Rule over Ming Dynasty

Chapter 308 Little Surprise

As night falls, Qianqing Palace appears brightly lit.

A thin and beautiful palace maid tiptoed out of Dong Nuan Pavilion, and was about to prepare new sandalwood, when she met a girl hugging a cat who was humming a tune.

"Sister Mengmeng, where did you go just now?"

"I went to the Queen's place, what happened?"

Niu Mengmeng's figure has slowly grown. She has a cute and beautiful oval face and a faint beauty mark at the corner of her mouth. She still looks very lively.

Luck is a very mysterious thing.

Relying on her strong luck, Niu Mengmeng has been promoted from the maid in charge of Dongnuang Pavilion to the maid in charge of Qianqing Palace. She is already considered a famous figure in the entire palace.

"His Majesty just casually asked you where you were. His Majesty may be looking for you!"

"Ah? Okay, I see!"

Niu Mengmeng was startled at first, then nodded heavily, then reached out to pat the restless tiger in his arms, and then hurriedly walked towards Dongnuan Pavilion.

Although she has become the maid in charge of the Qianqing Palace, she still raises cats for the emperor part-time, so she often has to go out with the cats for a while.

In particular, the queen and her two concubines both have cats, and she often needs to bring Xiaohu over to play with the cats of her compatriots, so the range of activities is very large.

For the entire Forbidden City, Qianqing Palace is actually a small kingdom.

Except for the emperor and a few respectable eunuchs and maids, the rest of the eunuchs and maids could almost only live in this large courtyard every day, and their only mission was to take care of the emperor's daily life.

Dozens of eunuchs and maids follow a hierarchical order, and they serve Zhu Youtang according to their closeness and distance. Not many eunuchs and maids can enter Dongnuan Pavilion.

The floor heating under the Dongnuan Pavilion is already running quietly, the lights in the room are on, and wisps of faint sandalwood are curling up from the copper stove.

Zhu Youtang is far from old enough to grow a beard, but now he deliberately keeps a few sparse beards under his chin. As usual, he reads information from all over the country after taking a bath.

Although there were memorials from officials in the two capitals and thirteen provinces, in this era of reporting good news but not bad news, many things were destined not to be reported truthfully, and it was difficult for even the emperor to see the full picture of the matter.

Fortunately, the current intelligence system has become more complete, giving me a more comprehensive understanding of what is happening locally.

Zhu Youtang usually gives priority to reading about overseas situations, but recently the East China Sea and Nanyang have been relatively calm, but there is a bit of turmoil in various places, especially the incessant banditry in some areas.

Although the Ming Dynasty controlled two capitals and thirteen provinces, some provinces were located in remote areas and some evil forces still remained.The chieftain issue in the southwest is actually the result of a compromise between the imperial court and evil forces.

As for the persistent banditry in some remote areas, the situation is somewhat similar to that in southern Jiangxi. They are often the inevitable product of regional poverty and government corruption.

After all, Jiangnan water towns cannot be everywhere. Once a barren place has to support a parent who wants to make money, there will often be a group of people who cannot survive.

Zhu Youtang knows that this kind of problem is actually very difficult to solve. Even if the productivity of future generations will be "hidden in smoke", today's productivity cannot guarantee that everyone has enough to eat.

Even in this relatively peaceful period, there were actually many turbulent areas in the Ming Dynasty. Although southern Jiangxi has been properly resolved, what is attracting the most attention right now is the peasant rebellion led by Ye Wanggang that began in the 20th year of Chenghua.

This force emerged in the 20th year of Chenghua, and then moved to many places, from Kuizhou and Xinning in Sichuan, to Zhushan and Zhuxi in Huguang, and then to Hanzhong, Pingli and other Sichuan-Shaanxi junctions in Shaanxi.

Last month, this matter was finally resolved.

Ye Wanggang led his troops across the Daba Mountains to wildly rob Pingli, Zhushan and other counties. They were suppressed by soldiers from Sichuan and Shaanxi led by Yunyang Governor Dai Shan, resulting in the arrest of Ye Wanggang and more than a thousand bandits.

Although the bad phenomenon of local officials joining forces with the gentry to squeeze the people did occur in some areas, the Ming Dynasty as a whole was not completely corrupt, and the failure of Ye Wanggang was actually doomed.

Even though it has been many years since Ye Wanggang rebelled, Ye Wanggang's tribe is actually decreasing instead of increasing, and it is only a matter of time that it will eventually be destroyed.

Originally, with the arrest of Ye Wang Gang and all his men, this matter had been settled and would not attract Zhu Youtang's special attention.

However, after the incident was over, Xunyang Governor Dai Shan only asked the court to execute the bandit leader Ye Wang Gang in his confession, and the rest of the tribe would be punished with coercion.

If Dai Shan's method of handling was followed, only Ye Wanggang would be executed this time, and more than a thousand others would only be sentenced to the crime of coercion.

Coerced accomplices refer to criminals who are coerced into participating in criminal activities.In view of the fact that coerced accomplices are often forced to engage in criminal activities because they are unwilling and have scruples, they should be given lighter punishments.

Zhu Youtang has never been a bloodthirsty king. If he can avoid killing, then the result of this treatment is actually acceptable.

It's just that this power that has lasted for such a long time cannot be self-sufficient in food supply alone. Where can these "military rations" come from?

What's more, the robbery of Pingli, Zhushan and other counties, and the report recorded that many people died at the hands of this rebel army, made him suspicious.

Although in the original history, Dai Shan was a virtuous minister comparable to Liu Daxia and other gentlemen, he wanted to know the whole story of the counter-insurgency incident and whether Dai Shan was a military talent or a pedantic official.

Because of this, he did not immediately adopt Dai Shan's handling method and suppressed several memoranda to express his merits for Dai Shan. However, he specially ordered Sichuan to conduct a secret investigation.

The light at the entrance swayed gently, and a girl holding a cat came in from the outside.

Meow!
When Huzi saw Zhu Youtang, he shouted in a clever and intelligent manner.

Zhu Youtang gently put down the secret report from Sichuan, looked up and saw his pet appearing, and signaled Niu Mengmeng to send his pet over.

In the original history, it was Dai Shan who solved the rebellion of Ye Wanggang. Because of this achievement, he was promoted to Minister of Justice in one fell swoop. Later, he formed the mainstay of the Ming Dynasty with Liu Daxia, Ma Wensheng, Liu Jian, Xu Pu and others.

If we go by historical evaluation, this kind of virtuous minister will undoubtedly need to be reused.

Zhu Youtang petted the cat slowly, his eyes fixed on the information sent from Sichuan, but there was no joy in his heart, and he was thinking about things silently.

As an emperor, he is not afraid that his subordinates will form cliques to oppose him, but he is afraid that it is difficult to distinguish between loyalty and treachery among his subordinates. Some are treacherous and loyal, while others are loyal and treacherous.

"Your Majesty!" "What's the matter?"

"Slave...it's okay!"

Niu Mengmeng originally thought that Zhu Youtang was looking for him, so he tentatively said hello, but found that he seemed to be thinking too much, and couldn't help but secretly stick out his pink tongue.

Zhu Youtang found that this woman seemed confused, but suddenly remembered something: "The day before yesterday, you said that the maid of Qingning Palace suddenly came to you to cry?"

"That's right! The slave didn't pay attention to her. She is a palace maid, and I am also a palace maid. No matter how much Empress Dowager Zhou bullies her, slave... what can I do? I have been in the palace for so long, and I have never heard of any palace servant who dares to do so. I arranged the rights and wrongs of my master, so I think this matter is a bit weird!" Niu Mengmeng expressed his judgment seriously.

Even though she usually acts carelessly, she is actually quite considerate and appears to be very sensitive to potential crises.

Huh?
Liu Jin frowned slightly and looked at Niu Mengmeng, who liked to talk, with complicated eyes.

But he doesn't think anything can happen here. I've been wronged in Qingning Palace. It's reasonable to complain to you, a popular person next to the emperor, right?

Zhu Youtang believed in Niu Mengmeng's sixth sense, so he seriously warned Liu Jin next to him: "Send someone to investigate this palace maid and check if there is anything abnormal!"

"My slave, you obey!" Although Liu Jin didn't think there was anything wrong with the matter, she still said respectfully.

Zhu Youtang handed the cat back to Niu Mengmeng to take care of him. After thinking for a long time, he finally had to make a decision, so he made a new instruction in a secret order to the officials: "Yunyang Governor Dai Shan has made great contributions in exterminating the rebel gang of the wild king. He will be promoted to Nanjing." Right Minister of the Criminal Department!"

The governor of Yunyang was an official position established during the Chenghua period and was stationed in Yun County, Yunyang Prefecture. It later evolved into taking charge of military and civilian affairs in the adjacent areas of Hubei, Henan, Sichuan and Shaanxi.

Now he has been changed from a governor in charge of the military affairs of a large area to the right minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Justice. It seems that he has been promoted to an official position, but in fact it is a typical promotion and demotion.

Zhu Youtang knew that he had once again ruined the career of a wise historical official, but Dai Shan's handling of things this time was very gentlemanly, but it did not satisfy him.

The reason why Yeren Gang was able to lead the peasants to rebel could not just rely on personal force and a slogan. He must also have his own personality charm.

When faced with the siege of the Ming army, the barbarians actually knew that they were at the end of their rope, so they made a gentleman's appointment with the highest officer Dai Shan.

Dai Shan is indeed a gentleman. After the incident, he only held Ye Rengang accountable, but did not hold other incited people and Ye Rengang's loyal subordinates accountable.

Although an accomplice who is a coercion is still punished, the penalty is greatly reduced, and some people can even be slapped with a board and let go home.

Zhu Youtang knew that no matter how well-intentioned the rebels were, in order to provide for their own food and clothing, they would not only loot people's property, but they would also probably kill people during the looting process, and some even took pleasure in killing people.

He believed that some people might be coercive accomplices, but even the good guys in Ye Wanggang's old group had turned into bad guys, so Dai Shan's decision actually smacked of compromise.

Zhu Youtang didn't like this way of solving the problem. Even the famous virtuous minister in history decided to abandon such a good man and gentleman.

There are also some disadvantages to having an overly large territory. After all, the capital and Sichuan are separated by thousands of rivers and mountains, so it is difficult to convey the will smoothly if you want to correct mistakes.

It is very likely that there are people who are being threatened. Now that Dai Shan cannot properly handle this matter, he cannot go too far, but he has no choice but to acquiesce in Dai Shan's conviction plan: "Anyone who has followed the savages for just one month will be sent to the river." Serve as a slave to atone for your sins; anyone who has followed the savages for just over a year will be examined and judged for their crimes!"

Although millions of disaster victims in Henan have been resettled in Jianzhou, the bursting of the Yellow River's banks has inevitably caused some changes in the river course, which has directly affected the canal. Therefore, great efforts are now needed to regulate the river.

Even if Zhu Youtang wanted to use these more than a thousand people as laborers, in the latest river repair project, it is expected that as many as 30 laborers will be used.

In fact, whether it is Dai Shan or Ye Wang Gang, they are actually minor problems for the Ming Dynasty. The biggest problem now is still the finances of the Ming Dynasty.

30 people is not only the number of personnel, but also a huge expense.

Since Taizu promoted a tax of thirty to one, and he did not plan to impose additional taxes or send more taxes, the empire's fiscal revenue was destined to be difficult to grow rapidly.

Although the revenue from salt administration and grain tax has increased a lot, it only attacked Annan Li Dynasty last year and launched a heavy attack on Jianzhou this year. It spent a lot of military expenditures, but it also had to control the Yellow River.

Zhu Youtang actually lived in this era and managed the country as an emperor. Only then did he realize that the online novels he had read in the early days were all lies.

Financial problems are far more complicated than imagined, but it is not possible to make a lot of money with just a little cleverness, but there are still endless expenses.

If there had not been the disaster in the Yellow River, other disasters would probably have occurred. It is difficult for an empire to increase its fiscal revenue, but there are countless places where you can spend money.

Taking future generations as an example, an unexpected infectious disease is enough to drain local finances, not to mention that the people still have too many needs that have yet to be addressed.

Although the Ming Dynasty successfully regained Jianzhou, it still took many years of operation for Jianzhou to generate economic benefits and bring revenue to the Ming Dynasty's finances.

Nowadays, building a state requires spending money, and regulating the Yellow River requires money even more. The vassals, civil and military officials, and relatives also need to distribute Lumi every year.

Seeing the end of the second year of Hongzhi, Zhu Youtang knew that he had to look forward to the third year of Hongzhi.

Although several major things have been done this year, the financial problem has not been completely solved, but has become more severe.

Zhu Youtang knew that the best solution was to turn on the money printing press, but if he wanted to take this step, he could not naively think that it would be enough to publish it as whimsically as a novel, but he needed to have the mindset of equivalent exchange.

Faced with the most urgent financial problem of the Ming court, after turning the map over and over again, he did not limit his sights to the country, but set his sights on the east of Nanyang.

Unlike the farming countries in the Indochina Peninsula to the west, this is an island country that mainly relies on fishing and hunting. The country here mostly exists in the form of tribes.

Zhu Youtang knew that if he wanted to open up the situation in the east of Nanyang, he needed to find a suitable talent, and he also needed to find a suitable reason or opportunity to intervene.

As the night progressed, it was time for the emperor to go to bed.

Zhu Youtang was not very interested in territory. He always cared about economic plunder, so he still wanted to establish a Nanyang company knowing the relationship between Nanyang.

Just seeing that it was already too late, he ended what he was doing and returned to his residence behind Dongnuan Pavilion. When he saw the bed, he suddenly felt a surprise that made his heart beat faster.

(End of this chapter)