Chapter 296 Fortunately, I Have Received Your Grace and I Will Show My Sincerity.

Chen Heng knew that Shi Ding would never give up. The other party did not take off his official robe on the spot to vent his anger, which was entirely because of Lin Ruhai and Li Zhi's favor. After hurriedly returning to the county government, the first thing he did was to mobilize all the files related to Ping'an Prefecture in the prefecture.

At the order of the county magistrate, the clerks in Huating County naturally had to work overtime. That night, countless files and documents were sorted out and transferred to Chen Heng's study.

After reading for three consecutive days, Chen Heng carefully sorted out his thoughts. Only then did he record the key points in the documents. He drove the post station's fast horse as an envoy and rushed towards the capital.

This was his second letter to the capital this month, only slightly later than the memorial sent by Shi Ding. Although both of them had the power to make secret memorials alone, they were different in weight.

Both of them had to go to the emperor to argue, and Shi Ding, as an imperial envoy, sent a memorial at random, which was expedited by the Ministry of War for 600 miles. The memorial sent by Chen Heng could only be sent 100 miles in expedited delivery. It was not that he did not use the privilege of 600 miles in expedited delivery, but the matter in his document was to postpone the suppression of bandits.

Such content could get a 100-mile expedited delivery. Directly bypassing the review of the cabinet and submitting it directly to the emperor in the form of a secret memorial was already a symbol of the emperor's tireless grace. If he was greedy and used the 600-mile expedited delivery, the Ministry of War might give him face and turn a blind eye.

The imperial censors in the court would probably point at Chen Heng's nose and scold him, relying on the emperor's favor and ignoring the laws and etiquette of the court.

At such a speed of sending letters, the first thing Li Zhi saw was naturally Shi Ding's complaint. Seeing that his confidant and beloved general scolded his favorite civil official in the memorial, Li Zhi himself felt a little puzzled. He originally wanted to let Chen Heng and Shi Ding, two capable ministers, work closely together to help him eliminate a local hidden danger.

Who would have thought that things had not yet started. The two men under his command started the trouble first. Noticed that Shi Ding denounced Chen Heng as a spoiled scholar and a person who got carried away by his success in the letter. Li Zhi also wanted to laugh. His first reaction was, could it be that these two people had conflicts in private?

Thinking of this, he sent the eunuch to call Lin Ruhai. When the monarch and his minister met, Li Zhi asked directly: "Ruhai, does your good son-in-law have a private grudge with Shi Jia Sanlang?"

Lin Ruhai was stunned when he heard this. His first reaction was naturally, did his son-in-law make trouble? But he thought of the news that Xinda, the kid, passed on to him. Lin Ruhai's keen political sense broke out, and he replied directly: "As far as I know, this child has never made enemies with anyone."

Li Zhi talked about this matter in the name of his son-in-law. Lin Ruhai must first keep the topic at the perspective of the elders to the younger generation. No matter what Li Zhi wants to say later, this perspective is most suitable for exonerating and apologizing for his son-in-law.

Li Zhi smiled, picked up Shi Ding's memorial, and handed it to Lin Ruhai.

"Take a look at it first, and then tell me what you think."

"I obey your order." Lin Ruhai took it carefully and looked at it, quickly reviewing the contents of the memorial. After a moment, he hesitated and said: "Chixing is still not steady enough in doing things. He has crossed the line by making arbitrary comments on military affairs. He also dared to refute your majesty's imperial envoy. I ask your majesty not to despise and indulge him. Immediately issue a decree to punish him well, so that this kid can remember it and learn some rules!!"

Li Zhi really wanted to laugh when he heard it, and said in a light voice: "Just punish him verbally?!"

"How about punishing him by suspending his salary for half a year?" Lin Ruhai heard Li Zhi's tone and tried again.

"Okay, I know that you, a good father-in-law, are reluctant to punish a good son-in-law." Li Zhi waved his hand indifferently. He had already got the information he wanted. He said directly, "Since it is not a personal grudge, it must be a public matter. I see that this kid's memorial is also on the way. Let's wait and see what he has to say."

Lin Ruhai nodded in response. This result was the best for Chen Heng. Unexpectedly, Li Zhi asked immediately: "Zhixing really didn't tell you privately why he opposed this matter?"

Thinking of the dispute caused by this matter in the court before, Lin Ruhai said without hesitation: "Your Majesty, I really don't know. This child, now there is no time to discuss with me."

Hearing this, Li Zhi immediately said indifferently: "They are all fledglings with wings, thinking about flying on their own wings. But they don't know that no matter what they do, in the end we elders have to come out to clean up the mess."

Lin Ruhai knew that Li Zhi's words were not only scolding Chen Heng, but also implicitly pointing at the crown prince Li Xian. The latter's views on the suppression of bandits were surprisingly consistent with Chen Heng.

Because his beloved eldest son disagreed with his own opinion. Li Zhi was very angry for this for a while. He even ordered the prince to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors and not to meet with the ministers in the court. Li Zhi felt that it was these sour ministers who led my prince astray. As a result, Li Xian learned some womanly kindness that he shouldn't have.

Thinking of this, Lin Ruhai dared not speak casually. Seeing Li Zhi looking at him again, Lin Ruhai smiled bitterly: "Who told him that he was the son-in-law I chose myself? That's it. Since he doesn't want to tell me, I will just care more about him."

Seeing that the resourceful and resourceful ministers were helpless against their own juniors. The anger accumulated in Li Zhi's heart dissipated slightly.

Because when Chen Heng apologized for the incident of the Jinling city gate, Li Zhi had privately found Lin Ruhai. Judging from the other party's reaction at the time, Chen Heng did rarely discuss things with his father-in-law. With this as a basis, Li Zhi himself did not doubt Lin Ruhai's words at the moment.

As the depression in his heart was relieved, Li Zhi cursed Chen Heng in his heart for being a fool, and at the same time turned to ask Xia Shouzhong, "What has the prince done recently?"

With the court ministers present, Xia Shouzhong answered very cautiously and simply said: "His Royal Highness has been studying in the East Palace recently. Even the grandson is staying in the palace and has not gone out."

Li Zhi cursed loudly when he heard this: "I asked him to shut himself up and think about his mistakes. Why did he shut up my great-grandson as well?" He frowned and thought for a while, then said directly: "Preach my decree, call the crown prince and Li Jun together." Enter the palace to accompany the meal."

Seeing that Li Zhi had to deal with housework, Lin Ruhai took the opportunity to leave, got up and left Linjing Hall with Xia Shouzhong.

In the evening, Lin Ruhai returned to the house and hurriedly called Xinda to the study. The latter was anxious because he had not received a reply for a long time. Before leaving Songjiang, Chen Heng gave such urgent instructions that Xinda did not dare to delay his brother's important event.

"Don't be anxious." Lin Ruhai looked at the child's anxious expression and hurriedly comforted him, "There is something going on in the court in the past two days. Once it is settled, you can go back and tell Chi Xing the news."

"Yes, sir."

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That night, Li Jun, who had had dinner in the palace, rushed to his father Li Xian as soon as he returned to the East Palace and said proudly: "Dad, what do you think the emperor said to the child today?"

Li Zhi dared to be angry with Li Xian, but Li Xian did not dare to be angry with Li Zhi. He slowed down his reading, glanced slightly at his obedient son, and couldn't help scolding: "How dare you spread the words your grandfather told you everywhere? Be careful what you do."

"The child looked at Grandpa and asked me to deliver a message to Dad." Li Jun was somewhat favored in front of Li Zhi. When it comes to speaking, he is also very bold.

Seeing his son's beaming expression, Li Xian sneered, said nothing, and just continued reading in silence. How could Li Jun not understand him? He turned directly behind his father, squeezing his father's shoulders and talking about Chen Heng.

After giving an overview of Shi Ding's accusation against Chen Heng, Li Jun didn't bother to comment. Li Xian couldn't help but nod and praise: "Master Chen is indeed a capable minister. He has only been in Songjiang for half a year, and he knows the civil affairs and the people's hardships. Alas..."

Your evaluation is not exactly the same as what Grandpa Huang said, but it can also be regarded as completely different. Li Jun curled his lips and said to Li Xian: "Dad, I think Grandpa Huang means to punish Chi Xing severely."

"Confused, he is an official of the imperial court. How dare you call him by his first name?" Li Xian glared at Li Jun. He didn't explain to his son until he admitted his mistake and apologized, "If your grandfather really wants to punish him, he won't I’ll ask you to come into the palace to accompany me.”

"That's?!" Li Jun's talent is cleverness, but there are many twists and turns. He doesn't have Li Zhi's sophisticated imperial skills, nor does he have Li Xian's maturity.

Seeing that the only son couldn't figure it out after thinking for a long time, Li Xian had no choice but to explain to him: "Your grandfather wanted to see your father's reaction. And whether it was your father's hint that he asked Mr. Chen to come forward to help him."

After listening to this, Li Jun really wanted to laugh. The grandson who had just made amends couldn't help but said with pride: "Who can I ask for help, but I can't find a seventh-grade county magistrate."

Seeing that his son was talking more and more outrageously, Li Xian looked displeased and immediately snorted. Seeing that his father was about to get angry again, Li Jun immediately pursed his lips and began to think about his mistakes.

Just by thinking about it carefully, he understood the danger. There are many ways to think about the same thing in the world. At best, it is absolutely impossible for the prince to have any personal relationship with the local magistrate, so it should be regarded as a coincidence. But if we look at it from another angle, even local county magistrates can come out to support the prince. Doesn't that further prove that the prince's followers have spread throughout the government and the public and have won the hearts of the ministers? !

The prince is so powerful, capable and loyal, so should he go a step further and aspire to be the leader of Yuce?

Li Jun, who was so frightened that he broke into a cold sweat, was slapped awake by his father before he could express his feelings about the dangers of the royal family. Li Xian scolded: "Even if your grandfather is very suspicious, he is definitely not as dirty as you think."

"Dad, how do you know what I'm thinking?" Li Jun couldn't help shouting.

"It's all written on your face." Li Xian scolded angrily and added, "It's just that Mr. Chen is dedicated to making decisions for the people, but your father can't let him suffer because of himself. You can go to your grandfather tomorrow to deliver a message , Just say that dad wants to go to the palace to meet his old man. "

Li Jun was very puzzled when he heard this. Grandpa gave you three orders to shut up and think about your mistakes. At this critical moment, why do you still want to ask your son to speak for you?

"Dad, I'm afraid it's not good."

The bright candlelight in the palace shone on Li Jun's worried face. If you show up at this time, wouldn't it mean that yellow mud falls into your crotch and cannot be washed away?

Knowing that grandpa is very suspicious, he doesn't want to step aside to protect himself, but he still rushes up at the risk of bad luck? How can there be such a truth in being a minister?

Li Xian guessed Li Jun's thoughts and immediately said: "Jun'er, my original thoughts were similar to yours. But your father and I have learned a lot from Master Chen's behavior before."

When Li Jun heard this, he couldn't help but asked anxiously: "Dad, do you really have private messages with Mr. Chen?!"

"What nonsense are you talking about?!" Li Xian got angry after hearing this. He had already thought about how to deal with the child in the future. At the moment, he still explained patiently, "Do you still remember Mr. Chen's use of the token in Jinling City?"

"Of course I remember." How could Li Jun forget this?

When the news reached the East Palace that day, Li Xian was having dinner with his family. After eating for a while, the prince learned about this and was frightened to death. He rushed to the palace in panic and was about to apologize to Li Zhi when he explained the history of the token.

Unexpectedly, Li Zhi had already obtained the secret letter explaining Chen Heng's explanation. Seeing Li Xiancheng's frightened look, Li Zhi even said with a smile: "Don't worry about him using the token. I know why you gave him the token. I don't blame you. I can use a token to protect their family." His safety is also a great blessing.”

Li Xian finally felt at ease and returned to the East Palace wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Li Jun thought about what happened and didn't know what his father had learned. It's just a small thing, what can you learn from it?

Hearing his son's question, Li Xian smiled calmly and said, "Fortunately, I have received your kindness and shown my sincerity."

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Only two days later, Li Jun successfully delivered the message for Li Xian. Li Zhi was in a good mood after just finishing the test on his grandson's homework. Hearing that the prince wanted to see him, and thinking that it was almost time for reflection, he asked Xia Shouzhong to go over and invite Li Xian to the Jingdian Hall.

After all, they were biological father and son. After not seeing each other for many days, Li Zhi also missed Li Xian very much. After keeping each other so lukewarm for several days, Li Zhi felt a little distressed when he saw that Li Xian looked a little haggard.

As soon as he met him, Li Zhi couldn't help but ask: "I've only allowed you to stay in the palace for a few days, and you're like this. If you feel really wronged, just go to the palace and tell me. Why do you need to harm your body?" After reading so many books, how can I not understand the principles of body hair and skin and what I learned from my parents?”

When you are angry, who dares to speak up? With this thought in his mind, Li Xian emotionally said a few words of introspection, and after a few common words, he turned the conversation between father and son to the matter of Chen Heng and Shi Ding.

How could Li Zhi not know the purpose of his visit, but he still wanted to say, "I want you to study hard in the East Palace. It would be better for you to care about the outside world."

Dad, didn't you ask Jun'er to deliver the message to me? Li Xian complained in his heart, but he didn't dare to say it. He just said: "Dad, I will go back soon, and my son will continue to study hard in the palace."

Li Zhi did not answer the other party's words. He wanted to see how Li Xian defended Chen Heng's 'coincidence', so he waved his hand to let the prince speak first.

"Earlier, I didn't understand my father's intentions, so I just relied on my own knowledge. Jun'er suddenly told me about Mr. Chen a few days ago, but I suddenly wanted to understand something."

Hearing what Li Xian said, Li Zhi immediately became interested. He sat upright on the throne and said, "Tell me, what does my prince want to understand?"

Li Xian had prepared a whole set of words last night, but looking at Li Zhi's expression at the moment, he felt that these words were cumbersome. Instead of making a long speech at this moment, it would be better to get straight to the point.

"Even the local county magistrate can figure things out. How can his father, who has spent his life in the military, not be able to figure it out?" As soon as these words came out, Li Zhi immediately smiled. Seeing Li Zhi's expression, Li Xian felt confident and continued, "Master Chen is far away and only thinks about the people of Songjiang. This is his strength and also his weakness."

"The people of Songjiang are the people of Dayong. Aren't they the people of Hunan, Hunan and Guangxi? The people of Jiangxi, Shanxi, Shandong and other places have been harassed by bandits for a long time. My father intends to bring peace to the people of the world. As a son and a minister, you should resolve all difficulties. , just go head-on."

Seeing Li Xian speak so sincerely, it really hit Li Zhi's heart. The latter immediately smiled and said: "That's right. Prince, do you really think that I don't know how difficult it is for the people in Jiangnan to do corvee work? But if the bandit soldiers are not eliminated for a day, and Jiangnan is relatively peaceful, how much benefit will it bring to the world? Which one is more important? , you just can’t figure it out.”

If we really try to explain it according to this statement, things will make sense. After all, as long as the battle is successful, Dayong will have at least fifty years of internal stability. In such an internal environment, there are a group of civil servants who have grown up to govern the world, and rising stars like Chen Heng to take over. Any emperor would be interested in suppressing bandits.

As for failure? The shortcomings of human nature are not only ordinary people who like to take advantage of opportunities, but even emperors and generals cannot escape it. Most of the time in one's life, one cannot escape the word 'gamble'. The only difference is whether you have the capital and chips to go to the table. It is even said that the gambling nature of emperors, generals and ministers is much stronger than that of ordinary people. Because most of these people are winners.

"According to what the prince said, what Zhixing said and did, is it right or wrong?"

Knowing that Li Zhi's words meant something, Li Xian immediately said: "It's okay to be wrong. He just fulfilled his duty as a minister."

Li Xian's words not only excused Chen Heng, but also found a suitable excuse for his previous confrontation in the court.

Such exculpatory words were quite useful to Li Zhi. He already understood the prince's intention and asked: "Then do you think I should reward him or punish him?"

"Father, according to what I see, this is the reward that deserves it." Li Xian was so courageous. At this time, he actually dared to ask for credit for Chen Heng.

Li Zhi showed a strange smile and asked: "Why is this?! I sent him down to the place to let him train himself. Although he had meritorious service in governing Songjiang, he took credit for himself and directly contradicted the imperial envoy I sent. I will not punish him. He has already shown mercy, but you still want me to reward him?"

"When Taizong has something to say, it is clear to those who listen to it, but it is secret to those who believe it. Only when there are pure ministers like Mr. Chen in the court who are willing to speak out can the way of speech be broadened. My father will not have to listen to what one or two ministers say all day long."

At critical moments, Li Zhi's idol is more useful. After bringing out the famous Li Erfeng, Li Xian's words made Li Zhi laugh heartily and said repeatedly: "Okay, okay, then what do you think I should reward him for?"

Li Xian was also prepared and said directly: "Father, I will reward him with a token."

"Hahahahaha."

When Li Zhi laughed, he also believed it. It was a coincidence that Chen Heng and Crown Prince Li Xian had the same opinion. Today's conversation between father and son was really interesting.

Li Zhi was so happy that he couldn't help but walk down from the throne, holding Li Xian's hand and coming to the front of the palace. Looking at the vast Fengtian Square, he said loudly: "Xian'er, you are my crown prince. The world of Dayong will be handed over to you sooner or later. As a father, do you really not know how dangerous this is? I can't wait to hand over a Dayong that has been rid of evil to you. You are gentle and less decisive in killing. This is my favorite place, and it is also where I worry about you."

"I often think, if I am gone in the future. If these evils are handed over to you, how will you deal with them." Li Zhi said, and he sighed, "I do all these things for you and Jun'er."

How dare Li Xian say more? Hearing this, he also showed a touching expression.

After all, he was just the crown prince, the next emperor, so why did he have to quarrel with Li Zhi? The one in charge now was still Li Zhi, the father. As the crown prince, he had to call himself a son in front of the emperor occasionally.

"It is the son who made the father worry."

"You and I are father and son, why are you talking about this?" Li Zhi snorted complacently, holding Li Xian's hand tightly, and said proudly, "Just watch and see what kind of prosperous world the father will hand over to you and Jun'er."

At this point, Chen Heng's letter was no longer so important. When it was sent to the palace, Li Zhi only glanced at it a few times and threw it aside. He also knew that what Chen Heng said was true. The people of Songjiang were indeed prone to complaints after rounds of corvée labor.

But if the people have complaints, isn't it your fault, Chen Chixing? I asked you to go down to govern the local area, just to let you solve these problems and perform your duties loyally for the court. You have studied with Master Pei for many years, don't you have the ability to calm down?

An imperial edict was sent back to Chen Heng's secret letter, but Li Zhi did not punish him too much. It was just as the crown prince Li Xian said, and he gave Chen Heng a token and ordered him to assist Shi Ding in preparing military supplies and serve as a military camp counselor.

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Ten days later, in early June. Chen Heng, who was far away in Songjiang, was dumbfounded when he received this imperial edict. No, Your Majesty, I just had a fight with the Marquis Zhongjing, and you asked me to help him take care of military supplies.

After that, if... if we lose the battle, will the problem be on me or on the other side?

Chen Heng intended to resign, but the imperial order was already on him, and he couldn't resist the order. With the hot imperial gold medal in hand, Chen Heng took the letter brought back by his father-in-law Lin Ruhai.

He had many doubts about Shi Ding before. In addition to asking his father-in-law about his reputation, he also focused on asking about his interpersonal relationships in the capital.

Lin Ruhai's reply was very detailed. After introducing the situation of Shi Ding's family, he also specifically talked about some interpersonal relationships in public and in secret. These are all things that are easy to inquire about. Chen Heng read it for a long time, but found a suspicious point.

Lin Ruhai said in the letter that although Shi Ding had many good friends with the children of the four kings and eight officials, he had a conflict with Beijing King Shui Rong because of a singing girl in the capital. Half of the people in the capital knew that Shi Ding and Shui Rong had a bad personal relationship. Even when they occasionally met at the gathering of the four kings and eight officials, they went their separate ways.

When Chen Heng saw this, he couldn't help but put down the letter and wondered, Beijing King Shui Rong and Shi Ding had a bad relationship?

Thinking of Shui Rong's smiling face when he met everyone, and his reputation for being courteous and generous to scholars, he really couldn't understand why the two had a conflict because of a singing girl.

But three people make a tiger, and the people of the capital all say so. Over time, everyone tacitly accepted the conflict between Shui Rong and Shi Ding.

Just as Chen Heng was thinking about countermeasures, Jia Lian and Xue Pan, who had been silent in Songjiang for a long time, finally found a victim who was willing to cooperate. The two parties invested a total of 1,000 taels of gold and 10,000 taels of silver to manage the spices together.

They came today to ask Chen Heng to mark out a territory for them so that they could recruit workers and set up shops later. This matter had been agreed before, and Chen Heng would definitely not go back on his word. After writing the note and asking them to take it to Pan Youan, Chen Heng asked casually: "How are you going to sell these spices in Beijing?"

Cargo ships going to Nanyang can take a trip with merchants from all over the country. But if you have to go to Beijing together, it will inevitably increase extra costs. The other party is not a charity, so there is no reason to please him in every way for the face of Rongguo Mansion. There are only so many places to store goods on a cargo ship. If they take anything less, it will be a loss of real money.

Xue Pan heard this and said carelessly: "Where else can we go? Of course, we can cross the river from Songjiang and then go straight through Ping'an Prefecture. This official road is closest to the capital. We can sell all the things as soon as we get to the capital."

Xue Pan's calculations were good. If they sell the things as soon as possible, they can take the money to the boat shop in Songjiang Prefecture to place orders. If they always borrow the ships of the merchant gangs from all over the country, they will become beggars.

Ping'an Prefecture? Ping'an Prefecture again? ! Chen Heng was very suspicious and asked directly: "Who introduced this trade route to you?"

"No one." Xue Pan shook his head in surprise. Seeing Chen Heng frowning, he hurriedly said carefully, "Sister... brother-in-law, no, Lord Chen, this is the trade route that I and Brother Jia set together."

When transporting spices, it is best to keep them as dry as possible. Each family has its own way of preserving them, but no one would teach Xue Pan their best tricks. For example, if someone from the Xia family in the capital asked about this, Xia Jingui would probably bring her servants to the door.

"Sir Chen, I know what you are worried about. But Ping'an Prefecture is very big, with a hundred thousand mountains. Let's hire more escorts. We will use the flags of the two families along the way. I don't believe there are any cowardly bandits who dare to rob the goods of Rongguo Mansion."

Xue Pan said confidently.

Today's word count is not bad, with 6 and 8. I wish you all good luck.