Dafeng Night Watchman-Chapter 599 - Recommendation

2:45 in the morning!

Outside the Meridian Gate, the cold wind howled.

Beijing officials arrived at the palace in carriages one after another, and then walked to the Meridian Gate.

The howling cold wind was like a steel knife scraping bones, swaying the lanterns hanging on the city tower and the stone lanterns on the roadside, and blowing the torches in the hands of the guards to shake violently.

The officials were wrapped in thick cloaks and windproof hats. Careful people could find that no matter how high or low their rank or how much power they had, everyone was dressed very simply.

The cloak was made of wool and the hat was made of rat skin.

The slightly more affluent families in the capital could also wear this outfit.

The attitude of the Beijing officials was very clear. They were all poor people who had enough food and clothing. Where did the money come from to donate?

At this time, there was still half an hour before the court meeting. The officials gathered in twos and threes and discussed in a low voice.

The censor who supervised the order turned a blind eye to this.

"Your Majesty is determined to make trouble for us by holding court every day."

"Yes, otherwise, just donate some silver, it's not much..."

"Lord Yang is confused. He said that we can only donate three months' salary, but it's actually a trick of His Majesty to bluff. I just want to ask you, when the time comes, Prime Minister Wang will take the initiative to donate one year's salary. Will you respond or not? Do you really think this donation is enough? It's just to pry open our mouths first."

"This... Lord Zhu makes sense, Yang understands."

........

"We must not let go of this matter , just as we discussed yesterday. As long as we follow the steps of the gentlemen and don't give in, His Majesty will only give us a few more days. "

"Alas, I am a clean-handed person, and the house I live in is still rented. The capital has begun to lack food. How can we live if we donate our salaries?"

"We are all clean-handed scholars like Lord Zhao."

.......

"My lords, it's cold and I'm not feeling well. I can't stand it. Why don't we donate according to His Majesty's wishes?"

This is an official who is in a wait-and-see state and prefers to donate.

The officials around him immediately showed their anger: "Lord Li is too confused. Snowstorms continue in various places. There is a shortage of food, coal and silver. How can we fill the treasury with our meager salaries?"

"Lord Li only sees the present, but does not think deeper. The reason why you are gritting your teeth is that you have set a precedent. If there is one, there will be two. If there is two, there will be three. When your majesty is short of money in a while, you will donate again. Are we going to starve to death?"

"Such a simple truth, but the scholar Xu Xinnian can't understand it."

"It's not that he doesn't understand it, it's clearly pretending to be deaf and dumb to please your majesty."

"This boy is self-righteous, relying on his cousin's prestige, and he is arrogant. Recently, he has been with the Prime Minister, so he is a little arrogant."

"Hey, he is not a son."

An official spat fiercely.

On the other side, Zhang Xingying, who was promoted to Right Censor-in-Chief, slowly approached Liu Hong and sighed in a low voice:

"Your Highness's idea is very good. If you can call on the scholar-official class to donate, and then the local government can call on the gentry to donate, with money and food, it can greatly alleviate the disaster and curb the refugees.

"As long as we survive this winter, the people will see the hope of spring plowing and will not make trouble everywhere.

"It's a pity that your majesty has just ascended the throne, your reputation is not enough, and your foundation is not stable. Duke Wei has passed away, otherwise he would have joined hands with Prime Minister Wang to promote donations.

"Now... Alas, some of our people are dissatisfied. "

His Highness Huaiqing urged Xu Erlang to make a report, but the former Wei party members were not aware of it at first.

Afterwards, several key personnel discussed and believed that this plan would be difficult to succeed and would encounter great obstacles.

First of all, it is extremely difficult to get money from the pockets of civil and military officials. We all came from the period of Emperor Jing of Yuan Dynasty. How could we not know each other's character?

Taking bribes and collecting money without limit.

Is it really the fault of the late emperor that Dafeng has been weak until now? The late emperor was not upright, and the people below followed suit.

It is not enough to collect money at ordinary times, and it is conceivable how great the resistance is to expect to get a handful of wool from these old gluttons.

Secondly, this "cold disaster" that almost broke the camel's back ", who knows when it will end, it's only been a month since winter began, and it's not colder yet.

By then, the court still has no money, what will Your Majesty do? Call for donations again?

In the end, this is essentially a court game.

The emperor and the officials actually belong to two opposing camps. The new monarch did this when he came to power, which made the civil service group smell a hint of bad smell.

Whether it is out of position or out of love of money, they instinctively resisted and resisted.

Don't say Emperor Yongxing, Emperor Yuan Jing did this when he came to power, and he would also encounter resistance.

Liu Hong glanced at the officials who were gathered in groups and whispered to each other:

"Perhaps, at this time, His Majesty Huaiqing is watching coldly. Who agrees to donate; who agrees in their hearts but dares not offend the public; who is so stingy that he is unwilling to spit out a penny. "

Zhang Xingying suddenly realized: "She knows that this plan is not feasible?"

He frowned: "If so, wouldn't it harm Xu Cijiu. "

Liu Hong smiled and said, "Not really. He has the support of Prime Minister Wang. At most, he will sit on the bench for a few years."

Zhang Xingying nodded and sighed:

"I still hope to get this done. The treasury is really out of money. Now the refugees are making trouble everywhere. There are signs of chaos in the country. If it is not extinguished soon, there will be chaos sooner or later."

Liu Hong showed a meaningful smile. At this time, a commotion in the distance attracted the two of them.

Liu Hong and Zhang Xingying squinted and looked over. They saw a young official in a green robe standing in front of Xu Xinnian, who was also wearing a green robe, cursing and spitting.

Liu Hong's eyes were not very good. He looked for a long time and asked:

"Who is that?"

Zhang Xingying smiled and said, "This year's third place winner, Qian Mu. "

Liu Hong also laughed:

"Is it the young man who wrote a memorial to accuse the Minister of Personnel of corruption and bribery, and even implicated a group of officials in the Ministry of Personnel?

"It seems that he has been sitting on the bench for too long, and his butt can't stand the cold, so he came here to pledge his allegiance."

Zhang Xingying shook his head: "Being used as a gun for others will indeed be profitable in the short term, but in the long run, hey, what good will he expect to get after angering His Majesty."

Liu Hong smiled and said: "It doesn't matter. He pledged his allegiance and joined the Qing Party, and he can still be an official. As long as he keeps a low profile in the future, His Majesty can still keep an eye on him?"

There was a lot of laughter and chatter on this side, but on the other side, the situation was tense.

Qian Mu pointed at Xu Xinnian and said aggressively:

"It's a very cold year. The honest people in the court are short of rice and charcoal. Not everyone is like Xu Tanhua, who has a huge fortune and a luxurious life.

"With three months' salary, how can those colleagues who are honest and upright survive this winter?"

Without waiting for Xu Xinnian to speak, he sneered and said sarcastically:

"You came up with such a ridiculous plan to please His Majesty, you little bastard. I am a colleague of yours and I feel ashamed."

The officials watching on the side echoed him.

Xu Xinnian said expressionlessly, "I am doing this for the common people and I have a clear conscience."

"What a clear conscience!"

Qian Mu laughed three times and said loudly, "I am willing to give away all my property to fill the treasury and provide relief to the victims. Xu Tanhua, since you have a clear conscience and are serving the people, do you dare to donate all your property like me?"

After saying this, there was a burst of applause from all around:

"Mr. Qian is a man of high character."

"Mr. Qian is righteous."

A series of mischievous eyes turned to Xu Xinnian.

Xu Xinnian frowned. Qian Mu's words were really shameless. The Xu family had a number of shops, fertile land, and the chicken essence dividends left by his eldest brother, but what did the other party have?

Although he was not penniless, he had been sitting on the bench for so long, and his family probably only had a few buckets of rice and a few taels of silver.

But he couldn't reason with him, because whether it was Qian Mu, the people behind him, or the officials around him, they were not reasonable with him.

He is here to pick a fight.

If he ignores him, Xu Xinnian might be labeled a "hypocrite" after the court meeting.

At this moment, Wang Shoufu came over, without saying anything, but just glanced at the officials around him coldly.

All the officials immediately fell silent.

Qian Mu smiled. Regardless of whether Xu Xinnian responded or not, what he wanted to express had been conveyed.

There was no movement after that until the hour of Mao arrived and the drum sounded.

All the civil and military officials remained silent, passed through the Meridian Gate, crossed the Jinshui Bridge, and lined up in order of rank.

Only that small group of people could enter the Golden Palace.

As one of the core figures of this turmoil, Xu Xinnian was also allowed to enter the palace, but he had to stand at the entrance of the palace.

As the officials entered the palace, Emperor Yongxing arrived a few minutes later.

He sat high on the dragon throne, overlooking the ministers, and said loudly:

"The disaster situation in various places is serious. As the king of a country, I am very sad. Do you have any good ideas for disaster relief?"

The officials and nobles below showed an expression of "I knew it earlier" and made a few insignificant suggestions, such as reducing taxes and calling on gentry to donate.

Emperor Yongxing said:

"Since donations are required, the court and the ministers should set an example. In this way, the gentry will be willing to donate, and it can also warn the officials to avoid them from lining their pockets."

If only the gentry are called on to donate, as expected, the money will most likely be exploited at all levels.

Read 𝓁atest chapters at fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm Only.

Several party leaders and nobles tacitly stepped out one after another and shouted "No".

At this time, the Dali Temple Minister came out and said in a deep voice:

"Your Majesty, the atmosphere in the court is corrupt and the wind of corruption is prevalent, so that the treasury is empty, and donations can only treat the symptoms but not the root cause. If you want to provide disaster relief, you must first eliminate the evil wind."

After the voice fell, the warmongering, the Ministry of Revenue, stepped out and said loudly:

"Your Majesty, I want to impeach Xu Xinnian, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, for accepting bribes."

No one in the hall spoke, and no one questioned what kind of bribes the Hanlin Academy scholars could accept, as if they had already expected such a thing.

The Ministry of Personnel stepped out and said loudly:

"Your Majesty, I want to impeach Xu Xinnian, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, for accepting bribes under the banner of Wang Shoufu."

Then, the six ministers stepped out one after another to impeach Xu Xinnian.

All those who could stand in the Golden Palace were old hands, and they immediately understood what tricks these people were playing.

This was their counterattack.

Use Xu Erlang as a starting point to resist Emperor Yongxing and Wang Shoufu.

Doing so will not completely anger Emperor Yongxing and Wang Shoufu, but also show their attitude and tell Emperor Yongxing that we will kill your vanguards, one by one.

At the same time, it tactfully warns Wang Shoufu that although the Wang Party is powerful, it has not yet reached the point of covering the sky with one hand, and there are also voices of disapproval in the Wang Party.

Did Xu Xinnian accept gifts?

The answer is yes.

As the future son-in-law of Wang Shoufu, members of the Wang Party have given him many gifts, and in the officialdom, only those who accept gifts are their own people.

He wants to integrate into the Wang Party as a student of Yunlu Academy, so he can't be too noble.

Although Xu Xinnian turned down many expensive gifts, this cannot change the facts.

"In the officialdom, keeping oneself clean is a good way to accomplish nothing, while being in the limelight can easily become a handle for political enemies to attack and destroy you when the storm is at its peak. Therefore, the core problem is that the power is not strong enough.

"The problem to be solved is: to win over more people."

Xu Xinnian suddenly realized.

Some of the officials in the hall were observing the expression of Emperor Yongxing, and some were examining Wang Shoufu.

See how they would respond.

If Emperor Yongxing protected Xu Xinnian, they would have a back-up plan. If Wang Shoufu came forward, they would also have a back-up plan, such as dragging him down and impeaching him together.

Now they are the party that has the upper hand.

No one noticed that Liu Hong came out slowly and bowed:

"Your Majesty, I think the Dali Temple Minister is right. The treasury is empty and taxes are difficult to collect because some people are corrupt and accept bribes.

"Therefore, I ask Your Majesty to strictly investigate all officials and rectify the atmosphere."

Interesting... All the ministers and nobles in the palace looked at Liu Hong.

This is to take advantage of the opportunity to fish in troubled waters. Liu Hong was regarded as Wei Yuan's "successor" in the court and took over Wei Yuan's team. After the new monarch took office, many people from the former Wei party were demoted and dismissed, and their power was reduced by nearly 50%.

The vacant positions were divided up by the Wang party and various parties.

In the officialdom, this is an appropriate concession.

Now that Liu Hong has stood up, it is obvious that the former Wei party, who are in charge of the Censorate and the night watchmen, want to take advantage of the opportunity to reap the benefits.

Emperor Yongxing smiled: "Lord Liu, you have a point. Go on."

Liu Hong said in a loud voice:

"Since Duke Wei passed away, the night watchmen have declined. I am not as capable as Duke Wei. I have worked hard but my energy is insufficient. I want to recommend someone to Your Majesty to replace me in charge of the night watchmen's office.

"To better supervise all officials."

The officials were all stunned. This was not the line they imagined. Liu Hong actually gave up his responsibility at this critical moment and handed over the position of night watchman to someone else?

Emperor Yongxing pretended to be surprised: "Who does Lord Liu want to recommend?"

Liu Hong glanced at the officials and nobles who were either puzzled or vigilant, and said in a loud voice:

"Xu Qian'an, the former night watchman, was Yinluo! "