Chapter 222 Two Tigers
When Meng E came back, she didn't see Juan Hou's wife and mother in the palace.
Mrs. Ping'en Hou exaggerated her ability. Her so-called entering the palace was just a routine. Because the queen mother was ill, she ordered the wives to take turns to visit and serve in the palace, so as to fulfill their duties as ministers, but that was all. These people were not really needed, they stayed in the palace for one night and were sent out the next day.
Historians will seriously record the loyalty of the wives, regardless of what actually happened.
Han Ruzi had already guessed such a result. He glanced at Meng E more and couldn't help but say, "Your appearance... has changed a lot."
Meng E has put on make-up to add a bit of glamour, which is very different from her usual appearance.
"Someone in the palace knows me, so I have to cover up a little."
Han Ruzi smiled and didn't say much, but Meng E turned around and left, as if a little angry.
From this afternoon, Han Ruzi suddenly became busy. First, he and Yang Feng attended a gathering of a poetry club in the city, where he met many literati, including an official from the Ministry of Households.
How much grain is stored in each county must be reported to the Ministry of Households. Speaking of opening the warehouse and releasing grain, the official shook his head without hesitation, "Food is the foundation of the country, the top priority, and must not act rashly, trying to make a big thing a small thing? Impossible? , there must be an imperial decree before the Ministry of Household can order all places to open positions."
Han Ruzi put forward many assumptions, but the household officials rejected them mercilessly, "The county governor and the county magistrate do have a little power, they can ask the rich local people to put food, and the government can also make porridge, but these are normal times. The methods used in the past are now popular among the people, and the number reported in various places is more than 300,000, and the actual situation will only get worse, and the problem will not be solved by making small troubles.”
"I have read in the history books that there were officials who opened warehouses to release grain, and then reported to the court to obtain permission."
The official of the Ministry of Housing smiled and shook his head, "Marquis Tien is talking about imperial envoys, and no local officials dare to do such a thing. But imperial envoys themselves have the right to be cheap and can open positions. Even so, they will be punished after returning to Beijing. Relegation is the lightest, not to mention that the imperial court can’t send imperial envoys at all. Another problem is that imperial envoys can only open positions in a certain place, and now there are refugees all over the world. ."
The matter was indeed more complicated than Han Ruzi had expected, and the Ministry of Household official advised: "The Marquis Tien's love for the people is understandable, but there is really no way, fortunately, as the spring is approaching, when the wild vegetables grow, the people will endure for a while. past."
Han Ruzi could only smile and nod his head without arguing. He had read in the book that spring was the hardest season. The starving farmers would eat up all the crops they planted. In the spring, there would be no food to grow, and the refugees would be violent again. In addition, the so-called eating wild vegetables to survive hunger is just the imagination of the literati.
Han Ruzi did not give up hope. He wanted to meet more officials. Qu Zixi and Guo Cong were both there, willing to help, and even gave him an idea and made a list.
In the evening, the King of the East Sea sent someone to invite Han Ruzi to go there. It was a banquet in name, but it was actually a meeting with two criminal officers in the "Guanghua Group of Tigers".
One of these two is the head of a department of the Ministry of Justice, and the other is a judicial officer under Jing Zhaoyin. They are not qualified to participate in the election of the emperor, but they were once majestic. They can bypass their bosses and discuss matters directly with the Queen Mother. , torture, confessions, etc., the original document is handed over to the Queen Mother, and the copy is kept in the department's yamen.
But the good days are over. They still go to Guanghua Pavilion to discuss matters, but they no longer dare to arrest people with great fanfare. They are all worried that if the Queen Mother loses power, they will be revenge.
"The warlocks inside and outside the capital are not just a few hopefuls who have made public appearances." Lian Danchen, who joined the judicial army, is an old official in his fifties, gentle and elegant, like a scholar, "According to the information I got, Wangqi There are at least 15 people, as well as other fortune-tellers, lecturers, walkers, jugglers, etc. The total number is no less than 500, and more than 70% have come to the capital from other places in the past few months."
Zhang Jing, the head of the Criminal Department, is relatively young, in his thirties, with a keen eye, as if he is always trying to figure out what the other party is thinking. Like Lian Danchen, he has a very broad definition of "Jianghu Warlock", "There are tens of thousands of refugees. , there are still two or three thousand people left, and they are all hidden, and it is very likely that the Jiang Yang thief is hiding inside. I have already checked several strongholds, but I cannot arrest anyone."
"Is there an imperial decree to arrest people?" Han Ruzi became more and more interested in how the government operated.
The two criminals looked at each other, and Lian Danchen said, "If you just arrest a few people, there's no problem, but that will startle the snake, and..."
The King of the East Sea, who had been listening in, continued on for him, "The one who wants to breathe is now the empress dowager and the celebrity next to the champion. When a word comes, the yamen will have to let them go."
"No imperial edict?"
"It's just a person, what imperial edict do you want?"
Zhang Jing added: "The prisoners in the prison of the Ministry of Justice cannot be released easily, but they can report the death of their illness and release people secretly, not too many, and the person has to remain anonymous."
Even when everything is normal in the imperial court, the government offices at all levels have a way to bypass the emperor's permission and go their own way.
The two criminal officers came to see Marquis Juan, not for the sake of complaining and being indifferent. Lian Danchen first said: "Marquis Tien went to the Poetry Club this afternoon?"
Han Ruzi nodded. In his capacity, it was too difficult to keep secrets in the capital.
Lian Danchen was hesitant, and the King of the East Sea encouraged him: "Master Xu does not need to shy away, if you have anything to say, just say it."
"The Marquis of Tired and the King of the East Sea have to act quickly. The Marquis of Champions has been entertaining the ministers one after another these days. It is said that they are going to initiate a serial performance. As long as the current sage dies, they will ask the queen mother to elect a new emperor immediately."
Champion Hou also doesn't want to wait six months, especially when the victory is in hand, he is more impatient.
"The emperor in the palace may die at any time." King Donghai lowered his voice slightly, "Lin Kunshan once accidentally leaked to me, saying that the hopeful can decide when the emperor..."
The King of the East Sea made a gesture, and what Lin Kunshan said at the time was not so straightforward, but the King of the East Sea thought that was the case.
So far, Han Ruzi and Donghai Wang have not received the public support of a minister. Even Taifu Cui and the general Han Xing are the first mice and they have not forgotten to share the song with the champion Hou An.
"Don't worry, I'm not slower than the champion Hou at all." Han Ruzi said calmly.
The two torturers showed joy, and the King of the East Sea nodded with satisfaction. He invited Han Ruzi to build confidence in the "Guanghua Group of Tigers", and this goal seemed to have been achieved.
Han Ruzi asked, "How is the King of England?"
King Donghai was taken aback, "King Ying? Who cares about him?"
"The King of England is the contender chosen by the Queen Mother, and the enemy should not be underestimated." Han Ruzi was very concerned about this little competitor.
Lian Danchen said sternly: "Marquis Tien is right, the King of England really did nothing, neither attracting ministers nor making friends with nobles, but I heard that choosing the King of England to participate in the fight for the throne is a hopeful person. The idea is that in case of circumstances, the champion Hou can still have a competitor."
"What if? What if? Could it be... Could it be that someone wants to kill the two of us?" Donghai King said nervously.
Lian Danchen shook his head, "That's not true. The Queen Mother personally ordered the Eighth Battalion of Suwei to maintain the stability of the capital, and also asked us to secretly protect the four people, the Hou Juan, the King of the East China Sea, the King of England, and the King of Champions. If there is any abnormality, be sure to investigate. In the end, please rest assured Marquis Juan and King of the East Sea, there are not one thousand or eight hundred people to protect you, and there will never be a problem."
Zhang Jing added: "The so-called case means that someone leaves the capital and loses the qualification to compete for the position."
"Who would be so stupid?" Donghai Wang smiled, glanced at Han Ruzi, and put away his smile.
Han Ruzi said: "We will take precautions, and also ask the two adults to help us a lot, and say to Guanghua Pavilion Qunying on our behalf: The foundation of Da Chu is the officials of the ministries and divisions, not the officials of the imperial examination. The demotion is uncertain, the officials in charge often change every three to five years, but the officials in the department are only responsible for one thing for the rest of their lives.
Lian Danchen and Zhang Jing nodded frequently, and Hou Juan's words literally went to their hearts.
"The Empress Dowager and Wang Qi only allow ministers above the fifth rank to choose the emperor, which shows that their eyes are shallow, they can only see the grass and trees on the ground, but not the foundations of the ground. The King of Donghai and I promise that if we succeed, we will reuse the officials of the world, so that Safeguard the peace of Chu Jiangshan."
The two torturers got out of their chairs and knelt down in front of Hou Juan, kowtowing like garlic.
This is just the first meeting. Before a detailed plan was made, the East Sea King sent someone to send Lian Danchen and Zhang Jing away, and smiled at Han Ruzi: "When did you become so articulate? Those two guys left. I was so excited that my tears were about to flow out.”
"Read more." Han Ruzi said.
"Why don't I remember which book said that officials are more important than officials? I have only read more books than you, not less than you."
"In the history of the country: Taizu fixed the cauldron, and the world has regained stability in two or three years. What does it depend on? It must not be those generals under Taizu's command. They can fight, they can't govern the country, and they are not ministers of the previous dynasty. There are very few left, either killed or degraded to the people, let alone the officials of the imperial examination. It will take twenty or thirty years before the imperial examination will become popular, and the elected officials will fill the court. Just like in the dynasty, assisting the Emperor of Chu and officials to govern the world, diligently and diligently, it has not changed to this day.”
The King of the East Sea opened his mouth for a while, "Hey, your way of reading is different from mine. But this also shows that the officials are not loyal and don't care who is the emperor at all. In the end, everyone needs them anyway."
"That's right."
The King of the East Sea was stunned for a moment, "You mean... can't rely on the 'Guanghua Tigers'?"
"Well, the 'Guanghua Qunhu' knows too many things and holds too much power. There is no reason for the champions not to win over them, and there is no reason for them to be enemies with the champions."
"But the ministers don't like the 'Guanghua Tigers', there is hatred between them..."
"Hatred can be resolved, not to mention that the hatred of ministers will only target a few people, not all criminals."
The King of Donghai was originally very happy, but was disappointed by Han Ruzi's few words. He sighed and was about to speak when there was a knock on the door.
The wife of the King of the East Sea has not yet been canonized, but the mansion has already called her "Princess". The East Sea King was startled for a moment, then blushed and whispered, "What is she here for? This...this...how can she see other men?"
"Other men" were also surprised, but wanted to see how fierce the Tan family's daughter was.