, and local provinces, local counties and counties set up tax titles indiscriminately to search for people's oil and water.

A typical example is that the Minister of the Household Department of the Ming Dynasty colluded with others to embezzle the taxes of several prefectures, and the local provinces also collected food taxes, gods and Buddha taxes, etc. I converted it on Baidu, and it was probably 2000 two million taels of silver.

What I admire is that this person was corrupted during Zhu Yuanzhang's time. In this case, Zhu Yuanzhang directly killed tens of thousands of people.

Tyrannical greed: The typical ones are Liang Ji of the Han Dynasty and Yan Song of the Ming Dynasty.Liang Ji 'borrowed' 5000 million from a wealthy businessman, but never returned.

Yan Song knew it all, and he was very greedy and greedy by stealing Zhuangtian.

Some of these bribery methods are still used by people today. It is very interesting to talk about them when I write them.