mountain river road

Chapter 5

After Chu Shu left, it was time for Chu Xi to go to court.By rights, he should have gone years ago.It's just that Ye Shangzhu was worried that he couldn't figure out the various ways in the officialdom, so he was dragged down.Now that Chu Shu left, he got a job as a servant of the Ministry of War.

He wears a purple gown with a collar and narrow sleeves, a black gauze scarf with folded corners, a belt decorated with penetrating rhinoceros, white socks and black shoes.Chu Xi stood upright by the side.Civil and military officials are all here.

"This must be the little prince. Wang has long admired his name." A chubby old man looked at him with a smile.The man was wearing an old scarlet official uniform.It was Wang Lang from the Southern School.Although Chu Shu did not go to court, when holding palace banquets in the past, he also recognized the civil and military officials who were above the third rank.He saluted respectfully: "Wang Shangshu loves to joke."

Wang Lang chuckled and stopped talking.

Today's imperial court soldiers are divided into three factions. The scholar-bureaucrats born in school are divided into the southern faction headed by Wang Lang and the northern faction headed by Liu Cheng.The military generals formed their own faction, mainly led by Chu Shu, and some lieutenant generals who were closely related to Yan Shigao, the eunuch of Bingbi.

Ever since Yan Shigao got the position of eunuch holding a pen, he gave gifts everywhere, and visited politely to get acquainted.Except for those scholar-bureaucrats who read rote books since they were young and who are lofty and dying, other officials, big and small, who are not so hard-boned, have already stood in the same boat as Yan Shigao.

Speaking of which, Yan Shigao was indeed even more generous than the emperor, and the list of gifts seemed to be free of money.But he himself is very frugal.

Chu Xi didn't like Yan Shigao very much, and mentioned to Chu Shu several times that he wanted to eradicate Vice General Yan.Chu Shu reprimanded Yan Shigao despite his disdain for Yan Shigao that day.

Chu Xi stood there bored alone waiting to go to court, and he could feel that all the ministers in the court were looking at him.

The only son of the King of Chu, he was also the second in the martial arts examination.It is also extremely difficult not to be eye-catching, especially among a group of old men with an average age of 50, they look more and more heroic.Everyone secretly looked at and whispered, but Chu Xi could only pretend that he didn't see it.

When the emperor Chu Yuan arrived, everyone bent down to salute in a proper manner, and then straightened up.Play when you have something to do, stand or come out to express your opinions if you have nothing to do.

Shaanxi inspector Ma Maocai immediately stepped forward to report the disaster situation in Shaanxi.Since Chu Xiuzhi came to the throne in Shaanxi, there has been severe drought every year, and the people have been displaced.

"Your Majesty, the people of Shaanxi are now in a state of scrambling for food in the mountains. After the grass is eaten, the bark is peeled and eaten. After the bark is eaten, they can only eat Guanyin soil, and finally die of abdominal distension. I implore the emperor to release food for disaster relief." Ma Maocai knelt in the hall, with gray hair.

Chu Xi heard from his father that Ma Maocai passed the top [-] exams.Because of his maturity and prudence, he was appointed by the late emperor as a patrol officer in Shaanxi to take care of the disaster in Shaanxi.It is only six or seven years now, and his hair has turned gray. It can be seen that the disaster in Shaanxi is serious and the people worry about it.

Then I thought that I only knew that there was a disaster in Shaanxi, but I didn't know the details, and I didn't care about it every day, and I couldn't help but feel a little ashamed.

Chu Yuanzhi also looked heartbroken, his phoenix eyes were slightly bloodshot, and his eyes were faintly black.

"Liu Cheng, how much can you provide disaster relief?" Chu Yuanzhi turned to the Minister of the Household Department.

Liu Chenglue thought for a while, and replied: "Shaanxi has been suffering from severe drought for many years, and now it is necessary to supply General Chu's army, and at most [-] shi can be used."

When Ma Maocai heard it, he burst into tears and said, "Your Majesty, only [-] shi is like a drop in a bucket."

With this cry, the atmosphere in the court hall was suppressed instantly.The scholar-bureaucrats of the northern faction couldn't help but look sad at once.Liu Cheng is the leader of the northern faction, and his younger brother works in Shaanxi, so he couldn't help crying.Others didn't know, but he knew in his heart that the [-] shi of food was indeed barely enough to scrape together.Years of disasters and the fact that the first emperor was not frugal made the treasury empty.

The Chu family's ancestral home is in Hangzhou, and their relationship with the Northern faction is mediocre.Chu Xi was careful and kind, and had never seen any tragic scenes, but she couldn't help but feel bad when she saw everyone weeping silently.Even if he concentrates on practicing martial arts every day, he also knows that this world is getting worse day by day.

Thinking of this, he stepped out and said to the emperor: "The Chu family is willing to donate thousands of dans of food."

When Chu Yuanzhi heard the words, his sad face eased slightly, and he praised: "Quite! General Chu is fighting abroad, and his son is also serving the country. The Chu family is worthy of being the pillar of the country. I only hope everyone is like this."

With Chu Xi taking the lead, many officials came forward to express their willingness to donate food.Yan Qi is also listed here.

After retiring from the court, many people came to greet Chu Xi, saying that he was not only strong in martial arts but also kind-hearted.

Yan Qi also came, raised his chin and said: "Now everyone knows that the young prince of Chu has a kind heart, and Yan is here to congratulate him."

Chu Xi didn't bother to talk to him because of the weirdness of what he said, so he got into the official sedan chair and left.

After Chu Xi returned home, she went straight to her mother's room.

Most of the affairs in the mansion are left to the mother to take care of. There was a moment of turmoil just now, but now I am worried that my mother will be angry with him for cutting first and then playing.

Unexpectedly, Ye Shangzhu was silent after hearing this, and only wiped her tears with a handkerchief.When Chu Xi saw something wrong, she immediately made amends and said, "It's the son's fault that he didn't tell his mother first. I won't dare to do it again next time."

Ye Shangzhu put down the veil, stretched out her hand to support Chu Xi and said, "My son cares about the common people, I am too happy to be angry, how can I get angry, but I feel sorry for the victims in my heart, and I feel sad and hot for a while."

"A son knows that his mother is the kindest." Chu Xi felt a big stone in his heart.

He took the guards to the warehouse to count the remaining grain.

After I was busy, I thought of going to court early today, and I haven't seen Zhenqing until now—but I haven't seen him for most of the day, so I miss him so much.

As soon as Chu Xi hurried into the courtyard, she saw Zhenqing playing with the general in the courtyard.Zhenqing has not reached the crown yet, and always likes to let her hair loose. She is not in harmony with etiquette, but Xu Mo doesn't care about it, so no one cares about it.

I saw a person and a cat under the tree, with yellow leaves and black hair, a peaceful and comfortable scene.Unconsciously, Chu Xi lost all depression in her heart, and approached on tiptoe.

When the general saw Chu Xi approaching, his hair exploded all over his body, and he let out a childish "meow".When Zhenqing saw him, she smiled and said, "Go away. The general is afraid of you."

There was still a doting smile on his face when he was teasing cats, and it seemed that his usually mature little face had a bit of romance that it should have.Chu Xi immediately wanted to pinch his face, but she still walked over seriously.

The general ran very quickly with his calves, and disappeared in a flash.

"It's obviously a cat in my house, but it's close to you. Weird." Chu Xi sat down comfortably next to Zhenqing, and she didn't look like a heroic general at all. Looking at it now, she looks more like Zhenqing children.

Zhenqing looked a little proud: "I'm afraid it's because you practice martial arts every day, and you are so vicious."

"What's wrong with me? Take a look." Chu Xi put her face in front of Zhenqing as she spoke.

Zhenqing looked at the handsome face in front of her, with a pair of smiling eyes, blushed slightly and said, "Very ugly!"

"I think you are extremely beautiful! Even if Xizi is alive, I can't think of you as beautiful." Chu Xi didn't care, seeing that Zhenqing's face was a little red, she couldn't stop her glib tone.

Liu Muyi on the side looked a little weird, the conversation between the two sounded like a girl flirting with a sympathetic Lang.It is said that the first emperor was fond of the way of Longyang, and the wind prevailed in the capital. Could it be that the prince also intends to do this?But although the prince is in the capital, he has practiced martial arts hard since he was a child, so he is different from the children of ordinary aristocratic families, shouldn't he?

Looking back, young master Xu's lips looked like a peach blossom, a thin layer of red on his cheeks, and a pair of glass-colored eyes like a pair of autumn water.I couldn't help my heart beating a little faster, so I sighed silently in my heart.

The little prince worked hard on martial arts, and he was amazed to know half of the ladies from the aristocratic families in the capital. Now that he meets Mr. Xu, there is no other lady from that family who can catch his eye.

The King Chu's mansion here is peaceful, but Yan Qi's place is not so happy.

With a dark face, Yan Qi ordered the housekeeper to bring out five hundred shi from Chen Liang at home.Yan Qi is the champion of martial arts, and it has only been one year since Chu Yuanzhi ascended the throne and was promoted.Although he accepted a lot of bribes, it was no worse than Chuxi, who was an old-fashioned family of Zhongming Dingshi, who took only five hundred stones and cut off his flesh.

After Yan Qi finished, he went to Yan Shigao to complain.

"Young Lord Chu came up with that idea, all because he has enough food. My family is meager, how can I be like him? If I don't donate, I will be shorter than him in the emperor's heart. In this capital, I have nothing to rely on except adults ah!"

Yan Shigao looked at Yan Qi in front of him, and couldn't help being agitated. In his eyes, a mere five hundred shi was nothing. The annual tax revenue and the money for selling officials and lives were much more than the five hundred shi. But thinking that if someone wants to serve in the army, he must have this Yan Qi.Then he opened his mouth to comfort and said: "Young Lord Chu is really hateful, but his good days are not long..."

Yan Qi wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, and wondered, "Why did your lord say that?"

Yan Shigao smiled inscrutablely, and said: "This is something that you will lose your head if you find out."

Yan Qi, who was watching with a sinister smile, felt chills for a while, so he had to change the topic in an embarrassing way, and flattered Yan Shigao: "My lord is really powerful."

Yan Shigao smiled as if he was very useful, and turned to say: "I have a few people who want to be soldiers in the army, but suffer from no household registration, and would like to give a hundred taels of silver."

Yan Qi was immediately hooked by the hundred taels of silver, but he hesitated and said, "It's really weird to be a soldier and you need a hundred taels."

Yan Shigao laughed and said, "You don't care about that."

Yan Qi didn't bother to ask, and a deal was done like this.

A few days later, Ma Maocai took [-] shi from the treasury, [-] shi collected by various officials and Chuxi, and [-] shi from the emperor himself to Shaanxi.

Ma Maocai was summoned by the emperor himself before leaving.Chu Yuanzhi shook his hand worriedly and said, "All Shaanxi is handed over to Aiqing."

Ma Maocai grabbed the land with his head excitedly, expressing his determination to appease the victims.

Chu Yuanzhi bid farewell to Ma Maocai, sighed slightly, and signaled Yan Shigao who was waiting aside to continue.

The position of Bingbi eunuch seems to have no power, but in fact the power has a lot of face.When Chu Xiuzhi was in power, the court was controlled by the prime minister - there was no way to do it, the country always had someone in charge, and Chu Xiuzhi wanted to listen to the song, so the prime minister could only do it.

After Chu Yuanzhi came to the throne, he immediately started to clean up the influence of the prime minister, and sent the prime minister himself back to his hometown to grow sweet potatoes.But the affairs of the DPRK and China are complicated, and it seems a little unreasonable that the Emperor himself will bear all the troubles that can kill a person in one day.

With an idea, Chu Yuanzhi set up the eunuch Bingbi.Help him read the memorials, correct some notes that are neither important nor important, provide some opinions, and write.Those who criticize memorials under the emperor's nose, even if they have no real power, they still have a lot of face.But Yan Shigao is smart enough and loyal enough, as for the little greed behind his back, it doesn't hinder any major events.

Yan Shigao picked up a memorial, looked at it for a while, and said: "Your Majesty, General Chu failed to retreat from the enemy in the first battle in the western border. He said that the army's rations were not enough and the army's morale was in turmoil. I beg your majesty to urge you."

The bloodshot eyes of Chu Yuan's sharp phoenix eyes haven't disappeared yet, but upon hearing this, another layer of gloom casts over them.

"Military salary, military salary, where do I have any military rations for him, do you want me to drink the northwest wind?"

The young emperor has only been on the throne for half a year, and his figure is already thin. Under the external and internal troubles, he is not like the king of a country, but like a defeated dog.

Yan Shigao thought for a while: "Military rations are related to the morale of the army, and they are willing to contribute only when they have food to eat. The emperor ordered to appease them, and the military rations can be delayed."

Chu Yuanzhi sighed, "That's it."

Yan Shigao breathed a sigh of relief silently, Yan Qi was responsible for sending the military rations to the western border, and the amount should be enough, presumably Yan Qi's bastard who had more than enough success and more failures swallowed the military rations.Fortunately, the emperor did not become suspicious, if he investigated carefully, he would be in danger.

Seeing that the sun was about to sink, Chu Yuanzhi finally got up and asked someone to deliver dinner.There were too many memorials today, he was so busy that he didn't even have lunch, and now his stomach is empty.

The palace was quiet, and the concubines couldn't see the tired emperor again tonight, and fell asleep with deep resentment.Chu Yuanzhi ordered people to add some requiem incense, and finally fell asleep.