Chapter 154: Shaoli Nian, Sitting Around the Fire

There must be a reason why Zhu Yijun asked Qi Jiguang not to wear armor and come to the capital in person to collect his salary.

If this was not done, the 200,000 taels would probably not even be half of what was in Qi Jiguang's hands.

Regarding military pay, there was a joke among the people in the Ming Dynasty.

However, when the border was in danger, the Forbidden City was blessed by God and millions of silver coins were sent down.

So the emperor left no money behind and used all the 10 million taels as military pay.

The cabinet made arrangements overnight and ordered the Ministry of Revenue to quickly escort 5 million taels of silver as military pay to the border.

After receiving the two million taels of silver as military pay, the governor summoned the generals of various towns, praised the emperor's grace, and allocated five hundred thousand taels to pay the troops.

The general was so grateful that he burst into tears. He devoted all his energy to killing the enemy and worked hard until his death. He distributed the 100,000 taels of silver he had received to his subordinate generals.

The 100,000-strong army received a reward of 200 coins each from their generals, and their morale was greatly boosted, so they fled overnight.

Those who heard the joke refuted it as absurd - how could the emperor not keep a penny! ?
The person who made up this joke has been arrested by Shuntian Prefecture for leaking secrets.

This was the level of exploitation that was deeply rooted in the hearts of the people during the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yijun had experienced this personally.

When the late emperor died, the government troops inside and outside the country started to riot. In order to appease the people, the central government allocated 1.8 million taels of silver to give more than 2 taels of silver to each of the 664,319 government troops inside and outside the country.

So how many big soldiers did you get?
Afterwards, Zhu Yijun asked Gu Huan to inquire about it. Naturally, each army was different, even there were differences within the troops - those who received more received one or two taels, and those who received less received six hundred coins.

Obviously the market price is different.

Then who is exploiting them?

Sorry, now that the money is out of the warehouse, don’t even think about who took it.

Since Zhu Yijun knew this, he would definitely let his private money go down the drain. If the 200,000 taels of private money were all swallowed up, he would feel extremely upset - he had always robbed other people's families, and he had never been the one to be robbed.

Therefore, before clarifying the administration of officials, it would be better to hand over these military supplies directly to the border troops instead of letting them be exploited at various levels, so as to avoid the middlemen making a profit from the price difference.

and.

He didn't need to explain why he favored Qi Jiguang alone, just like he promoted Qi Jiguang last year, he felt it was natural.

Because this is a matter of course - Tan Lun is the direct descendant of the late emperor's palace, Qi Jiguang is the direct descendant of Tan Lun, so Qi Jiguang is the general of Prince Yu's palace, it's that simple.

Muzong has always been very good to his direct descendants.

As soon as he ascended the throne, he transferred Qi Jiguang to the Beijing camp.

Qi Jiguang's request to go out was not only approved immediately, but he was also promoted to the general of a region.

Even though Qi Jiguang became more demanding and requested to transfer 3,000 of his former subordinates from Zhejiang to Jizhen, the late emperor still agreed without saying a word.

Even in the years when Qi Jiguang did not have any military achievements, he was promoted and rewarded every year.

This is the value of the general in the palace. Do we need a reason to favor the direct descendants of the late emperor?
At the same time, it also makes it convenient for the emperor to show favor to the generals in the palace, which is a natural thing to do.

At this time, Wang Chonggu was still hesitating, and Shi Maohua on the side finally couldn't help but speak: "Your Majesty, Jizhen still needs a general to stay, how can you leave so easily?"

"Besides, if the border generals come to the capital, they might leak military information."

Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said, "Shi Qing, please don't lie to me. It's the coldest time of the year. The Tatars are desperate and are rushing to die now."

"It is absurd to say that he leaked military intelligence. There are so many border generals who came to Beijing to report on their duties during the New Year."

Shi Maohua’s level is too low, and he does not have the professionalism that Zhu Heng has when he talks about his own responsibilities and leaves outsiders speechless.

Seeing that Shi Maohua wanted to say more.

Zhu Yijun got straight to the point: "Shi Qing, it is precisely because of the exploitation of generals at all levels that I have no choice but to do this."

"I paid out of my own pocket money with good intentions. Shi Qing, you wouldn't want to take a cut of it, right?"

Shi Maohua's face changed.

The emperor always speaks these ruthless words lightly. Does he understand what a decent ruler means?
He felt aggrieved and quickly pleaded guilty: "I dare not."

Zhu Yijun had no intention of targeting Shi Maohua, so he just brushed aside the matter and continued to ask, "In which month does the Ministry of War plan to send out troops?"

It is obvious that they are not going to continue discussing how to distribute the money.

Wang Chonggu had no choice but to follow the emperor's train of thought and replied, "Your Majesty, we have to wait until we find out the range of the Duoyan Guards' grazing and the stationings of leaders such as Dong Huli before we can send out troops."

"Now, the Righteous Merchant King Chongyi has stepped forward and has gone to Duoyanwei under the guise of a caravan selling salt."

"Your Majesty, please wait for a few days."

Zhu Yijun was stunned.

Wang Chongyi, isn't this your brother? You really have to take some of the benefits home, right?

Zhu Yijun was speechless, but he still promised generously: "Good righteous businessmen, we will reward you according to your merits at that time!"

Wang Chonggu nodded with satisfaction.

He didn't ask for anything else, just to get his nephew a student position.

Wang Chonggu spoke again: "Your Majesty, there is one more thing."

Zhu Yijun motioned for him to continue.

Wang Chonggu pondered for a moment and said slowly: "Your Majesty, since King Shunyi surrendered to our dynasty, he and Madam Zhongshun have started to build Hancheng for trade with our dynasty."

"Today, I received a petition from Madam Zhongshun, asking Your Majesty to invite several virtuous monks to go to the Tumed tribe to consecrate the city they built."

After Altan Khan surrendered, the imperial court granted him the title of King Shunyi. His wife, Sanniangzi, held an extraordinary status in the tribe, so she was specially granted the title of Lady Zhongshun.

Zhu Yijun not only knew this common sense.

He also knew this third lady very well.

She can almost be called the Mongolian Wu Zhao.

When she was nine years old, she was accepted by Altan Khan.

After Altan Khan died, she married his son Huang Taiji. After her son died, she married her grandson Chelike. After her grandson died, she married her fifth-generation grandson Bushitu.

Outsiders say she is a family heirloom in the basement.

But in fact, Sanniangzi has always had tens of thousands of cavalry and more than 60,000 young and strong followers.

Whether it is the Khan's throne, the royal seal, or the military talisman, she must give her approval before deciding on the successor.

He has almost always relied on the legitimate political identity of the chief's wife to firmly hold the power of the tribe.

Just like now, the person who should report to the court should be Altan Khan, but it is this third lady. The situation in her tribe can give us a glimpse of the whole situation.

A person like Sanniangzi certainly didn't come to ask a high monk to consecrate her.

The Mongols were devout Buddhists, and this move was probably more for the sake of their own reputation in the tribe.

At the same time, she was also testing whether the Ming Dynasty would support her.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and looked at Wang Chonggu: "Lord Wang, do you think it should be given or not?"

Ask professionals about professional matters.

Wang Chonggu hesitated for a moment, but still gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty, even the Shunyi King plundered our dynasty several times and was fickle, but the Third Lady has always been friendly with our dynasty and has never had any grudges against us."

"I think it should be given!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Chonggu saw the emperor looking him up and down for unknown reasons.

He couldn't help but wonder if he had said something wrong.

Wang Chonggu naturally had no idea how outrageous the emperor’s thoughts were.

In fact, Zhu Yijun stared at Wang Chonggu and suddenly remembered a story from the fifth year of Longqing.

At that time, the northern barbarians surrendered and each town discussed the horse market and negotiated the terms. The Tatar who came forward was Sanniangzi.

When the 21-year-old Sanniang arrived in Xuanda, she met the 36-year-old Shanxi Censorate Deputy Envoy Cai Kexian on the way.

Afterwards, he kept praising Cai Kexian for her beauty and graceful figure, and her fair complexion.

Later, at the negotiation table, he openly used this as a condition, declaring, "I would like to have the military governor Cai Taishi come to my camp to renew the oath of alliance and establish an everlasting friendship."

Then Wang Chonggu was sold out to Cai Kexian, who was called without any knowledge. As soon as he arrived outside the camp, "he suddenly led dozens of elite cavalry and escorted Cai north to the border."

A few days later, Xiao Cai was released with a depressed look on his face.

It can be seen that this third lady is a woman with an open personality.

In this case, the rumor that he often enjoyed Wang Chonggu after arriving in Xuan Da is probably not groundless.

Although Wang Chonggu is fifty-eight years old, he looks smooth, tall and strong, and still has some looks - a handsome man at thirty-six is ​​delicious, and a tall and handsome general at fifty-eight may also have some flavor.

Zhu Yijun suddenly understood why Wang Chonggu had such a close relationship with the Mongolian right wing, and why he could still control it remotely even after leaving Xuan Da.

There is a reason for everything!
Seeing that the emperor's eyes were becoming more and more strange, Wang Chonggu coughed lightly.

Zhu Yijun finally came back to his senses and calmly returned to business: "In that case, Lord Wang, go pick out a few good-looking monks."

It's good to have weaknesses.

When both sides are playing game, they should focus on conquering these people with weaknesses.

Didn’t you see that when Zhao Ji met Lao Ai, she even killed her own son?

In the history of Tsarist Russia, there was an evil monk named Rasputin, who baptized almost all the noble women, even the queen and princesses of the Tsar's family, and baptized their whole bodies.

After the incident, ladies and common people all claimed that he was a hypnotist.

After his death, people cut off his instrument and measured it, and found that it was 25.8 centimeters.

This is called a magic weapon that targets weaknesses, using the essence of physics to produce metaphysical effects.

The same goes for monks.

Since Sanniang wants a high-ranking monk, we have to send her some handsome monks—the uniform will be a bonus.

Wang Chonggu didn't know what the emperor was thinking, but he instinctively felt that he couldn't stand the emperor's gaze. After finishing his business, he silently used his tall body to block the emperor's sight.

It was the Ministry of Rites' turn. Ma Ziqiang cleared his throat consciously. "The Ministry of Rites has something to report to Your Majesty."

Everyone looked towards him.

Ma Ziqiang opened the memorial and read it out in a somewhat memorized manner: "Your Majesty, the reform of the Huguang vassal system will be carried out step by step and in an orderly manner this year."

"The assets of each feudal clan were mostly used to set up factories and workshops for cotton processing, silk weaving, garment making, rice milling, oil pressing, paper, printing, straw weaving, bricks and tiles, and lime."

"However, there are not many royal families in each prefecture who are good at business."

"At present, it is still a merger and acquisition business, and the shopkeepers are taking on new apprentices. Only after they have completed their apprenticeship can they be arranged to take up their posts."

"For those who are really clumsy and unsuitable, we arranged some light physical work."

"There are also some prominent problems, such as the fact that the vassal states are engaged in business, but the people are afraid to trade with them."

“Or perhaps some of the acquired businesses and factories have backward technology, and there may be suspicion of collusion to cash out.”

"These specific matters are being handled by the Ministry of Revenue and the Inner Court."

Zhu Yijun nodded.

He is not in a hurry about this matter and will take his time.

Ma Ziqiang paused and said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, there is one obstacle. The Ministry of Clan Affairs and the Ministry of Revenue are also undecided. Your Majesty needs to make a decision."

Zhu Yijun looked at Ma Ziqiang curiously, waiting for his next words.

Ma Ziqiang pondered for a moment and said, "The various royal palaces previously colluded with the gentry and secretly operated many iron foundries to smelt iron ore and cast weapons."

"Now most of them have been taken over by the Huguang Provincial Government."

"But Zhu Yunhua of the Yueyang Palace had previously petitioned the Imperial Clan Court, asking if the Yueyang Palace could operate the iron foundry."

Zhu Yijun was startled: "Zhu Yunhua?"

Ma Ziqiang explained: "The Yueyang Palace has many members of the royal family who have titles, and many of them have been implicated. Zhu Yunhua is quite trusted in business affairs, and was publicly recommended by the Yueyang Palace. Although he has no title, he is a person who can make decisions."

Zhu Yijun nodded without further investigation.

It’s no wonder that the people below can’t make the decision when it comes to iron smelting.

Even if it is for civilian use, if you are in a bad mood and want to grow more soldiers, weapons can still grow in the furnace.

but……

Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said, "Give it to him!"

The production enthusiasm of iron smelters everywhere is too low.

Take a look at the iron smelting plant run by Zhang Siwei's family. It has an annual output of nearly 100,000 kilograms. I heard that the quality is good and is widely praised by the Tatars and Jurchens.

It's time to build an ironworks that obeys the emperor's orders and participates in market competition.

Ma Ziqiang silently wrote it down.

Then he talked about another matter: "Your Majesty, the three judicial departments have concluded the case of the Prince of Dong'an and the Prince of Wugang, and will offer sacrifices to the Imperial Ancestral Temple soon."

"King Wugang wants to see Your Majesty, saying that there is a secret behind the death of King Chu, and he wants to report it."

After saying this, he carefully observed the emperor's expression.

It doesn't matter whether this reason is true or false, it mainly depends on whether the emperor wants to see him.

Zhu Yijun laughed and waved his hand: "Let's talk about the imperial examination."

It looked like he was too lazy to see it anymore.

Ma Ziqiang quickly lowered his head and responded.

"After the holidays, the exam will be held in the 20th day. There is not much time left to prepare. How are the examination venues and test questions going?"

Ma Ziqiang did not reply. Zhu Heng at the side spoke up: "Your Majesty, the Minister of Rites Zhu Nanyong reported that the examination hall is too narrow and should be expanded."

"Our department's chiefs Yang Song, Hu Xu, Zhang Daqi, and the city inspector Huang Jiadong personally went to the Imperial Examination Hall to measure the regulations and dimensions of the rooms. They really need to be rebuilt."

"The Ministry of Works has decided to start construction the day after tomorrow. According to the usual practice, six parts will be allocated to this Ministry and four parts to Shuntian Prefecture. We will try to complete the repairs by the Lantern Festival."

The exam room was being renovated a month before the exam, right? What did you do earlier?
This has been an exam for many years.

Zhu Yijun had no choice but to gently remind him: "Try not to work overtime during the New Year period next time."

Ma Ziqiang calmly took back the matter from his department and said, "Your Majesty, there are 8,324 candidates who have registered for this year's imperial examination."

"Among them, 2,700 people were found to have falsified their ages after verification by our headquarters and department."

"Your Majesty, please tell me how to deal with this."

It is definitely impossible to prevent people from taking the exam, after all, there are so many people.

Even if one percent of them went to give advice to the Tatars and Jurchens, it would be a disastrous disaster.

Therefore, the emperor has to speak on this matter.

But Zhu Yijun did not easily accept this hot potato at this time. Instead, he said with a puzzled look: "This matter was exposed by Wu Zhongxing, Zhao Yongxian, Li Deyou and others."

"If I punish you too harshly, it would be unkind."

"And if the punishment is too lenient, they might be angry."

"Let's do this. From now on, every examination will state in advance that those who falsify their age will not be allowed to take the examination. As for this year's examination... the Ministry of Rites should not ask me. Let's respect the opinions of those honest ministers."

Ma Ziqiang choked, thinking that the emperor was better at playing Cuju than he was.

He bowed silently and agreed.

Zhu Yijun glanced at Shen Shixing and thought that there should be nothing to do in the Ministry of Personnel.

The performance evaluation system has been discussed before as a key issue, and the provincial governments which will implement it next year have also been decided.

There doesn't seem to be much work to deploy.

Zhu Yijun passed by Shen Shixing, took a look at the sky outside, stood up, and said to the thirteen ministers with a smile: "My Lords, how about having lunch together?"

After a whole morning of meetings, the emperor was hungry.

At this moment, Lu Diaoyang, who had been silent the entire time, suddenly stood up and saluted, saying, "Your Majesty invites me to eat with you and share the meal, and I am naturally overjoyed."

"But I have one more thing to ask."

Zhu Yijun had just stood up and was about to walk down the imperial steps to stretch his muscles, but when he heard this, he stopped and looked at Lu Diaoyang.

"You can speak freely, Mr. Lu."

Lu Diaoyang glanced at the Prime Minister and the Second Prime Minister.

Then she looked at the emperor with a gentle expression: "Your Majesty, the end of the year is approaching. When will you be seated in the Qianqing Palace? Shouldn't you give me a date?"

Zhu Yijun paused.

He looked embarrassed and stammered, "Didn't we say it would be after the New Year?"

Lu Diaoyang looked at the two people at the head of the class.

Gao Yi coughed lightly and said, "Your Majesty, how about before the 24th day of the first lunar month?"

The court officials went to work on the 24th, so the emperor moved back to set an example.

Zhu Yijun looked embarrassed and stammered, "Well...it's the first month of the year, and the snow hasn't melted yet..."

At this time, Zhang Juzheng finally couldn't bear it anymore, and his expression was a little stern. He called out, "Your Majesty!"

The sudden words made Zhu Yijun tremble.

He sighed and compromised helplessly: "We'll move after the Chinese New Year. We'll move after the Chinese New Year."

The three ministers looked at each other, nodded with satisfaction, and saluted the emperor together.

Then several assistant ministers began to speak nice words, saying that the emperor was wise and intelligent, had made remarkable achievements this year, and that there was hope for the revival of the dynasty and so on.

The emperor forced a smile.

Ma Ziqiang came over and started praising the emperor as well.

Upon seeing this, the eunuchs started to clean up the two long tables.

When everyone stood up, only Zhu Heng was still sitting on the chair with his horse and sword, muttering to himself.

Zhang Han and Chen Wude humbled themselves and helped the eunuchs to tidy up the tables. They looked back at the emperor from time to time and quietly approached to discuss something.

Shi Maohua felt out of place and stared at Wang Chonggu's back.

Ge Shouli and Wang Guoguang walked to the entrance of the hall at the same time, stood side by side, and looked at the snow scene outside.

No one had spoken today, but the Ministry of Personnel, who seemed to be there to make up the numbers, was bored and saw everything.

He couldn't help but touch his abdomen, his thoughts racing. Although he seemed to be just making up the numbers, if he painted a picture, he might be able to gain some fame.

I've thought of a name for it: The Holy Father and His Thirteen Ministers.

Shen Shixing saw the emperor, who was surrounded by several ministers, come out and was about to salute.

As the emperor passed by his back, he whispered, "I heard that the young man you favor, Gu Xiancheng, has started a newspaper to advise me, and he has even gone to the Kong family to invite someone."

Shen Shixing was startled and was about to reply.

But the emperor spoke in a voice as silent as a mosquito, left a few words, and walked away.

Shen Shixing thought for a moment before he remembered what the emperor said - as an elder, how could he not help out? He showed his arrogance as the Minister of Personnel and wrote a letter to the Kong family to support the younger generation.

Shen Shixing hesitated to speak, and finally concentrated on thinking.

The ministers took their seats one after another, and the eunuchs finally began to serve the dishes.

The Forbidden City outside the palace was covered with heavy snow, the weather was cold and the ground was wrapped in silver.

Inside the palace, the emperor and his ministers shared the meal, sharing the same boat and enjoying themselves.

The first year of the Wanli reign passed just like this.

(End of this chapter)