"Father, look at this..."
Zhu Cixiang was wearing a neat arrow jacket and riding an Indian fold-eared horse. He was walking side by side with the Supreme Emperor Chongzhen, who was also wearing an arrow jacket, walking through the forests of Laoshan. Behind the two of them, Ajige dressed as a mountain village woman and several aunts and palace maids followed on horseback.
This is Emperor Zhu inviting his father Chongzhen to go hunting in the mountains!
But Chongzhen has no interest in this kind of game of pretending to be an hunter... He is now worried about money and his son all day long, and his hair is turning gray from worry. How can he have any interest in having fun!
Speaking of these two things that worried him, of course it was Zhu Cixi's fault! Originally, Chongzhen Duoming was a wise king? Don't be lewd, don't make money... Oh, the three salaries and extra stipends are not to make money for yourself, but for the country.
However, for such a wise king, the filial son Zhu Da took away the power and became the Supreme Emperor at a young age.
After losing power, Chongzhen took in a large group of concubines to keep a low profile and cause trouble for Zhu Cixiang, a rebellious son, and worked hard to give birth to sons. Those who were not born in infancy (because Chongzhen had too many sons, when the Ming Dynasty royal family now ranks their sons, they all Excluding the sons who died under the age of five), there are still 18 sons... He is the 108th general of Liangshan, and he is the 18th son of Chongzhen.
But I thought that I was responsible for the birth...the trouble of pulling up the family and arranging a way out were all the fault of the traitor Zhu Cixiang.
But I didn’t expect that Nizi would not be responsible at all!
One brother is given a house and 3,000 acres of land... and doesn't care about anything else! Moreover, the more the house was given, the more remote it became, and the 3,000 acres of land became poorer and poorer. Now it is all given to Henan Province.
How much rent does the land in Henan charge? How can we maintain a palace with a rent of only a few hundred taels per year for 3,000 acres of land?
Could it be that the majestic Prince of Daming County was going to live like an ordinary citizen?
In fact, now that I think about it, it is not impossible for a county prince to live like a rich man among the people... If Chongzhen could make a new choice, he would definitely not take his sons to jump into the big pit of overseas country-building!
Colonization is really risky, so we need to be cautious when building a country!
We must not look at the local tycoon's United States of Xinzhou and King Jiaqing's Jiaqing Kingdom and blindly invest in the Luzon Kingdom... What a loss! Losing money every year, losing money every month! Not only did you lose money, but you also lost your life! Half of the four sons, Zhu Ciyi, Zhu Cifeng, Zhu Cizhen, and Zhu Cideng, who went to Luzon to open up frontiers together, are now dead!
The tenth son of the emperor, Zhu Cizhen, the king of Xincai County, contracted malaria two years ago. He did not survive and died in the army that encircled and suppressed the natives of Luzon Island!
The seventh son of the emperor, Zhu Cideng, the king of Guangshan County, was injured during the suppression of an indigenous rebellion in the territory of Luzon, and later died of suppurating wounds. Malaria was not only common in the tropics, but was also particularly susceptible to infection. There was no serious disease in the cold northern regions. A serious infection can occur if you are not careful in the tropics, and your life will be lost...
Colonizing and developing in tropical places is really a life-and-death struggle!
Although Emperor Chongzhen didn't like these two sons very much, and it was not that he had never had a son die, but when he thought that these two poor babies were tricked to death by their elder brother, and that they were still in debt before they died, Chongzhen was really sad and angry. ah!
But no matter how sad or angry, it can't change the reality that the Kingdom of Luzon has become a bottomless pit of money... and Chongzhen still has no way to get out of it. Because King Zhu Ciyi of Luzon and Prime Minister Zhu Cifeng of Luzon are still alive, and Zhu Ciyi is the son of Emperor Chongzhen's favorite Concubine Hu.
In addition, Chongzhen and his sons have spent three to four million taels of silver on Luzon Island to resettle immigrants, build cities, develop farmland, and suppress indigenous rebels. Now, with great difficulty, a lot of cultivated land has been opened up, more than 20,000 immigrant households have been resettled, and two new colonial cities have been established.
If Chongzhen and his son give up the Luzon Kingdom now, then the investment of three to four million taels of silver will be in vain!
If you don’t want to give up, you have to continue to invest more. But Chongzhen, a powerless emperor, where could he find money?
Of course, even when he was in power, it was difficult to get that much money. So Emperor Chongzhen could only ask his rebellious son Zhu Cixiang to pay to fill the big hole in the Luzon Kingdom... But how could Zhu Cixiang be so easy to talk to? How could he be willing to pay for his brother's kingdom? Luzon is not an important place, and it can't escape, so it's just a loss!
So he kept playing Tai Chi with Emperor Chongzhen... But today, Emperor Chongzhen finally got some clues from Zhu Cixiang.
Because that "Third Prince Zhu" Zhu Cijiong was fanning the flames in the Western Region, instigating Anxi, Hexi, Heshuote, Galdan and other forces to confront the Snowy San Francisco Town, and a civil war was about to break out. So Zhu Cixiang wanted Emperor Chongzhen to come forward and send a son to go to the Western Regions with Jin Boguo and Jin Xuanye to reconcile with Xini.
Of course, not all the princes in Beijing can be sent there. Zhu Cixiang himself certainly can't go, and neither can the charter king Zhu Cibing...
"Your Majesty," Emperor Chongzhen glanced at him and asked in a low voice, "Who do you want to trick this time? They are all brothers, so why be in such a hurry!"
What he said... Zhu Cixiang quickly looked back. The female official was following far behind, so she probably couldn't hear what Emperor Chongzhen said.
Turning his head, Zhu Cixiang sighed and said to Chongzhen: "Father, how can I harm my brothers? The matter of Lao Seven and Lao Ten... That is the result of one king's efforts and ten thousand bones! After all these years of death, There are hundreds of thousands of people in Nanyang...It is difficult to open up!"
It is not easy to open up the wilderness, especially in a miasmatic place like Nanyang. You just have to fill the territory with your life. Every inch of the country is worth every inch of blood.
Moreover, diseases kill people regardless of high or low. The mortality rate of nobles with better living conditions may be lower. The mortality rate of civilians is 50% to 60%. For them, the mortality rate is 20% to 30%. ...This is not the mortality rate after getting malaria or other diseases, but the mortality rate of all immigrants over a period of time!
"Huh!" Emperor Chongzhen snorted coldly, still looking very angry.
Zhu Cixiang frowned and said again: "Father, the third child is not the seventh or the tenth child. He will not act rashly. This time he makes trouble in the Western Regions, he must have carefully considered it. I don't necessarily want to stop him, I just want to make peace with him. Let him breathe and touch his bottom.
Father, did the third child mention this matter in a letter to you and your mother? "
"Do you think he would say such a thing in a letter?" Chongzhen asked.
"Probably not..." Zhu Cixiang sighed and said to himself: This third prince Zhu has a deep palace and a very good abacus, and he can compete with the rich and powerful!
"Father," Zhu Cihong paused, "then let Lao Jiu go."
Laojiu is Zhu Cixiu, the king of Luoshan County, who is the beloved son of Emperor Chongzhen and Concubine Hu... Although he has obtained the fiefdom of the Jiaqing Kingdom, he has been eating, drinking and having fun in the Xipu Palace in Nanjing City.
Zhu Cixiang wanted him to go to the Western Regions. Didn't that touch Chongzhen's heart?
I saw the Emperor of Chongzhen with a grimace on his face and said nothing. Zhu Cixiang smiled and said: "Father, please let Lao Jiu move. My son will honor you with one hundred thousand taels of silver."
Only one hundred thousand? Emperor Chongzhen still remained silent.
"Two hundred thousand taels..." Zhu Cixiang looked at Chongzhen and saw that he still had a sullen face, so he had to grit his teeth and said, "Three hundred thousand taels, any more will be gone... How about you If you agree, I will let the Charter King go."
Charter King Zhu Cibing is the director of Jinling Girls' School, and he has a big responsibility - the second phase of enrollment for Jinling Girls' School is about to begin! Zhu Cixiang plans to use this recruitment to select several candidates for the crown prince's concubine... It's not that he is dissatisfied with the crown prince Ding Yuying, but that he is afraid that if something happens to Ding Yuying, the prince will not be lucky. Reliable people helped.
However, Emperor Chongzhen didn't know about this. When he heard that Zhu Cihong wanted the charter king to travel far away, he had to give in - the charter king had an official position, and Zhu Cihong could instigate him. The Nine Kings Zhu Cixiu was just a dull person, and Emperor Zhu could not force him to send him.
"Three hundred and fifty thousand!" Chongzhen said, "I still have to give Lao Jiu an official position in the clan government."
