Jingtai Fengyun: The First Absurd Emperor of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 732: The Ministry of Industry takes over the position of Vice Minister and the special envoy leaves Beijing after the peace agreement is reached
  June [-], early morning.

Zhou Chen took Weng Shizi, the right minister of the Ministry of Industry, to inspect the outer city of Beijing. Zhou Chen told him everything he needed to know inside and outside.

The more Weng Shizi listened, the more he felt like he was explaining the funeral arrangements.

Zhou Chen said with a smile: "I'm over seventy, and if nothing else happens, I'll never be able to come back to the capital again once I leave.

Xu Youzhen, another minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Li Shulin, the left minister of the Ministry of Industry, are far away in Annan and will not be back for a while. From now on, the Ministry of Industry will be handed over to you. "

Weng Shizi replied: "Your Majesty is really unreasonable. Why not let the old minister stay in the capital safely, but he has to be transferred to Nanjing to work hard."

Zhou Chen smiled and waved his hand: "You don't understand. The Holy One knows me and transferred me to Nanjing. It is a great favor.

When I was young, I was also conceited about my talent and learning. However, I stayed in the Ministry of Industry for twenty years and was not appreciated by anyone, let alone able to realize my ambitions.

Until the fifth year of Xuande, when I was fifty years old, I was recommended by Yang Rong and promoted to the right minister of the Ministry of Industry, which is your current position. Then as a minister, I went to patrol the Jiangnan prefectures and was the governor of taxation.

As a governor in the south for more than ten years, I carried out a series of tax reforms and salt law reforms. Because of the reform, he was impeached many times and was hampered everywhere. Policies implemented were repeatedly repealed.

The Holy Father sent me to Nanjing this time just to help me complete the reform that year.

Although I only have a few years left to live, this time the Holy Spirit has delegated power and no one can restrain me. "

When Weng Shizi heard this, he felt relieved. When it comes to the governors during the Xuande and Yuanshou years, Zhou Chen's political achievements were second to none. This is now a public opinion.

It is also a great blessing in life to be able to completely complete the reforms in the last few years of life and leave a name in history without any regrets.

Weng Shizi was a Jinshi in the seventh year of Yuanshou, and was initially awarded the position of head of the household department. At the beginning, Weng Shizi's favorite thing to do was to check old files, which not only broadened his horizons, but also explored the pros and cons of political affairs.

Weng Shizi did a lot of research on Zhou Chen's reforms in Jiangnan. Those reforms can be said to be small-scale reforms.

The tax reform and the salt law reform are the hardest among the hard bones and very difficult to crack.

Zhou Chen regarded Weng Shizi as the successor to the Minister of Industry, and said earnestly: "Zifu, the Ministry of Industry has three major tasks in the capital: casting money, making ordnance and armor, and making artillery and muskets.

Especially when casting money, it must be done well without any mistakes.

As long as these three things are done well, there won't be any big problems. I will recommend you to the Holy One to take over as Minister. "

The two of them talked as they walked and inspected the factories of the Ministry of Industry in the outer city.

Weng Shizi was in his prime, so it was fine, but Zhou Chen was a little overwhelmed.

Weng Shizi suggested: "Old Minister, there is a morning market ahead, let's go get something to eat."

Zhou Chen did not force himself to support, and went to the morning market with Weng Shizi. It was past meal time and there were not many diners.

After walking a few steps, a vendor came up to greet them warmly. The two sat down in front of the food stall and ordered two bowls of wontons and a meat pie.

Senior officials of the second and third grades are rarely so down-to-earth.

Weng Shizi asked: "My dear brother, how is your business?"

The hawker replied enthusiastically: "Guest guest, my humble surname is Li, and I have been doing small business in the capital for more than ten years.

In recent years, this business has become much better. There are more and more craftsmen in the outer city, and Shuntian Mansion has built a morning market here. As long as we pay some rent every month, we can set up a stall here.

You see fewer people now because it’s past dinner time. We make these wontons and meatloaf in the morning; we stew meat and ribs for lunch and dinner, and we use two pigs a day. "

Weng Shizi asked again: "Besides the fact that there are more customers, what other changes have there been compared to previous years?"

When the vendor heard this, he immediately started chatting: "That's a big change. In the past, when these ingredients were brought in, taxes had to be paid at the city gate.

One pig costs twenty-five cents, and two pigs cost fifty cents. This month, we have to pay [-] Wen in taxes just to buy pigs.

If this were converted into silver, it would be just one tael more.

The Holy Spirit was considerate of the people and loved them as his own children, so he waived the tax.

Just from the tax on buying pigs, we saved more than fifteen taels of silver a year.     Save taxes on buying vegetables, noodles, and various ingredients. Adding all these things together, after the Holy Spirit’s tax exemption, our family can save an extra twenty taels of silver every year.

With this money, the villain's son will be able to marry and have children in the future. It is really a great favor from the emperor. "

Zhou Chen and Weng Shizi smiled and nodded. Weng Shizi asked again: "Are there still people who use treasure coins now? Are the copper coins cast by the imperial court easy to use?"

Hearing this, the hawker clapped his hands and replied cheerfully: "Sir, you are just asking. Your Majesty, casting money is a great good governance.

You see, we charge you three cents for a bowl of wontons and five cents for a meatloaf. Two bowls of wontons and one meat pie, a total of eleven coins.

There are five types of copper coins in the imperial court: Xiaoping coins, two coins, three coins, five coins, and ten coins.

You can give eleven small flat coins, or you can give one as ten coins plus one small flat coin.

In this way, it is very convenient for both buyers and sellers.

The most important thing is that the money we earn can be saved directly at home or converted into silver coins to save.

For example, if you save twenty taels of silver this year and take it out next year, it will still be worth the money.

But treasure notes are different. If you save two hundred treasure notes, for example, it can buy two shi of rice. After a year, if you take out these two hundred guan of treasure money again, it will only be able to buy one stone of rice.

No matter how much money you earned in the past, you can't save it. It keeps depreciating, making it difficult for people to sleep soundly.

Now that the Holy One has replaced the treasure banknotes with copper coins and silver coins, the villain can finally sleep peacefully without having to worry about the treasure banknotes becoming even less valuable when he wakes up.

My sage, my emperor, it is truly a blessing that a humble man can achieve in a prosperous age, which he has cultivated for ten lifetimes. "

Zhou Chen and Weng Shizi nodded in agreement, and followed the hawker in praising the emperor.

Zhou Chen, in particular, was very pleased that the Ministry of Industry's hard work over the years was quite effective. When the time comes, I will also be able to bask in the glory of the Holy One and leave another mark in the history books.

……

In Qingliang Hall, Zhu Qiyu didn't sit up from the bed until almost noon.

As the emperor came and went, Zhu Qiyu became more and more convinced of Li Shimin's theory of governing from the top down.

Let the ministers do any work, and the emperor is only responsible for central control.

Regardless of whether Li Shimin really succeeded in ruling the country, Zhu Qiyu must firmly believe that he really did it.

Once the theory of governing from the top is untenable, then Zhu Qiyu himself can compete for the second lazy government among the emperors of the Ming Dynasty.

The number one lazy official is Wanli, and no one can compete with him. Zhu Qiyu's opponent was the carpenter emperor Zhu Youxiao.

Zhu Qiyu asked himself, this ridiculous emperor like me is really not much more diligent than Zhu Youxiao, the carpenter emperor.

Seeing Zhu Qiyu stand up, Qianxue quickly handed over the joint memorial between the cabinet and Honglu Temple: "Husband, take a look, the peace treaty charter with the Kamakura shogunate has been drafted."

Zhu Qiyu's eyes widened and he asked curiously: "What does it mean that it has been drafted?"

Qianxue also widened her eyes and replied curiously: "It's been drafted. It means it's been drafted. Xu Wenfang can understand this kind of words. Why are you so surprised?"

"I just finished talking to the special envoy yesterday. Today you told me that it was drafted?"

"Both the special envoys of the Muromachi shogunate and the Kamakura shogunate were anxious. The Kamakura shogunate's envoy was anxious to reach a peace agreement and then go back to buy grain.

The special envoy of the Muromachi shogunate rushed back to report the news so that Ashikaga Yoshimasa could prepare for the decisive battle as soon as possible.

The special envoys from both sides are urging, hoping that your husband will issue an edict to approve the peace treaty regulations today, and then the special envoys from both sides will leave Beijing together today and return by boat. "

Zhu Qiyu read the terms of the peace agreement carefully, and then nodded: "Then let's approve it."

(End of this chapter)