Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 352 Straight advice
"Boom...boom...boom——"

"Father! I'm back!"

When the mu drum sounded, accompanied by Zhu Ciran's voice, Zhu Youxiao, who was processing wood in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, stopped what he was doing.

He turned around to look, and sure enough, he saw Zhu Ciran who just ran into Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Youxiao noticed the mud on the insoles of his feet, put down the plane and asked Zhu Ciran:

"Did Mr. Jin take you to the outer city today?"

"En!" Zhu Ciran nodded, and then began to vividly describe the experience that Jin Xuan took him to the South City, East City, and Tonghui River Wharf outside the city today.

After Zhu Youxiao heard the words, he also asked with some considerations: "That's all you said?"

"More than that, the master also talked about the salaries and expenses of the officials. He took me to chat with the common people and asked about their annual income and expenses."

Zhu Ciran swayed his legs, sat on the couch, stretched out his hand to the pastry, and said while eating.

Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao sat on the other side of the couch and asked curiously, "What did he say?"

"Sir, the officials in Beijing need about ten taels of silver if they want to maintain their livelihood in Beijing for a year."

"If officials still need to support their families, a family of five will need at least 30 taels of silver."

"Annual support of 30 taels of silver is the minimum standard for officials to live in the capital."

"Then you didn't ask Mr. Jin himself?" Zhu Youxiao said inducingly, Zhu Ciran said without knowing it:

"I asked, sir, he said that he just graduated from high school, and when he was an official in the capital, most of the food and drink expenses were settled in the yamen and official workshops. At most, he spent five or six taels of silver a year."

"However, sir, if you are an official of the imperial examination, after high school, you need to meet the seat masters, visit the same year and the village officials, entertain public and private banquets, reward the seat master's servants, the cabinet, the bearers of the official department, etc..."

"After careful calculation, the most frugal needs 100 taels of silver per year, the general 300 taels of silver, and the most can reach 700 taels of silver."

"However, after Jinshi high school, officials are generally awarded seven grades, and the regular salary plus the bad rules can get seven to eight hundred taels of silver."

"It's just that the basic living expenses of officials are more than two taels of silver per month, and more than 30 taels a year."

"This may not include the living expenses of family members and the daily entertainment of officials. If these expenses are included, the annual consumption expenditure will reach at least 50 taels of silver."

"The master also said that most of these illegal incomes are obtained by exploiting the common people, so Uncle Qi and Dad are canceling the illegal income."

"Hmm..." Hearing that Jin Xuan actually taught Zhu Ciran these things, Zhu Youxiao was a little dissatisfied. After all, in his opinion, Zhu Ciran was still too young, and he should teach these things when he was ten years old.

"How is the life of the common people?" Zhu Youxiao asked curiously, but Zhu Ciran shook his head when he heard the words:

"Father, the people are so pitiful..."

"..." When Zhu Ciran said this, there was no sound in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Wang An and Wei Zhongxian, who were standing in the corner, held their breath, and Zhu Youxiao also frowned slightly and said:

"The imperial court has exempted so many miscellaneous items and allocated so many lands. Why does Ran'er feel that the people are pitiful?"

"Because I asked a lot of people who work in Tonghui River, and they all said that there was a severe drought this year, and there was no harvest in the fields." Zhu Ciran said, and then added:
"Some kids my age were selling sweet potatoes on the ice of the Tonghui River, and their hands and feet were purple from the cold. Mr. Jin said that their families were poor and couldn't afford official education."

"And Mr. Jin also said that these children are very lucky. In some places, their parents have to sell their children to survive..."

"Okay, Ran'er." Zhu Youxiao interrupted Zhu Ciran, and said with a smile:

"Mr. Jin's teaching is good, but sometimes he exaggerates."

"But Mr. said..." Zhu Ciran felt aggrieved, but Zhu Youxiao said with a smile:
"Father is hungry, you go to Kunning Palace to find your mother first, let the imperial dining room prepare dinner, and then I will talk to you at the dinner table after my father is finished."

"Okay!" Hearing this, Zhu Ciran's interest immediately turned to eating, he jumped off the couch, and then bowed respectfully:

"Ahem! Long live, I will leave..."

"Retreat, retreat..." Zhu Youxiao smiled and waved his hands, and seeing this, Zhu Ciran also pretended to imitate the appearance of those ministers, and slowly exited the palace.

It's just that the moment he just exited the palace, Zhu Youxiao's original smiling face withdrew in an instant, and his face was flat but a little gloomy.

"Legendary Zhan is about Kim Hyun!"

As soon as Zhu Youxiao spoke, Wang An and Wei Zhongxian bowed to each other immediately, and the little eunuch at the gate of Qianqing Palace also rushed to the gate of the inner palace.

But to their surprise, Jin Xuan did not leave after sending Zhu Ciran back to the palace.

He stood like this under the palace gate, dressed in ordinary clothes, with the snow falling on his body, feeling lonely and desolate.

"Jin Shaozhan's matter, long live summoned..."

After the palace gate was opened, the little eunuch who was in charge of summoning him was stunned, but he bowed again and passed on the words.

Jin Xuan seemed to have known that Zhu Youxue would summon him, so he walked into the Qianqing Palace after bowing in return.

Walking through the long palace road, the guards on both sides stared at him, and when he stepped into the Qianqing Palace, he turned around and faced the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and immediately knelt down:
"Chen, Shao Zhanshi, Donggong lecturer Jin Xuan, pay homage to Long Live, respectfully invite Shengan..."

"..."

There was dead silence, there was no sound from the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and Zhu Youxiao didn't say "Zhen'an" to signal Jin Xuan to enter the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

The door of Qianqing Palace was just opened like this, allowing the wind and snow to blow into the palace and blow on Jin Xuan's body.

A stick of incense...a cup of tea...a quarter of an hour...

When half an hour passed, Jin Xuan's legs were numb and unconscious, his hands were red from the cold, and his cheeks were the same.

It was at this time that footsteps came from the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Wei Zhongxian came out, and said to Jin Xuan:

"Lecturer Jin, long live to announce you into the palace..."

"Sir, thank you Shengen!"

Hearing this, Jin Xuan kept his expression unchanged, got up slowly, staggered and almost fell, but there was no one to help him.

He tidied up his robe, and then walked step by step towards the Hall of Mental Cultivation with his sore, numb and painful legs.

When he entered the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the wood and debris in the Hall of Mental Cultivation had been cleaned up. At this moment, Zhu Youxiao was wearing a golden round-neck uniform, a golden crown on his head, and a memorial in his hand, as if he was dealing with government affairs.

It's just that his attitude, in Jin Xuan's view, is just trying to cover up.

"You taught the prince well, what kind of reward do you want..."

Zhu Youxiao spoke, but the tone of his voice was a little cold, and Jin Xuan didn't think that the emperor would give him a reward, but responded with a bow:
"I don't need anything, I just want to continue teaching His Royal Highness..."

"..."

As soon as the words came out, the hall was silent, Wang An and Wei Zhongxian's hearts were suspended, Zhu Youxiao's movements froze, but he still calmly said:

"I never said that I would not let you teach the prince."

As he said that, Zhu Youxiao put down the memorial, but picked up another one, looked at the memorial, and said to Jin Xuan:

"There is a shortage of talents in the country. To build a strong country, you must be good at increasing revenue and reducing expenditure, and making good use of various talents, so that you can overcome various difficulties and make the country flourish."

"I ascended to the throne at the age of 16, overthrew courtiers such as Fang Congzhe and Sun Ruyou, controlled the officials internally, and governed the people leniently, fought against Jian captives externally, regained Jiugang, Annan, Duogan, Hetao, Liaodong and other places, and revived the state... ..."

"You were born in Yanshan. I will test you today. Looking at the ancient and modern times, how many people can be called the emperor in China?"

Zhu Youxiao asked Jin Xuan a question, but Jin Xuan said:
"The pre-Qin period is too long. Only since the victory of Qin Dynasty, we should count Qin Shihuang, Han Gaozu, Hanwendi, Hanwudi, Hanguangwudi, Songwudi, Suiwendi, Tang Taizong, Tang Xianzong, Zhou Shizong, Song Taizu, Song Zhezong..."

"Yuan Taizu, Yuan Shizu... and Emperor Gao, Emperor Chengzu, Emperor Jing, and Emperor Xianzong Chun..."

"Is it the virtuous gentleman in the Yanshan textbook?" Zhu Youxiao looked at the memorial and asked without looking back.

"No, it's the virtuous monarch judged by the minister." As soon as Jin Xuan opened his mouth, the atmosphere around him became a little strange.

Wang An and Wei Zhongxian didn't dare to breathe, but Zhu Youxiao flipped through the memorial and said:
"Isn't Han Jingdi a Mingjun?"

"Killing people at a young age, being ruthless and unrighteous, vengeance, and killing offspring, although meritorious, can't be called a wise king." Jin Xuan answered impartially, obviously in his heart, the standard of a wise king is a bit high.

"Isn't Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty considered a wise emperor?" Zhu Youxiao asked again.

"It is due to Huaxia, but knowing that Emperor Yuan has no imperial spirit, he still makes him the heir, and the overbearing king of the Han family will be cut off from then on!" Jin Xuan replied.

"Isn't Tang Gaozu a Mingjun?" Zhu Youxiao continued to ask, and Jin Xuan also continued to answer:

"I don't know the merits. In order to consolidate the throne, I knew that Prince Yin was defeated by Tang Taizong, but he played tricks in order to balance the court. It caused the three brothers to turn against each other and caused civil strife in the Tang Dynasty."

"Isn't Tang Gaozong counted?" Zhu Youxiao frowned.

"Because of meritorious service, leave it to Empress Wu." Jin Xuan responded.

"What about Tang Xuanzong and Xuanzong?" Zhu Youxiao asked, and Jin Xuan continued to answer:
"Xuanzong indulged in his later years, Xuanzong was suspicious of returning to the righteous army, and his merits are unknown."

"Then how did Song Zhezong become famous?" Zhu Youxiao was dissatisfied with Jin Xuan's answer, but Jin Xuan responded:
"Implementing the new law, distinguishing right from wrong, fighting Xixia, recovering Qingtang, Wenzhiwugong can be proved!"

"..." Zhu Youxiao frowned at what Jin Xuan said, and asked again:
"Why is there only four generations of Mingjun in the country? Why are Renzong, Xuanzong, and Xiaozong not considered Mingjun in our dynasty?"

"Renzong's position is short, Xuanzong defends success and indulges Oirat, sits on the best opportunity for Guochao to recover Mobei and ignores it, does not do anything to Luchuan, abandons Jiaozhi, how can it be said?"

"Xiaozong was short-sighted. Although he had the merits of recovering Hami, he mobilized the Beijing camp to build palaces for his own benefit, not to mention corrupting the twelve regiments set up by emperor Xianzong Chun, and indulged his relatives in cruelty and harm to the people. Proclaim?"

Jin Xuan's words were so conclusive that Zhu Youxiao couldn't bring up the idea of ​​rebuttal, but none of the above was what he wanted to hear, so he finally asked:
"Since Xianzong's pure emperor, has there been no Ming emperor in the country?"

This is a proposition. If Jin Xuan doesn't answer well, he may lose his life.

Wang An and Wei Zhongxian were heartbroken, but Jin Xuan knew exactly what answer Zhu Youxiao wanted, so he nodded directly and said:

"no!"

"..." Zhu Youxiao froze, obviously he was stimulated by Jin Xuan's words.

"Emperor Shizong and Emperor Shenzong don't count?" Zhu Youxiao endured for a while and continued to ask.

This may be an opportunity given by Zhu Youxiao to Jin Xuan, but Jin Xuan is not rare, he still said:
"Sejong played tricks, sat back and watched the guards go bad and didn't take action to stop them, wasting the northern defense situation left by Emperor Wu Zongyi for nothing!"

"Shenzong ignored government affairs, did not appoint officials, gave the Zhejiang Party a chance to rise, and killed many famous ministers and generals under his rule. He indulged Dongyu and Jianlu. How can he be called Ming?"

Jin Xuan once again criticized the two Ming emperors. On the surface, he was criticizing these two people, but in fact he was criticizing Zhu Youxiao.

"Long live..." Wang An wanted to stand up and say something nice, but Zhu Youxiao glanced at him, and Wang An shut his mouth instantly.

Wei Zhongxian was so frightened that he was sweating profusely, he could only look down at his nose and heart with his eyes down.

In such an atmosphere, Zhu Youxiao put down the memorial, slowly looked at Jin Xuan, and asked word by word:

"The common people say that the world is ruled by Tianqi, so can I not be regarded as a wise king?"

"When Long Live asked this question, the answer actually appeared in Long Live's heart..."

As soon as Jin Xuan opened his mouth, Wang An closed his eyes, and Zhu Youxiao gritted his teeth, apparently reaching the limit of his patience.

Seeing this, Wang An could only act as Zhu Youxiao's mouth, and said sharply, "How can Long Live not be called Mingjun?"

"On the expansion of frontiers and lands, long live the development of Nanyang, recovering Annan, pacifying the southwestern chieftains, building captives in the north, purging Monan, resettling Duogan, and crossing the sea to fight Japanese pirates..."

"There is no king's court for three thousand miles from north to south, and all seas and seas are under the rule of thousands of miles from east to west."

"Apocalypse governs the world like this, can't he be regarded as a wise king?!"

Wang An's words made Zhu Youxiao very satisfied, but facing Wang An's boasting for Zhu Youxiao, Jin Xuan said:

"Long live's achievements can actually only be attributed to one sentence..."

"What?" Wei Zhongxian knew that the emperor could not ask such a question, so he asked quickly.

Facing his inquiry, Jin Xuan glanced at Wei Zhongxian, then bowed and said to Zhu Youxiao:

"Make good use of King Qi..."

"..." Zhu Youxiao was silent for a moment, and the atmosphere in the hall froze.

After a while, Zhu Youxiao leaned back on the chair, and Wang An also knew what Zhu Youxiao was thinking when he saw this, so he quickly said:

"Knowing people and making good use of them, opening up territories and implementing new policies, isn't Long Live a wise king?"

"If this is the case, Long Live is naturally counted, but Long Live, you are the same as those meritorious lords I asked just now, you can only claim credit, not credit!"

Jin Xuan is now pointing at Zhu Youxiao's nose and swearing at others. If it were another official, Zhu Youxiao would have been dragged down to beat the court staff long ago, but Jin Xuan is an official of Yanshan, so Zhu Youxiao didn't do this , but want to explore the root.

"The king is the lord of the world's subjects and all things, but he is the lord of the world's subjects and all things, and the responsibility is the most important. The ministers can speak their minds and the king Daosi is called it."

Jin Xuan spoke uprightly and said:

"Your Majesty has received great kindness from the state, please adhere to the righteousness of committing crimes without concealment, and speak with courage for Your Majesty."

"Long live in the deep palace for a long time, even if you go out for a tour in Beijing, when will you go deep into the people and explore the people's lives and needs?"

"In the eyes of the people in the world, Wansui is a respectable father, but in the eyes of Beijing officials, Wansui is just a carpenter who only knows how to play!"

"Jin Xuan! You are presumptuous!" Wei Zhongxian seemed to have been stepped on his toes, pinching his throat and yelling sharply, but Zhu Youxiao raised his hand with a dark face to signal Wei Zhongxian to shut up:

"Let him continue talking!"

His words made Wei Zhongxian shut up, while Jin Xuan bowed and said:
"The life of the common people in my Ming Dynasty can be divided into three stages. One is from the founding of Hongwu to 14 years before the orthodoxy."

"During this period, the quality of life of the people in the country was gradually restored and improved from the chaos of war. Everyone lived and worked in peace and contentment. Although there were small rebellions, there was no major chaos."

"Secondly, from Chenghua and Hongzhi to the early years of Wanli, the national power of the dynasty increased greatly, the wealth of the people accumulated, and the quality of life reached its peak."

"Third, from the middle period of Wanli to the second year of Tianqi, wars broke out in the world, natural disasters continued, the burden on the people increased, and the quality of life suddenly declined."

"The quality of life of this generation is, in the final analysis, an issue of people's livelihood."

"The quality of the people's livelihood depends on the support of the people, and the support of the people depends on the good and evil of the government."

"It can be seen that the relationship between people's livelihood, people's hearts, and government officials will undoubtedly become the key to examining the people's livelihood in the country."

Having said that, Jin Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, but continued in the next second:
"However, in such a situation of corrupt officials, it is fortunate that the king of Qi turned the tide and made the country peaceful for many years."

"Your Majesty is supposed to be in charge of the palace today, but you hide in the deep palace and turn a deaf ear!"

"I have heard what His Highness King Qi said in the East Palace, but I feel that His Highness King Qi has not finished speaking."

"The poor, who doesn't want to achieve? And those who have achieved are even more afraid of being poor."

"Nowadays, all officials in the officialdom have witnessed many dignitaries who failed in the intrigue and became losers. They were finally exiled to other places, or beheaded to show the public."

"This situation makes them more afraid of poverty, so they spare no effort to squeeze the poor and amass wealth in order to maintain this kind of prosperity forever."

"In their eyes, the so-called world is nothing more than a little bit of money and status on the tip of their noses."

"The so-called upward and downward effects, the poor see the rich, and set such a disgraceful example. In order to achieve prosperity, we can only find another way."

"A farmer abandons his plowing fields and does not work, or wanders into the city, or falls into the grass and becomes a bandit."

"Abandon one's second weapon at work, or get addicted to gambling, or binge drinking."

"Businessmen abandon their trade and do not do it, or curry favor with the powerful, or lend money for profit."

"Learning and abandoning homework without specialization, or opportunistic, or climbing dragons and dragons."

"This is Long Live's hundred trillion people!"

Jin Xuan stopped, but Zhu Youxiao narrowed his eyes and said:
"According to what you say, you are the only loyal minister left in the world?"

"A minister is not a loyal minister. In the history books, when loyal ministers are mentioned, most of them are fatuous emperors!" Jin Xuan replied in a loud voice.

"Then what are you? Nengchen?"

Speaking of this, Zhu Youxiao was not angry anymore. He looked at Jin Xuan and asked, but Jin Xuan shook his head again and said:

"A minister is not a capable minister!"

"If you have to choose, the minister should be the direct minister!"

Jin Xuan held his head high, obviously very satisfied with his identity, but Zhu Youxiao said;

"Naomi?"

"In my opinion, you keep talking about the virtues of saints and sages, but you have only become a hypocrite through cultivation."

"The books of the saints are for reading, not for acting, nor for educating people."

"As I said, there is nothing wrong with what you taught the crown prince, but you need to know that the crown prince is the prince of the country."

"Throughout the ages, most of the crown princes who are close to the people are cowardly and charitable, and how can cowardly and charitable people hold the power in the world?"

"Long live is wrong!" Jin Xuan looked at Zhu Youxiao, and said in a righteous tone:
"The prince's character has nothing to do with being close to the people. The king of Qi is close to the people, but he is decisive in killing outsiders, and has no connivance with corrupt officials. Although you are far away from the people, Long live, you are always tolerant during the great famine in Huaibei."

"As the saying goes, how can you be upright if you are not upright?"

"Long live, if you train a prince according to your standards, you will only get a prince who is not even as good as you yourself!"

"According to what you said, who should I entrust the prince to? To you? Or to the group of officials in the outer court who only know how to talk?" Zhu Youxiao asked back.

"To His Royal Highness King Qi!" When Jin Xuan said this, he bowed and said:
"If Wansui entrusts the crown prince to the humble minister, the humble minister cannot guarantee that the prince is a wise king who expands the territory, but at least he is a benevolent king."

"But if it is given to His Royal Highness King Qi, I can guarantee that the dynasty will be broken for 300 years, and the Ming Dynasty will prosper for three generations!"

At this point, everyone understood what Jin Xuan was thinking, but after he said it, Zhu Youxiao said with a smile:
"Jen-jun?"

"Throughout the ages, most of the benevolent monarchs are cowardly and can only be manipulated by officials."

"As for King Qi..." Zhu Youxiao pondered for a moment, and finally said worriedly:
"King Qi is busy with government affairs, and he is already tired enough. If I let him take care of the crown prince, I am afraid that my younger brother will not be able to persist in his [-]th year, and he will leave one step earlier than me."

Zhu Youxiao's words were full of distress for Zhu Youjian, but facing his words, Jin Xuan directly exposed:
"King Qi is busy with government affairs, not because he is busy with things, but because he has undertaken government affairs that should not be undertaken!"

"As long as you can share the government affairs, Your Highness will not be so tired."

"If long live you don't share the government affairs, even if the crown prince is taught by a humble minister, King Qi will still be tired."

"I have read the daily life notes of the king of Qi. The king of Qi gets up at Mao every day to deal with government affairs, and doesn't fall asleep until four o'clock."

"Excluding the three meals for less than an hour, and half an hour of lunch break after noon, King Qi only rests for three hours a day, and handles government affairs for eight hours!"

"I dare to ask, when His Royal Highness King Qi is handling government affairs, what are you doing, long live?"

As he said that, Jin Xuan actually walked towards a screen, then he seemed to see something and stopped in his tracks.

After a breath, Jin Xuan opened the screen, and what was exposed was the wood that Zhu Youxiao had hidden behind the screen.

"Long live, if you spare two hours a day to deal with the memorial, His Royal Highness King Qi will be able to sleep well and have a good meal!"

Jin Xuan turned to look at Zhu Youxiao, and finally questioned a little bit uncontrollably:

"Long live!"

"Are you really going to exhaust Your Highness to death?!"

　I'm really late, sorry, sorry, I really can't write fast.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)