Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 977
"Master, the Zhu family is considered a landlord in Yuquan Town, with thousands of acres of fertile land and a wealth of wealth. I heard that they are doing business with the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

The housekeeper said softly: "His family has connections to the leather from Mobei, gazelle from Datong, ginseng and velvet from the Northeast, and even sugar from Taiwan, and he is a first-class merchant."

"It is said, it is said..."

"What?" King Liao narrowed his eyes.

"It is said that when he was in Nanjing, he met His Majesty, even in the outer room..."

"Absurd!" King Liao immediately retorted: "How could the royal blood be neglected by the people?"

"Let's stop this matter, don't talk too much, lest you die without a whole body in the future."

"Yes!"

King Liao became short of breath, and he felt as if he had come into contact with something extraordinary.

Thinking about it this way, he turned his eyes back to the portrait:

These two people looked more and more alike, and they were five or six points similar to their brothers.

Blessings and misfortunes are unknown...

Serving the tea that had been cold for a long time, King Liao drank it all in one gulp, and his mind instantly became clear.

The next day, King Liao thought hard in his house, and figured out the original story of the play:

In the Tang Dynasty, a certain person was an illegitimate child born unintentionally when the emperor served the people in disguise. The emperor didn't know it, and he was living among the people...

In terms of being lonely and poor since childhood, he had to be a knight-errant like Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty.

The noble girl took pity on her, and threw a hydrangea ball to find her husband.

The noble girl's family doesn't approve, and the husband and wife are being bullied, so they have to arrange a high-ranking official, that is, the prime minister...

Living in a cold kiln, eating and picking wild vegetables, the husband and wife were tortured, and had a happy reunion...

No, men have to be forced to serve as soldiers, go to the front line to die, and come back with great military exploits...

The more he thought about it, the more excited the king of Liao became.

The plot is ups and downs, there is a prince, there is a prime minister, the husband and wife are tortured, and the script is written, it will definitely be a hit.

"My lord, the emperor summoned me."

"Oh!" Reluctantly putting down his pen, King Liao changed his clothes and left in a carriage.

"I heard you've been busy recently!"

The cold wind howled, but it still couldn't stop the emperor from fishing.

Big holes were dug in the ice, and tents, stoves, and barbecues were set up on the shore.

Of course, there are also two most beloved dogs, Wu Dai, standing guard.

Looking at the rice bowls of the two of them, they obviously ate fish.

"I don't dare." King Liao said with a smile, "Isn't it snowing recently? I'm a little lazy."

"Fighting money and playing actors, and under the guise of Lingshoubo."

The emperor snorted coldly, and the king of Liao trembled.

"My son, Meng Lang..."

"Forget it, it's just a trivial matter."

Suddenly, the emperor lost his interest again: "Compile your book well, and go with your plant."

"When the spring begins, you can go to the Beijing camp to practice."

"Father, my son is weak!" King Liao begged in a low voice.

"Fucking shit, it's because of shit, that's why I'm going to exercise."

The emperor resolutely rejected his begging for mercy: "Your third brother has also been to the army, why can't you go?"

"Besides, when you go to the Liao Kingdom to become a feudal clan in the future, you will inevitably lead troops to fight. It's good for you to get used to it in advance."

King Liao responded with a groan in his heart, with reluctance written all over his face.

"The man is the king in Xiliang, the woman has been guarding the cold kiln for eighteen years, the husband and wife are separated, you will die of suffering—"

Sitting in the carriage, King Liao became more and more aggrieved, and he was more tormented by this play.

"The man came back to inherit the throne, but the woman died after being queen for eighteen days..."

"Fourth Master, your book is perfect."

The singing troupe of the Chang'an Opera House gathered together and looked at the play with admiration.

"My father just provided a story, specific libretto, and aria, and I need you to arrange filling."

King Liao enjoyed flattering and was in a very happy mood.

"Master, why don't you husband and wife have names?"

A middle-aged scholar raised a question.

"I didn't think about it!" King Liao hesitated for a while and said casually.

As long as the surname is not Zhu, it will be fine.

"The story I wrote here is somewhat similar to Xue Rengui's in the early stage. Both wives stay in the cold cave and marry foreign princesses. It's just more tragic and ups and downs..."

"Simply learn from it to the end, name it Xue Pinggui Wang Baochuan, and borrow his fame."

"Okay—" King Liao clapped his hands in agreement.

Such a follow-up work, who can tell that it was arranged by the emperor?

"It's called Xue Pinggui and Wang Baochuan. If you can give me a detailed arrangement, this drama will have to be released in the spring—"

……

Winter, Shun Kyung.

Kangguo, located on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, was caught in a vast expanse of snow.

Li Si, the 22-year-old Kang Wang, governed in Changchun Palace.

Li Zicheng and Li Zijing, one laid the foundation and the other established order, especially Li Zijing surrendered to the Ming Dynasty and completely stabilized his rule.

And the name certificate was to attack the Heshuote Khanate, which is now the Weizang Kingdom.

The two countries hated each other and heavily guarded the border.

In this way, the generals have always held an overwhelming advantage in Kang, suppressing the royal power.

In the country of Kang, as a compromise to the military generals, except for the three counties of Shunjing Prefecture, the remaining sixteen counties have set up defense envoys, guarded by generals hereditary.

Local officials are appointed and removed by the imperial court, [-]% of the tax is divided, [-]% is turned over, and [-]% is retained.

Of the [-]%, [-]% went to the generals to raise troops, and [-]% were used for support.

Since tens of thousands of Shun troops took over that year, the population structure of the Kham area began to change.

Now the population of Kang country has increased to 140 million, but the population of Shuntian Mansion, which is directly controlled by King Kang, is only 60.

In terms of military strength, the imperial army is only [-], while the defense envoys of generals from all over the country exceed [-].

The defense envoy is nothing but a reduced version of the Jiedu envoy.

Kingship was doomed from the very beginning.

However, after Li Si married the daughter of the King of Qin as his concubine, the domineering behavior of the local generals became much less.

They may not be afraid of King Kang, but they are afraid of the Ming army.

The stove in the hall was burning vigorously, and King Kang was sitting upright, with a pile of memorials in front of him.

Prime Minister Song Qijiao, Zuo Fu Su Wende, and You Bi Ding Zhijie each sat quietly, with a small table in front of them.

As for the former prime minister Niu Jinxing, he died of illness in bed last year, and Song Xiance was weak and sick, so he could only write a letter to become an official.

"Your Highness!" Song Qijiao raised his head and said, "Last year, the imperial court made a profit of 20 yuan just from the way of tea and horses. The highland barley wine was also sold a lot. Over the years, the country has nearly a million yuan of silver in stock."

"The minister said that the salaries of hundreds of officials can be changed from grain to silver dollars, so as to reduce the loss and benefit the officials."

Li Si nodded slightly: "Our country's prickly ash, mutton, yak, highland barley wine, and medicinal materials (Chuanbei, Snow Lotus, Cordyceps, Rhodiola, etc.) are also sharp weapons for export to Sichuan, with no less than 50 yuan a year."

"That's right, let's give up the food and give out silver coins instead!"

"My lord is holy!"

Several people hurriedly cupped their hands in admiration.

After talking about this matter, Song Qijiao said in a serious voice: "Your Highness, recently a gold mine and two silver mines were discovered near Kangding, as you know.

This matter is of great benefit to our country, but if it is not handled properly, it is also a disaster in a certain situation. "

Li Si's expression straightened.

"Are you worried about Mingren?"

"It's thousands of miles away and there are lofty mountains and mountains. How could the people of Ming Dynasty send troops here?"

"No, what I'm worried about is within Xiao Qiang."

Song Qijiao sighed.

"As far as I know, the output of these gold and silver mines is only a few thousand taels a year, a whopping one hundred thousand silver dollars. How dare those warriors mess around?"

Li Si was full of disbelief.

"Your Highness, I have gold mines in Shunjing Prefecture, don't the other sixteen counties have gold mines or silver mines?"

Song Qijiao hurriedly said: "The veteran dares to say that, I am afraid that people in those ten or so counties have already started mining, but the court didn't know about it."

"Otherwise, how could those defense envoys be able to raise an army of [-]?"

These words made Li Si fall into thought.

"Your Highness, the defense envoys from all over the country opened mines privately and accumulated a lot of money. Who can guarantee that they will not be disturbed?"

Song Qijiao's face turned red: "There are money and soldiers. If things go on like this, how can the three counties of Shuntian Prefecture compare to the sixteen counties?"

"The royal power of this generation is stable, but perhaps in the next generation, the Li family will be in danger..."

"What do you mean by being a photoshoot? Cut down the feudal clan?"

Li Si was surprised.

As soon as the words "Cutting Fan" fell, the entire hall fell into silence in an instant.

The three prime ministers looked as usual.

Song Qijiao suddenly calmed down at this moment: "This matter should be done sooner rather than later."

Li Si raised his eyebrows and said, "Prime Minister, do you know that over the years, anyone who cut down the feudal clan will lose everything if he is not careful."

"The battle of Jingnan in the Ming Dynasty is still vivid!"

"Your Highness, boil the frog in warm water."

Song Qijiao said softly, "Isn't there a good opportunity now?"

Li Si was stunned.

This is about Hao Yaoqi, Batang's defense envoy, who has never had an heir because of his constant tossing around when he was young.

Now that he is lingering on the sick bed, he seems to have few days left to live, and two days ago, he went to the court to let his adopted son Hao Qingfeng inherit the title and official position, and once again guard Batang.

The sixteen defense envoys expressed their agreement one after another, and also wrote a letter asking Hao Qingfeng to inherit the title.

But the prime ministers obviously had other ideas.

They wanted to take Batang County under the imperial court and centralize power.

And once this matter is feasible, the power will not be far away in the future.

Because of the sixteen generals, six have no heirs and only adopted sons are in front of them.

It is conceivable that it will not be more than ten years, so according to the previous example, out of the sixteen counties in Kang country, King Kang will take back six counties one after another, occupying an absolute advantage.

At that time, cutting the feudal clan will be as easy as cutting melons.

"This matter has to be discussed in the long run—"

Li Si shook his head and rejected the proposal.

He is not stupid, he knows that his father Li Zijing was established by these warriors, and the defense envoy is the product of compromise, so he can't move easily.

Seeing this, Song Qijiao felt helpless.

But he still didn't give up in his heart, and it was impossible to give up on cutting the feudal clan.

Back in the harem, Li Si was full of worries.

Seeing his appearance, the princess couldn't help but asked softly, "Why is Your Majesty so sad? Is there any trouble in the entire Kang Kingdom?"

"The princess doesn't know something."

Li Si didn't hide it, and simply told the truth.

While talking, he stroked his wife's big belly, and finally sighed: "If you give birth to a boy, then he will be the eldest son of our Kang country."

The princess doesn't know much about government affairs, so she can only be a listener, but when it comes to the fetus in her stomach, she is energetic:

"When the son is born, what good name can the king choose?"

"My father's generation is from the generation of Zizi. I am the only son, so I only have a single name, which is not in line with the rules."

Li Sirao said with interest: "Now my son's generation is defined as the 'Fan' generation."

"The last word is Ke Rui."

"Li Fanrui? It's not bad."

The husband and wife talked and laughed, and the whole hall was full of warmth.

Shun Jing delayed the succession procedures, which annoyed the generals.

Li Laiheng scolded angrily: "What the hell is the imperial court doing? What is it thinking?"

"Brother Hao is almost gone, and they are still fighting for power at this time. We took down the Kang country in Nuoda. How can they take it back with such a face?"

On the bed, Hao Yaoqi couldn't help but said: "That's right, we built this place ourselves, even if it's for a dog, the imperial court should recognize it."

"Why take it back?"

Others were also furious and scolded.

Tian Jianxiu hurriedly comforted him: "This matter may not be His Highness's idea, it must be that those people got greedy and wanted to take our money."

"A little money is nothing."

These words are reasonable, and the warriors think so too.

They all think that this is a way for civil servants to make money.

Because although the sixteen counties have only half the population, they have vast grasslands and forests, and there are countless minerals.

Under such circumstances, even ordinary soldiers were allocated hundreds of acres of cultivated land and thousands of acres of pastures.

As the local emperors, the warriors naturally made a fortune, occupying nearly half of the local land.

Minerals, cattle and sheep, and medicinal materials are all so fat, it's so lively to marry wives and concubines.

The county government also gave them [-]% of the tax revenue to help support the army.

And what about the civil servants?
Except for the land rewarded by King Kang, those salaries are nothing at all, and there are not a few grains of rice in the small pot for money.

A mere prime minister is worth less than [-]% of a defense envoy.

Therefore, Hao Yaoqi was forced to give [-] silver dollars to the prime ministers, and an additional [-] to King Kang.

Song Qijiao pointed to the 2 silver yuan and said, "Your Highness, you can easily come up with [-] yuan for just one county."

"It is conceivable that his family may be richer than the treasury!"

Kang Wang was silent now.

Good guy, his inner money is only one hundred thousand yuan a year, and the remaining money is less than 2 thousand yuan a year. You gave away so much all at once.

Really rich!
Song Qijiao took advantage of the victory and pursued: "If these military counties are brought back to the imperial court, the national treasury will receive one million yuan a year. It will be no problem at all. By then, the internal funds will have to be doubled!"

The huge benefits made King Kang a little breathless.

Silk, books, porcelain, tea, everything costs money.

"Your Highness, as long as you speak to General Hao, everything will be said after his death..."

Song Qijiao said softly.

Li Si glanced at him, and then nodded slightly after a while.

After Hao Yaoqi received this reply, he immediately became furious.

Fifty thousand silver dollars are in vain, who can bear it?
What's more, the land is not guaranteed.

"This matter must be said properly."

Li Laiheng was aggressive and his face was full of anger.

The imperial court blatantly violated the promise of the year. If you dare to cut Hao Yaoqi today, tomorrow you will cut down those who have children.
Never get used to them.

In this way, the defense envoys of the sixteen counties responded with tens of thousands of troops, threatening Shunjing.

(End of this chapter)