"Your Majesty, this is Li Shaoyou's memorial...it was issued four months ago. The content is very important..."
Wei Zaode was holding a stack of memorials and was following Emperor Zhu around. In the Huangji Hall, there were still a bunch of eunuchs, maids and royal merchants, listening to Emperor Zhu dictating and assigning tasks.
"Are the theater troupes and singing and dancing ready? Especially singing and dancing, you must not be careless. The Emperor likes this the most! A slight mistake can ruin the success of his fiftieth birthday! Bai Men, that Qingqiwu from Japan You should pay more attention to the group, there are many kabuki in Japan where men dress up as women...The Emperor doesn't like this tone, they all have to be women, and they have to be young and beautiful!"
"The filial piety of each vassal and vassal must be registered and valued... Su Laomi, I leave this matter to you. You must value it carefully and make sure it is accurate. After the value is estimated, the value of the gift will be given The list of vassal Fangzhen and the gift list with more than 10,000 taels of silver were sent to me, I want to take a closer look."
"Duke Luo, you have to say hello to all the chartered firms in Western countries. You can't give clocks as birthday gifts. It's one thing if the emperor likes it, but you can't give clocks as birthday gifts. That's unlucky... The emperor still wants to live a long life. He’s a hundred years old!”
"What? The Ottoman Empire sent a white female slave of Rakshasa race? No, no, the emperor is old, how can he bear it? Isn't this nonsense!
return to? That's not necessary. They also had good intentions, so they just sent it to me for a look... I'll just take a look. "
"Li Di from Jeju Island came to the court to celebrate his birthday? Okay, let's make arrangements and I'll take the time to see him!"
"Has the Sultan of Sulu brought someone to Quanzhou? Let Zheng Sen tell him that he didn't return the favor this time... There is no such thing as favoritism in the Celestial Empire!"
"King Narei of Siam is also here? Okay, I've wanted to meet him for a long time!"
"By the way, where is the great lama of Tibet? Have you set off on your journey? The Emperor also wants to ask about reincarnation... Let him come quickly, or I will send troops to ask for him!"
After finally waiting for Emperor Zhu to be a dutiful son, Wei Zaode handed over the memorial in his hand.
Wei Zaode, who has been re-elected as the first assistant, has shown some signs of being "in control of power" during this period, because Zhu Cixiang has been a bit "neglectful in government affairs" recently. Since he returned to Laoshan Palace, there have been a lot of troubles.
The first is to organize the fiftieth birthday of Emperor Chongzhen. This is a good opportunity to whitewash the peace. Of course, it must be done in a big way, and all nations will come to celebrate it, so that everyone knows that the Ming Dynasty is now in peace and prosperity!
What? There are still hundreds of thousands of rebels in Sichuan and Yunnan? Those are all clowns, not worth mentioning...
The second is to build the imperial mausoleum!
Beijing will not go back, so the mausoleum area in Tianshou Mountain cannot be used, and we have to find another place to build the imperial mausoleum. After pacifying the outside of the pass, Zhu Cixiang ordered the imperial palace to send people to search for geomantic treasures. As a result, they found a mountainous area in Chuzhou near Laoshan, which could be used to bury the bones of the emperors and princes of the Zhu family - now Zhu Cixiang Most of the princes have been trapped in Yingtian Mansion, so they will have to be buried next to the emperor in the future!
The more people have to be buried, the bigger the project will be, and the palace government will pay for it, so Emperor Zhu must pay close attention!
The third is to promote the "business" of the United States of New Zealand.
The United States of Xinzhou is a very unique existence. This country is not a vassal state established by the Ming Dynasty, but a joint-stock country under the name of the Ming Dynasty, initiated by the Ming Emperor himself and serving as the major shareholder. It is equivalent to Zhu Cixi, the Ming Emperor, who came forward to recruit a group of investors to establish a new country. This kind of thing seems to be very rare not only in China, but also in the world.
Because it is so unique, there is no set example to follow. Zhu Cixi could not be the boss of the United States, so he could only do it personally. He held "shareholders meetings" (United States political meetings) every now and then to discuss investment and development matters in the United States. He also had to personally report to the ruling government of the United States, which is still in Yingtianfu. Issue various instructions.
In the past few years, the U.S. stock offering has been progressing very smoothly, and the actual funds raised (paid in) have exceeded 20 million taels!
It is not easy to manage such a large amount of money well and put it to practical use!
And this time after Zhu Cihong returned to Yingtianfu from Wuhan, the peak period of investment in the United States had almost begun. The scale of transporting people and materials to the Americas is getting larger and larger, and administrative units such as counties, cities, and villages under the jurisdiction of the Americas have begun to appear in large numbers, and more and more real estate is available for distribution (to shareholders or immigrants)... .The various major profit distributions, various huge capital expenditures, and various far-reaching key decisions involved must be personally handled by Zhu Cihong.
In addition, Zhu Cihong had to personally preside over various reviews of financial and management issues in the United States - corruption problems not only existed in bureaucracies, but also in corporatized or semi-corporated institutions such as the Royal Chamber of Commerce and the United States.
In order to manage these two "companies", Zhu Cixiang even used the power of the emperor and promulgated the "Commercial Bank Law", which equated internal corruption in commercial banks with fraud and included it in criminal liability - this Emperor Zhu has never been the best employer!
The fourth is the matter of recruiting samurai troops from Japan.
This matter also cannot be entrusted to others - the recruitment, organization, training, rewards and use of the Japanese samurai army must have strict regulations and cannot be careless at all.
A lot of things were overwhelming, and Emperor Zhu's energy was limited and he couldn't tire out the dragon body... so he could only waste time on government affairs!
After all, the government is on the right track. As long as Emperor Zhu manages the candidates for key positions such as the Chief Assistant, the Minister of Household Affairs, the Minister of War, the Military Advisor of the Generalissimo's Office, the Commander of the Jinyi Guards, and the Imperial Censors of both left and right, there will be no major mistakes. .
After Emperor Zhu finished playing the role of a dutiful son, he sat down on the throne, reached out and took the memorial from Wei Zaod, opened it, glanced at it for a few times, and immediately snorted: "Damn Dutch!"
Wei Zaode knew the reason for Zhu Cixiang's anger, because Li Shaoyou reported in the memorial that he and the Netherlands would open a Pacific route and their "neutral" stance in the New World War, as well as the Netherlands' stance in Nanyang.
And it also gave a quite shocking analysis conclusion - the Netherlands most likely provided a huge loan to Spain to support Spain's war in the New World!
Wei Zaode knew that Li Shaoyou was proficient in Western affairs, so he believed that the analysis conclusions he gave were probably accurate.
This means that the United States of New Zealand will face a life-and-death test!
In addition, Ming Dynasty's progress in the direction of Nanyang will also be slightly slower.
"Your Majesty," Wei Zaode said, "the American Palace is related to the future prosperity and decline of the country, and must be fully dealt with... Should the imperial court prepare a military expenditure? Is 30 million taels enough? The active-duty troops of the American Palace Too few, only 3,000, and must be increased as soon as possible. Should we adjust the transportation strategy and transport more soldiers across the ocean?
In addition, the Dutch dare to support Spain and are enemies of China. Should they be severely punished? Please make it clear, Your Majesty. "
The current prefect of America is Wei Zaode's son! Can he not be anxious? However, Zhu Cixiang remained calm. After scolding him, his expression softened.
"Master's order, the accounts of the United States of Xinzhou and the Ming Dynasty must be settled separately... How can the imperial court pay these 30 million taels? Once this precedent is set, what will happen to the United States of Xinzhou and the Ming Dynasty in the future? What's the matter? Where should I send the king or the governor?"
When Wei Zaode heard what Zhu Cixi said, although he didn't understand it, he didn't dare to question anything, so he said: "Your Majesty, I know that the United States is affiliated with the Ming Dynasty, but the long-term stability of the Ming Dynasty also depends on the United States... .If the matter is urgent, you can always do something special, right?"
Zhu Cixiang shook his head and said, "It's not yet time... I order you to meet with Li Yan later and discuss the budget for sending troops. After the discussion is completed, we will bring it to the United States Political Council."
