Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 21 Liquidation of the Royal Horse Supervisor

The first day of the national funeral passed like this, and Zhu Youjian returned to his Xuqin Palace and had a good night's rest.

Early the next morning, Cao Huachun and Lu Wenzhao took people out of the palace, and Zhu Youjian also went to several banquet halls with ease, and continued to receive the officials who came to mourn the funeral every day.

Time passed slowly, and this kind of boring and stable days made three days pass quickly.

Three days after the national mourning, the officials no longer needed to wear plain clothes, but changed into ready-made clothes.

Chengfu, also called Shengfu, is a kind of mourning clothes that relatives wear after the national funeral according to their relationship with the deceased.

After the officials put on their uniforms, they continued to mourn and hang spirits in several banquet halls, and this process needed to continue until the emperor was buried.

The clothing is also exquisite, and it needs to be worn for [-] days before it can be taken off. If you do not wear the clothing according to the regulations, you may face the crime of beheading.

Zhu Youjian was still dressed in plain clothes, and sat at the entrance of Jiyan Hall with tables and chairs. Every day was cakes and tea, and occasionally changed to fruit and iced drinks.

The ruling and opposition parties seem to be calm, but in fact it is just a danger hidden under the water.

Zhu Youjian knew that after the national funeral, the officials would definitely argue over the death of his cheap father Zhu Changluo.

Even if this matter has nothing to do with most civil servants, as long as the officials involved in the "Hongwan case" will be exiled, they will be exiled, and they will be exiled.

But all of this has nothing to do with him at the moment. What he needs to do is to act like a good boy every day when the sixth department, the sixth division, the cabinet ministers and Zhu Youxiao come, and then just be obedient and keep his filial piety.

For three days, Lu Wenzhao and the others hadn't handed over to him the ledgers of Yumajian's embezzlement of eunuchs, grasslands, imperial stores, and goods inventory.

He was not in a hurry, just because he knew that the longer the ledger was released, the more people involved in the Yumajian.

"It's good to have more, more money, you can get more money from the house raid..."

Zhu Youjian smiled and muttered in his heart, and by the way, he survived until the fourth day of the national funeral.

But on this day, there were a lot of officials who came to pay tribute to the mourning, so he also curiously asked the eunuch of Xuqin Palace next to him:
"What happened today, why are there so many officials who came to worship?"

After listening to it, the Tai Tai quickly bowed slightly and responded: "Your Highness, I think it's a foreign local official who has returned to Beijing."

"According to the etiquette system, foreign local officials have to wear plain clothes, black gauze hats, and black horn belts after receiving the obituary order of the national mourning, and they have to come to worship four times."

"After reading the imperial edict, they have to cry, then kowtow four times, and after three days, they have to change into uniforms, and they have to light three sticks of incense every morning, and then cry. Finish."

"Really?" Zhu Youjian was a little speechless, and was very uncomfortable with the cumbersome etiquette system of the Ming Dynasty.

He continued to ask the eunuch: "During the national mourning period, apart from the busy officials and the court, are there any taboos among the people?"

"Of course there are." The eunuch saluted and responded: "First of all, there are no festive activities among the people. Gambling at Pai Gow, hunting flowers and willows, and playing in autumn are all prohibited, and even the clothes should not be too fancy."

"If someone from Wucheng Bingma Division sees it, they will have to be lectured and fined some money."

"In addition, officials and common people are not allowed to marry daughters during the national mourning period, and folks are not allowed to drink alcohol or eat meat, they can only be vegetarian."

"All sacrificial ceremonies must be suspended until a hundred days later."

"In addition, the Tianxia Temple and Temple Association received a verbal order, requiring each to ring the bell for [-] pestles and ban slaughter for forty-nine days."

"It's so troublesome..." Zhu Youjian was still clicking his tongue a second ago, but he couldn't help laughing at himself the next second.

It's just because he has been asking people to make meat dishes for him every day these days, and he thinks he does this all the time. I'm afraid ordinary people are secretly eating meat at home.

Thinking about it this way, he didn't feel any guilt.

He continued to receive hundreds of officials in several banquet halls, and the days passed day by day, and soon it was the seventh day of the national mourning, and on this day, a major event happened in the court.

The first is that Zhu Youxiao replaced some six ministers and cabinet ministers, and the second is that the Yellow River weighed the water and found that the water was turbid and sandy, and there may be a risk of local breaches or drought in the coming year.

Regarding the latter, the seasoned Fang Congzhe immediately sent officials from Ganshan, Henan, and South Zhili to inspect.

Due to the diversion of the Yellow River, during the Ming Dynasty for more than two hundred years, the Yellow River did not flow into the Bohai Sea, but migrated southward, taking the course of the Huaihe River and flowing into the East China Sea.

This has also led to the fact that there are many floods in the south, and famines often occur after floods.

However, these things have nothing to do with Zhu Youjian at the moment. The only thing related to him is that after Wang Chengen, Cao Huachun, and Lu Wenzhao left the capital for the sixth day, Lu Wenzhao took the lead back to the imperial city and brought The account book of the Imperial Horse Supervisor.

"Your Highness, I did not disgrace my mission. In the process of ransacking the house, I have been the supervisor's brother. All the silver, land, and mansion are on the ledger."

At dusk, Lu Wenzhao arrived at Xuqin Palace with the ledger, and Zhu Youjian handed over the ledger just after dinner.

Wiping his mouth, Zhu Youjian took the account book, opened it to check, and said absently at the same time:

"How many criminals have been caught..."

"There are a total of 87, and the silver taels of greedy ink are 4723 taels and 346 taels." Lu Wenzhao replied honestly.

"How much?" Zhu Youjian was taken aback, he really didn't expect the eunuch of Yumajian to be so courageous.

“87万4723两346钱，另外还有牧场6万4971亩，耕地2万5322亩。”陆文昭低着头回应，然后继续道：
"These eunuchs also bought a lot of houses for themselves, and some of them also bought a lot of fields and mansions in their hometowns. It took three days for their subordinates to find out."

"There are [-] houses in those houses, [-] in Beijing and [-] outside Beijing. After they are sold, there are estimated to be more than [-] taels."

"That is to say, I'm afraid there are millions of taels when everything is added up?" Zhu Youjian flipped through the account book, feeling agitated.

It took a few seconds for him to speak: "If an animal doesn't get fat just by eating, it must have roundworms in its stomach."

"If the people are hardworking but not rich, it means they have too many blood-sucking worms."

"Lu Wenzhao, are you right?"

"Yes, what Your Highness said is very true!" Lu Wenzhao nodded quickly, while Zhu Youjian put down the account book and said:

"The pastures and cultivated land of the Yumajian haven't been counted yet?"

"That may take some time." Lu Wenzhao said cautiously:
"After all, it takes a lot of time to measure the fields, pastures, and Huangzhuang, but the Huangdian has already counted them."

As he spoke, he took out another account book from his pocket, and presented it with both hands: "Please read..."

(End of this chapter)