Peach and plum spring breeze and a glass of wine

The imperial envoy's ceremonial guard was beating the drums as he set off back to Beijing.

The strong wind blowing from Yangzhou has arrived in Luoyang.

It's like a spring breeze comes overnight...

In one day, the news that the imperial envoy Yang Erlang went on a killing spree in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, executing 327 corrupt officials in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, spread throughout the streets and alleys of this thousand-year-old capital.

In almost every place where people gathered, people in Luoyang could be heard talking vividly about Yang Erlang's execution of corrupt officials in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Some people say that the sun and the moon shined together that day.

Some people say that the sun was scorching that day and the snow was falling.

Others say that countless innocent ghosts appeared that day to pay three respects to Yang Erlang...

To put it bluntly, it seemed as if everyone had witnessed that unprecedented execution.

After all, Luoyang is the center of China and the heart of Wei Dynasty.

The people who live at the feet of the emperor are inherently more sensitive to politics than the people in other areas.

Coupled with keywords such as "kill corrupt officials" that bring traffic, it is not surprising that such a storm of public opinion can be caused.

But the strange thing is...

In such a huge storm of public opinion, where several different versions can be found on one street, it is very rare that there is no confrontation.

No matter which version of the rumor it is, the focus is on how wise and perceptive Mr. Yang Erlang is, and how disgusting and despicable those corrupt officials are.

Whenever opposing viewpoints appear and try to lead public opinion in a different direction, they are quickly drowned out by the growing mainstream voices.

yes.

The people of Luoyi really didn't know what kind of person this new Yang Erlang Yang Qianhu was.

But can they still not know who those corrupt officials are?

Everyone has personal experience, everyone feels the same, and everyone is full of grievances...

What they are talking about is Yangzhou.

But what I was thinking about was... How great would it be if Luoyang could come here this time?

Just as Yang Ge had expected.

Faced with such a turbulent storm of public opinion, no one in the court dared to take the lead in suppressing Yang Ge at the cusp of the storm!

Even the previous series of suppression and smear campaigns against Beizhen Fusi and Shen Fa stopped overnight.

But you can't suppress Yang Ge openly, but it doesn't mean that these people really can't do anything about Yang Ge!

First, the ministers and ministers of the cabinet and the six ministries took leave for various reasons to miss the morning meeting.

Then a large number of ministers, ministers and generals from the six ministries knelt down at the palace gate and reported to Emperor Xiping, requesting the Three Law Departments to conduct a thorough investigation to prove their integrity.

In the game between monarch and ministers, kneeling at the palace gate has been the biggest killer weapon since ancient times, except for collective resignation. In form, it is almost equivalent to forcing the palace. If you use it once, you will hurt the relationship between monarch and ministers. If you use it once, it will reduce your own power. The status in the heart of the monarch...

But this time, the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty used this killer move without hesitation!

The implication is: Emperor, if you admit your mistake now, we can still be each other's angels, otherwise we will break up and we will not be able to live well, and you will not be able to live well either!

The civil and military associations of the Manchu Dynasty put aside their past grudges and worked together to deal with Yang Ge. Of course, they were not only attacking Yang Ge, but also Yangzhou!

They are not only working for themselves, but also for the common interests of the civil servant group and the military general group in the court.

‘If I don’t trample that Yang Erlang to death this time, won’t any cat or dog be able to sit on my head and poop and pee in the future? ’

‘Then what’s the point of being an official? ’

It's not that they couldn't accept the emperor killing middle and lower-level officials.

But it is unacceptable to go on a killing spree just because of the trivial matter of corruption and bribery.

It is even more unacceptable that the emperor's hawks and dogs privately executed the imperial officials without going through the joint trial of the Ministry of Punishment, the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the Dali Temple.

Because no one can guarantee that this knife will not fall on themselves and their descendants in the future...

Emperor Xiping naturally understood what the civil and military officials meant.

But he knew better that he couldn't give in at this juncture.

If it weren’t for Yang Ge, he wouldn’t have died!

In fact, Yang Ge repeatedly used him as a swordsman, and he was very angry and hesitant to kill Yang Ge.

But Yang Ge cannot die at this juncture, nor can he die while investigating corruption and bribery, nor can he die under the coercion of hundreds of civil and military officials!

Otherwise, wouldn't all his efforts to rectify officialdom and reorganize the government be in vain?

Otherwise, civil and military officials will be more confident and unscrupulous in exploiting the people in the future.

Otherwise, if he doesn't follow the wishes of the civil and military officials in the future, wouldn't they be able to use this method to blackmail him?

Then what does it mean for him as an emperor to do this?

So...

On the second day when all the civil and military officials knelt at the palace gate, a document was posted all over the streets of Luoyang.

On the top of the document, it was clearly written: 'The guilty minister, Yangzhou Prefecture, Jiangsu and Zhejiang Province, is the sixth-grade general judge Song Shen, and I pray to the Holy One...'

It is not unusual for the imperial court to announce the charges of being an official.

But at a time when the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty were furious over this matter, Emperor Xiping posted such a document all over Luoyang City disguised as a platform for Yangzhou affairs, which was tantamount to a slap in the face to the civil and military officials of the dynasty. on his old face!

‘You’d better look good on yourselves, otherwise I’ll help you look good myself’.

The stimulated civil and military officials naturally became more and more excited, and the number of civil and military officials kneeling at the palace gate doubled that day.

The green-robed sixth- and seventh-grade petty officials who were not even qualified to step into some palace gates were all brought in to beheaded.

The old officials with gray beards and beards knelt outside the palace gate, sighing and lamenting, chanting: "Be close to the virtuous ministers, and stay away from the villains. This is why the early Han Dynasty prospered; be close to the villains, and stay away from the virtuous ministers, so the Han Dynasty will be. It’s so decadent…”

People who don’t know just think that they have suffered an unfair injustice!

If it were another time, such a big scene would definitely become the talk of countless people in Luoyang after dinner.

Maybe, the history books will have to record this in detail: In a certain year and a certain month, the emperor was unworthy, and the officials tried to remonstrate him...

It's a pity that the people of Luoyang are currently paying attention to the affairs of Yangzhou. How can they care about what these fat-minded officials are arguing about?

What was even more chilling to the civil and military officials of the court was that the closed gate of Ziwei Palace was as immovable as Mount Tai, and Emperor Xiping, who was hiding in the rear palace, had no intention of coming out to appease the civil and military officials.

Even if all civil and military officials have iron knees that have been battle-tested for a long time, after kneeling for three days, they are almost unable to hold on anymore...

Of course, what they couldn't stand even more was Emperor Xiping's indifferent attitude.

So on the fourth day, the conflict intensified again.

Geng Jingzhong, leader of the Zhejiang Party and Minister of Household Affairs, held high the memorial and went to the palace to beg for the bones with the expectation of the civil and military officials!

Emperor Xiping, who had been absent from court for three days, finally showed up. He treated Geng Jingzhong to a meal in a pleasant manner, and then without even going through the polite process, he accepted Geng Jingzhong's resignation with "regret" and said in front of In front of him, Meng Ziqian, the minister of household affairs of the Qi Party, was kneeling outside the palace gate, and he was appointed as the new minister of household affairs by decree.

The so-called central edict is an imperial edict that is directly implemented without going through the deliberations of the six ministries and the cabinet. It is the highest expression of the emperor's will.

Just like kneeling at the palace gate, this method of bypassing the court and directly appointing ministerial-level officials according to the central decree is also a big killer in the game between monarch and minister. This method is very effective, but has serious sequelae. It can only be used once. It only hurts the relationship between monarch and minister once, and it will intensify the conflict intensity of the game between monarch and minister...

And Emperor Xiping's move at this moment demonstrated his tough attitude on this matter: 'Don't be shameless, and you will be fined if you don't eat the toast! ’

Faced with Emperor Xiping's ruthlessness, the civil and military officials kneeling outside the palace gate were naturally furious!

What made them even more incompetent and furious was that Meng Ziqian didn't know what kind of promise he had received from Emperor Xiping. After walking out of Ziwei Palace, he persuaded the officials of the Qi Party to get up and leave the group kneeling at the palace gate...

With Qi Dang's move, the civil and military officials, who had finally gathered themselves into a group, immediately became scattered again.

Party struggle is like this, with obvious disadvantages and obvious advantages.

Especially for a king who is good at the art of kings.

The mentality of "If you don't succeed, you will be benevolent" in the hearts of the civil and military officials was just torn to pieces by Emperor Xiping.

No matter how angry and unwilling they are, they can no longer fight as a team...

Of course, this game between kings and ministers is limited to this, and it is not that the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty can only do this.

It's because the time is not right!

The Wei Dynasty had just won a foreign war not long ago. It was a time when morale was strong and people's minds were at peace.

As long as the army is stable and the people's hearts are stable, no matter how fierce the fight is in the court, it will not be able to shake the overall situation.

As a result, a grand game between king and minister came to an end in a hurry.

The civil and military officials kneeling at the palace gate acted as if nothing had happened. They went back to their homes and looked for their mothers. No one mentioned the name "Yang Erlang" again.

But everyone who understands this game between king and minister knows it clearly...

Once a crack appears, it won't go away on its own.

…

Yang Ge led the honor guard of the imperial envoy and hurried all the way, and finally returned to Luting County before the first snow fell this year.

However, before he entered the city, Shen Fa, who had been waiting for a long time, came up with the imperial edict.

As soon as they met, the eunuch who announced the decree read out in public the imperial edict depriving Yang Ge of all his official status and demoting him to the position of cook at the upper right station.

Yang Ge accepted the order, raised his hands and allowed several young eunuchs to come forward and remove the python robe and black gauze from his body...

The inexplicably desolate scene, coupled with the whimpering north wind, made many of the accompanying people's eyes red when they saw it.

"What are you doing, what are you doing..."

Yang Ge handed back the broken gold oxtail knife, moved his wrist with relief, turned it around with a smile and said loudly: "Are you not willing to eat the food I cooked? I'm not bragging to you, I'm the cook. Your craftsmanship is better than my knife skills. If you put it elsewhere, you wouldn’t be able to eat such delicious food even if you have money!”

Looking at him boasting with a complacent expression on his face, some people wanted to laugh, but all of them laughed more ugly than crying.

"Okay, everyone clean up their faces!"

Yang Ge raised his right hand high and waved it vigorously: "From now on, everyone will still eat together from the same pot. There is nothing to regret... Oh, by the way, I will be the cook in the future. If anything happens again, I will have to Sirs, please protect me!"

These words made even several hundred households dumbfounded.

Fang Ke said with a sad face: "Sir, please stop joking..."

Yang Ge rolled his eyes: "You are the adult, and your whole family is an adult!"

Fang Ke:......

"alright!"

Shen Fa, who had been silent and sullen for a long time, finally spoke, waving his hands and saying: "Yang Erlang stays, Qin Feng takes the brothers back to the Yamen first!"

Deputy Qin Qianhu perked up after hearing this, and quickly came up to salute and said: "Sir, there is something more humble about this..."

Shen Fa said expressionlessly: "Get out!"

The flattering smile on Deputy Qin Qianhu's face condensed, and he resigned from the team, directing the brothers in the upper right station to continue moving forward.

Yang Ge stood by the road holding the Lengyue sword, and gently turned Shen Fa with his elbow: "Hey, are you afraid that I don't have any shoes?"

Shen Fa ignored him, turned to Wei Heng and cupped his fists and said, "Eunuch Wei, this trip has caused trouble for you. The imperial envoy and honor guard will trouble you to take you back to the capital."

Wei Heng clasped his fists and returned the salute: "It's my job to do my own business, I don't deserve a word of thanks from Mr. Shen!"

Yang Ge stood aside and waved with a smile: "When you come back to the road pavilion next time, come and sit at my place and I'll treat you to a drink!"

Wei Heng replied with a smile on his face: "Then we've made an agreement, you kid can't use your boss's stuff to mix water with me!"

Yang Ge raised his eyebrows: "Where are you, the wine in our inn is never watered down!"

"oh……"

Wei Heng said with a smile that said "I understand": "You are mixing wine into the water, right?"

Yang Ge laughed and gave him a thumbs up: "You are an expert!"

Wei Heng looked up and down at Song Kuai's appearance, exhaled softly with emotion, raised his hand and patted his shoulder: "There is a saying: If you are not in your position and do not seek your own government, you will see less dirty things in the future. All the messy things, make yourself feel lighter... You have to live well so that you can continue to hang on those people's heads."

Yang Ge loosely held his hands in his hands: "Don't worry, even if someone begs me to mind my own business next time, I won't be too lazy to worry about it anymore!"

Wei Heng smiled, waved his hand, and commanded the imperial honor guard to cease their flags and drums, and embarked on the road back to Beijing.

Yang Ge and Shen Fazhu stayed where they were, watching the two groups of people go away.

After both groups of people disappeared from sight, Shen Fa waved his hand and dismissed the accompanying guards.

Yang Ge looked around and said, "How about you come to my house to talk?"

Shen Fa didn't answer, raised his fist and punched Yang Ge in the face.

Yang Ge saw his movements clearly.

But he didn't dodge.

Shen Fa didn't hold back with this punch, and the corner of Yang Ge's lip broke with one punch.

He roared in a red-faced voice, "Do you know how much trouble you have caused this time?"

"How much trouble did I get into?"

Yang Ge wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and raised his eyes. The ferocious and unruly look in his eyes made Shen Fa, who raised his fist again, freeze in place: "Am I not wiping your butt?"

Shen Fa laughed angrily at his words, put down his fist and said, "Then do I still want to thank you?"

Yang Ge grinned, but the unruly look in his eyes only increased: "Thank me? Do you deserve it?"

Shen Fa was furious: "I know you are right, but you didn't do it this way. You are relieved. How are you going to clean up this mess? Who can clean it up? You or me?"

Yang Ge was also angry: "If you want to be a paper poster, don't get involved with me. If you treat a headache or a sore foot, who can you heal? Who can you save? Didn't you go to the land of Jiangsu and Zhejiang?" Why are you still so bad? Or is it that you, Second Master Shen, also accepted their dirty money?"

Shen Fa just felt like he had a headache: "Yes, you have cleaned up Jiangsu and Zhejiang, but what's the price? The price is the rebellion between the monarch and his ministers, and the shock of the government and the public! You are not treating people, you are clearly trying to kill them. !”

Yang Ge also felt that his head was as big as a fight: "Since ancient times, how can there be changes without bloodshed? If you seek peace through struggle, you will live in peace, and if you seek peace through compromise, you will die in peace. The people are almost dying, and you are still thinking about it. You are the one who suffers the common people and suffers from hunger and sells your sons and daughters, right?"

Shen Fa shouted angrily: "Reckless man, you have only read a few books, but you still dare to talk about the country and the country!"

Yang Ge laughed angrily at him, clasped his fists and said, "Yes, I am a reckless man... No, I am now a cook in my humble position. You have nothing to do with my humble position in the future affairs of the official family."

"Privately, if you are still willing to recognize me as my friend, I welcome you to come to me for a drink and a spanking. If you are not willing to recognize me, it doesn't matter if we all go our separate ways in the future."

"I have to rush back to the Yamen to prepare meals for the brothers. I won't disturb Mr. Shen from doing important things. I'm resigning!"

After saying that, he turned around and left with Leng Yue's sword on his shoulder.

Shen Fa stood there and watched him stride away. He opened his mouth to call him out, but before the words came out, he let out a heavy sigh.

Privately, he actually didn't think what Yang Ge did was wrong.

It's just that it's out of time...