Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

Compared with the Forbidden City, which took fourteen years to build, the speed of the Yangxin Hall is undoubtedly a small miracle.

Jia Jun, the Minister of Economics and Industry, personally supervised the work, and with a reasonable division of construction labor, the Yangxin Hall located on the east side of Xiyuan is in the final stage of finishing.

Every minister has his or her own shining point, and the emperor often just lacks a pair of eyes for discovery.

Zhu Youtang originally had some prejudice against Jia Jun, who was born as a juren, but after seeing Jia Jun's talent in supervising the construction of palaces, he finally realized that being able to sit in the position of minister of the Ministry of Industry with the title of juren was not entirely dependent on connections.

Of course, in addition to Jia Jun's excellent scheduling ability, the progress this time actually has a lot to do with him abandoning the high-quality golden nanmu and choosing northeastern pine wood.

Why did it take fourteen years to build the Forbidden City? It was because the preparation time for the wood and stone alone took eleven years. It was not easy to harvest the precious golden nanmu.

Since golden nanmu mostly grows in high mountains, it requires a large number of people to go into the mountains to harvest it, resulting in many people losing their lives. There is also a certain relationship between the Annan rebellion and the harvesting of golden nanmu for the Forbidden City.

Zhu Youtang is not a perfectionist, nor does he think that the palace he lives in must be "sent thousands of people into the mountain and five hundred out of the mountain" in exchange for a piece of golden nanmu to be worthy of the emperor's status.

Just like the aluminum bowl in which Napoleon ate was expensive, most ordinary people in later generations would rather give up this expensive price and choose ordinary porcelain bowls.

After all, a palace is a place for shelter and work. Nowadays, pine wood can also be used to prop up a roof, so why spend a year and a half searching for golden nanmu in various provinces?

As for the Yuntai, it is even more unnecessary. After all, this is the palace where you can discuss matters and handle government affairs with important ministers, so this item can be omitted directly.

After learning that there were many century-old pine trees in the warehouse of the Ministry of Industry, he waved his hand and asked Jia Jun to take the pine trees directly to build the Yangxin Hall.

It turned out that he had indeed found a good Minister of Industry.

Jia Jun had enough construction timber, and the Ministry of Works was most in need of craftsmen. Emperor Hongzhi also gave great support to the budget, so he worked day and night to achieve the current results.

"Your Majesty, please come this way!" Although Jia Jun was very satisfied with his results, he still led Zhu Youtang to visit with a bit of trepidation.

Although the Yangxin Hall has a similar name to the Yangxin Hall of a later dynasty, it is different from that narrow palace subject to local restrictions. Now in this Xiyuan, which can build half of the Forbidden City, it is natural to build a standard palace.

In the sunshine approaching noon, a new courtyard-like palace stands in this beautiful West Garden, complementing the Taiye Pond not far away.

Zhu Youtang walked into the Yangxin Gate. It was a large courtyard. There were duty rooms on the east and west sides, and then there was the second door. There was an inverted duty room, a study room on the east side, a Zen room on the west side, and a front door. To the north is the Yangxin Hall.

Naturally, the Yangxin Hall cannot be compared with the Fengtian Hall, not even the Huagai Hall, which is the smallest of the three main halls. It is really just a place for discussing matters with important ministers.

Zhu Youtang raised his head and looked at the new palace bathed in the spring light. The corners of his mouth could not help but raise slightly. He was very satisfied with this new palace.

There are indeed certain shortcomings in the design of the Forbidden City, such as the lack of a palace for the Queen Mother and the Queen Mother. As an emperor, he also needed a place where he could discuss matters with his ministers.

If you stay in Qianqing Palace all the time, not to mention summoning ministers is very inconvenient, even if you go from Meridian Gate to Qianqing Palace, it will take a lot of time, and even if you go from Wenyuan Pavilion to Qianqing Palace, you have to walk a long distance.

The newly built Yangxin Hall is located next to Xiyuan Gate. Cabinet ministers can work here. It is not far from Dongjiangmi Lane and Xijiangmi Lane. It can be said that it serves multiple purposes.

As for the Yangxin Hall, there is a hall behind it, which is connected to the sleeping hall at the back. There are residences for attendants and concubines on both sides, which belongs to the back house area of ​​the Yangxin Hall.

If you want to be pure and ascetic, you will naturally sleep alone, but if you want to continue your incense and maintain your status as a great emperor, then you can return to the Forbidden City or arrange for a concubine to accompany you, or you can find a soft and gentle concubine like Fan Jinling. The fragrant maid gave him some training.

So, this is the overall layout of the Yangxin Hall.

The front is the office space of important ministers and close ministers, the reverse-seat duty room on the second door is the office space of the internal officials, the Yangxin Hall is the office space of Zhu Youtang, and the back area belongs to the inner chamber.

"Your Majesty, these two main pillars are made of golden nanmu! Thanks to your Majesty's great blessing, when I was rummaging through the pine trees, I found these two old pieces of wood!" Jia Jun pointed to a red lacquered main pillar and looked very flattering. .

Zhu Youtang reached out and patted the strong main pillar, and immediately made a decision and said: "Jia Shangshu listens and appreciates it!"

Liu Jin carefully found that there was still some dust on the main pillar, so he immediately gave it a handkerchief.

"I'm here!" Jia Jun was suddenly excited and said nervously even as he knelt on the ground.

Zhu Youtang wiped his hands with a handkerchief, and then rewarded Jia Jun on the ground and said: "I know that since you were responsible for supervising the construction of the Yangxin Hall, you have done your duty day and night, and worked hard to make arrangements well. The internal prison also said that you forget to sleep and eat. Today, the Yangxin Hall has been completed in more than forty days. You are an example of a loyal and wise minister, and I have specially given it to the Crown Prince as the Taibao. I will reward you with a hundred taels of gold. I appreciate this!"

When facing officials who work diligently and diligently, he is not stingy with rewards, especially in terms of gold and silver. After all, this is a job hunting, and you can't just make people loyal to the company. The bonuses should be paid in place, so that true loyalty can be easily exchanged.

"I...I thank your Majesty for your kindness. I am willing to die for your Majesty!" Jia Jun's old tears suddenly fell, and he thanked him with emotion.

These rewards were just a matter of Zhu Youtang twitching his lips, but they were already a great honor for Jia Jun, who was born in Juren. The gift of gold was Zhu Youtang's kindness, but this "title of crown prince and Taibao" was considered a great favor.

For a minister of the Ministry of Industry like him, who was born as a civil servant, promotion to the second-rank official minister of the Ministry of Industry was already the limit. Therefore, third-rank officials such as He Cong, the left minister of the Ministry of War, Xu Pu, the left minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Liu Jian, the right minister of the Ministry of Rites, would not be promoted at all. He took it seriously.

But now, he has been granted the title of First-grade Crown Prince and Taibao by the emperor, and his status and identity have reached a higher level. In the future, his waist will undoubtedly be even more straight, and he will also have the opportunity to compete for the titles of "Prince Taishi" and "Prince Taishi" in the future. Fu".

In fact, what moved him the most was his "loyalty and wisdom". The reason why he has always been responsible for supervising the construction of fortifications better than others is that he is more diligent and attentive than others.

Now that "loyalty and wisdom" came out of the emperor's mouth, he really felt as if he had met Bole. What reason did he have for not serving this wise king?

Zhu Youtang probably didn't even know that he received a normal reward, but he got a Minister of the Ministry of Industry with almost full loyalty.

One day later, when I saw that the Yangxin Hall was officially completed, and it happened to be an auspicious day, I simply moved in directly.

The Yangxin Hall is larger than the Dongnuan Pavilion, and also larger than the Yangxin Hall of a certain dynasty. In addition to the throne and desks in the main hall, on the east side is the map of the Ming Dynasty, and on the west side is the list of officials of the fourth rank and above in the capital, as well as local governors and inspectors.

As for the plaque hanging high on the throne, it reads: Hard work will prosper the country.

After all, Zhu Youtang is just an ordinary person. He does not know how to use psychology like some time-travelers, and he does not know how to make the broad class of officials and gentry give up squeezing the people and become a philanthropist. However, he knows that power comes from the barrel of a gun, and he also knows how to disobey. Just hit it until you are convinced.

With all the time spent wrangling with officials from the two capitals and thirteen provinces and the general gentry, there was still no time to study how to make flintlock guns and how to build China into the world's textile center.

Zhu Youtang summoned the two pavilion elders and the talkers from the Sixth Department. Although there was a small high platform where he was, he still sat down, so he arranged seats for all eight people.

Li Yu, the official secretary, and eight other people sat opposite each other in the east and west. Facing such preferential treatment from Emperor Hongzhi and facing this new palace, they could not hide their excitement.

When Hongzhi reformed the early dynasty and held banquets, many officials believed that Hongzhi was a lazy emperor, but things proved that everyone was wrong.

This emperor is not only diligent in his work, but also has a great mind in governing the country. Now he is even willing to build a new palace here to conspire with these important ministers. So why worry about the country not being prosperous?

Aju!

Wan An was already over seventy years old, and it was inevitable that his health was a little weak, but he couldn't help but sneeze, and immediately admitted his mistake and said: "I have behaved inappropriately in front of His Majesty, please punish me!"

When Liu Ji and other officials saw this, they secretly looked at Zhu Youtang sitting above.

"Mr. Wange has been specializing in drafting government affairs recently, and he has shared a lot of burdens for me. I am very relieved that there is no need for punishment!" Zhu Youtang is not a person who likes to make a fuss, but he replied calmly while turning over the memorial.

Officials such as Li Yu, the Minister of Civil Affairs, also felt heartwarming in response to Zhu Youtang's response.

They slowly figured out the emperor's temperament. As long as you sincerely do things for him, he would do many things unswervingly and even take the initiative to protect you.

Wan An secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said gratefully: "Old minister, thank you for your forgiveness!"

"My dear friends, you should all know about the incident in Yangzhou, right?" Zhu Youtang dug out the memorial he was looking for and said straight to the point.

"Yes...no...yes!" When Wan An and others answered, they changed their answers twice.

The General Affairs Department is not a top-secret channel at all, and some important memorials will always be leaked.

What's more, news from Yangzhou also reached the capital, so these important officials in the imperial court already knew about the changes in Yangzhou, and they even knew details that Zhu Youtang didn't know.

But they couldn't reveal the source of the news, so they changed their story for the first time. But thinking that they had committed the crime of deceiving the emperor, they changed their story a second time.

Zhu Youtang did not want to embarrass these important ministers, so he passed the joint memorial to Liu Jin and said: "Then you should take a look at it first and then discuss it!"

In fact, Li Yu, the Minister of Civil Service, and others already knew the truth, so after a few glances, they passed this memorial to others.

Wang Yue is indeed a fierce man. He thought he would only be able to chop off people's heads with Shang Fang's sword, but in the end, he did not hesitate to take risks and went deep into the country, and uncovered the shocking corruption case of Li Zhiqing and other Yangzhou officials.

Not to mention the staggering amount of money involved, almost no one in Yangzhou officials was spared, and the entire Yangzhou officialdom was completely rotten from top to bottom.

If the evidence hadn't been conclusive, who would have dared to believe that a group of officials who had read the books of sages did such a crazy thing and almost destroyed the Ming Dynasty's Salt Law.

As for Wang Zhi, who had not been heard from for a long time, he did not expect that he would train the Nanjing Shenji Camp into shape. Only 500 people were able to overwhelm the 1,000 soldiers led by Yang Kang.

"Your Majesty, from the Yangzhou case we can see that the crux of the Ming Dynasty's salt policy was caused by the collusion between officials and businessmen. Now that Wang Yue has wiped out all corrupt businessmen and profiteers, this is the opportunity to reshape the salt law. Therefore, please start clearing up the accumulated problems soon. By ensuring that the salt import is equal to the salt production, the price of salt in Jiubian will return to the time of Taizu, and the remaining salt cannot be sold at a low price, so that the salt profit can be returned to China!" Li Side, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs Knowing this, he started to make plans, and he was the first to express his stance.

Zhu Youtang was in a good mood, so he looked at the other important ministers and said, "Do you think it is possible?"

The report card Wang Yue handed over this time far exceeded his expectations. When Wang Yue was resurrected, he just wanted an upright official to take charge of Yangzhou for him, and kill a few corrupt officials and profiteers to intimidate all parties.

It's just that I far underestimated Wang Yue's ability. This old man who was proficient in the art of war became more and more demonic as he got older. After discovering the smoke bomb released by Li Zhiqing, he went to Yangzhou and used Gou Huowang to muddy things up. Then, by knocking on the mountain to shake off the tigers and going deep into the lone army, he wiped out the nests of worms in Yangzhou.

After achieving this result, everyone now knows that Yangzhou's salt officials and salt merchants are collaborating, so it will undoubtedly be difficult to face any resistance in the subsequent handling of the salt matter.

The Kaizhong Law, which continues to this day, was not destroyed by the joint efforts of salt officials and Hui merchants. Once the Jiyin was cleared and the price of salt in China was restored, the Ming Dynasty's finances could regain their vitality.

The most important thing is that because Ye Qimeng was not deceived into canceling the opening of China, the border army's military rations and military resources can still be effectively guaranteed, and the economic prosperity of the border areas can be sustained.

If I were to say that the greatest contribution I have made to China since time travel is probably to preserve the Ming Dynasty's Kaizhong Method and rejuvenate the Ming Dynasty's Kaizhong Method.

"Your Majesty, I second the proposal!" Wan An and other officials were also wise politicians. Seeing that Li Si's proposal was very reasonable, they immediately agreed together.

Zhu Youtang nodded slightly, turned to look at Li Si and asked seriously: "Li Qing, then where do you think we should start to restore the salt method?"

"Your Majesty, I think that the royal palace salt and the imperial salt should be stopped immediately!" Li Si hesitated for a moment, but still offered his advice ruthlessly.

this……

Upon hearing this, Du Ming, the Minister of Punishment, and others turned to look at Li Si in surprise.

If the royal palace's salt was meant to offend the vassals and clansmen in the world, then Li Si proposed to stop the salt consumption of the imperial officials. In the future, people would probably spit on him when he went out.

"When I was the magistrate of Jinhua, I always had old acquaintances and moral sentiments when deciding cases. However, I thought at that time: If the law enforcers do not need to consider human feelings, and punish princes and common people for the same crime, then the law will be feasible and the reason can be justified. ! Today's salt law is like this. The royal palace salt and the imperial official's salt are motivated by emotion, but it messed up the salt policy of the Ming Dynasty. If the salt law wants to be consistent, it should be treated equally. Therefore, I think that stopping the royal palace salt and the imperial official's salt will prevent the salt administration from neglecting. It can also show the world the court's determination to control salt, and the salt law can at least be restored to the time of the great ancestor!" Li Si also wanted to do his part, so he expressed his feelings.