At the same time that Zhu Cihong summoned Tang Ruowang, Ji Kun and Li Shaoyou were sitting on two chairs beside the Fengtianmen gate tower, waiting to be summoned.
Both of them are very happy!
Ji Kun could finally stop being a cruel official. He had always thought that he was so talented that if he wanted to be an official, he would definitely become a famous minister who would go down in history. But now he was a cruel official and his reputation was already stinky. How could he be willing to accept it? This time, Emperor Zhu personally promised to let him leave the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and would also give him a chance to go down in history - Zhu Cixiang was famous for saying what he must! Since he promised Ji Kun, he would not default on his debt.
Ji Kun felt so beautiful! Don’t know where you want to be an official? If you want to be remembered in history, being a prefect might not be enough! Do you want to be a governor? If you become a governor, you will either go to Shaanxi or Henan.
But Li Shaoyou didn't care about reputation, he just wanted to make more money, so he wanted to be an official in Yushitai or Military Station. But his uncle Li Ruolian was an unreasonable idiot and refused to open the back door for his nephew. So he went around and became a teacher at Jingxuetang - Jingxuetang is a Qingshui Yamen, and the salary is quite high, but it is still a dead salary! He joined the "Overcoming Difficulties" relatively late. He joined the group only after Zhu Cihong secured Nanjing, so he did not win a big reward. Moreover, he did not make any achievements after joining the Jinyiwei. Before he was transferred to the teacher, he only held the official position of the general banner. He earns 15 taels of silver a month and has no land. He only received a mansion in Dongcheng District outside Nanjing. The location is not good, so he has never built a house. He still lives in an official residence (dormitory).
After he was transferred to the Jingxuetang teacher, his income doubled, reaching 30 taels per month, and he received a salary of 13 taels a year, which is 390 taels. In today's Nanjing workplace, an annual salary of 390 taels is definitely considered a high salary. But Li Shaoyou spends a lot of money. He especially likes to visit the Qinhuai River, and also likes antique calligraphy and paintings... both of which cost money! So the boss is no longer young and has not even married a wife.
Of course, he is not an ordinary person, he is the nephew of Li Ruolian, the military academy envoy of the Generalissimo's Mansion!
Isn’t it easy to really want a wife? Li Ruolian will pay for him as a betrothal gift, and if he finds a rich girl with a dowry, he can happily live a soft life.
But he still has requirements for his wife, who must be beautiful and well-educated... This is difficult!
Just when Li Shaoyou was about to give up and marry a well-matched fat woman (she was the daughter of Yangzhou Yanzong's family, with a dowry of 300,000 taels), his chance to rise to the top finally came!
The Emperor of Heaven personally gave him an opportunity to forge the "Holy Relic"! And he did a good job, so he should be rewarded heavily.
He had already thought about it, what if the emperor asked him what he wanted later? He asked to be a supervisory censor in Songjiang... I heard that Duke Luo, the prefect of Songjiang, was a corrupt official! As long as you catch him, everything will be fine!
"Xuan Jikun and Li Shaoyou come to see you!"
The two of them didn't wait long before guards took them to Fengtian Palace to see Emperor Zhu.
The place to meet the emperor was in Dongnuan Pavilion of Fengtian Palace. Also present to accompany Emperor Zhu to summon them were Qian Qianyi, the Minister of Rites, and Tang Ruowang, the deputy secretary of Taixue.
The two of them bowed with great ceremony, and Emperor Zhu immediately gave them a seat.
"Ji Qing, Li Shaoyou," Zhu Cixiang said with a smile when he saw the two of them sitting down, "Today we are announcing your entry into the palace. I have a task that I want to entrust to you that will go down in history."
Ji Kun sounded a little strange. How could a mission that would go down in history be given to two people?
But Li Shaoyou was a little disappointed - he didn't want to be famous in history, he just wanted to make a lot of money and marry a beautiful wife.
Looking at the expectant expressions of the two people, Emperor Zhu then pointed at Tang Ruowang: "Deputy Tang Ruowang just told me that the Spanish Governor of the Philippines may have taken it upon himself to cause trouble for our Ming Dynasty. I am peaceful by nature and will not He was willing to fight with others, so he wanted to send a mission to Europe to meet with the King of Spain, the King of Portugal, the Lord Protector of England, the Consul of the Netherlands, the King of France, and the Patriarch of Rome, and sign trade and missionary treaties to delineate the sphere of influence. .”
Of course Emperor Zhu was not willing to go to war if the goal could be achieved by peaceful means. War will cost lives, and a lot of money will be spent.
Even if war is to begin, Spain must be isolated through diplomatic means, but one country cannot fight several or even a dozen countries. Even if he can win, Ming Dynasty will still have to break his muscles and bones!
Therefore, Emperor Zhu decided to send a mission to Europe. The first thing he wanted was to set up embassies and establish diplomatic relations; the second was to divide the sphere of influence - the Ming Dynasty did not have high requirements now, which were the East Asian continent, the Korean Peninsula, and the Indo-China Peninsula, and the rest would be discussed later; the third was to divide the sphere of influence. Transfer of the right to protect the church—from Portugal to Ming Dynasty!
Emperor Zhu finished talking about the mission of visiting Europe, and then said: "Qing Ji, I plan to let you be the ambassador of the mission to Europe...After visiting European countries, the Ming Dynasty Embassy in Europe will be opened in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. , appointed as the Permanent Ambassador to Europe!"
Ji Kun was dumbfounded. Permanent ambassador to Europe? Isn’t that just sending me to a barbaric land and not coming back? This is no different from killing people and silencing them, right?
Was the co-author the emperor afraid that others would know that he forged the Holy Relics, so he sent him away?
Zhu Cixiang smiled: "Ji Qing, this is a mission that will go down in history! Do it well, and when you return to the court after success, I will make you a baron."
The Ming Dynasty now has seven levels of titles: duke, marquis, uncle, son, son, plus prince and county king. Among them, princes and princes have not been given foreign surnames (not counting the kings of vassal states). The titles given to ministers with foreign surnames are Duke, Marquis, Bo, Zi, and male. Each rank is divided into two categories: overcoming difficulties and non-overcoming difficulties. class. A total of five and ten levels of knighthood.
The title does not come with a salary, but it does confer land and a mansion. The maximum land grant for a noble is 4,000 acres. Counting downwards for a prince, 400 acres will be reduced for the first level. The youngest baron will be given 400 acres of land.
A minister with a foreign surname cannot hold more than 4,000 acres of land in total. Starting from the year of Hongxing, Xuntian has to pay taxes like ordinary private land. But as long as the first-generation landowner is alive, the tax paid can be "rewarded" by the court - that is, a tax refund!
Paying first and then withdrawing may seem unnecessary, but in fact it is of great significance. This eliminates the possibility of expanding Hounta's tax-free power. All privately held land is subject to tax! After paying and then withdrawing, you are talking to the court. How many fields do you have? The local officials dare not ask. If the Ming court has accounts, they will know after checking.
In addition, for the land in Huangzhuang held by the emperor himself, Zhu Cixi also paid tax first and then got tax refunded! Therefore, the Ministry of Household Affairs of the Ming Dynasty now knows exactly how much land there is in Huangzhuang.
The real estate held by the Royal Chamber of Commerce is not considered imperial land, but private real estate, which is no different from ordinary private real estate... The emperor's private investment and royal industry are not the same thing!
By the way, this very strict land tax system for the powerful was proposed by Qian Qianyi and Zheng Zhilong, the leaders of the Central and South Korean People's Party!
"I thank you Lord for your kindness!"
Of course Ji Kun doesn't want to go abroad, but he also knows that there is such a thing as murder and silence!
"Li Shaoyou," Zhu Cixiang said to Li Shaoyou again, "you should also go to Europe as an envoy, become a military attache of the mission, be in charge of military exchanges, and be promoted to a thousand households."
Thousand households have a monthly salary of 60 taels, which is 13 taels a year, which is 780 taels of silver. It is a very good and high salary!
Li Shaoyou didn't realize how long he would have to stay in Europe, so he kowtowed and thanked him with a smile.
Zhu Cixiang smiled and said: "You go back and make preparations. Let's set off this month! I have asked the Dongning Army to prepare ships and attaches. You can also bring some people with you. Just draw up a list and submit it to the Department of Commerce and Diplomacy of the Ministry of Revenue. ”
This visit is quite grand. The number of members of the mission will not be less than 300 (excluding sailors), and there will be at least 6 large-scale ships escorting them to Europe. The ship will also carry gifts for monarchs and popes in various European countries, as well as a lot of porcelain and silk to be sold in Europe to pay for the mission's expenses in various European countries. These are all good things for "royal use"!
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