For the Ming Dynasty, the voyages to the West were of course primarily about social effects, followed by economic effects.
After all, the Ming Dynasty is already rich enough, and its annual income is very gratifying. Zhao Mian, the Minister of Household Affairs, who used to be frowning every day, now smiles every day when he sees him.
In the past two years, nothing else can be seen. Zhao Mian, who was originally a bit skinny, has now shown signs of gaining weight.
Just because of the matter of gaining weight, some officials reported to the court, requesting an investigation into the Minister of Household Affairs. The sudden gain in weight was definitely for personal gain.
This frightened Zhao Mian greatly.
If it were not for the current ban on hearings and memorials, there would probably be a mountain of memorials to impeach Zhao Mian, Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.
In the past, being the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue was a hard job. Every day, I had to find ways to deal with various expenses, and sometimes I had to fight with His Majesty.
The national treasury and internal funds are two different things. When the new year comes, you have to rack your brains to keep more of your income in the national treasury instead of going to internal funds.
When the treasury ran out of money, officials had to pay their salaries in arrears. Originally, a large part of officials relied on their salaries to survive, and the court's salary could not be paid, which naturally made it miserable.
The emperor must not be blamed. No matter what the mistake was, it could not be the emperor's fault, so the Minister of Revenue could only be held responsible.
Ordinary civil servants are just fine. At most they just talk and impeach. If you are thick-skinned, just pretend you didn't hear them.
Anyway, His Majesty also knows the situation of the treasury. Impeachment by memorial is useless. This is the case for everyone.
But the military attache was different. They were really fighting.
In previous years, every time on the first day of the new year, the Minister of Hubu would be beaten twice, and he would complain in Fengtian Hall with a bruised nose and face, and then Zhu Yuanzhang would stand up and severely scold those military attaches who took action.
In the previous years, it was almost like this every year.
For others, it is a Chinese New Year, but for the Minister of Revenue, it is just a pass.
In such a living environment, my hair turns gray every day, and I stare at the little inventory in the treasury every day, like an old man guarding treasure, how can I gain weight.
That's different now.
After the grandson came, first of all, the Qunying Chamber of Commerce was merged into the internal funds. Among other things, the internal funds no longer need to take money from the national treasury, and they are richer than the national treasury.
There is no restriction on expenditure, and there is revenue everywhere.
Taxes from all sources were pouring into the treasury crazily like a sea flowing eastward. The originally dry treasury bulged as if it had been inflated.
Zhao Mian's good days have come.
If you can’t spend it all, you can’t spend it all.
The money came in so fast, beyond Zhao Mian's imagination. As Zhao Mian, who knew the situation of the treasury best, he was full of admiration for Zhu Ying in the center of horror.
In less than two years, not only had the bad debts of more than 20 years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty been settled, but even the various increases in various expenditure items could not keep up with the speed at which Taisun made money.
Even internal funds that only know how to take money from the national treasury are uncharacteristically supporting the national treasury.
This feeling is very magical for Zhao Mian. This is a life he has never dreamed of.
In the blink of an eye, Hubu became a fragrant steamed bun.
The basic expenses of government offices at all levels are fully managed, but who of us doesn’t want to get more.
For example, it is the renovation of the yamen building, the addition of tables, chairs and benches, and the improvement of daily meals.
For example, the maintenance and construction of weapons and equipment at various military stations, and so on. The amount of money, whether large or small, is all under the control of the Ministry of Household Affairs.
Having more meat will naturally attract a pack of wolves. Everyone is watching Zhao Mian closely. If he does anything out of the ordinary, he must be impeached.
During that initial period, Zhao Mian really couldn't eat well or sleep well.
With the shadow of the previous court, Zhao Mian was afraid that he would be kicked off by His Majesty.
However, Zhu Ying discovered this and summoned Zhao Mian to Kunning Palace alone to talk.
"I know you are having a hard time right now.
, for fear of being impeached for making some mistakes. "
"Actually, you don't have to worry too much about these things. As long as you strictly follow the rules, no one can do anything to you. I can stop any messy things for you, so don't worry about the ones that are there or not."
"Everyone's life is better now. When doing things, we should be more generous, but we should not spend what we should save."
"When we were in embarrassment, grandpa and I kept all your achievements in mind. There is no need to be afraid of this or that. After all, you are also a second-level minister. As long as you don't stretch your hands, I will naturally not let you. You are impeached."
Zhu Ying's words gave Zhao Mian a big reassurance, and he expressed his gratitude to Long En with tears of gratitude.
After that, Zhao Mian, who had experienced repeated torture, became truly hardened.
In the future, when it comes to the establishment of projects arranged by His Royal Highness, the first priority is to manage enough money.
Now that the mission to sail to the West has been issued, Zhao Mian attaches great importance to it.
Immediately summoned many officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs to discuss the matter.
"The voyage to the West is the focus of His Majesty's greatest concern. In this matter, our household department must play an important role."
"Everyone should work harder these days. List all the regulations. There should be no omissions. After finishing, you should check it three times to make sure there are no mistakes."
"I know that our Ministry of Revenue is now a bureaucracy. Now that things like this have happened, I don't know how many businessmen are eyeing this piece of fat. Within the scope of your review, you must first put the interests of the court first. .”
"All the regulations on this matter will be included in the yellow book inventory. If anyone is found to have tampered with this, I will report it to the court and will not tolerate it."
"If anyone is sentenced to prison for this, don't blame me for not caring about my colleagues."
Zhao Mian's voice was cold and stern.
He himself didn't dare to be greedy. The position was too high and there were too many people staring at him.
But of course he knew a lot about the rumors among his subordinates. He usually turned a blind eye to small matters, but when it came to major actions related to the voyages to the West, he could not show mercy at all.
The left and right servants below were looking straight at him, and they had a clear conscience.
After all, the minister is not a small official. After the six ministers, there is the rank of minister.
There are also many people staring at it.
After the reform of officials' salaries, they now have good food and drinks, and there is no need to interfere with these.
On the contrary, the minds of the chief officers below were trembling.
It is impossible to say that you are not greedy.
Even if Zhu Yuanzhang instituted severe punishments to combat corruption and almost killed everyone in the court for more than 20 years, he still could not cure this situation.
If you can't kill them all, you can't kill them all.
In fact, strictly speaking, the current corruption problem in the Ming Dynasty is already more serious than before.
Because during the Zhu Yuanzhang period, there was only so much money and food, and it was easy to cause problems if you were greedy. A little more would be related to people's livelihood difficulties.
Money is scarce, money is needed everywhere, and life is tight. If one piece is missing, it will become a big problem.
But things are different now. With the rapid development of various economies, especially the establishment of a large number of factories, the Qunying Chamber of Commerce has been broken into parts and included in the jurisdiction of various places.
This also means that for the vast majority of officials, they only need to say a simple word and extend their hand to get a lot of income.
The most important thing is that these incomes, which were once easy to make mistakes, now seem very small and inconspicuous.
If you take away one of the ten treasure notes, that's ten percent less.
But not many people care about the fact that there are a few copper coins missing from the 10,000-guan treasure note. Maybe the accounts are not settled properly.
In the past, two taels of silver was enough to sentence someone to death. Now, twenty taels of silver might not be enough to pay for a meal.
All I can say is that times have changed.
.....
Since the matter of the voyage to the West was established in Fengtian Palace, Li Jinglong was appointed as the general person in charge.
The Duke Cao's mansion, which was originally sparsely populated, is now being trampled to pieces.
"Didn't I say that no matter who sent me the gifts, all the gifts should be returned to me. The door has been closed tightly and no one is allowed in."
Li Jinglong scolded the housekeeper with a frown.
With a bitter look on his face, the housekeeper replied: "This is not what the old slave meant, it was my wife who let me in."
Li Jinglong was stunned and asked, "Who is coming?"
The housekeeper hurriedly replied, "This is Madam's natal family, Ding Chang, the youngest son of Duke Ji Guo, Young Master Chang."
Li Jinglong was the son of Zhu Yuanzhang's only relative, nephew Li Wenzhong, and was a serious relative of the emperor. Naturally, the betrothed wife was of a good match in terms of status.
Ding Dexing, the Duke of Jiguo, was the first group of people to follow Zhu Yuanzhang.
The year when Ding Dexing took refuge with Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Yuanzhang was twenty-five years old and had just joined the Red Turban Army.
At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang had just been appreciated by Guo Zixing because of his proficiency in writing, bravery in combat, and agility, and he was appointed as the ninth commander of the commander's personal soldiers.
It was not until he married Queen Ma that he returned to his hometown to recruit soldiers the next year. Only then did Xu Da, Zhou Dexing, Guo Ying and other acquaintances from neighboring villages join him.
In terms of seniority, apart from Tang He, Ding Dexing is the oldest.
When Li Wenzhong defected to Zhu Yuanzhang at that time, he was under the leadership of Ding Dexing, so the two had a good relationship.
Later, Li Jinglong was born, and within two years Ding Dexing also gave birth to a daughter, so they decided to get married directly.
Unfortunately, in the twenty-seventh year of Zhizheng, two years before the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Ding Dexing died in the army when Pingjiang was about to be conquered.
In the first year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang posthumously named Ding Dexing the Duke of Jiguo, and he was listed in the Temple of Meritorious Officials.
Li Wenzhong attached great importance to this baby marriage. Under the auspices of Queen Ma, Li Jinglong naturally married Ding Dexing's youngest daughter, Ding.
"Madam, don't you look at what time of day it is now. Everyone in the court, including your Majesty's grandson, is staring at me. How can anything go wrong at this time?"
"Hurry up and tell Ding Chang to go back. Don't stay in our house. It would be bad if others see him."
Li Jinglong asked the housekeeper to entertain Ding Chang first, and then rushed to the backyard to complain to Mr. Ding.
Ding Dexing, nicknamed Hei Ding, was tall, brave, good at shooting, and had a bad temper.
The daughter is like the father, but Ding actually has a bad temper and has the potential to be a shrew.
But it just so happened that his man was Li Jinglong, who was known as the most noble son of the Ming Dynasty.
Every time when I feel angry, looking at Li Jinglong's handsome face, all the anger in my heart is gone.
The five senses follow the three views. This is not something only in later generations. Not to mention the Ming Dynasty, there were more exaggerated things in many dynasties in the past.
Moreover, Li Jinglong not only looks handsome, talks and behaves gracefully, but also has good character.
He has never been a womanizer and has a gentle temper. He is simply the prince charming in every girl's dream.
If it weren't for the baby marriage that Li Wenzhong and Ding Dexing had arranged, it wouldn't have been Ding's turn. There weren't many people in the capital who wanted to marry Li Jinglong.
That is because Li Jinglong is Zhu Yuanzhang's grandnephew and belongs to the fifth server. Otherwise, none of the princesses would want to marry Li Jinglong.
On the wedding day of Li Jinglong and Ding, many noble girls from the capital had their dreams shattered and cried late at night.
Ms. Ding feels that she is the greatest luck in her life to be able to marry Li Jinglong.
Listening to Li Jinglong's complaint, Ding quickly explained: "Xiao Chang is already thirty-two now. People often stand at thirty, and now he is still idle."
"As a sister, I usually look anxious. This time my husband has the opportunity to take charge of the Western affairs. Since I don't have anyone familiar with me, I'm worried that I won't be able to do things well."
"Xiao Chang is not here to do any business. He is just working with his husband. He does not shy away from relatives when he promotes talents. If your Majesty and your grandson have any objections, then let me
Go talk. "
When Ding was a child, she was similar to Xu Yihua. She also lived in the palace as Queen Ma's maid, and was no stranger to Zhu Yuanzhang.
This person also left the palace after marrying Li Jinglong.
With Ding Dexing's affection there, if Ding goes to plead with Zhu Yuanzhang, it will naturally not be a problem.
The most important thing is that Ding's mind is still swirling with what her brother said to her earlier.
"Sister, my brother-in-law is so noble. There is nothing wrong with you in the capital. But now that he has gone overseas, he is the Duke of Cao of our Ming Dynasty and is in charge of the entire fleet."
"Don't those monarchs of small countries just want to give away women? Isn't that what your Highness is like?"
"My brother-in-law is so handsome. How can those overseas girls not fall in love with him when they see him? There is no one around here to watch. I'm afraid my brother-in-law can't control him."
"Forget about one or two. I've been away for several years. I'm afraid I'll bring back dozens of them all at once. Then I won't have anything to worry about on weekdays."
Ding Chang is the posthumous son of Ding Dexing. He has never seen his father since he was born, but he is very smart.
After the news about the voyages to the West spread, I wanted to follow him. Whether it was to make a fortune or become an official, he could always climb up.
He is the third son of Ding Dexing. The eldest brother inherited the title of hereditary commander, and the second brother has some family fortune.
Only his father died when he was born. Although he had no worries about food and drink, he could not match wealth.
After hearing her brother's words, Mrs. Ding felt a little worried. This was why she was so determined to let her brother go to the West with her husband.
Even if he goes to His Majesty to plead for mercy, he will not hesitate.
