Zhurou

Chapter 219 Medicinal Materials

Don’t blame businessmen for pursuing profits. Who wouldn’t want to pursue profits whenever they have the opportunity?

Just talking about the family, the country, the world, the people and the country, it's okay once or twice, but in the long run, others are neither surnamed Zhao, nor receive the salary from heaven, nor can they be used as food, and they are all raised by their parents. Who can stand it?

It's different if you can offer benefits and inducements.

If we only look at one thing and one thing, the cost this time seems to be too huge to bear. However, if it is not limited to this, how can the savings be measured in money?

Moreover, as long as it is done properly, there may not be much loss. No one can calculate the real result until the last moment.

Regarding the follow-up plan, Zhao Mingzhi explained to Mo Xiang in detail for a long time. When the latter took the order and left, she took a moment to catch her breath. She just took a few bites and then removed the dining table. Just as she was thinking of taking a rest, she saw the palace outside. People came trotting through the door holding trays.

The man hurriedly saluted, hurriedly presented the things in his hands, and said: "Your Highness, there is an urgent message from the front."

Zhao Mingzhi suddenly became energetic and took a look. Sure enough, it was a letter from Mu Xiang. Since it was not an urgent military situation, he couldn't rush to replace it. He didn't know how many hands it had passed, so it arrived at this time.

She opened it and read it briefly. She found that the letter was sent earlier. At that time, Mu Xiang could not get to the point where the two armies met, nor could she see Pei Yong and his troops. But as far as he could see, there was not much When the Di thieves turned back, the Jin army still had the upper hand.

After receiving Mu Xiang's reply and checking back to the northwest, Zhao Mingzhi felt more at ease.

At this time, sleepiness was gradually rising. She put down the many folds and letters. She first thought about summoning several Huangmen of the Imperial City to ask about the situation in the city. However, her eyelids were fighting, and she couldn't hold on anymore. He found a soft couch nearby and lay down to sleep.

This sleep didn't seem to last long. In a daze, she heard someone whispering outside, but she couldn't distinguish the details. There were only a few scattered words, such as "Zhongcheng", "Your Highness", "nap". "So, he immediately became alert and sat down suddenly.

At this time, the sun outside had turned away, and the light in the palace was much darker.

Being forcibly interrupted from his sleep, Zhao Mingzhi's temples felt swollen and aching, and his chest also felt a little dull. He finally relaxed for a few breaths and turned to look at the scene. It was obvious that he had only lied down for a while and didn't get much rest. I didn't even feel like I had slept well, but I calculated in my mind that nearly half an hour had passed.

"Is it your Majesty?"

She sat for a while and suddenly raised her voice and asked.

"Sister!"

Zhao Hong responded through the window.

Zhao Mingzhi immediately got out of bed and put on his shoes. He didn't need anyone to wait on him. He just asked someone to open the palace door first, while he hurriedly soaked a handkerchief in cold water and washed his face.

By the time she walked out of the side hall, Zhao Hong had already entered and was sitting at the middle wooden table. Although he was holding tea in his hand, he didn't even open the lid. He just stared at the table as if looking at the tea. It seemed like he was looking at the teapot, or even better, he was just in a daze, with his head drooped, like a flower and grass that had its bud tips pinched and been exposed to the sun for three days without receiving a drop of water.

Zhao Mingzhi felt groggy, and her brain was not spinning as fast as usual. She slowly sat down next to Zhao Hong, took a few breaths, and waited until the heavy feeling in her chest passed, then smiled and asked: "What's the matter? You were still happy when you went out." ——Didn’t you see anyone?”

"I saw it, and later went to Privy Sun's house." Zhao Hong said, "In the end, everyone refused to calm down, and kept talking about the truth, saying that although luck is good this time, God bless the Jin Dynasty, there may not always be good luck in the future. Such a good thing, and it is said that the emperor should give priority to the country, and it is inappropriate..."

When he said this, his tone became more and more depressed. He just raised his head and glanced at Zhao Mingzhi, but stopped talking and said bluntly: "Old Madam Yang originally said that she wanted to leave food, but Zhong Cheng said that he was sick. , I’m just afraid that after getting over the illness, he would urge me to come back first after thanking him..."

Seeing that his brother did not want to say more, Zhao Mingzhi did not ask further questions and continued following his words: "The last time I met the old lady, she was still in good health, but she has always been weak. I heard that she has to take medicine every day. Now that we bumped into her, I brought a medical officer with me this time, can I take a look at him too?"

"After seeing it, several medical officers took turns to check the pulse and prescribed medicine. They only said that it was nothing serious. It was an old illness. Just take care of it slowly..."

Zhao Hong answered a few questions seriously, stayed quiet for a moment, and then suddenly asked: "Sister, if you don't have the disease, why would you say that you are sick?"

Zhao Mingzhi was stunned.

She heard that this sentence was not about Mrs. Yang, but seemed to mean something else. She didn't want her brother to be preconceived, so she said: "I have my own thoughts, maybe I have difficulties, maybe I have other agendas, maybe I am really sick, but I just Hold on."

Zhao Hong couldn't help but mumble softly.

"Everyone said they were unwell, but their voices were not soft, they were full of energy, and they didn't look sick at all. The medical officer looked at them and couldn't find anything wrong except being tired. In my opinion, on ordinary days, Stop making a few noises, and don’t write random exhortations every day. I’m afraid the disease will be cured by half in a blink of an eye!”

He looked indignant, and although he didn't mention his name, it was already clear who he was complaining about.

"I don't think they have any trouble! They're not really sick at all!"

"In the morning, there were a lot of people complaining about illness. I was still very anxious. I just went to see them. The opera singers knew how to put on a white face, but they didn't even want to show off to me..."

When he said this, he shut up again, and after a while he said: "There are not enough manpower everywhere now. I heard from the palace people that the children of my age in the homeless shacks would come out to help carry bricks and tiles. The officials He is such a big man, and he is the boss and the assistant. He keeps saying that he is the humerus and the mainstay, but in critical moments, he only knows how to hide! "

"With such a leader, everyone below will follow. In the morning, during the meeting, my sister asked people to do things. It was obviously their duty, and no one agreed honestly. In the past, I asked for benefits all the time, and never did anything happen!"

Zhao Mingzhi never treated his younger brother like a child, so he simply said: "You decided to go north that day. Do any ministers in the DPRK agree?"

Zhao Hong shook his head, but then said: "But sister, didn't you say that if I hadn't come, the capital might not have been able to defend it. Looking at it from this point of view, it was clear that it was right to go north and return to the capital that day."

Zhao Mingzhi said: "The whole dynasty disagreed. It was only because you were determined to force yourself that you had no choice but to go north. Now since you are right, who is wrong?"

Being asked such a fierce question, Zhao Hong couldn't answer for a while. Zhao Mingzhi added: "The crisis in the capital has been temporarily resolved, and the Di people have left again. If all the officials return to their places and perform their duties, the city is in order, all wastes are prosperous, and the people live and work in peace and contentment without any trouble, what will the world do? What do you think?”

"Of course he is the emperor's sage, and all his officials are worthless."

"Looking at the civil and military affairs of the DPRK, wasn't it right to prevent you from going north to return to Beijing that day? As several officials said today, this march was dangerous and dangerous. It was really a bet that if anything happened, the son of a rich man would not be able to sit down in the hall. The emperor should put the country, the country, and the country first - seriously, which statement is wrong? "

Zhao Hong wanted to refute, but he really couldn't say anything strong. He just felt that things shouldn't be like this. He felt even more aggrieved. After a long while, he pursed his lips and said, "None of them are right, and it's me who is wrong." !”

Of course nothing is wrong.

Zhao Mingzhi said softly: "There are many things in the world that even if you and I know right and wrong in our hearts, we still can't tell."

"This time we, Hong'er, have made great achievements and are very courageous - even the children in the city understand this truth. Don't many ministers and ministers in the Political Hall and the Privy Council not understand?"

"But no matter how well they know it, they can't admit it. Otherwise, where will they put themselves?"

Before Zhao Mingzhi could continue, Zhao Hong had already continued: "If you don't tell me to remember that the government cannot be without the Prime Minister and Fu, they are the real arms of the emperor and cannot be looked down upon in the slightest. If we encounter such a thing again in the future, I'm used to making my own decisions, and I refuse to listen to the advice of my prime minister, so there will be no place for them in the future..."

When Zhao Hong said this, he couldn't help but look at Zhao Mingzhi and said, "Sister, when I came back today, I heard many people talking like this. Although I can't follow it blindly, isn't there some truth in this statement?"

His voice was three points higher, with a look of grievance on his face, and he said: "I feel that I have done nothing wrong. In the past, they always liked to ask me to think more about the country and the people. Why did it happen to me today?" On the contrary, you only think about yourself? Only those who are emperors should be admonished, and those who are ministers..."

Zhao Mingzhi knew that the more good-tempered a person is on weekdays, the more anxious he becomes when he is angry, because he is afraid that his brother's sullenness will not come out and he will get sick if he keeps it in his heart. After thinking about it, he said: "Everyone has his own ambitions, and you and I are worried. Although Thief Di has dispersed for a while, he may not come back again, so he is naturally very anxious, but in the eyes of others, the crisis has been slightly relieved, and it is inevitable that he will have other thoughts..."

"Just like you said last night, you actually put my sister at the top of your heart, and no one else can. Don't you officials also have the most important people and things in your heart? Who can always change his sincerity back to his true heart? There will always be When it comes down to it, he even encounters someone with a ruthless heart and a dog's heart."

"Now that you are in such a position, everything you do is trusting and employing people. It is actually more difficult. It is said that it is always cold when you are at a high place."

Seeing Zhao Hong's sad look, she sighed secretly and said: "How can everything always go as expected? As long as you try your best, you will feel no regrets."

"Besides - are you visiting today just to get those people to repay your sincerity? All the officials see it in their eyes. As long as they have some bottom line, they know how to act. In fact, it is very useful. How can you still be trapped by it? Are you embarrassing yourself like this?”

In front of Zhao Mingzhi, Zhao Hong always looked like a glutinous rice dumpling that had been rounded and flattened. He was really unhappy and vomited some sesame sugar water, which was considered a tantrum. Now after listening to her persuasion and receiving praise, he The grievances in my heart can be suppressed for the time being, but the many dissatisfactions are still buried deep in my heart and are just left unspoken.

He himself was a very smart person, he knew everything he needed, and he didn't even need anyone else to teach him. He turned around and summoned the Hanlin bachelors to come in and make a decree to show mercy. He wanted to give medicine to all the officials who reported illness that day. He originally planned to find some ginseng. , deer antler, because the warehouse of the Imperial Medicine Supervision was already empty, and I came back from Caizhou in a hurry, and I couldn't bring back anything, so I was frozen there for a while.

The official of the Huangmen Palace, who had grown up with Zhao Hong, was worried about the emperor's worries, so he came up with an idea: "Your Majesty, why don't you ask the princess to see if there are any good medicinal materials in the private treasury."

Zhao Hong refused without thinking: "Sister, I don't know how many things I have in my hands. I gave them a lot when I went to Caizhou. This time, I used everything I could use to defend the city. Besides, every time When I have something to do, I just want to find my sister. Am I just a laggard?"

Seeing that the emperor couldn't be persuaded, and seeing the emperor's irritated look, the King's Office said: "Your Highness is not someone else. When the situation eases a little in the future, you can make up for it. Even if you don't ask her for anything and find another way, you have to let her know. Don’t hear about this from outsiders in the future…”

Zhao Hong refused to obey. After thinking about it, he took out the golden beads he was wearing and handed them to Wang Shu. He said, "You can quietly take them out to a medicine shop and see if you can exchange these beads for some medicinal materials. Don't give them." Sister knows..."

The king's office couldn't help but secretly complain in his heart. He felt that it was neither possible to do this errand nor not to do it. In the end, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and take the gold beads and leave the palace.

He was around the emperor every day, and his comings and goings were very conspicuous. Although he deliberately avoided people, how could he avoid them all? As soon as he stepped out of the medicine shop and returned to the inner court, someone spread the news to Zhao Mingzhi.

Huangmen who sent the message asked cautiously: "Your Highness, do you want to redeem the golden beads first?"

When his younger brother acted like this, he clearly didn't want to intervene, so how could Zhao Mingzhi disobey him.

She waved her hand and said, "Since His Majesty has made the assignment, you just have to obey."

However, not long after Xiao Huangmen left, Zhao Hong came running over.

As soon as the Yimen official made the announcement, he quickly walked into the hall, holding a small basket in front of his chest in both hands, and placed it in front of Zhao Mingzhi. He first called "Sister", then told what happened, and then said: "It's just Nowadays, everything in the capital is extremely expensive. Even if you grab a lot of gold beads, you won’t be able to get many decent medicinal materials. I counted the numbers for a long time, and if you give this, you can’t give that..."

He turned his head, looked at the table leg and said: "I originally didn't want to talk to Sister, nor did I want to ask for help from my family. It was really embarrassing, but I couldn't think of any other way..."

Zhao Mingzhi opened the cloth covering the small bamboo basket and saw many brocade boxes inside. He took out a few items at random. They were all ginseng and deer antlers. Their texture was ordinary. In the past, any medicinal shop had some stock. A handful of gold beads can actually buy a lot, but after this long war, the capital has been besieged many times, and prices have skyrocketed, and they are no longer as good as before.

She thought about it for a moment, but did not mention the gold and silver money. She just smiled and said: "Since the officials are not seriously ill, why do they act like this?"

"The court has never treated its ministers harshly, especially the monthly salaries and subsidies given to the officials of the two governments are even more generous. How can we miss out on the medicinal materials like you and me? In the eyes of everyone, you are a noble person, no matter what valuables you are given I wouldn't think it's strange, even if I find dragon liver, phoenix and gallbladder today, I would probably just take it as a reward."

Zhao Hong was speechless for a moment and looked at the bamboo basket in front of him with sadness.

Zhao Mingzhi changed the topic and said: "But since you want to make the world look at you and buy bones for a thousand dollars, do you only have medicinal materials available?"