Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 370 Jiajing asked Xu Jie: What are you afraid of?
Xu Jie could feel from Jiajing's expression that this emperor seemed to really see through him.

This made him feel frightened.

He didn't know whether this clever emperor, who had manipulated the scholars and officials of the world by uniting the common people, would have murderous intentions towards him because he had seen through him long ago.

The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became!

"Xu Jie!"

Zhu Houcong called him at this time.

Xu Jie was so frightened that he trembled, cold sweat broke out on his back, and his voice trembled slightly: "I am here!"

"What are you afraid of?"

Seeing him like this, Zhu Houcong couldn't help but ask a question.

Xu Jie had no choice but to reply: "This is my first time meeting your Majesty, and I feel your majesty, so I am a little intimidated. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

"How can I let you go to Japan as an envoy if you are so timid?"

Zhu Houcong asked.

Xu Jie swallowed and replied through gritted teeth: "I am just afraid of the majesty of my father and king, but I am not afraid to be loyal to my country! Your Majesty, please understand!"

"Then tell me, what are you going to do after you go to Japan?"

Zhu Houcong asked.

Xu Jie replied: "We should make enriching the country and protecting the people our top priority. At the same time, we should do our best to stabilize the local areas and put an end to the war!"

Zhu Houcong nodded: "I won't say much, I'll just give you a few hopes."

"I respectfully request the Holy Prophet's instruction!"

Xu Jie hurriedly bowed and kowtowed.

Zhu Houcong said: "I hope that in the future, Sunrise can become the richest place in Japan. I also hope that Sunrise can have the same writing and clothing as China. I also hope that all the people of my dynasty can respect themselves above other countries and take the initiative to respect the superior country. They know that there is an emperor in the superior country, not the rulers of foreign countries. At the same time, the threat from Japan can be greatly reduced."

Xu Jie immediately knelt down and kowtowed: "I will do my best to fulfill your majesty's wish, even if it means sacrificing my life!"

"Get up."

"Of course I am willing to believe that you have the ability and determination."

After Zhu Houcong said this, he looked at Ke Rong: "Ke Rong."

"Chen is here!"

Ke Rong immediately bowed.

Zhu Houcong asked: "Why do you want to go to Japan?"

"I want to kill more Japanese pirates!"

"My father was killed by Japanese pirates, and my family was also robbed by them, so I hate the pirates who invaded from the sea!"

Ke Rong bowed in reply, and his eyes turned red as he spoke.

Zhu Houcong smiled and said, "But I asked you to be the deputy envoy of Xuanfu, not just to fight and kill."

"I know, but since Your Majesty is sending troops, it means that you will still use force to establish virtue unless it is absolutely necessary."

"For me, there will be more opportunities to kill Japanese pirates in Japan than in China in the future."

Ke Rong replied.

Zhu Houcong said: "You can kill those who are disloyal, but you must also win over the Japanese who are willing to work for the Ming Dynasty and form a patrol camp as a subsidiary of your propaganda camp. This will also achieve the goal of ruling the Japanese with the Japanese, so that they will continue to fight among themselves and have no chance to fight against China together. Do you understand?"

"I will remember your Majesty's teachings and will not treat state affairs as a joke and just indulge in killing!"

Ke Rong replied.

Zhu Houcong said: "Very good!" and then.

Zhu Houcong looked at Yang Yiqing, Wang Qiong and other ministers in the Imperial Study and said, "See them off. If you have any other instructions, please tell them again."

Yang Yiqing and others bowed in agreement.

Next, Yang Yiqing, Wang Qiong and others accompanied Xu Jie and Ke Rong out of the imperial study.

Xu Jie and Ke Rong then left Beijing and went to Japan.

However, because they were going to travel far to Japan, Zhu Houcong issued a special decree allowing them to go home to visit their families for half a month, then go to the Nanjing Ministry of War, the Censorate and the Coastal Defense Office to mobilize warships and recruit corresponding personnel, and then go to Dinghaiwei to set off for Japan.

Ever since Zhu Houcong issued an edict to allocate public funds to the Ministry of Personnel, allowing the Ministry of Personnel to use public funds to solve the problems of food, clothing, housing and transportation of bureaucrats from poor families in the capital, and the Ministry of Personnel began to buy land and build residences along the river west of Chongwenmen, many middle and lower-level officials from humble families in the Ministry of Personnel would come to the construction site to check on the progress when they had nothing to do.

Every time a foundation is built on the construction site here, they have more expectations.

Fu Hanchen, a Jinshi who was observing the government affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, came to see it every day. After carefully reviewing the design drawings given by the Yutian Earl's Mansion, he even took the initiative to suggest to his superior Wei Liangbi that the public residence of the Ministry of Personnel should not have a sedan chair hall or artificial mountains and lakes, but should only have a small courtyard house suitable for a family to live in. This was because he was afraid that high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Personnel would occupy the public residence for their own use in the future.

Wei Liangbi accepted the idea with pleasure, and asked the people in Yutianbo's mansion to modify the blueprints so that the official residence of the Ministry of Personnel could not be built like the mansion in Xicheng.

In addition to this, Fu Hanchen also came to the construction site in person to check and communicate with the bricklayers on the site.

Because he was worried that the money from his Ministry of Personnel had not reached these people, or not all of it had reached them.

As a civil servant, he naturally did not trust contractors with in-laws backgrounds.

"I am Li Wei, a commoner. I was originally a bricklayer in Xian County. Because there was a lot of work in building houses in the outer city and the west city, I came to the capital to make a living."

"This is my wife, her last name is Wang, and now she is doing some simple mud mixing work with me."

That day, Fu Hanchen started talking with a young bricklayer who looked quite handsome, and asked about the bricklayer's background.

The bricklayer began to introduce himself.

After hearing this, Fu Hanchen nodded and looked at Wang. He found that Wang was also quite beautiful.

But Fu Hanchen didn't look at it for long. After Li Wei said this, he asked, "It is said that rice and salt are expensive in the capital. Is the salary enough for you?"

“Enough flowers!”

"It's piecework anyway, so as long as there's always work, we don't have to worry about the price. Besides, there's the supply and marketing store that keeps the grain prices down, and the grain transport has been changed to be undertaken by a few loyal families, so it's not as expensive as before."

“Sometimes there’s still some left.”

Li Wei said.

Fu Hanchen asked, "Didn't Uncle Yutian deduct your wages?"

Li Wei said: "We used to deduct money, but now we have to pay it on a daily basis. If we don't pay it on a daily basis, we will go to other families. Under the emperor's feet, the Yutian family, even if it is the mother's family of the current emperor, dare not stop us openly."

Fu Hanchen nodded after hearing this.

And this time.

Li Wei suddenly asked Fu Hanchen with a low laugh: "Master, are you interested in my woman? How about buying her?"

Fu Hanchen was startled and said hurriedly, "You can't buy it. Ling Zheng was born with phoenix eyes and noble aura. The children she will give birth to in the future will be noble, especially a daughter, who may be able to marry into the royal family! So, you can't divorce her. If you have a daughter in the future, it's best not to abandon her, otherwise your Li family will be rich and noble."

"Really?"

Li Wei was very surprised.

Wei Liangbi came over and nodded, "Yes, he studied the Book of Changes and was quite knowledgeable about physiognomy. Now the country is well governed and the revival is in sight. Who knows, you might really become the father-in-law of the emperor in the future, and be as rich and powerful as the Yutian Marquis's mansion is now."

Seeing that the two court officials said so, Li Wei naturally couldn't help but believe it. He looked at his wife with a little more expectation and thought to himself: "Fortunately, I didn't sell it too early for money!"

While the poor officials in the middle and lower levels of the Ministry of Personnel and ordinary craftsmen like Li Wei were full of expectations for the future, officials from wealthy families like Wang Xuekui became increasingly uncomfortable after seeing that reality was becoming increasingly favorable to the poor officials, which made most of the middle and lower level officials in the Ministry of Personnel more grateful for the emperor's grace and more motivated to work.

Not only Wang Xuekui, but also Xu Shouyu, a wealthy businessman who failed to get an official position through donation, said to his brother, Censor Xu, with an unpleasant face after learning about this matter in Beijing: "What a sin! This will make successful Jinshi and Juren even less willing to become corrupt officials, and then making money through business will become even less interesting!"

(End of this chapter)