eldest son of Ming dynasty

The capital, Qianqing palace.

The emperor was flipping through the memorial from Shuofang Town, and said to Fan Yuchang, who had just joined the attendant's room at the beginning of this year, "It's almost October, and the temperature on the grassland must be even lower. Wang Shouren always anticipates the enemy when he leads his troops. , it is estimated that there will be news soon, please keep an eye on it, and if there is any movement, report it as soon as possible."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

This Fan Yuchang was the grandson-in-law of the late Wang Bing. After Wang Bing's death, the emperor treated him with great favor. People outside say that it is a pity that Wang Bing has lost his incense. If his descendants were alive, they would not be able to enjoy all the glory and wealth.

In fact, Zhu Houzhao thinks this is better. There are few families that can produce talented people for three consecutive generations, but it is different when choosing his in-laws' family. Fan Yuchang is the one he can choose.

The key to character, family background, talent and learning is ability. These are all temporary choices. On the one hand, Wang Bing is selected as his grandson-in-law, which shows his kindness to his ministers. On the other hand, using him in an important way can be regarded as selecting talents for the country. .

Because of this relationship, Fan Yuchang also had a special connection with the emperor.

In this world, there are few people who want to rebel, but there are many people who try their best to hug the emperor's thigh. Let alone the emperor, it is difficult for other officials to hug the thigh.

Fan Yuchang is considered the luckiest among them. He got it right in one step and avoided many detours.

It also saves you a lot of worries. Since you have this connection with the emperor, as long as you do things openly, you will have a bright future without him.

Attendant Jin Gui has left, and Jing Yang has also gone on a visit. Now only Xie Pi and him are left. Therefore, Fan Yuchang's affairs have been very heavy in recent months, and he has become a little thinner.

Beside him are He Jian, the Minister of Hubu, Jing, the Minister of the Ministry of War, and Zhang Zilin, the newly appointed Minister of the Ministry of Industry.

The previous minister of the Ministry of Industry, Mao Ji, was demoted by the emperor because he angered the emperor, and all the Mao family members were demoted to civilians, and then allowed to return to their hometown to farm.

The Minister of Industry has been vacant for the past few months.

Naturally, the Zuo Shilang and Right Shilang were interested in taking over, but the Emperor never expressed his intention, and Wang Hao and Yang Tinghe were not as strong as Yang Yiqing. Therefore, although the officials mentioned how bad it was several times, they were still kept in place.

The reason why Zhu Houzhao was like this was that he didn't want to give up the power of employing people to them casually. After a few years of calm, everyone began to 'speak against' him.

So after careful inspection, Zhang Zilin, the chief envoy of Henan, was selected to come to Beijing.

In fact, the chief envoy is from the second rank, and the minister of the Ministry of Industry is from the second rank. In terms of rank, it is not excessive to transfer one person in this way.

But grade is one thing, and actually it is another thing. It seems that there is only one grade difference, but the minister can often see the emperor, and the chief minister only has the opportunity to see you a few times a year, and the emperor has to think of you and summon you. It depends on luck.

So this promotion is a big jump.

Zhang Zilin has been a Jinshi for 20 years in Chenghua. Speaking of which, he is already 57 this year, so he is considered an old official.

Because of this, he has served in the local area for a long time and has rich experience.

During his tenure as the magistrate of Runing, Henan, he enforced the law fairly, paid taxes equally, and had outstanding political achievements. The officials praised his conduct and ranked him first in the country.

During his tenure in Shanxi Province, there was a famine in Zelu and other counties. He opened warehouses to provide relief to the people, saving tens of thousands of victims.

During his tenure in Huguang, he was the governor of Jingnan, which was experiencing a famine. He petitioned the court to provide food relief, and 40 victims were saved.

When he was the Chief Secretary of Henan, some bureaucrats and dignitaries took advantage of their power and acted recklessly. He severely punished them and brought peace to the place.

However, to be able to become the chief minister in the Ming Dynasty, his resume is very impressive, and Zhang Zilin was not the only one in the process. Zhu Houzhao was cautious and asked You Zhi to secretly send people to conduct a secret investigation on several candidates. The person is picked last.

Among the six departments of the imperial court, the department of etiquette has always been the most important. Needless to say, since he respected etiquette anyway, Zhu Houzhao would not have enough time to challenge this thing, so it was considered acquiescence.

After that came the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Household Affairs.

As for the Ministry of Industry, most people regard it as a relatively unimportant government office.

But by the 11th year of Zhengde, the situation had changed. For example, Yu Hengsi of the Ministry of Industry was responsible for key things such as bridges, boats and carriages, weaving, bonds and deeds, not to mention the craftsmen needed in artillery, ships, textiles and other industries. .

The Ministry of Industry is one of the several ministers summoned by Zhu Houzhao.

By appointing Zhang Zilin, he broke the tacit agreement among officials to recommend appointments to each other in recent years. It was also the emperor's suppression of the previous civil servant group.

The moment this effect was announced, everyone would be shocked to understand that it was the emperor sitting above who had the final say in the Ming Dynasty.

As for the three ministers of the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry entering the palace together today, it was also in compliance with the emperor's order.

Zhu Houzhao said: "In the past few days, I have been looking at the memorials from the south of the Yangtze River. I have a vague intention of turning the phrase 'the mountains are high and the emperor is far away' into reality for me to see. I don't know if I can't understand it." Or are they pretending to be confused? I have already said that Liu Jin followed the imperial edict to clear his father's land. Some people keep saying that I was deceived and mistakenly believed the villain. The implication is that the court's order to clear the land should be stopped. .Is the wind in Jiangnan so gentle that they don’t know what struggle is?”

The three ministers were silent. Things in Jiangnan were very evil and they didn't know what to say.

The emperor has strong opinions, so just listen to him.

At this time, Wang Hao, Yang Tinghe and Zhang Cong also came together.

Looking at their anxious faces, Zhu Houzhao understood a lot, "What happened again?" Wang Hao said hurriedly, "Your Majesty, please look. Many officials in Nanjing had offended Liu Jin before, and now Liu Jin suddenly reported that many of them They are all involved in multiple crimes, and they are being arrested in Nanjing!"

The news from the cabinet must have come from officials.

Zhu Houzhao glanced at You Zhi, who understood immediately, lowered his head and went out.

The meaning is very simple. Officials from outside the DPRK have news, but why is there so little noise from the Chief of Ceremonies?
They never thought that the eunuchs were not in a hurry now, but the civil servants in the outer dynasty were frantically anxious. Whenever something happened, they would risk their lives to send it over. Naturally, it will take almost half a day.

"You came just in time." Zhu Houzhao pressed down the memorandum handed over by Wang Hao without reading it. He knew what was written without reading it. "I was just talking about it. Are the officials in Jiangnan unable to understand human language? Why are they still talking? Is Liu Jin going against the grain? Is this court so crooked that it can’t be straight?!”

After a heated discussion, the six people remained silent.

"I won't send any of you." Zhu Houzhao waved his hands, "It's useless. Let Liu Jin capture a few people."

"Your Majesty, think twice."

Zhu Houzhao was a little annoyed, "What are you thinking about? Liu Jin is picking out people who disobey the imperial edict. You know this very well. Why do you have to play this riddle with me?! Can you change your minds? Those who are against me now are Those who oppose the imperial court's Qingtian, do you also want to join them in opposing me?!"

"I dare not wait."

"Then don't say anything bad, no good. Just let him arrest a few people. Mr. Wang Ge, Mr. Yang Ge, Mr. Zhang Ge."

"The minister is here."

"The cabinet must pay attention to its attitude and words in the future, and must restrain all officials after returning. The imperial court supports Liu Jin, and it is not Liu Jin who is against me! I am just warning you today. If anyone still talks nonsense, I don't mind using it as a false statement. Punishment for political crimes!"

In this way, there is no need to read this memorial.

The current situation is a bit like the interaction of forces. Jiangnan has more opposition, and the pressure from the capital is greater. Previously, the emperor did not make demands on the court's public opinion, but now it is different.

"Your Majesty, Zhang Cong, respectfully obeys your Majesty's will."

He first said that Wang Hao and Yang Tinghe could not say more, "I obey the order."

Zhu Houzhao was very patient. The twists and turns of this matter were within his expectation. Even the reversal process was a joy. "Originally, I only summoned the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of War. You three were also there. Then Just together. There are a few things that I have thought of and I want you to do them in advance."

"Please instruct the emperor."

"First of all, it is the Ministry of Household Affairs. According to this situation, the situation in Jiangnan this year will not get better, and it will also affect sea trade to some extent. Fortunately, the cycle of sea trade is long. The current situation is mainly due to the impact of goods going to sea next year. Much less. In other words, next year's sea trade revenue will be reduced. The Ministry of Revenue must plan in advance, estimate the scale of reduction, and make sufficient preparations. He Jian, I am serious, do you understand?"

"Yes."

This is an advance precaution. In fact, by next year, Ginzan in Japan will surely improve and should be able to fill this gap. But this is real estate developers. Whether future profits can plug the holes in the future sometimes depends on fate. It may be possible, but what if it cannot be plugged?

Zhu Houzhao didn't like the feeling of being out of control.

This is called being prepared.

"Besides, the cultivation of autumn grain will not be improved. The Ministry of War and the Ministry of Household Affairs will work together on this. Wang Jing, please think about it all and give me an estimate in three days to transfer some military grain to the south of the Yangtze River. The common people cannot grow food, and the court cannot ignore it. The grain in Jingtongcang is designed to deal with special situations like this, so it would be pointless to keep it there to raise rats."

Yang Tinghe, Zhang Cong and others were suspicious, so they transferred military rations to Jiangnan? It has been a prosperous land since ancient times.

"Your Majesty," Wang Jing reported, "the south of the Yangtze River was originally prosperous, but there was some chaos, and it was not the scene of thousands of miles of bare land. Most of the people's homes could still grow food, and Mr. Zhang Ge was also taking care of the land. The impact will not be that big. Furthermore, the capital is thousands of miles away from Jiangnan. If Jiangnan is really short of food, they can buy it from the Jianghuai and Zhejiang areas nearby, which is much less laborious than transferring from the capital."

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, grains from the south were transported to the north, and grains from the north were transported to the south.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Houzhao actually agreed, "Of course buying food nearby is also a way. But don't you know the word market? Buy when there is a shortage of food. Merchants can only live with rare goods, and food prices are soaring. How can the people afford it? Transporting military rations can Stabilize food prices at a critical time. Besides, the impact in Jiangnan is not that big. You guessed it behind closed doors. What if your estimate is wrong and the impact is greater? By then, the people will be anxious for food. What’s the point of saying ‘a minor mistake’?”

After telling the last reason, Wang Jing didn't say much more, because it was indeed his own personal speculation.

"Your Majesty has thought carefully. I will order the collection of ships after I return today."

In fact, Zhu Houzhao did not predict things as expected. The reason why he did this deceitfully was because he had already received the news from Jin Yiwei. As a visitor from later generations, he still remembered this important event in the Zhengde period clearly, so he would naturally still advance it. Stare.

Whether it's ancient or modern, you can discuss things like morality and values ​​with people like Tao Yuanming who don't have to worry about life. For most people, supporting a family is more important.

That’s why Mr. Lu Xun said that studying medicine cannot save the Chinese people. There are many, many people who just want to make a living and don’t want to take care of other things.

From another perspective, Zhu Houzhao is now moving to the south of the Yangtze River to transfer military rations, and Zhejiang on the other side has military pay. By then, his army will have eight words: when the food and pay are in place, the gods will be destroyed.

Of course, don't treat the ministers as fools. These people are very smart now. Zhu Houzhao can tell by looking at their faces that they still have doubts in their hearts. It doesn't matter. Finally, he added:

"Do this in secret, don't make it a big deal. Don't mention it to others."

Although the expressions of the six ministers remained unchanged, their hearts were as clear as a mirror, "Yes."