I, Zhu Youjian: the first prodigal son of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 33
Hou Guoxing, the former commander of the Jinyiwei of the Ming Dynasty, "scattered all his wealth" for the victims in the north from freezing and starvation, donating more than [-] taels of silver and countless grains.
And he personally promised in the Golden Luan Hall that if Hou Guoxing can manage the three counties in the fief well, he will be crowned king directly!
The news spread like wildfire, and within a day and night, it spread throughout the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

No matter whether it is the civil and military officials or the common people, there are many discussions about this.

There were those who praised, some who doubted, and even those who cursed. In short, it was very lively in Da Ming.

Among them, those who cursed at the imperial court for incompetence and the emperor's incompetence were mostly military officers, and the hundreds of thousands of royal family members who were favored by the imperial court like pigs.

"Heaven is going to kill me, Daming, it is a disgrace to our old Zhu family to meet such a stupid and incompetent emperor!"

"That's right, a small Jinyiwei commander, who committed a crime and was dismissed as a civilian, can exchange a mere 10 taels of silver and hundreds of thousands of stones of grain for a Mizhihou? Moreover, he also promised himself that he can be crowned king in the future." ?”

"We descendants of Emperor Taizu's blood, what face do we have to meet our ancestors? This Zhu Youjian is really a prodigal son!"

……

Among the royal clan, there were gradually rumors that someone wanted to convene a family meeting, and follow the example of Emperor Yongle back then, and set up troops on the side of the "Qing Emperor".

In this regard, Zhu Youzhi ignored it.

What kind of pee are those people, he, the idiot emperor, knows it all too well.

During the more than 200 years of the Ming Dynasty, those so-called vassal kings and clan nobles have always been a group of scumbags. Whoever is powerful will swarm up and attach themselves to them, and step hard on the heads of the defeated.

If among a group of idle and extravagant 'princes', there were one or two ruthless people like Emperor Yongle, who would even fight for the status of his own nephew, it is estimated that the idiot emperor Zhu Youjian would still be amused.

Maybe he will discuss it carefully, throw out the mess of the Ming Dynasty, and hide in the distance by himself, the prodigal son of Quiet Mimi...

At the same time, the powerful action of those civil servants began to emerge rapidly.

They have sent letters to their respective spheres of influence, spreading the news, and letting those wealthy households 'consider for themselves'.

Do you want to be a local rich man for the rest of your life, or find a way to become famous in one fell swoop, and get a lord, prince or something, you can decide.

Anyway, the opportunity is right in front of us.

Moreover, it is very likely that it will be fleeting. If the famine problem in the north is completely resolved, that idiot emperor will definitely stop this absurd act. No matter how much money and food you spend, it is probably useless.

This is what is called speculation.

If you miss this village, there will be no more Zhujiadian.

As a result, wealthy households and officials from all over the world began to be tempted, and they flew pigeons to pass letters one after another, asking their own people in the capital for advice on how to make the next move.

In short, it is how to please the new emperor and maximize his own interests.

Qian Qianyi, a scholar of the Wensu Pavilion, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Wei Zhongxian, the eunuch of Bingbi, the supervisor of rites, Zhang Ruitu, a scholar of the Jianji Temple, and other powerful figures began to get busier.

The Ministry of Rites, Ministry of Households, Ministry of Punishment, Ministry of War, Cabinet, Dongchang, Jinyiwei, Metropolitan Procuratorate... In almost all the key departments of the Ming Dynasty, undercurrents were surging.

At the beginning, someone took out [-] to [-] shi of grain to get a title, which made several ministers very excited.

However, with the passage of time, only three or five days later, when some rich households in the south of the Yangtze River and the royal clansmen made frequent moves, and the "masters" who counted 10 taels of silver and 30 million shi of grain began to appear, everyone Only then did I realize that the previous pattern was small.

The common people of Ming Dynasty are really rich!
It should be known that one shi of rice is 180 catties, and 180 shi of grain is [-] million catties.

And 30 shi of grain is an astronomical figure!

It can be seen from this that the land annexation in the late Ming Dynasty was so serious that those wealthy households frequently occupied the land of three or five counties, which was simply the fiefdom of a prince!

So, a basic pricing came out.

With 20 taels of silver and 30 shi of grain, he can be named a marquis, but he cannot be hereditary.

If the grain exceeds 50 shi, it can be hereditary.

In Zhu Youjian's instruction to Wei Zhongxian, it was clearly stipulated that this time the enfeoffment of the marquis does not enjoy the national salary, but the fiefdom, which is slightly different from the royal clan, foreign relatives, and military generals' meritorious service.

The idiot emperor thought very clearly that if he was entrusted with the title of Marquis, he would have to enjoy the imperial salary, it would mean that there would be a large number of moths, and too much money and food would be wasted, which would be detrimental to his fortune...

The reason why I am so troublesome is that helping the victims is just a decent excuse. The fundamental reason is not to earn more money and food so that I can get some "prodigal value" for myself?
The imperial court collected a large amount of money and food for nothing, and awarded those places where the birds didn't shit, and they went to mess around, whether they wanted to farm or raise sheep, the imperial court didn't ask.

This business is simply too cost-effective.

Zhu Youjian once again lamented that in order to prodigal, there are only impossible and unexpected.

After a few years of tossing around like this, my prodigal family is worth a lot, and I can live to be a thousand or two years old, so I quickly evacuate people and find a famous mountain and river to live in seclusion...

In the entire court, it seems that only Zhu Youjian is an idler, doing nothing all day long, either hiding in the harem drinking and having fun all day and night, or calling several ministers to "recite poems and paint pictures" in the warm pavilion of Qianqing Palace.

Live happily and freely.

On this day, Zhu Youjian had a whim and wanted to see the preparations for the Daming Academy, so he summoned Wei Zhongxian to discuss it.

"Long Live God summons the slaves, what important matters do you want to ask?" Wei Zhongxian looked quite busy, and Zhu Youjian was very surprised that he hadn't come to the Qing Palace to 'serve' for several days.

A treacherous minister, if he doesn't accompany the emperor's prodigal family well, what is he busy with all day long?

"Wei Aiqing, I want to go out of the palace and inspect the preparations for the construction of Daming Academy." Zhu Youjian said indifferently.

"Long Live God... slave... well, slave will go and arrange it now." Wei Zhongxian hesitated to speak, which made the emperor a little confused.

"Wei Zhongxian, is there something you are hiding from me, you old eunuch?" Zhu Youjian asked.

"Long Live Lord, I have nothing to hide from Long Live Lord. It's just that slaves are too busy recently..." The treacherous minister's voice gradually dropped, and finally he dared not speak anymore.

The idiot emperor wants to go out of the palace to wander around, this is the big event of the Ming Dynasty.

"Long Live Lord, this servant is going to prepare now." Wei Zhongxian turned to leave, but Zhu Youjian called to stop him.

"Wait," Zhu Youjian said with a smile, "Come on, tell me what you've been up to recently?"

Wei Zhongxian hesitated for a while, and said with a sneer: "The servant is busy selling officials..."

Not bad, the business of selling black hats is so good?No wonder the 'prodigal value' has been inexplicably increased recently, causing him to be so violent in the middle of the night...

"How many officials have you sold?" Zhu Youjian asked casually in a good mood.

Wei Zhongxian said with some embarrassment: "It's not a lot. According to the operation during this period, the servants have about twelve dukes, thirty-odd marquises, and 67 earls. They need special rewards from Long Live God..."

As soon as the words came out, the eunuch himself was startled.

This... is a serious crime that can kill Wei Zhongxian [-] times!

"Not bad," Zhu Youjian was overjoyed, and hurriedly asked, "Is the food we got enough for disaster relief?"

(End of this chapter)