Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

Later, an autumn rain came as expected, and the cold rain washed the palace under the cover of night.

Thick yellow glazed tiles and high walls keep the rain out. Only the rain falling on the roof collects along the tiles, forming water lines falling from the eaves.

In September, the icy rain brought a bit of chill, causing the indoor temperature to suddenly drop several degrees. The eunuchs and maids standing in the palace corridor couldn't help but curl up.

Qianqing Palace is brightly lit at this time.

After Zhu Youtang returned from Qingning Palace, he returned to Dongnuang Pavilion to handle government affairs.

The joy of ascending the throne has gone by the wayside, and now it is time to focus on revitalizing the Ming Dynasty and bringing the Ming Dynasty to a height that China has never seen before.

In the "Accession Edict", he focused on the problem of salt abuse, so solving the salt abuse will be the first shot in his ruling career.

Although I have seen the crux of the salt policy issue and pointed out the stubborn problem of collusion between government and businessmen in the Salt Law, I am still far from a real solution.

Many people have a misunderstanding: as long as the emperor is wise and brave and issues an imperial edict that can hit the point, all problems will be solved.

But this idea is undoubtedly very naive! Although the emperor kept his word, to truly implement the decree required the execution of the civil servants.

Take the sea ban as an example. This was a sea ban that was promulgated during the Taizu period. Ordinarily, no one would dare to engage in maritime trade, but in fact it has already become an important source of wealth for the officials and gentry in the southeast.

No matter how far-sighted His Majesty's decree is, if the civil servants do not implement it, it will be nothing but a piece of paper.

It's just that "everything in the world is for profit; all the bustle in the world is for profit." The civil servant group is no exception. There is no such thing as loyalty without regard for reward in this world.

If the emperor orders local officials to increase taxes on the people, then these officials are more loyal than anyone else. But if they were asked to distribute money to the people, they would either become deaf or take the opportunity to deduct money from it.

Although there is clearly a problem of collusion between government and businessmen in the current Salt Law, local officials have already been colluding with each other, and they have no reason to destroy their own jobs.

Because of this, Zhu Youtang knew that he could not rely on local officials to crack down on collusion between government and businessmen, so he stared at the list of Beijing officials he had compiled recently and frowned.

If we can find a candidate who is willing to do the job, we can naturally expose those corrupt officials and profiteers who collude with government and businessmen, and give them a severe blow. But if someone is left inappropriately, it will only provide the official with an opportunity to make money, or it may become a bargaining chip for their cronies.

Although the party struggle in the Ming Dynasty is very serious, what they fight for is power, but they rarely fight to the death. Even though the first assistant Wan An and the second assistant Liu Ji belong to two factions, they are actually friends of the same age.

Even if officials from hostile forces are elected to rectify the salt policy, this is likely to become a political bargaining chip for the other side, but it is unlikely that they can truly solve the stubborn problem of collusion between officials and businessmen.

That's why he needs to find a capable official who doesn't collude with the civil service group. But does such a person really exist in this court?

The lights were swaying and dancing by the wind coming in from outside, and the light yellow greenhouse was filled with a touch of sadness.

Zhu Youtang didn't trust the civil servants who always talked about the common people, but he had to reuse them for some things. The game in this court was far more complicated than imagined.

"Master, if you don't like the smell of this kind of sandalwood, I know that there is a kind of light sandalwood in the warehouse. That kind of sandalwood may be more suitable for you!" Liu Jin brought hot tea to Zhu Youtang and immediately suggested cautiously. .

Only then did Zhu Youtang realize that the smell of burning sandalwood was indeed too strong, so he looked at Liu Jin with a half-smile and said, "I didn't expect you to be quite attentive!"

"Master, you are my heaven. Being able to serve my master is my blessing for eight lifetimes. Of course, this little thing is something I should consider carefully!" Liu Jin put down the tea cup gently and expressed her sincerity.

Zhu Youtang realized that Liu Jin's success was indeed extraordinary, so he picked up the teacup and sighed: "If all officials could think like you, then I wouldn't have such a headache!"

"Master, although it is true that many officials in the court are pursuing fame and fortune, I believe that there are still officials in the court who will be as loyal as me. Wang Zhongyi is my role model!" Liu Jin truly regarded Zhu Youtang as his master, and it seemed that Seriously.

A bright light immediately flashed in Zhu Youtang's mind, and he realized that the person he had mentioned some time ago had actually been forgotten. The person who should rectify the Salt Law was this person.

Liu Jin withdrew, and then hurriedly went to look for another light sandalwood.

In fact, this responsibility should be attributed to Liang Fang. As the saying goes, "One emperor, one courtier." Emperor Chenghua's perennial sandalwood naturally became stronger the more he smelled it, but the new emperor would undoubtedly favor lighter sandalwood.

Of course, it is easy for people to overlook such tiny details. Only someone like Liu Jin who is good at digging and sincere can quickly find the flaws here.

"Master, the weather is getting colder tonight. Do you want me to warm your bed?" Liu Jin asked cautiously after changing to other lighter sandalwood.

Zhu Youtang glanced at Liu Jin with disgust, but he didn't know where this guy got the confidence to warm his bed, so he asked calmly: "What do you think!"

When Liu Jin raised his eyes to look at Zhu Youtang, Zhu Youtang was already concentrating on writing, and for a while he didn't know whether Zhu Youtang meant yes or no.

However, when he walked out of Dongnuan Pavilion, he was blown by the wind in front of him, and his body immediately shivered, knowing that he would definitely have to warm the bed tonight.

Eunuch Feng, who was in charge of the affairs, knew that Liu Jin was now favored. Not only did he not dare to bully the little eunuch who was emptying the urinal, but he also had to behave respectfully.

When I learned that His Majesty was going to warm the bed tonight, I immediately called the two maids responsible for warming the bed.

Liu Jin looked at the two fat palace maids in front of him and immediately vetoed it: "No!"

"Eunuch Liu, why not?" Eunuch Feng asked confusedly, knowing that Liu Jin understood the Holy Will better.

Although Liu Jin no longer had that thing, he still had normal aesthetic ability. He scanned the surroundings again and asked seriously: "It seems that there are really no particularly beautiful palace maids in our Qianqing Palace. I don't know how to sleep." Is there any palace maid who is both beautiful and innocent?"

"There is one who is quite beautiful. Everyone says she is Sai Xishi, but she is a bit old!" Eunuch Feng thought seriously and then said seriously.

Liu Jin immediately became interested and asked: "How old is it?"

"Twenty-seven or eighty-year-old, right?" Eunuch Feng said uncertainly.

Liu Jin was secretly happy, and immediately said with finality: "It's hers tonight, bring her over immediately to warm the master's bed!"

The night is getting darker, the rain has stopped at some point, and the moon is visible in the sky.

Zhu Youtang is a diligent and focused person who is formulating his next work plan.

After finding a suitable dragon-slaying sword, he began to recall the craftsmanship of drying salt, striving to make the salt policy burst out with greater economic value.

This rectification of the salt policy is not only to combat collusion between businessmen and officials, but also to increase the tax revenue of the salt policy, thereby improving the current financial situation of the Ming Dynasty.

The rise and fall of a dynasty most importantly depends on finances. The decline of the Song Dynasty was precisely because Wang Anshi's "financial management" reforms were counterproductive, and ultimately made the finances worse.

"Your Majesty, it's time for you to go to bed!" Liang Fang came over, looking very concerned.

Perhaps because he was too "dedicated" to Zhu Jianshen, he could no longer be 100% loyal to Zhu Youtang, but he still cared about Zhu Youtang very much. After all, he was the descendant of his master.

Zhu Youtang looked up and saw that it was already getting late, but he just wanted to appoint the candidate to organize the salt administration, and the corners of his mouth could not help but raise slightly.

Liang Fang noticed Zhu Youtang's smile, and when she thought of tonight's arrangements, her eyes couldn't help but reveal a hint of weirdness.

The front of Qianqing Palace is regarded as the working area. Except for the thermal pavilion and the main hall on the east and west sides, the area behind is all the emperor's living quarters.

But the area at the back was really too big, and the roof of the palace was obviously too high, so the area inside was built into two floors, with four large bedrooms on the upper floor and five large bedrooms on the lower floor.

Zhou Li said: The emperor lives in the sixth bedroom. According to the four seasons, the emperor lived in different bedrooms, with spring in the northeast, summer in the southeast, autumn in the southwest, and winter in the northwest.

But when it comes to Zhu Yuanzhang, the six bedrooms are combined into one palace, and the first palace is divided into nine rooms. On the contrary, there are more "three bedrooms" than "the emperor lives in six bedrooms".

Zhu Youtang slept in the uppermost room on the first night, but he didn't expect the sky to get cold so quickly, so he chose to live on the lower floor.

Zhu Youtang walked in the central dormitory and faced the palace maid who came forward to change his clothes. He opened his hands in a very cooperative manner, while the parts on his body were gradually reduced.

"Your Majesty, today is the fourteenth day since the death of the late emperor!" Liang Fang hesitated for a moment, then reminded seriously.

Zhu Youtang nodded slightly, but said helplessly: "I know that it has been less than twenty-seven days, so it is not appropriate to deal with government affairs! But I am afraid that the Ministry of Rites will go to court tomorrow. Now that the government has a lot of affairs, I am afraid that I will have to break this rule!"

"Your Majesty, apart from the fact that it is not appropriate to handle government affairs, have you forgotten something else?" Liang Fang saw Zhu Youtang pretending to be confused and couldn't help but remind him.

Zhu Youtang blinked, but he didn't know what Liang Fang said. He just suddenly smelled a fragrance in the air, and turned to look at his dragon bed curiously.

But he saw that two palace maids had already stepped forward to pull up the mosquito net, a long white leg stretched out from the brocade quilt on the bed, and then a beauty appeared in front of him as if she had transformed into a living person.

This palace maid looked to be in her twenties. She only wore a red bellyband, but her body looked very proud, especially the side of the bellyband where she quickly re-sheeted the sheets.

Her facial features are exquisite, her skin is as good as snow, her black silk stockings are messy and regular, her eyes look charming and passionate, and she has a cold temperament.

Looking at the beauty in front of him under the dim light, Zhu Youtang's eyes couldn't move since he had seen countless photos. This was undoubtedly the top beauty in ancient costume in his mind.

Eunuch Feng saw Zhu Youtang's reaction from the side, and suddenly realized that he was old, and it took a shrewd young man like Liu Jin to figure out the new emperor's thoughts.

Erya found that Zhu Youtang had been staring at her body. After making the bed, he deliberately stepped back two steps: "Your Majesty, I have warmed the bed and quilt. Please go to bed!"

Zhu Youtang swallowed secretly. In the end, reason defeated desire, and he waved his hand gently. This was obviously to force himself to make a mistake!