Chapter 507
No one could recognize Ma Da in ordinary clothes as a Soldier of the Guards, but no one thought he looked like a good person.
Ma Da looked ferocious, but he didn't speak polite words. .
Ma Da kicked down one person, turned around and ran, but did not recognize the way, was surrounded by villagers, and almost died under the scoundrel.
Chao Jing arrived in time and claimed that this was his servant. Because he lost his way, he came to ask for directions, but did not want to offend everyone with his words.
Chao Jing was wearing a silk shirt, like the young master of a wealthy family. He gained the trust of the villagers and spared Ma Da's life.
The next thing was simple. Chao Jing was eloquent and quickly won the favor of the villagers. He excused that it was late and needed to stay overnight.
The manager of Zhuang Shang had seen the world, and at a glance judged that the master and servant were not really rich people.
Chao Whale resisted gambling and claimed that he would not, and let the servants do it for him. He came out to watch the scenery and wanted to stroll around.
So, Ma Da gambled money in the village, Chao Jing strolled around the village, and when he saw people, he went over to talk to him. He is now a guest of the village, and the villagers are more polite.
Ma was a big gambler, but his gambling skills were average. When the "young master" came back, he had already lost dozens of taels of silver, and the people in the village were more polite.
When it was almost dark, the two returned to the city, and immediately changed their clothes and went to see the emperor.
The emperor was still in Lingyun Pavilion, but he did not immediately summon the two of them.
Zhang Youcai stayed downstairs and whispered: "Your Majesty is discussing with the generals. Yesterday, today, two afternoons, Your Majesty explained that you will stay for a while after you come back. Your Majesty wants to see you."
Ma Da yawned and slept on the table. Chao Jing stood aside, thinking about how to tell the emperor about the situation later, and asked casually, "Are the officials in Chaoli still reporting illness?"
"They've all returned to the yamen, and they're all alive and kicking." Zhang Youcai said disdainfully.
The seven military attachés were fighting hotly upstairs.
These seven people were all selected by Han Ruzi himself, including Lai Bingwen, who seduces his wife and has a bad reputation, Chen Xiao, who was discovered in the boring memorial, Di Kai, a veteran who is prudent and recommended by the Ministry of Military Affairs, and Yunmeng. Shao Kejian, who performed well when Zeze was fighting bandits, and Xie Cun, a son of honor who was admired by the emperor at a young age, were generals recommended by Fang Daye before his death.
There is only one content of their argument: whether to withdraw troops from the Western Regions.
Most people supported the decision of the imperial court, thinking that the Great Chu should concentrate on dealing with the threat from the north, and the Western Regions could be temporarily abandoned until the north stabilized before sending troops to retake it.
Only Lai Bingwen and Xie Cun objected.
Xie Cun was young and vigorous, thinking that Da Chu would fight for every inch of land, and that Da Chu had been a vassal of the Western Regions for many years, and he could not give up if he could not say it.
Lai Bingwen thought that the reason why the Western Regions became a vassal screen was because the Great Chu was strong and prosperous, and once the Chu troops retreated, the countries in the Western Regions would definitely fall to the enemy. A Yumen Pass can be used as a gateway, but if it is frequently harassed, it will make Da Chu more distracted and unable to exclusively guard the north.
"It's like a confrontation between two armies. The enemy is strong and I am weak. Even if our army has the intention of retreating, we must not show it. We must step by step and fight steadily, showing the enemy's intention to fight, and then plan to advance and retreat. Even if your majesty intends to withdraw from the Western Regions, it will not The imperial decree should be issued directly, and the generals of the Western Regions should be given the right to take advantage of it. General Deng’s life and death are unknown, and there is also General Zhang. It is better for General Zhang to talk about it in the capital, and it is better to see General Zhang alone in Huzhucheng.”
It was these words that moved Han Ruzi. He suddenly woke up and regretted it. He should not have issued the imperial decree to recall Chu soldiers. As Lai Bingwen said, Zhang Yin and Deng Cui should be given more autonomy.
If it wasn't for the emperor's majesty, Han Ruzi really wanted to reissue the imperial decree immediately, but he had to remain calm, seeing that it was getting late, he ended the discussion.
After the generals left, Zhang Youcai went upstairs and asked, "Chao Jing and Ma Da are back, do you want to see your majesty?"
"See you." Han Ruzi was still very tired today, but he was full of energy.
Ma Da yawned and remembered that he was almost beaten and lost dozens of taels of silver. It was Chao Jing who reported the situation to the emperor, "The Zhuangzi we went to belongs to the Chai family. For decades, more than half of the people in the village have not been naturalized. They have heard of it. The imperial decree is reluctant to leave, saying that the Chai family is powerful and can protect them and establish their own business, they will be more easily bullied."
Han Ruzi frowned, "Is the Chai family treating them well?"
"It's good, the villagers are all grateful, but I know what's going on." Chao Jing shook his head with a smile, "The villagers can't see the Chai family at all, they only know that the land they plant belongs to the Chai family, how dare they say that Bad things about the Chai family? A few daring people told me that Zhuangtou was cruel and often made excuses to collect more rent. Instead of handing it over to the Chai family, he kept it himself, but the villagers did not dare to sue, thinking that Zhuangtou There must be a backer in the Chai family, so it's useless to sue."
"Are the men in the village willing to join the army?"
Chao Jing shook his head, "I asked, no one is willing to join the army, they all feel that it is a dangerous business with no return, so it is better to farm the land honestly at home."
This is almost the same situation as Kang Zijiao said. Han Ruzi sighed, thought for a moment, and asked, "They are also villagers, why are you willing to join the army?"
"It's not the same. They are farmers and they never leave the village for a lifetime. At most, they go to the nearby market to go to the market, not to mention going to the frontier to serve as soldiers. They can be scared half to death when they enter the city. Chaojia Village is a fishing village, and they live by fishing alone. Not the whole family, the men in the village all went out and wandered when they were young. Some were in business, some were coolies, and some joined as robbers. It was even worse than being a soldier, so Your Majesty said that you can eat and live, and everyone came. ."
Han Ruzi laughed. In order to support this branch, it cost him a lot of money, and he even needed Cui Xiaojun to go home and demand it. Then he sighed again. Although the Cui family was reluctant, it did help him a lot.
"People also have their own ideas."
"Of course, as the saying goes 'one kind of rice raises a hundred kinds of people', even in Chaojia fishing village, there are people who don't like to be soldiers, and now they still make a living by fishing. I once went back to the village, and they were quite envious of us, saying We have good eyesight and even followed the emperor, but when we asked them if they would like to join the army, they still shook their heads, saying that it was too dangerous, and they had to work hard to keep their wealth and honor, and they would rather live a hard life.”
Han Ruzi had nothing to say. The soldiers of Chaojia Fishing Village suffered great losses in Jincheng.
"Some things are really in a dilemma." Han Ruzi said with emotion.
Chao Jing nodded, he didn't feel any embarrassment, he just didn't want to refute the emperor, Ma Da who stood beside him suddenly straightened up and snarled: "What's the problem? Crush is enough, it's all wrong anyway, it's better to be tough. a little."
Han Ruzi laughed and asked Zhang Youcai to send the two away.
When Zhang Youcai came back to pack his things, he couldn't help but look at the emperor more.
"What are you thinking about?" Han Ruzi asked.
"Your Majesty seems... very happy today."
"You find it strange?"
"The officials have returned to the yamen, but the problem has not been resolved. Listening to His Majesty's words, it seems to be more difficult, so..."
"It's difficult, it's really difficult, it's a hundred times more difficult than I originally expected." Han Ruzi said this, but his tone was very relaxed.
Zhang Youcai became more and more confused, but the emperor did not explain.
When Han Ruzi returned to Qiuxin Palace, Empress Cui Xiaojun said worriedly: "My brother...he doesn't understand the deep meaning of His Majesty's handling of the Cui family, he thinks that he will never get His Majesty's forgiveness again, and he has to live or die at home for several days. After eating, my mother wrote to me, I really don't want to trouble Your Majesty..."
"I understand that the Queen can reply to the family, saying that you have asked for my consent, and will summon Cui Teng in two days to let him take care of himself and come to see me."
"Your Majesty really wants to see my brother?"
"Nothing else, just for the dangers that Cui Teng took for me, I should see him too, but he still has to go to the frontier, so let's take it as a farewell."
"The Cui family embarrassed His Majesty." Cui Xiaojun was very ashamed.
Han Ruzi shook his head and looked at his daughter, "If the emperor is not embarrassed, it must be because of inaction."
He went to greet the Queen Mother as usual, and followed his mother to the Cining Palace afterward, rejecting the eunuch and the maid, "I have been back in Beijing for many days, but I have not yet apologized to the Queen Mother."
"What's the crime please?" said Empress Dowager Cining in surprise.
"I have done a lot of things to anger the queen mother outside, and I want to ask for the crime of unfilial piety."
Empress Dowager Ci Ning sighed, "Your Majesty is my son, no matter what you do, it's not a sin, not to mention that you are thinking of the world, even if I was puzzled at the time, I should wake up after so long, Your Majesty's affairs are entangled, I really shouldn't stop Confuse."
"I am really busy with affairs, so I have something to ask the grandfather to do."
The Empress Dowager Cining was really surprised. This was the first time her son had been emperor for so long.
"What's up?"
Han Ruzi was silent for a while, "Investigate the truth of Si Di's death."
Empress Dowager Cining's face changed suddenly, "Didn't you already find out that Concubine Cui did it?"
Han Ruzi shook his head, "There are many doubts about this matter. The Empress Dowager Shangguan may have made a mistake."
"There's no need to apologise for Concubine Cui." Empress Dowager Cining said dissatisfiedly.
"It has nothing to do with the injustice. If the person who poisoned me was still in the palace, how could I rest assured?"
Empress Dowager Cining stared at her son, "Is your majesty telling the truth?"
"Sincerely, I originally wanted to investigate this matter after purging the imperial court, but now it seems that there will only be more and more things in the future, and I will not be able to take action for a while, so I have to ask my mother for help, this matter can only be investigated secretly, When necessary, please ask Jing Yao for help. I only have one request, no matter who is involved, please let my mother inform me."
"Of course." Empress Dowager Cining was still confused, "Why didn't your majesty let the queen investigate this matter?"
"The queen is soft-hearted and can't do such a thing."
Empress Dowager Ci Ning thought for a while and nodded in agreement, "Not only your majesty, but also the prince and princess live in the palace. I will never allow hidden dangers. If there is another person who poisoned him, I must dig him out."
"Don't make it public," Han Ruzi reminded.
Empress Dowager Cining waved her hand, indicating that she understood.
Han Ruzi resigned, he arranged a task for his mother, and next, he had to find work for more people, and he began to realize where he was wrong before.