At this time, the imperial city has already been heavily guarded!
The number of guards outside Dong'an Gate was twice as many as usual.
This made Zhu Youjian feel uneasy. Did something really happen to the emperor's brother?
After entering Donghua Gate, the atmosphere in the Forbidden City became even more tense.
In addition to the original imperial guards, there were many martial eunuchs armed with sticks.
At the beginning, Wei Zhongxian encouraged the emperor's brother to conduct "internal operations" and took the opportunity to train three thousand eunuchs. These people are now useful.
Wei Wei is really ambitious and has been planning for a long time!
Just when he was about to arrive at Qianqing Palace, Zhu Youjian was suddenly taken into the nearby Yangxin Palace by Li Yongzhen.
Li Yongzhen said with a smile: "Your Majesty is still taking a lunch break. Please rest here for a while, and wait for your servant to go to Qianqing Palace to confirm the situation."
Soon a eunuch came in.
This person had previously stayed in Zhu Youxiao's palace, so he knew him. But this person later followed Cao Huachun to Kunning Palace.
Yang Kun said softly: "Yang Kun, the eunuch in charge of Yangxin Palace, pays homage to His Highness King Xin."
"The Queen asked this servant to bring a message to Your Highness. This is a rare opportunity for Your Highness to see His Majesty. You must find a way to stay in the capital!"
Li Yongzhen was very careful on the road just now and did not allow herself any chance to communicate with Wang Chengen.
At this moment, Yang Kun suddenly appeared in front of him, which was very suspicious. Although he had stayed in Kunning Palace, there was no way to prove that he was the one sent by the emperor's wife.
And there is no reason for the emperor's wife to have someone repeat what she said before.
It seems that this is probably a conspiracy of the eunuchs!
Zhu Youjian said: "Thank you, the emperor's sister-in-law, for your concern, but I should have gone out to become a vassal a long time ago, so I took the initiative to report to the emperor's brother. I really have no intention of staying in the capital!"
Seeing what Zhu Youjian said, Yang Kun became anxious and said, "This is all Wei Wei's conspiracy. Your Highness must not be fooled!"
Zhu Youjian said: "Because of this, I have to stay away from the capital, a place of right and wrong. If the emperor's sister-in-law is willing to help, she might as well ask for a better fiefdom for me in front of the emperor's brother."
Wang Tiqian and Wei Zhongxian next door heard their conversation very clearly. It turned out that Zhu Youjian was trying to avoid trouble.
But this is okay, as long as he, Zhu Youjian, stays away from the capital and does not participate in the succession of the throne.
But Yang Kun can't completely dispel their doubts. What if Zhu Youjian is pretending?
So Wang Tiqian looked at his confidant Wang Chengen.
Then they walked out of the dark pavilion.
Wang Tigan said in a low voice: "You have worked hard with King Xin these years. As long as you can get King Xin to join the feudal clan, our family and Eunuch Wei will guarantee that you will be admitted to the Bureau of Ceremonies!"
For eunuchs, being the Supervisor of Ceremonies is the ultimate goal for each of them. There are almost no eunuchs who don't want to be the Supervisor of Ceremonies, just like literati entering the cabinet.
Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many eunuchs trying to study in the "Inner Study Hall".
Wang Chengen hurriedly said: "This slave has thanked Wang Gonggong and "Nine Thousand Years Old" for his appreciation!"
Soon Wang Chengen came to Zhu Youjian and said excitedly: "Just now, I went to inquire about the acquaintance of the Supervisor of Ceremonies. Your Majesty has already issued an order to the prince to conquer Xinyang, Henan and grant 5,000 hectares of farmland."
To be honest, Xinyang is not a good place. Although the 5,000 hectares (500,000 acres) of farmland is not that small, it is nothing compared to the 40,000 hectares in King Lu.
As the only living brother of Emperor Tianqi, Zhu Youjian is indeed a bit humble in this domain.
However, Zhu Youxiao knew very well that Wang Chengen must have come to test him again on behalf of Wei Gong.
At this time, he was also very excited and said loudly: "Great, I can finally go to the vassal state. I will go and thank my brother."
After that, he walked out of the Yangxin Hall.
At this moment, Li Yongzhen came over and said, "Why is Prince Xin so happy?"
Zhu Youjian said softly: "Eunuch Li, I heard that the emperor has sealed me to Xinyang. Is this the case?"
Li Yongfang said: "Where did the prince hear the news? This is just the suggestion of the Supervisor of Ceremonies. Your Majesty has not made the final decision yet. Please follow me, Your Majesty!"
Emperor Tianqi Zhu Youxiao's health has been deteriorating recently, and he has begun to cough up blood. Now he can no longer walk.
He knew that his end was near.
The succession to the throne became a top priority.
Although there was no precedent in the Ming Dynasty for canonizing a posthumous son as the crown prince, Wei Zhongxian still tried.
He said: "Concubine Ren is now five months pregnant. I think she must be a prince. Why don't your majesty choose a name for the prince in advance and canonize him as the prince."
Tianqi Emperor Zhu Youxiao actually valued his princes very much. He posthumously named each of the three deceased princes as princes.
This is unique in the history of Ming Dynasty!
But he was not too excited about Concubine Ren's pregnancy.
He knew in his heart that his body was simply unable to conceive a concubine. This was probably the fault of Wei Zhongxian and others.
So he did not agree to Wei Zhongxian's request.
He just asked: "Eunuch Wei, do you think that I can no longer wait for my prince to be born?"
Wei Zhongxian could only say in fear: "I don't dare!"
Zhu Youxiao knew that he couldn't hold on much longer now.
Although he really wanted a son to inherit his throne, Queen Zhang Yan was right.
Nowadays, the world of Ming Dynasty is not peaceful. Domestic uprisings are raging, and Li Xianzhong, the Duke of Liao Kingdom outside the pass, is watching with eager eyes.
Even if Concubine Ren is really pregnant with her own flesh and blood, how can this orphan and widower survive in the world?
In his heart, he had already decided to pass the throne to his only younger brother, King Zhu Youjian.
However, he had already noticed that the atmosphere in the palace was abnormal.
Since he fell ill last time, he has never seen the chief minister Sun Chengzong again. Wei Zhongxian must have sealed the palace and prevented foreign officials from entering.
Even the Queen Zhang Yan could only see her every now and then.
So this time Wei Zhongxian reported to King Xin that he had written letters requesting to leave the capital to become a vassal, and he said that he needed to hear King Xin's wishes in person.
Soon Zhu Youjian was taken to the Nuan Pavilion of Qianqing Palace.
He had not seen his imperial brother for a long time. At this time, Zhu Youxiao's eyes were dull, his face was swollen and bloodless.
At first glance, he looked like he was seriously ill.
Zhu Youjian's eyes were a little moist, and he almost cried: "Brother Chen, please say hello to Brother Emperor!"
Zhu Youxiao forced out a smile and said, "The emperor's brother has grown taller again!"
Then he said to Wei Zhongxian: "Eunuch Wei, hasn't the queen arrived yet?"
Although he was very reluctant, Wei Zhongxian finally invited the Queen Zhang Yan over.
After all, the palace is under his control at this time, and Zhang Yan, a female prostitute, will naturally not be able to make any waves.
Soon Zhang Yan also came to Qianqing Palace.
Zhang Yan said: "I haven't seen you for a few days. His Majesty's complexion has improved a lot. His Royal Highness King Xin is also here!"
Zhu Youxiao quickly saluted Zhang Yan and said, "I have met the emperor's sister-in-law!"
Zhang Yan said: "I was flying a kite to pray for His Majesty in the palace just now. It seems to have had an effect. His Majesty has indeed improved!"
This was the code that Zhu Youxiao had agreed with Zhang Yan before. As soon as she learned that King Xin had entered the palace, she would fly the designated kite outside the palace.
When Sun Chengzong saw the kite, he would take the token he had given him and lead his troops to break into the palace.
Of course, it would not be easy for this news to be conveyed to Sun Chengzong outside the palace.
Fortunately, Cao Huachun was willing to help and used the channels of the Intelligence Department to inform Mr. Sun Ge of the news.
What she had to do at this time was to cooperate with Zhu Youxiao to delay time and wait for Sun Chengzong to bring people into the palace.
So Zhang Yan started chatting with Zhu Youjian about household matters. How is the princess? Do you believe she still has the habit of living in the palace?
Although Wei Zhongxian felt a little strange, the royal family was chatting about family matters, and it was not easy for him as a slave to interrupt.
In the end, Zhu Youxiao finally got back to business and said, "I heard that the emperor's brother wants to go out and become a vassal?"
Zhu Youjian said: "According to the ancestral system of the Ming Dynasty, my brother has already reached the age when he should go out to join the vassal, and it is time to leave the capital!"
Zhang Yan said: "Now that His Majesty is ill, how can the Prince, as His Majesty's biological brother, leave the capital?"
"The palace of your letter has just been built, at least you can live there for a while before talking about it!"
Zhang Yan, a bitch, is really troublesome. Wei Zhongxian was itching his teeth with hatred, but at this time, he couldn't interrupt at all.
Sure enough, Zhu Youjian changed his mind soon after and said, "What the emperor's sister-in-law taught me is that my brother was indeed reckless in this matter!"
At this time, Li Yongzhen came to the outside of Nuan Pavilion in a hurry.
Wei Zhongxian knew something was wrong as soon as he saw his panicked expression, and quickly made an excuse to come outside Nuan Pavilion.
When Li Yongzhen saw Wei Zhongxian coming out, he quickly pulled him aside and whispered: "Godfather, something bad has happened. Sun Chengzong is trying to break into the palace with His Majesty's token. This time he brought the Yulin camp, and the little ones can't resist it." Stay!"
Although Wei Zhongxian ordered Sun Chengzong not to enter the palace, the token in his hand did not expire.
If he was determined to break into the palace at this time, they would indeed be unable to stop him.
Although his own eunuch Wu was quite capable in combat, he would definitely not be able to hold up the Yulin Camp and could not compare with this group of well-equipped regular troops.
And if this matter really gets serious, it's up to you to take care of the consequences.
Li Yongzhen said: "Godfather, you must not hesitate at this time. Today it is King Xin, the Queen and Sun Chengzong. It is obvious that these people have colluded and they are going to attack us."
Wei Zhongxian is not aware of the stakes involved. I am afraid that His Majesty is going to pass the throne to King Xin.
But at this moment, he was unable to stop it at all, unless he held His Majesty and King Xin hostage.
But doing so is tantamount to rebellion.
His Majesty wouldn't live for a few days. Even if he could kill King Xin, the most important thing the Ming Dynasty lacked was a vassal king. It would just be a matter of replacing someone on the throne.
With His Majesty's trust in him, he shouldn't be tempted to kill him to death.
At this time, Wang Tiqian also rushed over. He said to Wei Zhongxian: "If you continue to cut off, you will suffer chaos!"
Although Wei Zhongxian claimed to be "Nine Thousand Years Old" with all his power, he only wanted to control the government and never thought that one day he would "Nine Thousand Years Old".
After all, he is just a slave of Emperor Tianqi.
After a struggle, he said: "Inform the young ones and let Mr. Sun Ge come in!"
Seeing Wei Zhongxian finally compromise, Wang Tiqian couldn't help but feel disheartened. He had already foreseen his own ending.
In the end, Sun Chengzong came to Qianqing Palace.
Seeing that everyone was already here, Zhu Youxiao stopped pretending.
He said: "Xin Wang Zhu You listened to the decree and appointed Xin Wang Zhu You as the 'Emperor's Crown Prince'. A hundred years later, I will inherit the throne from King Xin."
Zhu Youjian hurriedly knelt down and said, "How can I be so virtuous and talented as my brother? Please take back your life, brother!"
Zhu Youxiao had been holding on hard before, but now he was exhausted. He leaned on Queen Zhang Yan, took Zhu Youjian's hand and said: "The Ming Dynasty is the most important thing for the country and the country. My brother cannot refuse!"
Zhu Youjian's eyes were filled with tears at this time, and he said: "Brother, don't worry, I will definitely work hard to protect my country, the Ming Dynasty!"
Zhu Youxiao said: "The emperor's brother was almost the same age as the emperor's younger brother when he succeeded to the throne. He failed to understand the profound meaning of his father, which led to the 'disaster of vassal towns' in Liaodong today."
"Mr. Sun Ge is my teacher, and now he is also the chief minister of the cabinet. When you are not sure about something, you can always ask Mr. Sun Ge for his opinion. Especially regarding Liaodong matters, don't be rash!"
Sun Chengzong fell to the ground and said: "The old minister will definitely do his best to assist the new emperor and die exhausted!"
Zhu Youxiao looked at the Queen Zhang Yan beside him and said: "I have been in the palace for six years, and I have always been honest and admonished, and I have benefited a lot. From now on, when I am young and widowed, I will be kind and compassionate, and I will do good things in the palace!"
Zhu Youjian said: "The emperor's sister-in-law takes good care of my brother. I should take good care of my brother. Don't worry, brother!"
Finally, he glanced at Wei Zhongxian again and said: "Zhongxian is conscientious and loyal. He can plan important things and should be appointed!"
At this time, Zhu Youjian had long hated Wei Zhongxian, but he could not disobey him in front of his imperial brother.
He had no choice but to say: "I will obey the emperor's will and will definitely continue to reuse Eunuch Wei!"
Emperor Tianqi's move undoubtedly saved Wei Zhongxian's life in front of Zhu Youjian.
Wei Zhongxian was very grateful and knelt down and said: "Old slave, thanks to your majesty's kindness, I will definitely assist King Xin and don't dare to slack off!"
Seeing that Emperor Tianqi still trusted Wei Zhongxian so much when he was dying, everyone was actually a little puzzled, but at this time they could only obey.
Finally, Zhu Youpiao said to Zhu Youjian: "My brother should be Yao and Shun!"
On the eighth day of December in the sixth year of Tianqi (1626), Emperor Zhu Youxiao of Tianqi died of illness in the Forbidden City, East Nuan Pavilion of Qianqing Palace, at the age of 22.
According to the imperial edict of Emperor Tianqi during his lifetime, as well as the ancestral system of the Ming Dynasty that "the emperor has no heirs, and the elder brothers will succeed to the younger brothers."
Zhu Youjian, who was only 16 years old, became the 16th emperor of the Ming Dynasty, with the reign name Chongzhen.
Emperor Chongzhen did not take much action after he succeeded to the throne. He only appointed Wang Cheng'en as the eunuch Bingbi, the eunuch who was responsible for the rites.
And promoted Dorgon to the eunuch in charge of the Qianqing Palace.
The cabinet is still led by Sun Chengzong, the chief minister.
He also ordered the eunuch Wei Zhongxian, the eunuch Bingbi, to be responsible for coordinating the funeral ceremony of Emperor Tianqi.
The Ministry of Industry was ordered to immediately build the tomb of Emperor Tianqi.
In order to test whether Emperor Chongzhen would take action against him, Wei Zhongxian ordered his best friend Wang Tiqian, the chief minister of rituals, to ask Emperor Chongzhen to retire and return home.
Emperor Chongzhen refused.
After that, Wang Tiqian submitted three submissions in a row, but Chongzhen rejected them all, and told him not to think too much and just do his job well.
Zhu Youjian's series of operations made the previously frightened eunuchs feel a little more relieved. After all, Emperor Tianqi clearly asked Emperor Chongzhen to reuse Wei Zhongxian.
But the arrogance of the Eunuch Party is no longer high. In fact, a large number of Eunuch Party officials have resigned since last year.
Now they are even more panicked all day long. Even if Emperor Tianqi protected Wei Zhongxian, he didn't protect them?
They know very well how many bad things these people have done before.
As the saying goes, one emperor has one courtier, and now Donglin Party member Sun Chengzong serves as the first assistant. The day when the Donglin Party will liquidate them will not be too far away.
But "is the whole world not the land of the king"?
Even if they resign and return to their hometowns, they will still be liquidated in the future.
After thinking about it, there is only one safe place in the world, Liaodong.
All he can do now is to transfer the family property to his nephews as soon as possible and let them take the property to Liaodong.
Even if they pay more taxes to Li Xianzhong, it doesn't matter. I am afraid that only the Duke of Liao in the world can protect them.
As a result, a large number of members of the eunuch party began to secretly sell off their property and transfer their nephews, huge properties and their own properties to Liaodong.
To be honest, the civil and military officials in Liaodong have never understood why Li Xianzhong did not support Wei Zhongxian's rebellion and instead allowed Chongzhen to succeed to the throne?
It might not be difficult for Li Xianzhong to help Wei Zhongxian find a young master, but as a person of later generations, he knew very well that his biggest enemy was not Emperor Chongzhen, nor Sun Chengzong's Yulin camp.
It was the gentry class of the Ming Dynasty and the bureaucratic system of the Ming Dynasty that was rotten to the core.
Even though he used force to seize the Ming Dynasty, these problems were still not completely resolved, and the conflicts were only temporarily alleviated.
The best way is to use the hands of others to tear everything down and start over again, so that you can completely activate the current society.
Liaodong is just a special case, because there are no powerful landlords and gentry bureaucrats here. The most powerful ones are the lands controlled by generals of the same size as the guards.
These people dare not go against themselves because their core interests are not land.
So no matter what policies they make, they will implement them.
Moreover, Liaodong can open up a lot of new wasteland every year, and if it is not enough, there will be Monan and North Korea.
The land problem is not serious, and it is entirely possible to achieve land for the tiller.
After a period of trial implementation, the original policy of levying deed tax on thousands of acres of land has been further strengthened.
Now, as long as you buy more than 100 acres of land, you will be levied an additional 50% deed tax.
As the saying goes, if something is good at the top, it will be very bad at the bottom.
Everyone now knows that Li Xianzhong, the Duke of Liao, did not like his subordinates hoarding land.
There are even rumors that not only those who purchase land, but also those who currently own more than 100 acres of land may be subject to additional tariffs.
Some landowners with a reputation for foresight have begun to dispose of the excess land in their hands in order to avoid risks.
Either transfer it to the name of a descendant of your own clan, or simply sell it directly.
Liaodong already has the potential of a commodity society.
Because a large number of working class people appeared, they had extra silver in their hands that could be used to buy things, including land.
There are no excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes in Liaodong, and government regulations stipulate that the rent for leasing land is not allowed to exceed 50% of the land output.
In addition, the collection of land rent must be calculated after removing the land tax.
In this way, even the tenant farmers would have a surplus of food.
Many people bought more fields one after another, causing the land in Liaodong to gradually transfer from the hands of landlords to the hands of ordinary people.
Fan Wencheng said with a smile: "I am reporting to the Duke of Liao that a large number of eunuch members are transferring their families and property to Liaodong. According to speculation, in just the first two months of the seventh year of the Apocalypse, the amount of silver they brought into Liaodong exceeded 800 taels. Ten thousand taels.”
In fact, the current financial situation in Liaodong is not optimistic. Since they may have conflicts with the imperial court at any time, their industries in the mainland have been affected.
Li Xianzhong's own properties have basically been transferred.
Glass, perfume workshops, and even shares in "Heaven and Earth" were ostensibly transferred to the names of nobles from the capital and Nanjing.
Of course, the actual operations and management are still done by the original people. Although the shares are in the names of these distinguished people, Liaodong will also get the profits.
Just asking others to help will always result in a loss of several percent of profits every year.
This ensured that even if war broke out with the imperial court, Chongzhen would not be able to directly copy Li Xianzhong's properties to enrich the treasury.
Liaodong increased its troops by 30,000 last year and invested heavily in garrisoning troops in the Monan area. As a result, Liaodong experienced a deficit for the first time in the entire Apocalypse 6 year.
The income that year was 8.8 million taels, and the expenditure was as high as 9.6 million taels.
The expenditure has already reached 10 million taels. Li Xianzhong's garrison in Monan is a huge expenditure.
So Li Xianzhong needs to borrow money from others.
The businessmen of the Ming Dynasty were all landlords with old money. They would rather pile their money in the cellar to mold than use them to make more money.
Coupled with the development of Liaodong's commerce and trade, it is really inconvenient not to have a bank.
Liaodong can also transport silver by sea and by water along the Liao River.
If you go from Liaodong to Guihua City to do business, you will have to walk thousands of miles with money.
So Li Xianzhong officially opened Liaodong Bank in Liaodong.
As long as the money is deposited in Liaodong Bank, the interest will be 1% for 3 months and 4% for 1 year.
No interest for less than three months.
Since Liaodong requires a license for both business and land shop trading, you must have a local household registration in Liaodong or a reward license issued by the governor's Yamen before you can buy or sell.
Therefore, the identity of these "eunuch" disciples has become a big issue.
In order to avoid falling out with the imperial court in the future, the Duke of Liao decided that Liaodong would not accept any members of the eunuch party.
But their families can be admitted.
By depositing 50,000 taels in Liaodong Bank as a mortgage, you can obtain the residence qualification of a family, and by depositing 100,000 taels, you can obtain the business qualifications.
If the family size exceeds 50 people, the amount will be doubled.
Originally, Li Xianzhong had to use at least 5 million taels of reserve funds at one time to start the bank.
As a result, these eunuchs became reserve depositors of Liaodong Bank. As soon as Liaodong Bank opened, it received 6 million taels of silver.
Among them, Tian Ergeng alone saved 600,000 taels.
Moreover, their money is in the nature of a deposit, so they cannot withdraw the principal, only the interest.
Over time, merchants found that the Liaodong Bank was very convenient. For example, when they went from Yingkou to Kaiyuan to sell and buy, they no longer had to transport money.
You can withdraw money with banknotes. After you earn money, you can deposit it locally and withdraw it from another place.
It is free to withdraw money from other places for small amounts, but there is a handling fee for large amounts, but it is much cheaper than transporting it yourself.
And you really get interest from depositing it in the bank.
Liaodong Bank's lending is also very convenient. You can get a loan if you have assets or a guarantor, and the general annual interest rate does not exceed 20%, which is much cheaper than loan sharks on the market.
Of course, the disadvantage is that there are still relatively few branches of Liaodong Bank.
There are only seven outlets in Guangning, Liaoyang, Yingkou, Lushun, Shenyang, Kaiyuan and Guihuacheng.
The emergence of Liaodong Bank not only solved the problem of funding gap, but also greatly promoted the development of Liaodong business and increased a large amount of tax revenue in disguise.
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(End of chapter)
