Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

The New Year's Day meeting was held as scheduled.

Hundreds of civil and military officials and nobles from all over the dynasty arrived in front of the Fengtian Hall in full costumes, divided into civil and military columns, to greet the upcoming Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the most noble person in the world today.

Envoys from various countries are like well-behaved babies, and they also come with congratulatory gifts in advance.

In any era, strength determines status. The Ming Dynasty's army became more and more powerful, but its neighboring countries were adversely affected to varying degrees. The decline of one and the other widened the military gap between the two sides.

Most importantly, Emperor Hongzhi had abandoned the idea of ​​sharing the blessings of peace.

In the early days, they directly faced off against the Northern Yuan Dynasty, and then destroyed the Li Dynasty, which was plotting to conquer the Ming Dynasty in Guangxi. The Alchuka tribe who provoked the Ming Dynasty at the New Year's Day meeting last year was killed together with two other good brothers.

If it hadn't been for the fact that King Lee Suo of Joseon quickly gave in and sent his crown prince to the capital as a hostage, perhaps the kingdom of Joseon would no longer exist.

Facing such a powerful and non-peaceful Ming Dynasty, one must be cautious in every word and deed.

The North Yuan Dynasty is now busy supporting the young king, and the new king of North Korea is locked in a struggle with his ministers. Only the savage Jurchen, who does not know the heights of heaven and earth, dares to repeatedly provoke the Ming Dynasty.

As for North Vietnam and other countries in the Indochina Peninsula, they are now submissive to Wang Zhizhi who is stationed in the Indochina Peninsula and have become the true younger brothers of the Ming Dynasty.

Especially when they face threats from neighboring countries, it is even more difficult for the Champa Kingdom to recover its vitality. Every year, they want to give up their wealth to the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Youtang, who was wearing a dragon robe, was one year older and had successfully grown a beard. He became more stable and appeared in the hall on time.

"I pay my respects to Your Majesty, long live my emperor, long live, long live!"

Now Zhu Youtang's reputation in this court is increasing day by day, and all the civil and military officials and nobles immediately shouted long live him.

In particular, seeing Zhu Youtang's tough skills in governing the country, and the fact that the dynasty has been prospering in recent years, there are more and more ministers who want to assist Zhu Youtang wholeheartedly.

Unlike those in Beijing and Jiangnan who always take into account family interests, many of them have been instilled with the idea of ​​loyalty to the emperor since childhood, so they can often become the sword in the emperor's hand.

The strength of the emperor is often related to the strength of the prime minister. Once a powerful group like the Donglin Party appears, the number of people who restrict the emperor will increase, leading to the decline of imperial power.

It's just that almost the entire court now belongs to Zhu Youtang. Now if you want to get reuse and a higher position, you can only show enough loyalty to the emperor.

Just like this, from Liu Ji, the chief minister of the cabinet, to the ordinary officials in charge of the six ministries, more and more officials have evolved into out-and-out imperialists.

"The foreign minister pays homage to Your Majesty, long live my emperor, long live, long live!" North Korea and other envoys followed the civil and military officials and knelt down in a dignified manner.

Zhu Youtang sat on the dragon chair and looked down at the large group of people in power who had surrendered to him: "No courtesy!"

Guo Yong stood on Zhu Youtang's left hand and helped preside over the New Year's Day gathering.

According to the usual process, it starts with the civil and military officials, and then it is the turn of the envoys from various countries.

Envoys from various countries congratulated and presented gifts to the emperor, which was called congratulations.

Tuo Huochi, the envoy of Beishun, sent a batch of BMWs. Now that the internal disputes in Beishun have intensified the food shortage, he actually hopes to get more food from tribute.

The North Korean envoy sent a group of maids this time. Now the internal court struggle is becoming increasingly fierce. Li, who has just assumed the throne, needs the support of Ming Dynasty.

North Vietnam, Champa State and South Vietnam were all countries to the east of the Southeast Peninsula, but they sent golden nanmu, ivory, gems, etc., and they also needed the protection of the Ming Dynasty.

The four Jurchen tribes in Haixi are now semi-surrounded by the Ming Dynasty. There are also the Duoyan Sanwei and the Mongols in the east, and they have now completely become subordinate to the Ming Dynasty.

Whether it was asking for help from the Ming Dynasty, seeking asylum from the Ming Dynasty, or simply wanting to curry favor with the Ming Dynasty, the gift of congratulations this time was better than in previous years.

"I will give you five thousand silver coins and fifty gold coins!"

"I will give you five thousand silver coins and fifty gold coins!"

"Give me 10,000 silver dollars and an additional 100 gold coins!"

…

Facing these envoys who seemed to be very obedient, Zhu Youtang also generously gave silver coins, as well as Hongzhi gold coins newly launched in the fifth year of Hongzhi. Nothing is more practical than giving money directly.

Originally, he didn't like this kind of tributary trade, which was light and thick. After all, everyone knew that this was a loss-making business, and it was the pockets of the people of the Ming Dynasty.

It's just that things are different now, and now we are ushering in the era of maritime trade.

Later, the new president of Argentina abolished the national currency and used the rice dollar. The reason why it caused such negative public opinion was mainly because they lost monetary sovereignty.

The essence of Zhu Youtang's giving out money now is to penetrate the currency into other countries' markets and promote the Ming Dynasty's new currency to help China's financial industry dominate the world.

Once the Ming Dynasty's currency successfully enters the markets of various countries and makes the Chinese currency the main settlement currency of each country, it will virtually strengthen the influence of the Ming Dynasty, and it will also be able to collect considerable seigniorage from it, and it will also help the economies of various countries to integrate with the Ming Dynasty.

Back then, it was an obvious loss-making transaction, but now, if you think about it all, it is a smart move that uses a small amount to make a big difference.

What's more, the gifts now are silver dollars and Hongzhi gold coins, and envoys from various countries have also brought a large amount of tribute this time, so it is essentially a commercial act.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The North Korean envoys and other envoys found out that they were silver coins and gold coins, and expressed their thanks very excitedly.

Although it was not the style of the Ming Dynasty to give silver dollars and gold coins, compared with the physical objects given in the early days, the silver dollars and gold coins of the Ming Dynasty were actually more affordable.

Nowadays, trade between various countries is very frequent. They need to purchase not only cotton cloth from the Ming Dynasty, but also ceramics, silk, Chinese medicinal materials, books and other items from the Ming Dynasty.

Although silver dollars are not items, they can buy the materials needed by their king, which is much more cost-effective than giving them directly from the Ming Emperor.

This year is different from previous years. In addition to the Ouchi clan who still sent their retainer Tao Qiandao to pay tribute, the Otomo clan, one of the major powers in western Japan, also sent envoys.

Otomo Giyou's son, Otomo Oikaji, was just twenty years old. When he was presenting the tribute, he suddenly made a request: "Your Majesty, the foreign minister wants to welcome Princess Daming, please allow me!"

As soon as these words came out, everyone present suddenly opened their eyes in shock.

"You are so outrageous, are you talking nonsense?"

"Since the founding of this dynasty, there has never been any reconciliation!"

"How dare you, little foreigner, miss the Ming Princess?"

…

As soon as he finished speaking, Ping Liaobo Tie Xiangshan and other Wu Xun jumped out and yelled angrily.

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty has not advocated peace and marriage, and it has been implemented to this day. But who would have thought that the son of a small Japanese daimyo would actually propose to marry the princess.

When Zhu Youtang heard the other party's request, he immediately said with a sullen face: "Whoever comes here, immediately expel this person from the court, and he will not be allowed to enter the Ming Dynasty again!"

Wang Xiang led the Jin Yiwei to appear and couldn't help but stepped forward to take Otomo Oikaji into custody.

The envoy from the Dayou family knew the seriousness of the matter. He never thought that his young master would dare to make such a request. He quickly covered his mouth and said: "Young master, how do you say that you make such a request? This is the Ming Dynasty. Once you say If you say something wrong, you will be beheaded."

Otomo Oikaji is a proud and arrogant young man. Ever since he met the women of the Ming Dynasty, he has completely looked down on those women who were even monks and nobles.

Because the Ming Dynasty was open to paying tribute to them, his father arranged for him to take the opportunity of pilgrimage to come and see the capital of the Ming Dynasty, but just now he couldn't help but express his wish.

Who would have thought that his wish would be met with such a huge reaction from the Ming Emperor. After feeling the killing intent around him, he also realized that he had gotten into trouble.

Tao Qiandao, a retainer of the Ouchi clan, looked at Otomo Ouchi who was dragged out of the hall, and found that this young man was really simple-minded, and he killed himself in the Ming Dynasty with a little trick.

Zhu Youtang thought that after last year's lesson from the Alchukha tribe, no one would dare to openly provoke the Ming Dynasty again, but unexpectedly, a stupid young man appeared.

Although he could order the execution of Otomo Mataharu, this approach was too strong and damaged his reputation, so he chose a compromise method of expulsion to handle the matter.

"Ouchi family, you lied to me, let's wait and see!" Otomo Ouchi's mouth was already loosened, but he suddenly threatened and threatened.

Tao Qiandao, a retainer of the Ouchi family who was just proud, suddenly stiffened, but he did not expect Otomo Oyashi to suddenly point the finger at him.

Huh?

The civil and military officials and envoys present were all smart people, and they immediately suspected it was Tao Qian's plan. After all, it was not a secret that the two families had enmity.

"The Dayou family is so rude in the court, it is the negligence of the minister, please punish me!" Yin Zhi, who is also in charge of the Ministry of Rites, stood up and took the initiative to plead guilty.

Zhu Youtang knew that the problem was not with the Ministry of Rites. After all, absorbing famous Japanese officials would be conducive to trade between the two sides. This was why he issued an order to allow Japan to increase its tribute quota.

It’s just that the Ming Dynasty’s insistence on not being in harmony with each other and not surrendering to the throne reflects the integrity of the Ming Dynasty’s monarchs and ministers.

Facing the civil and military officials and envoys present, Zhu Youtang knew that some remedies needed to be made to defend the prestige of the Ming Dynasty and said: "Dauchi retainer!"

"The foreign minister is here!" Tao Qiandao, the retainer of the Ouchi clan, felt nervous, but he bravely stood up.

this……

Li Yu, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Jia Jun, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, looked at each other. Although they also suspected that Tao Qiandao, the retainer of the Ouchi family, was the instigator, Tao Qiandao would definitely kill him and deny it.

Zhu Youtang looked at this smart middle-aged man up and down, and said calmly: "I heard a few years ago that the daughter of the eldest daughter of the family is both talented and beautiful, and is the most beautiful woman in Japan. I wonder if she is married?"

"Not married yet!" Tao Qiandao breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that he was not being held accountable.

The corners of Zhu Youtang's mouth raised slightly, but he said calmly: "I haven't had an heir for many years, but the Eastern Taoist God said that the prince came from the east! Since your eldest lady is not married, I will send a wedding envoy to accompany you to welcome your family The eldest lady is a concubine!"

this……

Tao Qiandao was dumbfounded when he heard that the emperor had this intention.

When all the civil and military officials and envoys from various countries saw that the Ming Emperor had played this trick, they couldn't help but secretly applaud the culprit of the incident of marrying the princess.

"Ouchi retainer, why don't you accept the order and thank me?"

"Foreign minister, I have accepted the decree. Thank you for your kindness!" Tao Qiandao knew that the Emperor of Ming Dynasty wanted to punish him and his family, so he said with an expression uglier than crying.

Ordinarily, it would be a good thing for the Ouchi clan to marry their daughter to the Ming Emperor, but their eldest daughter is the only daughter of the family head. Now marrying the eldest daughter to the Ming Dynasty will make the Ouchi clan be controlled by the Ming Dynasty.

But regardless of whether he agrees or not, things must be done according to the wishes of the Ming Emperor, and the final pressure is also on the head of the Ouchi family.

History is always surprisingly similar. The more you want to do something, the more likely it is that problems will arise.

As the day for the national debt payment draws closer, everyone is thinking about the return of the gold ship.

Just when many ticket holders were still looking forward to gold, something unexpected happened, and the news that the gold transport ship was hijacked spread quickly in the capital.

"Don't listen to the wind, it's the rain!"

"Didn't we say that rice was in short supply before? But now it's rising?"

"This must be a fabrication, and the purpose is to test the national debt in our hands!"

…

When the people in the capital heard this news, many people were unmoved when they thought about the rice shortage in the capital that would cause a stir in the second half of the year.

The Ministry of Revenue did not choose to conceal it, but openly posted a notice: "The gold transport ship was passing through the southeast on its way north. A gold transport ship ran aground on the shoal in a storm, and was robbed by a group of pirates. The imperial court has started to trace the southeast pirates, but it has not yet It does not affect the gold redemption. If you need to exchange gold or silver coins, you can go to the Royal Bank to redeem it on the redemption day."

This matter could not have been mentioned originally, but Royal Bank knew the importance of credibility, so it chose to disclose the risks to the ticket holders.

"This national debt is indeed too dangerous!"

“That’s why the loss was small this time, but what about the big loss next time?”

"No matter what, I will never buy such high-risk government bonds again!"

…

In response to the imperial court's frank disclosure of shortcomings, some people with ulterior motives immediately made a fuss about this matter and chose to frantically smear the national debt.

But no matter how they smear it, Royal Bank now chooses to treat ticket holders with sincerity.

"I choose to exchange for gold!"

"I also choose to exchange it for gold!"

"Haha...I really have gold jewelry!"

…

Zhang Ying and other female ticket holders took their treasury bonds to the Royal Bank. Since the Royal Bank cooperates with the Royal Gold Store, they can also go directly to the Royal Gold Store to exchange for gold jewelry and gold.

"It's like a dream to get gold!"

“Last year, many people said that the imperial government’s national debt cannot be bought!”

"What can't I buy? I just regret that I bought too little!"

…

After seeing the genuine gold jewelry in their hands, many people can't believe their eyes and can't put it down.

Zhang Ying mainly supported the imperial policy last year, but she did not expect that the imperial court not only did not breach the contract, but also gave them an excessive return.

You know, what they gave them last year was cloth coupons or silver, but now the court gave them gold, and the payment was still based on the latest ratio.

Although gold has always been very valuable, the ratio of gold to silver was one to four, but now the ratio of gold to silver is one to ten, and even silver, which was originally sought after, is no longer in demand.

If their silver had not been used to purchase treasury bonds last year, but had chosen to purchase gold jewelry directly, their gold jewelry would have been smaller by more than a quarter.

“We really made a lot of money investing in government bonds!”

"No matter what other people think, I will definitely buy national bonds in the future!"

"You think you can buy national debt if you want, but how many people have been waiting for it but there has been no news!"

…

Faced with the daydreams of some women, rational women immediately pointed out the current situation and let them recognize the current facts.

Since the imperial court issued treasury bonds last year, although there were rumors that the imperial court wanted to issue new treasury bonds, there has been no movement. The national debt in the four years of Hongzhi is probably something that can only be met but cannot be saved.

As for those remarks specifically about destroying the national debt, they may have a certain market among the scholarly class, but they are nothing in the eyes of the people in the capital.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, the imperial edict was issued.

Wang Yue and Yin Zhi received the imperial decree one after another. They will go to Jiangnan as Ge Lao. Wang Yue will concurrently serve as the governor of South Zhili, while Yin Zhi will serve as the governor of Zhejiang.

Yin Zhi did not choose to take the water route, but went directly to Tianjin with Zheng Zheng, and went directly to Ningbo from the sea, but he planned to have a direct attack on Huanglong.

While Zhu Youtang was enjoying his vacation, he also started working on new plans.

Development is the last word. Although Jiangnan has problems, it is not an excuse to stagnate, so he has set his sights on the transportation network.

In any era, transportation is an important cost, let alone the current era of transportation based on animal power and human power.

It's just that road transportation cannot be built randomly. Building transportation requires a lot of money. The Sui Dynasty was largely dragged down by the Grand Canal in its finances.

Zhu Youtang does not think that now that the finances are healthy, he can do whatever he wants. He still has to plan carefully. Even if he builds roads, he has to consider needs and economic returns.

Judging from the current situation, the trade between Tianjin and Beijing has become more and more frequent, and more and more goods need to be transported, especially Tianjin is the gateway connecting Beijing to the ocean.

Although Tianjin has Dagukou water transportation, especially Tianshun 2 years ago, it connected Beitangkou and Jiyun River through the Xinhe River, but the current navigation capacity is too poor.

Zhu Youtang knew that currency can only reflect its value if it circulates. Nowadays, a lot of sea-borne currency arrives in Tianjin. Due to the silt and poor power of the canal, it is impossible to transport it to the capital through Dagukou.

Now can be regarded as the happiest moment since taking office. I used to worry about how to make money, but now I only need to think about how to spend it.

In addition to spending money, there is actually another headache.

Governor Yingtian also wanted to find candidates, and this time he decided to give young people a chance, and also called over officials such as Xu Hong, an official from the Hongzhi Dynasty. (End of chapter)