Early March.
Yang Xuan led his army upstream the Yangtze River by boat and arrived in the capital.
There is a mighty fleet on the river, with sails densely packed. The scene is extremely shocking. It can be imagined that in the next period of time, the Yangtze River may be paralyzed.
Zhu Di already knew the news of Yang Xuan's return, and he personally led all the civil and military officials out of the city to greet him.
Accompanying him were envoys from various countries.
This is to show off the power of the Ming Dynasty to them, and at the same time it is also a shock.
Arriving at the port, Zhu Di and others looked at the fleet on the river with burning eyes.
There are countless treasures on these ships!
Not long after, the fleet docked, and Yang Xuan took Zheng He and others off the ship.
Kneel down on one knee and salute with clasped fists.
"My minister Yang Xuan was ordered to lead the naval expedition to the Japanese country. Now he has returned successfully and completely victorious. This is really a blessing to the country, the country and the people."
"Although this trip went through many hardships, with His Majesty's trust and expectation, the naval officers fought bravely and fearlessly to complete the mission."
Having said this, Yang Xuan paused and took out the "Xinmao Treaty" signed with the Japanese Emperor from his arms.
And presented it with both hands.
"Your Majesty, this is the Treaty of Xin Mao, now presented to Your Majesty."
This treaty was extremely important to the Ming Dynasty, and Yang Xuan did not dare to pass it on to others, so he could only carry it with him.
Hearing this, Zhu Di stepped forward to take the "Xin Mao Treaty", opened it, took a look, and immediately cheered loudly.
"The Ming Dynasty has Marquis Changping, which is a blessing to the country and the country."
"Your Majesty, I dare not be greedy for merit."
"If there were no soldiers without fear of life and death, and without the strong backing of Ming Dynasty, I would not be able to do it."
Yang Xuan said.
"I know that Marquis Changping keeps a low profile, but I will never forget your contribution."
Zhu Di helped Yang Xuan up, then looked at the others and said, "Commanders, please get back on your feet!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
In today's situation, Yang Xuan took good care of Zhu Di, the emperor's face, and you can see the relief in Zhu Di's eyes.
Then, Zhu Di gave a speech, encouraged the navy officers and soldiers, and drew a pie.
Afterwards, they began to unload the loot from the ship.
The brilliant gold and the white silver ingots are really too tempting.
Most of the people present stared intently, and some even swallowed their saliva subconsciously.
Seeing many women getting off the boat, the officials present began to speculate.
The look towards Yang Xuan also changed.
"Why do you bring so many women back?" Zhu Di's mouth twitched.
"Don't you think that there are many soldiers in our army who are single and bring them back to be their concubines?"
Yang Xuan answered casually, his voice not loud enough that only he and Zhu Di could hear clearly.
"As for how to arrange it, that is your business as the emperor and has nothing to do with me."
"You are really going to give me problems." Zhu Di was speechless for a while.
"Then please ask your Majesty to work hard?" Yang Xuan said with a smile.
"It's really a sin to expose you." Zhu Di cursed.
Of course, that's not what I thought in my heart. On the contrary, I was very satisfied.
Although Yang Xuan never paid attention to rules, he knew the general outline and knew how to advance and retreat.
I've been here for a long time and it's time to go back.
The officials looked at the gold and silver property all over the floor, their eyes full of reluctance.
Xia Yuanji even asked to stay and supervise the statistics.
The loot plus 10 million taels of silver as compensation from the Japanese Emperor.
If more than ten million taels are not put into the national treasury as soon as possible, Xia Yuanji will not be relieved.
If we delay a little longer, I'm afraid a lot of them will end up in the banknotes.
The biggest "robber" in the Ming Dynasty was the one on the Dragon Throne, and Xia Yuanji had to guard against him.
Zhu Di did not reject Xia Yuanji and ordered him to stay and make a clear count as soon as possible.
Just in case, Zhu Di transferred another imperial army to take charge of security issues.
As for the returning naval officers, they can return to camp to rest after the handover.
At that time, the rewards and celebration banquet will be held in the military camp.
All the way into the capital, Yang Xuan, Zheng He and others were warmly welcomed by the people.
The imperial court had already publicized the great victory.
Not only the capital city, but also the entire Jiangnan and coastal areas knew about it.
The common people and maritime merchants who had been plundered by Japanese pirates cried with joy.
The significance of this battle also began to emerge.
Zhu Di brought Yang Xuan to the palace. Xu Miaoyun had already arranged a family dinner, and An Qing was also here.
After seeing Yang Xuan, Xu Miaoyun asked for help again.
Zhu Di looked sour.
During the family dinner, Zhu Di and Xu Miaoyun took turns asking questions.
Yang Xuan kept answering questions without even having a full stomach.
As the sky grew dark, Yang Xuan said goodbye and took An Qing back to the house.
As soon as he entered the house, Yang Xuan felt relieved.
"It's still comfortable at home!"
He let out a breath and smiled.
"I see that you haven't eaten well in the palace. Why don't you ask someone to cook you something?" An Qing asked from the side.
"Okay, after being away for a few months, I really miss the food at home." Yang Xuan said with a smile.
"Do you just miss the food at home?" An Qing said.
"Of course there is you!" Yang Xuan chuckled.
"Virtue!" An Qing gave Yang Xuan a roll of his eyes, then turned around and went to the dining room to make arrangements.
Yang Xuan, on the other hand, took a bath and washed himself under Xiuhe's service, washing away the fatigue from his body.
After changing into clean clothes, Yang Xuan came to the restaurant.
After eating and drinking, Lao Hu brought his grandson Xiaohu over, and Yang Xuan also played with his grandson for a while.
Xiaohu was born in the eighth year of Yongle, and is now three years old.
Yang Xuan had been away for several months this time, and Xiaohu's memory of him was already a little blurry.
After playing with the little guy for a long time, the grandfather and grandson became familiar with each other again.
The little guy calls out to his godfather every time, which is endearing.
It was getting late, but the little guy was full of energy and didn't want to go back to sleep.
His mother Lan Xiang was so angry that she rolled up her sleeves and started beating him.
Yang Xuan couldn't bear to look directly, so he stopped looking.
His mother was educating her son, so he would not interfere blindly.
I took Anqing and Xiuhe back to the room to rest.
The three of them were sleeping together. The familiar smell and familiar people made Yang Xuan take off all precautions and vigilance, and he fell asleep quickly.
…
Yang Xuan rested at home for two whole days, and Zhu Di did not disturb Yang Xuan.
In the past two days, the court was extremely busy.
Even those things that Yang Xuan brought back cannot be sorted out in a short while.
But gold and silver, etc., have already been put into the national treasury.
The current national treasury can be said to be full as never before.
There were not many people staring at it.
Xia Yuanji looked at everyone as if they had bad intentions. He stayed at the Yamen all day and never went home.
He also ignores those who find reasons to get close to him.
He knew the moral character of these people very well, and they were all debt collectors.
On the third day, the celebration banquet began.
The location is still Wuying Palace.
And Yang Xuan, who has made great achievements, is naturally indispensable.
In addition, Zheng He and a group of generals also came to the banquet.
According to the procedure, Zhu Di delivered a speech, talking about Yang Xuan's achievements and the significance of the "Xinmao Treaty" to the Ming Dynasty.
Finally, looking forward to the future, I drew a big piece of pie for all the ministers.
Yang Xuan has long been immune to this and only cares about eating.
Except for the three brothers Zhu Gaochi and a few familiar people who came to toast and chat, he would pay attention to them, and everyone else ignored them.
Many people scolded Yang Xuan in their hearts.
However, no matter how much they had objections to Yang Xuan, they could only keep it in their hearts.
When it comes to divine grace, they are incomparable.
Halfway through the meal, Zhu Di left the table and called Yang Xuan over.
The two of them arrived at Qianqing Palace, where Zhu Di prepared a table of wine and food.
The two of them chatted while eating.
"You have made great achievements this time and deserve a heavy reward."
"And with your past achievements, you can already be granted the title of Duke."
"I am going to officially make you the Duke of the country at the award ceremony."
Zhu Di spoke up.
"How about forget it!" Yang Xuan said without raising his head while eating the food.
"Then how can we do it? If we don't get rewards for meritorious service, how can we convince the public?" Zhu Di said.
"But after being granted a public title, how will you be granted another title in the future?"
"You can't be crowned king, right?"
Yang Xuan asked back.
Zhu Di stopped talking. Decades after the Ming Dynasty was founded, there is still no living king with a different surname!
Let’s just say that his father-in-law, Xu Da, has done a lot of credit!
He is not a posthumous king.
"So it's the same as before, just give me more money."
"Doing things with money is my style!"
"You think so?" Yang Xuan looked at Zhu Di with a smile.
Zhu Di was speechless for a while.
The words "use money to do things" came out of Yang Xuan's mouth, which sounded a bit inconsistent no matter how you heard it.
There were so many officials who gave him gifts in the past, but I have never seen anyone do anything for him!
On the contrary, it tricked many people.
Just listen to Yang Xuan's reputation in officialdom.
There are only a few people who can make him do things even after taking money.
"You really don't want to be granted a public title?" Zhu Di asked anyway.
"No, it's fine as it is now." Yang Xuan shook his head and said.
"In that case, then you should tell the queen in person to avoid misunderstandings." Zhu Di warned.
Regarding the issue of Yang Xuan's reward, he discussed it with Xu Miaoyun, and the latter also believed that Yang Xuan should be granted a public title.
"Okay, no problem!" Yang Xuan agreed casually.
After talking about the business, the two chatted about other things.
No one came to disturb me during this period.
…
A few days later, the reward list was ready, and everything that needed to be checked was checked.
The award ceremony begins.
As a great hero, Yang Xuan was not granted an official title, which was beyond the expectations of many officials.
However, the reward was extremely generous, with one hundred thousand taels of silver alone.
How many officials have been corrupt for a lifetime but never get this much money.
At this time, no one could gloat or regret that Yang Xuan was not granted the title of official.
On the contrary, various kinds of psychology such as envy, jealousy, hatred and so on emerge.
One hundred thousand taels of silver, this is enough to spend several lifetimes.
Zheng He and others, including Zhu Di, were not stingy either. They promoted those who deserved promotions and made those who deserved fortunes rich.
Then, on a series of things such as rewards and pensions for the soldiers, the money was spent like running water.
Xia Yuanji, the Minister of Household Affairs, was frightened when he saw this.
In just this moment, about one million taels of silver were spent.
Spending money like water is nothing more than that.
But Xia Yuanji also knows that this money cannot be saved.
After receiving the reward, Yang Xuan went home and took all the carriages to the Hubu Yamen.
Ask Xia Yuanji for money.
One hundred thousand taels of silver, according to the standards of later generations, is six thousand two hundred and fifty kilograms.
More than three tons!
When the clerk at the gate of the Ministry of Revenue saw Yang Xuan coming, he hurried in to report.
Soon Xia Yuanji came out to greet him.
After seeing several large carriages behind Yang Xuan, his face turned dark.
Can he not see what this is for?
"Master Hou, what are you doing?" Xia Yuanji asked knowingly.
"Xia Shangshu, this is not obvious, do you still need me to say it?"
"Hurry up and load the money. I'm still in a hurry to go home?"
Yang Xuan said.
He knew very well that if he didn't get the money quickly, Xia Yuanji would dare to hold it back for him.
Seeing this, Xia Yuanji had no choice but to take it to the treasury to withdraw money.
The National Treasury and the Hubu Yamen are not in the same place and are still some distance away.
On the way to the treasury, officials from other departments heard that Yang Xuan was pulling a carriage to collect money, and they also ran out to watch the fun.
Especially the leaders of other departments felt happy when they saw Xia Yuanji's expression of pain.
Who makes Xia Yuanji often cut their funds!
The road to the treasury was extremely painful for Xia Yuanji. No matter how slowly he walked, this road would eventually have an end.
After opening the treasury, Yin Ding began to move the silver while Yang Xuan and others were waiting outside.
The treasury is an important place and is guarded extremely strictly.
"Xia Shangshu, this silver is money when you spend it. If you just leave it there, it will be no different from a stone."
Yang Xuan looked at Xia Yuanji's appearance at this moment and said in his ear.
"The national treasury has finally become rich. If all of it is spent and there is no money to support the treasury, once a natural disaster occurs, the court will not be able to come up with money for disaster relief." Xia Yuanji said angrily, thinking that Yang Xuan was making sarcastic remarks.
"Xia Shangshu, you can't think like that. Now that the treasury has a surplus, the extra money should be used to do business."
"In places prone to floods, we will build more dams. In places prone to floods, we will build water conservancy projects, dig more ditches to divert water, and build more reservoirs to store water."
"We still have to think of more ways. We can't just rely on God for everything."
"Natural disasters happen every year. We can also hire people who become refugees due to natural disasters to build roads and bridges. They will have work to do and make money. The refugees will be stabilized and will not cause trouble easily."
"At the same time, we also built a place."
"Such a thing that benefits the country and the people, I don't think Xia Shangshu will refuse it, right?"
After hearing Yang Xuan's words, Xia Yuanji also became thoughtful.
"Should this money really be spent?"
Yang Xuan didn't pay attention to Xia Yuanji anymore. The money that belonged to him had been packed. After checking, he signed and confirmed that the money would have nothing to do with the treasury from now on.
When Xia Yuanji came to his senses and wanted to ask Yang Xuan for advice again, he had disappeared.
"Where is Marquis Changping?" He grabbed an official and asked.
"Back to your lord, the Marquis has already left with the money."
"I understand, you go down first!" Xia Yuanji waved his hand and dismissed his subordinates.
After inspecting the treasury, he returned to the Yamen.
On the way, he kept thinking about what Yang Xuan said in his mind.
The more I think about it, the more it makes sense.
But this has nothing to do with Yang Xuan.
When he returned to the house, he called Lao Hu to the study.
…
