After a long time, Zhu Qiyu sighed and asked, "Sir, is there any way to suppress it?"
He didn't say a cure, because he now understood that it was impossible to cure it!
"Divide and conquer," Li Qing said.
"How specific?"
Li Qing thought for a while and said: "Capture the thief first. Capture the king first. As long as we control the superstructure, the tall building of the Ming Dynasty will not collapse. But if we want to control it well, we must give these people benefits."
"Give them benefits?" Zhu Qiyu frowned, "Aren't they enough benefits?"
Li Qing was startled for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said: "Why does your Majesty think that he is the greatest harm to the world?"
"Corrupt officials, wealthy and unkind gentry." Zhu Qiyu replied instantly.
"Hmm~ No!" Li Qing shook his head.
Zhu Qiyu asked doubtfully: "Who is that?"
Li Qing looked at Zhu Qiyu and remained silent.
"Is it me?" Zhu Qiyu was surprised, and at the same time, he felt angry, "I am working hard, for what reason? Isn't it the Ming Dynasty, the country, and the people of the world?"
"Your Majesty, please calm down. I'm not talking about you, I'm talking about...the Emperor!" Li Qing said, "There are many landlords in the world, and the Emperor is the biggest one."
"You...!" Zhu Qiyu was really angry.
"Your Majesty, please don't be angry. I am not targeting you. I just want you to understand the problem." Li Qing motioned to Zhu Qiyu to calm down and continued: "As an emperor, I always use my selfishness to protect the world." Grand Duke;
In the emperor's understanding, the whole world belongs to him, so he hopes that officials will be self-denial, honest and upright; he hopes that the people will do their duty and not rebel, and pay taxes in full when there is a harvest;
But... this is unfair in itself. It is also a selfish act, isn't it? "
"I..." Zhu Qiyu was speechless. It was really hard for him to refute. ωＷω.ＧoＮЬ.οrＧ
What Li Qing said was truly treasonous, but it was also true that the largest landlords in the Ming Dynasty happened to be their Lao Zhu family.
Taizu's killing of corrupt officials was the most unprecedented in history, but what was the result?
People are killed all the time, but there is still an endless stream of corrupt officials. This is the fundamental reason.
As the saying goes: If you don't take care of yourself, you will be punished by heaven and earth!
There are people who make selfless contributions, but after all, they are only a handful. Most people are extremely self-interested. Looking at it this way, even I am like this... Zhu Qiyu's feeling of powerlessness is even stronger.
"So, the emperor cannot demand the people of the world according to his own standards." Seeing that he had listened, Li Qing continued, "And the reason why I say that if we stabilize the superstructure, we can stabilize the tall buildings of the Ming Dynasty, it is because the people simple;
They have been accustomed to being exploited for thousands of years, and as long as they have food to eat and clothing to wear, they will not rebel;
But this is not the case for those who are capable and dissatisfied with the status quo. If the emperor makes them sad, they will dare to rebel against you. "Li Qingdao, "For example, a group of oppressed lower-class people usually will not rebel, but what if there are Chen Sheng and Wu Guang among these people? "
Zhu Qiyu was stunned, the anger in his chest gradually subsided, and he began to reflect.
If the Qin Dynasty wins over people like Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, will it still be destroyed?
"So, you have to benefit people." Li Qing said, "The Han Dynasty opened a channel for promotion of generals, so there were strong men;
The Tang Dynasty opened channels for scholars to rise, so the Tang Dynasty prospered;
Just like the imperial examination held every three years, to this day, the Ming Dynasty has no shortage of officials, and even the bureaucracy has become bloated, but can the imperial examination be stopped?
Your Majesty, I say this, do you understand? "
"I... understand." Zhu Qiyu smiled wryly, "I understand everything."
…
Li Qing had no intention of telling Zhu Qiyu this, at least not for the time being.
But Zhu Qiyu took the initiative to ask, and Li Qing considered that he had been staying in the court for a long time and would have to leave for a while in the future.
Today is the opportunity to let Zhu Qiyu understand the cruel truth so that he will not leave by himself in the future. Zhu Qiyu is at a loss.
Zhu Qiyu breathed a long sigh of relief, no longer thinking about these too pessimistic things, and asked: "Sir, what are the specific arrangements for Liaodong?"
"Let the tribal leaders lead the tribesmen to carry out large-scale land reclamation. They only need to pay full taxes on the cultivated land, and let them decide the specific divisions themselves." Li Qing said with a smile, "This can be regarded as a channel for advancement. There is room for improvement. Those tribal leaders will be settled and full of energy."
Zhu Qiyu frowned and said, "What about the future?"
"With the integration in the future, the prestige of those tribal leaders will be lower and lower, and it will be difficult for them to become popular again." Li Qing squinted his eyes and said, "At that time, the court can easily reallocate resources, for example, to improve those with certain abilities. Give it some benefit;
Not only will this not cause turmoil, but it will win the hearts of the people. "
Zhu Qiyu nodded slowly and praised happily: "Sir, you are a great talent!"
"Haha..." Li Qing smiled, and then said seriously: "As an emperor, every move is very involved. The most important thing is to avoid impatience. Please bear this in mind, Your Majesty."
"Yes, I understand." Zhu Qiyu breathed a sigh of relief and exclaimed: "Sir, I was enlightened by your words. I have benefited a lot from your words today."
Not only did I benefit a lot, it simply opened the door to a new world.
Only now did he truly understand how difficult it was to be an emperor, and even more difficult to be a good emperor!
He couldn't help but think of those foolish kings in history. Did they really not want to be wise kings?
not necessarily!
Maybe there's just nothing I can do.
Zhu Qiyu couldn't help but reflect, what kind of emperor would he be without a handful of people such as Li Qing and Yu Qian?
Probably... he will also be a foolish king!
The hot pot was still steaming, but as the charcoal fire gradually subsided, it no longer boiled and the soup was much less. Zhu Qiyu had a bitter taste at the corner of his mouth, adding more charcoal and more soup.
…
Three days later, Li Qing and a group of young people bid farewell to Zhu Qiyu.
Zhu Qiyu personally sent him off to the imperial city.
Looking at the team that was getting further away, he was in a daze, with a hint of despair deep in his eyes.
A kind of complete enlightenment, a despair that sees everything but is unable to reverse it.
"Your Majesty, Marquis Yongqing and the others have gone far away." Xiao Hengzi reminded in a low voice and said with a flattering smile, "Marquis Yongqing is very capable and will be able to handle Liaodong affairs perfectly. Don't worry, Your Majesty."
Zhu Qiyu blinked his eyes and suddenly smiled: Yes, he saw more clearly than me and was more desperate, but he did not give up. Instead, he kept working hard and being at the forefront;
And as an emperor, how can I give up?
The despair in his eyes disappeared, replaced by the flame of fighting spirit.
Zhu Qiyu took a deep breath and said loudly: "Go back to the palace!"
Since today, Emperor Jingtai has been more diligent in his work.
As he said, Zhu Qiyu did not have great talents or great ideas, but he did not slack off and made up for it with diligence...
In March, the exchange of copper coins for treasure banknotes in the eastern half of Shandong Province started.
In July, copper coin exchange started again.
By September, the exchange was completed throughout Shandong.
During this period, copper was purchased from the private sector, copper mines were mined, and all the copper obtained from Japanese trade was sent to Baoyuan Bureau.
The cost of minting money in the Ming Dynasty skyrocketed, dozens of times that of printing banknotes, but Zhu Qiyu did not feel distressed.
~
Jingtai ten years.
In February, the southern half of Henan Province started copper coin exchange.
In June, the province-wide exchange was completed.
In August, the dams of the Yangtze River will be repaired, and in October, the Yellow River will be regulated.
The court spent money like water, and the treasury had almost no surplus, but the people were extremely prosperous, and there were too many jobs, giving them the opportunity to make money.
This is also the channel for improvement, the improvement of quality of life!
The people are gradually pursuing a positive attitude from having enough food to eating well.
~
In February of the eleventh year of Jingtai.
Li Qing completed the work handover and returned to the capital from Liaodong.
The basic framework has been laid, and the people behind him only need to follow the steps step by step, and he can finally relax.
He went into the palace to report on his work, and then rested.
After resting at home for a few days, Li Qing regained his strength and went to the palace again to ask for leave from Zhu Qiyu.
Nowadays, although the situation in the grassland is tense and Ming Dynasty has a steady inflow of people, the reception process has stabilized. There is not much difference between him and him. Li Qing also wants to go back to accompany his master.
After working hard for so long, it’s time to take a break.
"The imperial examination will start next month. Sir, you might as well stay in Beijing for a month and help me check the exam." Zhu Qiyu said with a smile, "After that, it won't be too late for me to go back to Jinling to relax."
"Yeah...that's fine." Li Qing nodded.
He was not in a hurry. Zhu Qiyu was very interesting and asked him to return to Beijing to work in the twelfth year of Jingtai.
The holiday for the past year was indeed grand enough that Li Qing could not refuse.
"Your Majesty, you should take more care of your dragon body." Li Qing noticed that Zhu Qiyu, who was only in his thirties, already had white hair, and frowned, "Can I give you a prescription to strengthen your body and strengthen your body?"
"Yeah, okay." Zhu Qiyu agreed with a smile.
Li Qing added: "You also need to pay more attention to rest."
Zhu Qiyu laughed and said: "I am not a child anymore. I don't know how to rest when I am tired?"
Li Qing smiled softly and said no more.
