Tonight, many high-ranking people are thinking hard, but the people below are different! Although people have different thoughts in their hearts, it is always a good thing to receive money! The merchants also felt that it was like a carnival. Even the brothels and gambling houses had many more customers, and the entire capital was as lively as a festival!
As the night passes, some people are happy and some are unhappy! On the morning of the next day, Zhang Juzheng and other pavilion elders took out 70,000 taels of silver from Emperor Wanli's inner treasury to repair the river!
Emperor Wanli was so angry that he almost went crazy, but the reasons and data presented by Zhang Juzheng were very convincing, so he had no choice but to agree. But after he returned to the harem, he dropped the cup again! Fortunately, Queen Mother Li sent someone to tell him that the money itself came from the private sector, and it would be a good thing to use it again among the private sector! Coupled with the consolation from Zhang Jia and others, he finally managed to endure it! But I don’t know whose name was recorded in his little ledger!
But as the saying goes, good things come with misfortunes. Emperor Wanli received the news that night. The eunuchs he sent to various places to purchase Zhuangzi responded and said that all Zhuangzi were ready! Moreover, the Taoist temple outside the imperial mausoleum has been completely completed, waiting for the memorial tablets to be moved in!
During this period, Emperor Wanli accepted Liu Haojia's advice and sent people to inspect various places. Otherwise, it would be bad if the good government that supports the elderly palace residents is tampered with and becomes a bad government! Sure enough, there was an official who was greedy for money and money, cut off two heads, and exiled more than 20 people!
To be honest, Emperor Wanli was not very concerned about this plan at the beginning. He did not believe that those palace people could cause him any harm or provide any help? Finally, after repeated persuasion by Liu Haojia and Zhang Jia, they finally agreed to the plan because they did not want the money from selling the mirror to be taken away. Now, after a long period of operation, it is finally time to put it into action.
After getting the news, Emperor Wanli ordered Zhang Jia to start screening qualified palace residents in the palace. There were not many people in the first group, only six hundred people. This group of people has an important mission, which is to live in the retirement village for a year and report back the difficulties encountered in order to prepare for subsequent adjustments.
As soon as Zhang Jia passed on the order to select people, the whole palace was boiling! The people in the palace rushed to tell each other, hugged each other and cried!
When the palace people heard the news for the first time, they were very excited! But as time went by, their enthusiasm waned. After all, there has probably never been an emperor since ancient times who can truly take the palace people into his heart!
The emperors of all dynasties treated these palace people like nothing, and they were even worse than the decorations in the palace! The emperor might be reluctant to throw away those priceless ornaments when he got angry, but he didn't feel bad about killing several palace officials to vent his anger! Now that time has dragged on for so long, and no news has come, maybe the emperor forgot about it after making the promise!
But now the news of the official selection has come, confirming that Emperor Wanli not only has not forgotten them, but is actually doing these things. You can imagine the ups and downs of these palace people!
Zhang Jia also had special requirements for selecting palace servants this time. They were all selected from among the lowest-level palace servants. Because many of them are old and suffering from diseases, if they procrastinate any longer, they may not be able to return to their hometown one day!
After many layers of selection, it took only five days to select 600 people from among the palace residents. These people are all responsible for the heaviest labor work, and their bodies have long since declined and are close to the limit! These people were all ecstatic when they received the news!
At the same time, Zhang Jia also selected six people from other palace residents, who would later serve as Taoist priests responsible for offering sacrifices to the memorial tablets for those without harems. They also specially invited a real Taoist priest to be the master of the temple, and he will guide them as a teacher. The Taoist priest also helped calculate the date. Thirteen days later it was a good day to travel and to offer sacrifices. Therefore, this day was chosen for the palace people to leave the palace.
As time passed, given the level of confidentiality in the palace, the news quickly spread throughout the capital. Most people welcomed the news. After all, a benevolent monarch is much better than a violent monarch! The few objections were quickly drowned out in the chorus of praise!
Early in the morning thirteen days later, the palace gate opened wide, and the first thing to emerge from the palace gate was a long line of carriages. They came out and gathered around. These carriages are the convoys that are about to go to various places to send the elderly palace people back to their hometowns.
Then a large number of guards and palace attendants appeared again, standing on both sides of the road. Needless to say, the guards are there to maintain discipline, and the palace people behind them are representatives drawn from various places. They will personally witness the grand scene of their colleagues returning home, so now they are all very excited! If it weren't for the guards who were intimidating me, I'm afraid they would have made a loud noise!
After the guards all took their positions, a large group of people appeared at the palace gate. Judging from their attire, this group of people are all ordinary people, and they all carry different burdens. There are men and women among them, but they are all very old. And it seems that there are more women than men. They are probably the palace people who are about to return home.
But this is not surprising, because the eunuch's body is disabled, so he ages very quickly. Generally speaking, few ordinary eunuchs live past the age of 50! Only those high-ranking eunuchs and eunuchs in charge have the financial resources and time to recuperate and live longer.
These palace people stood in the square, looking forward to it. It seems that he is waiting for someone. After a while, another group of guards came out, surrounding Emperor Wanli and Zhang Jia.
When these palace people saw the appearance of Emperor Wanli, they all bowed down in excitement. Emperor Wanli did not step down from the cloth chariot, but stood directly on the steps so that he could stand higher. Just listen to him shout loudly: "Everyone, get up!"
After hearing the instructions, the people in the palace bowed again and again before standing up, bowing down according to the old habit and waiting for Emperor Wanli to speak. Looking at their trembling bodies with excitement, Emperor Wanli knew that this step should be the right one! So he decided to pick something good from his palace and give it to Liu Haojia.
However, he still retracted his thoughts and said loudly: "You have served the royal family for many years, and you have worked hard and made great achievements! I am here to thank you all today!"
Of course, Emperor Wanli would not really bow down to him. It was Zhang Jia who really saluted everyone. But he just handed it over. But even this moved the palace people to tears. One by one, they bowed down again and knelt down again!
