Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian looked up from the mountain of memorials and waved his hand dismissively.
"Could it be that old codger Bi Ziyan again, trying to extort money from me?"
"If that's the case, then don't show me the memorials anymore; I'm tired of reading them."
Although on his way back to the Ministry of Revenue that day, Bi Ziyan already knew that all the officials were afraid of the young emperor and would definitely not join him in submitting a memorial asking for money.
But he did not change his mind; he simply submitted a memorial himself.
Although Zhu Youjian was displeased, he knew that the man was a loyal subject, so he simply kept the matter confidential.
"This old fellow, does he think I'm not replying to his memorials because I'm hesitating?"
Zhu Youjian shook his head.
"Master Gao told me that this financial power must never be handed over easily."
"What did he say again...right, it's that if you don't have rice in your hand, you can't even coo at the chickens."
A look of reminiscence crossed his face.
"Not only should the money from the confiscation of property not be handed over to the Ministry of Revenue, but I must also find a way to collect other tax revenues into my own hands in the future."
"We can't leave it to those ministers anymore. They're okay at spending money, but they're really bad at collecting taxes."
Luo Yangxing didn't take this to heart at all.
He was in charge of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and no matter how the emperor dealt with the Ministry of Revenue, it had nothing to do with him.
But when he heard the emperor mention Gao Qingyun in every sentence, he couldn't help but smile bitterly to himself.
"It seems His Majesty will be furious after reading this memorial."
He dared not delay any longer and quickly handed the memorial in his hand to the eunuch, asking him to pass it on to Zhu Youjian.
Upon seeing this, Zhu Youjian frowned.
"What? This memorial isn't from Bi Ziyan? Then what's going on?"
As Luo Yangxing had predicted, he was indeed furious after glancing down at it.
"Who is this scholar? How dare he slander Master Gao like this!"
It turned out that what Luo Yangxing brought was the article that Shi Kefa had edited to criticize Gao Qingyun.
Shi Kefa, young and fearless, paid no attention to the rumors circulating in the court and the public, and didn't take the legendary "Master Gao" seriously at all.
In his article, he directly portrayed Gao Qingyun as a wicked person who brought disaster to the country and its people.
Zhu Youjian's eyes blazed with fury.
"Luo Yangxing, is this the only article you brought to me?"
"What about Shi Kefa?"
The implication was that Luo Yangxing was asking why he hadn't captured Shi Kefa.
Luo Yangxing gave a bitter smile.
"Your Majesty, before Shi Kefa wrote this article, he sent someone to buy a coffin, saying that he wanted to learn from his master."
"I'd rather die in prison than change my mind."
"When the scholars in the capital heard about it, they all praised him highly."
"If I were to actually capture him, it would only be doing him a favor."
Zhu Youjian's expression changed.
"Hmm? Who is his master?"
Luo Yangxing cupped his hands and said, "It is indeed Zuo Guangdou from the previous dynasty."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian's anger subsided slightly.
Although Zhu Youjian's attitude towards the Donglin Party had completely changed after hearing Gao Qingyun's spoilers.
But Zhu Youjian also witnessed Zuo Guangdou's death in prison at that time.
He couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for such a man of unwavering integrity.
In the end, Zhu Youjian was just a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy.
I like this kind of heroic figure the most.
Zhu Youjian hesitated for a moment, then spoke:
"In that case, you might as well not arrest Shi Kefa."
“In the past few days, Wang Chengen has led people to screen those members of the Donglin Party.”
“Except for those few who committed heinous crimes and participated in plotting against me.”
"Among the other ministers, there are some capable people. Pick a few of them and have them write articles to refute Shi Kefa."
Luo Yangxing breathed a sigh of relief.
If the emperor insists on doing things his own way and arrests Shi Kefa...
Zhu Youjian himself, of course, didn't care.
But Luo Yangxing's reputation would be ruined in an instant.
He wouldn't be much better than Wei Zhongxian.
Luo Yangxing cupped his hands and said:
"Your Majesty is wise; I will take care of it immediately."
A few days later, Shi Kefa received these articles.
"Brother Shi, someone else is speaking up for that demon Gao again!"
Several young people rushed into the room, waving several scrolls of articles in their hands.
Although Shi Kefa himself was not afraid of death, the scholars in the capital admired him and often sought him out for conversation.
But the innkeeper wasn't that bold.
Shi Kefa's article denouncing Gao Qingyun had only been published recently.
The innkeeper sensed something was wrong, so he voluntarily refunded Shi Kefa's room fee and asked him to find another place to stay.
Although Shi Kefa was dissatisfied, he did not cause trouble for the boss, but instead found an empty house in the city to stay in.
This house was originally the place where Wei Zhongxian's eunuchs were stationed.
Now that the Qing army has long since disappeared, many places have naturally become vacant.
Shi Kefa frowned slightly.
"Oh? What kind of article is it?"
He took the scrolls, glanced at them, and his face immediately turned angry.
"How could there be such shameless scholars in the world, actually speaking up for that sorcerer!"
Shi Kefa immediately recognized that these articles praising Gao Qingyun and refuting him were simply quoting classical texts and were standard essays in the rigid, formulaic style.
It's not something an ordinary person could write.
"Hmph, these must be Wei Zhongxian's eunuch faction!"
Shi Kefa slammed his fist on the table, pinning the blame on Wei Zhongxian.
“Those eunuchs had no integrity to begin with. After Wei Zhongxian was executed by slow slicing, they must have been in a state of panic, which is why they tried to curry favor with Gao Qingyun.”
"To write something like this for him!"
"It seems I was right after all. If we let this wicked man surnamed Gao go unchecked, he will become the second Wei Zhongxian!"
Shi Kefa's conviction became even stronger.
"I'll write another article right now to fight back against these spineless writers!"
"Alas, it's a pity that His Majesty was deceived by villains and actually arrested and killed many of my Donglin scholars."
"Otherwise, with them in the court, why would I need to step forward?"
at the same time.
"Lord Luo, what do you think of my article?"
Several middle-aged men, dressed in prison uniforms, stood with their hands clasped together, backs bent, and eyes full of fawning smiles.
Upon seeing this, Luo Yangxing was filled with disdain.
However, he said:
"Your article is well written; His Majesty is very satisfied after reading it."
The middle-aged men visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's good, that's good."
"We are able to serve His Majesty and clear Master Gao's name, which is a way to atone for our sins."
It turns out that these people were remnants of the Donglin Party who had been imprisoned.
The articles criticizing Shi Kefa were written by them.
I wonder what Shi Kefa's expression would be if he knew the truth.
However, Luo Yangxing didn't think much of it.
He waved to the group and said:
"Don't be idle in the next few days. His Majesty also said that you should compose some poems and songs and hand them over to me."
"The New Year is just around the corner. Once the New Year is over, scholars from all over the country will begin to travel to the capital to take the imperial examinations."
"This is a great opportunity for Master Gao to make a name for himself."
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