If I fail to overcome the tribulation, I can only return to the Ming Dynasty and become a prince.

Chapter 185 Add Jiuxi

The income of one million taels of cash a year was not offset in kind, but real cash. This undoubtedly made Xia Yuanji and the ministers of the imperial court fall into a huge sense of happiness.

You must know that although the Yongle Dynasty had a large income, with tens of millions on the books a year, it was all food, silk and other physical goods.

What the Ministry of Accounts can really use is a few million taels of cash, which is usually only two to three million taels a year.

This money is the lifeblood of the household department, and they will not be used easily. They are usually given in kind or offset with treasure notes, and some cash will be used unless absolutely necessary.

Just like the salary of an official: "First and second grade rice has four branches of rice and six banknotes; third and fourth grade rice has half and half banknotes; fifth and sixth grade rice has six banknotes and four; seventh and eighth grade rice has eight banknotes and two banknotes." This rice is real rice, with banknotes of two. Even treasure banknotes and salaries paid by officials cannot be seen in cash.

That's why after officials received their salaries, their families quickly sold the rice and exchanged it for cash, while the treasure notes could only be used as change and used directly before the value depreciated.

This is not the era in the late Ming Dynasty when a fourth-rank official could take out millions of taels of silver from his family. In the early Ming Dynasty, this was an era when the entire country was short of silver.

It is precisely because of this that the one million taels of silver deserved such a grand reception, personally received by the emperor, prince, grandson, and hundreds of civil and military officials.

This is almost equivalent to an extra third or even more than half of the court's cash income every year out of thin air. The court's finances will be greatly improved.

So even though the new year is approaching and the wind is biting on the pier, all the red-robed officials are still standing there, watching eagerly as the officials from the Ministry of Revenue count out the money bit by bit, and then pack it into boxes and transport it to the Ministry of Revenue. 's warehouse.

Watching the money being shipped, Zhu Zhanju seemed to feel that this alone was not impressive enough, so he asked people to open all the boxes so that the people could see that the boxes were full of silver, and sent out Qingyu Guards along the way. escort.

The Jade Guards, who moved and moved like one person, and marched like a line, marched forward in a row, with their strong military might stepping on the same drumbeat every step, coupled with the boxes of silver, they passed through the lively city of Nanjing in an almost parade manner. .

Almost all the people along the way were watching. They crowded and pushed forward, just to see the shock of 100 million taels of silver.

And this spectacular scene really made the people in Nanjing really feel what it means to have a rich country and a strong military!What is the power of tomorrow!

At this moment, on the destiny compass outside Fengtian Gate, two-colored clouds of green and gold, representing the people's hearts and minds and the national destiny, gathered, shrouding the city of Nanjing like two stars, indicating that the Ming Dynasty's national destiny and the people's hearts have been affected. A huge improvement.

Therefore, when Zhu Di led the civil and military officials back to the gate of the palace, he looked at the green and gold clouds rolling on the compass of fortune, and smiled extraordinarily boldly and loudly.

Civil and military officials also took the opportunity to congratulate the emperor, wishing the Ming Dynasty a prosperous country and the people's support.

This undoubtedly put Zhu Di in a very good mood. After the banquet in Fengtian Hall, he directly asked Zhu Zhanyu to sit under him, even one place ahead of Zhu Gaochi.

This position is unusual. For this kind of national banquet, the seating arrangement is very particular and well-organized. Even if Zhu Zhanquan has made great achievements and is the protagonist of today's celebration banquet, he should not sit here. Location.

But for 100 million taels of silver, even if you buy it, you can buy a position as the emperor's subordinate in Fengtian Palace.

What's more, the prince Zhu Gaochi didn't have any objection at all. He directly let his second son sit in this position. He moved down a position, squeezing Zhu Zhanji, the emperor's grandson, into the place where Zhu Zhanquan was supposed to sit. position.Zhu Zhanji felt somewhat unhappy, but the 100 million taels of silver really left him speechless.

That's a real 100 million taels of silver!Among the hundreds of civil and military officials in the court, no matter how old-fashioned they were, they had nothing to complain about when faced with 100 million taels of silver, and they acquiesced that Zhu Zhanquan was enjoying extraordinary treatment today.

But this was just the beginning. As the banquet progressed, after a series of etiquette, Zhu Di ordered the personal eunuch around him to start announcing the decree.

A large piece of gorgeous rhetoric praises Zhu Zhancheng and commends him for his achievements in the imperial conquest. If it is a beautiful word, write more if you don't need money.

However, at the end of the imperial edict, the real focus of the reward part really made everyone a bit stunned, because the reward given by the emperor was: "Add nine tins, crown ten, open the official ceremony with the third division, ride the golden car, He rides six horses, enters the court without following, pays homage without paying homage, goes to the palace with swords and shoes, and is given the title of "Shao Bao".

The so-called Jiuxi refers to the nine kinds of ritual utensils given to the princes during the Zhou Dynasty. They are chariots and horses, clothes, musical instruments, Zhuhu, Nabi, Huben, bows and arrows, axes and axes, and 鬬鬯. In fact, they allude to nine kinds of privileges, representing The princes can conquer the world on behalf of the emperor, which means that they are the leaders of the princes.

By the Ming Dynasty, this was just a ceremonial thing, but in the Ming Dynasty, Jiuxi had never been added to anyone.

Because the people who can be traced to Jiuxi in history are Wang Mang, Cao Cao, Sima Zhao, Yang Jian, and Li Yuan, who were either powerful ministers or proclaimed emperors.

Therefore, adding Jiuxi, in a sense, means that a person has reached the end of the reward, and the next level up is to become an emperor.

As for the following "Mian Shilu, Kaifu Yi and the three divisions, riding a gold-rooted chariot and driving six horses, entering the court without following, paying homage without a name, going to the temple with swords and shoes, and adding the title of Shaobao" are all the same as adding Jiuxi In nature, it is the greatest privilege that an emperor can give a person besides the throne.

If Zhu Zhanchun was a powerful official, a relative, or a vassal king of the same generation as Zhu Di, then today's imperial edict to reward him would have no other meaning than wanting Zhu Zhanchun's head.

Because in front of Zhu Di, no one was so powerful that Zhu Di could give such a reward.

But Zhu Zhanquan was Zhu Di's grandson and the prince's son. He had always been close to the emperor and the prince before, so this reward seemed to have an ulterior motive.

Especially before Zhu Zhanjun came back, Zhu Zhanji was canonized as the emperor's grandson, and he was clearly the next generation successor to the throne.

"Grandpa, my grandson dare not accept this reward! If I accept it, wouldn't I become the likes of Cao Cao and Wang Mang? Please take back the reward!" This time, Zhu Zhanquan did not need to be reminded, and he knelt down directly. In front of Zhu Di, he refused to accept the title and reward.

At this moment, all civil and military officials in the court seemed to have pressed the mute button, and no one dared to speak.

After all, only the Zhu family is qualified to get involved in this kind of thing. If someone is planning to jump out and join in early at this time, they might lose their head.

Even the royal family members such as Zhu Gaosui and Prince Ning quickly bowed their heads and pretended to be dead when faced with the current situation and did not dare to express any opinions. However, Zhu Gaosui was still somewhat secretly happy in his heart.

(End of this chapter)