Officials in round collars and red robes came out of the main hall one after another. Wu Wending stood up suddenly when he heard footsteps.
Wang Hao glanced here when he came out.
Wu Wending also saw him, so he hurriedly stepped forward, held his hands and saluted, "I have met my mentor."
"Let's talk later, Your Majesty is still here."
"yes."
Wu Wen looked to the left and saw an older eunuch who waved to him.
So he didn't dare to neglect, walked quickly a few times, and followed him across the threshold of the main hall.
Zhu Houzhao rubbed his temples with the middle finger and thumb of his right hand. At times like this, he would always miss Kui'er's technique.
Not long after, a voice came to my ears,
"My lord, Wu Wen, the general magistrate of Changzhou, is here to see your majesty. Long live my emperor, long live me."
"Pingshen." Zhu Houzhao put down his hand.
He first opened his eyes and looked at the person who came. He saw broad shoulders, a strong build, a pair of sharp eyebrows, and shallow nasolabial folds on both sides of his nose. When he frowned, he had the air of a sad man.
In layman's terms, he is very manly and handsome.
"Wu Wending, courtesy name Shitai, was born in Songzi, Huguang."
"As a member of the Weichen Mansion, I dare not ask Your Majesty to take the trouble to remember it."
"In what year were you born?"
"Weichen was born in the fifteenth year of Chenghua."
Zhu Houzhao roughly calculated in his mind that he was thirty-seven years old.
At this age, it's the right time.
"How did you meet Wang Bo'an?"
Wu Wending did not hide anything, "Weichen is in the same department as him. When Weichen went to Changzhou to take office, we met and had several conversations on the road. Later we met in Yingtian Mansion, and we became familiar with him after going back and forth."
"He said that you are considered a strong official and can govern the local area as well as the army."
"I am of low caliber and dare not claim to be strong. I am just depriving myself of the emperor's salary, but I am loyal and do my best to repay the country's kindness."
Zhu Houzhao had a good impression of him. After all, he had Wang Shouren's recommendation. His initial impression was quite good. When he actually met him, he found that he was well prepared.
He walked down from the top and said, "This is the first time I've met you. You're even the first official magistrate I've summoned. You've been away from Beijing for a long time, so you probably don't know much about me, even though you've heard a little bit about me. But as the saying goes, hearing a hundred times is better than seeing it once. Just hearing about it may not be accurate in some cases.”
"My lord, listen to the holy teachings."
"It's not about any holy teachings, it's just my thoughts as an emperor. As an emperor, I am the father of my ancestors. From the first year of Hongwu to the present, it has been more than a hundred years, right? For more than a hundred years, the country has been prosperous. Extremely declining, but I don’t want to be a conservative monarch. So there are some things I have to do, and there are some people I want to offend. Since you have been recommended to the Qianqing Palace, I want to make you understand this, at least let you Understand what the Holy Will is.
I, the emperor, only do two things in my life. One is to maintain the national prestige of the Ming Dynasty, and the other is to make decisions for the people of the world. Many officials have nothing to do with the first point, but you are not. As the commander of the navy, just one strong official is not enough. , you must also understand that you are leading the Ming army. If you encounter foreign barbarians overseas and others insult you, they are insulting me. You must remember this. "
Wu Wending had also met Emperor Hongzhi before, when he was admitted to the imperial examination.
In comparison, he felt that Emperor Zhengde's personality was really strong, and the late emperor would never speak like this under any circumstances.
"The head can be cut off, the blood can be shed, but the integrity cannot be lost. I have already realized this by dedicating myself to the country."
"It's good to have it. Having said that, I will tell you why the imperial court is preparing to build and expand the navy at this time. The most direct reason is that after the sea is opened, the Ming Dynasty's fleet will be useless. The silk, tea, and porcelain on it will They are all extremely valuable treasures in the eyes of foreigners. There is a saying in Jianghu, I opened this mountain and planted this tree. If you want to go this way, leave money to buy it. On the sea, there are also a group of desperate people. Disciple, so the imperial court must have its own navy to cruise in the southeastern sea.
Isn't there a saying in the Han Dynasty: Anyone who openly offends a strong Han Dynasty will be punished no matter how far away he is. I don’t have the confidence to say this now, but I have always been heading in this direction. If something happens at sea in the future, you, Wu Wen, will give me the confidence to say this. As soon as I say it, the heavenly soldiers will arrive. This is why it is called Heavenly Kingdom. "
Wu Wending suddenly felt a surge of pride in his heart,
Everyone said that the Ming Dynasty had a great emperor. Only when he saw it with his own eyes did he know that the rumors were true.
"I will remember every word of what your Majesty said. I have been reading the books of saints since I was a child, in order to serve my father. As long as your majesty has a purpose, I will be able to achieve it even if it means swords, mountains, fire and seas!"
"Okay, as long as you remember to strengthen the army to protect the people and resist foreign barbarians, I will still be willing to give you rewards." Zhu Houzhao asked again: "Tell me, what do you want?"
"Request...I dare not hide it from Your Majesty. Wang Bo'an gave me a letter and gave me some suggestions."
Zhu Houzhao thought to himself that Wang Shouren wanted to help him, otherwise he would just have to do it himself.
He doesn't care too much about this kind of thing between ministers.
"you say."
"There are three main points. One is to purchase warships, the other is to practice military prowess, and the third is to equip with more firearms."
"Be solid and practice hard skills."
"Yes, I also believe that if I have strong skills at my side, the pirates and pirates will not dare to offend my power as a celestial dynasty."
"But you have to find a way to do these three things. As for the money, the court will allocate it."
"Yes, Weichen understands."
Changzhou Tongpan was an officer of the sixth rank, promoted to commander of the navy, and then to the fifth rank.
Zhu Houzhao would slowly raise the level of this position, which could also be used as an incentive to Wu Wending. Suddenly there was no need to give him a third-level position, since there were only so many ships in the first place.
There is one more thing,
After Wang Hao entered the cabinet in Beijing, the position of governor of Zhejiang and Fujian was effectively vacant.
However, after some thought, Zhu Houzhao also felt that the "Governor-General of Zhejiang and Fujian" had realized its historical value and should be able to withdraw.
The post of governor was originally a powerful official position established to deal with special events. Now that Zhejiang and Fujian have returned to normal and there are no wars, there is no need for a governor to oversee the military, political and civil affairs of the two provinces.
Now the governor of Zhejiang is Wang Qiong, and the governor of Fujian has been replaced by Fengxi. These are officials he trusts more.
After Wu Wending left, Zhu Houzhao stayed by himself for a while.
He went through the current situation in various places in his mind, and then asked the people around him: "How is Guo Shangkun now?"
Guo Shangkun was originally an attendant in the Attendant's Room. He and Fengxi were allowed to serve as officials, so he should have participated in politics in Yingtian Mansion.
Liu Jin was stunned by this question. There were so many officials in the country, but he was not the Minister of Civil Service, so he hesitated and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I haven't inquired about him recently."
"Forget it, I don't blame you. Just go to Concubine Shun's place."
"yes."
While riding on the dragon chariot, Zhu Houzhao was still thinking that Guo Shangkun was actually quite a good person. Fengxi was thoughtful and Jin Gui was extremely meticulous. Guo Shangkun didn't look like anything special, but he was steady and never said anything. Taking 'odd' as the starting point, it is square and square, like his big face.
In fact, such people have a special kind of job, which is to be the Cao of "Xiao Gui Cao Sui". To put it bluntly, you can't ask him to run the stall, you have to guard the stall.
That's why he was originally asked to go to Yingtian Mansion, because the territory south of the Yangtze River has been prosperous since ancient times. If it is managed safely and steadily without any trouble, the people will live a good life.
But this kind of official will forget him if he is not careful.
No wonder Liu Jin didn't care.
Concubine Shun was the daughter of Ye Bulu, who lived in Shou'an Palace, one of the six west palaces in the inner court. Shou'an Palace is a single building with three rooms in width. The middle room is the front hall, where people worship and ascend, and there is the back hall at the back, where the sleeping palace is.
Shou'an Palace is smaller than the general palace with two courtyards. It is usually the residence of concubines and concubines, including Xianfei and Shufei.
So as soon as the emperor stepped into the door, he basically saw the whole view of Shou'an Palace. Seeing no one for a while, Zhu Houzhao lifted the bead curtain and went to the right.
Sure enough, I saw Concubine Shun move quickly to get down to pay her respects.
This person was a Mongolian woman. Zhu Houzhao did not spare her courtesy and watched her finish before pulling her up.
"doing what?"
Concubine Shun was only fourteen in the new year. Although she was taller than the women from the Central Plains, she still looked small. She had a flat face, big eyes, and a row of very neat teeth. At this time, she said, "I am reading and reading."
"I'm with you."
Concubine Shun was surprised, "How come your majesty has time to come to my concubine today?"
After all, Mongolian women speak bolder.
Zhu Houzhao did not hide anything, "I received a secret message this morning, saying that Dayan Khan ordered his troops to go out to attack the Ming Dynasty. I suddenly thought that there is a Mongolian girl in the harem, and I haven't seen you for a long time, so Came here today."
Concubine Shun's expression changed a little, "Your Majesty...do you not trust my concubine's father?"
This girl is quite flexible.
"Then do you believe that your father Khan will abandon you?"
This sentence has profound meaning.
Concubine Shun shook her head, "Father Khan is getting older and no longer has the ambition to fight like the Lion King in his prime. He just wants to protect the tribe and his family."
Zhu Houzhao smiled, walked over and lifted the little girl's pretty chin, "Like your father, I just want to protect my people. From a large perspective, they are all my family. Including you, If you marry me, you are my concubine, and I will definitely protect you."
Ru Qiqige blinked his big eyes and suddenly said: "Your Majesty, do you want to kiss me?"
Zhu Houzhao was stunned,
"My concubine is married to Your Majesty. Your Majesty said he believed in me and my father, but Your Majesty has not kissed me yet." As she said this, the bold girl closed her eyes.
(End of chapter)
