It was late at night, and the entire Laoshan Palace was quiet. Probably only the Ming Emperor himself was still awake with his eyes open on the big mahogany bed in the Xinan Pavilion of Yanshan Palace. He put his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling, wondering what he was thinking about?
Ning Xiangyu beside her fell asleep after holding hands. In terms of beauty and figure, this woman was definitely one of the best in Emperor Zhu's harem - she was a stunning beauty selected from the draft! Could it be any worse? It's just that this woman's character is not too good, a little, not a little, but very serious! You can't rub sand into your eyes, and no one dares to stand up to you if you get angry.
I don’t know if it was because Zhu Cixiang flirted with her princess (she was actually not an official princess, but an alternate), and she had been contradicting Emperor Zhu for a while. If not for the fact that Emperor Zhu was in his forties or fifties at heart The uncle was particularly willing to tolerate a pretty girl like her. Ning Xiangyu had long been relegated to the cold palace.
But after getting along with Ning Xiangyu for a long time, Zhu Cixiang liked her more and more!
It wasn't that Zhu Cihong was being mean, but that Zhu Cihong discovered that Ning Xiangyu wasn't the only one he had trouble with. She had such a serious temperament, and she couldn't bear to say that even if Zhu Cihong was the emperor, she wouldn't buy it.
Such a temperament seems annoying, but Zhu Cixiang knows that this Ning Xiangyu is still sincere to him and really wants to help him improve into a wise king. Moreover, her natal family lost contact during the war, and there was no large Ning family to take care of her, so she truly belonged to Zhu Cixang alone.
Both Wu Sanmei and Zheng Chagu have a large family behind them, and they both have a lot of little plans of their own, so it is inevitable that they will form cliques and fight in the harem. As Empress Wu and Concubine Zheng grew older, their overt and covert fights in the palace also escalated, and the eunuchs and maids in the palace began to divide into factions!
Emperor Chongzhen also gave Emperor Zhu more and more headaches. It was not that he was evil-minded, but that he was extravagant. One million gold and silver a year was not enough to cover expenses. From time to time, he would ask Empress Wu Sanmei for money... And Wu Sanmei has a temperament of "righteousness does not control wealth"!
In addition, Zhu Cixi's children are gradually growing up, and they need someone to strictly discipline them.
In this case, Zhu Cixiang needed a "stepmother" who was hated by everyone to assist Wu Sanmei in running the harem.
And Ning Xiangyu seems to be such a "stepmother", with a difficult temper and old qualifications. Wu Sanmei and Zheng Chagu have to call her "Sister Ning", and they also have a headache when they see this straight-tempered woman.
So in the past few years, Zhu Cixiang has become more and more fond of Ning Xiangyu. Not only did she assist the queen in managing the Sixth Palace in the name of "Grand Noble Concubine", but she also took charge of the palace's punishment and finances (excluding the Royal Chamber of Commerce)... This time Emperor Zhu will be with Empress Wu. Going north, Yingtian Mansion will have to rely more on Ning's "stepmother" to suppress them.
The "stepmother" had already woken up. She found that Emperor Zhu was still thinking, so she put a snow-white and pink arm on her and asked in a low voice: "Why don't you go to bed long live? I will discuss the Northern Expedition with the courtiers tomorrow." What's going on?"
Zhu Cixiang turned his head, smiled at Ning Xiangyu's round and dignified beautiful face, and sighed: "I can't sleep... We are going to fight again. We have to make a careful plan, but we can't lose money!"
Ning Xiangyu blinked her eyes and smiled: "...I have been advising you for so many years, but you still regard running the country and the army as a business. It seems that you cannot lose money in this life!"
"Of course we can't lose money!" Zhu Cixiang smiled, "If we lose money here, how can our family spend two million a year?"
"Why two million?" Ning Xiangyu said with a smile, "Including the expenses of the young widow (referring to Mary Mancini), it can't exceed one million a year."
Hearing Ning Xiangyu call Mancini "little silver lady", Zhu Cixiang just smiled and was not angry at all. Because this nickname was given by Zhu Cixiang in the harem, and he liked to give people nicknames.
He gave his eldest son Zhu Cihao the nickname "local tycoon", called Zheng Chagu as Cha Shugu, Wu Sanmei as Sha Baitian, Ning Xiangyu as stepmother, Fei Zhen'e as little fox, and Xu Erlin as daughter. Madam, Jin Dongzhu is called Xiaozhu (her grandfather is a wild boar skin), Mancini is called Royal Princess by Zhu Cixiang, and the most inexplicable thing is Ajige’s nickname-Princess Jianning...
Zhu Cixi smiled and said: "After the Northern Expedition, the expenses for the harem will double. Because I will build the former enemy palace in Tianjin. In the next few years, I will be traveling between Tianjin and Yingtian. The harem will also be divided into two... Xiangyu, your burden will be even heavier then!"
Ning Xiangyu frowned and sat up, her face a little downcast, "Long live Lord, we now have three homes: Wuhan East Lake Palace, Nanjing Forbidden City, and Jiangbei Laoshan Palace. The Forbidden City in Beijing is also still there. ..... The maintenance of these palaces alone costs more than half a million yuan a year. Is it necessary to build another Tianjin Palace? If you want to sit in the north, can't you go to Beijing? Our family has money, but we can't It’s so useful!”
Ning Xiangyu was the only one in the harem who dared to look at Zhu Cixiang. However, Zhu Cixiang was not angry. Instead, he smiled and explained to her: "Both the Forbidden City in Beijing and Nanjing will be gradually abandoned...but in Tianjin But the palace must be built. Because we must have a home in the north, and this home cannot be placed in Beijing, but can only be placed in Tianjin."
"Why? Isn't Beijing bad?"
"Of course it's not good!" Zhu Cihong said, "Beijing is actually the general rear and the last fortress of the Yanshan defense! If the Beijing fortress is not lost, the Yanshan defense line will not be completely broken... But as the capital of a country, it is really not possible. It’s very suitable, and the location is far inferior to Tianjin.”
“What’s so good about Tianjin?”
Zhu Cixiang said: "Tianjin is the water and land hub in the north! There is a canal leading to Beijing to the west, a canal to Shandong to the south, and the Bohai Bay to the east. Liaodong, Liaoxi, and Shandong are nearby, and it is not far from North Korea. Moreover, Taking advantage of the monsoon, it is very convenient to travel to the south of the Yangtze River... As long as Tianjin is at hand, Liaoyang, Anbei, Peiping, Daning, Hebei, Shandong and other places are all under control.
Therefore, our home in the north does not need to be in Beijing, but we must have a home in Tianjin! "
Emperor Zhu's statement is actually not quite right. Which one is better, Beijing or Tianjin? The key depends on whether the country is a pure land power or a land and sea empire.
Because Tianjin is located in Haikou, transportation is very convenient, and it can also exert influence on Liaodong, Western Liaoning, and North Korea through sea routes.
As long as the country has a strong navy, Tianjin's terrain is naturally dangerous!
Even if Beijing falls, Tianjin can support it for a long time-at least in the 17th and 18th centuries!
Therefore, Emperor Zhu, who chose Nanjing and took the route of dual sea and land hegemony, had to move the center of the north from Beijing to Tianjin in Haikou. He also had to build Tianjin into the economic center of the north and then firmly control it.
Zhu Cixiang added: "Tianjin's terrain is so favorable, and now Shen Tingyang is working hard to manage it. As long as the land outside the customs is restored, it will definitely be Shanghai in the north in the future. I am thinking that I should take advantage of this opportunity of the Northern Expedition to get involved, and in the name of establishing Tianjin Palace, I will do more. Buy some land, develop it and operate it, it will be another way for our family to make money in the future!"
It turns out that Zhu Cixiang stayed up all night because he was thinking about how to use this Northern Expedition to move the center of the north from Beijing to Tianjin, and then circle (buy) a large piece of land in Tianjin and slowly develop it. After the development, he would only rent it but not sell it. ...I dare not think about it. The expenses for three years will always have to be earned!
Of course, Ping Liao spent public funds, and the money Zhu Cihong earned in Tianjin was his private property...
Listening to Emperor Zhu's business experience, Ning Xiangyu was really dumbfounded. Is this person going on the Northern Expedition, or is he going north to speculate on land? Why is it that everything in his hands is a business? Even his little wife is helping him promote milk tea, imported fabrics, and wine to Europe... and she's very motivated!
