People in Beijing feel that this year has been really eventful.
Major changes have occurred continuously in Dachu, and each time misfortunes never come singly. Last year, the late emperor passed away, and the general Qi Jing also passed away at almost the same time. The Mingjun and famous generals fell at the same time, which was undoubtedly a huge blow to Dachu. .
And this time, two things happened at the same time. Sima Lan, the powerful founding hero of the country, rebelled and was executed by the emperor, while Tantai Huang, a famous general who dominated the world at that time, also passed away due to illness.
In just one year, the empire lost an emperor and three ministers.
After Tantaihuang passed away, a mourning hall was set up. All the officials in the court went to pay homage. Qining also went there early to pay homage.
Tantai Huang's three sons, the eldest son Tantai Zhilin and the second son Tantai Zhiqi, have both passed away. The youngest son Tantai Zhixiu is far away in the Xichuan Army. It will take some time to send the funeral report, and wait until Tantai Zhixiu When he came back, the time limit for mourning had already passed, so the disciples of the clan could only play the role of filial son.
Regarding the death of Tantai Huang, everyone in the government and the public felt sad.
Compared to the Tantai family, the Sima family is a different story. Sima Lan was sentenced to death for treason, and his title as Duke was naturally deprived of his title. A thin coffin was randomly found somewhere to bury him, or even where he was buried. Few people know about it anywhere.
After Xue Lingfeng received the emperor's order, he immediately mobilized the soldiers and horses of the Tiger God Camp to blockade the Zhenguo Palace after returning to Beijing.
Longtai left the Sima family's funeral affairs to Qi Ning's Ministry of Justice. Qi Ning did not really have to handle the matter personally. He just conveyed the emperor's wishes to the Ministry of Justice and left the specific matters to Chu Mingwei and others.
After all, he got on the bus halfway, and he was able to sit in the position of Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, not because he really knew anything about criminal law, but because of the political situation at that time.
The Chu State has its own criminal laws. Anyone who works in the Ministry of Punishment will read the Chu Code over and over again, and they will keep the rules of the Chu Code in mind. Qi Ning, who is temporarily on the battlefield, has a deep understanding of the Chu Code. I know very little about the law, so it is easy to leave everything to the people under my command.
The last time Qi Ning was in the Ministry of Punishment, Yida Xi Zhang acted to purge the Ministry of Punishment. Naturally, everyone in the Ministry of Punishment knew that this young man was not easy to mess with. In addition, Sima Lan had already fallen. Everyone knew that Qi Ning would definitely be re-employed by the emperor. Naturally, Qi Ning is even more obedient.
Chu Mingwei is now the de facto second-in-command of the Ministry of Justice. Qining left the Sima family's funeral affairs to him, so he naturally went all out.
In fact, there is nothing to consider when it comes to the handling of the Sima family. The emperor personally ordered Sima Lan to die, which proves that the emperor naturally wants to completely eradicate the Sima family. With such a goal, the Ministry of Punishment can naturally handle matters. Let go.
Naturally, those who deserved to be killed were not released, and those who deserved to be expelled were immediately expelled. As for Sima's family property, the Ministry of Household Affairs cooperated with the raids. The various yamen cooperated with each other in this matter and solved it neatly. Waiting until Tantaihuang's funeral By that time, the Sima family had been uprooted in the capital. Men, women, old and children were expelled to death, and no one mentioned Sima's name in the streets.
People suddenly discovered that now the little emperor was really neat and resolute in what he did. Not long ago, the Sima clan, which was so famous in Dachu, had disappeared in the blink of an eye, and the ministers in the court were also worried. He was in awe, knowing that the little emperor was not as green as he appeared on the surface.
Although Sima Lan was uncharacteristically uncharacteristic that day, the wedding between the two families was carried out in an orderly manner. In fact, there were still three to five days before the wedding. Everything on both sides had been prepared. The east courtyard had already been packed up and decorated with lanterns and decorations. Although it had not yet been They are getting married, but the whole family is already filled with joy.
Gu Qinghan obviously cared very much about this marriage. He personally ordered and decorated the new house. He even sent someone to secretly inquire about Ximen Zhanying's preferences. He also put a lot of thought into the decorations in the room.
Qi Ning was granted the title of Duke Protector of the State. The royal workshop in the palace quickly created a plaque and gave it to the plaque of "The Palace of the Protector of the State." Qin Ning had the plaque hung up, and soon there was another decree. Later, Qining's Duke Protector was not hereditary, but the title of Marquis of Jinyi was hereditary. Therefore, when Qining had children and inherited the title in the future, he would still be the Marquis of Jinyi.
The Duke of Jin is naturally more dignified in the court, and the specifications of the car seat have also been improved, but the most practical thing is that the Duke's salary has increased.
The Jinyi Qi family previously had 3,000 households and 500 acres of farmland. When the plaque was awarded, Longtai issued an order to add 2,000 households and 300 acres of farmland to the Qijia. The income was huge. Increase.
After accepting the food settlement, Gu Qinghan will naturally make the arrangements.
Qi Ning had previously planned to set up a Haibo Division in Dinghai, and Tantai Huang had also reported it to the court during his lifetime. However, it was delayed for a few days because of Sima Lan's incident. Qi Ning thought that the sooner this matter was implemented, the better. He He knew that Mrs. Tian must be enthusiastic about this matter, but she was too embarrassed to come over and mention it to herself.
It is not difficult to establish the Haibo Division. What is difficult is to implement the affairs in detail, and the prerequisite for all is to have sufficient silver. The Ministry of Revenue is preparing for the Northern Expedition. Naturally, it is impossible for the Ministry of Revenue to allocate excess silver to support the Haipo Division. Ning had already figured it out before. Although he had a huge sum of money stored in a secret bank, naturally this money could not be easily transferred. However, if he wanted to use the money now, there was really no shortage of people.
Yuan Rong has a wide circle of friends and has many friends in the business world. Qi Ning once helped several wealthy businessmen and invited Yuan Rong to come over. Yuan Rong received Qi Ning's invitation and rushed over immediately.
Qi Ning was busy with all kinds of things, but Yuan Rong was free and happy every day. The two of them hadn't seen each other for quite some time.
The old minister of the Ministry of Rites, Yuan Laoshang, stayed alone. Whether it was the incident at the imperial mausoleum or the autumn hunt in the plain forest, the old man easily avoided it without getting a trace of fishy water.
"The Duke has taken the lead, traveled thousands of miles, and risen step by step...!" As soon as they met, Yuan Rong smiled and saluted: "The Duke is now in a high position, and he can still think about his old friends. I am really touched."
Qi Ning laughed, invited Yuan Rong to sit down, and then said: "I'm calling you here today. To make a long story short, the imperial court is going to establish a Haibo Division. Do you know about this?"
"Haiposi?" Yuan Rong shook his head and said, "I've never heard of it."
"The trade between the East China Sea and Nanyang has always been controlled by the Donghai Family." Qining said: "The Jiang family's fleet travels between the East China Sea and Nanyang, and every trade brings huge profits."
Yuan Rong said hurriedly: "I know this matter well. The Jiang family in the East China Sea is as rich as any other country, and it is because of the Southeast Asian trade that it developed." He looked around, leaned forward, and lowered his voice: "After the accident in the East China Sea, Jiang Suiyun didn't know Do you know where he is?"
"The Criminal Department is also searching for traces of this person." Qi Ning said: "He got the news and fled. It will be really hard to find him for a while."
Yuan Rong nodded and said: "I heard that after entering the Ministry of War, this kid spread money everywhere and made friends with many officials in the Ministry of War's yamen. I was thinking that if this continues, in a few years, this kid will be firmly established in the Ministry of War. Who would have known that something like this would happen, that young man from a rich family has now become a lost dog." He sighed and said, "Everyone has misfortune and good fortune, and in this world, it is better to have wine now and get drunk now."
"Master Yuan is so emotional." Qi Ning said with a smile: "The Jiang family in the East China Sea has been wiped out, but the maritime trade cannot be cut off, so the imperial court will set up a Haibo Division to continue maritime trade. In the future, the imperial court will directly control this financial source. "
Yuan Rong shrugged and said: "Why do you want me to do this? Does the Duke want to share my benefits?"
"You guessed it right." Qining smiled and said: "Haiposi takes care of the livelihood of many people and is also an important income for the court. Originally, I wanted to take care of Haiposi's affairs myself, but in my hands There are too many things to do, and I’m afraid I won’t be able to handle them all by then, so after thinking about it, I think you should be able to take on this matter.”
Yuan Rong was startled and said in surprise: "What does the Duke mean by this?"
"After the Haibo Division is established, you must have a head." Qi Ning stared at Yuan Rong's eyes: "I would like to recommend to the emperor that you should manage the Haipo Division."
Yuan Rong took the lead for a moment, then finally waved his hand and said: "No, no, no, Duke, I beg you to spare me. To tell you the truth, if I wanted to find an official position, I would have entered the government office a few years ago. There is no need to wait until today. This officialdom is like a battlefield, with intrigues and deceptions. I would rather drink wine, enjoy flowers, and sing about the wind and moon with girls in my free time. This way I will not offend anyone, let alone bring disaster to myself and my family." Gong Gong. He handed over his hand and said, "I know that the Duke means to support me, but I am really not suitable for this official position."
Qi Ning sighed: "In that case, forget it. In fact, there are many people who are eager for this job, so I gave it to you because of our friendship. Not only do the Southeast Asian countries have many rare things, but they also have exotic lands with different customs. Beauty, I saw some Nanyang beauties in the East China Sea last time, and to tell you the truth, they were really stunning beauties, tsk tsk...!"
"Wait a minute!" Yuan Rong chuckled and said, "The Duke is lying to me. How can there be any stunning beauties in a small country in Nanyang? Our Central Plains is vast and rich in resources, and there are so many beauties. How can I care about those women?"
"Perhaps Mr. Yuan really doesn't like him." Qining laughed: "But I am telling the truth. There are dozens of countries in Nanyang, big and small, and each country has its own customs. If you don't see it with your own eyes, you can't understand it. "Yes." He stood up and said, "If you really don't have any intention, I will think about who is more suitable."
Yuan Rong did not stand up, however, and asked, "Can Haiposi have contact with those women?"
"Nonsense." Qi Ning rolled his eyes, "Haiposi is responsible for trade with Nanyang. When the time comes, the merchant fleet will be fawning over you. Naturally, you are indispensable for rare and exotic treasures, but you don't like it either. Every time It’s not a matter of course that I go to sea and bring you a few beauties from a foreign land.” He waved his hand and said, “Since you’re not interested anyway, let’s not talk about it anymore and I’ll treat you to dinner.”
Yuan Rong thought for a while and then said: "If Haibosi is really related to national affairs, and the Duke of the country thinks I am suitable, I... I can give it a try. At my age, I should come out and do something for the court. It’s over.”
"Don't force yourself." Qi Ning smiled and said, "I really don't want to, I have other candidates."
Yuan Rong said: "We are good brothers. Since you have spoken, I can't bear to share your worries. That's all. I have agreed to this. Whatever you need me to do, just ask me, and I will never embarrass you!"