Chapter 25 The young girl's heart was hit
"Godfather."
"Well, go back and rest. I'm here." Lu Fang patted Huang Jin's shoulder.
"Hey." After responding, Huang Jin tightened his fur robe and strode away with the two young eunuchs.
The night was dark and the snow had stopped.
But the coldness in the air became more and more biting, and the eunuchs guarding the palace gate were all shivering with cold.
"Everyone, keep on guard well. The eunuchs will give you more clothes tomorrow." Lu Fang said, and without paying attention to the eunuchs behind him who thanked him, he walked into the hall and closed the door.
In the monastery, Jiajing sat in meditation with his eyes closed.
In fact, he was observing the entire ruined Ming Dynasty in his mind.
"In the financial crisis, plundering the Qingliu and Yan Party should be able to temporarily fatten the national treasury."
"But this money must first be used for military supplies!"
"The long-term war, especially on the northern border, must be well maintained." With a wave of his hand, the Ming Dynasty on the sandbox suddenly enlarged and then came to the border.
It was snowing heavily.
The isolated city gate and the Ming border soldiers with bruised and frozen faces in the military camp.
"There are also Japanese pirates and corsairs on the southeast coast." His mind moved, and the southeast corner was enlarged. He saw a group of Japanese pirates hiding in the mountains and jungles, as well as the transactions of local merchants.
"Land annexation problem." Jiajing murmured to himself, "Land annexation, a large amount of land is in the hands of large landlords, evading taxes, resulting in a reduction in tax revenue..."
"In today's Ming Dynasty, the number of military households has increased, and the allocation of military land has become less and less."
"Military households no longer cultivated military land, but rented it out or sold it. The economic foundation of the military system had collapsed."
"Plus, the military farms were constantly annexed by local tyrants, and our Ming army completely lost the ability to be self-sufficient."
"Many military households turned to other industries, and the army's combat effectiveness and discipline declined, and even..." With a slight wave of his hand, the view came to an open space somewhere in Daming.
War horses neighed and torches shot into the sky.
Several soldiers who rushed forward were shot to death by sharp arrows, and then their clothes and boots were stripped off and they were buried naked on the spot.
"There are deserters." Jiajing said softly, clenching his fist slightly behind his back.
"Money, I need a lot of it, money with sustainable income. If we solve the financial problems, we can solve many related problems..."
"First, we will simply and roughly get some money to solve the most important military needs, and then we will rectify the administration and stabilize the finances..."
Thinking in his mind, and after looking at several places where black air was floating for a while, Jiajing sighed lightly and withdrew from his sea of consciousness.
"Have you given all the instructions?" Jiajing asked slowly after opening his eyes.
Lu Fang stepped forward and bowed slightly. "My Lord, I have given all the instructions. Lu Bing has already left for Zhejiang. Once he gets all the evidence, the West Factory will take action."
"It will take about half a month to complete everything."
After all, not everyone on the list will be arrested, so it won’t take too long.
And the focus this time is to target the Yan Party and the Qingliu Party and force them to pay money, not to arrest people.
"Master, there is one more thing," Lv Fang said with a smile in his tone, "The Imperial Master may come over at three o'clock tonight..."
Then, Lu Fang repeated what Qingfeng had said to Huang Jin and waited for Jiajing's reaction.
"Haha." After listening to what Lu Fang said, Jiajing couldn't help laughing and said, "This girl is smart, but she is too..." Jiajing paused, as if looking for a suitable word.
"Sensitive?" As a loyal servant, Lu Fang could interrupt when people were joking.
"Well," Jiajing raised his finger and praised: "Yes, this word suits her very well."
"Then, master?" Lu Fang looked at Jiajing inquiringly.
"National Master, you have taken the trouble to come and help me practice in the middle of the night. How can I turn you away?"
After saying this, the master and servant looked at each other and then laughed. Everything was said without words.
The national preceptor has devoted himself to the country, so it is not excessive to reward him with such a huge reward.
"There will be a lot of troubles in the future, so you should take good care of her." Thinking of the simple little girl, Jiajing mentioned this.
"I saved it." Lu Fang nodded slightly.
Jiajing began to sit in meditation with his eyes closed, contemplating and breathing in order to consolidate his cultivation.
Lu Fang stood aside, quietly watching over the stove to prevent the heat from leaking out.
"The master's thoughts are becoming more and more profound." Lu Fang opened the stove, put in charcoal, and the firelight illuminated his face.
"The master has found his destiny as an immortal and has embarked on the path to immortality. The pills of Tao Zhongwen, Lan Daoxing and others were obviously problematic. But after the master recovered, he was not angry at all." "If the master's temper had been tempered, I'm afraid everyone in the Taoist sect would have experienced a bloodbath."
"However, the master endured it. Now this chess piece has become a knife in the master's hand..."
"The best knife for cutting clear streams."
The night was very dark.
"Dong, dong, dong." One slow and two fast, the night watch drum sounded at the palace gate, and it was already the third watch in the night.
The cold wind howled, biting and chilling.
Even though the palace door was tightly closed at this moment, one could still feel the biting cold seeping in from the gaps between the doors and windows. It seemed like something was banging hard outside the window, crashing against the palace door, which was frightening to hear.
"Is the time up?" Jiajing opened his eyes.
"My Lord, it's already three o'clock in the morning." Lv Fang, who was cooking soup on another stove nearby, smiled and said:
"The Imperial Master is indeed extraordinary. My ginseng soup is ready now. If it's too early, the temperature won't be right. If it's too late, the medicinal effect will fade away."
"You old thing." Jiajing walked out of the temple with a smile, stretched himself, went to the casserole and sniffed it, then fanned his nose with his hand, and a strong medicinal fragrance rushed into his mouth and nose.
"This is the prescription for dispelling cold prescribed by Li Shizhen." Lu Fang said with a smile.
"Well, it tastes good. He lives up to his reputation as a miracle doctor." As he said that, Jiajing picked up the bowl and spoon and served himself a bowl.
"Master, be careful of the heat." Lu Fang stretched his neck and watched Jiajing put the hot soup to his mouth.
"Slurp." Jiajing blew away the hot air and took a sip. It was a little bitter at the beginning, but a sweet taste remained on his lips and teeth after tasting it.
"Hmm?" Jiajing pointed at the soup in his hand, "Not bad."
"Your Majesty, the Imperial Master requests to see you." At this time, the voice of a young eunuch reporting was heard at the entrance of the hall.
"I'm here." Jiajing looked at Lu Fang. The master and servant smiled at each other. Lu Fang bowed slightly, turned around and left.
Walk out from the side hall corridor and arrive at the main hall.
Unlike the cozy side hall, the main hall was empty and although there was a stove, it was rather cold.
"Whoosh!" As the door opened, a gust of cold wind blew towards her. In the wind and snow, the girl's thin and weak body was shivering.
"National Master? Please come in quickly!"
Seeing Qingfeng with disheveled hair, red face from the cold, and shivering body, Lu Fang quickly moved aside to let her into the hall.
Looking at the two young eunuchs outside the palace who also had bruised faces and noses, Lu Fang felt sorry for them, so he waved his hand and said:
"Everyone, please leave. Go to the classroom and find someone to replace you. Go back and drink some ginger soup to warm your body. It's freezing cold. From now on, a new group of people will come every two hours to help each other."
"Thank you, ancestor. Thank you, ancestor." The two young eunuchs burst into tears of gratitude.
"Go ahead." Waving his hand and ignoring the two, Lu Fang closed the door and said to Qingfeng, who was still shivering,
"Please follow me, Imperial Master."
As soon as he entered the side hall, he felt a distinct wave of warmth that quickly enveloped his entire body, causing Qingfeng to shiver subconsciously.
Then she saw a tall figure wearing a white Taoist robe, with long hair tied behind his head, and his back to her, standing by the side of the temple.
Jiajing took a wooden spoon and gently stirred the ginseng soup in the casserole.
"Master, the Imperial Master has arrived." Lu Fang stepped forward and bowed slightly.
"Oh?" Jiajing handed the wooden spoon to Lu Fang, turned around and looked at Qingfeng in confusion.
Her cheeks were red on her fair oval face.
The tip of the small nose was also red, as if it was transparent. Wrapped in the heat, the two ears were as red as cooked shrimps.
She put her hands in her sleeves and sniffed from time to time.
"What's the matter with the Imperial Master, who is looking for me so late?" Holding back his smile, Jiajing asked in a puzzled tone.
"Qingfeng has been ordered to come here to assist His Majesty... Hmm?" Qingfeng was about to say that he came to assist His Majesty in practicing, but he was stunned as soon as the words came out of his mouth.
Her mouth opened slightly and she looked at Jiajing in surprise.
That little look seemed to be saying: What's going on? Did I misunderstand? Your Majesty patted me on the head three times at noon. Didn't he ask me to come and practice at three o'clock in the evening?
Is it just a random photo shoot with no special meaning at all?
"Gulp, gurgle, gurgle." On the stove, the ginseng soup in the casserole was steaming. At this moment, the silence was like a sharp knife, ruthlessly stabbing into the girl's young and innocent heart.
Lu Fang lowered his head and stirred the ginseng soup in the casserole with a wooden spoon. His shoulders shook continuously as if he had been electrocuted.
"..."
(End of this chapter)
