The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 26 A mess

Around noon the next day, the sun was at its highest point, the hottest time of the day.

In the southern part of Huairou, on the west bank of the Chaobai River, in the joint camp of the Beijing Camp, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Imperial Guards covering a radius of several miles, more than 20 important court officials in bright red official robes and more than 10 dukes and nobles in dragon robes were standing in the open parade ground, basking in the sun.

On the platform to the north was a dragon throne with a canopy above it, but Wanli was not there.

In the hot summer, standing on the large parade ground without any shelter is like being in a fire cage, with rolling heat waves all around.

They were all drenched in sweat from the sun, their heads and faces covered in sweat, but no one dared to complain.

There was no other way. He was surrounded by soldiers from the Beijing Camp, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Imperial Guard. Before he knew it, the young emperor could mobilize more than 50,000 troops!

When the little emperor gets sick, he will start hacking people indiscriminately.

Who of them dares to complain?
Even Zhang Siwei didn't dare.

This guy stood at the head of the civil servants without saying a word, and seemed to be asleep.

In fact, the pupils in his triangular eyes, which were narrowed into slits and invisible to outsiders, were already full of resentment.

Little emperor, are you forcing me to take action?

He really couldn't stand the fact that Wanli acted so arbitrarily after gaining some control of the military force.

Others were muttering to themselves.

Where did the little emperor go?
Wanli was currently inspecting the terrain at the source of the Chaobai River.

To be precise, this is the confluence of the main trunks of Baihe River, Chaohe River and Chaobai River.

To his right front was the Sancha River Estuary, and behind him were thousands of cavalrymen.

This is also the location of Miyun County. The majestic city is located north of Sancha River Mouth, between Baihe River and Chaohe River.

There is also a stone arch bridge on the east and west sides of Miyun County, spanning the Baihe River and Chaohe River.

Five or six miles further north from here are the vast mountains, and the mountains to the east seem to be only two or three miles away from the mouth of the Sancha River. Two rivers twenty or thirty feet wide are rushing out from the mountains, and the scene is truly spectacular.

Wanli sat on his horse and looked carefully for a while, and couldn't help but sigh: "This is a good place, with beautiful mountains and clear waters, and it's cool and pleasant."

This is indeed a good place. The rich water vapor mixed with the cool breeze from the mountains blows over. Although it is summer and noon, it does not feel hot at all.

The problem is, they are not really here to escape the summer heat.

They came to inspect the terrain and prepare to build a weapons workshop.

Yongnianbo Wang Wei asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, where do you think we should build the workshop?"

Wanli looked at the flow rates of the three rivers and then pondered, "We still need to test this. After all, forging pig iron doesn't mean the faster the better. The blacksmith needs to be able to react quickly.

How about this: you build a few sheds along the west bank of the Baihe River and the west bank of this section of the Chaobai River, make a few twelve-bucket water wheels, install iron hammers, and let the blacksmith try it himself to see where the flow rate is most suitable.

Anyway, a twelve-bucket waterwheel is not difficult to transport. After testing it, we can move it to the appropriate section of the river. "

Yongnianbo Wang Wei nodded slightly and asked, "Your Majesty, how many water wheels and workshops should we build?"

This is too much.

Wanli estimated, "You said that a blacksmith would be exhausted after swinging a hammer for two hours a day, and two blacksmiths could only take turns swinging a hammer for four hours a day.

In other words, the forging time for one fire is actually four hours, not a whole day of twelve hours. Using a water wheel to drive the hammer does not require the blacksmith to put in much effort. Two blacksmiths can take turns working with one hammer for twelve hours.

By this calculation, the efficiency of a waterwheel is at least three times that of manual forging. As for how many waterwheels to build and how many workshops to establish, it depends on how heavy and how many weapons Yuan Jing wants to equip the soldiers of the Beijing camp are.

I won't be responsible for these matters. You and Yuan Jing should carefully calculate the cost. I will only provide the money and manpower. You should also carefully calculate the number of people needed to build the waterwheel and the workshop, and the amount of wood needed. You should also make a list of everything."

How much money and how many people are needed?
Yongnianbo Wang Wei was silently calculating the situation when Chengguogong Zhu Yingzhen couldn't help but remind him, "Your Majesty, it's noon now. I'm afraid those people have already arrived at the camp."

Why rush? Let them bask in the sun first.

Wanli stared at Duke Dingguo Xu Wenbi calmly and said, "Wenbi, I want to take all the land in Huairou and Miyun. Otherwise, you can calculate how much land your family has opened up here, and I will give you money."

How dare I ask for your money?

Duke Dingguo Xu Wenbi waved his hands repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, all land under heaven belongs to the king. This land belongs to you. You can use it as you wish. Your Majesty, not punishing me for secretly cultivating land here is already a great favor."

You are quite sensible. If you really dare to ask me for money, you will be finished. You will never be able to take charge of any of the Five Military Commanderies in the future.

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Don't worry, I won't take these lands for nothing. You can order people to harvest the crops grown on the land this year, and next year I will let you earn back the money you earn from these lands."

Can the money spent on these properties be earned back?

Although the mountain basin between Huairou and Miyun is not very large, it has more than 100,000 mu of land. The original Beijing Horse Ranch had about 100,000 mu, and half of it is still 40,000 to 50,000 mu. Even if the grain yield is two stone per mu, after deducting the food rations of the tenant farmers, it is still 80,000 to 90,000 taels. What kind of business can make 80,000 to 90,000 taels a year?
Merchants had a low status these days, but there were many powerful people doing business. For example, the three major wealthy families in Puzhou monopolized countless businesses in Shanxi, and the powerful people in the court also had a lot of shops.

For example, during the Jiajing period, the mansion of Yan Shifan was confiscated, and thousands of shops were confiscated.

It is common to see powerful officials in the court controlling hundreds or even thousands of businesses.

The problem is, if a shop can make a few hundred taels of silver a year, it would be considered good. Eighty or ninety thousand taels would not be enough even for thousands of shops.

Duke Dingguo Xu Wenbi really couldn't think of any business that could make 80,000 or 90,000 taels of silver a year.

These days, merging land still brings the highest profit because the land produces grain every year and the price of grain is getting higher and higher.

For example, if you buy 10,000 acres of land for 200,000 taels of silver, you can earn about 20,000 taels a year, and you will get your investment back in ten years. Thereafter, you can still earn at least 20,000 taels every year. You can enjoy wealth and glory even if you just lie down.

This is also the fundamental reason why princes, nobles, royal relatives, civil service groups, and even eunuchs in power are frantically annexing land.

Wanli did not say what the business was, because they were not here to discuss business today.

He then said to Duke Cheng, Zhu Yingzhen, and Duke Ying, Zhang Yuangong, "You should all learn from Wenbi. I will definitely resolve this land annexation issue. When the time comes, don't be stingy. I guarantee that you won't suffer any loss after handing over your land."

Duke Chengguo Zhu Yingzhen nodded without hesitation and said, "I will obey your Majesty."

This kid.

Don’t you think about how the thousands of people in your family will survive?
Duke Yingguo Zhang Yuangong could only nod and say, "I, your humble servant, will also obey your Majesty."

Well, just be obedient.

Wanli nodded slightly, then waved his hand and said, "Let's go back to the camp." Soon, a thunderous sound of horse hooves was heard from the banks of the Chaobai River. The sound of horse hooves came from far away and entered the camp in less than a quarter of an hour.

This is the little emperor coming back.

Sure enough, after a while, thousands of cavalrymen swarmed in and poured into the large parade ground in the middle that could accommodate tens of thousands of horses.

Wanli took the lead and rode to the stage with the accompanying generals and nobles. He then threw the reins to the soldiers of the Beijing camp next to him, dismounted, and walked towards the stage.

At this time, the important officials in the court and more than a dozen dukes and nobles seemed to be dizzy from the sun and even forgot to lie on the ground to welcome him.

Or maybe, they are not sunburned, they may be expressing their dissatisfaction.

Wanli sat down on the dragon throne in the middle of the reviewing platform. After the accompanying generals and nobles lined up behind him, he said coldly, "How dare you!"

Everyone knows what this means. The young emperor must have seen the situation of the military farming in the Beijing camp.

As expected, Wanli immediately said angrily: "Each of the 72 guards in the Beijing camp originally had 20,000 to 30,000 mu of military farmland, thousands of war horses, and tens of thousands of mu of horse pastures.

Now, what about the military farms, war horses, and horse ranches of the Beijing camp?

You have done a good job of accounting. Each garrison has left me with several thousand acres of military farms, a hundred war horses, and a thousand acres of horse pasture.

I thought the military farms and horse ranches in the Beijing garrison had all disappeared, but now, Changping Prefecture, Shunyi, Huairou, and Miyun are covered in fields and horse ranches. I've seen more than a million acres, so why are there only a few hundred thousand acres left on the books?

This is none of our business.

Most of the important officials in the court looked calm.

Because they did not annex the fields near the capital. It was not because they did not want to, but after the Jiajing Dynasty, there were not many fields near the capital that could be annexed.

During the Jiajing period when Yan Song and his son were in power, the fields around the capital had almost been swallowed up by the powerful officials in the court and even the eunuchs in power. If they continued to swallow up the land, they would have swallowed it all up.

The risk of swallowing it all is too great, so we should at least leave some for others.

Therefore, they all acquired land in their hometowns, and they had no fields near the capital.

The dukes and nobles below the reviewing platform were so frightened that they were sweating all over as if they were taking a bath.

Is the little emperor going to deal with them?

They took over the most of the military farms and horse ranches of the Beijing camp!

If the little emperor goes crazy, he will indiscriminately kill people. Besides, there are at least 40,000 to 50,000 troops around him, and they can't escape even if they run away.

They really shouldn’t have come today!

Zhang Siwei narrowed his eyes and glanced at the dukes and nobles on the right, with a sinister look in his eyes.

The young emperor probably didn't know how much military farmland and horse ranches these princes and nobles had swallowed up in the capital.

Perhaps, he could instigate some trouble and let the young emperor deal with these princes and nobles and cut off his own hands and feet!
However, he did not say a word, because he liked to do things secretly, and he never did it himself. It was impossible for him to stand up and instigate in front of so many people.

Unexpectedly, Wanli suddenly changed his tone and pointed at the bright sun in the sky and said angrily: "Now you know how hot it is, right?
I want to build a summer resort, and you actually say that I am greedy for pleasure. Fine, today I will let you stand here in the sun for a few hours.

I want to see what it means to not be greedy for pleasure. All of you, stand still. Those of you who are not greedy for pleasure, don't move, and don't drink the water."

what?
Such sun exposure can be fatal!

They can't stand being exposed to the sun for a few minutes, so how can they stand it for several hours?

Upon hearing this, the important officials and nobles in the court all looked at Zhang Siwei and Shen Shixing with unfriendly expressions.

We didn't say that the Emperor couldn't build a summer resort. It must have been you two bastards who said that.

If they continue to be exposed to the sun like this, someone might die. They are used to enjoying themselves and have never suffered such pain.

When Zhang Siwei saw this, his expression changed slightly.

It turns out that the little emperor recruited them to build a summer resort!

Isn’t this nonsense?
I don't agree with you building the Summer Resort, so you can take revenge by sunbathing to death a few important officials and nobles in the court!

If a few of them really die from the sun, their relatives and friends will fight me to the death!

Who could have thought that the little emperor would act so recklessly?

The problem is, now that they are here, there are 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers from the Beijing Garrison, the Embroidered Uniform Guards, and the Imperial Guards surrounding them. What can they do?
Shen Shixing immediately stood aside, clasped his hands and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I have no objection to your building a summer resort."

He had to distance himself from Zhang Siwei about this matter. He couldn't bear the blame for no reason.

Seeing this, Zhang Siwei couldn't help but laugh and cry.

Now he is really embarrassed. If someone dies, it will be his fault.

Forget it. The court’s money is not his anyway. There is no need to risk his life for such a small amount of money.

He bowed and said decisively, "Your Majesty, it's really hot today. It looks like this summer resort really needs to be built. I'll arrange it for you when I get back."

Do you really think I want to build a summer resort?

That's good.

Wanli insisted, "Two million taels of silver, and twenty thousand craftsmen, send them to me quickly."

Okay, it's just building a summer resort. It won't have any impact on the government, and I can also accuse you of wasting people's money and time.

There's no need for me to risk my life with you on this matter.

Zhang Siwei bowed without hesitation and said, "Your humble servant obeys your command."

Seeing this, Wanli pretended to be proud and said, "Also, I want all the land along the Chaobai River in Huairou and Miyun. Go and ask who owns the land and how much it costs, and then have them come to me to ask for the money."

Who dares to ask you for this money!

Zhang Siwei bowed and said simply, "I understand."

Seeing this, Wanli waved his hand and said, "Alright, let's go back quickly."

You really make me speechless. You are so reckless just to build a summer resort!
(End of this chapter)