Although it was a chambermaid getting married, in terms of banquet specifications, especially in entertaining these high-level civil servants and military generals, a certain prince specifically asked the Shangshang Supervisor to meet the standard of eight dishes per person, although each dish was only a small bowl. The eight dishes combined are enough.
The four vegetarian dishes are boiled cabbage, mapo tofu, ground three delicacies, and cold dishes. The four meat dishes are boiled chicken, crystal meat, Longjing shrimp, and sweet and sour seabass.
These ingredients are relatively common and are convenient for the food supervisor to prepare, especially since they can dispose of a large amount of shrimps in stock. A certain prince thinks this is perfect!
Since it is a free meal, each person gets a certain portion of the dishes. In addition to rice and various drinks, there will be no refills.
However, a certain prince thought that this was interesting enough. At least it was much better than the lunch provided to the officials every morning during the court meeting. If he didn't eat enough, he would have to pay for it at an outside restaurant.
Most of the guests were very satisfied with this, because they had never tasted many of the dishes at home or outside, and they knew the ingredients, but after eating them, they would never taste the same as the dishes they usually eat.
It would be too polite to eat and drink for free and criticize the host's family. What's more, this time the prince is hosting the wedding, and he is still marrying the powerful chamberlains. Of course, the civil servants and military generals will not be stupid enough to push the envelope at this juncture.
The concubine and the prince would not eat or drink here, so they were polite and returned to the palace. Staying here will also make a group of subordinates feel constrained. Without their immediate boss, everyone can relax while feasting.
After finishing the work, before the alcohol was over, everyone left their seats and went outside in small groups to play mahjong in the club specially set up by the prince for the officials. This was an essential entertainment program on the rest day.
Under the praise of a certain prince, Mahjong has become a game that officials and common people want to play every day in the Ming Dynasty, especially in the Jifu area.
Taking the lead from the Queen, starting from the Queen's Residence, it has now spread to the major cities in the north. The south will not be spared either. Since there is no war, it will even get worse.
Through the reports from Nanjing Jinyiwei and the guarding eunuch Han Zanzhou, we learned that many Jiangnan scholars, especially a group of people with ulterior motives led by Dong Lin and other gangs, had used mahjong to harm the country and asked a certain prince to remove his chief minister Xue Guoguan.
The replacement is their leader Zhou Yanru. In their view, only by allowing Dong Lin to uphold justice and lead the Ming Dynasty can ZTE be realized. The "evil ways" of others are all harming the country.
However, judging from the actual investigation, these guys were playing mahjong in private while discussing how to "clear the emperor's side". They are a group of sanctimonious people worthy of the name.
A certain prince would not be swayed by these "flies" asking for trouble. If more than 100,000 troops were not still marching to suppress the rogue bandits, the court would have taken action against those stubborn traders in the south of the Yangtze River.
After you are busy with the things at hand, you can free up your hands to deal with those pretentious guys in Jiangnan, and let the factory guards collect their heads and money together.
"Your Highness, Your Highness, big things, big things!"
"Why are you so panicked?"
"Your Majesty is awake!"
"...Did you see it with your own eyes?"
"Exactly! Exactly! Your Highness, the Queen has already gone over to pay her respects!"
Nani? ? ?
Why did this guy wake up suddenly?
Could it be that the eunuch's marriage was just to clear the mind of the idiot emperor?
Is this the wrong marriage?
Unbelievable?
Looking at the calendar, it turns out that exactly one hundred days have passed from the time of coma to today!
After being in a coma for a hundred days, I woke up today. Is there any mystery behind this?
A certain prince did not believe in evil, and the haunting of the rear residence was just a trick of the thieves.
But there shouldn't be anything wrong with the confidant's little servant running to report the situation in panic. The beautiful mother was already there, so she had to go there and deal with it.
Qianqing Palace is very close to Kunning Palace, with Jiaotai Palace in between. As long as the emperor wakes up, the beautiful mother will definitely get the news first.
I originally thought that the scapegoat could be in a coma for ten or eight years, but when I pulled Daming out of the quagmire, it wouldn't be too late for him to wake up.
Now it's good, the Donglu have not been destroyed, the bandits are still running around, this guy actually opened his eyes, isn't he going to mess up the current good situation again?
The second mentally retarded emperor in history wearing a mask of diligence!
The first one is of course Emperor Hui of Jin!
A certain prince cannot do such a thing as regicide for the time being.
Killing this guy is a small matter, but he will definitely be despised by everyone in the world, and his reputation will be infamous in the future.
But if the scapegoat is not controlled, he will definitely give random orders again, and it will be easy to lose troops and generals.
After a great fight against the dynasty, he was tortured to pieces by the last emperor. A certain prince was absolutely unwilling to see this happen again, so he had to find a proper solution.
"Your Majesty has finally woken up. It is very frustrating for me to wait for such a long time!"
The charming Empress Zhou sat beside the golden dragon bed, looking at Emperor Chongzhen who had regained consciousness with pear blossoms and rain. She had mixed feelings in her heart, but she was finally relieved to see that her husband could finally turn the corner.
Before he reached the age of thirty, his husband was already gray at the temples and wrinkled at the corners of his eyes. It was hard to tell that he was less than thirty years old. This was all caused by the worries of state affairs. Empress Zhou saw it. Here, the pain is in my heart, but it is unavoidable.
"Zitong, there is no need to be like this. I miss Zitong very much. Now that God can let me return to the human world, I will definitely do something good. Zitong, how is the court doing during these days when I can't manage politics? How is the world? Is there any unusual movement in Donglu?"
Chongzhen had no idea what was happening in the court and outside during this period. The maids and chamberlains responsible for serving had been warned by the prince and queen, so naturally they did not dare to talk nonsense easily.
However, after briefly greeting his wife and drinking some water, Emperor Chongzhen turned his attention to foreign affairs. This was what he cared about most.
Before he fell unconscious, foreign and internal troubles made him unable to sleep and eat well. After finally appeasing the bandits, the Donglu plundered the pass again, completely ignoring the existence of the imperial court and the king's division. Even the uncle of King De was plundered.
If you want to stop the decline and revive the Ming Dynasty, you must work hard to reverse the situation. It's a pity that he is no longer on the throne, so he can only let it go during this period of time, hoping that nothing major will happen.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. During this period, the Crown Prince has been supervising the country with diligence and excellence, very much like Your Majesty. Now that the Eastern captives have retreated, the treasury is full, the disaster has been appeased, and the world is free from worries!"
Thinking back to it, thanks to her eldest son's ability, he was able to stabilize the court and suppress the rebellion in the capital. Otherwise, let alone the world, it would be difficult to save the lives of their mother and son. However, Queen Zhou felt that she should not talk about this matter just yet. said the husband who came.
"...Oh? Taicang is full? How did Zitong know? But there is an additional 'three rates' levied?"
Chongzhen only listened briefly, but he became concerned about a few words in his heart. His eyes suddenly lit up, and he hurriedly held the queen's jade hand and asked more questions.
The court's lack of money was the most troublesome thing for Chongzhen. Almost all difficult things were ultimately caused by lack of money. Even the internal funds were almost sucked dry by various branches.
For this reason, Chongzhen also ordered everyone in the palace to save money, and even patched his own dragon robe. He also deliberately shared the joys and sorrows with the frontline soldiers and ate vegetarian meals. Even so, he still couldn't make ends meet. Far from breaking even.
"Your Majesty, please be at ease. Brother Xun has exempted himself from all taxes in the north, opened mines and built cities, and launched a work-relief policy to deal with a large number of disaster victims. The silver in Taicang was obtained by cleaning up the royal court. I don't know much about it. , about more than 20 million taels! Brother Xun said that after the harvest of sea salt and minerals next year, the annual income of the imperial court can reach more than 25 million taels, which is very objective!"
After going to court every day, Empress Zhou more or less understood some of the contents of the decrees, and there was no problem in summarizing these matters to her husband.
Empress Zhou couldn't help but feel a little proud when she said this, but this was also reasonable. The things that made her husband worry every day were solved by the eldest son. Although the method was a bit thunderous, it was ultimately for the sake of the Ming Dynasty and the country, so it was not excessive.
From Queen Zhou's point of view, as long as Taicang has enough money, Donglu and bandits will not be a problem, and she can relax and entertain her sisters in Kunning Palace.
"...The imperial court moth? More than two million taels? Does Zitong know who the moth is? How did Brother Xun get this silver tael?"
When Chongzhen was in power, he also knew that the ministers below were not all free-spirited. Xue Guoguan, the first minister, once gave him an idea to clean up the moths, but he was afraid of joint resistance from the ministers, so he had to give up after thinking about it.
How could the prince steal such a huge sum of money? Chongzhen would never have believed it if it hadn't come from the queen's mouth. Isn't the prince afraid that his ministers will join forces to resist? How did he do it? Chongzhen was very curious about this.
"Your Majesty, considering that the prince was young that day, I was also invited to listen to the affairs of the court and knew the situation at that time. Brother Hong said that the household department was in a tight situation and asked the ministers to donate money, but they all refused. Brother Hong made himself think that he had no money. The person who had the silver to offer signed first, and then asked Duke Cheng, Duke Ying, and Duke Ding what they had eaten last night. All three of them looked miserable, but Duke Ding was the worst. He said in public that he only had fried soybeans last night. Afterwards, Brother Xun sent the factory guards to question his family members, and then the incident came to light. Only seven of the nobles were spared, and the rest had their property confiscated!"
Even the three-year-old child knew about the embarrassing story of "Huang Dou Gong". It would be better to tell it sooner than later. Empress Zhou used this example to explain to her husband that the money was reasonable. After all, his crime was The crime is extremely heinous.
"...Fried soybeans? Damn it! Zi Tong, how about the national war?"
Chongzhen knew that the three princes were very rich, but he couldn't find a way to take the money out of their pockets. He didn't expect that his own son had this ability, which made Chongzhen very happy.
Of the nearly fifty nobles, only seven were spared. It is conceivable that these rip-offs have become so wealthy, yet they have so little money for themselves. It is really hateful.
If it involves nobles, then it will definitely involve the national warrior Zhou Kui, who is the father of the queen. Chongzhen has asked many times. At first, Zhou Kui always cried about poverty, which made him feel very helpless.
"I also hope that your majesty will forgive my father. My father has already repented and will never dare to be greedy again in this life!"
Empress Zhou hurriedly excused her father from the crime, because Zhou Kui said more than once that the family was impoverished. Now, it was really looted, and it was the factory guards who did it. After the national war was banned, he didn't even have a temper. there is none left.
"...Zi Tong, dare I ask how much the national war family is worth?"
Through the Queen's words, which were like taking the initiative to plead guilty, Chongzhen had realized that Guozhan was also one of the moths, but due to the couple's feelings, he did not get angry immediately. At this point, it was only his own fault.
"Copy out...three hundred thousand taels!"
When it comes to her father, Empress Zhou also feels shameless. As the mother of the country, she has such a short-sighted father who regards wealth as life. If Brother Xang hadn't thought about family ties, he would have been punished lightly, and he would have been killed. .
"Three hundred thousand taels???"
Chongzhen never thought that Zhou Kui would be so rich, and that his wealth would be even more than his internal money. Before that, he was unwilling to donate even one thousand taels of silver, which can be said to be ignorant and extremely stingy.
"...The same is true for Concubine Tian's father!"
Empress Zhou had no choice but to use Concubine Tian's father Tian Hongyu as a shield. Anyway, the two old men were keeping company inside, so they would not be lonely anymore.
"...How did Brother Xang deal with it?"
Even the father of his beloved Concubine Tian was involved. Chongzhen wanted to criticize a few words, but he didn't have much to say now. He just asked what the outcome was.
"My family property was confiscated and I was grounded for a long time. From now on, three meals a day will be provided by factory guards."
Empress Zhou felt that the eldest son had done his best to act like this. If he released his father's family, they would inevitably cause trouble again, so it would be better to raise him with kindness.
"...The noble worm alone is so rich, no wonder the court has no money to spend!"
Chongzhen couldn't help but sigh. Since his son didn't kill him, he couldn't be embarrassed by these people again, so as not to appear unkind and unkind.
"Your Majesty, as far as I know, Taicang's silver consists of two parts. One comes from noble courtiers, and the other comes from merchants. In particular, Shanxi and Shanxi merchants collaborated with the enemy and betrayed the country, and resold Ming supplies to Donglu, and Xang Geer sent The factory guards went to confiscate it, but the Shanxi merchants actually ordered their servants to resist."
Empress Zhou was unwilling to mention honors too much, because this would inevitably affect her father. It was best to mention it in one sentence, and then point the finger at merchants, especially Shanxi merchants, who were the best scapegoats in her eyes.
"...This is really unreasonable! Shanxi merchants dare to do such a heinous and unethical thing? Ahem!"
When Chongzhen heard this, he became furious and coughed. He had been strictly ordering his generals to strictly check the items leaving the customs. Unexpectedly, Shanxi merchants still took advantage of the loophole. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain how the Donglu, who were also affected by the disaster, obtained a large amount of food.
"Your Majesty, the factory guards confiscated millions of taels of silver from Shanxi merchants, and there is also a large amount of grain waiting to be shipped out of customs and shipped to Liaodong!"
State affairs can only be understood if you have been exposed to them too much. Especially Queen Zhou witnessed many quarrels between her eldest son and the courtiers. She has initially mastered how to set bait, how to invite the king into the urn, and how to gain the upper hand.
Since the emperor had just woken up and his mind and body were far from returning to normal, Empress Zhou deliberately directed the matter to Shanxi merchants. Only in this way could her husband relieve his hatred and anger without damaging her own interests.
"The unscrupulous merchants are harming the country! I am so angry! All merchants from Shanxi should be escorted to Beijing and then be informed!"
Chongzhen was so angry that he smashed the bed with his fist. Now he finally found the culprit. No wonder Donglu kept knocking on the door. It turned out that it was this group of merchants who caused trouble. They must be punished severely and no one should be spared.
