Jingtai Fengyun: The First Absurd Emperor of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 722: The Ministry of Household Affairs enters the Eastern trade and the imperial court reaps the windfall of the war
  Zhu Qiyu also had an implicit meaning, which was to tell everyone present clearly: There will be no doubt between father and son in this dynasty, and there will be no fight for the throne.

The prince inherits the throne, and the other princes are feudal vassals and protect the emperor.

The inheritance of the throne is concise and orderly, without any ambiguity. There will be no situation where Emperor Taizong indulges the prince to check and balance the prince, nor will there be the situation where King Zhu Gaoxu of Han intends to ascend to power with the support of military generals.

No one disagrees with this. The civil servants of this dynasty and some middle-level officials are dissatisfied. But there is no one among the generals and nobles who is dissatisfied.

Zhu Qiyu could still turn a blind eye and pretend not to see the civil servants who had no swords in their hands. For the generals and nobles holding the handle of the sword, loyalty is not absolute, which is equivalent to absolute disloyalty.

After dinner, Zhu Qiyu and his family left Yingzhou Zhongwei and went fishing in Siyuan Prison.

Now the entire Xishan Beiyuan belongs to Siyuanjian, and all the fruits and vegetables that Zhu Qiyu and his family eat come from Siyuanjian.

In the previous dynasty, those supervisory bureaus such as Shanglinyuan Supervisor, Guanglu Temple, Shangshan Supervisor, Shangshi Bureau, and Wine and Vinegar Noodle Bureau, which were involved in the emperor's eating and drinking, were no longer easily accessible to the royal diet.

After playing until evening, the family dispersed.

The next ten days were uneventful.

On the second day of May, Zhu Qiyu got up early in the morning. He was originally happy and ready to accompany his concubines to watch flowers and scenery. It was another relaxing and joyful day.

Unexpectedly, just after breakfast and before I had time to read the memorial, the ministers came to request a court meeting again.

Zhu Qiyu scratched his head: "These ministers are always thinking about what the DPRK will do, and they can torment people better than me. In recent years, I have only announced a reform measure every three to five months.

This is already conservative enough. If you want me to be more conservative, I will become Zhu Zhanji.

As long as the ministers implement it properly, most other government affairs are left to the cabinet and the six ministries to decide on their own. What's the use of always convening the court. "

Lin Xiangyu smiled and said: "It's not good for the ministers to think about you, the Great Emperor Jingtai. There are many things that need to be done before the relationship between the monarch and his ministers can be good."

Zhu Qiyu snorted coldly: "Forget it, just in the battle in Japan, many people are scolding me in their hearts for being too full to do anything."

Lin Xiangyu consoled her: "When the Japanese gold, silver and copper are shipped back to Beijing, people will naturally understand your husband when they see the real things."

Zhu Qiyu waved his hand: "It's useless, they will say that printing Ming Dynasty treasure banknotes is easy and hassle-free, but after working hard on currency reform, they still have nothing to do.

Taizu stipulated that a consistent treasure banknote should be worth one thousand small square coins and one tael of silver.

Four gold coins are worth one tael of gold.

The largest gold mine in Japan worked hard and only dug out [-] to [-] taels of gold in a year, which was a big deal.

One seal of Taizu's treasure banknote is worth one tael of gold for four guan, and [-] taels of gold for [-] guan.

Taizu's treasure banknotes can be printed as much as he wants. They are much more elegant than a disgraced mine boss like me.

Later, Taizong built Beijing and conquered Mongolia, and the printing of treasure banknotes became more elegant.

When I compare myself with Taizu Taizong, just think about what the ministers will think of me.

In their eyes, I am just a bumpkin. "

Lin Xiangyu asked curiously: "Can four banknotes really be exchanged for one tael of gold?"

Zhu Qiyu nodded: "Yes, this is how Taizu set the exchange ratio, but this exchange is one-way.

For example, if you have one tael of gold, you can take it to the government and exchange it for four gold coins.

But if you go to the government with four guan of treasure money and ask for one tael of gold, it will be up to you to see if the yamen officer will take a board and give you a hard spanking. "

Lin Xiangyu was so frightened that she was speechless: "Is it so cruel? One tael of gold can only be exchanged for a few scraps of paper?"

"Taizu stipulated that gold and silver cannot be circulated in the market, and only treasure banknotes can be used. His attitude towards copper coins has also been repeated, and he has explicitly banned it many times. Many times, people just have no choice.

If he was wholeheartedly exploiting the people, then Taizu Taizong would naturally be more elegant.

I have many policies that consider the interests of the people and want them to live a better life. In the eyes of many people, I have become an inexplicably ridiculous emperor.

In fact, I don’t have to work hard to mint money and just print banknotes randomly. The Ming Dynasty will not be destroyed. On the contrary, the power of the imperial court will be stronger. It's just that my conscience can't bear it. I don't want to treat the people as slaves and pigs and dogs of the old Zhu family.

There is also the ongoing household registration reform. From the perspective of governance, Taizu's method is better. The descendants of farmers will always be farmers, the descendants of craftsmen will always be craftsmen, and the descendants of guards will always be guards.

Dragons give birth to dragons, phoenixes give birth to phoenixes, and the children and grandchildren of mice know how to dig holes. The cost of governance in this way is low and it is stable, but the people are a little miserable.

It doesn't matter, the emperor of Ming Dynasty only cares about the world of Jiuzhou and there is no harm in suffering the people.

Those who know me say that I am worried; those who do not know me say what I want.

Unfortunately, most people think I'm just a stupid dog. "

Lin Xiangyu comforted her: "No matter what others think, we sisters will always appreciate our husband the most. He is gentle, kind and responsible. We are all blessed with thousands of years of cultivation and have the opportunity to serve our husband."

Zhu Qiyu smiled and said: "Don't flatter me, flattery is useless. I still have to take dozens of concubines and take turns to play with them every day."

Lin Xiangyu shook Zhu Qiyu's arm and acted coquettishly: "Good master, you can't do this."

Ningxiang shook her left arm in response: "Good daddy, please don't abandon the slave family."

"Good master, don't do it."

"Good daddy, don't do it."

……

One sentence left, one sentence right, Zhu Qiyu was quickly defeated: "Okay, okay, I'm afraid of you two, hurry up and help me change my clothes. I have to go out and wait on my group of civil servants. They are better than you." It’s much more difficult.”

Zhu Qiyu didn't expect that as soon as these words came out, Ningxiang immediately became even more coquettish: "Dad, since the pressure is so great, do you want us two sisters to help you relax before leaving?"

Before Zhu Qiyu could reply, the two beauties took the initiative to post up.

On a sunny day, this matter will have its own rumors.

More than half an hour later, Zhu Qiyu wandered into Qingyun Palace. While waving to the prince and civil servants to stop them from saluting, he sighed in his heart: This woman would be really scary if she took the initiative. If I hadn't had a good foundation, within a few years, my husband would have been beheaded by five top beauties with swords hanging from their waists.

After calming down for a while, Zhu Qiyu asked: "My dear friends, what do you want to say?"

The first thing is to understand why the important ministers eagerly came to ask for a court meeting.

Shen Yi took the lead and said: "Your Majesty, the Japanese navy has been completely destroyed, and the Port of Hakata has been captured by the Ming Dynasty. Please tell me how to relocate the people next and whether to resume the Eastern trade."

Zhu Qiyu understood. It turned out that it was the courtiers who knew the news of the destruction of the Japanese Navy. It's just that the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty have always resisted sea trade. Why are they so proactive today?

What kind of day is today and why are you so proactive inside and out?

Since there were no new policies to be announced, Zhu Qiyu adhered to the principle of listening more and talking less and asked Chen Yi: "What does the Ministry of Revenue want to do?"

Shen Yi replied: "Except for Beizhili, Henan, and Shandong, which are still affected by disasters this year, most of the other provinces are experiencing good weather.

After discussions with the Ministry of Household Affairs, it was proposed to evacuate victims from Shandong and Henan to Japan, North Korea, and Liaodong on a large scale.

In addition to supplying the tax grains of the southern provinces to the capital, relief to Shandong and other places, the rest was shipped to Japan for sale.

Some of the old rice stored in warehouses such as Tongzhou in the capital was also sold and replenished with this year's new rice. "

Zhu Qiyu understood it again. Selling rice to Japan was a big deal worth at least several million taels, and there was no store in the village.

The next severe drought in Japan is uncertain when it will be. Moreover, Japan was already the territory of the Ming Dynasty at that time, and the imperial court was obliged to provide disaster relief. It would be unreasonable to want to make such ill-gotten gains.

In the past, ministers opposed overseas trade because the costs were borne by the court, but all the profits went into the emperor's internal funds. If the ministers were willing, then there would be ghosts in the world.

Now that the situation is reversed, the emperor contributes money and efforts, and the proceeds do not go into the internal funds, but all belong to the imperial court. Naturally, the money-loving people like the Ministry of Revenue are motivated.

(End of this chapter)