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Chapter 64 One Stone, Thousand Waves

The reduction of clan benefits and the change of the hereditary system should be regarded as a huge earthquake in the first year of Jingyang. Not only did it trigger a big debate in the court, but officials from various provinces, prefectures, prefectures and counties also joined in and complained. The book and the title book flew to the capital like snowflakes.

Some officials highly praised the emperor's wise decision, and at the same time stated the harm to the clan again, and evaluated the benefits of this move to the country and the people from various angles. The implicit meaning in their words was that this should have been done long ago.

Another group of officials started from a human perspective. They first praised the emperor's courage and courage to lead by example, and then implicitly accused certain officials of amassing money. Their behavior was worse than that of the clan and more harmful to the country.

There are also some officials who are on the opposite side. They think that the new emperor is busy attacking his family members just one year after taking the throne, which seems a bit cold-blooded and is not conducive to establishing a benevolent and generous image.In addition, they were worried that this would force the vassal kings to have second thoughts and lead to frequent civil strife.

Hong Tao ignored these remarks at first and said, anyway, the cabinet is supporting it.He paid more attention to the reaction of the inner palace. As a result, the Empress Dowager and the two empress dowagers were more reasonable than the imperial court. He just warned not to be too harsh on the clan and to increase the benefits back when the country is rich and the people are strong. It chilled the hearts of my family.

Of course, there is also a suspicion of standing and talking without back pain.After all, the Empress Dowager and the two Empress Dowagers were not included in this plan to reduce the treatment of the clan and the palace.Their own interests were basically not damaged, but the imperial court was indeed in difficulty, and the new emperor was the first firebrand after he ascended the throne, and it was not easy to hold them back either emotionally or rationally.

However, most members of the harem still have complaints about the emperor's new policy. The knife is really cutting into their bodies. It is always difficult for people to transition from luxury to frugality. Not to mention that the entire cost has to be halved, even if it is reduced by one-tenth. A few people would be happy.

Hong Tao didn't pay much attention to these opinions. Now, except for his queen and two selected attendants, all the concubines in the harem were the concubines of Emperor Wanli. For these nominal elders, except for the empress dowager of the East Palace and the empress dowager, they really had no respect at all. I don’t want to settle for anything less.

The reason is simple. When he was the eldest son of the emperor and lived with his biological mother in the deserted Jingyang Palace, none of these women expressed any kindness, and some even followed Concubine Zheng and added insult to injury.

The Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager Donggong also knew very well about this issue, so they did not express too strong objections when it came to reducing the cost of the harem.

It is estimated that in their minds, the emperor is using the emptiness of Taicang as an excuse to retaliate against the humiliation they suffered before. It is human nature and the methods are not cruel. Instead of trying to stand up to the emperor for other people's gains and losses, it is better to just let the emperor out. Forget about the tone.

"The people below Zhaoyi are not included in my oral instructions!" However, the harem's reaction still reminded Hong Tao that one should not be too arbitrary and do too much harm.

Zhaoyi, Jieyu, beauties, talents, selected attendants, ladies, etc., if they failed to give birth to children for the emperor, their lives would be very tight, and they would even have to rely on embroidery and needlework to supplement their expenses.

If their salary is halved again, there will be a lot of complaints. If they are forced to do anything, the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager of the East Palace will definitely intervene, which will do more harm than good.

The only ones who can really enjoy relatively high treatment are the queen, the imperial concubine, the concubine, the concubine, and the ninth concubine. Even if their salary is completely waived, they will still not be short of money, because each of them has some family members behind them who only receive salary and do not need to work.

For example, Zheng Guifei, her father Zheng Chengxian was promoted from Baiding to the first rank of Jinyiwei Commander-in-Chief, her younger brother Zheng Guotai was the left commander of Jinyiwei, the first rank; her nephew Zheng Yangxing was the Jinyiwei Commander-in-Chief Qianshi, the second rank.Including the eight concubines' families, the lowest one has attained the rank of Jinyiwei Qianhu, which is the fifth rank.

"My servants thanked Lord Long live for them... Lord Long live, how should I report the matter of selecting the concubine to the two empress dowagers?" Wang An also let out a sigh of relief when he heard that so many people could not be treated untouched.He, Tian Yi, and Chen Ju had all worried about this matter before.If everything was cut across the board, it would not only be affected by the harem left by the late emperor, but also more eunuchs and maids would be eliminated. I really don’t know where to make arrangements for a while.But no one dared to mention this matter, for fear that the emperor would not listen to a word of advice in his excitement.

It's fine now. The emperor has figured it out himself, which is gratifying.However, there is still one thing that has not been resolved. This incident is entirely responsible for the family and harem's misfortune.

Wang An felt extremely regretful when he talked about this matter. If he had known that the emperor was so capable, he should not have made such a bad idea in the first place.Fortunately, the emperor almost destroyed the entire harem in order not to move back to Qianqing Palace, and even included the clan in it.If outsiders knew about this, the vassal kings would curse themselves to death every day.

"The soldiers at the border are short of soldiers and armor, and the people affected by the disaster are short of food and clothing. How can I select women to enter the palace at this time! Wait, it won't be too late next year when Taicang is more abundant!"

In fact, Hong Tao himself did not expect that he would cause so many troubles. He originally just wanted to find an excuse to stop the restoration project of Qianqing Palace. Who would have thought that the treasury was actually empty, which just gave him an excuse to take office. There is no need to use it in vain. .

Moreover, this excuse is simply a panacea. Not only can it stop the restoration project of Qianqing Palace, but it can also delay the time of the draft. At the same time, it can establish an image of a good emperor among the courtiers who loves his people like his son. No one can openly object to it. So cool!

"You bitch, you dare to bully our orphans and widowed mothers! Come on, take us out and beat us hard!"

Some people are happy and some people are unhappy. This is an eternal truth.Just when Hong Tao was complacent about his little cleverness, the imperial concubine Zheng pointed at a maid prostrate on the ground inside the gate of Yikun Palace and cursed loudly.

She has not lived a comfortable life since the death of Emperor Wanli. First, she watched helplessly as Concubine Wang Gong and her mother became the empress dowager based on the wealth of her son, and the pressure was firmly placed on her. Then she repeatedly failed to achieve success on the issue of her son's wedding. to the new emperor's attention.

Good thing now, not only has the cost of the wedding been cut off a lot, but even my palace points have to be halved.For this matter, she went to the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager of the East Palace to cry and complain, but she did not get any support.

The Empress Dowager used the excuse of ignoring the government affairs for many years and simply stayed away from her. However, the Empress Dowager of the East Palace did meet her, but she didn't want to care about it, and she wanted to understand the general situation and share the emperor's worries, so as not to cause trouble at this time.

I was feeling sulky, and as soon as I returned to the palace, I bumped into a palace maid carrying a tea tray. She ducked away, but the teacup fell to the floor.Yes, now the palace maid has become a punching bag. If she is lucky enough not to be beaten to death, she will be thrown to the Huanyi Factory inside Deshengmen to work to death.

"Take her out and beat her hard! My dear, don't act like a little bitch. If you get angry, you'll be in trouble."

Hearing the sound, a man with a fair face and a medium build ran out from the inner courtyard. First he viciously ordered the palace maid to be dragged away, and then with a look of fear on his face, he helped the concubine around the debris on the ground and persuaded her as she walked.

(End of this chapter)