Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

Tianshou Mountain, wild flowers all over the sky are in full bloom.

Changling is still located on the mountainside, and the bright towers on the square city have not changed at all. The same building layout and the same pine tree scenery seem to have stopped time here.

"Your Majesty, the wind is strong this year, be careful if you catch a cold!" Liang Fang, one year older, stepped forward to remind her with great concern.

Zhang Yong and other eunuchs came with him and were standing behind to guard the Lord of the Ming Dynasty in front of him.

Zhu Youtang, who was wearing a dragon robe, had a firm look in his eyes, and his whole body was becoming more and more imperial. He was looking down at the Xin'en Palace bathed in the sunset.

Everything in front of me is like the past, and the wind this year is indeed stronger than in previous years.

Perhaps it was this that made him understand clearly that it was not that time here had not passed, but that it would be difficult to change everything here.

The emperor's cemetery seems destined to be the emperor's only scenery.

Zhu Youtang did not leave the shelter, but still admired the scenery in front of him and said: "Liang Fang, you shouldn't dissuade me! Only by standing here can I feel an unprecedented relaxation, and all the troubles seem to disappear at this moment." !”

Zhang Yong and other eunuchs exchanged silent glances, but they knew that the emperor in front of him had the world in mind, otherwise the emperor would not be so tired.

"To be honest with Your Majesty, I have come here sometimes, but I have never felt this way!" Liang Fang said bitterly, knowing that Zhu Youtang regarded her as an intimate.

Zhu Youtang smelled the smell of the spring breeze and said very happily: "Maybe you have given up everything and now you have nothing to worry about!"

"In my opinion, Your Majesty is worried too much! His Majesty has been on the throne for three years. Although every year has been uneventful, His Majesty has not only handled the situation extremely well, but has also made the empire prosperous. This is all the result of Your Majesty's hard work. !" Although Liang Fang was not in the court, she was always paying attention to the dynamics of the court.

Although Ming attributed the epidemic in the first month to a sudden natural disaster, he knew that it must have been a man-made disaster, and someone even wanted to infect the emperor with smallpox.

In this dynasty, the enemies are often not only external, but actually even more thrilling internally.

Even now, he still feels that there is a big problem with Liu Wentai. It is the young and powerful Emperor Chenghua who died just because of a cold disease. This thing sounds unreasonable.

As the sun sets, the gently swaying pine trees seem to be telling a different story.

When Zhu Youtang heard Liang Fang's slightly flattering words, he was not too proud.

Although he successfully survived the smallpox epidemic this time, there are still many difficulties to face if he wants to lead China on the road to prosperity.

Especially now that it is just the beginning of the third year of Hongzhi, I still don’t know what kind of thorny problems are waiting for me, and what kind of problems will make me dilemma.

The capital city in March has returned to its usual bustle.

“Our store is newly opened and we have great discounts!”

"Pass by, pass by, don't miss it!"

"Korean ginseng is big and thick, come and take a look."

…

The Gulou area is the most prosperous commercial district in the capital. The shops and stalls here sell goods from all over the country, and even local specialties from various countries. There are endless shouts and sounds.

Although all goods passing through Chongwenmen are subject to tax, the imperial court has created a fair business environment for them, resulting in the turnover of each store now rising instead of falling.

"Looking for some female weavers!"

"Food and lodging included, salary interview!"

"Urgent move, three meals a day with meat, monthly salary is five cloth coupons!"

…

Thanks to the continuous growth of overseas demand for cotton cloth, especially the Tianjin Shipyard's promotion of the development of the navigation industry, Ming Dynasty cotton cloth has opened up the maritime trade market in Southeast Asia, so there is an increasing demand for labor.

It is worth mentioning that the southern suburbs are no longer limited to royal weaving factories and joint weaving factories. Some weaving factories built by the powerful and wealthy have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain.

When the financial industry, whose main business was loan sharking, was controlled by the imperial court, the capital in the capital was unable to control the imperial government's big thighs, so it naturally entered the industries where it was easiest to make money.

Judging from various signs, Daming's textile industry has formed an industrial effect and is in a period of growth. Although I failed to catch up with the take-off period of the textile industry, it is not too late to enter now.

Because of this, the southern suburbs of Beijing have become the largest textile production base in the Ming Dynasty, and are showing a trend of continuous expansion.

As night falls, the lights are lit.

Although the economy was booming, politics played the leading role. In the front hall of the Guangdong Guild Hall, there were gathered Xinke Gongshi and Luodi Juzi from Guangdong, as well as a group of officials.

Although the literati group has always claimed that gentlemen are not party members, many fellow villagers had already begun to build relationships and even worked hard to cultivate their own village party forces before they became officials.

Guangdong was not a major imperial examination province during this period. It had been more than a hundred years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, but only Liu Cunye was lucky enough to become the first Guangdong champion in the Ming Dynasty.

The current Hubu Shangshu Li Si is from Nanhai County, Guangdong. Although this Hubu Shangshu is an important minister in the current dynasty, he is not keen on revitalizing the Guangdong Township Party.

It’s just that the Cantonese people are good at doing business. Cantonese businessmen not only took the initiative to build the Guangdong Gongyuan for the purpose of preparing for the imperial examination, but also often organized hometown meetings.

Xu Hong is still serving in the Ministry of War. This time he was invited by the Guangdong Guild Hall. When he came here, he seemed very surprised to see Zhang Sui.

"When did you return to Beijing?"

"I just returned to Beijing this afternoon, so it's hard to refuse such a warm welcome!"

"They called me several times, and this time I had to come when the sedan was brought to my house!"

…

The two had known each other since the Guangdong Provincial Examination period. They had shared the experience of going through hardships in the Fusi Prison in Beizhen, and they were like-minded partners when they entered the officialdom, so they talked about everything when they met.

Originally, they didn't like gatherings of this nature, but sometimes people can't help themselves in officialdom, so both of them chose to come here and watch indifferently.

Hanlin Compilation Liu Cunye, as the number one scholar, was naturally praised by all the stars. Facing the new scholars and failed candidates who were listening around him, he spoke eloquently: "The so-called listening to politics means that the emperor is close to the virtuous ministers and alienates the villains; the so-called Heeding the advice, the emperor opened his mouth and accepted the advice of hundreds of officials. If he can turn his back on himself, he can become a saint and emperor..."

"Liu Xiuzhen, you just said so much, but you don't know: What is a virtuous minister? What is a villain?" Zhang Suizheng was talking to Xu Hong, but suddenly he couldn't help but ask.

Other arguments would be tolerable, but this "rebellion" is tied to the "sage and emperor", which simply wants Emperor Hongzhi to not be like an emperor.

If the current emperor Hongzhi had not eliminated all the resistance in the court, toughened internal rectification, and adopted strong measures externally, the Ming Dynasty would never have been in such a good situation.

Especially on the issue of Jianzhou, it was His Majesty who did not listen to the dissuasion of the so-called virtuous ministers and insisted on regaining Jianzhou. This allowed millions of disaster victims in Henan to be resettled in Jianzhou, a land with fertile land.

Now I am still advocating that Your Majesty should listen to the advice of this group of wise ministers, and asking the emperor to turn his back on him. This is simply "deceiving the public with evil words" here.

The most important thing is that the saint and emperor in his mind are not some scornful ones at all, but a wise tyrant like Hongzhi who dares to think and act.

Xu Hong picked up the wine glass and took a sip of wine silently, but he knew that the number one scholar had touched Zhang Sui's inverse scale, but he should not define the saint and emperor in this way, and he continued to indirectly belittle the current saint.

this……

The Xinke Gongshi and failed candidates present were vaguely aware of the smell of gunpowder on Zhang Sui's body. Seeing that Zhang Sui seemed to be challenging Liu Cunye, they couldn't help but silently exchange a look.

"Of course, those who care about the country are considered virtuous ministers, and those who serve their own selfish interests are considered villains!" Liu Cunye had been a star-studded existence in the past year, and he looked down on Zhang Sui, a small local official.

The person who presided over this hometown meeting was Huang Yu, the president of the Guangdong Chamber of Commerce, who nodded gently to Liu Cunye's answer.

Zhang Sui was very disdainful and immediately asked seriously: "In your opinion, is Liu Daxia a virtuous minister or a villain?"

"Although Liu Daxia's actions back then were inappropriate, his original intention was to stop the war, and he was not greedy for his own selfish interests. Naturally, he can be regarded as a wise minister!" Liu Cunye has become an out-and-out defender of Taoism, and he immediately expressed his stance confidently.

Xu Hong's brows immediately furrowed and he looked at the No. 1 Scholar with complicated eyes.

It might be recognized by other things, but Liu Daxia's method of hiding Annan's files was simply a mistake for the country and the people, and it was blatantly disloyal to the emperor.

How can such a person with so many evil deeds make the court miss the best route to conquer Annan? How can he be called a wise minister?

Zhang Sui's eyes flashed with a stern look, and he immediately retorted seriously: "Although Liu Daxia does not seek money or power, he is greedy for personal reputation. He is so disloyal for the sake of his own reputation. Who dares to call him a virtuous person?" After a pause, he pointed the finger at the scholars present and said: "Even among you, who among you can do it for the country regardless of personal gains and losses? How many of you have been motivated to study hard for ten years in the cold window because you want to serve the country? , you are only seeking fame and glory for the sake of glory and honor, why do you need to be so pretentious?"

As soon as these words came out, the entire front hall suddenly became quiet.

Although what Zhang Sui said was not pleasant to listen to, this was the fact at the moment, and it ripped off their hypocritical masks in one fell swoop.

"Zhang Yushi, according to you, there is not a single virtuous minister in this court, and they are all villains. So how did the Ming Dynasty become so prosperous today?" Liu Cunye felt that his face had been lost, and he looked very angry and laughed.

Zhang Sui was not stumped by the question, but went straight to the core: "Empty talk will harm the country, but hard work will prosper the country! Today's sages never think of themselves as virtuous kings, but they always think about the people. They are the true saints and emperors! But today's court does not think of themselves as virtuous kings. There are good ministers and villains, but everyone works together to overcome difficulties. This is the reason for today's prosperity!"

this……

After hearing these remarks, Huang Yu, the president of the Guangdong Chamber of Commerce, looked at this insignificant Liaodong censor with admiration.

"well said!"

Several senior officials present actually saw it more clearly. If they knew that the current prosperity was actually caused by the emperor's proper employment of people, like Li Si who was promoted by Zhu Youtang, they would immediately agree.

Zhongxinke Gongshi, who was already half-footed in the officialdom, nodded with seeming understanding.

In fact, they all knew in their hearts that their pursuit was not pure. Instead of pursuing the illusory image of a wise minister, they might as well strive to be a capable minister who could share the emperor's worries.

"Damn it!"

Liu Cunye saw that he was completely defeated in this argument. Although Zhang Sui won the applause of the officials present, he already hated Zhang Sui in his heart.

But he secretly vowed in his heart that as long as he could get through it, he would definitely let Zhang Sui fall to pieces to avenge the humiliation of being here today.

Although Zhang Sui felt Liu Cunye's hostility, he seemed neither sad nor happy, and continued to take the initiative to talk to Xu Hong about the current situation of Jianzhou.

Although Tuoluo's legs were shelled, he was still alive and was leading a remnant of his troops into hiding. But no matter how unwilling Tuoluo was, Aixinjueluo clan no longer had any threat to Jianzhou Wei.

Now the Ming Dynasty did not take the initiative to provoke the Haixi Jurchens and the Barbarian Jurchens. Instead, it focused on building cities to expand its territory, and incorporated the entire Jianzhou into the Ming Dynasty through city building.

As for the millions of relocated victims being properly resettled, when the Ming Dynasty built water conservancy projects, more and more victims were willing to join the rush to open up wasteland.

Stimulated by three years of tax exemption and land deeds granted by the government, the enthusiasm of the victims was greatly stimulated. Jianzhou was developing wasteland at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Zhang Sui took a sip of wine silently and said with great certainty: "As long as the imperial court can persist for three years and the construction of cities and water conservancy projects in various places is completed, the entire Jianzhou will be permanently included in the Ming Dynasty, and Jianzhou will also become the northeastern granary of the Ming Dynasty! "

Since he witnessed it with his own eyes, he knew better than anyone else how wise the emperor's plan to regain and develop Jianzhou was, and how wise their emperor was.

As for people like Liu Cunye, they are not worthy of living in the current Hongzhi Dynasty.

"I'm just a small censor, what do you do with such a small person?" Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes. An official from the Ministry of Justice deliberately loudly comforted Liu Cunye.

Xu Hong turned his head and glanced at the official from the Criminal Department who was rumored to be about to be searched by the Metropolitan Procuratorate, but silently shook his head.

Although Zhang Sui did very well in the examination last year and became one of the twelve people who passed Xiaolu. But something unexpected happened. Not only did Zhang Sui miss the chance to be a first-class or third-class Jinshi, he was also unable to stay in the capital.

Although Zhang Sui made great military achievements in the battle of Liyugukou after becoming the censor of Liaodong, he was not promoted by the imperial court. Instead, he was sent to Jianzhou to coordinate with Liu Xuan of Liaodong to do the hardest work.

Just like this, although a small censor of Liaodong is very good at debating, he is far inferior to Liu Cunye, a Hanlin editor and a veritable prime minister.

Zhang Sui heard the mocking words of the official from the Ministry of Justice, but turned a deaf ear and said: "Xu Hong, I'm afraid we will have a good show in a few days!"

"What a show?" Xu Hong immediately said in a daze.

Zhang Sui was also stunned, but looked at Xu Hong seriously and said: "Xu Hong, have you really completely forgotten such a big thing?"

"Ah? What's going on?" Xu Hong quickly rummaged and objected, looking very confused.

He does not mean that.

Liu Cunye, who looked complacent just now, suddenly had a look of horror on his face after hearing the conversation here.