The King of the Ming Dynasty was determined to persuade Chen Guanlou to join his pirate ship. Chen Guanlou hated people who took advantage of him for free, and it was a business that cost him his life. He ordered his subordinates to reduce the King of the Ming Dynasty's food by half and starve him first. If that didn't work, they would give him some rotten rice and slop. The jailers were very familiar with dealing with prisoners. Everyone had long disliked the King of the Ming Dynasty. If it hadn't been for the permission from above, they would have given him a whole set of meals called "being an honest jailer" when he was put in the prison. Now, when Chen the jailer spoke, the jailers agreed readily and promised to complete the task. Chen Guanlou looked at the jailer who was in high spirits and had to remind him, "Don't kill him. If you kill him, you will all be buried with him." "Don't worry, Chen the jailer, I promise he won't die." "I will make sure he lives until the beginning of next spring." "If something really happens, send the fastest person to ask for Doctor Mu."
Chen Guanlou left with peace of mind. … Taiji Palace. The old emperor was refining the elixir. Of course, he was mainly observing, and someone else was refining the elixir. Strangely, His Royal Highness Prince Zhong was actually waiting on the side, replacing Qiu Defu's position. "Third brother, will this furnace of elixir succeed?" "Father is blessed with great fortune, it will definitely succeed." "Don't just say auspicious words." "I am speaking the truth, father is omnipotent. The elixir is naturally a piece of cake." "Haha..." The old emperor was in a good mood and patted His Royal Highness Prince Zhong on the shoulder. Prince Zhong pretended to be inexplicably moved, and his eyes were filled with tears, and the tears were about to fall. "Don't cry! What are you crying for? You watch this furnace of elixir for me, I'll take a break." "Father is tired all day, and here I have my son to watch, father can rest assured." "Well, you are a good person." The old emperor smiled and left the side hall and returned to the main hall. Qiu Defu brought the eunuchs, served tea and snacks, and asked in a low voice: "Your Majesty, do you want to read the memorials?" "Is there anything important?" "It's the same old things, ice disasters, snow disasters, and money. The fronts in the north and south are urging for food and cold-proof clothing."
When the old emperor heard this, his face immediately fell and he was in a bad mood. "Money, money, money, they ask me for money all year round. In this case, it seems necessary to replace a few people in the Ministry of Revenue. They are really incompetent." "Your Majesty is right. But who should be replaced?" Qiu Defu asked carefully. The old emperor pondered in his heart, and suddenly changed the topic and asked, "How is Chen Guanfu in the Ministry of Works? Have he and Jiang Tu had any conflicts?" "Reporting to Your Majesty, Prince Chen has not been in office for long, and there is no conflict between him and Lord Jiang." "Have you met?" "Yes." "Can they live in peace?" The old emperor was very surprised, "What does Jiang Tu do for a living? He is useless. You go... Forget it, call him, I want to ask him in person how he works. The garden is not repaired, and the money has not been paid, what's the use of him." Qiu Defu knew that the old emperor was venting his anger, but he was very happy in his heart. He wished that the old emperor would vent his anger on Jiang Tu and kill him. Even if he didn't kill him, he would let Jiang Tu suffer a little, and it would be best to take the opportunity to clip his wings. The old emperor was in a moody mood. When Jiang Tu hurried to the Taiji Palace to meet the emperor, the old emperor was looking at the memorials on the desk with a stern face. Either asking for money or complaining, nothing good happened, not even auspicious signs. It's so infuriating! "Jiang Tu, do you know your crime!" Jiang Tu was stunned for a moment, "I don't know what crime I have committed, please tell me, Your Majesty." "Where is the money? Where did my money go? Why is my money getting less and less?" This, this, this... Jiang Tu felt wronged. "It's wronged! Your Majesty, it's all the Ministry of Revenue, it's all the Ministry of Revenue's responsibility. It's the Ministry of Revenue that emptied your Majesty's purse, I'm innocent. The Ministry of Revenue is too incompetent, and they stare at your Majesty's treasury when something happens. Please punish them severely." "If I send you to the Ministry of Revenue, can you solve the problem of lack of money?" "This..." "What? Can or can't." "If Your Majesty allows me to increase taxes, I think it won't be a big problem." "Increase taxes? You know, increase taxes. It was increased once the year before last, and it's increased again this year. No, you can't increase taxes a second time so quickly." After all, the old emperor was wise before and knew the consequences of frequent tax increases. "If you don't raise taxes, do you have any other solutions?" "I can't think of any." "Waste!" The old emperor was furious and directly overturned the memorial on the desk and smashed it on Jiang Tu's head. Still not satisfied, he walked down the steps and kicked Jiang Tu over. Jiang Tu rolled over and knelt down to apologize with his hands on his chest.
This is the treatment of flatterers. When the emperor is unhappy, he either scolds, beats or kicks them. If it were a serious courtier, the old emperor would never dare and could not touch him. They were all serious courtiers who passed the imperial examination. How could he humiliate them at will? Even when scolding, he had to use elegant words. Touching him is impossible. If he just touched him today, the old emperor's reputation will be stinking tomorrow. All the scholars in the world will know that the old emperor does not respect scholars and subjects. Then what's there to be polite about. Just scold the old emperor to death. He will definitely be infamous for thousands of years. That is Jiang Tu, a sycophant, who relied on flattery to get promoted. He would humiliate, beat and scold people at will, and the court officials would even say that he did a good job! Jiang Tu is very self-aware and knows his identity clearly. Don't worry about why the old emperor lost his temper, just apologize. As long as he can't be beaten to death, tomorrow he will still be the arrogant Mr. Jiang, and no one will dare to look down on him. "If you can't make money, forget it, and you can't do errands either. What use do I need from you!" The old emperor was so angry that he wanted to take the sharp sword on the wall and kill him with one strike. "Your Majesty, please calm down!" Jiang Tu, with quick eyes and quick hands, hugged the old emperor's calf, "Wei Chen is guilty! Wei Chen inquired about something. Chen Guanfu seems to be smuggling goods to the northwest." "Oh!" The old emperor raised his eyebrows and seemed not that interested in the news. "There are many people smuggling goods to the border. He is not that many. What is the use of this news?" "Wei Chen also inquired that there seems to be contraband inside. Your Majesty can send Jin Yiwei to investigate secretly, and there will definitely be something to gain." "Is it contraband, haha..." The old emperor looked unconcerned, as if he already knew everything about it. "That's all you're good for, trash!" Jiang Tu feels wronged, why is he useless? His specialty is making money, not snooping for information. He had spent a lot of money to find out this. Qiu Defu shook his head secretly, Jiang Tu was completely in the wrong direction. The old emperor didn't need him to find out the news at all. There was no need for him to use Jiang Tu when the royal guards were here. hehe! No wonder His Majesty called him a waste, he was indeed a waste. "If you can't handle even a small thing well, what are you if you're not a waste? When did I ask you to inquire about Chen Guanfu? Do I need you to inquire about his affairs? Idiot!" The old emperor knew these nobles better than anyone else. After all, we have been dealing with him for many years. Jiang Tu didn't understand his intention at all.