Chapter 195
Zhu Weiti still wanted to get dressed, but the problem was that she looked at Cheng Shijie and felt a little embarrassed, because she remembered that she had not done a very important thing, and her heart was sour, but she could not open her mouth.
There was also a layer of window paper that hadn't been broken through, so I couldn't help but feel extremely frustrated.
As an experienced person, Cheng Shijie immediately understood that the Ming Dynasty was different from later generations. On the wedding night, a snow-white silk scarf or sweat scarf should be placed under the body to prove the redness of the Yuan Dynasty. This square scarf will be regarded as the most commemorative thing by women. Hidden in the bottom of the box.
But the square scarf Zhu Weiti had prepared was still as white as snow.
Cheng Shijie looked at Zhu Weiti's embarrassment, but he did not immediately pull out a ritual knife on the screen wall, and gently scratched the blade on his arm, and blood gurgled.
Cheng Shijie said: "Hurry up!"
Zhu Weiti looked at the wound on Cheng Shijie's wrist and was a little scared: "Husband-in-law, how could you..."
"You know this and I know it, God knows it and the earth knows it, that's all!"
While Cheng Shijie was talking, Gu Ziyi outside brought hot water to the bride to wash up. She put her hands together and said, "Slave Ziyi, please pay your respects to the princess and the consort..."
Zhu Weiti was also caught off guard by Gu Ziyi and hurriedly put away the blood-stained scarf. She blushed and then grabbed the copper basin: "You are not needed here!"
"Yes, slave, please leave!"
What made Zhu Weiti relieved was that Cheng Shijie was very considerate to her. After all, Cheng Shijie was used to dressing and washing himself, but if Zhu Weiti was asked to do these things, she actually couldn't do it.
Men's clothing and women's clothing are inherently different, what's more, Zhu Weiti has never been exposed to these things.
After changing clothes and washing up, I started to have breakfast.
In the Ming Dynasty, in the homes of wealthy gentry, wives and concubines sat at different tables. Cheng Shijie was not so particular about it. What he liked was the dining atmosphere of later generations. Luo had already prepared breakfast.
In the past, the breakfast Luo prepared for Cheng Shijie was very simple, such as steamed buns, millet porridge, fried buns, egg pancakes, etc. Since Cheng Shijie is from the north, he likes to eat pasta, but does not like rice noodles or rice noodles. food.
But because Mrs. Zhu Weiti was here, she cooked a lot when preparing breakfast, including eight salty dishes, eight sweet dishes, twelve side dishes, four hot dishes, and four kinds of soups. The soups were: A bowl of tofu and fish soup, a bowl of pigeon soup, a bowl of mixed sugar porridge with more than a dozen kinds of sugar, a bowl of wontons, as well as cold-cut ham, beef jerky, and pig's trotters all looked extremely luxurious.
If it were Cheng Shijie himself, he wouldn't be so extravagant, but now that Zhu Weiti is here, he won't be as casual as before. Of course, let alone breakfast like this, even if it is ten times more luxurious, Cheng Shijie can still afford it.
Although the salaries of officials in the Ming Dynasty were extremely low, not even a fraction of those in the Tang Dynasty and less than one-tenth of those in the Song Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty inherited the Song system and also followed the Song Dynasty's salary recording system.
For example, Lu Xiangsheng is the governor of Shandong Province, the censor of Youqiandu, and the governor of Daming Prefecture, Zhending Prefecture, and Baoding Prefecture. His salary is actually divided into three parts. The censor of Youqiandu is the fourth rank, and Shandong The envoy of the Ancha Division is a third-grade official, and the Governor-General of the Sixth Mansion is a second-grade official. Therefore, when paying wages, Lu Xiangsheng received a salary of the third grade of the Shandong Ancha Division, which is 35 shi per month and 420 shi per year. , one share of the salary of the right-ranking imperial censor of the Central Government is the fourth rank, which is 24 shi per month, 288 shi meters per year, and one share of the salary of the second-rank governor, which is 61 shi per month. , which is seven hundred and thirty-two stones per year.
Calculated in this way, Lu Xiangsheng's real annual salary is one thousand four hundred and forty dan. If one stone of grain is worth one or two taels of silver per stone according to the current price of grain in the capital, then Lu Xiangsheng's annual salary is equivalent to one thousand six hundred and forty dan. One hundred and ninety-two stones of grain. However, Lu Xiangsheng is the champion, and his salary is 1,200 shi, which adds up to 2,892 shi of grain.
Of course, this is only a theoretical salary income. In fact, the real income of officials in the Ming Dynasty was much lower than the theoretical salary. This is because part of the salary was settled with treasure banknotes. At first, the treasure banknotes were worth a little money. In the Chongzhen Dynasty, the treasures Banknotes have become butt paper.
The biggest source of income for officials is the income from tax exemptions. Officials of Lu Xiangsheng's level can enjoy preferential tax exemptions of 8,088 acres and exempt 24 people from labor service.
Cheng Shijie's salary classification is also the same, but he has more promotions. His capital officials are Zuo Dudu and Cong Yipin of the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion, Prince Shaobao is the second grade, and the Governor of Liaodong is the second grade. In addition, there are others It's Duke Haiguo.
In fact, Cheng Shijie's current salary is theoretically that of the Duke of Haiguo, four thousand dan. The prince Shaobao and the governor of Liaodong are in the second rank, which is 732 dan per year. From the first rank to 888 dan, the total is 6,000 dan. Three hundred and fifty-two stones, but the actual amount obtained was six thousand and thirty-six taels of silver.
With such an income level, it is still affordable to eat these meals for a day.
While eating breakfast, Cheng Shijie looked at Zhu Weiti and said, "Princess, I have something to discuss with you!"
"Prince-in-law, please speak!"
Cheng Shijie was thinking about the words. If we say that in the past, when Cheng Shijie was unmarried, Cheng Shijie's life was very simple, and all the expenses for food and clothing were paid out of the public account. But the problem is that it is different now. Not only does he have Zhu Weiti, a sea master. The Duke's wife, at the same time, Zhu Weiti did not marry Cheng Shijie alone. She not only brought Gu Ziyi, the personal maid, but also more than 2,000 maids and eunuchs.
In this case, Cheng Shijie had to establish two sets of accounting systems, public accounts and internal accounts. Ning Haijun's overall operation had a detailed and clear plan, and money was used everywhere.
It cannot be that Zhu Weiti can withdraw money at any time and spend money as he pleases. It is not that Cheng Shijie is reluctant to part with her. The key is that the money is really needed for a purpose. If it delays other needs for money, this will be a big deal. Things that move the whole body.
The construction of the inner treasury is not a matter of one sentence or two. When Cheng Shijie gave Emperor Chongzhen a betrothal gift, it was worth thirty to forty thousand taels of silver. Emperor Chongzhen did not take any of this betrothal gift and gave it to Zhu Weiti as a dowry. The government also provided 800 taels of gold and 8,000 taels of silver.
When Cheng Shijie needed money, he gave another 40,000 taels of silver. To be fair, Emperor Chongzhen was very interesting. In addition to the dowry brought by Zhu Weiti, which was included in the internal treasury, all the gifts given by the guests at the wedding were also included in the internal treasury. Included in the internal library.
The most generous gift was for the ancestor's birthday, including two boxes of gold, eight boxes of silver, a box of southern pearls, a pair of treasured large copper pots covered with glazed glass, and a number of precious books. Excluding the inestimable books, the other gifts were worth nearly two hundred thousand taels of silver, which cannot be said to be heavy gifts.
Zu Dashou has basically broken up with the ministers in the imperial court. His intention to curry favor with Cheng Shijie is very obvious. What's more, this time, Zu Dabi and Zu Dalue have obtained the official positions of two general soldiers. This is not easy to get money. Bought, one discipline, three brothers and three general soldiers.
Facing the aggressive Wu Xiang within Guan Ning's army, this was a direct threat from Zu Dashou. He hoped to take this opportunity to pull Cheng Shijie's tiger skin against Wu Xiang.
Secondly, the most important thing is Wu Xiang. Wu Sangui was promoted to deputy general, and Wu Xiang was restored to the rank of commander-in-chief. It can be said that Wu Sangui’s gains were not small in the Battle of Liaoyang. The gifts he gave were basically the same as those of Zu Dashou. There are two boxes of gold and eight boxes of silver, worth about 160,000 taels of silver, and other property worth about 30,000 to 40,000 taels of silver, with a total value of 200,000 taels of silver.
Then there are Sun Chengzong, Xu Guangqi, Sun Yuanhua and the others. Sun Chengzong is the teacher, and the teacher is like a father, but similarly, the apprentice is also half a son. Once Sun Chengzong goes west in the future, Cheng Shijie will also wear sackcloth and wear filial piety. This is an ancient rule.
Not to mention Xu Guangqi, whether Cheng Shijie admits it or not, Xu Guangqi and Sun Yuanhua are Cheng Shijie's benefactors, and the gifts from the three families are neither light nor heavy, with the appearance of thirty or forty thousand taels of silver.
What surprised Cheng Shijie the most was Hou Xun. Daxing had 600 acres of fertile land, 600 cattle, and 600 good horses. When you treat others with courtesy, you must ask for something.
Lu Xiangsheng, Hong Chengchou, Zhu Dadian and others also had two taels of silver as gifts. Most of the civil and military officials in the imperial court followed the gift. Even enemies who were not friends like Wu Zongda and Wen Tiren also followed the gift.
However, there are too many people to hold it, so all this silver has been included in the internal treasury, and the internal silver inventory will reach more than 1.1 million taels. At this time, after nearly five months of consumption, the huge amount of silver in the public account needs to be allocated additional money. A large amount of money was used as the start-up capital for weapons development, and in the end, the funds reserved for raising the army that would not be used were only more than four million taels.
Listening to Cheng Shijie handing over the internal accounts to her, Zhu Weiti nodded and agreed. Cheng Shijie had not been an official for a long time. Even his current income was just over 6,000 taels of silver a year. He did not eat or drink. Two years, only more than 10,000 taels of silver, but I didn't expect that there were more than 1.1 million taels of silver.
Zhu Weiti was instantly frightened: "Husband-in-law...husband, how much?"
"There are more than 1,134,750 taels, and there is still a lot of property. There is no way to calculate it. It will be settled by tomorrow night at the latest!"
Zheng Qi reported to Zhu Weiti: "According to the statistics of my disciples, it should be around 1.4 million taels of silver!"
After dinner, Cheng Shijie was going to the Duke of Haiguo Mansion in Daxing County to attend a weapons exhibition. More than four million taels of silver seemed like a lot, but the problem was that the Ning Navy was expanding too fast, especially the navy, and the deficit was too big. There are many. According to Cheng Shijie's standards, Ning Haijun's warships do not have qualified warships.
This is a gold-swallowing behemoth.
…
Just like Cheng Shijie's wedding, although there was a large banquet that benefited the surrounding areas of the capital and more than 8,000 tables were prepared, the problem is that compared to the past five years of Chongzhen, Henan in the sixth year of Chongzhen was more difficult than last year.
After the floods occurred in June of the fifth year of Chongzhen, God seemed to have concentrated all the rain for the year into June. Especially in November and December, including the first three months, there was no snow in most areas of Henan.
As the saying goes, auspicious snow heralds a good year, because it didn't snow when it was supposed to snow in winter. Experienced farmers have judged that the six years of Chongzhen will be very difficult.
Although Jiannu was severely beaten by Cheng Shijie, the special tax increase that exempted Liao pay that the people expected was not cancelled, but became more and more severe.
Heavy taxes are like a mountain, weighing heavily on the people, making them unable to stand upright.
The rogue bandits also became more and more violent. Although the rogue bandits' attempt to seize the capital was mercilessly crushed by the Tianxiong Army, it was hard to feel relieved about this result. A large number of rogue bandits fled into the Taihang Mountains, taking advantage of the fact that the Yellow River was frozen in winter. , actually fled to Henan.
After so many years of suppressing bandits, millions of military salaries were wasted, but they have never been able to wipe out the bandits. On the contrary, the bandits are still spreading from the northwest to the Central Plains! This is undoubtedly a very bad sign.
For the people of Liaonan, they are happy. No matter how difficult their life is, the most difficult time has passed. Cheng Shijie got married in the capital, but he did not forget the people of Liaonan and the officers and soldiers of Ning Haijun.
Before the Chinese New Year, the Ning Naval Military Affairs Office distributed Chinese New Year gifts to the entire army. In addition to military pay, each soldier was given a bag of one hundred kilograms of wheat flour, ten kilograms of horse meat, ten kilograms of pork, two kilograms of candy, and five kilograms of candy. Kilograms of oil. and a piece of cloth for each soldier.
Ning Haijun, a veteran who followed Cheng Shijie from Dengzhou Guard in Shandong, was accustomed to this matter. During the holidays, Yang Menglong always gave something to everyone, and there was no exception. It was just that this time he gave out more. But as Ning Haijun They annexed the Dongjiang Army openly, but these Dongjiang Army soldiers couldn't believe their eyes.
The soldiers of the Dongjiang Army were okay. After all, they were used to being poor. The most important thing was that many of the soldiers who received gifts were wounded soldiers of the Guanning Army. They were still recovering from their injuries in Liaonan, and they also distributed these things. , the same standard as Ning Haijun, the difference is that those with higher official positions will have slightly more New Year gifts.
Admiral Ning, who received the New Year gifts, also tried his best to celebrate the New Year with his family, especially the cloth he was given. Most of these cloths are fine cotton. One piece of cloth is not much, and he can make new clothes for his mother-in-law and doll. Still enough.
The pork and horse meat they were given were not willing to be stewed. Instead, they were added with Chinese cabbage and vermicelli and chopped into dumpling fillings. One hundred pounds of white flour was enough for their family to eat for a long time.
Dumplings made of pork, cabbage and vermicelli will be delicious in future generations, but the problem is that if you eat too many dumplings, you will still get tired of them. Some soldiers' children don't want to eat dumplings anymore, so they beg their parents to improve the food and change the taste.
A big mouth came over: "You are so beautiful. Do you know how difficult it was to eat dumplings in the past?"
In addition to Ning Haijun, ordinary military households also received Chinese New Year gifts. Even reform-through-labor prisoners were given a meal of meat-filled dumplings. Ordinary military households received far less. Each household was given a ten-pound bag. Flour, two pounds of pork, one pound of candy, and several feet of cloth.
Seeing the smell of dumplings wafting out of General Ning's home, the ordinary military household was extremely jealous and said in their hearts: "What's so great? I will join the army when the next draft comes!"
When Cheng Shijie came to Daxing County, it was already afternoon. There was no way. There were too many people leaving the city. It was still the New Year period. Visiting relatives and friends had blocked the road so tightly that the carriage could not move at all.
When Cheng Shijie arrived at Duke Haiguo's mansion, the concierge and servants saluted him one after another.
Cheng Shijie looked at Sun Zhiman and said, "How many people are here?"
Sun Zhiman said: "There are many, dozens of people, all in the martial arts field!"
On the martial arts field, there are now only more than 300 Ning Haijun cavalry. These Ning Haijun soldiers serve as business personnel. They are wearing plate armor made by Ning Haijun. This type of plate armor is produced very quickly and is composed of six steel plates. , has human body curves, and its defense capabilities can withstand the test of the battlefield.
These more than 300 Ning navy soldiers are divided into one sentry with fifty fully armed cavalry, one sentry, which is fifty crossbowmen, one sentry with fifty pikemen, and one sentry with fifty musketeers. Soldiers, an artillery guard with fifty men and a baggage troop with fifty men on guard.
As for the Thunder Gun, it is a display. After all, the Thunder Gun is not cost-effective. As for the naval soldiers, there is no exhibition and the exhibition is of little use. Except for Cheng Shijie, no general is willing to spend a lot of money to develop the navy. Of course, Sun Yuanhua is an outlier. except.
Although each branch of the army only had a team of fifty people, Ning Haijun lined up in a neat team, seamlessly moving forward and retreating together. This momentum alone was very scary.
Hou Xun could see the true strength of Admiral Ning. He looked at Zuo Liangyu and asked, "How is it?"
"Strong, too strong!"
"I'm here to pay my respects to Duke Hai!"
Cheng Shijie greeted everyone very enthusiastically. In Cheng Shijie's eyes, these people were his God of Wealth, and they all came to give him money.
Even though Cheng Shijie still has more than 4 million taels of silver in his public account, the problem is that the money is really not spent. Ning Haijun's normal expenses are 500,000 to 600,000 taels of silver, but with the beginning of spring, road construction and Digging ditches and plowing in the spring, there are too many places to spend money, and you have to wait until August or September to get the benefits.
Without these enemies, how could Cheng Shijie persist until the autumn harvest?
"Everyone, what do you think?"
"Hai Guogong has trained his troops well!"
Everyone looked at the more than 300 soldiers in Ning Haijun's martial arts field with hot and dangerous eyes.
Cheng Shijie said: "Wu Sheng!"
"arrive!"
"Get them moving!"
"yes!"
Following Wu Sheng’s order!
"Dong dong dong dong"
The strong sound of drums sounded, and after hearing the drums, they marched in and retreated their troops. This is actually the basic way of transmitting military orders in ancient times. The sound of drums will follow the basic rhythm and convey orders.
Of course, the rhythm command is not static. Only soldiers who are familiar with this rhythm will truly understand what it means.
Each group of fifty crossbowmen came out first. These crossbowmen silently marched forward to the brisk drum beat. When they were only a hundred steps away from a row of targets, the drummer struck out an accent, Fifty pairs of feet stopped at the same time. The first row of crossbowmen squatted, the second row half-knelt, the third row stood upright, and the fourth row was divided into two to protect the left and right wings.
Fifty men held crossbows and aimed at the target.
With a heavy hammer blow, these crossbowmen who heard the order began to release arrows. Of course, they did not shoot out all at once, but the first row fired first, followed by the second row and the third row.
"Whoosh whoosh..."
Fifty crossbowmen fired three rounds of crossbow arrows at the target, like clouds and flowing water. The target in front of them immediately became densely packed, as if the target was covered with weeds.
When the fifth round of shooting was completed, the drum changed its rhythm again, and fifty fire gun soldiers began to appear. The subject of their performance was the three-part attack of the fire gun.
"Bang bang bang bang..."
As the sound of firecrackers sounded like exploding beans, the entire martial arts arena was soon filled with a thick smell of gunpowder smoke.
"Cheng Shuai is indeed a genius. He actually thought that fire guns can be used like this!"
Lu Xiangsheng could see that this method was not invented by Cheng Shijie, but by Mu Ying, the founding general of the Ming Dynasty. When Mu Ying, the famous founding general of the Ming Dynasty, was in charge of Yunnan, the natives of Yunnan rebelled repeatedly and used invulnerable giant beasts. When the elephants charged into the formation, General Mu Ying lined up the gunmen in three rows, took turns loading and firing, and countless elephants were turned into sieves under the rain of bullets.
After the collective martial arts performance, Cheng Shijie then took a spear from the hands of one of the spearmen. With a flick of his wrist, he produced a spear.
Cheng Shijie smiled and said: "Bring a pig here!"
"It's the handsome man!"
Soon a big fat pig weighing about two to three hundred kilograms came in, led by a Ning Navy soldier.
Cheng Shijie suddenly let out a loud shout, thrust like lightning, then another false thrust, and then another thrust. The movements were simple and sharp, murderous, and screamed. When everyone was dazzled, Cheng Shijie thrust the spear into the air. Hitting the big fat pig's chest, the sharp spear penetrated the fat pig's body, shooting each one to the core.
Then the blood flow continued, and the pig died soon after. This was the result of being stabbed in a non-vital part!
Zuo Liangyu looked at the spear in Cheng Shijie's hand and vaguely discovered something.
"Master Hou, I also want to buy this spear!"
Zuo Liangyu suddenly saw Cheng Shijie throw away his spear and take a Tang straight knife. He then made a trick and slashed at the big fat pig, and the fat pig's huge head rolled down.
Zuo Liangyu said excitedly: "This gun is weird!"
(End of chapter)
