After a while, Emperor Longqing took the apple from Concubine Lin Shufei's hand, took a bite and put it aside: "Is the Feng family so prestigious? It's just a coming-of-age ceremony, why does even a princess have to postpone her trip for her?"
Concubine Lin Shu smiled and said, "I heard that because Yonghe was also going, Miss Feng sent a letter asking Princess Shouning to stay and watch the ceremony."
Emperor Longqing understood as soon as he heard it. No matter how successful Feng Shuyuan was, Wei An might not buy her account. But if Yonghe stepped in, it would be a different situation.
He raised his eyebrows and asked Concubine Lin Shu: "Do you think Shouning and Shen Chen are a good match?"
When asked this, Concubine Lin Shu frowned unconsciously, and seemed to think about it seriously before saying, "Whether it is suitable or not, how can I say it? In my opinion, my brother is naturally the best..."
This is the truth.
Emperor Longqing couldn't help but laugh: "It's a pity, your brother is a treasure, but Shouning doesn't think highly of him. What can you do?"
He seemed to have made up his mind. Just then, Eunuch An came in hurriedly. He stood up and told Concubine Lin Shu: "Take good care of yourself."
Concubine Lin Shu responded in a low voice, then stood up respectfully to see him out.
Eunuch An helped Emperor Longqing down the steps while lowering his head and saying, "Minister of War Xu Anying received an urgent report from Zhejiang that the Japanese pirates have stationed more than 30,000 troops and seem to be preparing for a counterattack."
Emperor Longqing's expression changed instantly, and he forgot what he had planned to say to Princess Yonghe, and immediately went to the Taiji Hall.
Xu Anying, Qian Shiyun and others had already arrived here. When they saw Emperor Longqing, they hurriedly stood up and saluted.
Emperor Longqing forgot to do so. He actually read the urgent report that Xu Anying held up with both hands, and sneered: "What does Liu Biping mean by this?!"
Previously, all the reports from Fujian were good news, saying that the Japanese pirates had been dealt a heavy blow. The Fujian Provincial Administration even submitted a memorial praising this as an unprecedented achievement. However, now, a large number of Japanese pirates are running rampant along the coast of Zhejiang.
The Governor of Zhejiang Province stated clearly that these Japanese pirates had fled over from Fujian.
What on earth is Liu Biping doing? !
Xu Anying immediately reported: "Liu Biping always boasted about his great victory when he asked the court for money, but the inspector did not tell him a single word of the truth. This shows how corrupt the Fujian officialdom is..."
Liu Biping seemed to have mastered the essence of deceiving his superiors and hiding the truth from his subordinates.
On the one hand, they cried poor and begged for money from the imperial court, and on the other hand, they used the excuse of being Japanese pirates to increase their military power.
How could he be fighting against the Japanese pirates
It's obvious that they deliberately kept the Japanese pirates and that gang of sea creatures to consolidate their position!
Emperor Longqing looked at the urgent report in front of him and suddenly threw it to the ground: "Such a traitor!"
There was a dead silence in the hall, and no one dared to speak for a moment.
Emperor Longqing’s anger was justified.
Over the years, Liu Biping relied on his ability to use people to control the Japanese pirates in Fujian and protect the people in Fujian from being harassed by the Japanese pirates, which enabled him to gain a firm foothold.
There is a saying that has been circulating in the court: the court cannot do without the southeast for a single day, and the southeast cannot do without Liu Biping for a single day.
There is some truth in this.
But as time went on, Liu Biping's appetite grew.
Since he had successively eliminated the Yi family and the Peng family, Liu Biping seemed to have no more constraints. Relying on the rebellions of King Cheng and King Jin in the imperial court, and the war between the imperial court and King Jin, and the large amount of military funds raised in Fujian, he became more and more arrogant.
It's just that he's too arrogant, and some things can't be hidden.
Just like this time, the Japanese pirates had finally been fed fat and bloated by Liu Biping. They were no longer satisfied with the private transactions with Liu Biping and had already set their sights on Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
In the silence, it was Censor Chen who spoke first: "Liu Biping is originally from Fujian."
This nonsensical sentence left everyone confused, and they looked at him in confusion.
Qian Shiyun was the fastest to react. He thought for a moment before saying, "Officials never return to their hometowns... He was recommended by Prime Minister Xia and is also his disciple."
That's why he was able to return to Fujian to serve as a governor, and the Liu family was originally a big family in the local area.
He is doing even better than before.
By now, it has become too big to be eliminated.
Fujian has become the Liu family's territory.
Emperor Longqing sneered.
Everyone knelt on the ground hurriedly.
"He asks the court for money every year. How much silver does Fujian spend on military expenditure in a year?! No matter how big an appetite Liu Biping has, can he eat so much?" Emperor Longqing threw the memorial in his hand heavily to the ground. "Even if he can eat it, let alone the local censors and the people in the provincial government, is there no one in the court who knows about it?!"
This is really heartbreaking.
It is clearly saying that there are people in the court who are colluding with Liu Biping.
"How dare you mislead me like this!" Emperor Longqing snorted, his tone full of undercurrents: "If it hadn't been for this incident, even if Shen Chen was sent, what would have been the point of building the Maritime Customs Office?!"
Having said that, I have no choice but to respond.
Everyone's eyes fell on the Prime Minister.
Finally, Prime Minister Jiang fell to the ground and looked up: "The Japanese pirates in the southeast are constantly invading, the Tatars in the north are eyeing us covetously, and the King of Jin is causing chaos in Jiangxi... Liu Biping is indeed ambitious, but now is not the time to touch him..."
It sounds a bit harsh, but it is the truth.
At this moment, if Liu Biping is implicated, it will inevitably shake the entire southeastern officialdom. Not only that, but countless people in the court will be implicated. Xia Song has been the prime minister for many years, and his disciples are spread across the court and the country. The reason why Xia Song's downfall did not cause much commotion is, firstly, because Xia Song is still alive after all, and secondly, although Xia Song has fallen, Emperor Longqing is obviously concerned about the court situation and did not dig deep at all costs, leaving room for people.
But once Liu Biping is investigated.
There is no longer any room for this.
By then, how many people will be involved
By the time the matter is exposed, if the court does not investigate, the people will be discouraged. Once a thorough investigation is conducted, all officials will be frightened and the court and the public will be shocked. Then the country will be in a difficult situation.
What Jiang Zining said made sense. Liu Biping must not be touched, at least not at this time.
Qian Shiyun followed Jiang Zining and kowtowed to Emperor Longqing several times, saying earnestly: "Your Majesty, the Prime Minister is right... This matter concerns the overall situation in the southeast and involves too many people. Once it is thoroughly investigated, it will inevitably shock the government and the public..."
Then it cannot be thoroughly investigated.
But since we can't conduct a thorough investigation, why should we just let this parasite Liu Biping be allowed to cause trouble
Even if the imperial court did not conduct a thorough investigation, the Japanese pirates in Zhejiang, the people and the government did not notice anything wrong? Did they not know what was going on in Fujian
No matter how you think about it, it's a mess. It seems like no matter which direction you go, you'll be dead.