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"It is said that men should be married when they are young, and girls should be married when they are young. This is an eternal truth. Seeing that the little princess has reached the age of twenty-eight, it is time to send her out of the palace according to the rules."
The completion of the Shengshi Tower brought a grand scene of all nations coming to court, which satisfied the vanity of the aging and prodigal emperor like never before.
It even gave him the illusion that Dajin was now at its peak, so Honglin was in a very good mood for the next thirty-five years of the Holy Yuan Dynasty.
But now, as the popularity of Shengshi Tower has just subsided, Honglin, who cannot bear his temper, is about to start playing tricks again.
His favorite seventeenth princess has also reached the age of marriage, so the consort is naturally his highly regarded favorite Fukang.
The officials were summoned today to discuss the specifications for the princess's marriage.
...and the required expenses.
After everyone listened to Honglin's words, they all said disgusting compliments, and Honglin beamed with joy.
Only the first-class Duke Zhang Gui said nothing, but was silently calculating an account in his heart.
When a princess gets married, how much money is needed?
Although there is no foreign war in Daikin for the time being, Zhang Gui is very aware that disasters continue to occur in various places, especially in coastal areas, which are constantly being hit by hurricanes and sea tides. Several dykes have collapsed alone. The imperial court has not done its best to provide disaster relief, and millions of people have been affected. Displaced, waiting for help from the court.
In addition, the post houses and roads in various places have long been abandoned and need to be repaired. This is a huge amount of money, and the people really can't afford that much money.
Although Zhang Gui is a local noble, he has read the books of sages passed down from the Central Plains for many years and understands that whether a country is stable or not, the people are crucial.
Therefore, Zhang Gui did not treat the expatriates from China as differently as other local nobles, but sincerely wanted to help them solve their problems, even more enthusiastically than the Central Plains nobles.
However, his personal abilities are very limited and he cannot solve the livelihood problems of so many people.
At this time, Honglin looked at Bala, the housekeeper: "Bala, what are the standards for the princess to leave the cabinet?"
Bala immediately said: "If this slave returns to the emperor, he will be treated as a first-class marquis according to the standards for princesses getting married in previous years.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs should give you a pair of jade Ruyi, a hundred pieces of gold-trimmed silk and satin, a hundred catties of paraffin, a thousand catties of polished rice, six pairs of embroidered shoes, two pairs of white jade pendants with flying patterns, and two pairs of jade pendants.
A pair of golden unicorns, a copy of the beautiful mountains and rivers..."
Talking about Bala's money, the amount of dowry can be said to be jaw-dropping, and the expenses are huge. A rough estimate is that it will cost nearly five hundred thousand taels.
However, Honglin was very dissatisfied with these expenses. After waiting patiently for Bala to finish speaking, he immediately said, "Is this really all?"
When Bala heard this, he knelt on the ground and said, "Reporting to your Majesty, the slaves are arranged according to the specifications of a first-class marquis."
Honglin smiled and replied: "Get up, I don't blame you, it's just that you ignored one thing, how could the seventeenth princess get married with the gift of a marquis?
You must know that Fukang is a third-class duke. How can my daughter marry according to the standards of a marquis? "
Bala hurriedly said: "Yes, I am confused. Please forgive me. I will arrange my master's marriage according to the specifications of a third-class duke."
However, Honglin was still not satisfied after hearing this.
You must know that there is a huge difference in the treatment of marquis and duke. The dowry of a first-class marquis is 500,000 taels, and if it is changed to a third-class duke, it will be a full 300,000 taels more, which is reasonable to say that it is a lot.
However, how could Honglin be satisfied with the wedding price of 800,000 taels?
The seventeenth princess was the apple of his eye, and Fukang was his favorite. He had done great service to the country, how could he treat them so poorly?
However, Hong Lin, the treasurer of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, also knew that apart from personal and palace daily expenses, the most he could get at the moment was one million taels.
One million taels of specifications?
He is so petty and petty, I cannot afford to throw this person away!
So he turned his attention to the treasury. After all, when the princess gets married, the treasury must also bear the financial burden.
"Where is Mr. Li? Why didn't you see him come to court?"
Honglin looked unhappy when he didn't see Li Shen.
As soon as he finished speaking, a eunuch came to report: "Your Majesty, Mr. Zuo Xiang is outside the palace asking for an audience."
Honglin then said with a smile: "Look at his memory. I asked him to supervise the affairs of foreign trade in Macao and Hong Kong, but I actually forgot about it and let him enter the palace immediately."
After a while, Li Shen walked into the hall with a bunch of ledgers in his arms, bowed his body, and immediately knelt down in the center of the hall to salute: "Slave Li Shen, I have met the emperor! Long live the emperor! Long live the emperor!"
Honglin smiled and raised his hand: "Sit down and get up and talk."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After Li Shen stood up and entered the queue, Honglin asked: "How are you handling the affairs of supervising the border crossing in Macao?"
Li Shen hurriedly said: "For your information, Your Majesty, at the beginning of the year, there were 30% fewer foreign merchants in Nanyang than in previous years. A large amount of tea and silk were accumulated in Jing'ao Harbor. Due to being blown by the sea wind, they all deteriorated and are no longer usable."
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of many officials in the palace suddenly changed.
You must know that they have also had a hand in the profits from foreign trade. If those goods cannot be discounted, their own losses will be huge.
But these cannot be stated clearly. After all, the Golden Rules clearly stipulate that officials are not allowed to do business with foreigners.
It's just that this law is like waste paper. It has not been fully implemented from the beginning. After all, it has affected the interests of too many people.
Especially during the Honglin period, no one mentioned this law, but it was difficult to say it openly.
Even though Honglin knew about it, he didn't stop him. After all, he was the one who made the biggest profit from foreign trade. Starting from the 16th year of Zi Shengyuan, 20% of the total merchandise turnover in Macao and Hong Kong every year fell into his wallet. For his extravagant spending.
When Honglin heard this, he said without changing his expression: "You must follow up on this matter. I think the sea is very stormy, so there are no foreigners coming.
After March and April, Macao and Hong Kong will surely become more prosperous, so don’t worry too much. "
This was said very lightly, but it did not mention a word about the loss of those goods that were stored up. After all, what does it have to do with you if these goods are broken? It's not your own loss.
All the officials in the court also expressed their sorrows when they heard this, but they couldn't put it on the table. What Honglin understood was that they didn't dare to bring it up in the hall, otherwise they would end up losing their official positions and titles, which was a strange outcome. The balance can be described as "tacit understanding".
Li Shen frowned when he heard this, and immediately added: "Your Majesty, according to my investigation, the reason why foreign barbarians do not come to our South Australia to do business is not just because of the waves, but because Dongyi obstructs it and controls most of the merchants in the Nanyang Sea. They all went to do business with them."
Honglin's face changed when he heard this: "Are you talking about Dongyi who came to our court last year?"
Li Shen: "Exactly, these are the prices of commodities from various countries in Nanyang collected by my slaves. Your Majesty, the prices offered by Dongyi are much better than those of our country. If I don't change my situation in Macao and Hong Kong, I'm afraid it won't be long before the price will be reduced." No one will do business with me, Daijin, anymore.”
The eunuch took the account book from Li Shen and carefully handed it to Hong Lin.
Honglin opened it and took one look at it, then he immediately snorted coldly and said: "These Dongyi people are really ambitious. They covet my heavenly kingdom's divine weapon but cannot get it, so they resort to all kinds of dirty tricks.
Do you want me to give in so much? You have really underestimated us. I have sent my decree to all countries in Southeast Asia. From now on, anyone who trades with Dongyi will be prohibited from entering the country with their merchant ships.
How can those who are only interested in profit enjoy the blessings from my heaven? "
Li Shen was shocked when he heard this and looked at Honglin in disbelief.
Honglin's operation was completely different from what he had expected, and several of his original plans were completely aborted.
