Rule over Ming Dynasty

Chapter 146 Have a Temple to Cultivate the Mind, Work Hard to Prosper the Nation

Compared with the Forbidden City, which took 14 years to build, the speed of the Hall of Mental Cultivation is undoubtedly a small miracle.

Under the personal supervision of Jia Jun, Shangshu of the Ministry of Economics and Industry, coupled with a reasonable construction division of labor, the Hall of Mental Cultivation, located on the east side of Xiyuan, is in the final finishing stage.

Every courtier has his own shining point, and the emperor often just lacks a pair of discovery eyes.

Zhu Youtang originally had some prejudices against Jia Jun, who was born as a juren, but after seeing Jia Jun's talent in presiding over and supervising the construction of palaces, he finally realized that being able to sit on the position of Minister of Industry with his fame as a juren is not all dependent on relationships.

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

Why did it take 14 years to build the Forbidden City, because it took 11 years to prepare the wood and stone alone, and it was not easy to harvest the precious golden nanmu.

Since golden nanmu mostly grows in the high mountains, this requires a large number of people to enter the mountains for logging, resulting in the loss of many people's lives. The Annan rebellion also has a certain relationship with 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 "send a thousand people into the mountain and five hundred out of the mountain" in exchange for a piece of golden nanmu to meet the status of an emperor.

Just like the aluminum bowl that Napoleon ate was expensive, but the vast majority of ordinary people in later generations would rather give up this expensive one and choose ordinary porcelain bowls instead.

After all, the palace is used to shelter from the wind and rain and to work. Now that pine wood can also support a roof, why spend a year and a half searching for golden nanmu in various provinces?
As for the Yuntai, there is no need for it. After all, this is a palace where I can find important ministers to discuss affairs and deal with government affairs, so this item can be directly omitted.

After learning that there are many centuries-old pine logs in the warehouse of the Ministry of Industry, he waved his hand and asked Jia Jun to directly take the pine logs to build the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

It turned out that he did find a good minister of the Ministry of Industry.

Jia Jun had enough building timber, and the most important thing in the Ministry of Industry was craftsmen, and Emperor Hongzhi also gave great support to the budget, so rushing to work day and night had the current effect.

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

Although the Hall of Mental Cultivation collides with the Hall of Mental Cultivation in a later dynasty, it is different from the narrow palace restricted by the local area. Now, in the West Garden, where half of the Forbidden City can be built, it is natural to build a standard palace.

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

Zhu Youtang walked into Yangxin Gate, which is a large courtyard, with the value rooms on the east and west sides, and the second gate after entering. To the north is the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Naturally, the Hall of Mental Cultivation cannot be compared with Fengtian Hall, even the Huagai Hall, the smallest of the three halls, is indeed just a place to discuss matters with important officials.

Zhu Youtang looked up at the new palace bathed in spring, the corners of his mouth could not help but slightly raised, feeling very satisfied with this new palace.

The design of the Forbidden City does have certain deficiencies, just like there is no palace for the empress dowager and empress dowager, as the emperor also needs a convenient place to discuss matters with his courtiers.

If you stay in Qianqing Palace all the time, not to mention that it is inconvenient to summon your courtiers, even if you go from Meridian Gate to Qianqing Palace, you will waste a lot of time, even if you go from Wenyuan Pavilion to Qianqing Palace, you have to walk for a while.

Now the newly built Hall of Mental Cultivation is located next to the Xiyuan Gate, and the cabinet ministers can work here. It is not far from Dongjiang Mi Lane and Xijiang Mi Lane. It can be said to serve multiple purposes.

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

If you want to be pure and ascetic, it is natural to sleep alone, but if you want to continue the incense and keep your treatment as the great emperor, then you can return to the Forbidden City or arrange for a concubine to come over to accompany you, or you can find a soft and gentle woman like Fan Jinling. Xiang's maid gave some training.

In this way, this is the overall layout of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

The front is the office of important ministers and near ministers, the inverted value room at the second gate is the office of internal officials, the Hall of Yangxin is the office of Zhu Youtang, and the rear area belongs to the inner house.

"Your Majesty, these two main pillars are golden nanmu! Thanks to Your Majesty's blessing, when I was looking for pine logs, I found these two old logs!" Jia Jun pointed to a red lacquered main pillar, looking very flattering and authentic .

Zhu Youtang stretched out his hand and patted the sturdy main pillar, and immediately made a decision and said: "Listen to Jia Shangshu!"

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

"The minister is here!" Jia Jun was shocked immediately, Dang even knelt on the ground and said nervously.

Zhu Youtang wiped his hands with a handkerchief, and then expressed his gratitude to Jia Jun on the ground: "I know that since you have been in charge of supervising the construction of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, you have dedicated yourself to supervising your work day and night, devoting all your energy to making arrangements, and the internal supervisor also called you forgetting to eat and sleep. Today, the Hall of Mental Cultivation has been completed in more than 40 days, you are a model of a courtier who is devoted to loyalty and wisdom, and I specially bestow upon the Crown Prince Taibao a hundred taels of gold, this is my honor!"

In the face of hard-working and diligent officials, he is not stingy with rewards, especially when it comes to gold and silver.After all, it is a worker who cannot be loyal to the company. The bonus that should be given is still in place, so that it is easy to exchange for true loyalty.

"I... I thank Your Majesty for your kindness, and I am willing to die for Your Majesty!" Jia Jun's old tears fell down immediately, and Dang even thanked him emotionally.

These rewards are just a matter of Zhu Youtang moving his lips, but it is already a great honor to Jia Jun who is born in Juren, and it is Zhu Youtang's kindness to bestow gold, but this "title of Prince and Taibao" is considered a great grace.

For a Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry like him, promotion to the second rank of the Minister of the Ministry of Industry is already the limit, so third-rank officials such as He Cong, the left servant of the Ministry of War, Xu Pu, the left servant of the Ministry of Officials, and Liu Jian, the right servant of the Ministry of Rites, are not at all. He put it in his eyes.

It's just now that he has obtained the title of first-rank prince and Taibao bestowed by the emperor, and his status and identity have risen to a higher level. In the future, his waist will undoubtedly be even taller, and he will also have the opportunity to fight for "Prince Taishi" and "Prince Taishi" in the future. Fu".

In fact, what moved him the most was "devotion to loyalty and wisdom". The reason why he has been in charge of supervising construction work is better than others is because he is more diligent and attentive than others.

Now that "devotion to loyalty and wisdom" comes from the emperor's mouth, he really has a feeling that he has met Bole. What reason does he not have to serve this wise king to death?

Perhaps Zhu Youtang didn't even know it himself, a very normal reward, but in the end he got a minister of the Ministry of Industry with almost full loyalty.

After a day, when he saw that the Hall of Mental Cultivation was officially completed, and it happened to be an auspicious day, he simply moved in directly.

The Hall of Mental Cultivation is larger than the East Nuan Pavilion, and it is also larger than the Hall of Mental Cultivation in a certain dynasty.In addition to the throne and the book case in the main hall, the east side is the map of Ming Dynasty, and the west side is the list of officials of the fourth rank and above in the capital, local governors and inspectors.

As for the plaque hanging high on the throne, it reads: hard work to rejuvenate the country.

After all, Zhu Youtang is just an ordinary person. He doesn't know how to use the mind like some time-travelers, nor does he know how to make the majority of officials and gentry give up oppressing the people of the country and become a philanthropist. Just hit it.

With the time to argue with the officials of the two capitals and the thirteen provinces and the general officials and gentry, it is not time to study how to make flintlock guns and how to build China into the world's textile center.

Zhu Youtang summoned the two elders and the speaker of the six departments. Although there was a small high platform in the place where he was, he was sitting after all, so he arranged seats for the eight people.

Li Yu, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and other eight people sat opposite to each other. Facing such preferential treatment from Emperor Hongzhi, and facing this new palace, the brows could not hide their excitement.

When Hongzhi reformed the early dynasty and the Banri Lecture Banquet, many officials thought Hongzhi was a lazy emperor, but it turned out that everyone was wrong.

This emperor is not only diligent, but also has a great mind for governing the country. Now he is willing to build a new palace here to conspire with his group of important ministers. So why worry about the country's prosperity?

Chirp!

Wan An was over seventy years old, and his health was unavoidable, but he couldn't help but sneezed, and immediately admitted his mistake: "The old minister has lost his manners in front of His Majesty, please punish him!"

Seeing this, Liu Ji and other officials secretly looked at Zhu Youtang who was sitting above.

"Mr. Wange has been focusing on drafting government affairs recently, and he has shared a lot of burdens for me. I am very relieved that punishment will not be necessary!" Zhu Youtang is not a person who likes to make a fuss, but he replied calmly by flipping through the memorials.

Li Yu, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and other officials also felt a burst of warmth in response to Zhu Youtang's response.

They gradually figured out the emperor's temperament, as long as you sincerely do things for him, then many things are unyielding, and they will even take the initiative to protect you.

Wan An breathed a sigh of relief, and said gratefully: "Old Minister, thank Your Majesty for your forgiveness!"

"Dear dears, you should already know about the events in Yangzhou, right?" Zhu Youtang dug out the memorabilia he was looking for, and straight to the point.

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

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

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

It's just that they couldn't disclose the source of the news, so they changed their words for the first time, but they thought that they had committed the crime of deceiving the emperor, so they changed their words for the second time.

Zhu Youtang didn't want to embarrass these important officials, so he passed on the received joint memorial to Liu Jin and said: "Then you should take a look first before discussing it!"

In fact, Li Yu, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, and others already knew the truth, so after a brief glance, they passed this memorial to others.

Wang Yue is indeed a fierce man. He thought that he would only chop off people's heads with a Shangfang sword, but he did not hesitate to commit dangerous crimes and went deep, and even uncovered the shocking ink corruption case of Li Zhiqing and other Yangzhou officials.

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

If it weren't for the conclusive evidence, who would have believed that those officials who had read the books of the sages would have done such a frenzied thing, which almost destroyed the Ming Dynasty's Salt Law.

As for Wang Zhi, who hadn't heard from him for a long time, he didn't expect to train the Nanjing Shenji Camp into shape, and only 500 people shocked the [-] soldiers led by Yang Kang.

"Your Majesty, from the Yangzhou case, it can be seen that the crux of the Ming Dynasty's salt administration was caused by the collusion between officials and businessmen. Now that Wang Yue has wiped out corrupt and profiteering merchants, this is an opportunity to reshape the salt law. Therefore, please start cleaning up the accumulation, Ensuring that the salt intake is equivalent to the salt production will definitely bring the price of salt in Jiubian Zhong back to the time when the Taizu was the emperor, and the remaining salt will not 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 is also starting to make plans, Dang even took the lead in expressing his opinion.

Zhu Youtang was in a good mood, so he looked at the other important ministers and asked, "Do you think it's feasible?"

The report card Wang Yue handed over this time far exceeded his expectations.When Wang Yue was revived, he just wanted an honest official to sit in Yangzhou for him, and kill a few corrupt officials and profiteers to deter all parties.

It's just that I have far underestimated Wang Yue's ability. This old man who is proficient in the art of war is simply becoming more and more demonic with age.After realizing the smoke bomb released by Li Zhiqing, he went to Yangzhou to use Gou Huowang to confuse the matter, and then knocked the mountain to shake the tiger and the lone army went deep, and took the moths in Yangzhou together.

After achieving this result, the world now knows that the salt officials in Yangzhou are working hand in hand with the salt merchants, so there will undoubtedly be no resistance to deal with the salt matter in the future.

The open-China method that has continued to this day has not been destroyed by the joint efforts of salt officials and Huizhou merchants. Once the accumulation is cleared and the price of Chinese salt is restored, Ming’s finances will be able to regain their vitality.

Most importantly, since Ye Qimeng was not deceived into canceling the opening of China and France, the military rations and military resources of the frontier army can still be effectively guaranteed, and the economic prosperity of the border area can continue.

If you say that the greatest achievement I have made for China so far through time travel, I am afraid it is to save Da Ming's Kai Zhongfa and let Da Ming's Kai Zhongfa rejuvenate.

"Your Majesty, the ministers are seconding the proposal!" Wan An and other officials are also wise politicians. Seeing that Li Si's proposal is very reasonable, they should even go along with it.

Zhu Youtang nodded lightly, turned his head 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 you should stop the palace salt and Beijing official salt immediately!" Li Si hesitated for a moment, but he still offered advice cruelly.

This……

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

If the palace salt was meant to offend the princes and clansmen of the world, then Li Si proposed to stop the official salt in the capital, and I am afraid that people will spit on him when he goes out in the future.

"When I served as the magistrate of Jinhua, I always had old knowledge and sentiments when I decided a case. However, I thought at that time: If the law enforcement officers don't care about their feelings, and they all punish the prince and the common people for the same crime, then the law is feasible and reasonable. The current salt law is like this, the royal family’s salt and the Beijing official’s salt are based on emotions, but if the Ming Dynasty’s salt administration is messed up, if the salt law is to be implemented, it should be treated equally. Therefore, I think that the suspension of the royal family’s salt and the Beijing official’s salt is to prevent the omissions of the salt administration. You can also express to the world the determination of the imperial court to control salt, and the law of salt 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.

(End of this chapter)