[You know in your heart why the cabinet does not want to pay compensation to the Southwest Army now. 】
[Because the imperial court's compensation to Prince Qi's Mansion is clearly stipulated. This was the treaty made between Emperor Jiajing and Prince Qi's Mansion. Every item of compensation is clearly listed. How many things the court sends to the southwest every year is clearly stated. In vain. 】
[This posed a problem for the officials of the court: they could only watch this huge sum of money pass under their noses, but they did not dare to reach out for corruption. 】
[As long as they dare to reach out and wait for Prince Qi’s palace to check the list, they will find that the numbers do not match up. Once Prince Qi is angered, everyone will be screwed. 】
[How can there be such a truth in the world! They dared to embezzle the emperor's private money, but now they have money that they cannot embezzle. Is this reasonable? 】
[This is reasonable, because they are also afraid of King Qi. 】
[Emperor, they can ignore it. But King Qi couldn't do it, because the emperor couldn't do anything to them, but King Qi really dared to kill them. 】
Zhu Di was not surprised, because this has always been the way civil servants work.
If you try to reason with civil servants, they will cheat on you. If you want to cheat on civil servants, they will reason with you.
When a civil servant understands this shameless truth, he will be sublimated into a "virtuous minister"
If you want to leave your name in history, you have to join in the mischief.
[After discussions among the talented people in the cabinet, they came up with a way to have the best of both worlds, without having to pay compensation to King Qi, and without having to go to war with King Qi - ceding territory. 】
[They decided not to pay compensation to Prince Qi’s Mansion in the future, but to use the territory of Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Guangdong, and Fujian provinces in exchange for Prince Qi’s Mansion. 】
[You thought you heard wrongly. By ceding the territory of the five provinces, you are directly giving away one-third of the territory of the Ming Dynasty! These civil servants really dare to speak! 】
[The reality is that the cabinet really thinks so, because the tax revenue of these five provinces is too poor. Among the five provinces, Guangdong has the highest taxation. The taxation of Guangdong alone is higher than the total taxation of the other four provinces. However, the tax in Guangdong is less than one-tenth of the tax in South Zhili, which is to say that the short man is taller. If we really count, the combined tax of the five provinces is less than a quarter of the tax of South Zhili]
[Using the territory of five provinces to offset the huge annual compensation to Prince Qi's Mansion, this deal couldn't be more cost-effective. 】
[Three of the five provinces were poisoned by Japanese pirates, and the remaining Guangxi and Yunnan provinces often had chieftain rebellions. They could not make ends meet every year, and it was difficult for people in the court to make money. In the past, Prince Qi's Mansion of the Southwest was still in charge. Since the fall out with Prince Qi's Mansion, the Southwest Army no longer fought for the imperial court, which made the bachelors in the cabinet very worried. 】
[The imperial court sends stifling military expenditures to these five provinces every year, and this military expenditure comes from the national treasury. Although the money in the treasury has nothing to do with the emperor, it is the money of the cabinet bachelors. How could it be wasted like this? 】
[Now that the five provinces have been ceded to King Qi, King Qi’s Southwest Army will fight all wars and wars, and a huge amount of compensation has been saved. Everyone can settle down and divide the benefits. Isn’t it wonderful? 】
[Everyone is dumbfounded when you hear that the Ming Dynasty wants to cede the territory of five provinces to others. How can you see your ancestors after you die? 】
[The cabinet explained patiently, to the effect: "Your Majesty, King Qi is also named Zhu. We are all one family. How can this be called ceding land? This is called taking care of one's own family. Your ancestors will still boast about it after you burped. And you."】
[You are thinking that King Qi is really a family. When someone closes the door and becomes an emperor, he is more majestic than an orthodox emperor like me. No one is interested in this broken court. We treat Prince Qi as one family, and Prince Qi treats us as poor relatives. What the hell is a family like? 】
[Everyone was discussing with gusto, but you inadvertently noticed that one person was looking at each other coldly and silently. 】
[This man's name is Zhang Juzheng, whose courtesy name is Taiyue. He is the Minister of Rites, the Grand Bachelor of Wuyingdian, and the Second Assistant to the Cabinet. You feel in your heart that this guy is quite pleasing to the eye. Everyone in the cabinet is thinking about how to bully the emperor, but this Zhang Juzheng is very honest and presumably a loyal minister. 】
[But in today’s cabinet, Zhang Juzheng is just a decoration. Although he is the second assistant, he has little power and is of little help to you. 】
[Zhang Juzheng holds the false position of Shaobao and Prince Taibao, and he is a die-hard princeling. You hope that after your death, Zhang Juzheng can help the prince regain the imperial power, and not let your young prince make the same mistake again and become a puppet of the cabinet. 】
[You know that your son's talents are limited and he cannot defeat the cabinet, but Zhang Juzheng is a good helper. He looks honest and honest. He will definitely be able to help the prince suppress the cabinet and return power to the emperor's hands. 】
Imperial power fell away and the emperor became a puppet.
When it comes to ceding land, the emperor actually has no right to resist!
Zhu Di's heart was numb and he did not express any opinions on this.
Compared with the stupid things he had simulated by previous emperors, Emperor Longqing was already very good.
Because Long Qing has nothing to do, he is just a mascot. He did not dare to resist because he was afraid that he would die inexplicably like Emperor Wuzong.
Emperor Longqing's behavior was: I would rather do nothing than make a mistake.
The "Mingbao Sect" called the sect emperor Zhu Qizhen to do something, and almost killed the Ming Dynasty;
Zhu Houzhao, the mighty general of Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty, wanted to do something and then killed himself;
The Taoist Emperor Zhu Houcong of the "Ming Xian Sect" wanted to do something (conquer the southwest), but his 300,000 troops were gone;
Emperor Longqing just didn't do anything, but he didn't do anything wrong.
If he does something, I'm afraid Daming will be even worse.
[After cabinet deliberations, Gao Gong decided to send Zhang Juzheng to negotiate with King Qi to carry out "reparations in exchange for five provinces". 】
[You swear, you are definitely protesting in your heart. But in reality, you can only agree. 】
[However, this "reparations in exchange for five provinces" has ended before it even begins. Not because of the conscience of the cabinet ministers, but because the emperor was about to die. 】
[You are sick. It took you nearly thirty years to kill your biological father, and in the end you couldn’t survive it. 】
[Before you died, you summoned the queen, the prince, and the prince's biological mother, Concubine Li, in turn, and said some last words. Originally, you were supposed to summon Gao Gong, the chief minister of the cabinet, but before summoning Gao Gong, you summoned Zhang Juzheng. 】
[After Zhang Juzheng arrived, you dispersed everyone and said weakly: "Mr. Zhang, can I believe you?" Zhang Juzheng agreed without hesitation. 】
[You watched Zhang Juzheng carefully, and finally believed in this man, and said: "In this way, after the new emperor ascends the throne, everyone will rely on Mr. Zhang. I will tell the prince to let him believe in you wholeheartedly and help you defeat the powerful officials. Wait for the fight. After defeating those powerful ministers..."]
[Zhang Juzheng said categorically: "I am not a person who loves power. I am loyal to the emperor. Your Majesty has high hopes for me. How can I let you down? After I defeat the powerful minister, I will immediately retire and return to my hometown, allowing the new emperor to regain the imperial power!" 】
[You nodded happily, Zhang Juzheng, shouldn’t let you down...right? 】
[You summoned Prince Zhu Yijun again. After explaining all the funeral arrangements, you summoned Gao Gong symbolically, and then fell unconscious. 】
[At Mao hour the next day, he died in Qianqing Palace. 】
[The simulation of Zhu Zaijing’s emperor’s life is completed. 】
"Indemnity in exchange for five provinces" failed to come true in the end, but Zhu Di knew that this was because the emperor died suddenly. When the new emperor ascended the throne, the cabinet would continue to do it.
And Zhu Di also remembered the name "Zhang Juzheng".
Whether the new emperor can regain imperial power depends on Zhang Juzheng.
It has to be said that Emperor Longqing's life was not in vain. He knew that he did not have that ability, but he was unwilling to accept that the emperor could only be the puppet of the civil servants, so he played a dirty trick before his death.
The emperor placed all his hopes on one person. If Zhang Juzheng could defeat the powerful officials, then the new emperor could regain the imperial power again. Of course, the premise is that Zhang Juzheng keeps his promise and retires to his hometown after defeating powerful officials.
But can Zhang Juzheng really accomplish so many things by himself?
The civil servants in the cabinet could even cede the territory of five provinces. Their power was so huge. How could Zhang Juzheng fight against so many powerful enemies with his own strength?
Zhu Di was a little skeptical, but still chose to believe in Emperor Longqing's vision.
After all, there was nothing he could do. If Zhu Di could live for more than two hundred years, would he have so many worries? It is not Zhu Di who will be the future emperor. How the Ming Dynasty will develop depends on whether future generations can live up to their expectations.
Zhu Di remembered clearly that it was the twelfth year of Yongle and he died in the twelfth year of Yongle. He only had ten years left to live. He had to seize the time to pave the way for future generations. Zhu Di had some regrets in his heart. If God could give him another ten years, Zhu Di was confident that he could lead the Ming Dynasty to sweep away the foreign tribes in the north, and then quell the rebellion in the south. After quelling the war, he would have the opportunity to stabilize the domestic situation and allow the Ming Dynasty to reach the Han and Tang Dynasties!
Since becoming emperor, Zhu Di has everything he should have, but now he only feels barren. He lacks one thing - time.
The hero's hair is gray, the general is old, and the knives of time are chasing Zhu Di's footsteps.
Zhu Di suddenly began to hate this national destiny simulation system.
If it were not for this national destiny simulation system, Zhu Di would not be able to see the future of the Ming Dynasty, and he would not be so anxious, unable to sleep at night, and worrying about the Ming Dynasty. He tried hard to change the future, but it was so difficult to change the future, and how insignificant it seemed to use manpower to fight destiny.
If he does not think about the future, he can cover his ears and blindfold his eyes, pretend that nothing has happened, and imagine that after his death, the great achievements of the Ming Dynasty will last for eternity, and that future generations will strive to be civilized and military, and the people will live and work in peace and contentment.
In the dark, Zhu Di seemed to hear a melodious voice mocking him:
"You think about it, that's why it hurts so much."
The person speaking was Zhu Di himself.
He was talking to himself, muttering to himself, not knowing whether he was regretful or unwilling.
(End of chapter)
