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I heard Emperor Chongzhen say loudly on the top of Fengtianmen City: "Since I came to the throne, I have made a wish for myself. It is not to recover Liaodong, let alone defeat the Jianlu and pacify Mongolia..."

Hearing what he said, everyone, including civil and military officials and ordinary people, were slightly stunned. When Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne, the Liao Dynasty was ruined. Recovering Liaodong, defeating the Jianlu, and pacifying Mongolia has always been the wish of emperors of all generations. Now that the emperor says this, what will it be? Will he be killed even though he is far away?

For a moment, everyone couldn't help but feel a little curious, so they all listened attentively.

Emperor Chongzhen's voice suddenly rose a little, and he said slowly but firmly but forcefully: "My wish is that my people have a house to live in! The sick have their doctors! The diligent have their careers! The laborers have their jobs. Its got! The young have their education! The childhood has its fun! The readers have their school! The weak have their help! The old have their support! The car driver has his place! The worker has his salary! The farmer has his land! The businessman has his place. Its benefits! The excellent have their glory! The able have their uses! The readers have their understanding! The scholars have their own deeds..."

In Fengtianmen Square, there are poor people and rich households, scholars and butchers, and naturally there are also people doing business. There are old people, there are children, there are hard-working people, there are smart people...

No matter who they were, they were stunned for a moment when they heard that Emperor Chongzhen's wish had something to do with them.

Isn't the Emperor's wish too ambitious? They thought like this and silently chanted in their hearts: Every home has its own home! There is a doctor for the sick! Those who work hard have their careers! To those who work hard, there will be reward...

Suddenly, they felt that if the emperor's wish could come true, there would be no other paradise than this! Even, compared to the paradise of the world, it is more of a paradise! But is this possible?

When this question appeared in their minds, they immediately recalled what Emperor Chongzhen had done since he ascended the throne. Suddenly, they felt that the emperor had really been working hard for this wish.

For example, everyone has a home, and Emperor Chongzhen personally invented cement, which allowed for the rapid construction of solid houses. At least in the Hetao area, countless houses were built to provide a place for the Han people who migrated here and the herdsmen on the grasslands to live! Yongping was burned down by the rebels, and houses were built with cement so that the surviving Yongping people could have a place to live...

For example, Emperor Chongzhen decreed that all illegal income would be used to build a children's school. Students who reached the age could attend school for free. This means that only the young can learn! Do readers have their own school?

For another example, it was the emperor who founded the Ming Dynasty Construction Bank, which opened loans to the people of the Ming Dynasty. With only a pitiful interest, those who are diligent can have a career!

It was the emperor who established the Ming Dynasty Copyright and Patent Office and established the title of master to benefit businessmen! The best have their own glory! Those who can use it!

…

Although these piles have not been widely popularized in the Ming Dynasty, there are already signs. From all this, we can see the emperor’s efforts! Or one day in the future, the emperor's great wish may really come true!

Thinking of this, especially the Ming people in the square, all became very excited. Comparatively speaking, if the Ming Dynasty becomes powerful and can conquer the world and bring all nations to come to court, in the minds of these people, it is simply not as good as the emperor's ambition to benefit the people of the Ming Dynasty.

Such an emperor is an emperor who truly serves the people! Who can compare to the emperor of Qin and Han, the ancestors of Tang and Song, not to mention Genghis Khan?

Not only these ordinary people, but also a large group of civil servants behind Emperor Chongzhen were shocked by Emperor Chongzhen's wish.

Each of them claims to be a disciple of Confucius and Mencius, shouting every day to serve the country and the people, and to imitate the saints. Perhaps they did have such an ideal at first, but after many years of ups and downs in officialdom, how many of them can have this original intention?

Ordinary people can know from the emperor's actions that the emperor has been working hard for it; these court officials, who have more contact with the emperor and have a better understanding of the policies implemented by the emperor, will naturally understand better that the emperor is indeed working hard. .

Having a grand goal, uniting words and deeds, and always working hard for it, isn't this what the ancient saints are like!

Is the current emperor a current saint? Reaching such a conclusion is really shocking to these disciples of Confucius and Mencius!

At this time, Emperor Chongzhen did not care about what others were thinking, but continued: "... My wish is simple to say, but difficult to do, and it is even more difficult to persevere! But no matter how difficult it is, , I will definitely work hard to complete it!”

"I know that many of my people have hard times and heavy burdens of life!" After Emperor Chongzhen said this, he paused, his eyes slowly scanned the city again, and at the same time announced loudly, "Therefore, I have decided to... During the Chinese New Year this year, I will give a great gift to my people to reduce their burden of life!"

After Emperor Chongzhen finished speaking, a question suddenly popped up in everyone's mind: A big gift? What kind of gift? Will everyone benefit and reduce the burden of life?

They couldn't help but become eager in their hearts, and at the same time they were extremely curious. They wanted to know, what kind of gift was this gift?

However, what made them unwilling was that the emperor did not announce what kind of gift it was? Instead, an imperial edict was issued declaring this Liao army to be the capital camp and stationed in the capital. The new military division general Cao Bianjiao, the general who suppressed the captives, was granted the title of Yong Wu Bo at a young age and became the commander-in-chief of the Beijing Camp. Feng Dehua, the eunuch who oversees the military and supervisory affairs, is responsible for supervising the troops in the Beijing camp.

Wu Sangui, Li Guo, Cao Wenzhao and others were the commanders-in-chief of the armies in the Beijing camp, and they were also rewarded in the same way.

Speaking of which, it is also funny. Cao Bianjiao was about to join the New Army, but Cao Wenzhao could not stop him and had no choice but to let him go. At that time, he probably never imagined that his nephew would one day be his immediate boss!

After conferring rewards on the main generals of the Liao army, Emperor Chongzhen drove back to the palace. Naturally, the specific merits and rewards could not be announced in front of the public at such a big opportunity. Otherwise, he would be busy all day. over.

As a result, the people in the capital, who were thinking about the great gift, were a little confused. They were all thinking in their hearts, what kind of gift is the great gift that the emperor mentioned?

Although the people in the capital gradually dispersed, speculation about this grand gift began to prevail in the restaurants, teahouses, and even households in the capital. Most of the people are looking forward to what kind of gift can relieve the burden of all the people?

"Tell me, the great gift that the emperor mentioned is not giving money to everyone, right?"

"You have a beautiful idea. How can the imperial court get so much money? Even if it's one penny per person, how many people do we have in the Ming Dynasty? Can the imperial court provide this kind of money?"

"That is, even if one person is given a penny, how much can it reduce the burden of life?"

"Then what do you think this gift is? A piece of land for each person? It is said that the fields granted by King Fu are also being auctioned. Oh, no, this is an auction, not a free gift, and it doesn't exist for everyone in the Ming Dynasty. What a great gift!”

"..."

After thinking about it, no one could figure out what kind of gift the emperor was talking about!

For this matter, some casinos in the capital even opened a handicap on what kind of gift this gift would be. They listed many options and then gave the odds to start the bet. And allow others to add options, and the final winner will receive a heavy prize!

Suddenly, there were many people who responded, and the popularity of this casino turned out to be a special scene in the capital years ago.

Of course, some people did not participate. They reminded the people around them: "Forget it, I can't guess. Anyway, the Chinese New Year is coming in a few days. The emperor will announce it to the world then, and we will naturally know Got it!"

However, out of curiosity, the guessing game about what this gift is has always been one of the hot topics.

The initiator, Emperor Chongzhen, didn't think that much, nor did he expect that it would cause such a craze. He doesn't say it for now, there is a reason why he doesn't say it. After hearing about the current situation in the capital from the factory guard, he just smiled and didn't pay too much attention.

In the past few days, civil and military officials, especially civil servants, were summarizing the situation, and good news came one after another.

This year's revenue from opening the sea has reached as much as 7 million taels. If the Folangji people hadn't suddenly turned against each other, the amount of income tax collected from Kaihai would probably have exceeded 9 million taels. But no matter what, the income from opening the sea next year will definitely reach 9 million taels.

Daming Construction Bank has finally begun to show a little bit of its power. This year's profit has been as much as three million taels. The main reason why there are many more than the previous year is due to the gradual internal stability of Ming Dynasty, the establishment of the bank's reputation system, and the fact that the bank is becoming more and more proficient. It is foreseeable that as the principal of Daming Construction Bank increases, its profits will definitely increase in the future.

Daming Road and Bridge Company is not yet profitable. The main reason is that the first one is that the Road and Bridge Company is an infrastructure project, building roads and bridges, and the cost recovery cycle is long. Moreover, there are few roads built, and most of them are still being explored and tested. There are still relatively few businessmen and tourists willing to take cement roads. And there is another reason, the cement road is not so friendly to horse-drawn carriages.

But no matter what, infrastructure projects are a great undertaking that will benefit future generations. Even if it is a loss, we must continue to work on it.

On the other hand, Daming Royal Cement Company, as cement is more and more recognized by people, its sales are getting bigger and bigger, whether in the arid north of Ming Dynasty, or in the rainy south, or on the eastern coast or in the western inland. High-speed growth trend. Therefore, despite the emperor's decree, cement is a basic dual-use material for both military and civilian use and cannot be used to make huge profits. However, the quantity cannot be tolerated. In this year, there was a profit of three million.

…

In the past, at the end of the year, the most worried people were the Minister of Household Affairs and the Chief Minister of the Cabinet. The imperial court is poor and has no money. During the Chinese New Year, money is needed everywhere. The Minister of Household Affairs and the Chief Minister of the Cabinet are just like debt evaders among the people, wishing not to see anyone.

However, the current Minister of Household Affairs and the Chief Minister of the Cabinet were all smiling from ear to ear as they looked at the financial reports. In particular, Bi Ziyan, the Minister of the Ministry of Finance, has become much stiffer, walks briskly, has fewer gray hairs, and has fewer wrinkles. Everyone has a smile on their face.

The chief officials of other yamen were actually pretty good at the end of the year. There is no other reason. The imperial court has a large amount of income, especially the companies and banks that were established under the leadership of the imperial court and with the imperial court holding the majority of the shares. Each of them has made a lot of money. At the end of the year, there are a lot of dividends. How could it not be possible? Happy!

Of course, when it comes to the most profitable yamen, it is actually the war bureau that is managed by the palace. Not to mention the profits from the ordnance, just from various improvements, they have made a lot of money. Since the steam engine ship has been improved, it has not only reduced its size, but also increased its power. After it was finalized, it was used in more and more places, and more and more people bought it. In just the first year, the Bingzhan Bureau made as much as half a million taels from technological innovation.

This situation made other yamen feel itchy and wanted to reach out and have a kick. However, the steam engine was invented by the emperor himself. Today's emperor is so wise and powerful, but these civil servants do not have the courage to directly reach into the emperor's pockets and take out the emperor's things.

However, they heard that the Bingzhan Bureau was now testing new equipment and installations, and they often heard huge noises from the Bingzhan Bureau. Many senior officials in the ministry are already asking about it. If possible, they all want to report it to the emperor and follow the example of the Ming Dynasty Construction Bank, set up a separate company, and then everyone can divide the shares and make a fortune together.

Just when they were thinking about this, a decree came from the palace, and six ministries, nine ministers, and cabinet ministers went to the Wenhua Palace to discuss matters regarding the expenditure of money.

This was a good thing. All the high-ranking officials of the Ming Dynasty who received the notice hurried to the Wenhua Palace with smiles on their faces.

At the end of this year, according to tradition, dividends are distributed and the treasury revenue is pre-distributed for the next year's property expenses.

Not long after, all the ministers arrived at the Wenhua Hall, including civil servants, eunuchs and eunuchs, to welcome the Holy Master. Wen Tiren, the chief minister of the cabinet, has various data in his hands. As the head of the civil service, he is naturally the one to preside over the meeting.

As for Emperor Chongzhen, he mostly listened to his ministers' discussions about money. Under normal circumstances, the ceremonial supervisor represents the emperor, negotiates with foreign ministers, and gets a final plan, which is approved by the emperor, and it is considered finished.

At the beginning of the meeting, there was nothing special about it. If there is anything special about it, it would be Liu Xingzuo, commander of the Imperial Guard, who came with him this year. His appearance really made the atmosphere in the Wenhua Hall worse than in previous years. But as the money discussion deepened, Liu Xingzuo, who had been silent, seemed to be forgotten, and the atmosphere slowly recovered.

"...Your Majesty, this is the dividend for each ministry this year!" After Wen Tiren got a unified opinion and finalized the plan, he reported it to Emperor Chongzhen on the throne.