golden scales

Just when everyone thought that the world was settled and life could resume, Zhu Cihong didn't think so.

Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou are still in a state of war, and the battle in Liaodong is still in a decisive battle.The domestic economy and people's livelihood are in a mess. If they don't start to rectify, it will inevitably lead to the resignation of their own New Dealers.

Even before people go, the government has already closed.

Bingxu in the 19th year of Chongzhen, April [-]th, sunny.

Zhu Cilang reduced the number of guards in the East Palace one after another, and finally reduced it to 50 people, who were on duty every three hours a day.Therefore, there is no prestige in the guard of honor, but the speed of communication is much faster.

Chongzhen held a negative attitude towards this, and always seized the opportunity to educate him: as the crown prince, he doesn't value dignity, and it's fine for him to appear frivolous. How can others avoid it?Wouldn't that be embarrassing if he couldn't avoid it in time?After all, it was the crown prince's fault.

Zhu Cihong listened every time, but did not express anything about it, fully carrying forward the glorious tradition of humbly accepting and never changing after repeated admonitions.After getting up early every day to say hello, if the empress or the old lady Zhang stayed for breakfast, Zhu Cihong would eat something casually in the apse of the Wenhua Palace.

There are generally three to five kinds of meals, and there must be eggs, and the rest are arranged by the eunuch.Sometimes porridge, sometimes flat food, sometimes meat buns, cooking cakes, are different.This kind of frugality made Emperor Chongzhen even more unbearable, but he also knew that it was useless to say it. He could only increase the number of meals to ensure his son's "vigor".

However this has a side effect.

Chongzhen had already formed the habit of having people read newspapers or reading newspapers by himself during breakfast, so it was only natural for Zhu Cihong to read newspapers during breakfast.Gradually, the scope of reading expanded from newspapers to memorials and other reading materials. It can be said that if it is not impossible to call people to ask questions, it is almost equivalent to working.

"The glazed tiles of the Wenhua Palace have been replaced." Chongzhen suddenly said something out of nowhere.

Zhu Cihong hummed, and immediately realized that this was not his father in the previous life, but the emperor of the empire, and quickly made amends: "My son thanked the father."

"Now you are worthy of your name as a vice monarch. The cabinet assistants have to go to the Wenhua Hall for meetings every day, and there is indeed some scene of governing the country." Chongzhen tried his best to maintain a calm tone.But still couldn't hide his disappointment.Now the assistant ministers and the six waiters all went to the Martial Heroes Hall as a formality, and the important performances were all changed to the Wenhua Hall.

"Father, these are all trivial chores now, so naturally the sons and ministers will handle them more. If there is a major matter in the country, it must be decided by the father." Zhu Cihong had already prepared words of consolation, and stopped casually. .

"You put a screen behind the throne in the Wenhua Palace. I want to hear it, but don't let them know." Chongzhen said.

The corner of Zhu Cihong's mouth twitched: "If Father wants to listen in, he can just sit on the throne, why use a screen to cover it?"

"I don't want to break your rules." Chongzhen said so.But he said in his heart: Do you sit on it openly and honestly as a clay sculpture?I can't afford to lose that person!

Zhu Cihong didn't persuade much.He deliberately glanced at the clock.Said: "Father, it's getting late, let's go there earlier."

The sky was dim outside, and it was almost morning time.

Chongzhen had long since lost his appetite.With a subconscious answer, he was about to change his clothes and face up.

Zhu Cilang changed into his ordinary clothes, and when Chongzhen came out, he said again: "Father, the morning court today is really a bit of a false story. If you go to court every day when you meet yourself in the future, you will be exempted from the court on weekdays."

Why is it your own day?

Because now it has become a custom to take a bath on the fifth day, and the morning of the first day can force officials to rest early in the evening of the fifth day to calm down.

Chongzhen let out a muffled sound from his throat: Although the early dynasty is a false story, if it is avoided.What's more interesting about being an emperor?

"Aren't you afraid of being called lazy by later generations?" Chongzhen said displeased.

"Whether there are political achievements does not depend on the early court." Zhu Cihong said: "Father, if you spend the time in the early court, you can actually do more things."

"Let's discuss it again." Chongzhen knew that his son was right, but he was unwilling to agree to it.Even if he finally agrees, he has to be "sick" for a few days first.Then proceed step by step, going to court for five or seven days in ten days, then one court every three to five days, and finally turning to court every day.

Zhu Cihong felt that this kind of gradual change is really laziness, while direct change is a reform method, and there is a huge difference in reputation between the two.Since what I said here is useless, I can only let the civil servants point it out.

The father and son drove the Huangji Gate and started their day's work.Because there was nothing important, the answering process was the same as before, and it was over soon.Then the father and son went to the Wuying Hall and the Wenhua Hall to ask about politics in their respective territories.Wenhua Hall is full of civil servants in ordinary clothes, but there are only eunuchs in Wuying Hall.

Seeing that Chongzhen's face was really ugly, Wang Chengen held back for a long time before he said: "My lord, the palace is short of manpower now, please add firemen."

"How many eunuchs are there in the palace now? How many maids? What are the tasks? How much do you need to add?" Chongzhen finally waited for the government affairs to come, and he was refreshed and asked repeatedly.

Wang Cheng'en was sweating profusely, originally it was just to restore some dignity to His Majesty the Emperor, how could he have prepared in detail?

Chongzhen's face was stern, and he slapped the table angrily: "A question and three don't know, how dare you say it in front of me! You ask and answer like this, how dare you say no in front of the crown prince!"

Wang Chengen was in a cold sweat, and thought to himself: What does this have to do with the crown prince...

Chongzhen vented his anger, and saw that the Hall of Martial Ying was deserted, unwilling to lower his face to summon the ministers, he couldn't sit still, so he simply got up and shook his sleeves: "Let's go, go to Wenhua Hall!"

Benren Hall and Jiyi Hall on the east and west sides of Wenhua Hall have been renovated and replaced with colorless glass shipped from Shandong, making them look extraordinarily bright.The cabinet originally located in the south of the Wenhua Hall was moved into the Wenhua Hall. The top three scholar cabinet elders had their own separate direct rooms and office rooms in the Benren Hall, and the lower cabinet elders worked in the Jiyi Hall. .

Now there are only four elders in the cabinet, so Li Yuzhi, Wu Yu, and Sun Chuanting are in Benren Hall, but Jiang Dejing is alone in Jiyi Hall, which seems to be putting the cart before the horse.

In this way, since Zhu Cihong works in the Wenhua Palace, it will be much more convenient for him to discuss matters with a few elders.

Chongzhen hadn't come to the Wenhua Palace for some time, and when he arrived this time, he happened to see Jiang Dejing coming out of the Wenhua Palace.

Jiang Dejing went up to see him, but was detained by Chongzhen and asked, "Where are you going, sir?"

"Just going back to the office to be a director." Jiang Dejing said respectfully.

"I just saw that Mr. is going to Jiyi Hall."

"Your Majesty, now the cabinet has moved to the Wenhua Palace, and the East and West Side Palaces are the offices of the ministers." Jiang Dejing explained.

Only then did Chongzhen nod his head, and then asked, "What about the former cabinet office?"

The previous cabinet office was facing north and south, which was very uncomfortable because it was cool in winter and warm in summer.The cabinet ministers have long wanted to change places, but the emperor has the final say in this imperial city, and there is no other way but to endure it.

"The former cabinet office was handed over to the staff of Zhongshushe, and the Imperial Office and Imperial Office are still there." Jiang Dejing replied.

Chongzhen responded again, and suddenly found that the side halls had been replaced with glass, so he simply got off the chariot and said, "Go in and have a look with me, sir."

Jiang Dejing couldn't shirk, he could only lead the way forward.

Old-fashioned buildings can be said to be livable but not suitable for use.It has advantages in warming and ventilation, but it is weak in lighting.Because wooden lattices are often used on the doors and windows, although they are beautiful, the lighting area is too small, and the interior is always dark.After the replacement of new glass, all the original wooden grids were eliminated, and the lighting area was several times larger, which naturally changed greatly.

Chongzhen sat in the main hall for a while, and sighed: "This glass is really useful, why don't other houses in the palace use it instead?"

Jiang Dejing was called back to take charge of the rebuilding project of the imperial city.

Li Zicheng lit a fire when he left, and it was Dorgon who presided over the repair after he came.It’s just that the Manchurians didn’t know the rules, and the craftsmen were taken away by Zhu Cihong, so most of the houses that were built felt nondescript, and had to be rebuilt by the Ministry of Industry.

It will cost money to rebuild, and now there is a total of 20 taels of silver in the treasury, and all ministries are lending their hands.Jiang Dejing has already taken the lead in the treatment of the Huaihe River, where can I get money to buy glass now?

Jiang Dejing is a person who can't beat around the bush, and upholding the "barbaric" nature of the Southern Manzi, he straightforwardly told the embarrassment that the emperor's internal and external treasury had no money to support.

The so-called death of a hero by a penny, Chongzhen was once driven to almost a mental breakdown by this Adu thing.It wasn't until the past two years that no one asked for money in front of him, and the psychological trauma gradually healed. At this time, when he learned that the treasury was still only 20 taels, he was stunned and had only one thought: No wonder Brother Chun went back to the palace. He was still so frugal after that, he was clearly a filial son who wanted to let his family eat meat even though he ate bran himself!

With such a heavy burden on his son who is not yet weak, Chongzhen can only hold back the words in his heart: "My son is really not easy." These six words.

"The treasury is really only 20 taels?" Chongzhen turned to think of successive military expansion, which made his hair stand on end.It may not cost much money to expand the army now, but how much money will it cost to raise these troops in the future?Wasn't it rare for the Chongzhen Dynasty to mutiny because of the lack of pay for soldiers?Some disciples such as Kong Youde and Li Jiuzheng even rebelled!

"I'm afraid it's not yet. I haven't asked about financial matters recently. Your Majesty can consult Elder Wu Ge." Jiang Dejing was not at all consoling.Seeing that Chongzhen was a little hesitant, he remembered the unhappy experience between the emperor and Wu Sheng, and quickly added: "After I came out of the Wenhua Palace, I saw that Ni Yuanlu was called into the right, probably because he was ordered to take over the post of household book. Your Majesty also You can consult Ni Yuanlu."

Chongzhen's expression softened as expected.He has always had a estrangement with Wu Zhen up to now, and as Wu Xin became more and more important in front of the crown prince, the estrangement became deeper.If you want to analyze the principle, it can be simply boiled down to: jealousy.

——You, Wu Zhen, have such a skill that you are not used by me but by my prince. Does that mean that I am not as good as my own son!

In contrast, Ni Yuanlu was at the other extreme.

Ps:

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