The ministers begged me to ascend the throne

After Zhao Yao ascended the throne, the miracle of the Swamp House was staged in many places in the Great Zhou. The originally poor places gradually became rich, and the lives of the people became better and better. The originally good places became even more prosperous.

In the past five years, the Great Zhou had been thriving and prosperous. Both the ministers and the people praised Zhao Yao endlessly.

Among the people, Zhao Yao's reputation has surpassed that of the emperor, and even that of Emperor Taizong of Xia, the most virtuous emperor in the previous dynasty. Zhao Yao just smiled and showed no pride or complacency.

For him, he just did what he should do. If an emperor cannot even feed his people, what is the point of being an emperor?

In recent years, Zhao Yao has also carried out infrastructure construction in many places, building roads, rivers, bridges, reservoirs, etc., making people's lives more and more convenient and making people's lives more and more prosperous.

Zhao Yao did not ask the people to contribute a penny for the infrastructure construction, nor did he spend a single penny from the national treasury. Instead, all the money was from the gold and silver shipped back from Japan.

The gold and silver mines in Japan are very rich and can be mined for hundreds of years. In the past few years, Zhao Yao used the gold and silver shipped back from Japan to build infrastructure and do business in Swamp Prefecture.

Every year, tons of gold and silver were shipped back from Japan, so there was no need to worry about not having enough money.

When the ministers saw the several tons of gold and silver shipped back from Japan, they were stunned and could not believe their eyes.

They didn't expect that the emperor had already set his sights on Japan and started digging for gold and silver in Japan at an early stage. No wonder the Swamp Mansion became so rich in those years.

Zhao Yao had already sent people to conquer Japan, so there was no need to worry about Japan's gold and silver being stolen by others.

Even the emperor was unaware of Zhao Yao's digging for gold and silver in Japan. When he found out, he scolded Zhao Yao and blamed him for hiding it for so long.

In addition to money, infrastructure construction also requires people. The local government invited the people to work, not only paying them wages, but also providing them with food and accommodation. Naturally, the people were happy to do the hard work.

In the past five years, the infrastructure in many places of the Great Zhou has been well developed. Let alone other places, the capital has also undergone earth-shaking changes. What the Swamp House had before, the capital also has.

The main streets in the capital have increased in number, and the roads have become very wide and neat. In the past, the main street in the capital, Zhuque Avenue, could only accommodate two carriages, but now it has been widened to accommodate five carriages.

There are many more shops on both sides of the street than before. In order to facilitate people to do business, the East Market and West Market of the capital have expanded several times and have now become the commercial center of the capital.

In addition to shops, there are also schools, clinics, libraries, Fushengtang, etc. There are also free schools in the capital. Whether adults or children, as long as they want to study, they can go to the free school to study for three years. After studying in the free school for three years, they can go to the academy run by the local government or the private school run by private individuals to continue their studies.

The tuition fees in the academies run by government offices were very cheap, and basically everyone could afford to study there. There were also various subsidies and rewards in the academies, and as long as you studied hard, you could get these benefits.

The tuition fees for private schools are a bit expensive, but most families can afford it. Whether there are rewards in the private school depends on how generous the private school is.

In addition to academies and private schools that taught people to read and write and take the imperial examinations, there were also medical schools, military academies, and various technical academies. The tuition fees for these academies were not too expensive, so the common people did not have to worry about not being able to afford them.

During the reign of Emperor Yong'an, the cultural heritage of the inland areas became withered. After Zhao Yao ascended the throne, the cultural heritage of the Great Zhou became more prosperous, which led to more and more foreigners coming from afar to study in the Great Zhou.

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, men and women could study. There were special schools for women in the capital and other places for women to study. There were also many kinds of schools for women, so that women could learn various skills.

There are two Imperial Colleges in the capital, one for men and the other for women.

Imperial College was not accessible to ordinary people. Of course, to enter the Imperial College, one’s family background was not important, but one’s knowledge was. As long as you had the ability to pass the Imperial College entrance examination, even if you were a beggar, you could go in and study.

Men entered the Imperial Academy to study in order to become officials and serve the country in the future. Women entered the Imperial Academy to study in order to become officials. Although women were not allowed to be officials in the court for the time being, they were allowed to be officials in other places. Let's not talk about other places, just say that there were many female officials in the palace.

Women can be officials and run businesses. Women can do anything that men can do, and they can do it quite well.

However, the capital city is still not as good as the Swamp House due to its inconvenient location. Five years ago, the Swamp House was managed by the King of Chu and became more prosperous. Now the Swamp House has become a major international port.

At this time, Zhao Yao had just received the Lingnan specialties sent by the King of Chu, including fruits, medicinal herbs, cloth, spices, jewelry and other things.

The King of Chu wrote a very long letter to Zhao Yao, the content of which mainly talked about what had happened in various parts of Lingnan in recent days, as well as what had happened in some foreign countries near Lingnan.

Since the King of Chu took over Lingnan, he has regained his spirits. The witch doctor had said that if the King of Chu took good care of himself, he could live for three or four years at most, and no more than five years. Unexpectedly, the King of Chu lived for five years. Perhaps he found the meaning of living, and the King of Chu's health became better and better, which made the witch doctor exclaimed that it was miraculous.

Unfortunately, the King of Chu was poisoned and lost his fertility, so he could no longer have his own children. However, in the past two years, the King of Chu adopted several children.

Zhao Yao was pleased to see the change in the King of Chu. He had already lost his eighth brother, and he could not afford to lose his fourth brother again.

Just after receiving the things sent by the King of Chu, he received things sent by the Emperor and the Queen Mother. In the past three years, whenever the Emperor and the Queen Mother went to a place, they would send local specialties to Zhao Yao.

Three years ago, the Queen Mother took the Emperor and her eldest grandson on a tour. In the past three years, they have been to many places. Perhaps because he no longer has to be an emperor, the Emperor recovered quickly. The witch doctor originally said that the Emperor's lower body would be inconvenient to move, but after two years of traveling, the Emperor's lower body has recovered by more than half. Although he can't walk as fast as flying, he can walk with a cane and no longer needs to sit in a wheelchair.

In the letter, the Queen Mother described in detail what they had seen and heard during this period, and of course also wrote in detail about the local people's conditions. Every time they went to a place, they would investigate the local people's livelihood. If they encountered unfair things, they would also deal with them.

The Queen Mother also spoke seriously about the performance of her grandson during this period. Zhao Yao deliberately let his eldest son stay with the emperor, so that he could see the people. Only by experiencing the lives of the people in person could he understand the sufferings of the people, so that he could become a good emperor in the future. Moreover, it was his blessing that he was taught by the emperor and the Queen Mother.

Zhao Yao was busy with too many things on weekdays and had no time to teach his son personally. The queen was also busy and could not teach him. If he was allowed to be taught by officials of the Hanlin Academy, he would only become a nerd and would not know anything about the outside world. If he was allowed to stay with the emperor and the queen mother, he would not only be taught by the emperor and the queen mother, but also see the lives of the people with his own eyes.

As for the fact that his son was not close to them, Zhao Yao did not care. He would rather his son be close to the people. Although his son was not with Zhao Yao and his family, his worship and admiration for his father became stronger and stronger.

Every time they went to a place, they would hear people praising Zhao Yao, which made him very proud. In addition, the emperor and the queen mother often told him about Zhao Yao's childhood, which made him admire his father even more.

After reading the letters from the Queen Mother and her son, Zhao Yao felt that all his fatigue from the day had instantly disappeared.

Tongxi brought tea, "Your Majesty, have some tea and rest for a while."

Zhao Yao took the teacup and drank a few sips of tea slowly. After drinking the tea, he took Tongxi and Sun Doudou for a walk outside. Hearing the noise coming from outside the palace, Zhao Yao smiled and said, "The palace is deserted, but outside the palace is bustling."

After Zhao Yao ascended the throne, he lifted the curfew in the capital, which made the nightlife in the capital very rich. The night in the capital was as bright as day and more prosperous than the day.

"Your Majesty, would you like to go to the night market?" The night market in the capital is very lively. In addition to selling all kinds of food, there are also various performances.

Zhao Yao waved his hand and said, "I haven't finished reviewing the memorials yet, so I don't have time to go." After ascending the throne, Zhao Yao did not stay in the palace every day and did not go anywhere. From time to time, he would go out of the palace to take a look and feel the atmosphere of the capital.

Back in the Swamp House, he had established a cabinet in his own small court, which saved him a lot of trouble and gave him more time to do other things, but the cabinet was not suitable for the court in the capital. He remembered the dangers of the emperor of a certain dynasty in Zhao Yao's world in his dream establishing a cabinet.

After walking for a while, Zhao Yao returned to the imperial study to continue reviewing memorials. Not long after, the queen brought him a midnight snack.

The couple chatted while eating supper.

Zhao Yao also had a queen in his harem, but no other concubines. First, he was not interested in sex. Second, he felt that more women would lead to more disputes. Third, he did not need to use the harem to control the previous dynasty.

After supper, the queen returned to her palace to take care of her two children while Zhao Yao continued to review memorials.

Four years ago, the Queen gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. In another year, the twins will also be sent to the Emperor and the Queen Mother.

Zhao Yao thought that when the retired emperor and the empress dowager went out to play, they should take their grandchildren with them so that they could enjoy the happiness of family.

At midnight, Zhao Yao left work on time and stopped reviewing memorials. He did not go to the Queen's Palace, but went straight to rest in his own palace.

When he was half asleep, he saw the starling.

He and myna sat on the stone steps at the entrance of the Zichen Hall, drinking tea and chatting.

He talked a lot to the starling, and the starling listened quietly, responding from time to time.

"Myna, in a few years, I should be able to let you see the peaceful and prosperous times of the Great Zhou."

Emperor Yong'an raised his hand and patted Zhao Yao on the shoulder, smiling and saying, "I knew you could do it."

"In order not to disappoint you and to let you see it sooner, I have worked diligently to be the emperor in the past few years." Since becoming emperor, Zhao Yao has never said again that he does not want to be the emperor, nor has he complained about the hardships of being an emperor, unlike the retired emperor who often wanted to quit.

"Thank you for your hard work." Emperor Yong'an said with a smile on his face, "You did a good job. I am proud of you."

"My dear brother, with your words, my hard work over the past few years has not been in vain." Zhao Yao supported his hands on the ground behind his back, looked up at the night sky, and swayed his feet. "By the way, mother and the others met Concubine Dowager Ying. She is doing well and has been to many places."

Emperor Yong'an was silent for a moment and said, "That's good."

"Eighth sister-in-law got married last year and married a man of her dreams. She gave birth to a daughter some time ago." Zhao Yao knew that the person Emperor Yong'an felt most sorry for was Eighth sister-in-law. "She lived a very happy life."

Emperor Yong'an smiled slightly: "As long as she is happy."

Zhao Yao then told Emperor Yong'an about the interesting things that the Queen Mother and her entourage had experienced while traveling, and Emperor Yong'an listened very carefully.

When Zhao Yao woke up the next morning, there was a smile on his face.

Tongxi saw that Zhao Yao was in a good mood and asked curiously, "Your Majesty, did you have a good dream last night?"

"I dreamed of my starling and told him a lot of things." Over the past five years, my starling would come to see him in his dreams from time to time and talk to him.

"No wonder you're so happy."

“I am full of energy now.”

After Zhao Yao washed up, he went to the dining hall to have breakfast. After breakfast, he went to court in high spirits.

He Xiang and Liu Taishi were worried that Zhao Yao would be like the emperor, not active in court, lazy in doing things, and often make them clean up their messes. Unexpectedly, Zhao Yao was completely different from the emperor. He was very serious in court every day, never sloppy in handling government affairs, and never played around, which increased their workload. This made them very relieved.

Other ministers also liked Zhao Yao, mainly because Zhao Yao increased their salaries. After Zhao Yao became emperor, the court became richer and richer, so of course he would increase the salaries of ministers.

Officials will be evaluated every six months. Those who perform well will not only be promoted, but also receive generous bonuses and even houses or land.

Zhao Yao thought that as long as the salaries and bonuses were in place, officials would be motivated to work hard. As it turned out, he was right.

When the emperor was in power, the court was divided into several factions, which fought each other. If the emperor was not able to control it, the court would have been in chaos. After Zhao Yao ascended the throne, the court was clear and harmonious. The court was united and worked hard for a peaceful and prosperous era.

In the eighth year of Tianyou, the Great Zhou ushered in a period of peace and prosperity.

In the tenth year of Tianyou, countries in the Western Regions, foreign nations near Lingnan, and even countries near Mishir all came to pay homage to the Great Zhou, making it the largest country in the world.

In the twelfth year of Tianyou, Zhao Yao sent out a fleet and finally found the legendary American continent and brought back many treasures, including food, minerals, rubber and other things.

Zhao Yao ushered in the Great Zhou Dynasty's prosperous era, and his son and grandson continued the prosperity. The prosperity of the Great Zhou Dynasty lasted for more than a hundred years, which is very rare in history. It is known in history as "the prosperous era blessed by God." (End of this chapter)