Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 43 Let the Prime Minister accompany the Prime Minister

Even if it was just to alleviate her guilt, Queen Mother Li had naturally attributed the emperor's stroke to Zheng Mengjing's "poisoning".

The ending of their family was naturally extremely tragic.

But the fact that so much silver could be seized now also shows how good the Zheng family was at making money because Zheng Mengjing had been favored for so many years.

For Zhu Changluo, it was an unexpected gain.

After receiving Tian Yi's affirmative answer, Zhu Changluo asked Tian Yi with some regret: "I heard from Chen Ju that less than 100,000 taels were seized from Zhang Jiangling in the past."

"……Yes."

"According to the law, should the stolen goods be confiscated and fined?"

"nature."

Zhu Changluo was so excited that he asked Tian Yi about some past events, which made him feel even more complicated.

What was Zhang Juzheng's position in the Ming Dynasty? He had been the boss for so many years, and a fortune of 100,000 taels was nothing to him.

Among the people who could barely be considered his contemporaries, the treacherous minister Yan Song had more than three million taels of gold and silver when his property was confiscated. Not to mention the famous upright minister Xu Jie, who had more than 200,000 mu of land, it is estimated that the Xu family's assets may be as high as 30 to 40 million taels.

In the early Ming Dynasty, various warehouses were set up. Although they were divided into different departments, they were actually all "inner warehouses" serving the royal family. The Treasury for Corruption and Penalties was nominally under the name of the Ministry of Revenue, but it was also one of the inner warehouses. Today, the specific management is managed by the eunuchs. The only warehouses that the royal power had little influence on were Taicang and other warehouses.

The so-called empty treasury often simply refers to the fact that the income of Taicang and other warehouses is insufficient to cover the expenditure, so civil officials often request "transfer payments" from the imperial treasury.

As for the emperor's inner treasury, there was the more than 4 million taels of silver in deposit as mentioned by Tian Yi, and now there is another large sum to be added.

Even if his property was confiscated, he was still a rich emperor. It cannot be said that my father left no "legacy" at all.

Zhu Changluo's heart was a little excited, but he quickly restrained himself: we must slaughter pigs sustainably for the New Year.

The problem now is that the "national treasury is empty" and the more than two million taels of silver of the Zheng family will be targeted by the civil officials.

There is already a shortage of money, and perhaps there will be a test soon to see whether the successor is a wise ruler who is "sympathetic to the national conditions."

The contradictions during the transition period were not yet acute, and there was no time to be happy about the fatter purse. Zhu Changluo had to be prepared for a head-on confrontation with his ministers next year.

Tian Yi was asked to bring in the new memorials submitted during the days of fasting and offering sacrifices. Zhu Changluo was shocked again: "Four days, so many?"

"A total of 1,127 volumes." Tian Yi's eyes were smiling. "I have already coded them according to what Your Highness said. At present, the newly submitted ones are first compiled according to the minutes Your Highness said, and the old ones are also being copied day and night."

"..." Zhu Changluo was speechless, "Was it this common in the past?"

Tian Yi's smile deepened. "When the news of several good policies reached the outer court, the ministers naturally became more enthusiastic and submitted reports one after another. Compared with the past, there were many more. If I remember correctly, Taizu reviewed 1,660 reports in eight days and dealt with 3,391 matters."

Zhu Changluo couldn't help but look at him: You are good, you are professional, what's the point of putting the highest record of the Ming Dynasty in front of me?
What this means now is that the number of memorials in these four days exceeded the number in four days during Zhu Yuanzhang's time.

But Zhu Changluo’s situation was not clear yet, so what should he do if these civil officials took advantage of the situation?
"Take your time to read it." Zhu Changluo lowered his head and looked at the "Summary of Daily Memorials and Statements" of the past few days. "Is there anything else that has not been submitted?"

"There are three."

"speak."

"Lord Zhao has a secret revelation, but I don't know what it is yet. Your Highness may read it."

Zhu Changluo raised his head: "Secret disclosure?"

Tian Yi handed it to him and said, "The secret revelation can only be sent to the emperor, and I cannot read it first."

Zhu Changluo looked over and saw that it was a special small white label used by cabinet ministers, six inches and five tenths of an inch long and two inches and five tenths of an inch wide.

It was sealed diagonally with the silver seal of Wenyuan Pavilion, and there was no inscription on the outside like other memorials, such as "Memorial on such and such matter", but only "This minister, Zhao Zhigao, presents this memorial".

This was the custom of the secret memorials during the reign of Emperor Renzong, which evolved after several changes. Only the emperor and the person who wrote the secret memorials could read and communicate with each other. The eunuchs would not read them first, nor would they be copied to the six departments.

Zhu Changluo thought for a moment and then said meaningfully: "I haven't ascended the throne yet, so I can't watch it."

Tian Yi said nothing and waited on the side.

Zhu Changluo narrowed his eyes slightly, and after a while he flipped through the summary of the past four days, and then asked, "Is this the number of times Lord Zhao has resigned?"

"Back to Your Highness, forty-seven."

Zhu Changluo nodded: "Put aside this secret for now."

If it was a test from the Prime Minister, it was too low-level.

Knowing that Zhu Changluo was not qualified to see the secret revelations, he still did this.

Does he want to use this method to cause dissatisfaction with the heir and then run away?

Zhu Changluo looked for the minutes of Shen Yiguan's memorials and soon found one thing: the state affairs are numerous and Zhao Zhigao is seriously ill. Your Highness is temporarily in charge of state affairs and has advised Your Majesty to be more benevolent and the ministers are encouraged... I am too busy to handle it alone.

Too busy writing, read as "I can!"

In the four-day summary, Shen Yikuan alone submitted as many as 176 question books.

Arrangements for the preliminary preparations for rebuilding Huangji Gate, selection of examiners for provincial examinations, preparations for the enthronement ceremony and the coronation ceremony, orders for all parties to prepare for the selection of benefactors for next year's wedding, and suggestions for arrangements for the taxes already set for the mines already opened and the taxes already set after the tax supervisors from various places are recalled as soon as possible...

So they are just being sarcastic and saying that Old Zhao is occupying the toilet but not doing anything.

Zhu Changluo chuckled and suddenly asked, "Are Shen Rumo and Wang Yuanyu still healthy?"

Tian Yi was stunned for a moment: "Your Highness means..."

"Lord Zhao is determined to leave, and the cabinet is indeed very busy." Zhu Changluo had a meaningful smile on his face. "Lord Shen and Lord Wang both left their posts due to state affairs. Now that my father is seriously ill, he will entrust the country to me. After all, I started studying late and don't understand state affairs. I still need to reinstate more prestigious and mature people. Similarly, it can be regarded as a conclusion of the past, and it will be a good story of the monarch and his subjects."

"..."

Even if he had served as prime minister, there were still ranks among the top officials in the same term.

If Zhao Zhigao retired and returned to his hometown, Shen Yikuan would be the prime minister.

But the next two to come back were two former prime ministers who had more seniority than him.

After imagining it for a while, Tian Yi's scalp felt a little numb.

I wonder what Shen Yikuan would think if the Prime Minister came to accompany the Prime Minister.

But your Highness is right.

How can an outsider know what His Highness looks like now?
The Empress Dowager and the Emperor are worried that Your Highness is too "young and naive" to manage the government, so they have recruited some veteran ministers to assist you. Do you, Shen Yikuan, want to cover up everything with one hand?
"What about the other two things?"

Tian Yi watched Zhu Changluo start to look at the "table" again, and was somewhat shocked that he saw through the intentions of Zhao Zhigao and Shen Yikuan so quickly.

Hearing this, he immediately said, "There are two other things. One is the birthday of His Majesty next month. His Majesty is not feeling well now, and how to arrange it. The Cabinet and the Ministry of Rites have no idea, and it is not easy to submit a memorial in advance. Elder Shen mentioned it to me... The other thing is also related to the birthday. At the end of March, His Majesty issued an order to let Matteo Ricci, a Westerner who came to Beijing last year, send Western gifts again. Now..."

Zhu Changluo was interrupted again. He looked up and asked in astonishment, "Matteo Ricci?"

"Yes..." Tian Yi was a little surprised, "Your Highness knows this person?"

Zhu Changluo's confirmatory tone and clear pronunciation allowed Tian Yi to hear some clues.

Zhu Changluo did not answer his question. After a pause, he said, "I have to ask the Empress Dowager about the arrangements for the Longevity Festival. As for Matteo Ricci, please find some time and ask him to bring his things to the palace. I want to see him."

(End of this chapter)