met free Chapter 933: Thank You
Chapter 933: Thank You
Chapter 933: Thank You
The Forbidden City would be dyed white by snow every winter. With the alternation of the four seasons, Zhu Houzhao also got used to the passage of time.
Children like snow.
After the snow stops,
He brought Zaijian out and built a snowman, and the child was so happy that he even forgot the cold.
Zhu Houzhao also felt a sense of relaxation.
In fact, he was a little tired of the monetary reform in the past six months, and as it was the end of the year, he deliberately slowed down the pace.
No matter how a truly great emperor adjusts, or whether he needs to adjust, he needs it.
By taking a rest like this, we can accumulate some strength after the spring of the 22nd year of Zhengde.
Just treat it as a holiday.
It’s just that national affairs do fall on his shoulders, so it’s hard to say that he doesn’t care about state affairs at all. At most, he just gives more to the cabinet.
Or like now...
He lay down by the fire and let Zai'an read the memorials to him.
"This is Shandong Governor Ouyang Duo's request to exempt one county from taxes and levies. Father, do you want to approve it?"
"Requests like this can be granted if the reasons are sufficient and the national treasury can afford it."
"Okay." Zai'an's face was still childish and very cute with its pink and tender complexion. Upon hearing the emperor's agreement, he picked up a red pen and wrote the word "yes" next to the cabinet's draft opinion.
After the reform of the memorial system, secret memorials were exchanged between the emperor and his ministers.
However, most of the government memorials were still drafted by the cabinet.
Governing the country entirely through secret memorials would be a workload that no human could bear.
During the Qing Dynasty, Yongzheng, Qianlong and Jiaqing were all very diligent emperors. Their work and rest schedules... Zhu Houzhao really couldn't imitate them, and if he forced himself to follow them, he might end up becoming mentally unstable.
However, these memorials drafted by the cabinet still needed the emperor's approval. In fact, they were some relatively insensitive government affairs, so Zhu Houzhao took them out and asked Zaigang to read the entire document.
After completing one,
The child opened another book, read it silently, and said, "Father, this is a request from the prefect of Jiaxing to confer the title of chastity on a daughter of the Shen family."
"What does the Cabinet think?"
"Proposed to grant it."
Zhu Houzhao crossed his hands behind his head and said a word in a very comfortable tone, "Yes."
This will take about half an hour.
He suddenly noticed that Zai'an's eyes were always looking towards the memorials that were piled up like a mountain. His expression was a little anxious, and his pouting look was a little cute.
This made him laugh out loud, "What's wrong? Are you bored?"
"Children don't dare."
Zai Jian was startled and immediately sat up straight.
"Haha." Zhu Houzhao turned sideways and looked at him. "Being an emperor is like this. 50% of the time you feel bored, and 50% of the time you feel lonely. Being refreshed and satisfied is only a very small part of it."
Zai Xuan was so young that he didn't understand the deep meaning of the words. He just understood the literal meaning and said, "I am an unfilial child. I never thought about how hard my father worked. But just now... it's been less than half an hour, and I felt it was unbearable."
Speaking of which, I'm probably a little ashamed.
These words made Zhu Houzhao feel a little relieved. Child, it was really better when you were young.
"I'm used to your father too." Zhu Houzhao waved to him, "Come, I'll watch it with you."
"it is good!"
Zai Jian nodded seriously, no longer feeling anxious as before.
The memorial is opened.
Zhu Houzhao taught earnestly, "The so-called Son of Heaven is the only one in the world, and everyone must listen to the emperor. But if one person controls the fate of millions of people in the world, this can also be called a dictator. So, how can one person fight against ten thousand people?
The emperor could not often leave the palace to check things in person, nor could he go to the frontier to fight in place of the generals. He always hid in the deep palace, and it was easy for him to assume what people around him said was what he saw outside.
At this time, memorials may be the only way to understand the outside world. Therefore, memorials must not be taken lightly. You must read them carefully, grasp the information in them, and think about why the person wrote them in this way...
On the other hand, the emperor cannot trust all memorials, because the true human heart is never written in memorials..."
Zai Jian lay on the side and listened very attentively, frowning from time to time.
"Dad, can we believe that memorial or not?"
Zhu Houzhao thought for a moment and said, "I have no way to answer this question. The truth and falsehood in the world have no fixed form and are naturally elusive. So as an emperor, I can only grasp the tangible things."
Zai'an tilted his head, his face seemed to be pressed against the imperial desk, "What is a tangible thing?"
"Strength. Even if you are deceived, even if the deception succeeds in the end, you can still make yourself bear the consequences of being deceived, and then make a comeback."
"Oh." Zaizhen smiled, "It doesn't matter how many people cheat me. The most important thing is to have someone you can truly trust."
"That's right."
It was snowing heavily outside, and the square between the palaces was covered with thick snow.
The footprints that had just been made were covered up again not long after.
In this kind of weather, it is a rare kind of relaxation and happiness to chat with the fifth child who is still a child and talk light-heartedly without any verbal traps.
The combined age of Zhu Houzhao in both his previous and current lives was about 70 years old. Perhaps he really had some happiness in enjoying the company of his grandchildren?
The old eunuch You Zhi was also happy for the emperor.
The Qianqing Palace is not a place where laughter often breaks out, but the Fifth Prince is different. He is smart, well-behaved and obedient. He can often respond to the emperor's words and occasionally say very childish and funny words, which makes the emperor very happy.
After a while, Zhang Cong from the cabinet passed in a note.
Zhu Houzhao summoned him and asked Zaigang to sit at a low desk nearby.
After You Zhi led him in, Zhang Cong observed him carefully, bowed and said, "I, your humble servant, pay my respects to Your Majesty and Your Highness the Fifth Prince."
"Be flat."
Zhu Houzhao's happiness today was written all over his face.
People like Zhang Cong had long known that the fifth prince Zaigang was the emperor's most favored.
"You Zhi, please take a seat."
Zhang Cong bowed, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
When he was in a good mood, not only would he be given a seat, but even the hot basin would be pushed closer to him.
"It's snowing heavily outside. My dear, what's so urgent that you have to endure the severe cold to enter the palace?"
Zhang Cong took something out of his sleeve and presented it with his head bowed. "Your Majesty, I feel that it is almost the end of the year, and the currency reform that the court has put a lot of effort into and Your Majesty is also very concerned about must have an overall progress report for Your Majesty's review. I have been preparing for the past few days, and today I have gathered the situation in Jiangxi and Huguang provinces. Because I know Your Majesty is concerned, I dare not delay."
"Oh?" Zhu Houzhao felt hopeful and asked, "What's the overall situation?"
"This memorial was collected by the officials, celebrities, merchants and common people in various provinces. It is not based on the flattering words of officials. Generally speaking, the situation of currency reform can be divided into three levels. The best is in the south of the Yangtze River, such as Hangzhou and Nanjing, and border ports such as Datong and Yili. These places have prosperous business and are very concerned about currency reform. They are also enthusiastic about exchanging new money. In particular, the unified currency makes trade more convenient, so it is welcomed and the use of new currency can be seen everywhere.
The next best places are the rural areas in the rich provinces, where transportation is convenient and information is flowing freely, so people don’t have to work hard to get to the county town. Finally, the situation is not so ideal, mainly in more remote areas.”
Zhu Houzhao watched and listened at the same time. He could not help but nod his head after listening. "Thanks to your hard work, otherwise, how could there be such progress in half a year? Now it seems that the trend of currency reform has been established. Although there are still unfinished business, it will not affect the overall situation. Once the transition period is over, the court will declare all old money illegal, and then the reform will be completed."
Zhang Cong smiled slightly, "It was all your majesty's planning and the concerted efforts of all officials. I dare not take credit for it."
"Whether you have made contributions or not, I am not confused. After the success of this reform, the central bank should pay attention to the prices of goods in different places. It sounds complicated, but food is the most important thing for the people, so it is mainly to pay attention to the grain prices in various provinces. There is a basic economic principle that economic activities require currency. To put it in an extreme way, if there is not a single silver dollar in the capital, then the price of silver dollars must be expensive and hard to find.
In this way, normal economic activities will be affected and people may even be forced to mint their own money again.
The price of grain should not be too high or too low. The standard is not difficult. No matter how high it is, it should not make it so that an ordinary worker cannot afford a month's worth of grain with half a month's wages. No matter how low it is, it should not make the grain-growing people starve after working hard for a year.
Zhang Cong nodded, "Your Majesty is wise, this is exactly what we need, so that the people can live."
"At present, there are still domestic markets in Southeast Asia where our coins can be circulated. We can mint more coins and put them in the market. The silver from the silver mines in Japan should not be spent directly as official silver. Some of it should be transported to the capital for storage. The reason why the new coins are convincing is that the court promised that they can be exchanged for silver.
There is no centralized exchange yet, but we must be prepared. Only after withstanding a major test can the new currency be considered to have truly established itself. The other part, see if it can be sent to Southeast Asia and Korea. I have not forced them to use only our new currency. "
When the treaty was first signed, this clause seemed to indicate that the Celestial Empire was "more reasonable", and even many ministers in the court believed so.
But the actual pit is buried here.
They only recognize new money, so what’s the use of the silver dug out by the Ming Dynasty?
Is silver still money if it can’t buy anything?
As for buying things in the West, Zhu Houzhao had not yet considered what they had worth buying: land?
Zhang Cong reacted. He understood the trap, but he had a doubt.
"Your Majesty, our Ming Dynasty is rich in resources and people. What can we buy from Southeast Asia and Korea?"
"Nothing, but slaves."
At the current level of human morality, if you give a king some silver, he will take the initiative to capture some of his subjects and sell them.
These slaves were very useful to the Ming Dynasty.
For example, it can be used in some major projects.
In fact, there is nothing profound about the accumulation of wealth. It all comes down to occupying the surplus labor of others.
"My dear minister, don't you think that the Ming Dynasty is too big, but the roads are not smooth? A few days ago, the Academy of Sciences invented a cement material. With this material, the roads built are much better. But projects like this often require the conscription of hundreds of thousands or even millions of civilians. I don't want to make the same mistake as Emperor Yang of Sui."
Of course, Li Tang said a thousand bad things about Emperor Yang of Sui in order to gain the legitimacy of his throne.
But the real mistake Emperor Yang of Sui made was not his moral character, but that he used the people's power too much. In building the canal and conquering Korea, he basically used up all the men in the world, and the entire economy collapsed.
Now that cement is available, Zhu Houzhao is of course ready to work quickly, but with a land area like ours, even a small project would require hundreds of thousands of people.
It would be much better if they were replaced by foreign slaves. Not only are they cheap, but these people are not from the Ming Dynasty and have no basis for rebellion.
"Your Majesty has great foresight, and I admire you."
Zhu Houzhao sighed, "I have to think about it. The old empire always has such difficulties. You see, a big court meeting has to be held nearly half a year in advance. The roads are always blocked. If there is a war in Xinjiang, the court will not be able to react in time."
"So, this is a big deal."
"Of course. I plan to complete it in fifteen to twenty years. If I... am the next emperor, I will also complete it."
First of all, major cities must be connected for economic reasons.
In addition, some important military towns also need to be connected for the sake of security.
But the eastern plains are still okay, but some mountainous areas are really troublesome.
Twenty years is still an understatement.
"Father will surely live to be a hundred years old." Zaizhen, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke.
Zhu Houzhao said jokingly, "Yes, the Fifth Prince has spoken, and I think no one dares not to listen."
"Pfft." You Zhi couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Okay, Mr. Zhang, your memorial is very good. I understand what you said. As for the rest, we will discuss it in detail at the grand court meeting."
Zhu Houzhao planned to discuss the issue of road construction.
There is also a major issue, which is commercial tax, which the imperial court is going to levy.
This consideration was related to his previous trip to the City That Never Sleeps. Merchants in the world today are very wealthy, and a little tax collected by the court will not have much impact on their strength, nor will it inhibit the development of business.
In addition, after this currency reform, the imperial court’s iron fist still has power, so it may be easier.
Before this, preparations in various aspects had been ongoing.
For example, all operating businesses must register with the Shaofu Enterprise Administration and obtain their own business license and unique number.
Operating without a license and number is illegal, and forging a certificate is a felony.
All shops must display their own certificates, which is also a regulation.
Part of the taxes can be collected from merchants who own fixed shops and factories.
It is also relatively easy to target all merchants engaged in maritime trade, as there are only a few ports, and all ships must submit goods, quantities, prices, etc. when passing through the ports, and taxes can also be levied.
The more troublesome thing is that the small vendors do not have fixed stall locations. There is no way to deal with this. If all of them are collected, the tax-collecting officials will chase these people all over the place, and that would be counterproductive.
In fact, it doesn’t matter. We just don’t collect taxes from these people and impose more taxes on the rich. This makes more sense.
Zhu Houzhao would discuss these matters with Zhang Cong when the time came. Right now, the topic was still in his mind, and he had to consider it carefully.
"I understand. I will take my leave then."
"Wait." Zhu Houzhao pursed his lips and walked out from behind the imperial desk. He knew that Zhang Cong was serious this time.
Many people died in the currency reform case. Zhang Cong pushed it through forcefully this time, and those who hated him were probably reaching their limit. At this time, the better way for him was to delay the reform, so that they would always be dependent on him and he could keep his position.
But Zhang Cong did not do so.
"I wonder if your majesty has any other instructions?"
"I know which prefecture in Shanxi your son is the governor of? Right?"
"My son is a lowly official, and I dare not worry Your Majesty. He is the prefect of Pingyang Prefecture."
"Let him enter the capital for the next imperial court meeting, so I can meet him."
Zhang Cong was slightly startled, "Your Majesty... I am only a prefect, this... is not in accordance with etiquette."
"It's okay. I'll make an exception for him. I won't treat unfairly those who work for me. But I can't reward you anymore, otherwise it would be harmful to you."
Zhang Cong is now the target of public criticism, and it is not a good idea to grant him another favor. At this time, the higher you climb, the harder you fall. With Zhang Cong's political sensitivity, he can understand this.
But what Zhu Houzhao could guarantee was that his son would have a successful career. In other words, this was to guarantee wealth and prosperity for at least two generations of the Zhang family.
This is the emperor's style.
After leaving the Qianqing Palace, the old minister Zhang Cong turned around in the heavy snow, knelt down and kowtowed towards the palace gate.
Zhu Houzhao held Zai's hand and watched the scene quietly.
Shortly after,
Zai Jian raised his head and asked, "Father, Mr. Zhang is so good, why do so many people hate him?"
Zhu Houzhao looked into the distance and said, "Because there are only a few officials who truly put the country and the people before their own interests."
(End of this chapter)