"Chen, painted by Gao Gong."

"Chen, Gao Gongji."

"I have met the Holy Mother and the Queen Mother."

The Empress Dowager Gao Zhengyi waved her hands and said: "You and I are all close relatives, so there is no need to be polite. It's better to ask my aunt to listen to her."

"Yes, aunt."

Gao Zhengyi's starting point in life is very high, how high is it? When she was still a girl, she was taken by her aunt and prepared to give birth to a child for her uncle. In an ordinary family, it would definitely be a despicable act that would be condemned from the depths of the soul.

.But her aunt is Empress Cao and her uncle is Emperor Renzong, which is a completely different matter.

No one dares to speak out about the affairs of the Tian family, no matter how excessive they are.

Speaking of Emperor Renzong, he was also unlucky. Since he took office, he worked conscientiously in the first half of his life to neutralize the threat of Xixia to the Song Dynasty. He also wanted to reform the Song Dynasty's government and completely solve the two fatal problems that burdened the Song Dynasty's government.

Too many soldiers and officers.

Therefore, Fan Zhongyan, who had made great achievements in fighting Xixia, was attracted by him. Fan Zhongyan also reciprocated the favor and wrote to Emperor Renzong, "Answers to the Imperial Edict Chen Shi Shi Shu", commonly known as "Shi Shi Shu", which solved the problem of the imperial court's appointment of officials and the system of benevolence.

, restraining land annexation, easing the expenditure of the national treasury and a series of other issues.

Unfortunately, in less than two years, there were many opponents in the court. The New Deal had to be unable to be implemented in the local areas and ended up being abandoned.

Renzong, who suffered a heavy setback in his political career, did not recover. However, Emperor Renzong, who was in his forties, found that he had no son. Therefore, although he still had great ambitions in the second half of his life, he had to be delayed by the great cause of having a son.

Besides, Empress Cao was also sad. She had no sons, and even the concubines in the palace had no sons. It’s not that Emperor Renzong didn’t have sons, he had more than one. The problem was that he didn’t have enough to support him, so they all died young. As he watched,

My husband is getting older and older, and he has no son to inherit the throne. Wouldn't it be easier for the princes and princes in the clan who are causing trouble for her husband all day long?

The King of Xiangyang gave birth to more than thirty sons like a piglet, and his husband, who wanted to be the emperor, was so angry that his eyes were red.

Gao Zhengyi is the daughter of Empress Cao's sister. She has been lovely since she was a child, and she has become a rare beauty when she grows up. In addition, Empress Cao raised Gao Zhengyi as her daughter, and she loved her very much. Instead of letting her husband follow her, she

It would be better to take advantage of her own niece by fooling around with her coquettish hooves. With this in mind, Empress Cao decided to include Gao Zhengyi among the concubines of Emperor Renzong and give her a formal status.

Fortunately, Emperor Renzong was a little reluctant to deal with Gao Zhengyi, who had been raised by him since childhood and was raised as his daughter, so he married Yingzong.

It can be said that Mr. Gao has lived in the palace since he was a child and has never gone out.

This is also what makes her special. She also has brothers and sisters, but it's hard to say how close they are.

It is absolutely impossible for an empress dowager who can properly handle the relationship between the family, the royal family, and even the court not to be praised. Even though the Gao family has risen rapidly because of Gao Zhengyi's entry into the palace, compared with other relatives, the Gao family has not

He did not do anything excessive in Bianliang.

Summoned by my aunt.

The brothers Gao Gonghui and Gao Gongji were a little nervous. Normally, their aunt would not send her close aides to look for them at home. It was obviously an emergency.

For relatives who are in the eye of the political storm, emergencies may be life-threatening.

Therefore, the two brothers rushed over anxiously, looked at their aunt eagerly, and stood silently.

The Empress Dowager Gao Zhengyi sighed slightly. These two nephews were inferior to her brother Gao Shilin. How could she support the Gao family a hundred years later?

"Do you know if there are any side branches of my Gao family in Yingzhou?" The Gao family's ancestral home is in Bozhou, so it is naturally impossible for any of their legitimate sons to go to Yingzhou to develop. If they are not side branches, or they are children who have been punished by the family and given up, they can go to Yingzhou.

state.

"Yingzhou?"

Gao Gonghui and Gao Gongji looked at each other and said to themselves: It can't be such a coincidence, right? A relative from Yingzhou just came to their mansion to give money, and the price was one hundred thousand yuan. They were extremely heroic. Is it possible that they just received the money?

, something went wrong?

But can I still give away the money that was delivered to my door?

It was only a few days after I received the money that I let my aunt know about it. But the problem is, this is not a big deal, right? At most, it is just a courtesy exchange between relatives.

Gao Gonghui accompanied him and said carefully: "Aunt Qi, there is a relative who separated from the clan and went to Yingzhou. There have been two generations. Now it is the third generation, which happens to be in Beijing. Do you want to meet my aunt?

?”

The Empress Dowager said disgustedly: "Forget it, it's better not to see her, so as not to get into trouble."

This can be regarded as an aunt's advice to the two silly nephews. They don't understand anything, they only know how to make money. Of course, the way of making money in the Song Dynasty is not corruption, but partnership business, the kind that guarantees income during droughts and floods, and takes dry shares.

Do business without capital.

In the memorial, Su Shi said too many things that were not conducive to the old party, and these things were really troublesome. Because of the abolition of the "Green Crops Law", land annexation in various places became more and more serious. This directly resulted in a large number of people losing their land.

They were displaced from the fields in the countryside to make a living in the city. And their land, which originally had to bear heavy labor and taxes, became the property of big families.

Large households with a good reputation, or even a family with a good reputation, do not need to pay taxes, or only need to pay a very small amount of tax. And all corvee services are exempted, resulting in a significant reduction in the number of corvee services available in various places.

This is a real problem that cannot be avoided or avoided.

This is also the weakness of the old party. There are fewer and fewer people to tax, and the corvee distribution is becoming less and less. The burden on the local people is getting heavier and heavier, making it increasingly difficult to maintain the "Service Law" insisted on by the old party.

As for Wang Anshi's "Recruitment Law", the targets of expropriation have become large households, which is simply robbing the rich and giving to the poor, which is intolerable.

Even if you are wrong about something you insist on, you have to swallow it in your belly even if you knock out your teeth.

But it is inevitable to be frightened. Once she is attacked by someone with ulterior motives, even she, the Empress Dowager, will be embarrassed. She is already sixty, and she will take care of the country of the Song Dynasty for another one or two years, and then leave it to her grandson. She can

I didn't want it to be at this juncture, because after my family member was caught with his severed foot, he was beaten the hardest for a while, and finally had to issue the most embarrassing edict in the emperor's family - the edict of sin.

"One more thing, do the officials want to upgrade your rank?" asked the Empress Dowager Gao Zhengyi.

Gao Gongji couldn't help but feel happy, and said in surprise: "Aunt, do you agree?"

"Nonsense." Empress Dowager Gao Zhengyi said in a deep voice: "You want to be an observer today, and you want to be a military envoy tomorrow. Don't you still want to be the governor of Yitong Sansi? Resignation, although the Gao family has a good relationship, but

I can’t tolerate the squandering of the two of you. The power and official position you gained today have lost the affection of the Tian family. Why can’t you two see this even when you are so old?”

Gao Gongji was unwilling to give in. He was an observation envoy. Although he had no power at all, it was the most important step in being promoted to Jiedushi. If he had not been promoted to the position of inspector, the two brothers' careers as Jiedushi would have been ruined.

?

Where interests lie, Gao Gongji is really reluctant to part with them. He also wants to be like the old Cao family, with an extremely noble status and a lot of money. He also has a large group of interest allies and becomes the most noble general and wealthy family in the Song Dynasty. And the Jiedu Envoy

Identity is such an important link. Thinking of these benefits, Gao Gongji bravely said: "Aunt, I heard the official's wishes. He sincerely wants us to be promoted to observers."

"He!" Empress Dowager Gao Zhengyi shook her head and remained silent.

After all, he is his grandson and the emperor, so he cannot say more.

Emperor Zhao Xu usually looks indifferent, but a child who can upgrade himself to become a father at the age of thirteen will be a simple child?

Despite the grandmother's deep fear that her grandson would not learn well and be beaten when he was a child, Zhao Xu could only be accompanied by the little fairy when he was playing, and was monitored by a group of old palace maids. Even when he slept, Zhao Xu could not return to his own palace, and

He was sleeping in his grandmother's palace. In addition, a group of old masters followed him every day as if they were chanting sutras. He was both stupid and dumbfounded.

But two years ago, something unexpected happened in the palace. An internal official was looking for a wet nurse in the capital.

Zhao Xu, who committed the crime, was in trouble. Although he was only thirteen years old, the ministers didn't care how old he was. They threw big hats at him. He was in such a state of embarrassment that he was saved by Gao Zhengyi.

The worst situation occurred and he faced questions from the officials.

This incident once again sounded the alarm for Zhao Xu.

There are too many spies around, they are all spies.

I have too little power and have no say.

Grandma is a relative, so it’s okay to make mistakes.

After this incident, the Empress Dowager became more strict with Zhao Xu, and Zhao Xu was not disgusted with this. After all, it was not visible on the surface. Especially the obedience shown by Zhao Xu was surprising. After all,

, from the court to the palace, no one wants to see Zhao Xu become a radical emperor like his father Shenzong. Instead, they hope to cultivate Zhao Xu into a moderate, conservative emperor Renzong who pioneered the peaceful and prosperous era of Qing Dynasty.

However, the Empress Dowager Gao Zhengyi had long seen Zhao Xu's obedience.

Zhao Xu was only a teenager. How could he be so smart in front of his grandmother without being noticed?

If Zhao Xu was from a small family, his grandmother would have long been disgusted by his behavior, even ostracized, and kicked him away. But don't forget, he is the emperor, and as an emperor, he can't be too simple. It shouldn't be

Only an emperor who puts his thoughts on his face and makes his ministers unable to guess his thoughts can be a human ruler. Otherwise, he will be an ineffective puppet.

In the eyes of his grandmother, Zhao Xu's performance was not blamed or disgusted, but it made Gao Zhengyi feel that his good grandson had grown up.

It's just that he has grown up, but he is a little disrespectful to himself. He refuses to say anything and pretends to be dull and kind. Gao Zhengyi is not worried about himself. After all, wherever seniority is placed, even if the emperor has

When they grow up, they should understand her painstaking efforts. However, the Gao family has no kindness to the emperor, but they stupidly and naturally receive various rewards from the emperor. If the Gao family is really praised to the sky, the next moment they should

Fell to the ground.

After leaving the palace, the two brothers of the Gao family began to think about it. The elder brother Gao Gonghui asked: "What does the Holy Mother mean?"

"Perhaps you want us to sever ties with Gao Xiaoli of Yingzhou?" Gao Gongji said in frustration.

Gao Gongji said with a look of pain on his face: "This is a hundred thousand strings!"

"Maybe the affairs in Yingzhou are a bit complicated, so let's stay out of it. But if Gao Xiaoli is not a wealthy man in Yingzhou, what does it matter?" Gao Gonghui was a little reluctant to part with his money.

Gao Gongji didn't want to discuss this matter with his brother. It was absolutely impossible for his brother to cough up the money anyway. Instead, he asked thoughtfully: "The imperial court seems to have sent an imperial envoy to Yingzhou. I don't know who it is."

"I know, it's Xiao Fan, Fan Xiang." Gao Gonghui said nonchalantly.

Gao Gongji frowned slightly, feeling something was wrong, and hesitated: "Isn't he an old fool?"

"Who says it's not?" Gao Gonghui agreed.
To be continued...