People who need the commander of the Guards to monitor are not simple people.
"Please tell me, Your Majesty?"
Apart from Lin Hai, the most powerful person around Yan Li now is Xiong Yanchao.
Others are either incompetent or untrustworthy. Ever since Qiu Quan's rebellion happened, Yan Li was very wary of the people around him. He was not very close and trustworthy, and he definitely would not entrust him with important tasks.
"Chen Jun, a scholar of Wenchang County, wrote a letter, stating that there are officials in Wenchang County colluding with local tyrants and evil gentry for self-interest, extracting people's fat and people's anointing, and the people are in dire straits, and have nothing to love. Moreover, Chen Jun also said that the county guard has the behavior of minting money privately. I think the matter It’s far from being as simple as taking bribes and breaking the law. You change into civilian clothes, take a few guards, and go to Wenchang County. If necessary, you can dispatch the local army.”
Now that Yan Li is planning to go on a tour in Jiangnan, the sheriff of Wenchang County must hurry up and destroy the evidence after hearing the news.
"Commander Xiong, after Chen Jun delivered the letter in the capital, he has already returned to the south of the Yangtze River. I am afraid that the county guard will be unfavorable to him, so you should protect him in secret and prevent him from being harmed."
Xiong Yanchao suddenly felt a heavy responsibility. On the one hand, he had to monitor every move of the sheriff, and on the other hand, he had to protect Chen Jun's safety.
"Wei Chen is leaving now?"
Yan Li knew that Xiong Yanchao was short-tempered, so he smiled: "Commander Xiong doesn't need to be so anxious, it won't be too late for you to leave tomorrow."
Xiong Yanchao: "Does the emperor have other matters?"
If the local officials in Wenchang County dare to mint money privately, it shows that they have no law and audacity. Yan Li was afraid that they would attack Xiong Yanchao. So he sat by the case, wrote a secret decree, stamped it with the emperor's seal, and when the ink was dry, rolled it up and handed it to Xiong Yanchao.
"If you are in danger, you can take out this imperial decree. It can keep you safe."
Xiong Yanchao held the imperial decree in both hands, as if it was worth a thousand pieces of gold: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"
Yan Li put his hand on Xiong Yanchao's shoulder: "Go down! I will meet you again when I go to Jiangnan."
Xiong Yanchao withdrew, Yan Li's eyes were somewhat reluctant.
Eunuch Lu walked in from the outside.
"Your Majesty, someone from Fengwu Palace is passing a message on behalf of Concubine Zixuan, asking if the Emperor will go to Fengwu Palace tonight?"
Yan Li went to Fengwu Palace frequently these days, and felt a little sorry for Rong Changan in his heart, so he thought about it.
"Go and tell the people in Fengwu Palace that I won't be going to Fengwu Palace tonight."
Doubt flashed in Lu Eunuch's eyes: "The emperor won't go to Fengwu Palace, will he sleep here?"
Yan Li said: "Go and send someone to tell the people in Fengming Palace that I'm going to Empress Rong tonight."
Eunuch Lu was a little hesitant: "The emperor wanted to go to Fengming Palace a few days ago, but the queen always used this or that reason to not receive the emperor. This time, the servant is afraid that the queen will..."
Rong Changan wanted Yan Li to get closer to Zixuan and favor Zixuan more, so he refused to receive Yan Li for various reasons.
Yan Li knew what Rong Chang'an meant, so he often went to Fengwu Palace, but most of them played chess, had dinner, and talked about poetry with Zixuan, but rarely involved the love between men and women.
"I haven't slept with the queen for quite a while, and today she doesn't agree, so I will not leave."
Go ask Yan Li's maid to come back and report that Yan Li won't come today. Zixuan felt a little lost, and when she inquired, Yan Li went to Rong Changan's place, and she felt even more lost.
"It turns out that in the emperor's heart, he still never forgets the queen. No wonder he is always absent-minded when he comes to me. A gentleman has the beauty of an adult. Although I am not a gentleman, I am a woman, but I want to fulfill the emperor and queen. After the fight, I will Said that he was not feeling well, and asked the emperor to visit the queen more often."
After making up his mind, he sat in the palace for a while and then lay down to rest. Just thinking about Yan Li in his heart, he didn't fall asleep until the middle of the night.
A few days later, Yan Li took Rong Chang'an, Zixuan, and Ziyan with Lin Hai as the guard, and headed towards the south of the Yangtze River.
Because it is a waterway, there are peanut trees on the banks of the river, flocks of warblers flying around, and misty rain, which is very beautiful.
The news of Yan Li going to the south of the Yangtze River had already spread to the yamen of Wenchang County.
The prefect's name was Ma Guang. When he received the news, he had a headache and was sweating profusely. He quickly sent a fast horse to invite Liang Bin, the governor, and Hu Jinbao and Meng Jie, the local tycoons, to discuss.
The four of them felt that the problem was serious, and each of them had a flash of light and shadow in their eyes.
"The only way to find out what to do now is to find that person!"
The four of them left the government office, came to the prison camp in Wenchang County, and called Shi Peng, the camp manager.
"Is that person there?"
Shi Peng, the battalion manager, said with a grin: "He's playing archery on the hunting ground! What do you want him for?"
The prefect Ma Guang said: "You go and report to him, and tell him that we have something urgent to find him."
Seeing the serious expressions on the four people's faces, Yingguan knew how important the "important matter" Ma Guang said was.
"You are waiting in the painting hall, I will call him."
"Go!" Ma Guang urged.
The four of them came to the painting hall and sat down according to their ranks. This is a very spacious meeting hall. The walls of the hall are painted with white snow, so it is called the painting hall, also known as the white snow hall.
After a cup of tea, there was the sound of vigorous footsteps outside, one person with his hands behind his back, strode high and high, came to the hall door and cleared his throat.
"Why is it so quiet, what problem did you encounter?"
I saw that this man was wearing sloppy clothes, with the word "Prisoner" drawn on the belly of the clothes. I dare say he was wearing a prison uniform!
However, Ma Guang and the others all stood up, bowed their heads in awe, and said, "I have seen the prince!"
The "prince" in the prison camp sat in the middle of the painting hall, took a sip of tea, and swept his sharp eyes across the faces of the four of them.
"Tell me what happened."
Ma Guang looked at Liang Bin, the governor, and Liang Bin said, "Your Majesty, don't you know that the Emperor is coming to Jiangnan?"
The man's eyes flashed: "Why don't I know! So what if he comes?"
Ma Guang was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot: "My lord, this time, the emperor is Xiang Zhuang's sword dance with the intention of Pei Gong. He came to the south of the Yangtze River under the name of traveling in mountains and rivers. In fact, he wants to investigate us."
Liang Bin also said: "Your Majesty is right, the emperor is not interested in sightseeing, he is interested in the officials of Wenchang County!"
The man named Meng Jie was a local squire, strong and domineering, colluding with Ma Guang, Liang Bin and others. Hearing that Yan Li was going to the south of the Yangtze River, he was too scared to fight.
"The emperor came down this time, probably to investigate the private minting of coins and silver. According to the law, private minting of coins and silver is to punish the nine clans!"
Under the protection of Liang Bin and Ma Guang, Meng Jie digs mines and mints coins. Many people dare not speak out.
Hu Jinbao was also the one who stole the mines with Meng Jie. If Meng Jie was famous for his viciousness, then Hu Jinbao was notorious for his insidiousness. His two eyeballs seemed to be like pearls, and they rolled around, his eyes were bright and dark, observing the performance of everyone sitting here. After Meng Jie finished speaking, he said slowly:
"If the emperor finds out about us, Meng Yuanwai and I will definitely die, but if you implicate your lords and you, the king, it will be very bad!"