Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 52 The eunuchs retreat
Knowing that the eunuch is showing strength and preparing for Cui Chengxiu's departure. Zhu Youjian did not interfere in all this, but he was determined in his heart not to let Cui Chengxiu leave his job easily, but to make him abide by the accusations and let others think that Cui Chengxiu was defeated by them and see the opportunity to overthrow the eunuch party——

It is not that easy for the eunuchs to retreat.

"Retreating is more difficult than attacking!" 』

"When attacking, as long as you win, you can cover up anything. A slight negligence during the retreat will lead to total collapse. 』

"Does the eunuch party have a wise man like Zhuge Liang to control them and direct them to retreat?" 』

Shaking his head in his heart, Zhu Youjian was not optimistic about this. Zhuge Liang tried his best to leave Sima Yi helpless after his death, but something went wrong during the retreat and he lost his general Wei Yan. How could the eunuchs have a figure like Zhuge Liang and command them to retreat calmly?

Once Cui Chengxiu and Li Yongzhen, Wei Zhongxian's two confidants, leave office, there will be shocks both inside and outside the palace. When people's hearts fluctuate, no one can predict what other members of the Eunuch Party will think or what the enemies of the Eunuch Party will think——

The collapse of the Eunuch Party is a high-probability event, and it may even happen sooner than everyone expects!

Therefore, Zhu Youjian has realized that after the passive defense before ascending to the pole and the stalemate in the past few days after ascending to the pole, his opportunity to counterattack has arrived with the retreat of the eunuchs. He must take advantage of this period to seize power as much as possible and prepare for the return of civilian officials such as the Donglin Party:
"We need to speed up the organizational adjustment and let them fight according to the rules I set. 』

"I also need to select a few ministers who are close to the eunuchs and keep them loyal to me." 』

He didn't know many ministers, so Zhu Youjian could only choose his confidants in this way. It is more about adjusting the rules to control the overall situation of the court.

With these things in mind, Zhu Youjian saw that after the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel were completed, Guo Yunhou, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, reported:
"The national seal is blue, and blue is used for seals during national mourning, but blue tends to be thick and muddy."

"Please allow Your Majesty to use Zhuyin in matters of money and food."

While thinking about fighting with the civil service group, Zhu Youjian did not agree easily. He is determined to let people know that he is not easy to talk to, so that others will not continue to test and want to take power from him.

So he pretended to be confused and asked:
"How was it done before? Was it OK then?"

"Why is this problem happening at this time?"

Guo Yunhou was stunned. He didn't expect the emperor to ask this. He originally thought that the emperor would not care about this kind of thing, but unexpectedly the emperor was more serious about this matter. How should he answer?
After thinking about it, Guo Yunhou could only reply:

"In the past, money and food affairs were relatively simple. Now that Liao's salary has been added, there are major projects in the court, and there are wars in eastern Liaoning and southwest, money and food matters are really complicated."

"I am afraid that there will be an error in the seal, so I ask your Majesty's permission to use the red seal."

Nodding slightly, Zhu Youjian agreed with his statement, knowing that Ming's current financial situation is really not easy. But he still didn't agree. Instead, he thought that the red he often used contained cinnabar, which was mercury sulfide, which could be harmful to the body if not careful. He had to replace it with other red pigments to avoid cumulative poisoning.

So he thought for a moment and replied to Guo Yunhou:

"If there is a problem, it must be solved. I will ask the Ministry of Etiquette's Ceremony Department, Shangbao Department, Shangbao Supervisor, Seal and Ribbon Supervisor, Internal Weaving and Dyeing Bureau and other departments to cooperate in the deployment of pigments and determine the color of the seal."

"The seal of the Ministry of Revenue must use unique pigments. Not only can there be no mistakes, but it must also be prevented from being forged by others."

After hearing the emperor's words, Guo Yunhou had no choice but to resign, wondering if he had offended the emperor in any way, so that he was embarrassed even for such a trivial matter.

After thinking for a while, he only thought about his previous opposition to leaving household affairs to the Standing Committee for decision-making. Perhaps because of this, he did not leave a good impression on the emperor. The good impression previously established on Lin Danhan has naturally disappeared long ago on such a critical matter.

"Should we hand over household affairs to the Standing Committee for decision-making?" "Now, I have no say at all in the Standing Committee meetings. Household Affairs matters are discussed by many people at the court meetings, and anyone can interrupt." 』

"It would be easier for me to let the regular meeting decide." 』

Having this idea, Guo Yunhou did not decide easily. It is easy to hand over household affairs to the Standing Committee, but it cannot be taken back later. And now, although he is a little tired, he still holds great power in the household department. After being handed over to the Standing Committee, many ministries will be decided by the Standing Committee, which will greatly restrict his power.

So he decided to take another look and wait for changes in the court.

Then, Cao Erzhen, the left minister of the Ministry of Revenue, requested to use Guanfang because he was in charge of border wages.

Zhu Youjian ordered the Department of Ceremony of the Ministry of Etiquette to cast customs defense, and by the way, he set the specifications for customs defense, and gave the newly established and adjusted special governors the titles of promotion minister, chief minister of Cangchang, chief minister of Qianfa, and special governor. Official positions such as the Minister of Military Pay, the Minister of Ordnance, the Minister of Beijing Camp, the Minister of Great Works, and the Minister of Rivers were all cast into the new customs defense.

Cao Erzhen was still acting as the special supervisor of the Minister of Finance, and he also reported on the minting of copper coins. Zhu Youjian heard that the interest rate was too little and the income from the coinage was too low. He knew in his heart that there must be some fraud, but he had no way to intervene in the affairs of the household department and could only approve the matter according to the usual practice. He also ordered the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Personnel to draw up a list of candidates. After a few days, the court recommended the special supervisor Qian Fa Shilang.

Next, the Ministry of Household Affairs also reported matters such as the payment of taxes on both sides of the Cao River in Shandong, Henan, and Beizhi. The governor of Tianjin and the supervisor of Liaodong's grain rates, and the title of Huang Yuntai, the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, reported matters such as grain.

Zhu Youjian felt dizzy after hearing this, and felt that money and food matters were too complicated to interfere in easily.

The finances of the Ming Dynasty were really in chaos. There were a lot of taxes in kind, and the silver used for currency did not have the right to mint money. It was still based on weight.

Zhu Youjian decided to find a way to change, but now is not the time.

Zhu Youjian was not in a hurry to get involved in the affairs of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and approved each one as usual. At the same time, thinking of summoning Mao Wenlong to Beijing, Zhu Youjian ordered:
"The Ministry of Household Affairs collaborated with the governor of Tianjin and the governor of Denglai to raise money, food and cloth and send them to Mao Wenlong of Dongjiang Town."

"Soldiers cannot be allowed to fight on the front lines while being hungry and cold."

"This matter is personally supervised by Guo Yunhou, Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and there cannot be any negligence."

Guo Yunhou heard the complaint, but he could only accept the job. He knew about the matter of summoning Mao Wenlong to Beijing yesterday at the daily meeting. In order to appease Mao Wenlong and prevent him from rebelling easily, he had to find a way to collect the money and food, and no bargaining was allowed. No matter how nervous the Ministry of Accounts is, the money must be spent.

After the Ministry of Husbandry came the Ministry of Rites. The Minister of Rites came to Zongdao to report some ceremonial matters related to the funeral of Emperor Daxing. Zhu Youjian urged him to draft a posthumous title and temple name for Emperor Daxing, and to confer a posthumous title on his biological mother, Mrs. Liu, in preparation for the posthumous title. He was moved to Qingling Mausoleum and buried together with Emperor Taichang.

Most of the affairs of the Ministry of War were handled at the standing meetings, and there were no new matters. In addition, Cui Chengxiu, Minister of the Ministry of War, was away, and the other ministers of the Ministry of War did nothing. They just recounted the things that had been confirmed a few days ago and then passed in the court.

Xue Zhen, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, presented the charter of amnesty to the world. After Zhu Youjian heard about it, he made new instructions:

"Even if the current criminals are unpardonable, their executions will be suspended until Dali Temple reviews them."

"If pardoned criminals commit crimes again, they will be punished for their previous crimes to warn them not to commit crimes again."

"The original intention of punishment is to deter criminals and reduce possible illegal and criminal behavior. We must remember this to warn and reform criminals."

Everyone in the Ministry of Punishment took the order, and Zhu Youjian listened to the report from the scholar Shi Fenglai and the officials from the Ministry of Industry, and confirmed that the imperial mausoleum was selected in Tanyu Ridge. He ordered the Ministry of Industry Shangshu Xue Fengxiang, Governor of the Mausoleum, and other officials to determine the duties of building the imperial mausoleum and start work as soon as possible. put up.

Then there is the Metropolitan Procuratorate, which Zhu Youjian wants to reduce. These Yanguan officials have very strong fighting power. It is not easy to reduce the number of officials in their permanent dynasty. Zhu Youjian must think carefully and not cause trouble.

(End of this chapter)