eldest son of Ming dynasty

Official status means too much to a businessman like Mei Kejia. In a sense, a few taels of silver can't catch his eyes.So the emperor actually had this reward, and Mei Kejia was not as calm as before, but became emotional and couldn't stop crying.

It goes without saying how much Zhu Yuanzhang dislikes businessmen.This old farmer, apart from loving and loving his own family for fear of suffering a little, he is not good to other classes.

With this background, Mei Kejia was so excited this time, he kowtowed and said: "The villain's insignificant tricks can be appreciated by His Majesty, and he is bestowed with an official status. I am inexplicably grateful for it. Without him, I will just die for Your Majesty all my life!"

Because they are all on their own and there are no civil servants, Zhu Houzhao's posture is very casual. He is half lying on a wooden chair, staggering very leisurely, and said to Mei Kejia who is kneeling sideways: "This person is me. Some protect weaknesses, and sometimes it is difficult to fully care about right and wrong. No matter what, I always want to cherish some of my own people. Of course, I can’t give you a high official to do it, because the official is also the evil that I want to get rid of. , I’m afraid that some people will gossip about bringing you this sixth-grade merit crown. But I don’t care, because you have made great contributions to me.”

Mei Kejia didn't expect the emperor to gain a little fame, and he was even more moved and convinced.

"Besides, last year, a pair of sisters born out of one of your maidservants got into some rumors because of some strange things. The folks say that the orders of the parents and the words of the matchmaker. I still have to go through you to solve this matter It's settled."

Mei Kejia had already heard about this matter when he came to Beijing last time.

Of course, the reason was that Uncle Huaiyuan wanted to come to the door to rob someone, but in the end he asked His Majesty to save him.

Even if the facts were clear, the two would not be able to marry.Because no one will know for sure whether the emperor has anything to do here.

Maybe not.

But what the hell if there is?

It's just a woman, the status in the old society is not high, no one will risk their lives for this.

Unless Zhu Hou gave it to someone according to the imperial decree, or took the initiative to propose a marriage for him.

It turned out that there was such a possibility, but he had been to Mei Mansion once, and after seeing it, he was reluctant.Since ancient times, heroes have loved beauties, and the two little girls are pretty, why are they taking advantage of others?

It's a strange thing to say,
Because it is rare for the emperor to come forward to talk about this kind of thing, those who don't know it think that the emperor is lustful.However, Mei Kejia also knew the reason for it. Apart from feeling strange, there was also a feeling of...feeling that he had hit the big luck. He didn't feel safe enough. With this relationship, he would not do it all the time. nightmare.

Some people say that the future does not know whether it will be a blessing or a curse.But now that the situation was like this, he had no other choice.

The reply said: "The little girl Puliu has the appearance of Puliu, and she was born in a humble family. It is a lucky fortune to be able to serve Tian's family. I will follow His Majesty's arrangements."

"There's nothing else, but I... really can't be too high, otherwise there will always be trouble in the court." Zhu Houzhao didn't lie, anyway, he told the truth, "I hope you can understand me on this point."

Mei Kejia was slightly startled, "My minister is terrified!"

"Hey."

Zhu Houzhao didn't know how to continue talking. He had never married a wife as an emperor in his previous life. In this situation, he said too much, and he felt that he was too much. .

But even if it is difficult, it must be done.

He still remembered that Empress Dowager Zhang reminded him that since there were such rumors outside, it would be better to bring people closer to the palace earlier.

What's wrong with the emperor calling two women?
Although she is the daughter of a merchant, as long as she is not named queen, the ministers will not have any objections.

If the time dragged on for a long time, it would make people feel that the emperor wanted to renege on his pants.

also,

After the new year, many courtiers went to the public to emphasize the inheritance of the royal family's heirs.

Doing this kind of action now, exactly corresponds to four words: it is logical.

"You don't need to panic. When you go back today, I will explain what I mean to your two daughters. Also..." The emperor thought for a while, "...don't rush to let them enter the palace in a few days , you just came back, let's give you father and daughter some time to get along with each other. When you think it's almost done, send a message to Liu Jin. I will ask Liu Jin to pick him up."

These arrangements are very humane.

"Yes, I thank Your Majesty for your understanding!"

Zhu Houzhao glanced at the sky outside, "You haven't eaten yet, have you? Stay and stay with me for a while longer."

Neither Gu Dayong nor Mei Kejia dared to accept, because today's reward is not light.No matter how much, it would be unbearable.

But Zhu Houzhao insisted, "I said, we are our own people."

However, in the end they still did not dare to sit at the same table with the emperor.

Zhu Houzhao doesn't pay attention to those forms, and he still does it in a state where others can be comfortable, otherwise he will feel uncomfortable. What's the point of eating this meal?In this way, two slightly lower tables were moved to sit on both sides.

As the altitude went down, Gu and Mei felt relieved a lot.

"Great use."

"The servant is here."

"After going to Zhejiang, Hangzhou Weaving, which is in charge of Meiji, will also be under your control. But you don't care how he does business. You and I don't do business, and even I won't care how he does business. You, go for it I manage a few pieces of Huangzhuang."

This matter is already in the process, "Zhejiang has confiscated some acres of land this time, and roughly estimated that there will be at least 25 acres of paddy fields. There are few fields in Zhejiang, and these Huangzhuangs don't want you to pay more food. After all, they still hire local farmers. The people who have no land, let them serve the land, the imperial court shall not collect more than [-] tax-one, and the excess shall be left to the people.”

In the Ming Dynasty, the land tax in the Jiangnan area was heavy. An approximate number was about 20% of the total weight, so the tax of one in twenty was a proper low tax.

If it was before, Gu Dayong would have cried and acted out, praising the emperor for loving the people like a son, but he was scolded for this last time, so he didn't dare.

"Your servant understands that His Majesty values ​​the common people the most. No matter how brainless your servant is, I dare not take money from the common people."

Anyway, talking while eating.

Zhu Houzhao also said casually, "Zhejiang has arrested many people this time. I know that many people say that the emperor is too strict, as if he is eyeing Zhejiang. I didn't check the rumors behind these, and I didn't bother Check. In the end, the people who cultivate these Huangzhuang have to speak for themselves.”

"Moreover, after opening the sea, business in Zhejiang and Fujian will be more prosperous, and the people need some surplus money. Things will be easy to do in the future when there are real effects. So it's not complete. Love the common people, remember this section first.”

Mei Kejia nodded, he knew the emperor's style, that is, he planned ahead in everything he did.

"In addition, the governor's office of Zhejiang and Fujian and the governor of Zhejiang jointly sent me a memorial, saying that I would request money to expand these cities, and I would agree. Now that I have an extra 240 million taels of silver, I am full of confidence. For For the two of you, Hangzhou Weaving and Meiji, you can also pay attention to the construction of Ningbo Mansion."

Mei Kejia understood, "Your Majesty is saying that the capital has been building in the past two years?"

"That's right. After the opening of the sea, internal and external exchanges must be frequent, and people gather and gather wealth. As far as I am concerned, I always hope that cities such as Hangzhou and Ningbo will become more prosperous."

"Weichen understands."

In fact, it is essentially the result of opening the sea that the emperor wanted to show.

Only when there are visible and tangible benefits can the emperor's prestige be continuously strengthened in the process.

There are so many disadvantages in Daming, Zhu Houzhao of course wants to make changes easier, not more difficult.

The land in the south of the Yangtze River is full of commercial prosperity, and only commercial prosperity can slowly give birth to the so-called capitalism.As for whether capitalism can really be produced in the end, or whether it will be good or bad even if it does, that is another matter.

Zhu Houzhao just remembered seeing the phrase "capitalism sprouted in the late Ming Dynasty" when he was studying, and felt it was a pity.

At that time, I didn't know much about sociology, economics, and the culture behind it. I only had one thought in my mind: our nation is really poor.

So it couldn't be regarded as a great power.When we have strength, peace and development have become the theme again.

In the current Zhengde period,

The West has just begun its great voyage.

The wealth brought by the Age of Discovery is actually secondary. The most important thing is that human science and technology have advanced by leaps and bounds in the past few hundred years, and he wants to pass on that knowledge.

So Daming also wants to participate in the great voyage.

"What about your shipyard?"

Mei Kejia replied: "After the opening of the sea order, many large merchants needed to buy more ships to go to sea. Unfortunately, the sea has been banned for many years, and there are very few craftsmen who can build ships. Speaking of it, many people begged Weichen to deliver ships, but Weichen There is really no ship to hand over.”

Speaking of this, Zhu Houzhao can only sigh.

This is just like the decline of some industries in later generations. The most difficult thing to rebuild is how to train a considerable number of industrial talents.

As long as people are there, recovery is quite fast, such as Germany and Japan after World War II; if technical talents are gone, it is actually difficult to have money and policies. For example, Russia and Ukraine after the collapse of the Soviet Union lost a large number of technical talents. If your own things are broken, you can’t fix them yourself.

But this is also impossible.After the imperial court banned the sea, the shipbuilding industry was nothing more than building ships on the Grand Canal. There was not such a big 'market', and naturally there were not so many people.

"In the past, the imperial court banned seas for a long time, and even the Ministry of Industry must not have many craftsmen who can build ships. But after a few years of training, there will be more and more people. I hope that one day the Ming Dynasty will be able to recreate Zheng He. Treasure ship."

Zheng He's treasure ship is said to be more than 100 meters long, but it really turned out to be an ancient aircraft carrier.According to records in the Jiajing period, the envoys of the Ming Dynasty traveled to the Ryukyu Kingdom, and the "fengzhou" they took was only 45 meters long and 10 meters wide.

The emergence of fleets will also promote the development of artillery, because disputes at sea must still be fought with artillery. You can't shoot arrows, and you can't shoot fish, let alone people, let alone chop with knives.Therefore, the armed forces at sea must be artillery more convenient.The world's first warship with side-mounted artillery was built by the British in this era.

Daming must participate in this process, even if it leads to war.Because to the extreme, war is also a form of technological exchange and integration.

After Gu Dayong and Mei Kejia left,
Zhu Houzhao thought for a long time by himself.

Before he opened the sea, he thought it was to open the sea.When he really opened the sea, he was imagining Daming's invincible fleet at sea.

Liu Jin tried to persuade him to go to bed several times but failed, but Qiuyun came over because the night was too late and he couldn't stay up longer.

After three days,
A major event happened in the imperial court, and a military report came from Datong.

Zhou Shangwen led 140 troops and fought a moderate battle with the Tatars on the grassland. In this battle, more than 300 soldiers were killed, but more than [-] enemy soldiers were beheaded.Only in terms of the ratio of battle losses, the Ming army can be regarded as a victory.Of course, the Ming army will still retreat to Datong, and the national border will not change.

It seems that the sacrifice was for nothing, and it was all a loss of elite cavalry, but after reporting to the capital, the emperor didn't say anything, but gave him compensation as usual.

Zhou Shangwen is still different from Yang Shangyi. Yang Shangyi was originally stationed in Datong mainly on defense. Of course, there will be border patrols, but the border patrols are just a small team. If he is really caught, the loss is not too big.

And Zhou Shangwen will lead a slightly larger cavalry to the north of the Great Wall to find an opportunity to meet the enemy. This time is one time, and there was also one time in September of the 18th year of Hongzhi.

The ministers in the court were a little bit reticent, thinking that Zhou Shangwen's use of troops was hasty and eager to make meritorious deeds, which was really not prudent enough.The first time I traveled 180 miles, this time I walked [-] miles.

To put it bluntly, if someone ambushed him, would it be okay?

But these memorials were blocked by Zhu Houzhao.

He prefers Zhou Shangwen to be like this. These soldiers are raised for use, not as ancestors.An army fought repeatedly under the leadership of such a coach, and finally can become a master of a hundred battles.

The Tatars invaded the border many times in the past few years. After the First World War in the Northwest, they became a little more honest. The direction of Datong is Dayan Khan’s troops. come up.

Civil servants would not like such a general, so they kept talking about something.

Three more days passed,
Mei Kejia handed over the note and entered the palace.

Zhu Houzhao asked Liu Jin to go to work after only one glance.

It's not about marrying a queen, this matter is actually quite simple.

But this matter has to go through the Ministry of Rites. The so-called Tianjia has no personal affairs, because it has to be titled by others.

In the Ming Dynasty, there were many levels of concubines in the harem, which can be roughly divided into queens, imperial concubines, noble concubines, concubines, concubines, Zhaoyi, Jieyu, beauties, talents, nobles, servants, and ladies.There are some changes in different periods, but generally the same.

Zhu Houzhao felt that it was not good to give someone too low a position. After all, Mei Kejia was in charge of a lot of his money and made great contributions.

So there is no need for the first class of ladies. As for the selection of servants, it seems that there is a surname Li who always makes plays, so I don't need it.

In the end, the title of nobleman was sealed.

Zhu Houzhao's thinking is like this, even if it is his own woman, it is not easy to give rewards, because there must be a reason for the rewards, otherwise it will be messed up.The meaning behind this is that the harem must also have rules, and as the emperor, he must take these rules seriously.

In a word, he didn't come here to engage in palace fights.

In this case,

The families of the two girls, Mei Huaixiao and Mei Huaiyan, were taken to live in the palace just like that.The emperor has no concubines yet, so the Sixth West Palace has plenty of places to live, and they are given the Yongshou Palace.Ji, the birth mother of Emperor Xiaozong, once lived here for a short time.

Face matters need to be taken care of, so on the first day they entered the palace, Zhu Houzhao set off for Yongshou Palace after approving the memorandum, and asked Liu Jin to bring the snacks he ate before leaving.

This is probably a previous habit, don't go empty-handed when you see a girl.

The emperor came to the Yongshou Palace, and the maids and eunuchs who were assigned to serve in the Yongshou Palace knelt on the ground outside.Mei Huaixiao and Mei Huaiyan didn't panic.

Just like this, Zhu Houzhao knew that he must have taught Mei Kejia before entering the palace.

"Pingshen, let's all go into the house."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

The two girls got up slowly. This was the second time they met the emperor, so they were still a little nervous.

After arriving in the house, I didn't know what to say, so I lined up next to the emperor one by one.

"Which of you is smiling?"

After a long time, he forgot, and these two people were similar in size, looks somewhat similar, and wore the same clothes, where did he remember them.

"My concubine is smiling." She is on the right. If there is anything special, there is a very light mole on the tip of her nose.

There is no sister.

Both of them have extremely fair complexion, because their mother was bought by Mei Kejia from the Western Regions, so the daughters born are not as flat as the Han people, but have a very three-dimensional sense, and are taller than ordinary Han women Be bigger.

"Then you are Huaiyan." Zhu Hou turned his head to the left.

Looking at it like this, the girl's big eyes dodged slightly, and her face was also shy, "Return to His Majesty, yes."

"You just entered the palace today. I wanted to come over and take a look. From now on, you will stay here and tell them to do what you need. If you want to do something but don't know if it can be done, just come and ask Let me know. As for how to get along with me, you should use your brains more, in a word, just be obedient and follow the rules."

Huai Xiao and Huai Yan knelt down, "I must obey His Majesty's orders."

"Everyone get up." The emperor stretched out his hand to give them a hand, "You don't need to kneel down after answering a word like this. Oh, by the way, I also brought some snacks, let's eat together."

"My concubine thanked His Majesty."

Probably because it was taught, so the etiquette is indeed in place.

However, the two of them were so stiff that Zhu Houzhao scratched his head a little, "Then let's do this for today, I still have some state affairs, you should eat first."

So the two went to the door to see each other off.

But when the emperor returned to his bedroom, he made people like Qiuyun flustered.

Qiu Yun was very strange, and also looked a little unsure of what to say, "...Your Majesty...why did you come back?"

"Can't I come back?"

"How dare a servant say that. It's just weird."

"What's strange, fetch hot water, I want to soak my feet."

So a group of people hurriedly brought basins to fetch water and towels.

Maybe it's a matter of the length of time we spend together, but in fact Qiuyun is more natural, or maybe it's because he's used to serving him over the years.After getting a good idea of ​​his temperament, Qiu Yun dared to say some things.

She squinted her crescent-like eyes, and said with a smile: "Your Majesty must not understand the girl's mind. She has gone all the way, why don't she stay in Yongshou Palace? The two nobles are like fairies."

"Can't you stay?"

Qiu Yun rubbed his legs and said, "Your Majesty wants to give birth to a prince, how can you give birth to a prince if you don't stay?"

Zhu Houzhao laughed heartily, "Do you have to stay to give birth to a prince? How can you give birth if you stay? How about you teach me?"

Qiu Yun was taken aback for a moment, and then blushed instantly.But when she saw the emperor's smile, she knew something was wrong, so she said lightly, "Your Majesty is playing tricks!"

"I think it's good for people to get used to it, step by step, and there's no need to rush. If you have time tomorrow, talk to them first. I'll be very busy these days."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, this servant knows."

When the emperor said that he was very busy, he meant that the imperial court was discussing the government affairs in the first year of Zhengde.

After opening the sea, the emperor did not have any major disagreements with the ministers. With his style and personality as the emperor, as long as there were no such things, the civil servants would recognize him very much.

Because he is diligent, thrifty, loving the people and relatively persuasive.

It's a bit strange to say that it is persuasive, but in fact, Zhu Houzhao does listen to persuasion for most things.

For example, Li Dongyang asked a question about 'participation'.To put it simply, some dignitaries and ministers will occupy the official army at will.This is actually a manifestation of not following the rules, and this malady has appeared since the orthodox years.After Zhu Houzhao understood it clearly, he played everything accurately.

In addition, Lin Hanzuo, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, invited more than [-] people to get rid of "weaving and fasting".The so-called Zhaijiao is actually doing things, people in Taoist temples.After Chenghua, there were more and more official officials. To put it bluntly, the emperor liked this, and then gave these people official titles.

A major event like opening the sea is not a daily routine. It is mostly ordinary government affairs. Under normal circumstances, Zhu Houzhao will agree if he understands it clearly.

Therefore, at the beginning of the first year of Zhengde, the monarch and ministers in the court were in harmony.

Until Zhu Houzhao saw a memorial, it was none other than Gu Zuo, the servant of the household department, who wrote the memorial.

After seeing it, Zhu Houzhao kept silent, but first asked someone to bring him to the palace. The monarch and his ministers played against each other alone. In order to avoid the eyes and ears of eunuchs and attendants, the emperor simply summoned him in the pavilion.

Gu Zuo probably knew the reason, so he didn't relax as usual when he was in front of the emperor, and he knelt down obediently, "Gu Zuo, Minister of the Ministry of Finance, see Your Majesty."

Zhu Houzhao did not tell him to get up, but reached out and took out the memorial from his pocket, "Gu Liqing, if you can enter this memorial, I assure you that your name will be included in the "Biography of Famous Officials" of the Ming Dynasty."

Gu Zuo was shocked, "I don't want to fight for the name of this world, but I want to fight for the good governance of my great Ming Dynasty."

"I don't believe what other people say. But you say, I believe it." Zhu Houzhao raised his hand, "Tell me first, why do you want to go to this book?"

Gu Zuo seemed to be inspired, and he said excitedly: "Because your majesty is a rare virtuous king and master, I believe that as long as it is a good government that is really beneficial to the country and the people, your majesty will implement it no matter what. Your majesty rectifies the horse administration , Training the Beijing camp, since governing the country, there has been no difficulty. Your Majesty is like this, let alone a humble minister?"

"The Department of Salt Transportation is under the management of the Ministry of Household Affairs. You must have been holding back for a long time after you have been in the Ministry of Household Affairs for so many years. It is not easy for a minister to dare to make such a memorial. I want to encourage you. Well, today we, the monarchs and ministers, will spend some money. Time, listen to you explain this salt method clearly!"

Gu Zuo felt relieved after hearing this!

This is Mingjun's demeanor!

The boring state affairs day after day, willing to listen, willing to think, willing to deal with.At this moment, Gu Zuo is not envious of those ministers who have left their names in history, such as Wei Qing, Wei Zheng... because he also met the Ming Jun those people met!
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This chapter makes a small transition, and some things still need to be mentioned.