Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

The news of layoffs in the palace quickly spread throughout the palace.

Because the eunuchs of each prison and the managers of each palace had received documents from the Internal Affairs Bureau asking them to identify the personnel with ranks and those who must stay.

The rest of the less important ones were naturally included in the layoff list and had to work outside the palace.

This news made some palace maids cheer because they saw an opportunity to return home.

Especially those who are under 30 years old and still have the chance to get married, plan to take this opportunity to leave the palace.

Even some female officials wanted to give up their official positions and leave the palace.

It can be said that, except for some older palace maids who did not want to leave the palace, most of the palace maids welcomed the requirement to leave the palace at the age of 25.

I even wanted to ask the emperor to lower the age for leaving the palace.

After all, most people in their twenties are already married, and it is difficult for them to find a good family after leaving the palace, so they can basically only become a second wife.

Most of those who wanted to go home to live with their parents and brothers, and those who did not want to date the rude soldiers as arranged by the emperor, had this plan.

They tried to find someone who had the final say and asked the emperor to lower the age for leaving the palace.

As the ruler of the harem, Queen Zhou naturally heard many requests from palace maids and female officials.

I don't know if it's because of her pregnancy, but she is very soft-hearted now. During a conversation with the emperor, she asked the emperor to allow female officials to leave the palace and lower the age limit for palace maids to leave the palace:
"These people have the intention to leave the palace, and they won't do their job well if they stay in the palace."

"It would be better to release them as well, to show your majesty's mercy."

Zhu Youjian is about to welcome his first child, so naturally he has to follow the Queen's orders in everything.

In addition, what the queen said made sense, so he thought about it and said:

"Female officials who are not involved in confidential matters are allowed to leave the palace if they wish."

"The Women's Office was established in the Imperial Household Department to house women officials and maids who did not want to return home after leaving the palace, and to place them in the inner court enterprises."

"In the future, when the Queen has something to do outside the palace, you can also arrange for the female officials to do it and let them represent you."

"For example, matters related to matchmaking and the Maternal and Child Health Association can all be assisted by the Women's Office."

"The palace maids who do not want to return home must also have their household registration registered by the female officials."

When Queen Zhou heard this, her face was filled with joy.

Because the emperor not only agreed to her request, but also increased her power.

It will be much more convenient for her to contact people outside in the future.

She decided to keep a few female officials who wanted to leave the palace to help her control the Female Officials' Office.

After agreeing to the Queen's request to let some female officials leave the palace, Zhu Youjian did not fully agree to lower the age for palace maids to leave the palace.

Because the maids were over 13 years old when they entered the palace, they needed to be trained for two or three years before they were suitable for use. If they were released from the palace at a too young age, it would mean that they would have to leave the palace just a few years after being trained, which was too costly.

So Zhu Youjian thought about it and said:
"When the maids reach the age of 22, give them a chance to choose."

"Those who are willing to stay in the palace will continue to be trained as female officials, and those who are unwilling to stay in the palace can serve outside the palace to facilitate marriage."

"These maids who leave the palace early have to participate in the matchmaking meetings organized by the Female Officials Office. Only when they reach the age of 25 can they resign and return home."

This increased the power of the female officials, and the queen was also able to strengthen her influence in the outer court through the marriages of these palace maids.

So Queen Zhou was not unhappy because the emperor did not fully agree to her request, but instead agreed happily.

The two talked for a while and decided on the policy for the ladies-in-waiting and maids-in-waiting. When the emperor was about to leave, Empress Zhou said:
"When the palace maids reach the age to leave the palace, we need to replace them."

"Your Majesty, would you like to select ladies and add some more people to the palace?"

"Many of the concubines in the harem are pregnant now, and Your Majesty needs to choose some to sleep with you."

Zhu Youjian was a little surprised when he heard this.

Because he really didn't expect that the queen would take the initiative to add another person for him.

However, thinking of the dynasty's use of beauties selected from the grasslands and several pregnant Mongolian concubines in the palace, he vaguely understood the queen's thoughts and felt that the queen was worried that the concubines from the grasslands would form groups and make the harem unstable in the future.

So this time she planned to select ladies, personally choose from among the ladies, and cultivate her own direct lineage.

Zhu Youjian did not agree to this, because he planned to improve his reputation by releasing the palace maids. How could he select ladies at this time?
In addition, the organization of palace ladies and maids has not yet been determined, and even if we select ladies now, there may not be room for them in the palace.

He decided to consider this matter in a few years, and now he wants to play it safe:
"We will release a batch of female officials and palace maids at the end of this year, and maintain this number for the next three years."

"After three years, another batch will be released, and ladies will be selected as needed to fill the vacancy."

"This is how we form a system, and don't just pick and choose at random."

"Queen, please remember this and don't tell anyone now."

"Three years later, the female officials will be asked to prepare, mainly from the good women in the guard posts and permanent property families."

This was his inheritance and change to the Ming Dynasty's system of selecting ladies.

In order to prevent the chaos caused by the relatives of the emperor, Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang stipulated that the emperor and the princes' wives must be selected from good families. They could not accept the gifts of ministers or get close to prostitutes.

Because of this, except for the concubines appointed when the system was not clear at the beginning of the country, most of the concubines of the Ming Dynasty were decent girls from small families. Empress Zhou's father used to make a living by fortune-telling, and Empress Dowager Li's father was a bricklayer.

The families they came from were not wealthy, but since they were able to move to the capital, they could not be said to be poor and could be considered to have permanent property.

Only such a family that has no worries about food and drink can provide women with adequate nutrition and cultivate ladies who can be selected into the palace.

Zhu Youjian planned to shape the Ming Dynasty into a country dominated by permanent property owners, so naturally he had to win over permanent property owners and stipulated that good girls should be selected from permanent property families.

As for the guards, they were his base in the army and he also had to win them over. Moreover, the hereditary officials and soldiers in the guards had hereditary land and could also be considered permanent property owners.

The future empress of the Ming Dynasty will be chosen from these families, and some of the concubines will come from aristocratic families because they will have to marry into the inner and outer vassal states in the future.

However, in order to prevent the chaos caused by the relatives of the emperor, they basically had no chance to become queens. Zhu Youjian even stipulated that their families were not allowed to live in the capital. This was to prevent these people from relying on their family power to do whatever they wanted in the harem.

Empress Zhou naturally did not know about these considerations. She was just a little unhappy about the emperor's refusal to select a lady.

There were already three Mongolian concubines in the palace who were pregnant recently, and it was almost certain that they had given birth to illegitimate children. If her arrogance was not suppressed, her son's position might be threatened in the future.

That's why she would select ladies to sleep with the emperor even though she was pregnant.

After being rejected by the emperor, his brows furrowed.

Seeing her frowning face, Zhu Youjian laughed, touched her eyebrows and said:
"It is not necessary to select ladies, but we can choose some to sleep with you." "It has been more than a year since the late emperor left, and his old friends have been settled."

"You can choose someone from among the ladies-in-waiting and maids-in-waiting in the palace to sleep with you."

"This matter will be presided over by the Queen, and I will choose with you."

"Everyone in the palace who is under 30 years old must participate in the selection."

Queen Zhou was amused by the emperor, but then she felt aggrieved for him.

Because at that time, people over 20 years old were considered old. When selecting ladies in the palace, they usually only selected those between 13 and 16 years old.

The emperor wanted to relax the age limit for selecting concubines to thirty years old, obviously to accommodate her and add more people to sleep with her at her request.

Moreover, these people will grow old in a few years and will not be able to threaten her position.

This made her feel sweet, but also felt that the emperor had been wronged. She planned to select ladies carefully in a few years and pick a few beauties for the emperor.

It would be better if there is someone who is good at playing a musical instrument to outdo that vixen Tian Xiuying.

Zhu Youjian didn't know what the queen thought, but he didn't feel wronged because in his opinion, thirty years old was not considered old and was still suitable for childbearing.

Moreover, some women become beautiful only after they grow up, and his aesthetic taste is different from that of people at that time. So he decided to select with the queen and choose the one who meets his aesthetic taste.

These people would be placed in Kunning Palace, and would be arranged to live in independent palaces only after they had children. Those without children would serve as the queen's ladies-in-waiting after a few years of not serving the queen, and help her secure her position as queen.

This matter was presided over by the Queen and did not alarm the people, so it progressed quickly.

All the palace ladies under the age of 30 changed into their most beautiful clothes and walked before the Emperor and the Empress.

Zhu Youjian and Empress Zhou selected eight palace maids as concubines. They were all placed in Kunning Palace and took turns to serve in Qingxia Room next to Qianqing Palace, and sleep with the emperor when needed.

Those palace maids over the age of 25 who were not selected or promoted to female officials, no matter what they felt in their hearts, had to leave the palace and leave this small world where they had lived for many years.

Some palace maids who were over 22 years old also submitted applications, intending to take up positions outside the palace.

Most of these people who were able to go home did so, and many of them left impatiently after receiving their severance pay. Zhu Youjian was worried about their safety, so he ordered the Jinyiwei to issue a notice to let people from all over the country take care of them. If these people were wronged after returning home, they could return to Beijing and be arranged by the female officials.

Those who cannot or do not want to return home must accept the arrangements of the female officials after leaving the palace.

The Jinyiwei, the Imperial Camp, and the Beijing Camp in the capital also began to register unmarried or widowed soldiers, planning to hold a blind date event for them during the Lantern Festival next year.

However, some palace maids were unwilling to get married, or felt that it was impossible to get married as they were too old. They were arranged to work in the service group under the Imperial Household Department or the clothing workshop under the Imperial Clothing Department to do service and needlework work.

In short, these people were properly settled, and some of the older ones were even arranged to stay in an imperial manor as a retirement home.

There were only about 600 maids left in the palace, most of whom were selected during the Tianqi period and were under 20 years old.

Most of them were maids of imperial concubines and no longer did menial chores.

Zhu Youjian asked the female officials of the Palace Administration Office to strengthen their training and select those who were willing to stay in the palace to serve as female officials.

They also demanded that their ranks be determined, their salaries be paid, and their living conditions be improved.

After the number of palace maids decreased, most of them could live in four-person rooms, and female officials could live in double rooms or even single rooms and might have maids.

After taking various measures, the remaining palace maids were in a very stable mood.

First, their conditions have improved and they will receive salaries in the future.

Second, they saw an opportunity to leave the palace, which they could apply for once they were twenty-two years old.

Although they still have to work for another three years after leaving the palace and have blind dates with military officers, this is also an opportunity for them.

For many palace maids of ordinary backgrounds, marrying a military officer could be considered a blessing that would change their destiny.

And after getting a job, they can also control their own destiny.

This idea appeared in the minds of many palace maids after they returned home and were forced to marry by their fathers and brothers.

Many of them worked in inner court enterprises after leaving the palace, and flourished in the clothing, cosmetics and other industries.

These women who were capable, able to earn money, and well-trained in the palace to be familiar with etiquette were sought after by many scholars, especially those poor scholars who married late, who were willing to marry these palace maids as their wives.

As a result, after several blind date meetings, fewer and fewer palace maids were willing to marry military officers. Most of them married off after leaving the palace at the age of 22.

Moreover, because of the training they received in the palace, most of them pay attention to their own maintenance. After leaving the palace, they will join the Maternal and Child Health Association and frequently organize gatherings based on this platform.

As the president, the queen's influence increased and she had connections with the families of many officials.

Naturally, these future changes were not something Zhu Youjian could have imagined.

What worries him now is that many eunuchs are unwilling to leave the palace and want to stay in the palace forever.

These people are different from the palace maids. After leaving the palace, they have no way to get married and even have no family.

Even if the emperor relaxed the age limit to fifty, these people were unwilling to leave the palace.

They were used to life in the palace and didn't want to leave this small world.

Moreover, some people do hard work. Without them, things will become inconvenient and problems may occur in some places.

Faced with this situation, Zhu Youjian insisted on the requirement of leaving the palace at the age of fifty, and for those over the age of fifty who needed to stay in the palace, he tried his best to grant them the title of ninth-rank official to stay.

Those who left the palace would also be arranged to have an imperial farm as their retirement home.

Those under the age of fifty were sent to the Neifujian to work in inner court enterprises.

However, this created a new problem, because the persons in charge of the Shangshenjian, Shangyijian and other supervisors did not want to allow the Neifujian to become stronger and sent their subordinates to the Neifujian.

These eunuchs who were also in charge of writing united together and requested the emperor that they could also set up businesses outside the palace without having to assign the people in other prisons to the Neifu Prison.

Faced with this situation, Zhu Youjian, after careful consideration, also felt that the Neifu Eunuch should not be too large to avoid becoming as powerful as the Imperial Household Department of the Qing Dynasty.

He summoned the eunuchs in charge of seals and pens in the Imperial Household Department, as well as the eunuchs in charge of seals in various other departments, to hold a meeting to deal with the affairs of the inner court.

This meeting will determine the structure of the inner court for a long time in the future, and may even involve adjustments to positions.

The eunuchs who participated took this very seriously, especially those who wanted to go a step further and change the current situation.

After nearly a year of stability, the inner court will undergo a major adjustment and redistribute power. (End of this chapter)