In the following days, Zhu Youjian did not attend court because he was waiting for someone.

Just after the hour of Mao, Zhu Youjian, who was concentrating on practicing calligraphy in the study of Ganqing Palace, was interrupted.

What is coming is finally here.

After some sorting of arrangements, Wei Zhongxian has recovered his former spirit, but his eyes are less courageous than a great minister, and there is still a little he can never recover. He will never stand up.

Looking at Wei Zhongxian, who was struggling to salute him on the chair, Zhu Youjian waved his hand generously and signaled him to exempt him from the gift.

"Your Majesty, please have a secret talk with you."

Zhu Youjian was stunned when he heard this, but he still signaled to retreat left and right.

"Emperor, please stay by your side."

Wang Chengen was a little worried.

"Hahaha, he is not Chen Pingping, and even if it is, I'm not afraid."

Although he didn't understand what Zhu Youjian said, since the emperor gave the order, Wang Chengen still obediently retreated.

In the quiet western warm pavilion of the Ganqing Palace, only the breathing sounds of the two of them were left.

"Your Majesty, I am loyal to the late emperor."

Wei Zhongxian spoke first, but Zhu Youjian didn't say anything, so Wei Zhongxian continued to speak on his own.

"In August of the first year of Taichang, two emperors died in the palace in one month, and the late emperor was like you, and he inherited the Grand Priest at the age of sixteen."

"The last emperor was suffering. The young man lost his mother and later his father. After he ascended the throne, his adoptive mother was moved to another palace to live. The sixteen-year-old boy was forced to tears by those literati who claimed to be righteous gentlemen."

"At that time, the old slave was with the late emperor, comforting him, encouraging him, asking him to keep a low profile, and asking him to endure it."

"It was not easy for the late emperor to do it, but the late emperor still did it. From the third year of the Tianqi period, the late emperor, who was slowly in power, gradually retaliated against the Donglin Party and took back the power that the emperor should have."

"But the Donglin Party is unwilling to give up. How could they be willing? So they attacked the old slave and convicted the old slave twenty-four crimes, each word killing the heart. The late emperor was wise, how could he not understand that this was for him?"

When Wei Zhongxian said this, a little bit of emotion flashed in his eyes, as if he had returned to the era of war.

"At that time, the old slave asked the late emperor to kill me to thank the world. The late emperor was kind and did not allow it, so the old slave could save his life. Later, Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou and others were imprisoned and killed. Zhao Nanxing, Ye Xianggao, and Zhang Wenda were dismissed from office one after another. Only then did the late emperor gain the power that the emperor should have."

After hearing this, Zhu Youjian couldn't stand it anymore. Although Zhu Youjian was not as bad as the Qing Dynasty in later generations, he was definitely not as smart as Wei Zhongxian said. However, if you admit that Zhu Youjian was virtuous, the more legal the eunuch Wei Zhongxian was, and he would put gold on his face. Zhu Youjian could understand this.

"Only Taizu of this dynasty, Chengzu had the power to control the universe. Although the late emperor was wise, he did not take over the power. Nine Thousand Years and Zhejiang Party, let's take a look at it."

Faced with Zhu Youjian's teasing, Wei Zhongxian did not give a positive answer, but instead talked about a royal secret.

"Your Majesty, can you hear about the late emperor falling into the water in the fifth year of the Tianqi period?"

Seeing that Zhu Youjian became interested, Wei Zhongxian paused and said:

"I remember it very clearly. It was May 18th. On the way back to the West Garden, the late emperor was sacrificing to Fang Zetan. When the late emperor had just rode a horse and was sweating profusely, he wanted to take a boat to cool off in the West Garden."

"At the beginning, the late emperor, the holy lady, the old slave, and the king were drinking on a large boat. Later, the late emperor wanted to hold the boat by himself, so he joined Gao Yongshou and Liu Siyuan as a small boat. At that time, the late emperor was feeling comfortable stabbing the boat, and suddenly a strong wind blew up, and the boat capsized instantly."

Speaking of this, Wei Zhongxian's tears fell, and it was not as if he had done a false impression.

"At that time, the big ships of Lao Nu and others were still far away. Gao Yongshou and Liu Siyuan couldn't even water. Lao Nu was very anxious and went into the water to rescue him. However, it was too far away. Fortunately, the manager Tan Jing rushed to the ship and rescued the late emperor."

Zhu Youjian took a sip of tea and said lightly: "I have known this for a long time, but I am probably talking about the adventures of the late emperor today."

"Your Majesty, you are the one who is in a reckless manner. You only know one thing about this, not the other."

Seeing Zhu Youjian making a scrupulous statement, Wei Zhongxian said again: "Afterward, Lao Nu sent someone to salvage the wreck and found that the ship had been tampered with."

"oh?"

Zhu Youjian immediately became more energetic. In later historical materials, he had long seen a view that Zhu Youjiao fell into the water was a conspiracy of the Donglin Party.

"This matter is absolutely true. Lao Nu asked the boatman at that time, and the bottom of the boat was shallow and deep, suitable for rapid travel, but it was very easy to overturn. It is logical that Xiyuan would not pay tribute to this ship from outside the palace, and then Lao Nu also checked it. There was only one ship of this type in the entire Xiyuan."

"And it was the critical moment for the survival of the Donglin Party. Therefore, the old slave suspected that someone had conspired to kill the late emperor. However, after investigating for half a year, no clues were found related to the Donglin thief. The eunuch of the Xiyuan Vehicle and Shipping Department committed suicide the day after learning that the late emperor's boat was overturned, and the matter was finally left unresolved."

"Do you suspect that the Donglin Party conspires to kill the late emperor?"

Zhu Youjian was a little surprised. Influenced by various TV series and novels in his previous life, the Donglin Party has always been a glorious image. How could it be involved in the murder of the emperor? Zhu Youjian couldn't believe it.

"Your Majesty, the party fights to harm the country! The Donglin Party brings harm to the country and the people! In order to gain power in the court, they can do such a thing!"

Seeing that Zhu Youjian still didn't believe it, Wei Zhongxian shouted out excitedly for a moment, which scared Wang Chengen outside the door and was shocked and rushed all the eunuchs standing around to the distance.

"Are you talking about Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou, Yuan Huazhong, Wei Dazhong, Zhou Chaorui, Gu Dazhang and others who are harming the country and the people? Are you a little shameless after nine thousand years?"

When Wei Zhongxian heard this, he was panicked. Although he looked gloomy, he still argued:

"Your Majesty, I'm sorry to Mr. Yang. Mr. Zuo and others will die to thank the world. But Mr. Yang and Mr. Zuo and others cannot represent the Donglin Party. They were also blinded by the giant thieves in the Donglin Party and mistakenly became someone else's sword!"

Speaking of this, Wei Zhongxian was afraid that Zhu Youjian would not understand what he meant, so he was so anxious that he burst into tears.

"Oh---" Wei Zhongxian sighed and then asked back: "Your Majesty, what do you think of the criminals?"

"He is good at engaging in the camp, has means, is cruel and ruthless, despicable and shameless, does not know how to advance and retreat, and is unsatisfied with desires. He is so bold and arrogant that he wants to steal his country's own dedication."

Zhu Youjian was not stingy with all kinds of swearing words, and he made Wei Zhongxian's character and ethics.

"Thank you for your reward."

Wei Zhongxian knew that he could not escape death, so Zhu Youjian's words did not cause any trouble.

"But it is a sinner who is willing to do everything he wants to achieve his goals, but he has fallen to the point of selling children and daughters in his hometown of Hejian Prefecture, Beizhili."

"Your Majesty, I admit that I was not a good person before entering the palace, because the good people around me had been forced to death by the gentry of the government, and I almost reached this point."

"But I don't accept my order, so when I was twenty-three years old, I had no money to hire a master, so I was cruel to castrate myself. I had to give my wife and children a way out."

Speaking of this, Wei Zhongxian seemed to remember the sad things he had before and sobbed even more.

"Your Majesty, you are castrated. If you have a way out, which man will do business that will not insult your ancestors."

"Who forced the ministers to commit suicide in the capital of Northern Zhili, who claimed to be honest and fair, the scholars, Jinshi and even scholars from the hometowns of the criminals, are not hundreds or thousands of acres of land?"

"If a scholar appeared in the village, the people in the whole village would rush to become tenant farmers in his family; if a juren appeared in the village, the people in the whole village would rush to become tenant farmers in his family; if a Jinshi appeared in the county, the people in the county would rush to become tenant farmers in his family."

Zhu Youjian was shocked when he heard this. In his impression, self-cultivated farmers were forced to become tenant farmers, and he was unheard of forcing them to be tenant farmers.

"Why is this so? There are people who are rushing to give the land to others?"

Seeing that Zhu Youjian really didn't understand, Wei Zhongxian's eyes became a little dim again. The new emperor was really not as good as the late emperor. No wonder the new emperor ascended the throne, the group of pickled people in Donglin became active again.

"Your Majesty, I offer you! In order to be sympathetic to scholars, Chengzu of this dynasty, he specially ordered to treat scholars, juren and jinshi preferential treatment. For scholars who are poor, juren and jinshi can be exempted from taxes ranging from fifty acres, 200 acres, and 400 acres."

"There are not many people. There are not many scholars and Jinshi in a county, and those who can provide children with schooling, how many poor families can there be?"

Zhu Youjian was a little puzzled. What is the relationship between Taizu's good policy of treating scholars and investment?

"There were few scholars in the early days, and Taizu Chengzu had the talent of conquering the world, so officials and gentry dared not fool them. However, as the government continued to spread, these Jinshi Juren gradually gained the right to speak in the court, and Taizu's good policy of preferential treatment of scholars became a means for gentry and bureaucrats to harm the country and the people."

Seeing that Zhu Youjian listened carefully, Wei Zhongxian continued to explain in detail.

"After the Jinshi Juren mastered the right to speak, they had more and more tax-free land. Although Taizu's customization was still there, no one could comply with it. Now, as long as the Juren passes the exam, all the land and acres in their family will be exempted from taxes."

When Zhu Youjian heard this, he understood that the common people were greedy for profit. Since the land and population of the Juren Jinshi family were exempt from taxes, then he would not have to pay taxes to bear corvee service when he brought his family to the tenant farmers and servants of the Juren Jinshi, and he would not have to pay taxes to bear corvee service. Perhaps he could live better than when he was a farmer.

Alas, no wonder I read the archives of the old Zhu family a few days ago. At the end of Hongwu, the country's land was more than 8 million hectares, but by the end of Hongzhi, the country's land was more than 4 million hectares.

The fields were hidden by the gentry and bureaucrats.

Moreover, the population data was not correct. In the late Ming Dynasty, the registered population in the country was more than 60 million, more than 70 million during the Chenghua period, but more than 50 million during the Tianqi period.

The population is naturally hidden.

"These borers that harm the country and the people!"

Zhu Youjian punched the table hard.
Chapter completed!