Chapter 258: The scenery is stingy, the root of the Golden Elixir

According to the southern tour route drafted by the Ministry of Rites, the imperial carriage would stop at major cities such as Jinghai, Cangzhou, Dezhou, Jinan, Xuzhou, Two Huai'an, and Yangzhou from Beijing to Nanjing, staying for seven or eight days in each place, and three or four days at the shortest.

If there were important government offices, princely mansions, temples, and altars along the way, the Emperor would also stop for a while to inspect them, such as the grain storage granaries in Tianjin and the Ministry of Revenue branch in Cangzhou.

It stands to reason that Yanzhou Prefecture should also be on this list, and the Salt Administration Office, the Lu Wang Fu, and the Kong Forest... there should always be half a day to wave, greet, and sit and chat.

However, the imperial carriage left Shandong directly from Jining and did not stay in Yanzhou Prefecture for a moment.

The imperial relatives and officials of Yanzhou Prefecture didn't even see the Emperor's face.

As an official in the court, no one can safely ignore this exceptional treatment.

There are quite a few officials who have been immersed in anxiety and reflection these past few days—what kind of political signal does this release? What kind of emotion is hidden in the Emperor? What kind of attitude does the center express?

It made the major government offices restless.

Especially the Salt Administration Office, Yin Yin Shidan's son, Yin Gao, was recently dismissed from his post as Jinan Prefect, and was even escorted to Southern Zhili for investigation, looking like he would not give up.

The office speculated one after another whether the Ministry Department had lost the Emperor's favor, and even his son could not be taken care of.

The officials in the office were all cautious, tucking their tails to be people.

But, the old men were unprecedentedly tucking their tails, but someone didn't appreciate it and dared to come to the door to touch the tiger's whiskers.

"The villain performed his duties, treated idlers equally, and was generally tactfully persuaded to leave, but the little thief immediately greeted the left and right and surrounded him! Two slaps!"

The gatekeeper knelt under the hall, tears streaming down his face, covering his face and crying injustice to Yin Yin Shidan.

"Old Master! To beat a dog, you have to look at the owner; don't look at the monk's face, look at the Buddha's face, as the saying goes."

"Where is this beating the villain's face!"

Yin Yin Shidan sat upright behind the official desk, stopped the official documents he was reading, and looked up at the hall.

The Governor's gaze skipped the gatekeeper and swept to the official who stood with his hands tied under the hall.

Zhao Zhi Shi understood and stepped forward to answer: "Department Head, when there was a noise in front of the office just now, Zhang Ba Zong went to see it."

"The other party also has a proper identity, carrying the official document of the Five Chief Military Commissions, and drove Zhang Ba Zong back, still naming the Department Head to see him."

The regulations of the Salt Administration Office are the same as those of the Canal Transport Office. In addition to the staff and the experience department, there is also the Salt Standard corresponding to the Canal Standard, responsible for protection, bandit suppression, and suppression of rebellion along the way.

It's just that the Canal Transport Office maintains a whole Canal Standard Central Army, while the Salt Administration Office only has a Salt Standard Left Battalion.

Although there is only one battalion of troops, the daily defense of the office is not mixed with local government offices, and it is the responsibility of the Ba Zong official of the Salt Standard Left Battalion.

Yin Yin Shidan frowned when he heard this.

Five Chief Military Commissions?

An office that can't be reached by eight poles, what is it looking for him for?

It doesn't go through official channels, and it doesn't deliver greeting cards, all of which are sneaky styles.

In doubt, Yin Yin Shidan asked: "Is it a civil official or a military general?"

After the reform of the Five Chief Military Commissions, its status has risen, and there are both civil and military officials.

Zhao Zhi Shi bowed and replied: "Eight out of ten are the side branches of the Cheng Guo Duke Mansion, and they may not even have official status."

After all, it is a new office, and the officials' abilities are the most outstanding batch, so things are naturally reliable.

He paused and explained to Yin Yin Shidan: "Zhang Ba Zong inquired that the brother of the visitor's grandfather was once a Duke. Since then, all the family's wealth and glory have been inherited by the grandfather, which allowed this line of visitors to show off their power."

"Counting them, there is only the example of Cheng Guo Duke Zhu Zhu Xizhong inheriting the title to Zhu Zhu Xixiao in this dynasty."

"Furthermore, the visitor is about twenty years old, and there are people around him calling him Young Master Zhu. Both the age and the surname match."

This analysis is naturally well-founded. According to the origin, except for the Cheng Guo Duke Mansion, there is no other example.

Yin Yin Shidan nodded.

Thinking about what the people in the Cheng Guo Duke Mansion are looking for him for: "Why not enter the office..."

While talking, Yin Yin Shidan didn't know what he thought of, his body suddenly stopped, and the words in his mouth stopped abruptly.

He turned his head, with a trace of suspicion in his expression, and looked at the gatekeeper: "Repeat the words of that person!"

Zhi Shi saw that the Department Head seemed to value it, and stopped talking silently.

The gatekeeper still didn't understand the situation, and subconsciously wanted to add fuel to the fire.

"That little thief..."

Halfway through, Yin Yin Shidan immediately interrupted with a flick of his sleeves, scolding with a solemn expression: "Tell the truth!"

Yin Yin Shidan's accumulated prestige for many years, suddenly made a color at this moment, which scared the gatekeeper into a shiver.

The latter hesitated for a moment, and finally felt the old master's mood, and became honest.

The gatekeeper looked up at Yin

"First ask, is this the Salt Administration Office? The little one replied, it is."

"Then ask, is there an 'Yin Yin Laobazi' (Yin Yin Shidan) in the Salt Administration Office? If he is here, call him for me. The little one asked back, who are you..."

Hearing this, Yin Yin Shidan stood up abruptly.

Yin Yin Laobazi?

Back then, when Emperor Wu Sect toured the south, he visited incognito in Zhenjiang and summoned the auxiliary official Yang Yang Yiqing, and said to the villagers, "Is there a 'Yang Pockmark' (Yang Yang Yiqing) in Zhenjiang?"

This is clearly a borrowing of Emperor Wu Sect's original words from his southern tour!

Yin Yin Shidan finally reacted.

The surname Zhu, once a Duke, whose family wealth and nobility were inherited by his brothers—the dynasty has more than one example like Zhu Zhu Xizhong!

Who the person is is already self-evident!

Seeing the people in the hall looking at each other in dismay, not knowing why, Yin Yin Shidan suppressed the thoughts in his heart and calmly ordered: "Go wait in front of the door, wait for me to change into casual clothes."

After speaking, Yin Yin Shidan left the crowd and turned directly into the inner hall.

A rustling sound of changing clothes rang out, and the people in the hall came back to their senses.

The Salt Administration Office is located on the central axis of Jining, and the surrounding area is full of businesses, so there is naturally no shortage of places to talk.

Just like Paper Workshop Street adjacent to the Salt Administration Office, it is a place for the common people to enjoy their oral desires. The storyteller sits in charge every day, and the guests listening to the book leave no empty seats.

Yin Yin Shidan, in casual scholar clothes, was led to the bookstore, which was only a few hundred steps away, after coming out of the side door.

He looked up at the plaque.

Truly a place of the marketplace!

Yin Yin Shidan shook his head silently, signaled his entourage to wait outside, and walked in alone.

The shop was full of guests, and the storyteller on the stage was speaking vividly.

"... Alas, after Shen Li executed Ge Cheng and exposed his corpse in Kong Lin, he guarded it with 100,000 embroidered guards, nine layers inside and nine layers outside, just like the eighteenth layer of hell. He He Xinyin and Lü Emperor Guangwu, who went to rescue him, were surrounded by the crowd due to a moment of carelessness!"

"Under the moon, the two stood back to back, facing ten thousand people!"

"Someone said, you shouldn't have come."

"The master and apprentice ignored it and cried to the sky."

Ge Cheng's death is a good story that has been sung in Yanzhou Prefecture for the past few months, and it was told again today.

Yin Yin Shidan was naturally not interested in these, so he lowered his head and went straight to the third floor.

"Honored guest, honored guest, please stop. I am truly sorry today, the private seats upstairs have all been booked by noble people."

Just as he was about to go upstairs, he was stopped by an old greeter, who kindly pointed to the stairs, where several patrol soldiers wearing tiger skins were standing.

Yin Yin Shidan looked in the direction of the sound and saw that someone was strictly guarding it, and his expression relaxed a little.

He reached out and pushed the old greeter aside, and stepped forward directly.

Seeing this, the old greeter felt anxious and hurriedly followed behind, preparing to plead for this ignorant old scholar, but unexpectedly the old scholar went through unimpeded, which made the old greeter pout.

Yin Yin Shidan stepped onto the third floor, ignored the patrol soldiers guarding the corridor, took a deep breath, and walked outside the room.

The storyteller downstairs was still continuing.

"... So He He Xinyin fought Shen Li, and Lü Emperor Guangwu fought ten thousand people alone, each fighting fiercely for 1,986 rounds! The murderous aura dispersed in Kong Lin, and everyone was covered in blood!"

"They fought so fiercely that the embroidered guards were trembling and dared not advance, and the provincial governor was terrified and begged for his life."

"In the end!"

Knock.

Knock, knock.

Yin Yin Shidan knocked on the door.

Slap!

The storyteller downstairs slapped the gavel.

"Under the moon, He He Xinyin carried Ge Cheng's corpse on his shoulders and retreated along the road, calm and composed, while Lü Emperor Guangwu held his sword to cover the rear, and no one dared to look up."

"Only the defeated soldiers were left, in a mess!"

"At that time, Zhang Da's 'Notes' recorded: 'Before the Kong Lin Temple, he saved people, and at night it was reported that the wall collapsed, what a hero!'"

As soon as the voice fell, Yin Yin Shidan clearly heard a familiar voice in the room, applauding the story.

"Good!"

The door opened at this moment.

The light shone out, and the vision brightened. A young gentleman sat inside, in simple and elegant clothes, with a cross-collar and right-lapel, a scholar's cap, square and rigorous.

Yin Yin Shidan stepped into the room and bowed: "Subordinate Yin Shidan, may I ask if Your Majesty is well?"

The person sitting there, who else could it be but the Emperor Wanli Emperor Zhu Zhu Yijun of the Great Ming Dynasty!

Zhu Zhu Yijun hurriedly stood up to welcome him: "White dragon in fish clothes, why the cumbersome etiquette? Junior Guardian Yin, please rise quickly."

As he spoke, he stepped forward and reached out to help Yin Yin Shidan up.

Yin Yin Shidan's eyes swept across the room.

There were naturally many familiar faces: Li Li Changchun, Reader of the Right Spring Pavilion of the Grand Secretariat; Yu Yu Shenxing, Reader of the Right Spring Pavilion of the Grand Secretariat; Wei Chao, Eunuch of the Ceremonial Secretariat; Luo Luo Sigong, Commander of the Imperial Guard of the Five Military Commissions; and Jiang Jiang Keqian, Assistant Regional Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Only the people who should have been there were missing: Yan Yan Sishen, Meng Meng Yanpu, and Kong Kong Chenghou, Doctors of the Five Classics of the Hanlin Academy, were not following the imperial carriage!

A month ago, the Doctors of the Five Classics of several great sage families were summoned to the imperial presence one after another on the grounds of teaching classics, and have not returned yet.

Everyone thought they were following the imperial carriage to teach classics to the Emperor along the way.

Now that the Emperor is here, where does the imperial carriage need people to teach classics?

In addition, Yin Gao was just dismissed from the position of prefect on a pretext, and the Emperor summoned him incognito at this moment—what exactly is he trying to do!?

Yin Yin Shidan had been floating in the officialdom for many years, and his cultivation of spirit was superb.

He suppressed the thoughts in his heart, stood up stiffly, his eyes fell on the Emperor, and his tone was inexplicable: "I was just about to tell Your Majesty the allusion in 'Shuoyuan: Zhengjian', but I didn't expect Your Majesty to be a white dragon in fish clothes, which makes me look overly worried."

No matter what he was thinking, the remonstrance that a minister should have when seeing the Emperor incognito was indispensable.

The story of Wu Zizuo using a white dragon turned into a fish to be shot by a fisherman to dispel the King of Wu's idea of drinking with the people.

Since the Emperor is well-versed in allusions, why didn't he learn from them?

Zhu Zhu Yijun smiled helplessly.

He first signaled Wei Chao to give Yin Yin Shidan a seat, and then whispered: "Minister Yin, it is not that I had a playful heart and acted so recklessly, but that I had no other choice."

"I have lived in the deep palace for a long time and have little knowledge. Now that I have finally walked out, I want to see the true situation of the people and things in the world."

"But everyone in the world treats me like a plague god, avoiding me and refusing to let me see clearly."

"I previously inspected the household division of Tianjin, which was even a temporary idea, but I was still a step slower. Dozens of people agreed to commit suicide. When I arrived, the blood was still warm. Minister Yin, you and I know the truth well, but I am not a peaceful emperor after all. If I want to do things, how can I bind my own hands and feet?"

Unlike officials, the meaning of the Emperor's identity in ritual and law is too great. Relatively speaking, the constraints of ritual and law on the Emperor cannot be ignored. Under the circumstances of being constrained in walking, sitting, and lying down, it is difficult to take a real look at the world of Great Ming.

In extraordinary times, one can only learn from the ancestral laws.

Yin Yin Shidan was silent after hearing this.

Li Li Changchun, Reader of the Right Spring Pavilion of the Grand Secretariat, who was on the side, interjected at the right time: "Sir, don't be angry. The Emperor's incognito trip this time is not like the Martial Emperor's, riding alone with only two followers."

"Instead, he is escorted by the Imperial Guard of the Five Military Commissions. Every time he arrives at a place, he will take over the local city defense in the name of inspecting the military preparations of the Five Military Commissions."

"Wherever he goes, he only uses the food and drink taken from the imperial carriage."

"Safety should be guaranteed."

At the time of the Emperor's southern tour, it is normal for the vanguard to visit the people's livelihood and the Imperial Guard to inspect military preparations.

Yin Yin Shidan looked at Li Li Changchun.

This "Sir" did not come for nothing.

Li Li Changchun was a Tong Jinshi in the second year of Emperor Longqing, the first selected Shujishi of the second rank, and the one responsible for teaching this group of Shujishi was Yin Yin Shidan, who was in charge of the Grand Secretariat, Minister of Rites, and Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy—this is also the tip of the iceberg of the soft power of the older generation of auxiliary officials.

With the steps given by his students, Yin Yin Shidan ended his remonstrance style: "Since this is the case, I am not in that position, so it is not convenient to say more, I only hope Your Majesty will take care of your health."

He met the Emperor's gaze and finally asked about the main business: "May I ask what Your Majesty is visiting Jining incognito for? I will tell you everything I know!"

His words and actions were meticulous, making people feel that his intentions were pure.

Zhu Zhu Yijun did not answer directly, but took out fruit cakes, ate two himself, and gave two to Yin Yin Shidan.

After the food entered his stomach, Zhu Zhu Yijun said slowly: "I went to Qufu first and listened to the local people's views on the civil unrest at the beginning of the year and the land clearing."

The implication is that he had already visited what he should visit, and only came to Jining at the end.

Yin Yin Shidan felt secretly emotional after hearing this. Isn't this a lack of trust in himself?

Secretly visiting, how much of it was aimed at himself?

The monarch and minister spoke easily, but hidden under the words was a trace of undetectable strangeness.

Yin Yin Shidan was vigilant in his heart, but did not show it on his face, and said objectively: "The people are ignorant and may not understand the painstaking efforts of the imperial court."

Asking such a question, there is no need to think about what kind of answer you can get.

They have already gathered to riot, can they still have no opinion on the imperial court?

It's simply looking for trouble.

Zhu Zhu Yijun was noncommittal: "The local area indeed has many criticisms of the Field Inspection Office and even the imperial court."

The sample play with Shen Li as the villain being told downstairs is a reflection of this dissatisfaction.

"Shen's response that day was already flawless." Yin Yin Shidan said a fair word for Shen Li.

Zhu Zhu Yijun smiled. Yin Yin Shidan said this as if he would punish Shen Li to comply with public opinion.

He didn't avoid it and said directly: "It is human nature for the people to be dissatisfied, and I also have a clear conscience."

"I have already asked Li Li Changchun to come forward and order the Qufu County Government to compile this matter into files and record it in the county annals. Let the future judge right and wrong."

Suppressing civil unrest and other such things, how can the imperial court avoid them?

As long as he is confident that he has not made any mistakes, he is not afraid to show it to the people of the world—if he suppresses the people for the sake of state affairs, that is his decisiveness; if he changes his temperament in the future and suppresses the people for his own selfish desires, he deserves to stink for ten thousand years.

Yin Yin Shidan looked sideways at this.

"I also visited He He Xinyin's Yizhuang, on the way."

The Emperor's language naturally added a bit of Shandong flavor.

Yin Yin Shidan had naturally heard of He He Xinyin creating a school and running Yizhuang in Shandong, but he didn't take it to heart.

However, he didn't expect the Emperor to be so concerned that he personally went to inspect it.

Yin Yin Shidan remained calm: "I heard that Fushan's theory is becoming more and more refined, and it seems to be making further progress."

Zhu Zhu Yijun couldn't help but curl his lips when he heard this.