eldest son of Ming dynasty

The thing that made Zhu Houzhao the most happy about the opening of the sea was not that he had convinced someone else, but Wang Shouren, who had shined in Fujian.For other officials who have made meritorious service, the Ministry of Officials will reward them according to the existing system.It is Wang Shouren who is an exception. Fengxi has already reported in detail what he did in Fujian.Zhu Houzhao plans to promote him personally.

Previously, he went to Fujian to participate in politics. The imperial court did not fix his rank, and the original head of the Ministry of War was the lowest rank among the ministers (i.e. Lang Zhong, Yuanwai Lang, and the head of the Ministry), with a rank of six.

In other words, he is the sixth grade.

Looking at it now, promotion is certain, but Zhu Houzhao is really entangled in where to be promoted.

On the one hand, Wang Shouren in history did a lot when he was the county magistrate of Luling, but his military talent was outstanding.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao not only wanted him to represent the people's livelihood in one place, but also wanted him to join Yang Yiqing's side to participate in the re-enrollment matters.

In fact, it is not difficult to choose, but Yang Yiqing is also a very capable person, and there are trustworthy generals such as Zhou Shangwen and Yang Shangyi in the northwest, why should there be another one?
If Wang Shouren can govern the local area, it will be a blessing to the people of one side.In the final analysis, the redemption is not for the sake of redemption, but for the common people.

This matter was difficult to resolve for a while, but later because of the Spring Festival, many government affairs were delayed, and the matter of Wang Shouren's promotion was planted in Zhu Houzhao's heart, and he never let it go completely.

Needless to say, the tedious and boring sacrificial activities during the Spring Festival, the emperor did not have a serious harem, that is, he watched a few plays with Empress Dowager Zhang, or so.

However, after the [-]th day of the first lunar month, officials began to report to the emperor, requesting that the queen be selected and canonized by the people as soon as possible.

Because the emperor is already 16 years old.

According to the ancestral system of the Ming Dynasty, this age is to get married.

The minister didn't mention it last year because the old emperor passed away after all.But now that the reign name has been officially changed to Zhengde, there is still work to be done.

Without heirs, there is no way to inherit the imperial power. This is an extremely important event related to the country and the country.

Even Queen Mother Zhang mentioned it several times.

As a latecomer, Zhu Houzhao didn't understand the importance that the ancients attached to the issue of "royal heirs", so he ignored it, so that Zhang Mao, the deputy governor of the left, directly raised this issue when he was still in the Qianqing Palace and the ministers.

Said, "Today, the people are in Kangwufu, and your majesty is in the heyday of spring and autumn. Why do you want to make Kunning Palace so long?"The minister heard that His Majesty has been diligent in governing the country day and night, and has not been close to women so far.Don't you know that having many offspring is also a sign of prosperity? '

Zhu Houzhao was taken aback by his question, as if he said that he didn't like women.

Considering that there would be conflicts with these ministers on too many issues, Zhu Houzhao did his best to follow their wishes, anyway, the queen would marry anyway.

So he smiled helplessly, "I will urge you to get married when I come here. Okay, this matter will be handled by the Ministry of Rites and the Qin Tianjian. After the candidates and dates are determined, it is enough to make a statement. That's it , is Mr. Zhang satisfied?"

The emperor agreed, and Zhang Mao had nothing to say.The old man pouted and stepped back.

Zhu Houzhao also made a joke, saying: "Renrou Township, Hero Tomb, if the king doesn't come to court early in the future, don't look for me, look for Mr. Zhang."

The ministers laughed lightly.

But Zhang Mao was in a hurry, "I want to play the matter of the sons and heirs. If your majesty misses the gentle hometown, I will play it again."

"It's a good idea, I won't give you this chance."

These words were circumvented, the cabinet, the military aircraft department and the heads of various ministries thought for a while before they understood the meaning of pretending to be angry.

Han Wen cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty governs the country diligently, comparable to the ancient sages, even a Tang Xuanzong must not be as good as my emperor!"

"That's the end of the joke. Let's get down to business." Zhu Houzhao stood up, "During the Spring Festival last year, I and the cabinet mentioned the so-called three-year plan and the annual policy goals. Now it is the beginning of the year, last year There must be a summary of the government’s administration, and the government affairs in the first year of Zhengde must be carried out. That’s why so many people gathered in the Qianqing Palace today.”

"I will throw bricks to attract jade, and then you will talk about it in detail. First, in March this year, when the spring is warm and the flowers are blooming, there will be a grand court meeting. First of all, many achievements of last year should come out, such as how many redundant officials have been abolished by the Ministry of Officials, households How much money has been received by the ministry, and where has the money been spent. The second is this year, and this year the repackage will officially enter the implementation stage."

"As I said earlier, the key to the re-entry is the cavalry. Yang Yiqing told me to give him [-] cavalry, and he would be able to ensure a successful re-entry. I... didn't promise him."

When the ministers heard this, they breathed a sigh of relief.

Because of the [-] over there, plus the [-] from Datong Zhou Shangwen.

Such a scale of cavalry was probably enough for him in the prosperity of the Han and Tang Dynasties and Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty.Emperor Sui Yang's conquest of Goguryeo was a nationwide mobilization, but the use of national power in that way... The current situation in Ming Dynasty is not enough.

Of course, if you insist on pulling a broken horse and a soldier so that they are also called cavalry, then just ignore it.

Apart from other things, the ration is very scary.Taking the average, the daily ration of ordinary soldiers is about three catties, no less than two catties, and the strong war horses need to eat hay and concentrate, which is about 20 catties per day.

After a rough calculation, the mouths of the newly added 50 cavalry will cost 300 shi for food and [-] million shi for fodder a year.

The conflict between people and land in Daming was already prominent. If 50 shi of grain were really extracted from somewhere, how many people would starve to death.

In addition, there are soldiers' salaries and various supporting saddles, steel knives, etc., which are really too expensive.

Back then when Yue Fei killed two thousand Tiefutu, Wanyan Wushu's heart ached as if he had lost his own flesh.

"I will give him another [-] at most," Zhu Houzhao said, still more realistically, "the training will be organized in the first two years, and implemented in the third year. If the conditions are met, it can be implemented in the second year. Therefore, I plan to train another [-] cavalry this year. "

Such figures are easier for the ministers to accept.But the same is a huge sum of money.

Gu Zuojin said: "The Shaofu also has a little surplus in terms of silver."

Hearing this, Min Gui became anxious, "Your Majesty has an imperial decree long ago, the silver taels obtained by the Shaofu are taken from the people and used for the people. Young Situ, are you going to place Your Majesty in an unjust place?"

Gu Zuo was puzzled, "These silver taels are used to train the Ming army. Every soldier in the Ming Dynasty is a citizen of the Ming Dynasty. I don't know why the chief commander thinks that spending money like this is not for the people? Your Majesty didn't start a big construction project, but used it for Strong army, why not?"

Zhu Houzhao stopped this kind of quarrel in time, "Don't say a few words, today I only mention principles and don't argue. The matter of repetition is the most important thing for you and my monarch and ministers in the past two years. Since it costs a lot, then we must It was achieved in one battle. Give Yang Yiqing a decree, ordering him to enter Beijing at a certain time to discuss matters."

On the other side,
Mei Kejia and Gu Dayong entered Beijing together.

They walked so carefully along the way, basically notifying the government along the way to send troops to protect them, because they were very rich, and they couldn't afford to make any mistakes.

Fortunately, in the Taiping era, the road was relatively safe, and there were Jin Yiwei and officers and soldiers along the way to protect it, so the journey was safe and sound.

Zhu Houzhao originally thought that there would be no shortage of silver coins because he believed that after the sea was opened, Mei Kejia and the Shibo Department would have income.

But he didn't expect windfalls either.

After arriving in the capital, Gu Dayong mobilized people from the East Factory through the Li Supervisor to guard all the silver closely, and only after the arrangements were made did he listen to the order to enter the palace.

They played surprise with the emperor,
Gu Dayong didn't tell the story of the silver until he reported it face to face.

Zhu Houzhao was slightly shocked, "240 million taels? How did you get it?"

That's a lot of money.With this amount of money, no matter whether it is to expand the Yuanmachang or buy grain, there will be no shortage of money on the northern border in the first year of Zhengde.

Mei Kejia followed up and explained that there were about eight families, each with 20 yuan, plus the 80 taels that Mei Jijie sent.

"You guys, didn't wantonly raid the people, did you?"

Gu Dayong quickly lowered his head, "Your Majesty knows best that your Majesty loves the people like a son, so why would you go to a dead end? If you want to talk about the origin of the money, it's not that the slaves earned it, but took it from the merchants, but they don't They have been smuggled by trade for many years, and the imperial court spared them, so they should pay a sum of money."

Hearing that, Zhu Houzhao felt a little more at ease, "As long as you don't search from the poor people, I will remember your great contribution. Great use, you have worked hard this year. Now that the new year is just over, what reward do you want? Say Come out, I will cheer you up."

"As a servant, it is right to sacrifice your life for His Majesty. A servant does not dare to have the idea of ​​rewarding him."

Zhu Houzhao glanced at Liu Jin.

Liu Jin said: "Your Majesty is happy, if you want to reward you, you just go ahead and continue to serve His Majesty well in the future. Besides, you should be rewarded for meritorious service. This is His Majesty's rule."

"Okay, don't scare him." Zhu Houzhao thought for a while, "I originally wanted to keep you in the palace, but the fact that you are in Zhejiang is doing well. So in terms of position, I will not move you. You Still go to Zhejiang, where is the key in the past few years, no matter how hard you work.”

"However, you have handled too much silver taels. I don't want to see you and Wei Bin end up in the same fate, so I will reward you with 1 taels of silver. I can't help being tempted, so the more important meaning of this reward is to love you. Isn't 1 taels enough for you to buy? In the future, you must also remember that as long as you make meritorious service, you will be indispensable to the silver, just don't take it. of silver."

"You are all people around you, and you all know my temper. If I don't bark, you don't take it; if you really don't take it, I will give it back. No matter what others say, I am such a man."

The emperor is full of personality, and Liu Jin, Gu Dayong and Mei Kejia were all shocked when they heard this.

"Thank you, servant, for your majesty's grace! I will remember your majesty's words, and I will take Wei Bin as a warning in the future, and will wholeheartedly manage Zhejiang's money for your majesty!"

"Treasurer Mei, I won't reward you with 1 taels of silver. You are richer than me."

Zhu Houzhao's words were a joke, but Mei Kejia didn't dare to answer, "Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, rich all over the world. This villain's life belongs to His Majesty, let alone those family wealth?"

"Don't say that, as if I'm like a hooligan who robs people and property." Zhu Houzhao thought of a good idea with his hands behind his back, "We have known each other for several years since Hongzhi's 11th year. You have worked hard these past few years. Now the big event has just come to fruition. I...give you an official status?"