It has been almost two months since winter began, and the fires in the palace have already been lit. However, the first snow in the capital has yet to arrive.
The sky was gloomy, with heavy dark clouds pressing on people's heads, which seemed extremely depressing. Zhu Qiyu was wrapped in a thick fur robe and stood in the corridor. The whistling wind seemed to affect the young emperor's mood.
I don’t know how long it took, but sporadic snowflakes began to fall, falling on the soft fur, curling up with ice flowers, which lingered for a long time.
"Your Majesty, Yu Shaobao has returned to Beijing and is now waiting for orders outside the palace!"
Huaien stepped forward lightly and spoke respectfully, which brought Zhu Qiyu back to his senses.
"Call him in."
The fire in the palace was burning brightly, making people feel very warm even in winter. Under the guidance of the chamberlain, Yu Qian entered the palace door. When he raised his head, he saw the emperor sitting on the throne.
After half a year, Yu Qian stepped into this hall again. He was filled with emotions and walked towards the hall. Yu Qian bowed and knelt down and said.
"I, Yu Qian, bow to your majesty, long live my emperor!"
"Get back on your feet, sir, it's been a hard journey!"
Zhu Qiyu's face remained normal and his tone was gentle.
So, Yu Qian stood up and said.
"I don't dare. This time I have been ordered to go out to the capital to supervise the establishment of Huangzhuang. Now, the fiefdoms of the eight kings including King Zhou, King Lu, King Qin, King Xiang, King Ning, King Yi, King Min, and King Jing are in accordance with your Majesty's instructions. According to the decree, forty-two palaces have been built. These are the details. Please take a look at them."
The chamberlain took the memorial from Yu Qian's hand and handed it to the imperial case. Zhu Qiyu opened it and read it carefully.
It has been half a year since Yu Qian left Beijing. During this time, it can be seen that Yu Qian has really tried his best.
There are forty-two royal estates in the land of the eight vassals. Although Yu Qian is only supervising, and the specific affairs are handled by the vassal king and the mining tax eunuchs, in the past six months, he has been running around in various places. It's not hard work.
Of course, the results are also significant. At least, for now, Huangzhuang is running very well, especially Huangzhuang, which is close to Jiangxi and South Zhili, and has attracted a large number of refugees. It can be said that Jiangxi's drought can be successfully overcome this time , is inseparable from the establishment of Huangzhuang.
After reading the memorial, Zhu Qiyu raised his head, his eyes fell on Yu Qian, and said.
"Thank you for your hard work on this trip, sir. I have read all the memorials submitted from various places. However, they are not as detailed as yours. So I will leave the memorials first and I will look back slowly."
"In the past half year, sir, I have traveled all over the place. I wonder if you have any opinions on the matter of Huangzhuang?"
After all, Huangzhuang is an idea of Zhu Qiyu, a product born out of the Chenghua period that has not yet come, but it is very different from it.
So in fact, although Zhu Qiyu's attitude seems very firm to the outside world, Zhu Qiyu is not very sure about what kind of problems will arise during the operation and whether the expected results can be successfully achieved.
Yu Qian was obviously prepared for this. He pondered for a moment and then said.
"Your Majesty, the establishment of the imperial palace has indeed greatly reduced the pressure on the imperial court. During the Jiangxi disaster relief operation, I happened to inspect the vicinity of Ning Fan. According to the information I verified locally, among the eight imperial estates funded by Prince Ning, There were about 6,000 refugee households, and at least 20,000 people survived the disaster because of Huangzhuang."
"At the same time, in accordance with His Majesty's decree, I strictly ordered officials from various places to verify the status of land sales during the disaster years, and found that Huangzhuang also indirectly stabilized the land sales price."
Speaking of this matter, although Yu Qian said that he was following the imperial decree, in fact, it was his own credit.
When there was a drought in Jiangxi, the imperial court allocated grain from Changpingcang in nearby areas for disaster relief. As a result, local grain prices rose accordingly. Although it was still within the control range, on one hand, grain prices rose; Several surrounding provinces also experienced varying degrees of harvest failure, which resulted in many farmers having to sell their land.
Originally, in this year, these lands would have been bought by local gentry at low prices. However, it happened that the feudal princes were establishing imperial estates and replacing the land between various areas with scattered official fields.
As a result, it became a contest between the vassal kings and the local gentry. Yu Qian saw an opportunity in this situation and went to the capital overnight to request Huangzhuang to purchase land based on the average price of land sales in the previous three years in various county yamen. .
As a result, people are naturally more willing to sell land to Huangzhuang. Although Huangzhuang has to be selective in purchasing land, and the main body is still official land, the final total amount purchased is not special. However, when this wind blows, it actually raises the price of land that originally fell to the bottom.
Zhu Qiyu nodded and said.
"To be able to achieve this result, I still need a gentleman to watch for me. Otherwise, I am afraid that the Imperial Village will also become a bad government that oppresses the people!"
This is not a lie. There are advantages and disadvantages. The most difficult aspect of reform has always been how to implement the plan.
Although Huangzhuang's idea was good, there was a crucial issue, which was also the biggest reason for Yu Qian's firm opposition in the first place.
That is, the two main components of Huangzhuang are the vassal king and the eunuchs, both of whom are outside the court system.
In other words, ordinary local officials can't control them at all, so Huangzhuang can easily become a tool for them to make money.
In the short half year since he left the capital, Yu Qian's main job was to monitor these illegal things. To this day, just because of the Huangzhuang incident, Zhu Qiyu has killed three mining tax eunuchs, issued five edicts and repeatedly issued strict orders to various places. Do not use the imperial village as an excuse to squeeze the people. Most of them were impeached by Yu Qian.
Among them, Ning Fan, who was the most serious, had already had his salary reduced by a thousand dan by Zhu Qiyu because of this incident, so he could be considered honest.
"I dare not..."
After a trip out of Beijing, Yu Qian's temper was still as expressionless as before. He bowed and bowed, and Yu Shaobao followed his lead and said.
"Your Majesty, this is also something I want to discuss with you."
"The Imperial Mansion involves many people and the affairs are complicated. Although His Majesty has strict orders, there are always lawless people in the local area. When I was in the local area, I also witnessed many eunuchs and royal palaces relying on their power to oppress the people. In addition to land sales, there are also farming The same is true for the purchase of cattle, grain growing, agricultural equipment and other items. Many people in the imperial village, in order to save costs, wantonly lower the prices. What's more, they engage in cunning and plundering."
"I feel ashamed. Although I have tried my best, the eight vassal territories are too vast. I know that there are still many areas that have not been investigated. If things continue like this, the imperial village will become a burden to the people. This is against your Majesty's wishes."
"Therefore, I think that in addition to the imperial palace, there should be another governor-general to take charge of all affairs of the imperial palace, assisted by mining tax eunuchs and royal officials. This is appropriate. Please give me your Majesty's advice!"
"The Viceroy?"
Zhu Qiyu looked at Yu Qian below and pondered without speaking.
It can be seen that Yu Qian's view of Huangzhuang has changed after supervising the affairs of Huangzhuang this time.
At least, he no longer opposed it so fiercely, but instead began to think about how to make the Royal Mansion operate normally and play its greatest role.
However, this raises another question, that is, Yu Qian is a civil servant after all, and his thoughts are also considered from the standpoint of a civil servant.
Reflected in the matter of Huangzhuang, it is the distrust of the vassal king and eunuchs. Of course, this cannot be regarded as prejudice. In a sense, Yu Qian's idea is right. The vassal king and eunuchs are free from the court. However, Civil servants are within the imperial court.
Therefore, if civil servants are allowed to preside over the affairs of the imperial palace, management will be much more convenient. Of course, this does not mean that civil servants will not engage in malpractice for personal gain and oppress the people, but it means that if such a thing happens, the court will have a complete set of measures. Rules and procedures can be handled promptly and appropriately.
but……
"The initial design of Huangzhuang, let's take a look at it later!"
In the end, Zhu Qiyu shook his head and did not agree to Yu Qian's request.
It is true that what Yu Qian said makes sense, and Zhu Qiyu actually knows in his heart that he will definitely go in this direction in the future.
After all, most of the imperial estates were official fields of the imperial court, and eunuchs were indeed unstable. Among other things, Zhu Qiyu could not guarantee that after his death, the next emperor would still restrain eunuchs in this way.
Today's Huangzhuang has a system in which eunuchs are responsible for specific affairs, with local yamen assisting and royal officials participating in supervision. Under this system, local yamen are in a weak position, which means that if Zhu Qiyu wants to, he can completely The tax revenue that should have been distributed to local government offices was instead collected into the internal treasury.
Of course, Zhu Qiyu would not do this himself, but the next emperor may not be able to tolerate such an obvious loophole...
Therefore, in the final development of Huangzhuang, it will definitely be integrated into the imperial court system. From this point of view, civil servants can play a greater role.
However, not now!
Huangzhuang is not on the right track yet. To a large extent, it still needs to rely on the vassal king. If the civil servants are allowed to intervene, then with the attitude of the civil servants towards the vassal king, it will easily cause trouble in the end.
Furthermore, the opening of Huangzhuang is closely related to the reform of the sect, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it is a foreshadowing. Therefore, before the follow-up measures are completed, this matter cannot be left to the civil servants to take charge.
However, what Yu Qian said is not unreasonable. Although it is said that civil servants cannot be allowed to come to govern the affairs of Huangzhuang, but...
After pondering for a moment, Zhu Qiyu said.
"Let's do this. One or two more censors will be assigned to each vassal territory to supervise illegal things in the operation of the imperial palace. If any bullying of the people or malpractice for personal gain is found, they can be reported to the governor immediately, and the governor will inspect them. How about the situation, deciding on small things and repeating on big things?"
There are no such strict rules when it comes to playing a match in private. These words are a consultation, not an explicit edict. Therefore, for Qian, if he has a different opinion, he can actually raise it.
However, after being imprisoned, Yu Shaobao seemed to have figured it out during these days and restrained his sharpness a lot. After hearing this, he pondered for a moment and then said.
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
Zhu Qiyu was quite surprised by this attitude. He originally thought that he would have to spend more time talking, but he didn't expect that Yu Qian would be persuaded so easily this time.
This way, it saved him some energy, so Zhu Qiyu thought about it and continued to speak.
"The matter of Huangzhuang is now slowly on the right track. I will discuss the matter of dispatching the censor later with the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Ministry of Civil Affairs."
"This time I am calling you back to Beijing because I have another matter that I want to discuss with you."
"Your Majesty, please say..."
Hearing the emperor's thoughtful tone, Yu Qian did not dare to neglect and immediately handed over his hand.
So, Zhu Qiyu pondered and said.
"Half a month ago, Zhangzhou submitted a memorial, saying that the Prince's Palace has been built. I wonder if sir, has heard about it?"
Since the last time he had a discussion with King Dai, King Dai had set off for Zhangzhou. On the one hand, it was for errands, and on the other hand, it was also to personally supervise the construction of the palace to prevent anyone from making any more crooked ideas.
Even so, the construction of the palace was inevitably affected by the disaster, and it was not really repaired until half a month ago.
Now that the palace has been built, it’s time to prepare for the next step...
"Have heard a little bit!"
Yu Qian didn't expect that Zhu Qiyu would mention this matter. He was slightly stunned, then nodded and said.
"It is said that Prince Dai has obtained a new nautical chart. In order to verify the authenticity, he sent many ships to explore the sea. There are also rumors that..."
At this point, Yu Qian hesitated for a moment, and then said.
"Your Majesty, there are also rumors that the ships that were seen going out to sea carried a lot of rare things, and they seemed to be going out to sea to do business."
When he said this, Yu Qian quietly observed the emperor's reaction. As expected, when he heard this, the emperor's expression unconsciously became a little unnatural.
Huangdian's involvement in Zhangzhou was actually not a secret in the court. After all, with such a large group of people and the movement of the Forbidden Army, it was impossible for everyone in the court not to know about it.
However, on the surface, Zhu Qiyu used it to escort King Dai south, and later on, it was to suppress bandits. But in fact, the role of these officers and soldiers was to protect the safety of Huangdian's supplies.
However, now that he has said this, there is no need for Zhu Qiyu to be secretive. After thinking for a while, he opened his mouth and said.
"Sir, you are right. Those ships are indeed going to sea for business!"
Hearing the emperor's straightforward admission, Yu Qian was also quite surprised, and subconsciously frowned and said.
"Your Majesty, Emperor Taizu has a system..."
However, he was interrupted by Zhu Qiyu halfway through his words.
"Sir, listen to me!"
So Yu Qian had to swallow his words again, and then Zhu Qiyu spoke.
"To be honest, sir, I discussed this matter with Uncle Dai Wang before he moved the feudal clan. This time, it can be regarded as an attempt. Uncle Dai Wang went to Zhangzhou this time, firstly to verify the authenticity of the sea map, and secondly. Then, I also want to see whether the maritime ban policy does more good than harm, or does more harm than good."
"I know that Sir is not a pedantic person. Although the sea ban was established by Taizu, Taizu has always been benevolent and caring for the people. If it is beneficial to the people and beneficial to the country, I think Taizu will not hesitate to follow the trend!"
(End of chapter)
