Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

As soon as these words came out, countless information instantly came to my face, and there was a faint smell of conspiracy.

If the divine prophecy of Dongfang Dao is accurate, as long as Zhu Youtang deposes Queen Chang Yourong and canonizes Zhang Yujiao, it will last for a lifetime.

But now that Zhang Yujiao is killed, the possibility of Zhu Youtang's continuation is cut off, and Prince Xing will become the well-deserved first heir to the throne.

Just like this, when the news of Zhang Yujiao's death came, King Xing naturally became the first suspect, and Zhu Youtang's situation became worse.

Zhu Youtang suddenly felt anger welling up in his heart, and said coldly: "Is this still my palace?"

Since they are not dealing with the civil servant group, and now they are dealing with the Wu Xun group, and even the interests of noble groups such as relatives are in contact, everyone pays great attention to personal safety.

Although he did not act rashly in the early days in order to play the role of the stupid prince, in recent years the entire palace has been purged over and over again.

Even the Empress Dowager Zhou can only use a few close eunuchs and maids, and the other personnel have already become members of her control.

It's just that with the death of concubine Shu Zhang Yujiao, not only has his dignified concubine suffered an accident, but the palace does not seem to be as impregnable as he imagined.

"Your Majesty, the dragon body is important, please calm down!" Liu Jin and others felt Zhu Youtang's anger and immediately knelt down and said.

Zhu Youtang knew that his incompetent rage could not solve any problems, so he immediately calmed down and said, "Tin Conggui, tell me what is going on in this matter!"

Although Han Youying knew that the former princess had fallen out of favor, she looked at Qin Conggui curiously when she learned that the dignified concubine Shu had died inexplicably.

Zhang Yujiao requested a birthday celebration for her father Zhang Luan today, so she went to Zhang Mansion early in the morning, but when she returned to Chengxi Palace, she suddenly ate something and died suddenly.

Suddenly, a shocking case occurred in the palace, and the city of Beijing was also artificially panicked.

"According to rumors, the imperial court is going to stop the Tongzhou Granary to transport grain to the capital!"

"The Tongzhou granary is related to the stability of the country, so the Royal Rice Company is not allowed to transport grain from the Tongzhou granary!"

"If you have food at home, you won't panic! Don't be stunned, hurry up to the Royal Rice Store to grab food!"

…

As the news spread that the imperial court stopped Tongzhoucang's grain delivery to Beijing, a large number of people flocked to the Royal Rice Store, putting the Royal Rice Store under great pressure.

Fortunately, the rice mill of the Royal Rice Shop has recruited enough people and is now grinding rice like crazy, so it was not suddenly hit by the buying wave.

"Everyone, please rest assured. The Royal Rice Store has sufficient storage of rice, and the imperial court has not stopped the Tongzhou warehouse! If the rice at home can still last for half a month, I suggest that we come back later and keep the rice at home. It's easy to get insects!" Shopkeeper Qian also seriously dissuaded the people who were tempted to come to grab rice.

Zhang Ying happened to come to deliver the cloth, but he also stood up and comforted: "When did the Royal Rice Bank break its promise? Now the rice grains have been delivered from Tongzhou warehouse, and it has not stopped. Even if there are traitors who stand up to stop it, our emperor is An emperor who is rare in a hundred years has even taken care of the millions of people affected by the disaster in Henan. We are the subjects under the emperor's feet, how could he have the heart to let us eat rice that is more than ten times more expensive?"

Perhaps shopkeeper Qian and Zhang Ying were comparing themselves to one another, perhaps they had slowly calmed down, or perhaps they trusted Emperor Hongzhi. In the end, most of the people left silently.

As the pressure on sales subsided, Royal Rice Store gradually returned to normal. There were no longer long queues at the door, allowing people in real need to eat affordable rice as soon as possible.

Of course, there is a hidden worry here. Once the people in the capital cannot eat Tongzhou rice, then they will indeed have to face the rice that is more than ten times higher than that of the people of Xiangcheng Hou.

The panic outside has eased, but a tense atmosphere is permeating the palace.

"Your Majesty, I have verified that the cakes eaten by Concubine Shu contained arsenic. Concubine Shu died of arsenic poisoning!" After Li Fan checked, he gave a very definite answer.

Guo Yong was regarded as a steward. When he saw the box of cakes, he said firmly: "Your Majesty, this box of cakes is not from the palace. It was brought from outside the palace!"

When Zhu Youtang learned the whole story, he immediately expressed his position with a cold face: "No matter who is found, I will never tolerate it, and I will conduct a thorough investigation!"

Although he didn't love Concubine Shu at all, Concubine Shu was his concubine after all, and she was the woman who was destined to inherit his descendants.

Now Concubine Shu was suddenly poisoned. Whether it was for her own face or to punish the person who wanted to cut off her descendants, she had enough reasons to send him to hell.

"My servant obeys the order!" Tan Conggui said solemnly after receiving Zhu Youtang's instructions.

It's late at night, and there is a lot of movement in Qianqing Palace tonight.

Zhu Youtang's original plan tonight was to check out the Queen's brand, but when he was having dinner, he still reached out and chose Fan Jin's brand by mistake.

Although he does not believe that Queen Chang is the mastermind behind the scenes, and Queen Chang's earlier attitude should not be a test of him, Queen Chang is still a potential beneficiary after all.

Zhu Youtang knew that he should not doubt the educated and sensible Empress Chang, but as the supreme ruler of this empire, he was destined to pay more attention to everything.

After all, an emperor who keeps an extra attentive mind will usually live longer and may be more nourished.

"Your Majesty, you are so awesome tonight!"

The golden bells on Fan Jinling's ankles were bigger, so each time there was a crisp sound, which actually inspired Zhu Youtang's stronger desire to conquer.

Zhu Youtang originally had some selfish motives, hoping that Queen Chang would give birth to his eldest son to avoid potential disputes over the throne, but it doesn't matter now.

Now that Jiajing no longer exists, and even Zhengde will never appear again, the fate of Ming Dynasty has been completely changed by himself. Fan Jinling, Qingyue, Han Youying, Su Yuner, Lin Qiqi, Yang Zisu, Yi Kexi and other women can do it, they will only give birth to heirs for themselves.

Finally, in a kind of incomparable joy, he gave all his hopes to Fan Jinling.

Fan Jinling is well aware of the mission she has to shoulder, but her temper is relatively simple and she does not have as many extravagant expectations as others.

As a palace maid, now that she has been canonized as a concubine, she is extremely satisfied, so she has never deliberately thought about her son.

She was extremely happy at the moment, knowing that she had once again succeeded in stimulating Zhu Youtang's madness. Although she was already defeated, she quickly crawled towards Zhu Youtang and nestled happily next to Zhu Youtang.

As if there were roundworms in Zhu Youtang's belly, he said softly: "Your Majesty, the queen sister is not that kind of person. She hopes that your majesty will have a wife more than I do!"

"Don't make wild guesses! I believe her, but this matter is for me. I need to face this matter calmly now!" Zhu Youtang gently hugged this considerate beauty and said what he was thinking. .

Fan Jinling nodded lightly, and then said slyly: "Qingyue's letter is here, so I have called you a new partner tonight to let you relax!"

Zhu Youtang didn't remember the date of Qingyue's monthly letter at all. He was just surprised when he saw a slim beauty walking in from outside the bead curtain.

But it seems to be reasonable. Among so many concubines, although Fan Jinling is the one who can play tricks the most, Northern Concubine Iksi is the real free and easy wild horse in Mongolia.

The next day, it was eight morning.

When Zhu Youtang sat on the dragon chariot, he clearly felt the comfort in his legs, and found that he had to restrain himself from some things, no matter how tempting they were at the time.

Just recalling last night's scene, I found that the cooperation between Fan Jinling and Bei Fei Iksik was indeed interesting, and Iksik seemed to like this kind of game.

"I bow to your majesty, long live my emperor, long live, long live!"

Since it is the morning court held three times a month, almost all civil and military officials will not be absent. They arrived at the square in front of Fengtian Gate on time and knelt down to worship Zhu Youtang who appeared.

Zhu Youtang sat on the dragon chair, looking down at his ministers from a high position, and now he did not dislike the morning court.

Although the early court meetings were still formal meetings, he occasionally appeared in front of civil and military officials, which was conducive to stimulating the loyalty factor in them.

Everyone is like this. Although they are full of respect for the invisible emperor, they will have a stronger sense of intimacy towards the visible emperor, which will also inspire their loyalty from the bottom of their bones.

Various yamen started to make troubles one after another, but the morning court was also the most important way for some people to stir up trouble. What was supposed to come finally came.

Lin Yuanfu, a member of the household department, was involved in the incident and directly pointed the finger at Zhu Youtang: "Your Majesty, Tongzhou Cang is the foundation of the stability of the Ming Dynasty, and it is also the basis for soldiers from all over the world to eat rice! Your Majesty, because of the shortage of rice in the royal rice line, you are here The Tongzhou warehouse allocates rice and grain...Such a lack of distinction between public and private affairs will lead to a big mistake. Chaos in the north will lead to chaos in the world. I implore Your Majesty to immediately stop the private transfer of Tongzhou warehouse from the imperial store!"

Since the Royal Rice Store has the support of Tongzhou Granary, the Royal Rice Store has once again become the most important channel for people in the capital to eat rice, making it impossible for other rice stores in the capital to sell rice at all.

After the Marquis of Xiangcheng Li Jin and his gang had a meal of wine, their days now seemed like years. When they opened their eyes every day, they just hoped that everything would be a dream.

Now they not only face the pressure of bankruptcy of the rice storage plan, but also have to bear the cost of storing rice. If there is no turnaround, they will really be unable to bear it.

That's why they need to stop the Royal Rice Company from transferring grain from Tongzhou Cang so that they can reverse their defeat.

Huh?

Li Yu, the Minister of Personnel, and others saw that this Hu Ke jumped out of the situation, and couldn't help but look up and down at this Ke Dao Yanguan who obviously had other purposes.

Lin Yuanfu was a native of Putian, Fujian, a land of outstanding talents. He was a Jinshi in high school in the 11th year of Chenghua. He became famous for admonishing Wang Zhi and Wang Yue to rise again. Now he has moved to Hukedu and Shizhong.

But I never expected that this well-known official of science and technology would eventually be driven by interest groups.

"I implore your Majesty to immediately stop the imperial store's private transfer to Tongzhou warehouse!" As soon as Lin Yuanfu finished speaking, several other officials from the Department of Science and Technology immediately agreed.

Li Jin, the Marquis of Xiangcheng, stood in the ranks of Wu Xun, very satisfied with everything he directed, and looked at Zhu Youtang in front of Fengtian Gate with a half-smile.

Although Zhu Youtang's use of Tongzhou Granary can indeed instantly calm the panic of the people in the city, Tongzhou Granary is after all the granary of the Ming Dynasty that stabilizes the north, and it cannot be "privately used" by you, Zhu Youtang, at will.

If Zhu Youtang hadn't killed too many officials and dignitaries over the years, and if the current Qingliu were all weaklings, this obviously unruly approach would have been strongly opposed by all civil and military officials.

Now that Lin Yuanfu has revealed this matter, you must give everyone a reasonable explanation, otherwise the opposition will definitely become louder and louder, and the Wuxun Group he leads will also stand up to oppose it.

"Lin Yuanfu, do you know how much food is stored in Tongzhou City?" Although Zhu Youtang had already guessed that this would be the case this morning, he still asked with great disappointment.

Lin Yuanfu had actually just been transferred from the Li Kedu to Shi Zhongping not long ago, but he still did some homework and said: "When the late emperor passed away, the grain storage in Tongzhou granary was about 22 million shi!"

Jia Jun, Minister of Industry, and other officials suddenly thought of Emperor Chenghua and couldn't help but nod secretly.

Although Xianzong's doting on Concubine Wan Gui was criticized, and the opening of the West Factory made the civil servants gnash their teeth with hatred, it did leave Zhu Youtang a large amount of wealth.

"I ask you how much grain is stored in Tongzhou's granary now!" Zhu Youtang stared at this middle-aged Fujian man and emphasized.

Lin Yuanfu looked around for help, and finally had to bite the bullet and said: "The amount of grain stored in the Tongzhou granary now should be about the same as when the late emperor died!"

Huh?

Jia Jun, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, and other officials suddenly realized that they themselves did not know, so they turned to look at the team of officials from the Ministry of Revenue, looking for Wu Yu, the right minister of the Ministry of Revenue, who was in charge of Tongzhou warehouse.

Wu Yu was like an old monk in trance, but he ignored the glances around him.

"Wu Yu!" Zhu Youtang leaned back and said calmly.

Wu Yu, the right minister of the Ministry of Revenue, immediately stood up respectfully and reported with a slightly raised corner of his mouth: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the total amount of grain stored in the Tongzhou granary today is 37 million shi!"

"Ah? How much?"

"Three...thirty-seven million stones?"

"This...how is it possible that there is so much food stored?"

…

As soon as these words came out, not to mention Lin Yuanfu and others who were provoking trouble, even neutral officials looked at Wu Yu in shock.

Although many officials knew that the imperial court's fiscal revenue had increased based on the financial situation in recent years, so the food in the Tongzhou granary had also increased, but they never expected it to increase so much.

Lin Yuanfu's mouth opened wide, and then he questioned: "Shilang Wu, this matter is not a child's play, don't falsely report the number here!"

It's not surprising that he was doubtful, after all, this number exceeded everyone's awareness.

"Chief Lin, in front of His Majesty, who dares to risk beheading to deceive His Majesty? The account book of the Tongzhou Granary is here. If you don't believe me, you can go ahead and look it up!" Wu Yu rolled his eyes at Lin Yuanfu, then took out the account book from his sleeve and said.

He was indeed not falsely reporting the amount, but the actual amount of food in Tongzhou City.

The granary in Tongzhou City had already been given a good foundation by Emperor Chenghua. After Zhu Youtang ascended the throne, he not only continued to improve the financial situation, but also paid great attention to the food security in the north.

After the restoration of Kaizhongfa, the food shortage in Jiubian was effectively alleviated. Jiubian's granary no longer relied on the Tongzhou granary, but obtained sufficient food through Zhongsalt.

In addition, the relationship between Jiubian and Mongolia has improved, and the war between the two sides has significantly reduced. Due to the large amount of mutton obtained from trade, the burden of food has become smaller and smaller. Now the soldiers of Jiubian have even changed their pay to cloth coupons, which are particularly popular with Mongolia.

In terms of grain tax during the Ming Dynasty, although Huguang initially only tried to clear the land, many good families in various places also began to take the initiative to pay the tax in full to the court.

With the nationwide implementation of land clearing this year, Ming's grain tax has increased rapidly, and grain from all over the country has been transported to the Tongzhou General Warehouse.

The especially unruly people's registration has a very effective deterrent effect. Many wealthy families do not want to ruin the future of their children and grandchildren due to tax avoidance, so they cooperate and pay back the grain tax.

In addition, the imperial court introduced a luxury tax the year before last. The Ming Dynasty levied taxes on a large number of wealthy groups. Some of the rich paid silver, but there were also many dignitaries in the capital who paid grain, and the grain paid by these dignitaries in the capital was sent to the Tongzhou granary.

In terms of Tongzhou granary expenditures, although Shandong was hit by a locust plague and a number of Tongzhou granaries needed to be mobilized for disaster relief, there were fewer and fewer places where expenditures were needed.

For example, in Shanxi, as the grain taxes collected by the government are becoming more and more abundant, not only do they no longer need to rely on the Tongzhou Granary, there is even enough tax grain to allocate Jiubian.

That's why Tongzhou's granary has seen more incoming and outgoing in recent years. Everyone thinks that Tongzhou's granary cannot be touched lightly, but they don't know that the grain storage in Tongzhou's granary has reached an astonishing 37 million shi.

The reason why there is such a big gap in the price of rice in Beijing is probably because a large amount of grain in the capital flows into Tongzhou warehouse through luxury tax and other forms, which leads to a decrease in grain in society.

The Marquis of Xiangcheng, Li Jin, and others simply saw that the capital was short of rice, but did not know the real reason at all, so they raised funds to hoard rice for profit as if they lost everything.

If the 22 million grain reserves during the Chenghua Emperor's time could stabilize the north, then if there are an additional 15 million shi of grain reserves now, how can the survival of the Ming Dynasty be jeopardized if a little bit is used to finance the royal rice bank?

The grain stored in Tongzhou Granary now has enough confidence to supply the entire northern region, not to mention the small capital city.

"So we are already so rich?"

"We have been removing moths these years!"

“More than just removing the moths, we have also benefited all the people and allowed them to pay less taxes!”

"There is so much grain in the Tongzhou granary now, and now someone wants to hoard it, but I am the first to refuse!"

…

When Jia Jun, Minister of Industry and Industry, and other officials learned the truth, they seemed to be belatedly stating that they had no objections to Tongzhou Granary supplying rice to the Royal Rice Bank.

Everyone knows that if the food shortage in Tongzhou Granary is indeed inappropriate, but if it is not used to resolve the food shortage in the capital, is it going to go moldy?

Zhu Youtang knew that it was time for some people to suffer, so he turned his attention to the initiator Lin Yuanfu and said: "Chief Lin, what do you say now?" (End of Chapter)