Ming Dynasty: A mere unruly commoner is rebelling against the heaven?

Chapter 135: I pay my respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty!

Zhu Youtang's movements in the Beijing branch had already alarmed the people on the street.

When they heard someone shouting "Long live the bank" inside the Capital Bank, everyone suddenly realized a fact that made them tremble with excitement.

His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is in the Beijing branch!
The people of the Ming Dynasty had extremely complicated feelings towards the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

First of all, it is respect and awe for the emperor.

From the time they were born, they were exposed to some descriptions of the emperor.

Under the whole world, could it be the king's land.

On the shore of the land, could it be the king's ministers?

The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is the master of the entire Ming Dynasty and the father and ruler of all the people of the Ming Dynasty!

A single word from the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty could determine a person's honor, disgrace, life or death.

Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was the one who drove out the Tartars and restored China.

They drove away the Mongolian Golden Family that had been ravaging the Central Plains, and ended the humiliating history of the Han people being treated as two-legged sheep and not even being able to have a normal name.

Let the Han people in the Central Plains once again become the masters of this Chinese land.

Later, they heard many rumors about the people of the Ming Dynasty.

He was incompetent, favored eunuchs, loved mature women, and was lazy and negligent in his administration...

All the rumors intertwined together made them feel envy, respect, and some hatred towards the emperor.

When these multiple conflicting emotions are mixed together, the attitude that emerges is very contradictory.

If the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty had not been so incompetent, how could life for us common people be so difficult?
But if it weren’t for the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, would our lives be even more difficult than they are now?

The core of feudal imperial society is that the country prospers while the people suffer.

If they die, the people will suffer.

The only ones who are not suffering are the upper social class who are connected by blood ties. They exploit the people at the bottom and reap the profits.

They could be officials, landlords, gentry, nobles, royal relatives...

But it is not the common people.

But with the arrival of the first year of the Hongzhi reign, people living near the capital suddenly discovered that the Ming Dynasty seemed to have really changed!

The execution ground at Caishikou seemed to have become a permanent government office a few months ago, with large numbers of people being tortured there every once in a while.

Among those punished were civil officials, military generals, nobles, and royal relatives, but there were no ordinary people!
The people magically discovered that every time a group of officials were killed, their lives became a little better.

When they learned that these people were ordered to be killed by the newly enthroned Ming Emperor, their gratitude to the Ming Emperor was simply beyond words.

It’s a pity that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty lived in the sacred and mysterious imperial palace, and ordinary people like them had no chance to see the emperor.

The gratitude in my heart can only be buried deep in my heart.

But now, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was right in front of them. How could they not be excited? How could they not be thrilled?
Zhu Youtang looked at the people kneeling on the long street, his expression slightly moved.

He lived in the deep palace for a long time, and all he had to deal with all day were ministers, eunuchs, and his concubines.

He rarely had the opportunity to communicate face to face with these true people of the Ming Dynasty.

Seeing them kneeling down to worship him sincerely made him feel much more comfortable than accepting the kneeling worship of all the officials during court session.

"Everyone, please stand up and stop kneeling."

Zhu Youtang raised his hand slightly, and the people dared to stand up.

But they don't know etiquette and respond in all kinds of ways.

"Thank you, Your Majesty! May Your Majesty be safe and healthy!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty! Happy New Year, Your Majesty!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty, God. Your Majesty, God, please be well!"

"..."

After thanking the emperor, the people dared to look at Zhu Youtang's face.

When they discovered that the current emperor was so young and handsome, their excitement and excitement were beyond words.

They were all eager to express their gratitude and excitement to Zhu Youtang.

This feeling of gratitude overwhelmed their fear of the emperor, and many people ignored etiquette and spoke loudly to Zhu Youtang.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor! You are truly an upright ruler! It's a good thing that you killed those wicked officials!"

"Your Majesty, that Zhang Hai is a piece of shit. Your Majesty, by killing him, you are really doing a favor for us common people!"

"Your Majesty, God, the Zhou brothers have occupied our land for thirteen years, and now they have finally returned it to us. Your Majesty, God, you are truly a living god who saves the suffering!"

"..."

The people were shouting at the same time, and Zhu Youtang really couldn't hear what they were saying.

At this moment, a man who looked like a wealthy businessman knelt in front of Zhu Youtang and kowtowed continuously.

"I didn't know that the emperor was here in person. I just offended Your Majesty. Please forgive me! Please forgive me!"

This man was the wealthy businessman from Jiangnan who had previously tried to stop Zhu Youtang from cutting in line.

When he learned that the person he was trying to stop was the current Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he even wanted to jump down from the building of the Beijing branch.

He was extremely panicked, fearing that he would anger Zhu Youtang and end up with his family destroyed.

But Zhu Youtang just frowned, looking a little confused.

Zhu Youtang didn't even know who this wealthy businessman was, so how could he be considered offended?
"Get up, I don't blame you."

When the rich businessman heard these words that sounded like heavenly music, the heavy stone that had been weighing on his heart for a long time finally fell to the ground and he felt relaxed all over.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace! Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!" After the rich businessman kowtowed, he quickly stepped back and left Zhu Youtang's sight, not daring to stay for even a moment.

Zhu Youtang looked at the bustling streets and knew that his trip out of the palace would end here.

He pressed his hands down and said, "Be quiet. I have something to announce."

Suddenly, everyone on the entire long street shut their mouths.

Soon, the street became silent.

Zhu Youtang raised his voice and spoke solemnly, "The Beijing branch violated my order, secretly collected excessive fees without my knowledge, and also accepted tea money privately."

"I have issued an order to behead all the eunuchs serving in the Beijing branch as a warning to others."

"The Beijing branch will be closed for one day for rectification today. After that, we will not charge any handling fee for exchanging silver and Hongzhi Baochao at the Beijing branch, and we are also prohibited from asking for any tea money."

"If any eunuch dares to ask for money in private, report it to the government and execute him immediately!"

As soon as Zhu Youtang finished speaking, there was another round of voices of gratitude.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for making the decision for me!"

"Your Majesty, you are a wise ruler who truly cares about the people!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty! Your Majesty's policies are obviously beneficial to the country and the people, but it is these hateful eunuchs who have distorted your policies. They deserve to be killed!"

"..."

This time, among those who expressed their gratitude the loudest and were the happiest in their hearts were all wealthy businessmen who traveled between the capital and the countryside.

Zhu Youtang's rectification of the Beijing branch had little to do with the common people, but was closely related to these wealthy businessmen.

Zhu Youtang's move can save them a lot of money.

In fact, Zhu Youtang also thought about taking this opportunity to implement a fee policy for inter-bank withdrawals.

However, the construction of branches in various places had not yet started, so the plan was abandoned.

If procedures are required to exchange banknotes and silver at local banks, then we are undermining the foundation of Hongzhi Baochao.

Zhu Youtang would not ruin the economic plan that would affect the entire Ming Dynasty for hundreds of years just for such a small profit.

At this time, Wang Zhi stepped forward and whispered in Zhu Youtang's ear: "Your Majesty, there are more and more people gathering here. I am afraid something unexpected may happen. Please return to the palace."

"Got it, let's get going."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Wang Zhi waved his hand, and immediately twelve guards from the Western Factory, carrying a large brown sedan chair, appeared in front of Zhu Youtang.

This kind of sedan chair is certainly not of the imperial standard used by Zhu Youtang, but it is the highest standard sedan chair that Wang Zhi could find in a short period of time.

Before getting into the sedan chair, Zhu Youtang waved to the people around him and said, "Happy New Year, everyone."

People along the street knelt down one after another and congratulated loudly: "May His Majesty the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty be safe, auspicious, blessed with longevity and good health!"

Zhu Youtang's sedan chair set off, and along the way, the people along the way came to see him off back to the palace.

At the same time, Fei Ju, a doctor in the Ministry of Justice, was once again asked by the minor officials of the Ministry of Justice to come out from his home to work overtime.

Fei Ju was eating hotpot and lamb at home one moment, and the next moment he appeared at the execution ground in Caishikou. He was completely numb.

Fei Ju sighed and told the executioner Han Baoniu beside him: "Be quick when you do it later, I'm in a hurry to go home for dinner."

Han Baoniu was a little embarrassed: "Master Fei, this punishment has rules. Beheading should be done with thirty-six cuts at best, but at least eighteen cuts."

"You're chopping it too fast. Isn't this destroying my reputation..."

Fei Ju sighed helplessly, looking at He Yong and others kneeling on the execution ground, feeling resentful.

He was not arrested earlier or later, but was arrested during the Chinese New Year. Isn't this asking for bad luck?

When the time for execution came, Fei Ju immediately threw out the token and ordered the beheading.

……

Forbidden City.

Hongde Hall.

After Zhu Youtang returned to the palace, he immediately ordered: "Let Gao Feng come to see me."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

After a while, Gao Feng, the Right Junior Supervisor of the Imperial Household Department, walked into the Hongde Hall and knelt down to pay his respects.

"Your servant Gao Feng pays respect to His Majesty."

Gao Feng is in his early fifties. Although he has a fair complexion and no beard, his appearance is quite steady.

Zhu Youtang took the hot tea brought by Fu Dahai, lowered his head and took a sip to warm his body.

"Gao Feng, the position of the Eunuch in charge of the Inner Palace is vacant, you will be the one to fill the vacancy."

Gao Feng was delighted and quickly kowtowed to express his gratitude: "I kowtow to the emperor for his grace."

Then Gao Feng suddenly realized, isn't this the eunuch in charge of the inner palace eunuch He Yong?
Moreover, he now manages the Ming Dynasty’s capital branch and is a popular figure among all eunuchs.

Is it...

Before Gao Feng had time to think about it, Zhu Youtang gave Gao Feng another huge surprise.

"Wang Zhi said that you are steady and honest. You have been in charge of the Xinxin Division for many years and have never made any mistakes."

"So I order you to be the president of the Central Bank of Ming Dynasty. From now on, Xixinsi will be handed over to someone else to manage."

　I beg for monthly votes, this month is the month with the best hope of breaking through 1,000 monthly votes!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)