I, Jiajing, successfully cultivated immortality

Chapter 16 Three Disadvantages
The guards in the Hall of Mental Cultivation had long been dismissed, and even Lu Fang, who had been following Jiajing, disappeared. In the huge Hall of Mental Cultivation, only Jiajing and Zhang Juzheng were left, sitting opposite each other.

"Come on, have some tea."

With a warm smile on Jiajing's face, he picked up the teapot and poured a cup for each of them.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhang Juzheng obviously didn't expect this scene, he looked very cautious, picked up the teacup, took a sip, his eyes lit up, and he couldn't help but praise: "The aftertaste is extremely sweet, good tea!"

"Of course, this is the first batch of West Lake Longjing tea this year. I'm not even willing to drink it. If Aiqing likes it, I'll send some to your house later." Jiajing also picked up the teacup, took a sip, and casually road.

"My lord, Zhang Juzheng thanks Your Majesty for your kindness!" Zhang Juzheng expressed his gratitude when he heard what the emperor said, and quickly knelt down to thank him.

"Okay, get up, I have some questions I want to ask you."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Zhang Juzheng got up immediately.

"After the imperial meeting ended, did your Ministry of War receive the warships previously embezzled by the Ministry of Officials and Industry?"

"Your Majesty, after the imperial meeting was over, Mr. Xiaoge sent someone to hand over the remaining 23 warships to the Ministry of War. Now the warships are all berthed at the Shi Ship Department."

"In addition, how are you implementing the matter of expanding the army and reorganizing the Daming Navy that I proposed at the imperial meeting?"

"Your Majesty, I have selected 5000 brave men from all over the country and trained them. In addition, ships suitable for sea combat are also under construction. It is estimated that they will be able to form combat effectiveness in half a year!"

"good very good."

Jiajing nodded after listening to Zhang Juzheng's answer, then pretended to be indifferent, and asked: "As Minister of the Ministry of War, do you know what is wrong with my Ming Dynasty?"

"Your Majesty, the current disadvantages of my Ming Dynasty are the corruption of officials, excessive levies and miscellaneous taxes, the low combat effectiveness of soldiers, the Japanese invasion in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and the frequent invasion of northern Tatars..."

Zhang Juzheng didn't dare to answer Jiajing's question directly, so he could only avoid his eyes and talk about him from left to right.

Just when Zhang Juzheng wanted to continue to follow this thread, Jiajing interrupted impatiently: "Okay, don't say these clichés anymore! You Zhang Juzheng dare not say it, so let me say it."

"Please forgive me, Your Majesty!" Zhang Juzheng hurriedly knelt down on the ground.

"My Great Ming has three shortcomings, one is the financial deficit, the other is the corruption of the guard system, and the third is the extravagance of the clan!"

Jiajing put down the teacup in his hand, and looked directly at Zhang Juzheng: "Everyone of you knows about these ills, but everyone dare not speak up! So what about temporary reforms? As long as the root cause is not touched, my illness of Daming will be healed forever. No!"

"You are the Minister of the Ministry of War. Let me take the guards in various places as an example. I have sent people to investigate. Some guards recorded a full quota of 2000 soldiers in their books, but in fact they did not even have 1000! Even the gunpowder of the firecrackers could not be fired due to dampness, and most of the soldiers lingered in the gambling hall all day long, tired of training, they just coped with things and had no combat effectiveness at all."

"So I plan to abolish some of the guards." Jiajing changed the subject, and Zhang Juzheng's flat voice came to Zhang Juzheng's ears like a bolt from the blue.

"Your Majesty, no! Even though the guard system is so corrupt, it should be implemented slowly. If it is abolished hastily, it may cause dissatisfaction among the soldiers, cause troubles, and shake the court!" After Zhang Juzheng regained his composure, he quickly advised.

"Who told you that I'm going to abolish now? I plan to select the brave soldiers in the guard first, form another battalion, train them hard, and make their treatment a bit higher than that of ordinary soldiers! This is a long-term plan." I hope you can handle it well." Jiajing chuckled lightly, helped him up, and then patted Zhang Juzheng on the shoulder, saying earnestly.

"In addition, after the reorganization of the Daming Navy is completed, they can go to sea to fight against Japanese pirates and keep the enemy at sea. In this way, the people along our coast can also suffer less!"

"Minister Zhang Juzheng, I am willing to do my best for His Majesty!"

"Where did you just say that? Oh, yes, I remembered that the clan's expenses were endless! Zhang Juzheng, do you know how many feudal lords we have in the Ming Dynasty?" Jiajing said, knocking himself on the head.

Zhang Juzheng heard the words, and after thinking for a while, he gave the answer: "Your Majesty, there are more than [-] vassal kings recorded in the records!"

Jiajing nodded and said with emotion: "Yes, there are more than 40.00 people! You also know that my Ming Dynasty's title is hereditary and will not be downgraded. Every year, their various expenses account for [-]% of the imperial court's expenditure. "

"Do you know how the folks scold? I spent so much money in the Ming Dynasty to raise a group of pigs who only knew how to eat, drink, have fun, rob people's daughters, occupy land and give birth to a large number of children! The point is that the pigs can't be eaten. They are me. The moth of the Ming Dynasty." Jiajing's tone could not hear any emotion, as if he was talking about a very common thing.

"But Your Majesty, doing this will make you..." Zhang Juzheng stopped talking abruptly, not daring to continue.

"What are you afraid of? I am the emperor! Theoretically, my power is unlimited. I don't care how the history books will judge me in the future, whether it is mean or ungrateful, or cruel to the clan."

"It's impossible for me to act without asking, but to ask whether it should be, as long as I think it should be done, I will do it!" After Jiajing finished speaking, he stood up from the chair, waved his sleeves, and looked into the distance. Deep eyes.

"It's impossible to act without asking questions, but to ask whether you should..." Zhang Juzheng chewed on Jiajing's words for a long time. His eyes were slightly red, and he covered his face with his sleeves, and said loudly: "Minister, Zhang Juzheng is willing to swear to death." Allegiance to His Majesty!"

"As for how to make up for the financial shortfall, this is why I must lift the sea ban and implement the policy of changing rice to mulberry. How come I don't know what they are implementing this law for?"

"One tael of silver, six coins go to the state treasury, I accept it, four coins go to the state treasury, I also accept it! If they still want to make more money, don't blame me for taking action."

Jiajing said silently in his heart, and then leaned over to help Zhang Juzheng up.

"It's getting late, you go back first."

"Your Majesty, I retire!"

Zhang Juzheng reluctantly left the Hall of Mental Cultivation, but Jiajing didn't answer, but just waved his hands, as if he didn't care about it.

Walking out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, at some time, a bright moon hung in the sky. Zhang Juzheng walked alone under the moonlight, his steps were steady, his heart was cleared of confusion, and his eyes were full of determination.

……

In the study, Jiajing has been writing for a long time, but he still can't put it down.

"What do you think I should write? I have been thinking for a long time and I still can't start. If I knew it, I would let the cabinet write it!" Jiajing put down the brush, looked at Lu Fang who was standing beside him, and asked.

"Your Majesty might as well write some words of encouragement. The content doesn't need to be too complicated. Hu Zongxian will understand." Lu Fang heard this, thought for a while and gave her own suggestion.

"Words of encouragement? Let me think about it..."

"Yes!" After thinking for a long time, Jiajing finally found a suitable sentence and patted his head excitedly.

Jiajing re-laid the paper, with a solemn expression, and slowly wrote on the paper: Wanli is serving the king, he has nothing to ask for, and knows the hardships of the frontier, how can he seek for his wife?I will not be held responsible for what you do!
(End of this chapter)