golden scales

"What prisoner to offer! What prisoner to offer to pacify the civil strife!" Zhu Cihong consciously emphasized his tone.

With a smile on his face, Wu Zhen knew that the emperor would not give him easy and pleasant tasks.

Today, Wu Zhen was on duty in the cabinet, and when he was about to take a break, he was suddenly recruited by Emperor Chongzhen.The meaning of Chongzhen is very simple, that is, by capturing two princes of Donglu, one Baylor, and a hundred or eighty Tartars, they will make a Meridian Gate offering of prisoners.As the second assistant of the cabinet and Minister of the Ministry of Rites, Wu Tong is responsible for undertaking such activities.But now Honglu Temple has basically completed the takeover of the canonical etiquette, so Wu Sheng is just passing on orders.

The point is that the Crown Prince is against offering prisoners at the Meridian Gate.

"Your Highness," Wu Yan said leisurely, "During the ninth year of Chongzhen, Sun Chuanting captured Gao Yingxiang, and he was also a prisoner at the Meridian Gate."

Zhu Cihong couldn't help but choked, he had expressed his opposition back then, but unfortunately, he was blocked to death by his father's "young and ignorant".He slowed down his tone and said, "Mr. Wu, presenting captives is a great gift for the army, and it is for the purpose of demonstrating martial arts. Originally, if a traitor is captured, he should be governed by the laws of the country. Once the captives are offered, is it not an ironclad proof that the state government has not been repaired? If you want to I only agree with offering captives when there is a temple-like military achievement in defeating foreign lands."

Wu Tong believed that this was Zhu Cihuang's sincerity, and persuaded: "Your Highness, defeating an enemy country outside the territory is certainly a great martial art that shines in the annals of history. Hezhong and Fengcai are martial arts. Therefore, if you know that you can capture the Eastern captives, it is also enough martial arts to offer the Meridian Gate."

"Eastern captives have not yet been wiped out, and Liaodong has not yet recovered, so we can't talk about banning violence and suppressing soldiers; our army is still at a disadvantage, and our combat power is insufficient, so we can't talk about protecting the army and establishing meritorious service; the people are still captive to Liaodong, and blood relatives are far away It has not been rescued yet, so it is not possible to talk about Anmin and Hezhong; as for Fengcai, the vitality of the Ming Dynasty has almost been exhausted so far. It is even more nonsense."

Wu Zhen found that the crown prince didn't have a deep understanding of the scriptures, but he was unexpectedly able to quote the scriptures in the debate. It was clearly specious but seemed to be well-informed, which made it difficult to refute for a while.

"The reason why His Highness rejects offering prisoners so much is..." Wu Sheng finally put aside his official habits and asked the core question directly.

"After the captives are offered, is the war against the Eastern captives considered over?" Zhu Cihong also said bluntly: "There is no basis for presenting the captives. Do you want swords and guns to enter Kuma and release Nanshan? Does anyone think that the world is peaceful, and they can sing and dance all night long? I think. Political affairs are like military affairs. .”

Wu Xuan couldn't help but fell into deep thought when he heard the words.He followed the East Palace all the way, at first there was only the guard camp, and then the attendant room gradually came to the fore, both showed a vigor that was different from the past.The guard battalion has the military merits of iron strikes.It may be more conspicuous, but it is the attendant room that really makes the rule stable.

Regardless of whether there are cruel officials in the attendant room, the facts have proved that they are still very commendable in terms of ability, diligence, and performance.

"Now there are some clues among the officials from the attendant's office. Those in Beijing are unwilling to work overtime and complain more and more; those outside are obsessed with romantic relationships and have bad habits. How long will this be? What will it look like in three to five years! Do you think everything will be fine if you restore Shenjing?" Zhu Cihong was already faintly angry.

In the late Ming Dynasty, the atmosphere of official circles was similar to that of scholars.The atmosphere of Shilin and folk customs are intertwined.The entire society is impetuous and prosperous from top to bottom, and people's hearts are uncertain. The concentrated expression is that they are not satisfied with their duties!

"An official is not a good official. He only wants to deal with the superiors and deceive the subordinates. He lives a superior life. Even if this kind of official is not corrupt, he should be killed!

"Students don't study well, they just want to be famous and move the world to gain both fame and fortune. When they encounter something, they don't think about the reason, they will only follow others' opinions and quarrel. Emperor Taizu Gao ordered the world's affairs to be said by everyone, but only the students I can’t say, why? It’s because their half-bottle of water is dangling around. They are full of fallacies, which confuse the people the most and ruin the atmosphere, but they don’t know how to study hard to seek knowledge, and they think they know everything!

"Everyone knows that Donglu is gone, Chuangni is dead, and the thief has escaped, but who is ready to fight this war of changing customs! At this time, the ceremony of presenting prisoners is to boost the hearts of the people? Or is it to demoralize?" Zhu Cilang asked in succession.

Seeing that the crown prince had already reached this point, Wu Xuan couldn't continue talking.However, there was no way for him to return to the emperor, so he had to go back to his office first.

Today is different from the past, the previous cabinet assistants all have their own friends, who can run errands, do odd jobs, and give advice.Now His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is not allowed to support private individuals, and all chores are undertaken by the family.Naturally, it is impossible to discuss the strategy with these people, otherwise it will be passed to the crown prince's ears.

Wu Xin paced around the room for a long time, but couldn't think of a good countermeasure.If it follows the previous practice, it will be enough to mobilize the speech officer to go to the public.Now the stage wall is not allowed to gossip, and the days are quiet, but they are not available when they are needed.Moreover, it is conceivable that the emperor, seeing that there is no movement from the cabinet, will definitely instruct the Shangshu of Honglu Temple directly to request a prisoner offering ceremony. How will the cabinet's proposal be written at that time?

This is clearly forcing officials to make a choice between the emperor and the crown prince.

……

"I am so angry!" Chongzhen walked around the Kunning Palace quickly, fanning his folding fan heavily in his hand, and said angrily, "My name is Kaixuan, how can I not offer prisoners! Although there are slight flaws in etiquette, it is still full of face! Otherwise It's better not to say something like 'self-conquest and triumph' at the beginning! Is the crown prince trying to force me to death!"

Zhou Hou sat on the throne and kept silent.

"Tell me, is this trying to force me to death!" Chongzhen wanted to express his opinion after Zhou.

Only then did Zhou Hou open his mouth and said leisurely: "I heard that the good is small and I don't avoid it, and the evil is small and I don't do it. The Holy Son of Heaven is very sincere, how can there be any flaws?"

Chongzhen's footsteps froze, as if a cat was scratching fiercely in his heart, he said: "Well, well, you are all right! It's my fault!"

Seeing that her husband was so sad, Zhou Hou couldn't bear it, and persuaded: "Brother Chun has been very sensible since he was a child. He must have his reasons for objecting to offering captives. Why didn't the emperor call him here and ask him face to face? It is not appropriate for ministers to spread rumors after all."

"Let him contradict me face to face! How can I be a father and a king." Chongzhen pouted.

"I'll go and talk to him." Zhou Hou took a deep breath and agreed.

This is exactly the purpose of Chongzhen's coming to Kunning Palace.

After a week, I looked at the sky, and it was not yet dark.If there were no surprises, the eldest son of the emperor must have dinner with his foreign ministers in the Wenhua Palace, and then he will have to meet two groups of people before going back to Zhongcui Palace to sleep.But at that time, it was probably after Haishi, and I might not be able to endure it, so it is better to let him come to eat early tomorrow morning.

Chongzhen also knew that what Zhou Hou said made sense, so he could only stay up for another night.The emperor and the empress chatted about the marriage of the eldest son and the eldest daughter. Zhou Hou was worried that the country would hold many ceremonies in a row, and the money and food would not be enough, but Chongzhen had 400 million silver as a base.With this celebration, the depression in the emperor's heart has faded a lot.

Zhu Cihong was going to meet with several principals of the Ministry of Industry that day, and asked them about the dredging of the canal.At present, food from Annan, Fujian and Zhejiang is shipped by sea, but it can only be said to be an expedient measure to the outside world, and the slogan of "abolishing the water and transforming the sea" is never dared.The reason is, of course, that the Grand Canal runs through the north and the south, and a ship of grain passes through the customs to beg for the sluice. There are bad rules everywhere, and it is all based on red envelopes to open the way.

Now the court hall is relatively clean, but there are hundreds of thousands of people eating by the river below, what should we do if there is a commotion?Now the Cao Gang is just a rudimentary form, there is no unified rudder and gang leader, but it has also formed a regional gang, and it may not be impossible to cause trouble.Therefore, Zhu Cihong only said that the canal should be dredged first, and then the water transportation should be resumed, which was a tactic to delay the troops.

There are also benefits after the canal is dredged. One is to facilitate domestic private transportation and pave the way for postal services.At the same time, the Grand Canal also shoulders the task of irrigating the surrounding fields. After dredging, it is convenient for local states and counties to carry out water conservancy projects.Finally, the Grand Canal also serves as a flood discharge and can act as a temporary waterway.It can be said that the Grand Canal is a more affordable eternal project than the Great Wall.

If Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty had listed these benefits one by one, instead of saying that he was going south to see Qionghua, then he might really be able to compete with Dayu.

Walking back to the Inner Palace from the Wenhua Palace, Zhu Cihong first went to ask his parents if they were unconscious, and sure enough they were already asleep.Then I went back to Zhongcui Palace, and fell asleep as soon as I laid down on the bed with my clothes on after writing the diary.

Although the current work intensity is not as good as dealing with the college entrance examination in the previous life, it is close to the limit for this 17-year-old body.

Lu Suyao came in with the maids, lightly took off Zhu Cihong's clothes, beat insects and fanned the wind, and rested in shifts.

The previous day's work has just ended, and a new day's work has begun.

Zhu Cihong woke up when she was being dressed by a court lady, and she had already put on her middle coat at that time.Avoiding the flame of the candle, he asked, "What time is it?"

"Your Highness, it's quarter past three. Because of the emperor's order, I went to have dinner earlier today, so it was a quarter of an hour earlier." The maid stepped forward and explained.

Zhu Cihong's head was still a little dizzy, she focused heavily, and said, "Water."

The maid at the side had already prepared warm water and quickly handed it over.

Zhu Cihong drank it all in one gulp, and felt much better now. He wiped his face and rinsed his mouth, put on his crown clothes, and went to Qianqing Palace.

As Zhu Cihong expected, His Majesty the Emperor hadn't come out yet, only the Queen Mother pulled him to talk, and within a few words, he talked about the offering of prisoners at the Meridian Gate.For being able to grasp the emperor's thoughts so thoroughly, Zhu Cihong did not feel the slightest sense of accomplishment, but said: "Mother, this matter is about to be reported to the emperor."

Zhou Hou saw that his son had already made up his mind, so it was inconvenient to say more, just waiting for the emperor to come out.

Chongzhen hid behind the curtain of the ear door, stood up for a while after listening, and then "just in time" came out with a solemn expression, as if he had just communicated with the sky.

"Father, in recent days there have been people talking to my ministers about offering captives at the Meridian Gate." Zhu Cihong saw the ceremony, and immediately cut to the chase.

"Oh? How do you say it?" Chongzhen suppressed the fluctuations in his heart, as if he didn't care about the matter.

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