Chapter 167: Fighting in the Court again (Central)

Master, it's time to have a meal." A white-haired old servant walked into Shi Shilun's study and said respectfully.

"Oh, okay, Yao Bo, please use it first." Shi Shilun responded, but did not raise his head from the pile of documents, and was busy on his own. It was hot and there was not even an ice basin in the dilapidated study. Although Shilun was wearing only a single dress, he was still sweating like rain. The sweat-wiping towel on the desk had been so wet that it could wring out water.

Yao Bo shook his head and said, "Master, the food is cold, it's better to use the meal first before you get busy."

"Well, then, just take it in, I'll use it here, lord." Shi Shilun replied without raising his head.

Yao Bo sighed, turned around and left the study room, and would probably walk in with a plate of food. On the plate was a bowl of white rice, two small plates of vegetarian dishes, a plate of scrambled eggs, and a bowl of soup that looked like a pot of water.

"Master, the food is coming." Yao Bo whispered in a quiet place on the desk.

"Okay." Shi Shilun raised his head from the pile of documents, glanced at the food plate, and smiled, "Haha, I'm adding more food today. Master, I'm going to have a good time. Yao Bo, please go and rest first."

Yao Bo bowed and replied "Yes" and left the study. Shi Shilun walked to the basin of the water in the corner of the study and cleaned his hands. He picked up the white rice and used it smelled fragrant. But when the lights dimmed, a man in black had already appeared in the study. He was about to exclaim, but he recognized the person as Prince Yi, Yinzuo, and hurriedly got up to greet him. Yinzuo smiled and waved his hand, "Wenxian, what good dishes have you added today, let me take a look."

This look was not too much, but Yinzuo frowned. Shi Shilun was the second son of Shi Lang, who was rich in his family. He had a smooth career. He was less than forty years and was in charge of the General Administration of Customs. He was considered a senior official of the court. But the meal was extremely simple. Not to mention that he was inconsistent with his status as an important minister of the court, even ordinary people would not eat so badly. The salary of the court officials was not much, but the maintenance of the integrity was quite large. With Shi Shilun's innocence, he would naturally not embezzle and accept bribes, nor would he receive Bing Carbon Jing and Shizi money. However, with Shi Shilun's position in one year, the salary was as high as 6,000 taels of silver, which would not be so miserable. Yinzuo couldn't help but wonder if this guy was a masochist.

"Prince, please..." Shi Shilun originally wanted to say that the prince would sit, but he was in a mess around and didn't even have an empty chair. He couldn't help but blush and quickly pushed his seat out and said, "Prince, please sit, I wonder what urgent matters does the prince have to find the official?"

Yinzuo smiled and said, "Wenxian, you eat so easily. Do you plan to keep the money and marry a few concubines?"

Shi Shilun's family was in Jinjiang, Fujian, and did not receive any Beijing news. However, Comrade Lao Shi was afraid that he was a big joke in the officialdom. There were nine out of thirty people, and even the concubine in Fang did not dare to ask him. At this moment, he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed when he heard Yinzuo teasing him. However, Comrade Lao Shi was used to being hit and used to it. He laughed mockingly: "The officials have this plan, but I'm afraid that my yellow-faced woman, Hedong Lion, will roar."

"Haha..., you're really interesting, but people are iron and food are steel. If you don't pay attention to diet, your body can't stand it. The court's salary is not much, but it's a lot of good money. Why should you suffer by your own hardship?" Yinzuo asked with a smile.

"What the prince said is so true, so the officials are not allowed to do so." Shi Shilun seemed unwilling to talk about this matter anymore, and asked with a smile: "The prince must have something important here. I would like to ask the prince for advice. The officials will listen."

Seeing that Shi Shilun had changed the topic, Yinzuo expected that there would be hidden information, but he was unwilling to ask more questions. He thought to himself that he could find out after checking the "Honghu" and then he explained his purpose in detail. Shi Shilun listened quietly and did not interrupt. After Yinzuo finished speaking, he smiled and said, "The prince has already known what the prince said. The prince has already drafted a memorial here and is planning to discuss it with the prince. It is really a coincidence." After a pause, he said, "The prince handles customs affairs, which can save overseas trade from the country's tax increase, and must not be abolished. The action of the official is the matter of the official, and he is unavoidable."

"It's so good." Yinzuo smiled and explained to Shi Shilun. His figure flashed and the person had disappeared. Shi Shilun held the memorial sent by Yinzuo in his hand, smiled and said to himself: "This prince, hehe, there is really a trend of Guo Jie."

The weather in July is as hot as a stove, but what is even hotter is the hot hearts of the court officials. There are many people who visit their families and have private parties, all of whom are thinking about which letter to sign their own name. Everyone is very busy and jumping up and down.

Since early May, Mr. Kangxi has moved into Changchun Garden outside the city. He only lasted once every ten days. On weekdays, he asked the ministers in the study room to come to the garden to discuss matters every now and then, and he was very leisurely. However, the old man had a headache today. There were three comments on the Long case, one was a joint letter from more than 200 court officials headed by Miao Tong, Minister of Rites, requesting a ban on the sea, and directed the spearhead at the Prince of Yi. The other was more than 100 court officials headed by Shi Shilun of the General Administration of Customs, but they requested to expand overseas trade to enrich the national treasury; the third comment was from Yinzuo, who requested to establish a Xuanhua Steel Plant in the name of the Ministry of Works, and voluntarily donate one million taels of silver for project needs.

The old man set a plan for the sea ban by himself, but the overseas trade volume has always been small, and the total annual tariff is only more than three million taels of silver. The old man didn't care much at first, but now, as soon as Yinzuo launched a large-scale sea transportation, he collected more than two million taels of tariffs in just one trial flight. How can he not make the old man feel moved? Salt and iron benefits have always been the two major support for the annual income of the national treasury. Yinzuo voluntarily invested in building a factory, but the income was owned by the national treasury, and the old man was also very kind in his heart.

Yes, but the old man has to pay attention to the opinions of those conservative court officials. If it is easily rejected or kept in the middle and not released, it would be a bad intention to hurt the court officials. Moreover, those conservative court officials are extraordinary and have many disciples and old friends. They have great influence in the court and have great influence. Although forcibly suppressing is feasible, it is a loss of the court's dignity, right? The old man rubbed his forehead with some embarrassment and looked at Zhang Tingyu, the new minister of the study standing beside him, and said, "Hengchen, talk about your opinion."

Zhang Tingyu was on duty today and had already read the three memorials. At this moment, he saw Mr. Kangxi asking questions and bowed and said, "Master, I think that the punishment of Shangshu Miao is a mature statement, but the punishment of Shi Shi's minister is an enterprising approach. If you can set up a customization and take the law as the criterion, it is also a feasible strategy. The establishment of a steel mill proposed by Prince Yi is a major event that benefits the country and the people. I also think it is feasible, but the court and the government have to discuss things, and I have to ask the saint for everything."

"Well." Old Master Kangxi nodded but did not express his opinion. He turned to look at the chief minister Tong Guowei, who went to the study room, and said, "What are the opinions of Tong Aiqing?"

Tong Guowei has always been cunning and is very cunning. His best attitude is to figure out the will of the holy. Seeing that Mr. Kangxi had already made a decision, he naturally would not do stupid things. He bowed and said, "I think what Lord Zhang said is very true. As the saying goes: If you don't argue, you won't understand it. Since you should prevent matters from being blocked, it is better to be distracted. Why not let both sides debate in court to understand the principles of right and wrong? You also ask the emperor to clearly understand it."

"Okay, since that's the case, I will give them a chance to defend themselves and make an explanation. I will send an imperial edict - the morning court the next day. Let's kneel down and rest assured, I'm a little tired." Old Master Kangxi issued an order to go to Ningchun Hall on his own. A large group of eunuchs followed closely behind, and the palace maids hurriedly followed.

Mr. Kangxi moved into Changchun Garden to escape the summer heat. However, the empresses in the harem did not move in. Only a dozen favored concubines followed him into Changchun Garden. One of them lived in Ningchun Hall. As soon as the old man and his group walked to the door of Ningchun Hall, they heard a graceful sound of piano inside. The old man waved his hand and asked the eunuch and the palace maid to retreat aside. He walked into the hall slowly, and gently clapped his hands and said, "This song of beloved concubine is only available in heaven. It is rare to hear it in the world. I am so happy."

"The emperor has arrived. I am not here. Please forgive me for your crime." The gentle figure of Yingying bowed was exactly the same as Xiao Qianniang who had failed to visit Yinzuo when she came to Beijing to visit Yinzuo. Now she is a noble person. Because she is good at playing the piano, she is also one of her favorite concubines. She followed the old man to move into Changchun Garden. When Yinzuo learned that Xiao Qianniang was taken into the palace and was named a noble person, she was a little resentful, of course it was not a emotional problem. To be honest, Yinzuo had never seen Xiao Qianniang's appearance at all. At the beginning, it was just a whim and wanted to do Xiao Qianniang a favor, but she had no evil thoughts at all. Yinzuo's injustice was: the old man would marry whoever he wanted, but Yinzuo wanted to establish a Han woman as his concubine, but he went through many troubles and could not do what he wanted. To this day, Wang Xifeng was still a concubine, and she didn't even have a formal name.

Mr. Kangxi was in a good mood and said with a smile: "I won't let you inform me. What's your fault? Let's just keep it calm, come and play a song for me to explain the fatigue." The old man walked to the imperial bed and lay down with a smile. Xiao Qianniang responded, sat at the piano table, waved her bare hands, and the song "Yangchun White Snow" quietly sounded, and the elegant sound of the piano was circling in Ningchun Hall, ups and downs...

Mr. Kangxi was relaxed, but others were busy. As soon as the old man's edict was released, the brothers and court officials were busy preparing for the war. Everyone was ready to go through the scriptures, waiting for the court to refute each other in order to gain a reputation for themselves, such as the holy family. Now, the old eighth mansion was also very lively. A large group of well-known servants were waiting, waiting for the inner hall to come to a conclusion and take the team.

"Hey, Lao Liu is having a big time this time, and even Master Miao jumped out and sang the opposite tune. In my opinion, we might as well add another fire, burn his mother, and give Lao Liu a look at it." Lao Shi Yin said with a roar.

"The tenth brother said something is reasonable. Most of our subordinates have not moved yet this time. If they are all here, hehe, it will be enough for Lao Liu to drink a pot." Lao Jiu Yinzhen said happily with a swing of the folding fan in his hand.

"Yes, I can't let Lao Liu go this time. Damn, I'm so depressed last time!" Lao Shi said with a finger.

Lao Jiu Yinzhen shook his fan lightly and said, "The one in the head palace also handed out the words, saying that he would join forces with our brothers. I guess it would be successful this time."

The eighth old man Yinsi frowned and said, "The emperor seems to be biased towards the sixth old man. If you attack at this time, you may not be the time. If you fail to kill a snake, you will be bitten by the snake, but it is not worth it."

"Yes, the Eighth Master's words are reasonable." Wen Ruihe said calmly: "It seems that the emperor's intention must be to the Sixth Master, but he is just guarding against the matter. If he forcibly attacked the Sixth Master, he would be afraid that it would hinder the Eighth Master's holy family."

"Hmm? Could it be that I'll sit aside and watch the show?" Lao Shi was anxious and asked. Lao Ba and Lao Jiu also looked at Wen Ruihe with confusion.

"That's not. I guess all three masters have seen the huge profits of overseas trade. How can you let the Sixth Master eat alone? Why don't the Eighth Master take advantage of the chaos to take advantage of the situation?" Wen Ruihe said with a smile.

"Mr. Wen means..." Yinsi was a little puzzled--all the large sea boats were controlled by the sailors in Yinzuo's hands, so it was not easy to pull out the teeth of the tiger's mouth.

"Pu Heng predicted that the Sixth Master would definitely come to discuss this matter with the Eight Master. Why not... " Wen Ruihe smiled gently and told the story. The eighth Master, the nineth Master, and the tenth brothers smiled.

The first group of Lao Ba had a decision, and the four Beile Mansions were also discussing countermeasures. However, unlike Lao Ba's plan to make profits from it, Tang Guoming proposed to watch the changes, neither agree nor participate. According to Tang Guoming's analysis: Although Mr. Kangxi did not explicitly say that he was actually on Yinzuo's side, the reason why he had to discuss matters in court was to block others' mouths. If he sang against Yinzuo at this time, even if he won, he would not have a good result. It would be better to sit in the mountains and watch the tiger fight. As for the prince's trouble, it was the prince's humiliation but he could not blame others.

In the study of the Prince Yi's Mansion, Yinzuo gave the information about "Honghu" and said with a smile: "The two gentlemen are really good at it. Hey, the second guy must have suffered this time, but the eighth guy has to comfort him."

"The Eighth Master wanted to get a share of the pie, but he didn't know that he was just in the prince's plan. There will be times when he cried in the future." Lin Xuanyi smiled, stroking his palm.

"Prince, you still have to go there to have a walk to make your heart safe." Wu Sidao said lightly.

"Since, I will go there and taste some sweetness for Lao Ba, so as not to make him feel restless." Yinzuo stood up, smiled and went out of the door, rode into a sedan chair, led a group of guards in the prince's mansion, and followed him to Ba Beile's mansion...

"Sixth brother, I'll be late to welcome you, so I'll forgive you for your crime." When he heard Yinzuo arrive at his doorstep, Yinsi hurriedly greeted him. His long water gown was neatly tidy, his folding fan was swayed lightly, his face was filled with a smile, and he looked like a handsome young man, and he held his hands at Yinzuo with a smile.

Hey, this kid can go on stage to perform without makeup. Grandma, she smiles so sweetly. I guess she knew that we would come to the door to give money. I should have given you some sweetness first. Then you will know that the sweetness is not delicious. Yinzuo muttered in his heart, but he smiled harmlessly, and said happily: "The eighth brother has been so prosperous this time, which is amazing. The mission in Caizhou in front of him is quite good. Emperor Ama has praised him several times. Brother really has to learn more from the eighth brother."

At the beginning of the year, there were snow disasters in Caizhou, and countless refugees were killed. The eighth Beile Yinsi was ordered to release food. He was very capable and had a lot of people's hearts and gained the reputation of "Eight Wise Kings". This was the most proud thing in the eighth. When he saw Yinzuo mention it, he was happy, but he looked a little ashamed and said, "Sixth brother is too honored. This was originally the responsibility of our Tian family, but it is really unreasonable. Please come in the Sixth brother."

"Haha... The eighth brother is still so humble, he deserves to be the 'Eight Virtue King'." Yinzuo said with a laugh. This was nothing, but the word "king" was pronounced a little heavier, and he stabbed Lao Ba in secret. After all, Lao Ba is just a beller at this moment and has not been named the king. Lao Ba is a awake person, so he naturally heard the meaning of the words, but he thought that Yinzuo was forced to give him a piece of the pie and was unhappy. He didn't care at all, and he also laughed and let Yinzuo into the mansion.

In the lobby, the two brothers sat down with guests and hosts, and their servants came forward to serve incense tea. The two brothers started chatting casually. Everyone was a master of acting skills, so naturally they would not go straight to the topic from the beginning. From the weather to the poetry, from the ancients to the present, they talked about the long-term talk, and finally got to the point. With the mention of the sea in the poem by Lao Ba, Yinzuo happily talked about the way of shipping: "Eighth brother, you don't know that those birth fries are really confusing. My brother sold them with big buckets of tea, and he could actually sell them at the price of West Lake Longjing, which really made my brother open his eyes."

"Oh? It's true?" Yinsi asked in surprise.

Xiaoyao, this is still fake. You kid sent a few people to my fleet and still don’t know the truth? Yinzuo felt tired, but he didn’t say it out loud. He just smiled and said, “If the eighth brother doesn’t believe it, brother can drive out a few boats and let the eighth brother go and open his eyes in person.”

"Haha, that's great. I originally had this plan. I was thinking about asking for seven or eight boats from my brother, but it was hard to speak. Since my brother was willing, I would thank you." Yinsi beat the snake and followed the stick without any hesitation. As soon as he spoke, he made Yinzuo angry and funny. However, Yinzuo had originally planned to give him a few boats, and his future plans were really inseparable from the eighth brother's play. At this moment, it was just right. However, Yinzuo did not agree immediately, but instead pretended to be a little distressed. He frowned and thought for a while, and said, "Success, since the eighth brother opened his mouth, my brother didn't say anything. Let your servants go to Shanghai to pick up the boat."

"Thank you, Brother Six, but I don't know much about the sea. I'm afraid this person has some trouble. How can this be done?" Yinsi said with a melancholy look.

Damn! This bastard is really ignorant. He has to behave well when he gets a bargain. He really plans to make a lot of money without paying any strength. Damn, he plays a game of eating stocks with me. He is really a bastard. Yinzuo was furious, but his acting skills are good, and he still smiles brightly on his face. He said slowly: "Eighth brother is too worried. Brother has a suggestion. I wonder what the eighth brother wants?"

"You are polite to Brother Six. Just say something directly. We are brothers and there is nothing that cannot be said explicitly." Yinsi mistakenly thought that Yinzuo wanted to propose this court debate, so he planned to agree first. Whether to do it or not is a different story.

How could Lao Ba's little petty heart be hidden from Yinzuo? He secretly despised Lao Ba. Yinzuo said with a smile: "The key to this shipping matter is to have people who know how to do things, right? Brother, there are some people in his hands. If the eighth brother is urgent, he can also make some use of it."

How dare Yinsi, the person Yinzuo gave him, dared to use it? God knows what kind of people they are, but he said that there was no one in front of him. This time, Yinzuo proposed to give him to others, and it was really hard to refuse. Although he was still smiling on his face, he didn't know how to reply. He just waved the fan for a while and stopped talking.

Xiaoyao, I want to fight with me, you are a little tender, you are a little bit tender, hey, there is no door. Yinzuo's eyes rolled and hey, and then said, "My brother is tight, and he can only give him a hundred at most, but there are many people in Guangdong. What's the name of a slave under my eighth brother? Ah, it seems that he is called A Ling, isn't he just in front of the prefect of Guangzhou? If the eighth brother can't get enough of his men, why should he try it?"

Yinsi originally planned to take advantage of his slut, but seeing that Yinzuo had already made up his words, it was impossible to make more money. After his mind was turned wild, he had already made a decision. He slapped his forehead and pretended to be awakened as if he had just woken up from a dream, "Oh, look at my memory, haha, I actually forgot that there is such a servant. Okay, as my brother said, I thank you brother."

"Hahaha... what the eighth brother said? We are brothers, and if we say too much, we will see each other, right?" Yinzuo laughed loudly, and Yinsi also laughed and said, "What my brother said is very true. We are brothers, okay, this matter is settled."

Both brothers laughed happily, but I don’t know who can laugh to the end...!
Chapter completed!