Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

Perhaps it was because Zhu Youtang often summoned ministers to discuss government affairs, but the ministers were not so restrained and could speak more freely.

After Liu Xuan, Minister of the Ministry of War, left, Yin Zhi and other important ministers came one after another to meet the emperor, and the efficiency of the imperial court has also been greatly improved.

"Do you really want to send the Crown Prince back?"

"This news has definitely come out in the palace, it can't be false!"

"The King of Joseon is so ambitious, how can he let the Crown Prince of Joseon go back? This move is a failure of planning!"

…

North Korea's request to send the Crown Prince back to the country has been rumored for a long time, and now there is finally a clear answer. Officials from the Ministry of War who were the first to learn the news immediately started talking about it.

Because Zhu Youtang favored younger officials in appointing officials, the influence of seniority was particularly weakened, resulting in the emergence of two camps, the old and the new, in every yamen.

Xu Hong had already made a name for himself in the Ministry of War, but he expressed his stance directly: "Your Majesty naturally has deep meaning in making such arrangements, not to mention what can North Korea do?"

Not to mention that the Ming Dynasty was able to defeat North Korea in the past. Now that it has strengthened its army and stationed troops in the Northeast Prefecture, there is no need to take North Korea seriously.

Earlier, the main reason why the King of Joseon was required to come to worship in person and use the Crown Prince of Joseon as a hostage was mainly because Jeju Mok led the Korean army to attack, but he never thought about preventing North Korea from invading.

Whether or not the crown prince of Joseon is returned now does not actually have much impact. After all, Ming Dynasty did not need to threaten North Korea through the crown prince of Joseon. On the contrary, Ming Dynasty only needed a suitable excuse to occupy the entire Korean Peninsula.

"If you don't have long-term worries, you will have immediate worries! I have eaten more salt than you have walked. If you have the crown prince of Joseon in your hands, you can rest easy. Releasing the crown prince of Joseon is definitely not a good idea!" An old doctor from the Ministry of War stroked his white beard. , It seems that you are relying on your old age and selling your old age.

Xu Hong shook his head gently, but he did not intend to have a meaningless argument with the other party.

These old men from the military department are almost all of the same moral character. They can talk about principles for a whole day over a cup of tea, but they cannot do even one thing when asked to do it, or they tend to look forward and backward without doing anything.

Although it is indeed not a good idea for the emperor to put the crown prince of Joseon back easily, people who really want to do things often have to think long-term and cannot just focus on immediate gains and losses.

This time the emperor decided to return the crown prince of Joseon to the country, not to mention that it was an operation by someone who wanted to do something, not to mention that it didn't make much difference whether the crown prince of Joseon was in his hands or not.

Faintly, he always felt that the emperor was planning something big, and something big would happen next in North Korea, and even the North Korean regime would be overturned.

When it comes to actually doing things, he ultimately believes that the current emperor is never ambiguous, otherwise the Ming Dynasty would not have such a good situation, and the Ministry of War would still be in charge of a bunch of old fritters who only talk but do not practice.

As the sun sets, the entire Xiyuan looks like a picture scroll.

After a busy day, Zhu Youtang stretched himself and looked at the pile of memorials with great satisfaction when he saw that all the government affairs had been handled.

Although life is relatively busy now, especially in Northeast Prefecture, where there are many trivial matters, he always keeps his responsibilities in mind and understands the importance of Northeast Granary.

Now Northeast Prefecture is in the start-up stage, and almost everything needs to be started from scratch, so it will indeed be a bit harder, but the rewards are endless.

Once the Northeast Prefecture becomes the granary of the north of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty will no longer need to use manpower to transport grain from the south, nor will it need to sacrifice salt to use the Kaizhong method to induce salt merchants to transport grain. This move will not only greatly improve the financial situation of the Ming Dynasty, but also And completely solve the problem of food shortage in the north.

The real prosperity of the Ming Dynasty was not due to the number of literati and wealthy businessmen, but to the people being able to achieve real food freedom.

"Your Majesty, Master Dongfang and Taoist Shao have asked for an audience outside the palace!" Liu Jin followed Zhu Youtang out of the Yangxin Hall and reported respectfully.

Zhu Youtang was not an emperor who liked to play around, and even showed a bit of rigidity.

During the day, I usually deal with honest government affairs. At night, I check intelligence from all over the country. As for late at night, I naturally work on making people. During this time of fishing and relaxation, I deal with other trivial matters.

Although Dongfang Dao was named a master of missionary work by Shenxiao to protect the country and was nominally a minister of the Ming Dynasty, he had never been able to appear in the Yangxin Hall.

Tingchao Pavilion and Fishing Pavilion.

Whenever the afterglow of the setting sun falls here, it echoes with the calm lake surface, and is dotted with jade bridges and islands, making it like a fisherman's paradise.

"My lord, Dongfang Dao, pays homage to Your Majesty!" Dongfang Dao followed the eunuch here. Seeing that Zhu Youtang had not yet begun to lower his hook, he knelt down respectfully and said.

Originally, he believed that he had some real abilities and was good at deceiving people, so he once wanted to get the title of Heavenly Master from Zhu Youtang.

But after more than half a year of contact, I know that I have to give up this idea as soon as possible, otherwise not only my life will be in danger, but my family will also suffer.

The emperor in front of him was not only smart, but also had very clear thinking and logic, and most likely was very pragmatic. Although he can say that he can practice Qidan to help him give birth to an heir within half a year, but after half a year, he will be dead.

However, he has also seen that these emperors are not stingy with those who can really do things, and if he does things honestly, he may not be unable to get the title of Heavenly Master.

When Zhu Youtang saw Dongfang Dao, he went straight to the point: "I have sent people to North Korea to buy grain to relieve the capital's rice shortage. However, I have been feeling uneasy recently. What is the fate of this matter?"

"I have asked Zigu today that this matter is not going well!" Dongfang Dao said with a prepared tone.

Zhu Youtang raised his brows slightly, but he picked up the warm teacup and said, "What's so wrong! Fire prevention or theft prevention?"

"According to Zigu's instructions, the two words in the sand table are: bridge prevention!" Dongfang Dao observed Zhu Youtang's reaction and told the result of his support.

Zhu Youtang silently took a sip of the fragrant tea and said thoughtfully: "You mean someone deliberately destroyed the bridge to prevent North Korean rice from passing through?"

"I didn't say anything! God's will is clear. This is what I saw, whether it's spiritual or not!" Dongfang Dao didn't dare to pretend to be an omniscient heavenly master, and seemed very honest.

Zhu Youtang was naturally able to see through Dongfang Dao's little thoughts. Now that Dongfang Dao had achieved glory and wealth, he no longer took risks, so he asked calmly: "Then how to resolve it!"

"The secrets of heaven are all solved by yourself!" Dongfang Dao said a profound nonsense.

Zhu Youtang put down the tea cup in his hand, but he asked with a slight movement in his heart: "According to what you said, can I have an heir and be able to relieve myself?"

In the eyes of later generations, giving birth to a child is a very simple matter. Only by being in it can I understand that if we want to create life, we really don’t need more women.

Although the Zhu family's surname has the same pronunciation as pig, there seems to be a genetic problem.

Emperor Jingtai had many women, but in the end he was the last to have any queens. In the original history, Zhengde also had the same fate, so the Ming Emperor never gave birth to a child just when he wanted to.

Unexpectedly, Yi Si's problems have brought more and more troubles to him, and now more and more powerful people have begun to think of overthrowing him.

In fact, he was helpless. It was said that he was a serious royal orthodoxy, and no one dared to challenge him as the emperor, but history was ultimately changed by himself.

Over the years, he has violated the interests of the powerful class, and many powerful people have even died in his own hands. He has already become the person that the powerful people hate the most.

From the initial control of the military camp and the removal of the twelve Wuhou, to the rectification of the salt policy, which destroyed the filial piety of the powerful, and then the rectification of the financial industry, which destroyed the biggest source of wealth of the powerful, and the clearing of the land, it violated the fundamentals of the powerful... and so on. His actions are too numerous to describe.

Recently, he abolished the silver standard and introduced the new currency of the Ming Dynasty, which directly caused the sharp depreciation of the silver of the powerful. In this rice and grain dispute, he suppressed rice prices and undermined their profit-seeking behavior.

Not to mention the powerful man himself, even if he thinks about what he has done, he already feels guilty. If he hadn't been completely in power, he might have fallen ill long ago.

Just because he had offended so many powerful people, his own situation was not good, and the problem of having no heirs was constantly being deliberately magnified by them.

Although I had already proposed the idea of ​​adoption, this matter was strongly opposed by them, and they even labeled me as unfilial.

After all, he inherited the throne from Emperor Chenghua. If he wanted to adopt the throne, he should find Emperor Chenghua's grandson, but the oldest Xingwang Zhu Youqi was not married yet.

Because of this, before Zhu Youqian and his younger brothers gave birth to children, it was impossible for him to get a stepson from a collateral line. As a result, the first heir was still King Xing.

Since the Prince Consort Wang Zeng incident, there have indeed been fewer people going to Prince Xing's Mansion, but the number of dignitaries who want to crowd Prince Xing has increased unabated.

Now he can't ask for his stepson to fill the crown prince's position. Prince Xing is still the first heir to the Ming Dynasty throne. What's more terrible is a rumor.

The original rumor was that Empress Dowager Zhou, Huaien and others protected him from the persecution of the demon concubine, and that Huaien even protected his position as prince, but recently it turned out that he was not of the Xianzong bloodline.

Although this rumor only spread in a small area and was suppressed by the Jinyi Guards early on, it undoubtedly provided the conspirators with a brand new idea.

Of course, the reason why the coup was successful was that Yingzong had the legal right to inherit. But if he was not of Xianzong's blood, then King Xing was indeed the legitimate heir to the throne.

Likewise, after Zhu Youtang's plan to find an adopted stepson to fill the crown prince's position was blocked, the best solution now is to give birth to an heir himself.

"At that time, the Emperor Xing was in Western Chu, but the Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty freed himself at the Hongmen Banquet, and the Liu family had a dynasty for more than 400 years. Heaven's secrets are uncertain, but people can indeed free themselves!" Dongfang Dao gave a definite answer.

Zhu Youtang signaled Liu Jin to bring the fishing rod over, but he shook his head in disappointment and said: "Every time I chat with you for a long time, it turns out that the question is still in vain!"

Although there is some truth in what he said, he is a superior emperor, and this minister who received his own salary actually pushed the matter back to him. It is clear that he is taking money to do nothing.

"I just got a glimpse of a glimmer of hope, that's all. Your Majesty, please take a closer look!" Dongfang Dao knew that the emperor in front of him was very pragmatic, and said with a bitter look.

Zhu Youtang was about to take the fishing rod, but he noticed the half stick held by Shao Yuanfang: "Has there been any new progress in the nylon matter?"

"Your Majesty, this is the latest refined nylon stick, please take a look at it!" Shao Yuanfang had been staying nearby for a while, looking a little nervous.

Zhu Youtang took the ugly half-section of the nylon stick, but said with disgust: "Not bad! When the fish comes out, this thing may be able to hit the fish!"

this……

Shao Yuanjie discovered that the emperor was not satisfied with the results. He immediately felt an invisible pressure and immediately decided to go back and get the nylon thread out no matter what.

In fact, he didn't understand that the emperors of the past dynasties either wanted the Immortality Pill or the Dragon Tiger Pill from their Longhu Mountain, but in the end they wanted to get nylon thread.

Although the nylon line has a dragon character in it, its maximum power is only for fishing. He really doesn't understand why the emperor insists on doing such a waste of time.

However, he also knew that he wanted to get a heavy reward from the emperor, so he would find ways to actually refine the nylon thread instead of retreating in spite of the difficulties.

Dongfang Dao shook his head secretly when he saw the ugly half stick. Although he knew that Shao Yuanfang spent a lot of effort day and night, losers never deserve sympathy.

But what they didn't know was that after the two of them left, Zhu Youtang put down the fishing rod and leisurely played with the semi-finished nylon rod in his hand.

Although there is still a long way to go with the results I expected, this is already a good result. After all, starting from scratch is a qualitative change.

Even for copper wire, the copper material is first available, and then it is slowly refined.

The reason why I disliked him just now was to put pressure on Shao Yuanfang, but I couldn't let him become complacent because of it. After all, semi-finished nylon rods and nylon threads are worlds apart.

"Your Majesty, I have invited the most powerful painter in the city, and I would like you to take a look at it!" Dongchang Factory Supervisor Tan Conggui strode over and presented a painting to him.

Zhu Youtang did not rush to open the painting, but asked seriously: "Tell me what you think!"

"Educated and sensible, proficient in all kinds of music, chess, calligraphy and painting, she is indeed a one-in-a-million beauty!" Tan Conggui raised his head to meet Zhu Youtang's eyes, looking serious and authentic.

Zhu Youtang, however, doubted Qin Conggui's aesthetic sense, so he had an idea: "How does the appearance compare to Mengmeng?"

"They're all the same, but each has his own merits!" Tan Conggui was immediately confused, and then gave the answer.

Zhu Youtang slowly opened the scroll and felt slightly moved when he saw the beautiful girl wearing a light red Confucian skirt in the scroll, especially her exquisite facial features.

"Your Majesty, I have something to say. I don't know whether I should say it or not?" Tan Conggui hesitated and asked cautiously.

Zhu Youtang stared at the girl in the painting and made a general appearance of the person in the painting in his mind: "Tell me!" (End of this chapter)