Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 291 If you want to let the ministers enter the Western Garden, the secret reporting system will work!
After the strong protest of Joseon Minister Zheng Yunqian, Wang Guan and Gu Mi finally compromised.

The two agreed to cut the wages of the hired North Korean miners in half, but said they could not reduce them any further.

This is certainly not because the two of them are kind-hearted, but reducing too much will affect work efficiency.

Because working in a mining area is not an easy job. It is not possible to go without any meat for three to five days.

Zheng Yunqian thought that as long as the treatment he gave to the tenants was not much different from that of the miners, it would not be a big problem if the officials in his kingdom were more strict, so he accepted this result.

This side of the capital.

After sending the royal officials to Korea to supervise the mines, Zhu Houcong went to Xiyuan.

The Forbidden City is too hot, and the Qianqing Palace is not big, and there are few trees and lakes around it, so it is even hotter in summer.

Therefore, Zhu Houcong thought it would be better to choose a place in Xiyuan and build a summer palace.

For this reason, he decided to go to Xiyuan first to choose a location.

Originally, in order to escape the summer heat, Zhu Houcong planned to move directly into the Leopard House in the northwest corner of the Western Garden with the main members of the harem.

Because the Leopard House is a ready-made summer resort.

Not only is the interior decoration luxurious, the structure is also exquisite without losing its grandeur. More importantly, there is an inner lake connected to the Taiye Lake outside through the Chanxiang Bridge.

This means that the leopard house is surrounded by lush trees that can block a lot of the harsh sunlight, and there is also an inner lake that can absorb a lot of heat.

When Zhu Houcong came here in summer, he felt it was very cool.

In his opinion, it was no wonder that Emperor Zhengde lived here all year round.

Not only are there no so many rules and regulations in the palace, but it is also warm in winter and cool in summer. The scenery is great, and whether you are riding horses around the lake, hunting, or taking a walk and chatting, it is all a great experience.

Zhu Houcong had originally mentioned to the ministers in the Imperial Study that he wanted to move to the Leopard House to govern the country in the summer, and also set up an Imperial Study in the Leopard House and let the ministers in the Imperial Study move with him.

But the Prime Minister Fei Hong strongly opposed it, as if he was afraid that he would be like Zhengde, who would not want to move back after going to the Leopard House.

The court officials were obviously very sensitive to the Leopard House, as if they had a severe Leopard House stress syndrome.

Every time, these people heard from somewhere that the emperor had gone to the Leopard House and was not staying there, they would go crazy and curse the eunuch Gu Dayong and others for having bad intentions and trying to induce the emperor to neglect his duties and disrupt the country.

Sometimes, these court officials even scolded the assistant ministers, saying that they were not giving effective advice.

This made the people in the Imperial Household Department and the Cabinet feel angry and wronged.

People instinctively want to avoid conflict.

So, gradually, people from the Imperial Household Department and the Cabinet also began to be unwilling to see the emperor go to the Leopard Room.

But when Zhu Houcong went to the Western Garden and visited the Leopard House and took a rest in it, they couldn't stop him. They could only try their best to prevent their subordinates from spreading the news.

at this time.

Zhu Houcong came to the Leopard Room as usual.

This is not because he really wants to make things difficult for Gu Dayong and his close ministers.

But the location of this Leopard Room is indeed good.

Zhu Houzhao really knows how to choose a position.

Standing on the balcony of the Leopard House, you can enjoy the cool breeze blowing from the lake and see a large number of lush trees, which is very pleasing to the eyes.

Therefore, Zhu Houcong came here after all, and lay on a couch in a side hall, reading the secret report to the inner court presented by Gu Dayong.

Gu Dayong kept looking outside the palace with an uneasy look on his face. It was unclear whether he was afraid that the secret report would contain information about him, or he was afraid that the emperor would stay here too long and let more people know.

"Were you also so anxious when you stayed here with the late emperor?"

Zhu Houcong also noticed Gu Dayong's uneasy expression and asked casually.

Gu Dayong smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I am not afraid. I am just worried that the ministers will be worried when they see that you have not been to the Imperial Study. Then they will ask the people outside the court to blame me for playing around with you. Affecting my personal reputation is a small matter. Your reputation is the most important thing."

"I said I would set up an imperial study here, but they didn't come. Who can you blame?"

"But they can bear it. Even at their age, they can stand the heat better than I can."

After Zhu Houcong finished speaking, he continued to read the secret report, and then threw a secret report in front of Gu Dayong:
"You can check this matter. According to the report from this eunuch, when he went out of the palace to buy medicine, he saw Yan Xing, a servant in charge of buying medicine, buy a one-inch-long knife when he went out to buy medicine, and deceived the Jinyiwei on duty."

"Find out what he wants to do with such a short knife."

Gu Dayong bowed and agreed.

After Zhu Houcong said this, he stood up and said, "Go back."

Gu Dayong was overjoyed when he heard this, and hurried out and shouted, "Let's go back to the palace!"

"Who said we were going back to the palace?"

Zhu Houcong hurriedly said something.

then.

Zhu Houcong said, "Walk around."

Gu Dayong immediately stopped smiling, said yes, and waved his hand to signal the attendants not to return to the palace for the time being, and then accompanied Zhu Houcong for a stroll on the Neihu embankment.

Zhu Houcong was walking under the shade of willows and looking at the setting sun on the lake. He said to Gu Dayong thoughtfully, "Do you think there is any way to make the ministers of the Cabinet and the Imperial Study willing to come to the Western Garden to report on affairs?" Gu Dayong could see that the new emperor also preferred living in the Western Garden.

After all, Xiyuan is comfortable and safe, and it is further away from the turmoil outside the court.

But Gu Dayong had to admit that the new emperor really cared about the people of the world, so he not only wanted to live in the West Garden himself, but also wanted the ministers of the Imperial Study to come to the West Garden. Then, by controlling the Imperial Study, he could achieve control over the civil affairs of the world. Unlike the previous emperor who only focused on military affairs, he only allowed eunuchs and military officials to be around him.

Gu Dayong had also seen through this and had thought of a solution in advance.

At this time, seeing Zhu Houcong asking about it, Gu Dayong smiled and said, "I don't have any other good ideas, but I know that Lord Zhenze Wang seemed to be over 70 years old during the time of the previous emperor, and he is very afraid of heat. Now that I think about it, if Lord Wang also goes to the Imperial Study, he will naturally persuade the Prime Minister together with Lord Jinxi."

Zhu Houcong also laughed after hearing this.

"That's a good idea."

But Zhu Houcong thought that Wang Ao's position as a cabinet minister was obtained by the Nanzhi gentry who raised funds and spent two million taels of silver.

Now, if I let him enter the Imperial Study and don't let the Nanzhi gentry pay another sum of money, wouldn't that be a huge loss?
After all, it costs two million to enter the cabinet, and to enter the Imperial Study, a place closer to the emperor, you have to pay more, right?

Therefore, Zhu Houcong did not make a decisive decision to let Wang Ao enter the imperial study, but only thought that he should first express his intention to Wang Ao, and then wait for Wang Ao and the Nanzhi gentry behind him to take the bait.

Zhu Houcong asked Gu Dayong at this time: "Some time ago, Tongzi Ha Dina, the governor of Jianzhou Guard of the Jurchens, came to pay tribute. Did he send two portions of Liaodong blood ginseng weighing seven taels?"

Gu Dayong nodded and replied, "Yes."

"so!"

"Send someone to deliver a copy to Wang Ao, and tell him that when I looked at the tribute, I thought of him as the oldest among the ministers, so I gave it to him specially."

Zhu Houcong said.

Gu Dayong bowed and agreed.

Wang Ao received this precious gift from the emperor at home that evening.

This naturally made him very grateful.

But Wang Ao also knew that the emperor wanted him to work for the Ming Zhu family for a few more years, and even intended to let him enter the imperial study.

to this end.

Wang Ao specially invited Wu Yipeng, Xu Jie and other fellow villagers to his home and showed them the blood ginseng bestowed by the emperor.

Wang Ao naturally did not want to show off in front of them, but wanted them to decide whether to push him into the imperial study.

After all, Wang Ao himself had always been opposed to annexation and surrender, and had always adhered to poverty. He did not have that much money to pave the way for himself to enter the Imperial Study, and he could only rely on whether his fellow countrymen in Nanzhi were willing to help him.

"Your Majesty is indeed a most holy and wise ruler!"

Wu Yipeng sighed and said, "That's why they respect old ministers so much. It's rare to respect old ministers like Mr. Zhenze."

"I think we cannot let your majesty down. We should mobilize the villagers for the sake of the country and the people, so that a virtuous old minister like Mr. Zhenze can assist your majesty and contribute more when the opportunity arises in the future."

Wu Yipeng said this and then looked at the other Nanzhi officials: "What do you think?"

"It doesn't matter whether I enter the imperial study or not."

"That's not necessary."

"Besides, your majesty may not really have this intention when he bestowed the precious blood ginseng."

"Besides, the last time we spent a huge amount of two million, this time it will have to be even more."

"With this money, it would be better to call on the gentry and wise men to pay the arrears of taxes for the poor people in their respective villages, build bridges and roads, and promote transportation."

Wang Ao always attached great importance to the people's livelihood in his hometown. Therefore, in history, he wrote two hypocritical articles, "A Letter on Wuzhong Taxes to Governor Li Sikong" and "On Equal Labor Service and Taxes with Li Sikong", to Li Chongsi, the governor of Nanzhi, hoping that Li Chongsi could reform the taxes and equal labor service in Nanzhi.

Now, Wang Ao was just being polite, saying that he didn't care whether he could enter the imperial study or not. However, he also expressed his hope that his fellow villagers could help the grassroots villagers while being polite.

Wu Yipeng said: "Letting you enter the Imperial Study is the most important thing for us in Nanzhi, and it will also be easier to unify. As for helping the common people, we can only let them do it themselves."

Wang Ao nodded and said nothing more.

Wu Yipeng then stood up and said, "I will send someone back to the village to make arrangements. You just need to wait for good news!"

Zhu Houcong soon learned from Gu Dayong that Wu Yipeng and others had gone to see Wang Ao, and he laughed: "They really want to make progress."

talking.

Zhu Houcong asked Xiang Gu Dayong, "How is the investigation going on for the eunuchs hiding knives?"

"Your Majesty, I have checked and it is indeed true."

"This man hid a small knife in the house of Langxia's family. He said he got in by wrapping it up and stuffing it in his anus, so he deceived the Jinyiwei on duty!"

"He also said that his godfather was a disciple of Zhang Yong."

Gu Dayong replied.

Zhu Houcong was shocked when he heard this: "Zhang Yong?"

Gu Dayong said: "I think this may be directed at Lord Yang."

Zhu Houcong nodded: "Bring this man to see me!"

(End of this chapter)