Chapter 266 265 Financial Dilemma

Chapter 266 265 Financial Dilemma

After hearing the order, Zai 𫭢 killed his wife and concubine first, and hanged himself to death.

When Wei Guangde heard the news from Junzhou, his heart dropped.

The previous joy of killing a prince has disappeared. Although King Hui died unkindly and was unjust, the key point is that he is a relative of the emperor and can be regarded as the younger brother of the current emperor. I didn't know about Xiyuan's celebration with friends a few days ago. Do you know?

Wei Guangde was panicked.

During this period, after King Hui was eliminated from the country, Wei Guangde's popularity increased greatly.

Regardless of whether others were envious or jealous, he was the one who played the first performance anyway, and the most important contributor to the overthrow of King Hui was naturally Wei Guangde.

It's just that no matter how highly he was praised at the beginning, Wei Guangde's guilty conscience is so serious now.

Quickly, Wei Guangde asked Zhang Ji to contact Chen Ju to inquire about Emperor Jiajing's reaction in Xiyuan after receiving the news of King Hui's suicide.

If the reaction is strong, Wei Guangde will have to keep his tail between his legs.

Fortunately, Emperor Jiajing was just stunned for a while after learning that King Hui had committed suicide. His mood was somewhat affected, but not too much, and he had no intention of holding anyone accountable.

After receiving Chen Ju's reply, Wei Guangde felt at ease.

At this time, Xu Bangrui, who was far away in Nanjing, was sitting in a pavilion in his garden. In the pavilion, a young girl, about sixteen or seventeen years old, dressed in gorgeous palace clothes and exuding a youthful atmosphere, was sitting in the middle of the pavilion and stroking the strings of the piano.

This girl has bright eyes and white teeth, ice-cold muscles and jade bones. She is wearing a blue emerald smoked sweater and a pleated skirt with scattered flowers, water mist and green grass. She doesn't look seductive at all when she wears it, only revealing a hint of charming temperament.

Although her hands were moving rapidly on the strings, the golden waving pendant in her jet-black hair and the little pearls hanging down seemed to be motionless, adding a touch of dignity.

"Dang Dang Dang Dang Dang Dang."

The girl is not good at playing the piano and her technique is very proficient.

The melodious sound of the piano reached his ears. Xu Bangrui looked at the girl with a warm smile on his face, and then smiled at his gorgeously dressed wife leaning next to him: "My little sister's piano skills have improved again. In a moment, you will Let’s play a piece of music too.”

"I'd better forget it. Sister Lan's piano skills are outstanding. I'm willing to be inferior, so I'd better play my dongxiao."

For girls from high-ranking families, there are not many opportunities to go out, so they can only pass the time at home playing chess, calligraphy and painting.

For a family like the Duke of Wei, it is natural to find the best teachers for their children.

The Duke of Wei not only invited famous people to establish a clan school and train the Xu family members, but also invited many famous experts in other skills to teach their skills at home. Therefore, although Xu Jianglan was young, she was very familiar with the techniques of the zither.

The members of the Xu family are actually pretty good, and they have some sense of proportion. At least they won't go out and cause any big disasters. They are just a little short of taking the imperial examination. If they don't use some connections, not many scholars can pass the exam. Let alone lifting people.

However, these people are nothing to the Duke of Wei. They have all been separated from their families and can only take care of them a little on weekdays.

For these incompetent children, the Xu family's strategy is also very simple. Take the imperial examination when they are young, and then go out to command the army when they are old.

Anyway, the Xu family has been in charge of Nanjing's military power for a long time, and its influence in Jiangnan Guards Station is also deeply rooted, so it is very simple to install a few people.

"A letter came from the capital two days ago. It seems you haven't told Sister Lan what his future husband said, haha."

Xu has a gentle and gentle personality, and she also speaks like this. At this time, she suddenly whispered to Xu Bangrui.

"It's all between men. I didn't mention it to my little sister."

Xu Bangrui raised his lips and smiled, "Maybe Wei Guangde is also thin-skinned and embarrassed to say it, hehe."

The letter was written to Xu Bangrui. Naturally, Wei Guangde would not involve Xu Jianglan in the letter. Xu was just chatting and joking with Xu Bangrui.

But when it came to the letter, Xu Bangrui fell silent.

When Xu Huai came back, he not only brought back the letter, but also brought back a piece of news that shocked him, that is, Wei Guangde had been invited by the Jin Yiwei before he wrote the letter. According to what Wei Guangde later said, he was taken to the north. Zhenfu Division.

Wei Guangde didn't say much about the specific reasons, and Xu Huai could only speculate secretly, so he told Xu Bangrui the news immediately after returning to Nanjing and presenting the letter written by Wei Guangde.

Wei Guangde also deliberately cast a veil of mystery at this time, so when he returned home, he didn't even mention that Jin Yiwei was looking for him, which was different from what his family thought. He was just there to chat, not to question him.

If it was really taken away, Wei Guangde would never be able to come back that day.

However, Zhang Ji, Zhao Hu and others didn't know, nor did Xu Huai and now Xu Bangrui. They could only guess what happened during the period that allowed Wei Guangde to be released so quickly.

Xu Bangrui naturally thought of the palace as the one who could let Jinyiwei release people. Except for the one in the palace, there was no one else who had this right.

But if it was the one who let people go, then why would he get off the bus and take people away?

I really can't figure it out. The only explanation I can give is that Wei Guangde did something. The person in the palace needed an answer, so he asked the Jin Yiwei to take him down for questioning. The result was accepted by the person, so he gave him another answer that day. Released.

No one thought that Wei Guangde had not obtained the driving certificate at all, and Emperor Jiajing, who was practicing Taoism in Xiyuan, did not know about it at all.

What did Wei Guangde do to attract the emperor's attention?

Could it be about the impeachment of King Hui?

Xu Bangrui couldn't help but speculate on what happened before and after the incident, and analyzed it by himself, but the result was far from the truth and was unknown.

The content of Wei Guangde's letter shocked him even more, directly analyzing the threat level of several people revealed in his previous letter.

Well, Xu Bangrui just reminded Wei Guangde to be careful of these people trying to ruin his future behind his back, but he didn't want Wei Guangde to deal with anyone.

For new Jinshi, it is enough to do well as an official when they first enter the officialdom. The top priority is to secure their position under the buttocks.

But the brother-in-law he chose seemed a bit unexpected. He actually analyzed the relationships that his father was managing in the capital in his letter. The biggest threat was actually the eunuch in charge of rituals in the palace. He also said that he would try his best to find a solution. Take him down.

Now Wei Guangde has taken advantage of the trend to the fullest. Lu Bing has set his sights on the big fish Li Bin, so he won't be able to survive for a few days.

At the very least, according to Wei Guangde's speculation, the people who knew about this matter would not be more than one person, except for the Jin Yiwei who were ordered by Lu Bing to carry out surveillance and investigation tasks. He only found out about this matter by chance at Fengyunjihui Son.

Now that you know it, you have to maximize the effect, and there's no point in bragging to your uncle.

If Lu Bing dared to touch the person in charge of the ceremony, at least the eunuch Huang Jin must have known about it. Otherwise, it would be a slap in Huang Jin's face. After all, he was the one who arrested him.

As for Gao Zhong, Wei Guangde would not tell them. Gao Zhong was probably unaware.

As for what Wei Guangde boasted about Xu Bangrui, it was actually very simple, that is, he would find a way to bring down Li Bin within half a year.

The bullshit reached Xu Bangrui's ears. Naturally, all Xu Bangrui could think of was that Wei Guangde still had someone to rely on in the palace.

Emperor Jiajing?

No, the emperor could not help Wei Guangde deal with his own slaves.

Even if the domestic slave makes a mistake, he can beat, scold and punish him at will, but he will not be affected by Wei Guangde.

In fact, there are a few people who are more powerful than Li Bin in the palace. Even though Li Bin is an eunuch, there are many eunuchs.

Wei Guangde dared to think of ways to bring down Li Bin, so naturally a eunuch who was more powerful than Li Bin was his backer.

Getting through the eunuch's relationship can't be done with empty words, it requires real money.

Thinking of this, Xu Bangrui couldn't help but touch his forehead, thinking about whether to ask Xu Huai to send some belongings to Wei Guangde next time.

Xu Bangrui really has a general understanding of the Wei family's background.

When they were at the Hundred Household Office of Bengshan Fort, the Wei family probably only had a fortune of a thousand taels of silver, which they had accumulated over the years. After all, they were just a small official of the Hundred Households.

It was only when we went to Zhejiang to fight against Japanese pirates that we started to do it. Although we don't know the details, we can guess from the Wei family's subsequent generosity that at least tens of thousands of taels of silver were brought in.

Just when Xu Bangrui was thinking of this, the melodious sound of the piano disappeared in his ears. Xu Jianglan had already retracted his hands and slowly stood up and walked over. He sat next to his sister-in-law Xu and looked at the eldest brother who had just come back to his senses, with curiosity in his eyes.

Just now, Xu Jianglan felt that her piano skills had improved again. In the past, she would get praise and applause from her elder brother when she stopped. But this time she came over, and her elder brother looked like he had just woken up from a dream, and he didn't know. What are you thinking.

Xu Bangrui coughed twice to cover up his embarrassment. Mrs. Xu on the side had already taken over the topic and loudly praised Xu Jianglan's superb piano skills.

Soon, Xu Jianglan blushed and felt embarrassed under her sister-in-law's praise. It was Xu who praised her so highly that she almost thought she was the best in the world.

The two women soon started laughing together, and soon Xu brought up "Wei Guangde", the trump card against Xu Jianglan these days. Xu Jianglan soon couldn't stand the stimulation and started to fight with Xu.

Before Xu Bangrui could think about it, he saw his two daughters making trouble in the pavilion. Well, it was a little disrespectful, so he simply got up and went back to his study.

Although he was in the Duke of Wei's palace, Xu Bangrui had very limited resources at his disposal.

The Duke of Wei's government has plenty of money. In addition to its own salary, it also has huge profits from the government's property, contributions from all parties, and income from the military.

As a garrison in Nanjing, Xu Pengju managed all the men and horses in the Nanjing camp and the nearby garrisons. Every year, the pay and silver issued by the Nanjing Ministry of War had to go through his hands first, so he was naturally very happy.

However, the money in the house was controlled by his father. All Xu Bangrui could use was his share of the regular money and some of the properties he had accumulated privately. Even if he wanted to help Wei Guangde, he was a little unable to do so.

Sitting in the study, thinking of the hereditary title of the Xu family and the rich wealth of the house, Xu Bangrui was naturally not willing to stand aside. In the end, he gritted his teeth, and after calculating the amount of money he could get, he decided next time Let Xu Huai send five thousand taels of silver to help Wei Guangde open up relationships in the palace.

He was thinking far ahead, and the nearest thing was to overthrow Li Bin. The long-term goal was of course to have someone in the palace speak a few words for him in front of the emperor when the storm of his imperial conquest arose.

If Wei Guangde told him a month ago that he could overthrow Eunuch Bingbi, the eunuch of the ceremony, Xu Bangrui would definitely not believe it.

But now, Xu Bangrui believes in it.

Compared with Li Bin and King Hui, there is a huge difference in status. Although their power is incomparable, Li Bin is a popular figure, and King Hui is just an empty prince, but that is because he is a royal relative and a prince.

But no matter what the result is, it will fall down.

He was directly impeached by Wei Guangde's memorial to the extent of committing suicide. Wei Guangde said that he would find a way to bring down Li Bin. Xu Bangrui really couldn't take it lightly.

Xu Bangrui had already received the news of King Hui's suicide, but he was not a personal participant after all, and he did not experience Wei Guangde's hair-raising and spine-chilling feeling when he heard the news.

And what about Wei Guangde?

After confirming that Emperor Jiajing had no opinion of him regarding King Hui's suicide, Wei Guangde still chose to act in a low-key manner, and still went to work on time every day without daring to relax at all.

At the end of the year, the problem of the imperial court's financial distress once again appeared in front of all officials in Beijing.

In fact, since Emperor Jiajing ascended the throne, the weather has been abnormal, and there have been frequent famines in the northern and southern provinces, resulting in continuous deficits for the imperial court.

In the past twenty years or so, the imperial court could barely come up with money to provide relief to the victims. However, the money was not just collected, but was accumulated by previous generations of emperors. That is to say, the money from the old treasury was used. Sealed silver.

The silver in the imperial treasury had been exhausted during the Zhengde Dynasty, and it was difficult to maintain the situation without using the old silver in the bank.

Thirty years after Jiajing, the financial difficulties became more and more serious, especially after insisting on building the South City Wall of Beijing. Although the city's defense was greatly improved, the last trace of the imperial court's financial resources was completely drained.

Last year, under financial pressure, Emperor Jiajing not only acquiesced to Zhao Wenhua's use of silk accumulated in various manufacturing bureaus in the south of the Yangtze River to secretly monetize maritime trade, but also ordered the restart of mineral mining in various provinces, hoping to increase fiscal revenue through mining.

At this time, Emperor Jiajing was sitting in the Xiyuan, looking at the report in front of him.

Zhang Qin, the head of the Household Department, brought 270 taels of gold and more than 200 taels of silver from various mines in Baoshan, Shandong; Zuotongzheng Wang Huai, Jinyiwei Qianhu Jin Tianjue and the internal envoys brought 150 kilograms of purple mineral sand from Wangwangyu in Jizhou. silver mining

"Insatiable."

Emperor Jiajing was silent for a long time while looking at the memorial on the table, and finally said something.

Huang Jin, who was standing on one side, and Gao Zhong, who was standing next to him, were both silent and did not dare to speak. His Majesty was getting angry.

"Publish the decree, and the orders should be taken according to the facts. Officials and people are strictly prohibited from concealing invasion and theft. In addition, the land that has not been opened should be mined according to the order without delay."

"yes."

Huang Jin and Gao Zhong answered almost in unison, and then Gao Zhong quickly approved the memorial and directly wrote the words of Emperor Jiajing on it. He only waited for the memorial to be approved and printed by Huang Jin.