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Cao Huachun, the eunuch in charge of the ceremony, had the most secluded rooms in the mansion outside the palace, with five people.

Next is Gao Shiyue, the eunuch in charge of the Royal Horse Supervisor, who has four hermits in his house.

…

Those who have been in high positions in the palace since Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne, and the earlier they live in residences outside the palace, the more hermit households there will be. They also spend most of their time in the palace. Therefore, these eunuch mansions have the largest number of hidden households, which are not as many as those of Yingtian Mansion.

After reading this list, Emperor Chongzhen did not make any noise. He privately chatted with Jin Yiwei commander Liu Xingzuo and asked him to report the situation that he had already investigated first.

According to the official position, Liu Xingzuo only investigated the cabinet and seven ministers at this time, as well as some royal nobles in the capital. However, judging from these information, the situation is much more serious than in the palace.

The situation of seclusion is the most serious among those noble families. For example, those noble families who lived for almost as long as the Ming Dynasty. The most numerous are the British Duke's residences. There are twenty-six in the capital's residences alone, not counting them. A hidden house in the manor outside the capital. Even Emperor Chongzhen's father-in-law and Empress Zhou's father had eight hermit houses in their houses.

There are seven ministerial books in the cabinet. As we have known before, the more established aristocratic families are, the more hidden households there are, regardless of whether they are from a scholarly family. On the other hand, the first assistant, Wen Tiren, always regarded himself as incorruptible. He had the fewest servants in his house and only two private rooms. Cao Bianjiao, the commander-in-chief of the capital, did not have a single hermit house in his house, while his uncle Cao Wenzhao had three in his house.

Seeing this information, Emperor Chongzhen didn't need to wait for Liu Xingzuo to investigate everyone, he already knew it. It seems that among the wealthy families, they probably regard the children of those families as private property, and have no intention of treating the children of these families as independent individuals and the same people of the Ming Dynasty.

The reason for this situation is probably related to the concepts of the Ming Dynasty. Most of the hidden households in these mansions have children born into the same family. In other words, these people's parents are slaves of wealthy families, and the sons born of slaves must still be slaves in the mansion.

It seems that some of the regulations made since the founding of the Ming Dynasty need to be changed. Emperor Chongzhen thought to himself and fell into deep thought.

A few days later, Emperor Chongzhen was riding a train in the Imperial Garden. On a whim, he ordered all the eunuchs from prison to junior prison and above to ride the train together.

Suddenly, the train in the imperial garden was filled with eunuchs from the palace. This made the palace maids and chamberlains standing beside me envious, hoping that one day I could be one of them, that would be great!

However, these young eunuchs and eunuchs on the train were puzzled. Many people are working, such as the eunuch Bingbi, the eunuch who is responsible for the rituals. Since Emperor Chongzhen decentralized most of the review of memorials, they have been busy criticizing red memorials. They are really busy! Emperor Chongzhen suddenly summoned them to take the train. , what is this for?

As a group of top people in the palace, they naturally knew that the emperor would not call them here for no reason. There must be some purpose. Therefore, they were speculating about things in their minds, but on the surface, they were having a good time, and from time to time they would say a few words of praise based on the emperor's topics.

After the train drove around for several times, it finally stopped. After the engine was turned off, the Royal Garden finally became quiet.

Emperor Chongzhen touched the train with a smile, got off the train again, and walked around the train laughing. It looked like he admired the train very much.

The eunuchs headed by Cao Huachun all followed Emperor Chongzhen, and they all smiled and praised the train, and they were all in good spirits.

Suddenly, Emperor Chongzhen stood beside the locomotive, looked at the train and said with emotion: "The track between Beijing and Tongzhou will be laid soon. On the first day of opening to traffic, I am going to take the queen to celebrate with me. How about it?" "

When they heard that the emperor wanted to be so solemn, these eunuchs were slightly surprised. It was just a train, but the emperor paid so much attention to it?

Although they thought so in their hearts, they felt that it was a bit of a fuss. But on the surface, no one showed it. Cao Huachun was the first to praise: "Your Majesty is devoted to the people, which is really a blessing to the people of our Ming Dynasty!"

"Your Majesty is a benevolent monarch through the ages, and he is indeed a blessing to the people!"

"..."

Just as these eunuchs knew Emperor Chongzhen, Emperor Chongzhen was also very familiar with these eunuchs. I know that what they say on their lips may not necessarily be what they think in their hearts.

But it doesn't matter. He patted the locomotive and said with a smile: "You may not realize that the appearance of this train will bring huge changes to the transportation in Ming Dynasty. Take the railway from Tongzhou to Beijing as an example. In the future, goods transported by the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal will be brought to the capital by train from Tongzhou, and the cargo throughput will be several times more than before."

"When trains are rolled out across the country, both people and goods will be able to greatly increase their range of activities." Emperor Chongzhen said with emotion, "In addition, the Ming Dynasty has a new household registration national policy, and the court will not If we continue to restrict the movement of people in Ming Dynasty, our people in Ming Dynasty will greatly broaden their horizons in the future. Ming Dynasty will be more prosperous and stronger."

Hearing this, it was Gao Shiyue who was the first to speak and echoed: "Your Majesty, our Ming Dynasty is already the most powerful since the founding of the country. The vastness of our Ming Dynasty is the largest in all dynasties! Your Majesty is mighty!"

When saying this, it was obvious that the Yuan Dynasty was automatically filtered. Of course, if you really want to talk about it, the Ming Dynasty started from the Arctic Ocean in the north, the Pacific Ocean in the east, the entire Nanyang in the south, and the Tianshan Mountains in the west. These were the territories that the Ming Dynasty claimed sovereignty over. Compared with the previous Yuan Dynasty, it was actually not much different.

"I'm not just flattering you. Your Majesty's wisdom and martial prowess far surpass those of Emperor Qin, Han Wu, Emperor Tang, and Song Zu. Our Ming Dynasty has achieved what it is today in just a few years since the Tianqi Dynasty. I admire you greatly in my heart. I have an emperor." Come, this servant will only serve His Majesty!" Cao Huachun was not to be outdone, and quickly agreed with a smile.

The other eunuchs also followed suit and said similar words.

"Your Majesty is wise and mighty, and he is truly a blessing to the people of the Ming Dynasty!"

"..."

Emperor Chongzhen seemed to enjoy what they were saying. He just smiled and looked at the train and let them talk.

After a while, he suddenly turned around and looked at the group of eunuchs behind him and asked: "You have said so much, do you know who the people of the Ming Dynasty are? What specifically are my people?"

Hearing this, almost all the eunuchs were stunned. Your Majesty’s question is out of line! And why would you ask this? Aren’t the people of the Ming Dynasty the people of the Ming Dynasty? Aren’t the emperor’s people the same people as the Ming Dynasty?

While they were wondering, Wang Chengen, the admiral and eunuch of the East Factory and the chief ceremonial officer, was the first to speak up this time: "Under the sky, is it the king's land; on the shore of the land, is it the king's ministers! I think that all the territory of our Ming Dynasty , everyone is a citizen of the Ming Dynasty and a subject of His Majesty, without exception!"

When he said this, he emphasized the words "anyone". Perhaps due to physical reasons, the eunuch's voice was originally a bit high-pitched, and this loud emphasis made it sound even more harsh.

While many eunuchs and eunuchs were stunned, Emperor Chongzhen seemed to be interested and immediately asked Wang Chengen: "What Wang Banban said is interesting, anyone? It seems to make sense!"

"This slave has always thought so!" Wang Chengen responded respectfully under the gaze of many colleagues, "As long as he is in the territory of the Ming Dynasty, no matter who he is, he will be subject to thunder, rain and dew. The changes your Majesty has brought to the Ming Dynasty will not be affected by the changes in the territory of the Ming Dynasty. Everyone in the country can feel it. Just say that if this train is built all over the country, naturally everyone in the country can enjoy the convenience it brings. And..."

Wang Chengen kept giving examples, and Emperor Chongzhen did not interrupt and listened with a smile on his face.

What Wang Chengen said was actually the emperor's credit. When the people around him heard this, they couldn't help but look at him with admiration. They did not expect that Wang Chengen, at such a young age, could actually make the emperor happy with his high-level flattery through factual narration.

Thinking about this, they were all a little envious, why didn't they say this first?

At this moment, Wang Chengen changed the topic, and the topic suddenly turned to the present, and he was heard to say: "From all kinds of things, from the princes and nobles, to the common people at dawn, or to the prisoners and slaves, without exception, all are your Majesty's All my subjects will be subject to His Majesty’s thunder and rain!”

What he said is absolutely correct from a legal perspective. Are there any exceptions within the Ming Empire?

While many eunuchs and eunuchs were still thinking about the conversation between the emperor and the admiral of Dongchang, they heard Wang Chengen say again: "Throughout the dynasties, all the hermits have been prisoners of crime, but your majesty has given you a chance to reform. You are truly a benevolent king through the ages! Servant!" I think that Your Majesty's new policy has been benevolent and righteous. If anyone wants to be a hermit, regardless of whether they are willing or not, it will be an unforgivable crime! I don't believe it. There are still people in this world who are not under Your Majesty's control. Is there anyone else who is greater than Your Majesty and can control those people?"

In this passage, he emphasized several points, such as "Is it voluntary to hide in a house?" and "There are still people in the world who are not under your Majesty's control" and so on.

Relevant to the theme of hiding in the house, many eunuchs and eunuchs present immediately understood. Could it be that they were summoned here today not to take the train at all, but for the purpose of hiding in the house?

They originally thought, as Emperor Chongzhen had thought before, that the imperial court's registration of hidden households this time did not actually include the children born in their family. Because this has been the practice throughout the ages. But when they heard this, especially when they heard Wang Chengen repeatedly emphasize anyone, especially when he pointed out the words "Is the hidden house voluntary?" and "Is there anyone else who is bigger than your Majesty?", they immediately thought of the people in their own mansion. , isn’t there a hermit who meets this condition?

Thinking of this, suddenly there were many young eunuchs and eunuchs looking a little unnatural.

Emperor Chongzhen didn't seem to notice the change in their expressions, and just said to Wang Chengen calmly: "Wang Banban is exaggerating. I believe that today is different from the past. Some people may not have enough information; others may be busy with things." Wait, I just haven’t registered yet. It’s still early before the registration deadline, so no one will deliberately not register. If someone really dares to bully me, haha, I don’t mind giving you factory guards a chance to make meritorious deeds!”

When he said this, the people in the palace immediately understood everything.

The emperor has already pointed out that "today is different from the past", which means it is different from the past. He also said that "some people may be busy with work." How could those ordinary hermits be busy with work and turn a blind eye to the court's policies? This is clearly talking about them and giving them a step down.

Even though it was Wang Chengen who brought up this matter, it was obviously the emperor's order. The two of them sang and harmonized, just to beat the people in the palace.

Thinking of this, they looked at Wang Chengen and understood in their hearts that there was a high probability that their situation in the palace outside would have been discovered by Dongchang long ago, otherwise there would not be such a scene today.

Thinking this way, most of them felt a little panicked. For them, the emperor's favor is the foundation of all their power. Without the grace of God, not to mention the birth of a child, everything will be just a cloud.

So, they all wanted to plead guilty to the emperor.

Unexpectedly, Emperor Chongzhen walked leisurely towards the harem at this time, with his hands behind his back. He did not look back, but simply said calmly: "I'm on the train, and I've been chatting. Let's go back and get busy!"

"My servants send you your Majesty's greetings!" All the eunuchs and eunuchs responded in unison, and at the same time they made a decision in their hearts.

In the afternoon, at Wenyuan Pavilion, Sun Chengzong had been working for a long time. After all, he was old, almost seventy, and felt a little sore in his back, so he stood up and walked around. Other cabinet ministers continued to work.

Walking towards the door, suddenly there were faint voices. This made Sun Chengzong a little curious. In the past, it was rare to hear the people below chatting privately here.

So, he walked over, and although his footsteps were light, they were not absent. But the two people seemed to be chatting enthusiastically, and they didn't even hear it, and they were still chatting in a low voice.

When Sun Chengzong was close, he stopped and listened.

It's okay not to hear this, but I was stunned when I heard it. The two young eunuchs at the door were actually chatting about matters in the palace, and it happened not long ago.

After the two young eunuchs finished chatting, they went about their business. Sun Chengzong looked at their backs and couldn't help but grinned silently.

He knew very well that the current emperor had very strict control over the palace. He dared to guarantee that if someone above had not given a signal, these two chamberlains would never have dared to gossip about matters in the palace.

This matter is actually easy to understand. The emperor wanted to register all the hidden households in each government this time, but he just didn’t want to do it openly and make each government aware of it, so he first named the father-in-law in the palace and then spread the news. Come out and let those outside become more conscious.

Sun Chengzong can be 100% sure that this is not the only place for gossiping about matters in the palace. This matter will spread quickly.

Your Majesty, this is courtesy first and then attack. It depends on whether everyone is aware of it or not!

If there really are people who are not discerning, with the emperor's current prestige and ability, those who are not discerning will definitely be in trouble!

Thank you to my special wife for the 1000 reward, and thank you to Yiye Zhiqiu for the 111 reward!

Updates are not strong during this period, and I know it myself. First, my body needs rest, and second, my daughter is sick and just went to kindergarten again today. The third is Kawen. After finishing writing about Nanyang, I felt a little confused. I’m not familiar with it abroad, so I don’t know how to write it, and I’m still sorting it out. Let’s set a small goal first, update it tomorrow morning, and start updating it at regular intervals the day after tomorrow. (If you are familiar with America and the Middle East, you can join the group for discussion)