afterglow

Chapter 298 Waiting for an imperial edict;
The 38th year of Zhichang seems to be slower than the previous years, and it is full of abnormal situations. It can be said that there are unexpected things every day.

The impact of the War Preparedness Act on civilian life has already begun to appear. For example, the price curve of luxury goods climbed rapidly, and then stabilized at twice the previous price.

Of course, those things are irrelevant to ordinary people. The main thing that makes them unhappy is that the prices of various aluminum products have increased a lot. Aluminum steamers, aluminum kettles, aluminum lunch boxes and other items are all levied an additional 35% of "aluminum rates ".

For Ming people, the word "payment" is really familiar-it will be done every time the court raises military expenses.For example, during the reign of Chongzhen, there were Liao pay, practice pay, and suppression pay. During the decades of targeting the Junggar Khanate in the later Ming Dynasty, "Western pay" was temporarily added many times. This west refers to the west of Jiayuguan.

At the same time, the government keeps putting up posters in the streets and alleys to promote the importance of aluminum and suggest that iron or steel products should be used instead.

Even if it is only a very low-level and backward industrial country, there is absolutely no shortage of ordinary civil steel. The output of steel can easily be several million tons, tens of millions of tons, which is not at the same level as the aluminum output of only tens of thousands of tons.

"Damn it! Finally...it's done!"

Satisfied, Zhou Changfeng sighed loudly after returning home. From the beginning of the month to now on September 22, he traveled back and forth and communicated in three places, the Ordnance Bureau, the Army Department, and the Navy Department of the Ministry of War, and finally settled the matter.

When the representatives of the Ordnance Bureau and the Army Department saw the rough submachine gun, they looked disgusted on the spot. Some people even thought that it would fall apart after a few shots.

As we all know, if a person has a preconceived judgment on something, it is very difficult to change his judgment.

And for the past half month, Zhou Changfeng has been doing this troublesome and troublesome thing.

Fortunately, the hard work paid off, and the busy work has finally been done.

After the actual evaluation, the Ordnance Bureau approved this seemingly crude and unreliable design, and initially decided to modify it according to the standard specifications, and then finalized it to replace the existing three-four type. The national government-owned arsenal immediately suspended the establishment of three-four Submachine gun production line.

The performance is similar, there is no obvious disadvantage, but the production cost and purchase price are three-quarters lower...

There is no other way, I can only choose it, and the gentlemen of the Armament Bureau are very shrewd.

The Army has been arguing from the very beginning. Some people think it is indeed possible and cost-effective; some people insist on opposing it and do not trust such crudely crafted weapons.

But in this regard, the Ordnance Bureau has the final say, unless the Army is willing to jointly strongly oppose it and make things worse.

So after twists and turns, the expensive milling submachine gun will finally temporarily fade out of the stage of history.

Only when the great war is over and they need to keep improving, will they have room to play again.

Then, the Army considered reducing the purchase of Type [-] semi-automatic rifles because its cost performance was too low.

The Navy agreed to Zhou Changfeng's request. Like the Air Force's paratrooper units, the Marine Corps will also purchase automatic rifles that fire intermediate-power bullets.

In addition to the existing semi-automatic short rifles, the bidding for automatic rifles and light machine guns has also been preliminarily clarified-this will be the squad light weapons of the paratroopers and marines of the Ming Army in the future.

All riflemen are equipped with automatic rifles, and there is also a light machine gun, which uniformly uses 7.36×40mm short bullets to ensure that the ammunition is universal.

Zhou Changfeng tossed and tossed for more than half a month, speaking reason and good words, playing hard and soft, and treating guests to five or six meals, which successfully pushed the result to a better situation.

However, as soon as he returned home today, he learned that he had been given the official title of "Military Aircraft Waiting for Edict" by a paper book.

"Sir... are you alright?" Xia Xiaoshi looked at Zhou Changfeng who looked regretful in front of her with some worry.

"Outrageous, it's a waste of time..." Zhou Changfeng smiled bitterly, "Well, it's not a waste of time."

Since the establishment of the cabinet system during the Yongle period, the cabinet has always been the highest advisory body of the Ming Dynasty. Theoretically, it does not have any decision-making power, and the proposals of the cabinet are invalid without the seal of the emperor.

Unless the chief assistant of the cabinet can collude with the eunuch of the palm seal, and the emperor or empress dowager does not interfere, this was the case when Zhang Juzheng was in power.

But today's cabinet is no longer the previous cabinet. After the constitutional government, it has transformed into the highest administrative organ of Ming Dynasty and the head of the imperial court.

As the head of state, the emperor still needs to have advisers to consult professional issues at any time, just like the president of the United States has private teams such as economic advisers and security advisers.

As a result, the post of Daizhao was taken out again, as the advisor of the current Emperor of Ming Dynasty.

As the name suggests, "Waiting for an edict" means waiting for an edict. In the earliest days, it was actually a consultant. With grain and rice, the emissary waits for the imperial edict."

However, by the time of the Ming Dynasty, Daizhao had evolved into a low-level official position in the Imperial Academy. From the ninth rank, he was responsible for proofreading documents.

Now let it return to its original use thousands of years ago, which is considered a return to basics.

After all, he is a person close to the emperor, and has a lot of influence, so Zhou Changfeng is very depressed. If the book making is done a few days earlier, why would he need to be so busy?
Although it is indeed something within one's ability, it is really tiring to do everything by yourself like this.

At this time, Xia Xiaoshi suddenly thought of something, "By the way, sir, when the book was delivered earlier, the pedestrian secretary asked us to prepare to move, and we have to live near the imperial city. The residence is on Liren Street... It is said that it is already being packed. , and you can live in directly in two days."

"Moving?" Zhou Chang, who was drinking water, heard the news and put down his glass, "Okay, then hurry up and pack up, just bring some clothes and shoes, and I think there are other things over there."

"Also, they said that Lin Xi is a foreigner, and they suggested terminating the contract and dismissing him. If he keeps him, he has to hand it over to Jin Yiwei for another review."

"Normal. Then...does she agree to stand trial?"

"of course."

The Forbidden City, the "home" of the Chinese emperors, is a mysterious and unpredictable place for ordinary people.

From ancient times to the present, ordinary people have never lacked various imaginations about it. The more classic one is that the emperor gets up in the morning to drink porridge with a golden bowl, and then carries a golden hoe to plant the land.

In the late Ming Dynasty, the government was chaotic and the palace ban was relaxed. Many strange things happened in such a mysterious and solemn place, such as someone broke in and killed himself with a knife, someone sneaked into the palace with a human head, someone sneaked into the palace and set off firecrackers... The assault case, one of the last three cases.

The Forbidden City in the north is like this, and the Forbidden City in the south is no different. When Emperor Suzong was in power, first a few people sneaked in in groups to dig floor tiles and planned to sell them, but they were caught by Jin Yiwei; He wanted to rape the court lady, but was captured alive by Jing Jun (eunuch army).

This so-called world is full of wonders.

On the 24th, on this day, because the imperial meeting was to be held, the imperial edicts naturally had to accompany the emperor to attend.After straightening his coat and hat in front of the mirror, Zhou Changfeng left the house.

Because of Zhu Shiyan's physical condition, he was unable to manage politics for nearly half a month, and after recovering a bit, he could barely work for a few hours intermittently. At the same time, Zhu Liqie's death also left a considerable part of the official documents unattended.

In this way, in order to maintain the normal operation of the country, many things in the backlog will naturally be directly decided by the cabinet.

After Zhu Lingjing came to the throne, she hurriedly snatched these things back, and had to work overtime to manage the administration. On average, she worked up to fifteen hours a day, and the hair that fell out could be tied into a small bundle.

At this moment, she was writing in Zhaoren Hall, Su Yiyi knocked on the door and entered, and said: "Your Majesty, Zhou Kexing has arrived."

Zhu Lingjing, who was expressionless, raised her hand and glanced at her watch, and said calmly, "Well, tell him to come in."

In the past, he had only entered the imperial city twice, but today Zhou Chang entered the palace city for the first time in the limelight.

After entering the Xihua Gate, the next journey was not short, and it would take about ten minutes on foot, so he took the shuttle bus directly.

In fact, the current Forbidden City has been rebuilt twice.

At the end of Ming Dynasty, the Forbidden City in Nanjing was dilapidated because it had not been repaired for a long time, and Emperor Shizu had to rebuild it.After that, it has been repaired and used for more than ten years, and then because it was too old, it was simply demolished and rebuilt.

After getting off the ferry, enter the Inner Court through the Qianqing Gate, the Qianqing Palace is right in front, and the side halls on the left and right sides of it are the Hongde Hall and the Zhaoren Hall.

What impressed Zhou Changfeng the most along the way was actually Jinyiwei. The Jinyiwei sergeants guarding and patrolling here completely ignored the existence of anyone, and they were very cold.

Let alone saluting by touching their chests, they didn't even salute with two whistles holding their guns.

I don't know if that is the same. [deleted]

Zhu Lingjing did not continue to work in Hongde Palace, but started a new job.Zhaoren Hall was originally used as a collection of books, but because of the ample space, it has been simply changed into a place where she manages daily affairs.

After stepping over the threshold and entering, Zhou Changfeng came to the second room on the right, raised his hand and knocked on the door.

"Come in." The familiar voice floated in from inside.

For some reason, Zhou Changfeng had some unusual little expectations this time.

He took a deep breath, then pushed the door open and entered, only to see that the royal case in front was placed obliquely against the wide window, so that the sunlight could shine at a suitable angle.

Zhu Lingjing, who was dressed in black and red, was sitting upright reviewing the files. Her upper body was a black cross-neck gown, her lower body was a bright red pleated skirt, and her hair was tied up high in a bun.

The black and red color scheme, coupled with the tall and big bun, gives people a unique impression of nobility and grandeur, which fits the identity very well.

"Your Highness... Uh, no, see Your Majesty." Zhou Changfeng couldn't help feeling a little nervous when he first arrived in an unfamiliar environment.

Now I can more or less understand Qin Wuyang's feelings. When a low-ranking person meets a high-ranking person, no matter how confident they are usually, they will eventually feel a little restrained and nervous.

"Have you read the outline of the agenda? Are you ready?" Zhu Lingjing looked up at him as she spoke.

"It's all ready."

"Yeah." Zhu Lingjing put down her pen, took a sip from her teacup, then looked at him with a smile and said, "There is a door behind you, why are you standing so far away?"

So Zhou Changfeng, who was a little embarrassed, had no choice but to take a few steps forward.

"Your Majesty, the meeting is about to begin."

"There are still two quarters of an hour, don't worry, first read the summary of the deployment of the British troops in the Malay Peninsula."

So, while recalling, Zhou Changfeng gave a brief account of the deployment of the British army in the Malay Peninsula—these are the latest summaries of the Intelligence Department of the Metropolitan Governor's Mansion.

Zhu Lingjing, on the other hand, was doing two things at once, looking at the files on the table while listening.

"...There is also a brigade of chariot units in good condition..."

"Beast."

ah?

When Zhou Changfeng was about to finish speaking, Zhu Lingjing suddenly whispered "beast", which immediately confused him.

The latter picked up a pen and ticked it, and then sharply criticized a few words, and then asked strangely: "Say it, why don't you say it?"

Rao Zhou Changfeng was usually alert, but he was at a loss at this moment, "Your Majesty, you...you just said..."

Zhu Lingjing, who had no expression on her face, let out an "oh" and replied flatly, "It has nothing to do with you, I'm making a deal."

According to the usual practice, the government usually executes the death row prisoners of that year in the beginning of autumn.

This is the same as in ancient times in form, but now it’s just a formality, basically it’s a check with your eyes closed, unless the emperor wants to use the power of amnesty, he will circle the name.

Now Zhu Lingjing is simply too bored, bald with busy work, and simply takes looking at this year's death row list and cases as a pastime.

She explained nonchalantly: "This guy has committed a heinous crime. He was executed by shooting in the first instance in Jining Prefecture, and the review by Dali Temple was correct. If it is not appropriate, he should be hanged instead."

It is also the death penalty. Hanging was lighter than beheading in ancient times. After all, a whole body can be left behind.

But now beheading has been changed to shooting, and hanging has become more important than shooting, because hanging is more painful, and when shooting, the bullet hits the heart, and it will kill him in a few seconds.

Zhou Changfeng was shocked by her operation, he had an expression of "you're kidding me", "Can it still be like this?"

"Why not? Why don't you see what he has done?" Zhu Lingjing cast a sidelong glance at him, and said coldly, "It's a pity, if only beheadings still exist today, France still has guillotine beheadings."

After a few seconds, she added, "It's just connivance for some people not to lose their heads."

Zhou Changfeng: "..."

Speechless, he tilted his head slightly to look at the clock on the wall, saw that it was already 9:41, and reminded him: "Your Majesty, it's less than 10 minutes, should we go?"

"After half a month of shirk, it's time to finalize the final strategy."

Zhu Lingjing, who looked normal, picked up the fine brush, ticked off the remaining two pages of the list of death row prisoners, and then dipped the pen into the brush washer to rinse it.

At this time, the team of attendants headed by Su Yiyi and Fang Shujun was already waiting outside Zhaoren Hall, and the imperial meeting that had not been seen for a long time was about to begin.

　"On April 27th, the seventh year of Wanli, in Renyin, there was someone who committed suicide at Duanmen, and he was ordered to do so. Not long after, another criminal, Zhang Du, entered the forbidden area with a knife and wiped himself."

　　"On the 24th of the first lunar month in the 28th year of Wanli, the Imperial Horse Supervisor ordered Yu Liu Can to play the sons of Li Ming and Shi Wen, who sneaked into the forbidden area with their heads.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)