Meng E came back and did not see Juenhou's wife and mother in the palace.

Mrs. Ping'en exaggerated her ability. Her so-called entry into the palace was just a routine. Since the empress dowager was sick, the wife had to take turns to visit the palace and serve him to fulfill the responsibilities of her ministers. But that's all. The empress dowager did not really need these people. They stayed in the palace for a night and were sent out the next day.

The historian will seriously record the loyalty of the destiny, regardless of what has actually happened.

Han Ruzi had already guessed this result. He looked at Meng E for two more times and couldn't help but say, "Your appearance has changed a lot."

Meng E has put on makeup and adds a bit of beauty, which is very different from her usual self.

"Someone in the palace knows me, so I have to cover it up a little."

Han Ruzi smiled and said nothing more, but Meng E turned around and left, as if she was a little angry.

From that afternoon, Han Ruzi suddenly became busy. He first attended a party with Yang Feng at a poetry club in the city. He met many literati here, including an official from the Ministry of Revenue.

The amount of grain stored in each county must be reported to the Ministry of Revenue. When talking about opening warehouses and releasing grain, the official shook his head without hesitation, "Food is the foundation of the country and the top priority. You must not act rashly and make big things smaller? It is impossible. There must be an imperial edict before the Ministry of Revenue can order warehouses to be opened in various places."

Han Ruzi put forward many assumptions, and officials of the Ministry of Revenue ruthlessly rejected it. "The county magistrate and county magistrate do have some power in their hands. They can ask local rich people to release food, and the government can also distribute porridge, but these are all methods in normal years. Now there are many refugees, and the number reported by various places is more than 300,000. The actual situation will only be worse. Releasing food in small troubles cannot solve the problem."

"I have seen it in history books that an official once opened a warehouse and released grain, and then reported it to the court to obtain a permit."

The official of the Ministry of Revenue smiled and shook his head, "Junhou is talking about the imperial envoy. No local official dares to do such a thing. But the imperial envoy itself has the right to be cheap and can open a warehouse. Even so, he will be punished after returning to Beijing. The demotion is the lightest, not to mention that the imperial envoy is not sent at all. There is another problem. The imperial envoy is at most open a warehouse in a certain place. Nowadays, refugees are everywhere. I heard that opening a warehouse will inevitably come in large quantities, and the consequences will be unimaginable."

Things were indeed more complicated than Han Ruzi expected. Officials from the Ministry of Revenue advised: "Jianhou's love for the people is understandable, but there is no way. Fortunately, spring is approaching, and when the wild vegetables grow, the people will endure it and endure it."

Han Ruzi could only smile and nodded without arguing. He had seen it in the book that spring is the most difficult season. Hungry farmers will eat up all the grains. In spring, there is no grain to grow, and the number of refugees will surge again. The so-called eating wild vegetables to survive the hunger is just the imagination of literati.

Han Ruzi did not give up hope. He wanted to meet with more officials. Qu Zixi and Guo Cong were both here, willing to help, and even gave him some advice and made a list.

In the evening, King Donghai sent someone to invite Han Ruzi, which was nominally a banquet, but actually met with two criminals in the "Guanghua Clan Tigers".

One of these two people is the head of a department of the Ministry of Justice, and the other is the judicial army under Jingzhao Yin. They are not qualified to participate in the election of the emperor. They are both majestic at one time. They can bypass their superiors and discuss matters directly with the Queen Mother. Whenever they arrest, inform, torture, confession, etc., the original document will be handed over to the Queen Mother, and the copy will be kept in the Ministry of Justice.

But the good days were over, and they still went to Guanghua Pavilion to discuss matters, but no longer dared to arrest people with great fanfare. They were all worried that if the empress dowager lost power, they would be retaliated.

"The wise men in the world inside and outside the capital are not just a few qi-seeing people who have made public appearances." Lian Danchen, a judicial officer in his fifties, is a gentle and elegant official, like a scholar. "According to the news I have received, there are at least fifteen qi-seeing people, as well as other fortune tellers, writers, walking doctors, jugglers, etc., the total number is no less than five hundred, and more than 70% have come to the capital from other places in recent months."

Zhang Jing, the head of the Ministry of Justice, is relatively young, in his thirties, with agility in his eyes, as if he is always trying to figure out the other party’s thoughts. Like Lian Danchen, the limitations on “Jianghu Warlock” are very broad. “There are still tens of thousands of refugees who have driven away some, and there are still two or three thousand people left, all of them hidden. It is very likely that there are thieves hidden in it. I have found several strongholds, but I can’t catch people.”

"Does the imperial edict be required to arrest people?" Han Ruzi became increasingly interested in the way the government operated.

The two criminals looked at each other, and Lian Danchen said: "If you only arrest a few people, there is no problem, but that will alarm the enemy, and"

The King of Donghai, who had been listening, continued to say for him, "The person who looks at the aura is now the queen mother. The celebrity around the champion Hou will be released in one sentence."

"No imperial edict?"

"Just let someone go, what imperial edict is needed?"

Zhang Jing added: "The prisoners in the Ministry of Justice's prison cannot be released easily, but they can report death and release people secretly. There should not be too many people, and this person must be hidden."

Even when everything is normal in the court, government agencies at all levels have a way to bypass the emperor's permission and do their own things.

Two criminals came to see Juanhou, not to complain about his grievances and simplicity. Xu Danchen first said: "Junhou went to the poetry club this afternoon?"

Han Ruzi nodded. As he was, it was too difficult to keep it secret in the capital.

Xu Danchen was hesitant, and Donghai King encouraged: "Mr. Xu doesn't need to avoid it. Just say anything."

"Jianhou, the King of Donghai must speed up his actions. The Champion Hou has come to entertain the ministers these days. It is said that they are preparing to initiate a memorial to the title. Just wait for the current emperor to die, and ask the Empress Dowager to immediately select a new emperor."

Champion Hou didn't want to wait for six months, especially when he was sure to win, he was even more anxious.

"The emperor in the palace may die at any time." Donghai King lowered his voice slightly, "Lin Kunshan once accidentally revealed it to me, saying that those who look up at the qi can decide when the emperor will."

King Donghai made a gesture, and Lin Kunshan was not so straightforward at the time, but King Donghai thought that was the case.

So far, Han Ruzi and King Donghai have not received public support from a minister. Even Cui Taifu and General Han Xing are both the first and second, and they do not forget to talk to the champion Hou.

"Don't worry, I'm not slower than the champion Hou at all." Han Ruzi said calmly.

The two criminals showed joy, and King Donghai nodded with satisfaction. He invited Han Ruzi to establish confidence for the "Guanghua Tigers". This purpose seemed to be achieved.

Han Ruzi asked, "How is the King of England?"

King Donghai was stunned, "King Ying? Who cares about him?"

"The British King is the winner of the throne choice, so you should not underestimate the enemy." Han Ruzi was very concerned about this little competitor.

Lian Danchen said seriously: "Mr. Juenhou is right. The King of England has indeed made no moves. He has neither won over the ministers nor made friends with nobles. But I heard that choosing the King of England to participate in the throne is the idea of ​​those who look forward to the throne, so that in case of the situation, the King of England can have a competitor."

"What if? What if? Is there anyone else who wants to kill us? "Tonghai King said nervously.

Lian Danchen shook his head, "That won't be. The Empress Dowager once personally ordered the Eighth Battalion of the Suwei Guard to maintain the stability of the capital, and also asked us to secretly protect the four men, Juehou, King Donghai, King Ying, and Champion Hou. If there is any abnormality, be sure to investigate it to the end. Please, Juehou, King Donghai, don't worry, there are no one thousand or eight hundred people who protect you, and there will never be any problems."

Zhang Jing added: "The so-called in case, it means that someone leaves the capital and loses the qualification to compete for the position."

"Who is that stupid?" King Donghai smiled, glanced at Han Ruzi, and put away his smile.

Han Ruzi said: "We will be careful and ask the two adults to help us. On our behalf, we say to the heroes of Guanghua Pavilion: The foundation of the Great Chu is the officials of the Ministry rather than the officials of the imperial examination. Since the number of officials is small, and the promotion and demotion is uncertain. The officials in charge often change every three or five years, but the officials of the Ministry only have one thing for their entire life, and have been promoted and promoted, and never leave our yamen. Both have been criminals, have they always been?"

Lian Danchen and Zhang Jing nodded frequently, and Juehou's words simply reached their hearts.

"The Empress Dowager and the Honest Master only allow the fifth-rank ministers to choose the emperor, which shows that they have simple eyes and only see the plants and trees on the ground, but not the foundations of the underground. I and the King of Donghai promise that if they succeed, they will use the officials in the world to ensure the peace and stability of the Great Chu."

Two criminals left the chair and knelt down in front of the lord, kowtowing like pounding garlic.

This was only the first meeting. Before we made a detailed plan, Donghai King sent someone to see Lian Danchen and Zhang Jing away, and smiled at Han Ruzi: "When did you become so eloquent? When those two guys left, tears were almost flowing out of their eyes."

"Read more books." Han Ruzi said.

"Why don't I remember which book says that officials are more important than officials? I have read more books than you, not less than you."

"In the history of the country: Taizu set up the tripod, and the world had recovered stability in two or three years. What is it? It is definitely not the military generals under Taizu. They can fight, can't govern the country, nor are they ministers of the previous dynasty. They have very few left, either killed or reduced to the people, nor are they officials for the imperial examination. It will take twenty or thirty years later that the imperial examination will be very popular, and the elected officials are all over the court. They are the minor officials left by the previous dynasty. They assist the Emperor of Chu and officials in governing the world like they treat the previous dynasty, and they work diligently and have not changed yet."

King Donghai was speechless for a while, "Hey, your reading method is different from mine. But this also shows that the officials are not loyal and don't care about who is the emperor at all. Anyway, everyone needs them in the end."

"That's right."

King Donghai was stunned for a moment, "What do you mean is that you can't rely on Guanghua Qunhu?"

"Well, Guanghua Qunhu knows too much and has too much power. The champion Hou has no reason not to win over them, and they have no reason to insist on being enemies with the champion Hou."

"But the ministers don't like Guanghua and the tigers, they have hatred."

"Hate can be resolved, not to mention that the minister's hatred will only target a few people, not all prisoners."

The King of East China was very happy, but was disappointed by Han Ruzi's words. He sighed and was about to speak when a knock on the door sounded outside. A maid said, "Your Highness, the princess is asking for a meeting."

The wife of King Donghai has not been enthroned yet, but the mansion has already called her "Princess". King Donghai was stunned at first, then blushed and whispered: "What are she doing? How can she meet other men?"
Chapter completed!