Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 135: Who refuses to obey the selection of the queen in the palace?

The time difference in communication between the North and the South had fatal consequences at this moment.

The imperial court wanted to stabilize grain prices? Did the emperor himself want to?
So what!

Throughout the dynasties, there were many things that the emperors were not satisfied with.

There are always people who think that they can win this time, even if he becomes the chicken that is killed, the monkeys will still win in the end.

Over the past thousands of years, there has been a lot of clear evidence.

April 17th, the first year of Taichang, today the emperor can be satisfied with at least one thing.

The beauties entered the palace on the 16th day of the first lunar month and went through three months. Yesterday, they finally completed the final screening.

Today the emperor selects his concubines.

With an imperial decree, beautiful maidens were selected to enter the palace for the emperor to choose and evaluate at his pleasure. This was the filial piety of the subjects all over the world to the emperor.

What have you given back? Why are you so persistent over a grain price that is just over one tael of silver per stone?

Both Empress Dowagers arrived in the Qianqing Palace.

Under the eaves outside the main hall, there is a bright red silk hanging.

On the corridor leading to the main hall from Qianqing Gate, which is slightly higher than the adjacent courtyard, three screens are placed at the stone platform leading to the main hall of Qianqing Palace.

An aisle is left on the two northern sides, and the southern side covers the corridor behind.

In the center under the eaves is the imperial throne, with a desk in front of it.

On the left and right sides, Wang Xijie and Zhu Changluo's biological mother were sitting there.

"The portraits are all here." Sister Wang Xi smiled, "The emperor can take a look at them first. If he thinks they are inappropriate, he can choose someone else as the top three candidates and then bestow the treasure in person to determine the order."

"How can the emperor not feel at ease with the choices made by the Queen Mother?" Zhu Changluo said first, and then took a look, "Just let's see what the first three are like in terms of their backgrounds and judgments. For the head of the Central Palace, temperament is still the most important thing."

So I watched it quietly.

He was thinking about what had happened not long ago.

In the capital city after daybreak, grain stores of all sizes presented two completely different appearances.

For those that were still open for business, the price of grain finally fell back to between 13 and 15 cents per stone.

But at the same time, about 40% of the grain stores in the capital were closed and hung up signs saying "New grain sold out".

Sold out, haha.

Now the people of Beijing are probably confused: Will the price of grain go up? Why are some stores lowering their prices, while others have no new grain to sell?
When Qin Yongning heard the report, he slapped his thigh and said: Oh, why didn’t I think of this?
We are not making any money anymore, so we don’t want to sell it. But you can’t force us to sell it, right?

Who broke the law?

In the cabinet, the three ministers looked at each other.

Of course we can't disturb the emperor today, but the emperor should already know about this, right?
"…Rice, wheat, beans and millet. Right now, only the price of rice has increased slightly." Shen Yi Guan looked at Wang Xijue, "Brother Yuan Yu, can you give His Majesty some advice?"

"There was no need to persuade them before, and there is no need to persuade them now." Wang Xijue shook his head. "Closing the store is like issuing a challenge."

Shen Yiquan looked at Shen Shixing in embarrassment.

"…Your Majesty wants to write another article about the relationship between the Caohe River and Jiangnan from the rice price in the capital. There is really no need to persuade him." Shen Shixing sighed, "It is said that grain cannot be transported a thousand miles away. For every two shi of grain transported from Jiangnan to the capital, one shi is consumed. If Jiangnan did not have one tael of gold and silver to exchange for four shi of grain, how could the rice price in the capital be so low?"

The cost of grain converted into gold and silver was indeed low, only four coins of silver per stone.

However, those in Jiangnan who have the ability to operate these grains will naturally have to pay some additional costs.

If you want to maximize the profit of these grains, you still have to transport them to the north. If you transport them by civilian ships, you will have to go through seven major customs along the way. The overall cost is not as good as cooperating with the grain transport army.

In short, by the time you arrived in the capital, the net cost of a stone of rice had more than doubled.

To do business in the capital, one has to deal with store rent, deed tax, and various forces, as well as hiring employees. Taking into account all kinds of hidden costs, the normal price of rice in the capital is around one tael of silver per stone.

Wang Xijue disagreed with this point: "This time it's different. Although the incident was caused by the fact that the edict of ascension did not mention exemption, the rise in rice prices this time was deliberately planned. Using the stability of the capital as a threat, even if the rice price is not excessive, what kind of crime is it if it is really considered?"

"...I don't know how Your Majesty will respond."

If someone takes the lead in closing down the store, I'm afraid others will follow suit.

The plan has already been made up: If Changming Grain Store has the ability, it can try its best to support the food supply of the one million people in the capital.

Can it last for three months, six months, or a year? Can we stop doing the grain business in Beijing?
"Emperor, is this inappropriate?" Seeing that the emperor had been looking at the portraits of the three people without saying anything, Sister Wang Xi asked carefully.

After numerous rounds of screening, Wang An presided over the face-reading and decided on the final list of fifty people. Then the two empresses dowagers summoned them one by one and selected three people.

Apart from the Jiexiu Fan family from Shanxi, Wang Xijie was naturally worried that the emperor would not be satisfied with her selection of the other two.

"...There's nothing wrong with that." Zhu Changluo came back to his senses and nodded to Tian Yi, "Let the three of them come over first."

"Yes."

Tian Yi gestured to Wang An who was standing behind the screen, and Wang An shouted crisply, "Your Majesty has ordered that the Fan family from Jiexiu, the Guo family from Daxing, and the Liu family from Wanping come to see you."

In fact, fifty people were waiting in the corridor inside the Qianqing Palace.

Hearing the voice, Fan Sirong held his breath, and together with the other two, holding round fans, slowly walked towards the screen according to the pace and posture that they had practiced during this period of time.

Behind them, the others could only watch with envy as the three of them disappeared in front of the screen.

Those three people, namely the queen and two concubines, were destined to be at the top of the crowd.

Zhu Changluo temporarily focused his mind and watched the three people gradually walking down the stairs.

Of the ten people nominated by Shanxi, only two made it into the list of fifty.

Of the remaining 48, 21 of them were military personnel due to the special arrangement. Although the proportion was much higher than before, it was obvious that this was due to family education, and the proportion of those who made the final list was much lower than that in the preliminary selection.

Among the three people finally selected by the two empresses dowagers, Fan Sirong from Jiexiu, Shanxi, was one of them. She was of commoner origin.

The Ming Dynasty did not have a special business register; it was just a secular term in the civilian register.

The portraits painted by court painters were naturally not as good as those painted by cameras in later generations. Zhu Changluo only took a quick glance at their appearance. Before that, he was thinking about the response of the grain merchants in the capital while reading the comments they had received in the past three months.

For those who made it to the last level, the comments were all good, all praiseworthy.

In other words, if you are not polite, tolerant, respectful, and calm enough, it will be impossible for you to reach the final stage.

In addition to Fan Sirong, the other two were from Daxing County, surnamed Guo, maiden name Guo Lanzhi. She was also born in civilian nationality, her great-grandfather had a juren, but now no one has achieved fame. Her father Guo Weicheng has been taking the exam until he was 41 years old, but he has not yet become a scholar.

The other one was from Wanping County, her surname was Liu, her maiden name was Liu Yi. Her family was military, and she had a hereditary title of a captain in Heyang Guard, and her father Liu Yingyuan was now working in the South City Military Department.

Now they were standing side by side more than ten steps in front of Zhu Changluo, one wearing red, one wearing purple, and one wearing white.

Their figures were naturally hidden by the carefully prepared new clothes, and their faces were shielded by round fans.

"From now on you will be serving the emperor. There is no need to be shy. Put down your fan and let the emperor take a good look at you."

Sister Wang Xi opened her mouth to give orders, hoping that this matter would be settled as soon as possible. Whether the emperor liked the three of them after seeing their appearance, or wanted to change the others as concubines, she had no idea.

"...Yes, I will obey the Queen Mother's order."

With these clear and crisp sounds, the three of them slowly lowered their fans to their chests, but still kept their heads down.

"Your Majesty." Tian Yi held up a plate, "Come closer and take a look."

Zhu Changluo nodded, stood up, bowed to the two empress dowagers, and then walked towards the three people.

Tian Yi followed behind, with three things placed on the plate: a jade-inlaid ruyi, a pearl-decorated hairpin, and an embroidered purse.

Whoever the jade-inlaid ruyi is given to will become the queen.

Zhu Changluo walked towards the three people and observed their appearance and expressions.

How can one see through it at a glance?

The emperor has given the order, and I can take whatever I want.

They are weak. Having entered the palace and gone through several months of screening, training, and intrigue, they have no choice but to obey in the face of an even more unpredictable future, regardless of whether they are willing or not.

However, if his subjects had any resentment in their hearts, they dared to let the emperor see the closed shop doors as a sign of protest.

Use force?

Zhu Changluo made up his mind and felt relaxed.

This process is the most interesting.

Um, I forgot to set the time. Happy Dragon Boat Festival. I just realized it now after eating and drinking.

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(End of this chapter)