The sunset in the west glows red, and the contiguous red palaces under the sunset create a certain sense of sanctity and nobility under the cover of white snow. There were footprints on the way out of the palace, and at the end of the footprints was a mature official wearing a round-collared blue robe and a black gauze hat.
This is Jing Yang's third day walking this way, and also his third day officially arriving at the attendant's room.
I got acquainted with it two days ago, and learned a lot today.
However, as a close servant of the emperor, the most troublesome things are actually not in the palace, but outside the palace.
It would be okay if they were strangers, but many acquaintances tried their best to get in his door.
In the beginning, he entertained and entertained until he ran out of money. He really had no choice. He didn't want money from others, so he had no choice but to hide.
When the emperor of the Ming Dynasty was at his extreme, he could even control what his ministers had eaten at home the night before. How could Zhu Houzhao not know about Jing Yang's situation?
But he did not intervene further.
Officials must get used to being surrounded by stars when they take office and being surrounded by horses and horses when they leave office.
And he was too lazy to intervene. During the Chinese New Year, it was quite leisurely. Zhu Houzhao himself had time to change his mind. The grounds outside Qianqing Palace were covered with thick snow.
When he was bored, he would catch it and roll it into a snowball to play with. Walking in the snowy scenery was also an elegant thing. Unfortunately, the situation was unstable recently and he could not leave the palace.
After all, it was a dangerous time, so there was no need to joke about his own life. Even if nothing happened, meeting an assassin would definitely cause uproar in the city, which he didn't like very much.
Therefore, it is better to do less than to do more, just stay in the palace.
"I saw the two-thousand-material treasure ship you gave me. I didn't tell anyone about it, but I thought it was still a little small."
Mei Kejia is his father-in-law, but he is also a minister. He lowered his head and said: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. The shipyard can only build such a ship now, but I have already offered a reward to encourage the boatmen to build a bigger ship! There is a kind of four-wheeled ship." The thousand-material ship is already being trial-produced, but I am not sure, so I dare not show it to His Majesty."
"You still understand what I mean."
"Your Majesty, thank you."
The relationship between Zhu Houzhao and Mei Kejia has become closer.
Mei Kejia was actually very important, so he inevitably used methods such as ennoblement and marriage.
"Have you both seen it, Zaihe and Zaiyan?"
Mei Kejia relaxed a little when talking about family matters, "I've seen it all. Although the two princes are still young, they both know etiquette."
"Praising your grandson?"
"That is also His Majesty's prince."
Zhu Houzhao laughed, stepping on the snow casually with one foot deep and one shallow, "Haimao Bank has fallen a bit this year, and it will be distributed as dividends. I only have more than 1.2 million taels left in my hands. "
"Your Majesty, minister..."
"Eh. I don't mean to blame. The imperial court is now gradually improving in cleaning up the military settlements, and there is not much pressure on money and food. It's just that we really need to find a way to deal with overseas affairs. The ancestors of Cheng Guogong, Ding Guogong, and Ying Gong are all Those who have made great achievements,
In the second year of Zhengde's reign, I used hard and soft tactics to get them to hand over their land and buy shares. In less than three years, their income has dropped, which is unjustifiable. If I go down any further, I will become a king who keeps his word but does not keep his word. What happened in Nanyang? "
Mei Kejia also reported the truth truthfully, "Your Majesty, after the Ming Dynasty opened the sea, in addition to the official business, there were also merchants from all over the country who were going to sea. This Folangji people are not stupid either. They know that the Ming Dynasty made a lot of money, and in addition, they can They purchased it from other places, so they began to push down the prices of silk and ceramics. At the same time, they privately coerced and lured Luzon and other island countries. Those who were willing to cooperate with them would unite to make conditions for us. If they were not willing, they would probably sue. All kinds of force."
Bang!
Zhu Houzhao threw the snowball in his hand to the frozen lake, as if competing with himself, and said: "I must have a powerful navy! Emperor Taizong also set up the Jiugang Xuanwei Division there for a hundred years. Oh, they must have forgotten. Oh, by the way, I mentioned before that I asked you to send some people to learn how to speak the Falangji language. Have you forgotten?"
"Your Majesty has given me the task, how dare I forget? There are twenty people in total, and I have already selected them. They are all learning. However, learning a foreign language does not happen overnight, so I have to ask Your Majesty to wait a little longer."
"Can you find a teacher? It's best to hire someone from the capital, for a long time. You can negotiate the terms. It doesn't matter if you give me some money."
Mei Kejia didn't understand.
"Your Majesty...want to invite him to the capital? Your Majesty also wants to learn those languages?"
"I'm just learning it by the way," Zhu Houzhao waved his hand, "It's mainly Zaihe and Zaiyi. I want them both to learn it."
"Huh? This..."
"They are more skilled than others, don't you want them to be more skilled?"
Mei Kejia also knew that matters involving the princes were sensitive, and immediately said: "Of course I also hope that they can become talents in the future, but according to the ancestral system... both princes will become vassals in the future."
If you want to be a vassal, it depends on where you are.
"I have my own plan. You go and find this Western gentleman first."
In fact, Zaihe and Zaiyan are more suitable. If you are really the queen's child, and you don't focus on the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, but mess with this kind of things, you can see whether the old men in the court are fighting for you or not.
There are also advantages to being a concubine, and it doesn't matter if the emperor really wants to bother with it.
To put it bluntly, if you speak a foreign language fluently, then whether you should be a prince or a prince in the future.
So Zhu Houzhao had reasons for everything he did, and the two children were almost the same age. He wanted this Western gentleman to help Zaihe and Zaiyan broaden their horizons and increase their knowledge, and let them know that besides the Ming Dynasty, there were dozens or hundreds of other countries in the world.
Mei Kejia also knew that the emperor was new to new tricks, so it was hard to say too much. He could only say that he was the leader.
"I... actually know someone. He has mentioned that he wants to come to Ming Dynasty."
When Zhu Houzhao heard this, he was delighted and said, "Then let him come."
"At that time, I didn't dare to make any opinions. Moreover, he was not a person, but a family. He stayed in the hinterland of the Central Plains for a long time. I was afraid that it would attract the attention of the people and create a bad image."
"You are so worried. After you leave the palace, you will send someone to bring this whole family to the capital. Is such a big place too big for the whole family to live in?"
Mei Kejia thought that he had stopped talking here, so he might as well ask for instructions again, "Your Majesty, I have one more thing. Some of the overseas countries want to send envoys to the Ming Dynasty to pay homage to Your Majesty. Is this possible?"
Zhu Houzhao nodded without thinking, "Okay, you can ask them all to come, including ministers and children. Ming Dynasty is good to its neighbors, so of course they are welcome. But you have to send people who can speak. Don't talk for a long time and be unable to decide things. Come one by one." I can't afford to delay my return for another year. Ping Haibo, you should have mentioned this to me earlier, even if you included a sentence in the letter."
Mei Kejia was also a little embarrassed, "Your Majesty, I forgive you, but I feel that people overseas do not know the royal teachings of the Central Plains, and many of them come here for profit. If this is the case, I am worried that it will displease Your Majesty and the ministers in the court. "
"You are a businessman, why do you have so many rules and regulations?" Zhu Houzhao didn't say that anymore, "This time of winter is not suitable, it is too cold, and there is no life. You can answer them this time when you go back. As long as you are sincere, then I will Welcome, pick a summer or autumn and bring them together."
Mei Kejia was a little happy, "Wei Chen obeys the order. If this is the case, then I can also use the art of combining vertical and horizontal lines, which may not necessarily prevent me from fighting against the Folangji!"
"Why should we cooperate with them? Just build good ships and cannons."
"Your Majesty said so."
"Then it's agreed. I'll be waiting for you this year. Don't let me down."
Mei Kejia raised her voice a little, "Yes!"
Well, the Ming Dynasty is gradually becoming prosperous. At this time, all countries should come to the DPRK, and even the Tatars are willing to come.
Originally, he was unwilling to fight Dayan Khan, because it would be boring to just eat and drink without winning. If you win, then there will be no problem. You can make some demands then. If you don't agree, you can send troops and fight again.
"Okay!" Zhu Houzhao felt happy and had hope for this year.
(End of chapter)
