Xiao Yan was taken down and took a bath in the large bathtub used by the emperor. Xiao Yan looked at the simple wooden barrel and couldn't believe it.

"You eunuchs are too careless in serving the emperor. Even if it's one per day, you can't fool the emperor with such old things!"

"Master Xiao, the emperor has used this bucket for five years. If the items in the palace were replaced every day, the inner storage would have been empty long ago!"

Xiao Yan didn't believe it. Maybe the emperor deliberately put it up to confuse him. The ancestors of the Xiao family said that the bathtubs used by Emperor Wu were all made of ancient pine wood, just to smell the pine wood being sprayed with hot water.

The aroma comes out.

The story of Emperor Wu's struggle for wealth with aristocratic families is even more well-known. The palace is crying about poverty. Who are you kidding?

"Eunuch Zhao, I understand what the emperor means, to be frugal, but this is too much. The emperor's bathtub will last for five years? Even ordinary people will not use a bathtub for five years! I guess the uniforms given by the emperor will also be used soon.

It’s been worn for several years, maybe there will be a patch!”

Zhao Agui was a little surprised, "How do you know, Mr. Xiao, that the emperor's uniform is only changed every three years! Only eight sets a year!"

"The Emperor is the master of ZTE, so he naturally wants to leave a good name to the world. He is thrifty, benevolent, diligent and loves the people! There are some things that we must see!"

"Master Xiao still doesn't believe that the emperor has been here like this all these years?"

"Xiao is quite frugal among the officials in Daliang, but none of them are as frugal as the emperor, who wears his clothes until they are patched and uses his bathtub for five years. The emperor is rich all over the world, and even one bathtub and one set of regular clothes every day are not enough.

Exactly. This frugality is so excessive that it’s hard to believe.”

Zhao Agui smiled, "Mr. Xiao is from a famous family, so naturally I don't believe it, but you know that the emperor has been a vegetarian for several years! You can smell it when you have been a vegetarian for a long time!"

"I believe this. Just now when the Emperor met with me, I can tell that the Emperor has been a vegetarian for at least five years. There is no doubt about this! It is really hard for the Emperor to do this job! We are ministers.

So ashamed, so ashamed!”

"Master Xiao, it's getting late. It's time for an early morning court meeting. Today's court meeting may take a long time. Your Majesty ordered us to cook red dates and corn porridge specially for you. Please eat more!"

"Your Majesty's holy grace, I am deeply grateful!"

Putting on the emperor's patched uniform, Xiao Yan felt it was strange that the civil and military ministers would be shocked when they saw him wearing this outfit to the court meeting.

Although it is a regular uniform, it is also embroidered with a five-clawed golden dragon. He, a criminal who was escorted to the capital, wears this outfit. What will other people think?

Xiao Yan felt that the emperor had another purpose in doing this, and it was not just to let him see how frugal the emperor was.

"Rise at dawn, all things are waiting for you! In the early morning, Xuan Wenwu and officials of the fourth rank and above in Beijing will enter the Chongde Hall!"

The officials kneeling outside the Chongde Hall continued to kneel. Most of these officials were fourth- and fifth-grade officials. Officials of third-grade and above would not do such things as shrews.

It was still King Xiao Xian who led the civil and military ministers to enter the Chongde Hall in an orderly manner from the passages on both sides.

Everyone stopped for a moment when they entered the hall, because there was a man kneeling in the center of the hall wearing a patchwork dragon robe.

Wang Fu was excited. Could it be that Xiao Yan was so bold as to rebel and was caught? Then he thought that this was unlikely. It looked like there would be a good show in the court today.

When Xiao Xian saw Xiao Yan's appearance, he wanted to step forward and ask a few questions, but when he saw the emperor on the throne staring at him, he had no choice but to give up.

The civil and military officials looked at Xiao Yan and whispered to each other. The emperor simply closed his eyes and let them talk for a while.

Xiao Yan was kneeling on the ground with sweat dripping from his back. At this moment, he realized that the emperor's other intention was to divert everyone's attention first. People who would have spoken to Xiao Yan now had to mutter, in case Xiao Yan

It's really treason. To intercede for him is to seek death.

Moreover, the emperor deliberately kept silent in order to let the ministers make their own guesses. The more complicated the guesses, the more detrimental it would be to Xiao Yan.

After about a stick of incense, the emperor waved to Zhao Qian, and Zhao Qian shouted to the ministers, "Dear meeting! Kneel down!"

In the routine of kneeling down and shouting "long live the mountain", the emperor stood up and said, "Everyone, everyone must know what happened in Bianzhou. Today's meeting is to discuss the matter of Bianzhou's transshipment officer's embezzlement of grain and rice from the national treasury.

!”

The emperor directly determined the transshipment and made the Yamen embezzle grain and rice from the state treasury. Everyone was shocked. It seemed that the emperor was determined to deal with the Caohe transshipment issue.

Naturally, Xiao Yan was the first to bear the brunt of the accusation and shouted: "I have been wronged! The Bianzhou transfer envoy's office has been wronged! Please investigate clearly!"

Others hesitated to speak because they didn't know why Xiao Yan was wearing a dragon robe.

The emperor's tone was very slow: "Xiao Yan, as a transport envoy, although you are not greedy for money, you allow your subordinates to be greedy for food and rice and pass off inferior goods. Your crime is dereliction of duty! By the way, you also used money from the grain depot.

By saving food and giving it to the people, and using the country's food to please the people, you gain a good reputation as a Bodhisattva, but the court actually suffers a loss. And some bad debts are included in the charity and disaster relief. It's really a good plan and a good trick.

!”

"Your Majesty, the purpose of giving alms and relief is to gather people's hearts and prevent the refugees from causing trouble and rebellion! It is for the sake of the whole country! It is true that the transshipment makes the officials occasionally embezzle a little grain and rice for their livelihood, but the Caohe transshipment in Daliang has been like this for hundreds of years.

It’s common practice to come here and it’s not greedy! They also want to support their families!”

The emperor turned to Zhao Qian and asked, "I heard that you are also a scholar. Today, I will make an exception and let you come and discuss with them!"

Zhao Qian immediately knelt down and said, "Daliang ancestral system, eunuchs are not allowed to interfere in politics! There are thousands of slaves."

I dare not obey my orders even to the death!"

"Look at you like that! What kind of ancestral system of Daliang? If my surname was not Liu, this country would no longer be called Daliang! I am the ancestor of the country that I conquered by myself! What kind of ancestral system should be changed! From today on

From now on, I allow the eunuchs to learn and read, and assist me and the ministers of civil and military affairs in handling political affairs!"

The civil and military ministers looked at each other in confusion. This emperor wanted to abolish the ancestral system and put eunuchs in more important positions. This was all right.

"Your Majesty, you are a descendant of Taizu Taizu of Daliang. You cannot abolish the ancestral system! In the Qin and Han Dynasties, eunuchs took power and ruined the country. You cannot let eunuchs interfere in politics!"

"I sincerely request the emperor to take back his orders!"

"I sincerely request your majesty to abide by the ancestral system and respect heaven and ancestors!"

The emperor pulled Zhao Qian up and looked at everyone coldly, "If you want to follow Taizu Taizu of Daliang, I can help you. You can all go and guard the mausoleum of Taizu! Zhao Qian, today I will appoint you as the writer of Chongde Hall. You can do it in Chongde Palace."

When discussing politics in the palace, remember, it is about discussing politics! You civil and military ministers should also remember that Zhao Qian is discussing politics, not doing politics!"

The ministers were still kneeling on the ground and repeating those words, apparently trying to put pressure on the emperor.

The emperor waved his hand, "Come here, take out those who don't listen first! Let's continue the discussion!"

Zhao Agui came in with more than a dozen guards and took out all the people who were still kneeling on the ground and shouting.

The emperor looked at the ministers again, scanned his eyes, and then said to Zhao Qian

"Zhao Qian, just argue with Xiao Yan first about this matter of corruption and supporting the family! You can't tell the difference!"

With the emperor's support, Zhao Qian straightened his back and walked down to stand next to Xiao Yan. "Master Xiao, this matter of supporting a family is probably very different from being greedy for food and rice. I was born in a poor family and have seen many

There are so many poor people who disdain stealing and looting. They would rather suffer and make a living openly. I have seen people who dig lotus roots naked in the pond in the snow, and people who burn lime under the scorching sun in the dog days of summer.

There are people who are not afraid of dying to catch venomous snakes and beasts, and there are people who carry hundreds of kilograms of charcoal and walk hundreds of miles to the capital to sell it. These people are called breadwinners. If Mr. Xiao insists on linking greed with the breadwinners of the family,

That is an insult to them!"

Xiao Yan looked at this usually humble eunuch and felt a little angry in his heart: "Disrespectful, disrespectful. It turns out that Eunuch Zhao even gave up being a man in order to support his family. How noble and upright this is! It will definitely be a good story in the future!"

This was Zhao Qian's pain point. He had no choice but to enter the palace and become an eunuch because he could no longer survive. Xiao Yan was too poisonous and directly poked Zhao Qian's pain point.

Zhao Qian gave Xiao Yan a smile, "What Mr. Xiao said is true. It was because I disdained stealing that I entered the palace voluntarily. This is all the truth! I don't know if what Mr. Xiao said about supporting the family is from the grain depot today.

Move a bag of rice inside, and steal hundreds of coins from the accounting room tomorrow! Dali Temple and Jingzhao Mansion should know more about supporting a family like this. Well, if this can also be called supporting a family, then I’m afraid Dali Temple’s official

You and the governor of Jingzhao Mansion have both decided the wrong case!"

The emperor looked at Shao Hongyan, the chief minister of Dali Temple, "Shao Hongyan, tell me whether what Zhao Qian said is right or not! And Jingzhao Yin Liu Qing, tell me too!"

Shao Hongyan was very embarrassed. Of course what Zhao Qian said was right, otherwise he would have released all the arrested people. But if he supported Zhao Qian so much, he would definitely offend the Xiao family and many ministers.

Jingzhao Yin and Liu Qing were members of the Yuanzhi clan, so they naturally had to speak to the emperor. At this moment, they could not care less about offending others.

Shao Hongyan cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, what Mr. Zhao said about supporting the family is of course right. Moreover, Mr. Zhao is also familiar with the criminal law and knows very well about committing crimes. Mr. Xiao may have been negligent in some way, or maybe he has not."

Investigate carefully! I think Mr. Xiao’s original intention is not to harbor thieves and corrupt people!”

"Your Majesty, I think Mr. Zhao Qian is right. I have also heard what Mr. Xiao said. Maybe Mr. Xiao was born in a wealthy family. It doesn't matter if he loses hundreds of kilograms of rice or hundreds of dollars, but that is theft and corruption. If the capital city

If you are so indulgent, I'm afraid bandits are running rampant!"

Liu Qing's words are also very sharp. Without the emperor's promotion, he might still be herding sheep in the mountains of his hometown. These aristocratic families have never looked down upon him. Today is a chance to refute these people.

Naturally, the ministers will not let Liu Qing go at this moment.

"Jing Zhaoyin, do you know that if the water is clear, there will be no fish! Do you know how hard it is to transport people across the Cao River? It works day and night. How can you compare it with ordinary people! Ordinary people can steal a hundred kilograms of rice for hundreds of dollars.

, of course it is stealing, but the transshipment service is very different in the yamen! You have never been a transshipment messenger, so naturally you don’t know the rules! The people in the yamen must not be too shabby when dealing with grain merchants, and they cannot be too shabby to receive officials who go to the capital.

Naturally, it is also a large expense. All the money is paid for by the petty officials in the yamen themselves, and it is reasonable for them to subsidize it!" The first person to refute Liu Qing was Wen Yanru, the imperial censor.

Liu Qing was straightforward and immediately retorted, "I don't know how much Mr. Wen paid for the Zhuanshi Yamen and worked so hard! By the way, you are so familiar with this matter. I remember that you have never been to the Zhuanshi Yamen and have never been there."

Bianzhou, how do you know the details here?"

"Even those who have never killed pigs have eaten pork. Aren't all the yamen in this place like this? You have to be greedy, steal, and put people to death! It's really hard to think about it day and night to come up with a killing list!

"

Liu Qing wanted to continue to respond, but Zhao Qian tugged on his clothes and stood over, "Master Wen, the laws of the imperial court can only be maintained by the obedience of the subjects. If even Master Wen, who is the imperial censor, thinks that a villain can do it,

, then how should this country be governed? The yamen will move the grain and rice back to their homes, and the princes in the court will also take the things from the yamen home. How can that be decent?"

When Chen Yu saw that Wen Yanru couldn't take advantage, he called Wen Yanru to stop, "Master Zhao is right, but when it comes to governing the country, we can't just rely on the law! Only when the law, reason, and emotion complement each other can the world be cured! If only

If you talk about laws and regulations, you will repeat the mistakes of the Qin Dynasty under severe punishments. Sometimes you have to be reasonable, and sometimes you have to pay attention to a word of love. Take the matter discussed earlier as an example.

Taking rice home from the grain depot is against the law and unreasonable, but it is reasonable! Mr. Xiao Yan sympathizes with his subordinates, so naturally he turns a blind eye! There are many things in the local area, and it is difficult to handle them.
To be continued...