The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"Master Wei, please take care of me this time and complete the emperor's mission as soon as possible so that we can return to Beijing as soon as possible."

At this time, Chen Ju, who finally got rid of the surrounding compliments of He Shou, Xu Pengju and others, walked out of the crowd and bowed his hands to Wei Guangde.

Speaking of Xu Pengju, the dignified Duke of Wei was also one of the most important figures in the Ming Dynasty. However, on this occasion, he chose to curry favor with Chen Ju and He Shou. He was a eunuch in the palace, but he treated him the same as Xu Pengju. Traveling south, I asked for help.

In fact, the reason is very simple, that is, Chen Ju is an imperial eunuch and Gao Zhong's godson.

But now, Chen Ju saluted and said hello to Wei Guangde first, which puzzled He Shou, Xu Pengju and others.

Wei Guangde didn't know what was going on and couldn't figure out why Chen Ju was giving him such face on this occasion. He hurriedly returned the gift and said repeatedly: "Don't you dare, we are all on the emperor's mission. We should do our best to serve the court and share the worries of the emperor." .”

It was a very formulaic answer, but Wei Guangde saw a different meaning in Chen Ju's eyes.

When Wei Guangde saw this look, his heart suddenly trembled. Brother Chen must have come with a secret order again.

Every time Emperor Jiajing gave orders, he always asked Chen Ju to come to see him. Last year, Chen Ju obviously wanted to distance himself from him, but when Wei Guangde went south on errands according to the order, Chen Ju came again uninvited and brought Jiajing with him. The emperor's note asked him to investigate the actual situation of the people in the southern prefectures and to know whether the people in the south were still stable after the increase in taxes.

Wei Guangde had already arranged for people to investigate these matters before, and then wrote a memorial and sent it up through the Jinyiwei channel.

As far as Wei Guangde knows now, the people in the south are extremely heavily taxed, and the main reason for the increase is not the increase in military pay by Hu Zongxian, but the increase in dispatches from local officials.

In order to collect the increased taxes and levies, the local government's expenditures will naturally increase, and the increased part will be additional dispatches, which are several times the increase in taxes.

For whatever reason, Wei Guangde was clear in his mind, but he just reported the information to the emperor about what he had learned. Emperor Jiajing's choice was not within his scope of consideration.

Finally, he made his own analysis. The southern prefectures and counties were close to the limit of the pressure they could withstand. If the Japanese invasion could not be eliminated within a short period of time and the increase in taxes and dispatches was abolished, civil unrest might break out among the people in the south.

Later, the Nanjing officialdom held another luxurious banquet for Chen Ju and Wei Guangde, of course, mainly to welcome Chen Ju.

Chen Ju only rested for two days after arriving in Nanjing. At his urging, the Nanjing Criminal Department, together with Dali Temple and Nanjing Kedao, conducted a arraignment on the prisoners involved in the Zhenwuying mutiny. The verdict was carried out very quickly, and all the prisoners confessed. To be honest, the case was concluded in just three days.

However, what surprised Wei Guangde was that in the past few days, Chen Ju had not come to see him alone. Even if they met in court, it was businesslike.

Privately, Wei Guogong Xu Pengju also asked him about his relationship with Chen Ju, but Wei Guangde naturally would not say that he had a good relationship with Chen Ju in the past, but they had become separated for some reason recently. He only said that they knew each other in the capital and had met a few times.

Since he couldn't find anything out through insinuations, Xu Pengju lost interest in continuing to inquire.

Only Xu Bangrui noticed something and privately asked Wei Guangde if he had a good relationship with Eunuch Gao Zhonggao in the palace.

After all, the investigation of Li Bin left a deep impression on Xu Bangrui. At that time, he guessed that Wei Guangde had strong support in the palace before he dared to give him a guarantee. Now seeing Chen Ju's attitude towards Wei Guangde, he naturally guessed Wei Guangde's backstage in the palace may be Gao Zhong.

Gao Zhong was definitely one of the most trusted eunuchs of Emperor Jiajing. Not only had he been with Emperor Jiajing for a long time, but he was also the eunuch who had held the hand of the Royal Horse Supervisor.

Although he didn't get the answer from Wei Guangde, in Xu Bangrui's view, this was the truth.

Because of the Zhenwu Camp mutiny in late February, several messages were passed back and forth with Beijing, and the time quietly entered the end of March, and it was about to enter April.

After completing the sentencing of more than 20 troublemakers in Zhenwu Camp, Wei Guangde and the others' errands in Nanjing were over, and they were ready to head north and return to the capital.

This season, the weather is getting warmer, and the suspended Grand Canal has gradually restored its traffic capacity. Even the Shandong section received news two days ago that ships can be crossed, so Wei Guangde and Chen Ju went to court for the last time to read out their condolences to the soldiers involved in the case. After the verdict, it was settled in a few simple words of communication, and we took the canal and headed north back to Beijing.

By this time, Wei Guangde's heart was in his stomach.

Although I don’t know how the inner court assigned the task of sending the imperial edict to the capital, Chen Ju has not come to see him alone until now. This means that Chen Ju’s trip south this time was just a general edict mission and did not bring him anything from the Jiajing Emperor. Secret decree, this is undoubtedly good news.

The Grand Canal runs through the north and south, stretching thousands of miles across.

Pi Rixiu, a poet of the late Tang Dynasty, wrote in "Reminiscences of the Bianhe River": "Even after the death of the Sui Dynasty, this river has been connected to the waves for thousands of miles. If there was no dragon boat incident in the Water Palace, Yu would not have given much credit."

Hu Zeng, a poet of the same period, also wrote a poem "Bianshui": "Once the thousand-mile long river opens, the waves will come in nine days. The brocade sail has not fallen and the war has passed, and the melancholy dragon boat will not return."

It can be seen that since the construction of the Grand Canal in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it has been an important transportation channel connecting the north and the south. Even if the Sui Dynasty perished as a result, in the eyes of the scholars at that time, the construction of the Grand Canal was still a great blessing.

With the re-opening of the canal, the number of ships on the canal has naturally increased.

On this day, two official boats were traveling from south to north. On the first boat stood a man wearing a blue official robe. It was obvious that this man already had an official status.

But if you look closely, you can see that he is not very old, he seems to be around twenty years old. People who see him can't help but think that he is not another guy who has been protected by his ancestors. Otherwise, how can he get a Jinshi and get an official position at such a young age.

At this time, he stood on the bow of the ship and looked into the distance. The Grand Canal emptied from the depths of the white clouds on the horizon. "It's really spectacular."

"Haha, since it's so spectacular, why don't Brother Wei compose an impromptu poem?"

The cabin door opened not far behind him, and a man in the same green robe came out. Although he was also in a green robe, the style of his official uniform was different from that of the previous man. He was wearing eunuch clothes.

"Brother Chen, stop laughing at me and write poetry in your next life."

The man on the bow just smiled, turned around and said to the eunuch behind.

Things were done in Nanjing and they rested for two more days. Wei Guangde and Chen Ju were sent off by Nanjing officials and boarded the official ship returning north. Now the ship has passed Yangzhou and is sailing towards Huai'an.

In the past few days on the ship, Chen Ju and Wei Guangde had more contact, and they would talk more when watching the canal scenery from the bow and stern of the ship.

"You go and stay in the cabin, it's windy outside."

At this time, Chen Ju, who walked to the bow of the ship, turned around and gave instructions to the two young chamberlains behind him.

"yes."

Two effeminate replies reached Wei Guangde's ears, causing him to frown slightly, but he relaxed in an instant.

Chen Ju's tone of voice also had a hint of this, but maybe it was intentional, or maybe he was more yang-y, at least so that Wei Guangde wouldn't be too disgusted when communicating with him.

As a straight man, in later generations, Wei Guangde could not stand the way some so-called Xiaoxianrou imitated the K-pop outfits, which were so effeminate.

After the two young chamberlains entered the cabin, Chen Ju said: "After you enter Prince Yu's Mansion, we can't have too much contact in the capital."

In the past few days on the boat, Chen Ju also felt the alienation between him and Wei Guangde, but there were some things that he didn't do well when he was in the capital, or he didn't dare to say them. He only did it when he was alone with Wei Guangde outside the capital. Open your mouth and say something.

"Huh? When did I enter Prince Yu's Mansion?"

Wei Guangde turned around and looked at Chen Ju in surprise and asked.

"Last year at the Aoshan Lantern Festival, you and Prince Yu had a great conversation. I was watching from the city wall."

Chen Ju said softly with a smile on his lips.

"Whether you fall into Prince Yu's eyes, your future achievements will only be greater."

When Chen Ju said this, he turned to look at Wei Guangde meaningfully.

This look made Wei Guangde's heart tremble. The meaning of these words was so clear. He seemed to have made the right bet.

However, Wei Guangde immediately frowned and said to Chen Ju: "Brother Chen, I seem to understand what you mean, but you have also read the arrival report sent to Nanjing this time. I'm afraid you knew it when you were in the capital. That Guo Xiyan was because of The memorial was beheaded."

To be honest, when I saw the arrival report, Wei Guangde and his party were still in Nanjing and had not set off. After Wei Guangde understood the reason, he frowned. If he had been in the capital, he would have gone to Gao Gong, Yin Shizhen and others to curse. One pass.

It was a good idea at the beginning, and it was not necessary to go to the memorial to discuss the matter of vassalage. Guo Xiyan wrote a letter asking King Jing to accept vassalage. It seemed as if he, the elder brother, could not tolerate his younger brother. Although it was a court system, before the emperor expressed his stance, You shouldn't do this.

Yes, Wei Guangde thought that Guo Xiyan's memorial was due to Prince Yu's palace. Even if the report only said that it was Guo Xiyan's personal behavior, in the eyes of most people, it was undoubtedly the result of Prince Yu's instigation.

Well, the person was beheaded, which gave a bad impression to the outer court. It seemed that King Yu was really not favored by Emperor Jiajing, and perhaps King Yu's decree on the vassal was issued that day.

"That idiot Guo Xiyan, he is not from Prince Yu's Palace, nor did Prince Yu's Palace ask him to do that. He was frustrated in his official career, so he just wanted to take advantage of opportunities and gain support. It would not be unfair to kill him."

Chen Ju just replied calmly.

Before and after the killing of Guo Xiyan, he was waiting in the main hall. He saw everything that should be seen and what should not be seen. Even because of his position, what he saw was even more loyal than his godfather, and even more loyal than his elder brother. Eunuch Huang Jindu has more.

"Prince Jing went to watch the Aoshan Lantern Festival. The emperor never went up to the tower to watch. Only when Prince Yu went down did he go up to the tower to watch the lanterns and fireworks. It's just a pity for the emperor's grandson."

Chen Ju's seemingly casual words made Wei Guangde's heart tremble again.

He knew the motto that two dragons should not meet each other, and guessed that Emperor Jiajing was unwilling to meet the two kings because of this.

However, he didn't expect not to meet each other, but Emperor Jiajing was peeping.

The meaning of meeting is naturally that two people can see each other. As long as one party cannot see it, it naturally does not count as meeting.

Wei Guangde soon understood Emperor Jiajing's thoughts. He didn't feel funny, but felt a little pitiful.

"Well, it's the same thing about the emperor's grandson."

Wei Guangde couldn't continue after saying a few words. When Gao Gong had someone notify him of this matter, he felt as if the sky was falling.

The two sons of Emperor Jiajing had been married for many years, but they both had difficulties with their heirs. That is to say, King Yu had such a son, and there was no news from King Jing. What an advantage, but he died unexpectedly.

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde suddenly felt that after returning to the capital, he should ask Gao Gong if he wanted to get some medicine for King Yu to cheer him up, so that he could exercise more at night and try to create another grandson in front of King Jing.

After all, if we have the first one, it means we can still create the second and third ones.

Regarding Prince Yu's private life, Wei Guangde did not know, and chatting with Gao Gong and others would naturally not involve the prince's privacy. Only those who worked in Prince Yu's palace would know more about it.

"Your Majesty is interested in Prince Yu. It's good for you to know, as long as Prince Yu doesn't make any mistakes."

At this time, Chen Ju suddenly said in a very low voice, a volume that only Wei Guangde could hear.

When Wei Guangde heard this, he had nothing to be upset about this time. He just nodded slightly to show that he understood.

This is a notification and a reminder.

"After returning to Beijing, let's not have any private contact if there is no big deal. I am in front of the imperial court, and it is not good to move around too much with people from Prince Yu's palace."

Chen Ju went on to say, which seemed to be explaining the reason for his sudden alienation from him last year.

Wei Guangde nodded, understanding that Chen Ju was protecting himself and him.

Wei Guangde suddenly had a suspicion, was the end of Emperor Jiajing approaching?

Wei Guangde remembered hearing someone say that when some old people had a premonition that their end was coming, some people suddenly became enlightened, and some people were not the only ones. They still had many things in their hearts that they couldn't let go of, so they became more suspicious.

Emperor, can he let it go?

Of course, Wei Guangde could only hide this idea in his heart and did not dare to ask.

What a sin to curse the king.

The official ship left Nanzhili and passed Shandong, arriving outside the capital in a few days.

When the official ship docked steadily at the pier, the boatman set up the gangplank, and Wei Guangde and Chen Ju got off the ship one after another. After saying goodbye to each other, they got on their respective carriages and entered the city.

When the ship docked in Tongzhou, they sent someone to deliver a message to the capital, so a carriage was waiting at the dock for a long time.

Chen Ju was an eunuch. When he returned to Beijing on a foreign mission, he had to go to the inner court to report first, while Wei Guangde needed to make a petition and wait for the emperor's instructions whether to summon him or not and give him a few days' leave.

Wei Guangde calculated that it had been half a year since his trip. Emperor Jiajing should have given him more than half a month of vacation.

The carriage quickly drove out of the pier and entered Beijing city soon.

Although he left for half a year, the prosperity of the capital remains the same.

Wei Guangde looked at the markets on both sides through the curtains of the carriage. Businesses were bustling and pedestrians were everywhere. If there were no wars in the border towns and the Japanese invasion along the southern coast, this would be a scene of prosperity.

However, Wei Guangde soon discovered something was wrong. There seemed to be more royal guards on both sides of the street than usual.