Zhu Jianshen still listened to the advice, at least he listened to Li Qing's advice, and proposed the division of financial rights at the court meeting the next day.
Sixty percent of national tax revenue goes to the state treasury and 40% goes to internal funds.
As Li Qing said, the ministers have been having a hard time in the past six months. The emperor has compromised and they have the upper hand. If they insist on holding on to the 10%, it will be counterproductive.
Such a division is barely acceptable.
Over the past few years, it has become increasingly difficult for them to control the emperor, and accordingly, their domineering arrogance has also been reduced a lot.
After the distribution of financial power was determined, the turbulent court gradually calmed down, but the relationship between the monarch and his ministers did not ease much.
Zhu Jianshen knew what was going on. When he saw this situation, he immediately extended his favor. In the hot summer, the big bosses' homes were subsidized with a bucket of ice cubes every day to cool down.
It doesn’t cost much, but it’s a lot of thought.
The emperor's affection, especially in the eyes of good-looking civil servants, is still very valuable. Of course, senior military commanders are not left behind either.
The main dish is a bowl of water.
This year's Zhu Jianshen looks like a nouveau riche, and he throws money at people at every turn, which really... hurts his self-esteem.
The ministers were angry about this, really... so what if there were more?
The seventh day of June is a happy day.
The virtuous concubine Bai Shi gave birth to a dragon son.
Zhu Jianshen was overjoyed and held a banquet in the palace to celebrate with his officials.
There is no need to follow the crowd and eat and drink for free. Li Qing, a salty fish, comes to join in the fun.
As for dining, he was never absent if he could catch up.
~
In the Fengtian Palace Square, Li Qing naturally sat at the cabinet table.
Counting him, there were four people in total, so sitting at this table was the most advantageous.
We are all in the same office, we look up and don't see each other, we don't show our feelings, but on the surface we get along quite harmoniously.
The emperor hadn't arrived yet, so the four of them drank tea and chatted.
Wan An raised his tea cup and said with a smile: "The descending dragon from heaven is the blessing of my great Ming Dynasty. Everyone, please drink a few glasses of water and wine today. Let's drink tea instead of wine. Let's drink one glass first!"
It's like you gave birth to a son... Li Qing rolled his eyes.
Shang Ren and Liu Dingzhi were also quite dissatisfied with him;
At first, Wan'an's flattery made them uncomfortable, and they felt that he had seriously damaged the cabinet's dignity;
Secondly, Wan'an also serves as the Minister of Rites. Apart from Li Qing, the Marquis, Wan'an is the eldest among the officials. Moreover, he is also good at flattering others, so the position of chief assistant is likely to fall on him.
Shang and Liu were naturally unhappy. They had been in the cabinet for many years, but they had to be compared to a newcomer, especially because his talents were average.
It’s really like this: a dog lifts the door curtain—all with his mouth!
"Master Wan, please take care of yourself. I've already had two drinks. I'm afraid I'll be rude to you later." Shang Ren said with a smile.
Li Qing was more direct: "I am not thirsty."
Liu Dingzhi: "That's it... Ahem, I'm not thirsty either. Master Wan, please do so."
If you don't drink, then I won't drink either... Wan'an put down the tea cup and turned to talk about other things.
Maybe it was because he was thick-skinned, or he didn't realize that some people were annoying him, he kept talking, especially to Li Qing, he was very tight-lipped and complimentary all the time.
His thoughts are known to everyone.
Li Qing was so annoyed that he almost couldn't help but take away his ability to speak.
In desperation, he simply made it clear: "Master Wan, I can't sit in this position of chief assistant. If I wanted to, I would have taken it long ago."
"Hey? What are you talking about, Brother Li? In terms of ability and qualifications, who else could I take the position of Chief Assistant to you?" Wan An said with a smile, "Brother Liu, Brother Shang, what do you think?"
"Haha, that's right."
The two of them were smiling but not smiling at all, which annoyed the guy to the core: What are you pretending to do? Marquis Yongqing has made it clear, but you still keep talking;
What? Give us some eye drops?
You're not even the chief assistant...
The two of them almost couldn't hold back their swear words. They were really bullying others!
The two of them simply imitated Li Qing, leaned back in their chairs, closed their eyes and rested, without even looking at Wan An. As time passed, Wan An felt that it was no longer interesting and became quiet.
Huh~ finally clean... The three of them just breathed a sigh of relief when they heard Wan An call out: "Brother Li, Brother Liu, Brother Shang, the emperor is here."
Hearing this, the three of them had no choice but to open their eyes. As a result... the dragon chariot had just appeared, but it was still a long way away.
But Wan An had already stood up and bowed slightly towards the dragon chariot with a respectful, almost pious expression.
If you don't make the king or the chancellor, you are really humiliating yourself... Li Qing slandered.
Shang Ren and Liu Dingzhi were also speechless, but everyone stood up. They couldn't sit still anymore, so they could only stand up to greet...
So much so that Wan'an single-handedly led all the officials.
The dragon chariot was steady and moving very slowly. It took a while before it came close.
Zhu Jianshen had just landed one foot on the ground and before he could stand firmly, a loud voice sounded first:
"Weak minister, long live, long live, long live my emperor!"
Zhu Jianshen felt relieved. When he saw it was Wan An, his expression returned to normal. This guy was always so respectful.
"Long live my emperor, long live, long live...!" The ministers bowed and saluted one after another, and their voices were uneven. It was all because Wan An disrupted the rhythm...
"Everyone is on equal terms!" Zhu Jianshen didn't pay attention to these words and said in a pleasant manner, "No need to be formal, everyone can sit down."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
The ministers stood up and sat down again.
After a while, the dishes began to be served one after another, and the music played by the Jiaofang Siqin...
After the delicacies and wine were served, and Zhu Jianshen moved his chopsticks, the banquet officially began.
It was too late to say that, but soon, Wan An picked up the wine bottle, poured a glass in a hurry, and rushed to Zhu Jianshen's place.
Li Qing couldn't help but be stunned. He even forgot to pick up the food with the chopsticks he picked up.
This guy...does he want to toast, or does he want to assassinate?
Wynn's eyelids were trembling wildly. If Wan An hadn't been so old, he would have called for an escort.
Too scary!
"Congratulations to Your Majesty, congratulations to Your Majesty, God bless my Ming Dynasty...!" Before the Wan'an people arrived, there were a lot of auspicious words, and when they got closer, they even shed tears of joy...
Li Qing has been an official for such a long time, and now he has really opened his eyes. He has seen many people who flatter the emperor, but this kind of flattery... this is the first time he has seen him.
Wan An, on his own, has suddenly raised the realm of flattery to the atmosphere.
To be honest, it's very fake.
However, it works!
Wan An was not stupid. He naturally knew that his actions, which were full of performance elements, could not move the emperor, but it was not important.
The emperor was willing to promote him to be the Minister of Rites and call him into the cabinet because of his characteristics.
The purpose is to make the officials respectful and obedient!
Flattery is his core competitiveness and must be carried forward.
It can be said that he has completely grasped the key points. Even though the emperor has goosebumps, he will still praise him and use him in important ways.
Because...the emperor needs someone to imitate him!
This... can be considered a conspiracy, even though it is despised.
As Wan An expected, the emperor was very happy and gave him the honor of dining at the same table.
Wan An worked hard and sat at the emperor's table from the cabinet table.
Li Qing couldn't help but think of a scene he saw in the market in later generations - crabs worth fifty yuan a pound, crawling into a pool worth one hundred yuan a pound.
Just... very vivid.
You can laugh at Wan An, but you have to admit that in a sense, he really works hard.
Li Qing glanced at the court officials around him. As expected, they were all filled with contempt and envy.
Li Qing frowned slightly: Wan'an's introduction will inevitably lead to the culture of flattery, and even become a common trend;
Well... this is a double-edged sword, which is conducive to Zhu Jianshen's control of power, but... he still has to give Zhu Jianshen a beating afterwards, don't let him get carried away and forget his original intention.
~
It's always good to be missing someone, especially after Wan'an's actions, Shang Ren and Liu Dingzhi lost their appetites, and a large table of dishes was all cheap for Li Qing.
Li Qing's mouth was full of oil after eating, which was called a Huan. He only ate the legs when eating chicken, and only the head when he ate fish...
After one pass, I feel five and six full, and my stomach is full of essence.
However, Li Qing always felt that something was missing, but he couldn't tell what it was.
It wasn't until the banquet was over that he finally remembered what was missing.
Why are you just enjoying the banquet without thinking about whose banquet you are eating?
Is this Ryuko the future Hongji? Li Qing scratched his head: Damn, what's Hongzhi's name?
Except for the two emperors Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di, he only remembered the reign names of the other emperors of the Ming Dynasty, but did not know their names at all.
Of course, the names of the emperor and even the prince are not kept secret. They will always know it as long as they are in court. However, Li Qing is considering retirement and cannot wait that long.
Based on this, Li Qing, who was halfway there, turned back and wanted to test Zhu Jianshen.
Qianqing Palace.
Zhu Jianshen drank a lot of wine, his face was red, but he was still in high spirits.
He chuckled and said, "Sir, are you looking for me to ask for leave?"
"Your Majesty is wise, but this is true." Li Qing nodded, "However, before that, I have something to ask Your Majesty, and I hope Your Majesty can tell you the truth."
Zhu Jianshen glanced at him sideways and hummed: "With our relationship between monarch and minister, do we have to be so roundabout? Just ask!"
Li Qing nodded: "Dare to ask the Emperor, Prince..."
He suddenly paused and realized that asking his name was of little use. After all... he didn't know what Hongzhi's name was, so he asked instead:
"Does the Emperor intend to make this prince the crown prince?"
Zhu Jian's eyes suddenly narrowed and he looked directly at Li Qing, who had a calm expression on his face.
After a while, Zhu Jianshen looked away and said with a slight smile: "You are the only one who asked. I will give him a beating with the royal stick."
After pondering for a moment, he nodded slightly: "That's what I think. There is no one in Xian Fei's natal family, so her foundation is relatively clean. If the queen doesn't give birth... Of course, she can't give birth either... Well, that's it."
Li Qing nodded slightly: "In that case, I have something to say."
"you say."
"Before he is ten years old, you'd better take care of him and teach him personally," Li Qing said in a rare voice: "After the three views...the prince's understanding of things has taken shape, then we can choose a good teacher for him..."
Speaking of this, Li Qing suddenly thought of someone and said, "That Li Shen Tong is very good."
Zhu Jianshen nodded slowly, and then shook his head again: "I have a ready-made one in front of me, so why bother looking for something far away?
Uh...you should be able to survive until then, right? "
"..." Li Qing was speechless and said, "By the way, Your Majesty, I want to ask for leave!"
"approved."
This emperor is very tough. He doesn’t even ask how long he’s been here... Li Qing was overjoyed: "Seriously?"
"The emperor keeps his word!" Zhu Jianshen laughed and said boldly: "I will give you two more days!"
