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"Worship heaven and earth!"

"Two thanks to the high hall!"

"..."

The ceremony officer was presiding over the ceremony loudly. The bride, wearing a bright red wedding robe and a green wedding dress, holding a fan to cover her face, saluted in front of the hall.

Ningyuan Marquis Gu Yankai, who was sitting in a wheelchair, sat on a high seat to the north with Xiao Qin on the left and right. However, on the high table between them, there was a tablet of the god.

This is the first time this has happened not only in Tokyo City, but also in the whole world.

The guests' faces were full of smiles, and they clapped and cheered from time to time, but secretly they couldn't help but be curious and talked in low voices.

Both Gu Yankai and Gu Yankai had smiles on their faces, especially Xiao Qin. There was nothing unusual about her expression, as if she really had a broad mind and didn't mind the ranking between her and Gu Yankai.

Gu Er's fourth uncle and fifth uncle next to him also had no smiles on their faces. They looked as cold as if Gu Er owed them tens of thousands of taels of silver.

What happened to the Gu family these days is no secret. Gu Laosi and Gu Laowu had just moved out from the Hou Mansion for half a month, and even the family property had been clearly divided. I heard that Gu Yankai took away the Gu family's property. Most of the property was left to Gu Tingye, and he was just waiting to hand it over to Gu Er's bride after today.

They looked ugly and seemed unable to understand.

"I've seen a lot of people ranking together with one living person and two people ranking together, but this is the first time I've seen two living people ranking together."

"I've learned a lot today!"

"Mrs. Xiao Qin, are you willing to do this too?"

"So what if you don't want to? Now the only promising person in the Gu family is Gu Erlang, and the old Marquis is so ill now. In the future, the entire Gu family will have to rely on Gu Erlang."

"Who would have thought that the former No. [-] dude in Tokyo would now become the pillar of Ningyuan Houfu!"

"..."

The guests were whispering to each other and talking incessantly.

After the bun-tying ceremony at the new house, Gu Er was pulled out by Wang Zhong and others and toasted by the people at the table.

The male guests and the female guests were divided into two places. Gu Yankai was still sitting in a wheelchair, so it was naturally inconvenient to entertain the guests. Fortunately, with King Huan here, Gu Er's fourth and fifth uncles did not dare to be in Gu Er's house even if they felt unhappy. Something happened at the wedding banquet.

In the evening, Minglan and Wang Qier, one on the left and the other on the right, held Wang Zhong's hand and walked in front of the carriage, slowly heading towards the Princess's Mansion.

Time flies, and more than half a month has passed in the blink of an eye. The excitement at Gu Er's wedding has gradually been forgotten by people.

On the contrary, it was another thing that aroused people's heated discussion.

According to legend, on the second day after Gu Er and Mrs. Zhang got married, Ningyuan Hou Gu Yankai was in the Gu family's ancestral hall, arranged a home for his three sons, and entrusted all the Gu family's properties one by one. The housekeeper of Ningyuan Hou Mansion The power was also handed over to Gu Er's eldest wife, Zhang.

Great meeting.

"If you have something to do, leave the court!" The chamberlain's unique drake voice resounded throughout the hall.

"Your Majesty, Wang Zhong, Deputy Envoy of Salt and Iron of the Third Division, has this memorial!"

Every time he went to court, Wang Zhong, who had never expressed much opinions, suddenly walked out of the crowd, walked to the palace, held a wat tablet in his hand, bowed to the ceremony, and said loudly.

"Prelude!"

Zhao Zongquan's voice sounded.

Wang Zhongdao: "Your Majesty, your Majesty, your Majesty, I have been favored by your Majesty. I have been transferred to the Third Division as deputy envoy of salt and iron, in charge of salt affairs. Your Majesty values ​​​​so much, and I will never dare to slack off. Since I joined the Third Division, , first published the accounts for the past ten years, and found that from ten years ago to the sixth year of Jiayou, the late emperor ordered the establishment of additional salt farms in coastal prefectures and counties in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Fujian. In the past few years, the salt tax not only did not increase at all, but became less and less year by year. .

From the sixth year of Jiayou to the present, a total of 48 salt fields have been added in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and other places along the coast. From the sixth year to the eighth year of Jiayou, the salt tax has increased year by year. But by the ninth year of Jiayou, it has declined again, and Chen has transferred the tax again. I spent several months sorting through all the files from the past ten years and found that the salt tax has declined to varying degrees over the years. Although the magnitude is not large, in the past 20 years, although there have been occasional disasters in our country, , but most of the time the weather is smooth, there must be something fishy. I ask your Majesty to issue an order to thoroughly investigate the salt affairs in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Huaihe and Shu!The country has been returned to the Qingming Dynasty. "

"Ai Qing, are you serious about what you said?" Zhao Zongquan asked with a serious look on his face.

"I must not dare to speak nonsense!" Wang Zhong hurriedly took out a letter from his arms and held it in both hands: "This is the total salt tax over the years that I have calculated over the past few months. Your Majesty, please take a look!"

"Bring it up!"

As soon as Zhao Zongquan finished speaking, the internal officials around him immediately bowed and agreed, quickly walked down the jade steps, took the fold from Wang Zhong's hand, and gave it to Zhao Zongquan.

Zhao Zongquan opened the fold and glanced at it hastily, then immediately sat up from the dragon chair, bowed and held the fold, and said to the curtain behind the dragon chair: "Please take a look at it!"

When a chamberlain came out, he respectfully took the fold from Zhao Zongquan's hand, returned behind the curtain, and handed it to the Empress Dowager Cao who was sitting on the phoenix chair.

"what?"

Empress Dowager Cao was a little unconcerned at first. If there had been problems with the salt affairs over the years, wouldn't Emperor Jiayou have discovered it? But when she read the icon attached to the back of Wang Jue's fold, she couldn't help but be shocked.

"So much less?"

If it's just a few hundred thousand taels of silver, that's it. But every year it's a few hundred thousand, and after a few years it reaches a million. Over the years, the total has already exceeded ten million.

Even Empress Cao, who had been the Lord of the Sixth Palace for more than 30 years, could not help but be moved when she saw the data and charts compiled by Wang Zhong.

"I would like to inform you that six years ago, Jiayou, the Salt and Iron Department had a large amount of salt tax every year. Even if the salt tax fluctuated, it only amounted to a few hundred thousand taels of silver. When the late emperor was in power, we and the Liao Kingdom , Xixia has been repaired for many years, and there has been no war on the border for nearly 10 years. Even if there are occasional natural disasters, it is just a scabies disease. Even if it is affected by private salt among the people, the salt tax will never be reduced so much every year. Please The eldest lady is aware of this."

"From the second year of Huangyou to the sixth year of Jiayou, in just 20 years, the salt tax dropped by 300 million taels! Where did so much money go?"

"Thorough investigation, this matter must be thoroughly investigated!"

At this moment, Queen Cao was like an angry tigress, roaring excitedly.

"What the eldest lady said is true!" As the emperor, Zhao Zongquan, like a minister, bowed to Empress Dowager Cao and said: "Salt tax is the cornerstone of the imperial court and must not be tolerated!"

"Wang Zhong!"

"Wei Chen is here!"

Empress Dowager Cao's voice changed and she suddenly said: "You are the deputy envoy of Yantie, who do you think this matter should be handed over to investigate?"

Wang Zhong was fine, but Zhao Zongquan, who was standing next to the dragon chair and bowed to face the curtain, froze, as if he felt the eyes that came out from behind the curtain and were looking at him.

"The imperial court has its own laws, and as the deputy envoy of salt and iron, the minister should avoid suspicion." Wang Zhong replied loudly, neither humble nor arrogant.

After a moment of pause, Queen Cao's voice sounded again: "What does the emperor think?"

Zhao Zongquan cupped his hands and said: "What Deputy Ambassador Wang said is not unreasonable. Since the imperial court has laws, then just act in accordance with the laws."

Empress Dowager Cao seemed quite satisfied with Zhao Zongquan's answer: "I wonder what Mr. Han has to say?"

Han Zhang, who was ranked first among the civil servants, walked to the palace, bowed and bowed his hands and said: "Back to the Queen! The matter of salt affairs involves the country's foundation. It should be reviewed by the three departments of Dali Temple, the Ministry of Punishment, and the Yushitai to set the record straight. "

"Since there are regulations, then just follow the regulations!"

Zhao Zongquan rushed behind the curtain and cupped his hands, sat back on the dragon chair, and glanced at the ministers below, but he didn't know what to think in his heart.

As an emperor, he is like a minister. There is a Supreme Emperor sitting above his head. All matters in the court can only be decided after asking the Empress Dowager Cao. At the beginning, the Empress Dowager Cao would ask him for the emperor's opinion, but recently Later, this situation changed.Wang Zhong retreated to the court, and Empress Dowager Cao ordered Qi Heng out again and asked about the progress of the investigation of the remnant party that rebelled against the king.

After the court meeting dispersed and they left the main hall, Gu Er hurriedly chased after him, holding Wang Zhong in the corridor and waiting for King Huan to arrive before the three of them walked out together.

"After today, I'm afraid the accusations against Zihou will pile up again!" Gu Er sighed, shaking his head.

"Zihou, don't worry." King Huan said: "The salt affairs have been corrupted, and my father has long wanted to rectify them. However, the situation was not stable before, and there was another disturbance in the southern border, so it was suppressed. Now the war has calmed down, and the situation has gradually stabilized. After that, it’s time to rectify the salt affairs.”

Wang Zhong said: "I'm afraid this matter is not that simple."

King Huan nodded solemnly and said: "Salt tax is the most important tax for the imperial court every year. No matter how difficult it is, it must be thoroughly investigated."

······
Within a few days, Qi Heng and his government servants went to the Gu family's four- and five-bedroom home and kidnapped Gu Er's two cousins, Gu Tingdi and Gu Tingbing Wuhua, and took them to the Kaifeng government office and put them in jail.

This suddenly stirred up a hornet's nest, but this swarm of hornets was not targeting Qi Heng, but Gu Er.

Fortunately, although Gu Yankai was seriously ill, he was still conscious, but could not walk and spoke normally.

After another half month, the investigation of the case of the rebels against the king gradually came to an end. The Ministry of Punishment also sent people to the Salt and Iron Division, transferred all the account books and files over the years, and began to investigate the salt tax case. Yushitai and Dali Temple began to investigate. Supervisor, it's just that this case involves too many areas and it won't be clear for a while.

However, the Salt and Iron Division was under investigation, so Wang Zhong was temporarily free. Seeing that Minglan's belly was getting bigger day by day, Wang Zhong pulled Minglan, Wang Qier, and Shulan's family to run Lived in a village outside the city.

Minglan also specially asked Cuiwei to go back to Sheng's house, and asked Mrs. Sheng to lead Changdong and Wei Shuyi to meet at Zhuangzi.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and the chestnuts are almost ripe. There are dozens of chestnut trees on the hill above the village. Early in the morning, as soon as the sun breaks, Wang Qianer, Wang Xu, and Changdong are ready, carrying bamboo poles. , took pliers and baskets on their backs and went straight to the chestnut forest. It was not until three o'clock in the morning that one person came back carrying a basket of chestnuts in the shell.

The chestnut is not yet ripe, and the shell has not cracked, but it is almost full in size. The flesh inside is also very tender, and the skin is mostly light yellow and white. It is the best time to eat it raw.

Farmers would naturally not thresh chestnuts at this time, because these unripe tender chestnuts are not easy to store and will go bad after a few days. Chestnuts can be used as food rations for ordinary people, so how can they be willing to waste them like this? .

Wang Zhong took Minglan and the old lady to the lake, each holding a fishing rod, and caught fish.

Wang Li, Shulan and Wei Shuyi went into the kitchen to make pastries and exchange cooking skills.

There was no intrigue or intrigue, and the life was comfortable and free.

Wang Zhong stayed in Zhuangzi for seven days. When he needed to go to the government office, he rode back to the city early in the morning. in town.

In early September, there will be a great meeting.

A certain minor official who had already joined Emperor Xining's service suddenly submitted a petition to posthumously grant a title to Zhao Zongquan's biological father, King Xianshu.

Immediately, the Yuzhou clan and the Grand Prime Minister Han Zhang, who had already turned to Emperor Xining, proposed to honor King Xian Shu as the "Huang Kao", but they were immediately opposed by a large number of civil and military officials.

Liu Xun, the Minister of Rites, pointed directly at Han Zhang's nose and cursed: "Kao is the father and the concubine is the mother. In the past, when Your Majesty was the crown prince, he had already adopted the name of the late emperor and the empress dowager, and it was on the royal family tree. He already belongs to the lineage of the late emperor and has nothing to do with King Xianshu. Now the late emperor is your majesty’s father, and the empress dowager is your majesty’s mother. The Grand Prime Minister asked your majesty to honor King Xianshu as the emperor. Where will the late emperor be? Where is the eldest lady?"

"Does the Grand Prime Minister want to trap His Majesty in being unfilial and unjust?"

"Your Majesty is aware of this, and your Majesty is aware of this. I have absolutely no intention of doing so!" Han Zhang immediately defended himself.

Liu Xun snorted coldly, glared at Han Zhang, bowed towards the dragon chair and said, "Your Majesty, please punish Han Zhang for his crimes!"

"Shilang Liu, what you said is wrong." As soon as Liu Xun finished speaking, someone else stood up and said, "King Xianshu is your Majesty's biological father. If there is no King Xianshu, how can you have your Majesty..."

But there are also many people who disagree with respecting King Xianshu as the 'Huang Kao': "How can one son have two fathers! Your Majesty is adopted into the names of the late Emperor and the Queen Mother, so naturally..."

Within a moment, a quarrel broke out in the court hall. The two sides were arguing fiercely, and everyone quoted scriptures without using any curse words.

Suddenly, the Dachaohui became a vegetable market.

The quarrel lasted until the next court, but no explanation was reached. Not long after the court ended, a memorial letter was delivered to Zhao Zongquan's case like snowflakes, basically all of them were to impeach Han Zhang.

Some officials headed by Han Zhang and the Yuzhou clan insisted on calling King Xianshu "Huang Kao". Headed by the Ministry of Rites, Yushitai, Tai, Jian Eryuan, Yushitai, Hanlin Academy and other civil officials were clear. The gathered yamen firmly opposed this matter and believed that it was illegal.

Some people even accused Han Zhang of bending the knee and trying to sow discord between the official family and the Queen Mother in front of Han Zhang. The words were not too straightforward or too unpleasant to listen to.

This quarrel lasted for several months, but they still couldn't come up with a solution. Once the quarrel got serious, Liu Xun, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, was so excited that he spit on Han Zhang directly in the court hall, and said to Han Zhang Zhang cursed loudly, saying that all the books he had read for so many years had gone into the dog's belly, and so on. His posture was no worse than those women who were scolding on the street.

If it weren't for a few colleagues nearby, Liu Xun would have given Han Zhang a hard time on the spot.

Then he was thrown out by the soldiers and was punished with three months' imprisonment and one month's grounding for disgrace in front of the emperor.

But without Liu Xun, the voices of opposition did not diminish, but became more intense. Among them, Qi Heng, a fledgling, was the most vocal.

The attention of all civil and military officials was attracted by this matter. Wang Zhong's previous proposal to thoroughly investigate the salt affairs was blocked. However, the investigation of the Salt and Iron Division by the Ministry of Punishment, Yushitai, and Dali Temple was never carried out. It has not stopped, and has even sent personnel to Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Huaihe and Shu.

After the court came down that day, the red-faced colleagues who were arguing in the court saw that they were extremely jealous of each other. They snorted coldly, said that they were different and did not want to work together, and they walked away.

Wang Zhong and Gu Er were stopped by two young chamberlains. After King Huan arrived, they followed King Huan straight to the palace.

The three of them waited in the pavilion in the imperial garden for only a short while. Emperor Xining, who had already changed into regular clothes, arrived. The three of them hurriedly got up to greet him.

"No need to be formal, please sit down!" Emperor Xiping sat down first and raised his hand to signal the three of them to sit down.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for the seat!"

The three of them sat around the table. Naturally, there was not enough space for a few people to stand in the small pavilion. Except for the two serving female officials, the rest of the internal servants were sent far away.

Emperor Xiping's eyes fell on Wang Zhong first and said, "Does Zihou still remember the reorganization of the Imperial City Department that was reported earlier?"

"Your Majesty, have you encountered any difficulties?" Wang Zhong asked.

Emperor Xiping sighed and said: "I deeply agree with what Zihou said earlier. I asked Ying'er to reorganize the Imperial City Division three months ago!"

"The Imperial City Department is under the Ministry of Internal Affairs!" Zhao Ceying next to him added.

Wang Zhong instantly understood that the so-called Ministry of Internal Affairs refers to the eunuchs in the palace who had served as the Imperial City Department. Those who could take on this important task were all the emperor's confidants. Those who had previously served as the Imperial City Department, Naturally, he was the confidant of Emperor Jiayou. Although Emperor Jiayou has passed away, Empress Dowager Cao is still alive and holds great power and prestige. Moreover, Empress Dowager Cao has been in charge of the harem for more than 30 years. Those high-ranking maids in the palace They are all the confidants of Empress Dowager Cao, so how can the eunuchs who are involved in the Imperial City Department be an exception.

"When King Ni rebelled and forced the palace, the Imperial City Secretary failed to notice it, causing the late emperor and the Queen Mother to fall into danger and almost died at the hands of King Ni. Everyone in the Imperial City Secretary must be blamed. Since Your Majesty wants to reorganize the Imperial City Division, why not be more thorough and form an independent army of the Imperial City Division, eliminate the old, weak, sick and disabled among them, recruit soldiers from good families, and train them again!"

"Form an independent army and retrain?" Zhao Zongquan and Zhao Ceying looked at each other, and then looked at Wang Zhong in unison.

Gu Er, who was standing next to him, looked at Wang Zhong hurriedly and asked, "What Zi Hou means is to recruit new soldiers, train them using the same method as training scouts, and then disperse them after they are trained to act as eyes and ears?"

It has to be said that Gu Er's thinking is really quick and he can make guesses in an instant.

"More than that!" Wang Zhong said: "Being the eyes and ears is only one aspect, but more importantly, it is to allow His Majesty to have an army that is completely in His Majesty's hands!"

The eyes of father and son Zhao Zongquan and Zhao Ceying lit up instantly.

The nature of the Imperial City Division is somewhat similar to that of the Black Ice Terrace in the Qin Dynasty, the Bad Guys in the Tang Dynasty, and the Imperial Guards in the Ming Dynasty. However, to some extent, the power and means of the Imperial City Division are far inferior to those of the other three. .

The Imperial City Division that Wang Zhong suggested to Zhao Zongquan to reorganize was the new Yamen that initially had most of the powers of Jin Yiwei.

Listening to Wang Zhong's detailed explanation in simple terms, the eyes of the father and son became brighter and brighter.