Sun Jiao, whose identity as the quasi-governor's father-in-law is secret, is very busy.
The Minister of Rites confirmed that it was Zhang Zilin, so the one who wanted to be recommended was the Minister of Punishment.
Among the current cabinet ministers, Zhang Zilin, who has a close relationship with Yang Tinghe, has been promoted to a prominent position. According to unspoken rules, he can no longer keep an eye on the position of Minister of the Ministry of Punishment.
The other four cabinet ministers also knew that Sun Jiao's position in the central government was to succeed Yuan Zonggao and become the leader of the "Imperial Party".
Therefore, to form a good relationship, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment had to follow Sun Jiao's path.
If Sun Jiao approves, then Wang Qiong and others will have no objection.
The thirteenth day of the first lunar month is the first fixed holiday after His Majesty's "grace", but there are many guests in the Sun Mansion.
In the backyard, Sun Ming didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Mom, my daughter doesn't play leaf play very much. No matter how much you say, she won't be able to play well."
"Then when I enter the palace today, I will consult with His Majesty and the eldest princess for advice!"
The mother and daughter got on the soft sedan and went out through the back door.
When we turned to the alley, we saw many people heading towards the front door of their houses, many of them carrying gifts and greeting cards.
Mrs. Sun Wang lowered the sedan curtain and felt very happy.
I have been living idlely in my hometown for several years, but I never expected that it would return to the grandeur of the House of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in the past, and it would be even better.
"I heard that Zhu Yunming, a talented man from Wuzhong, often comes to the palace to teach His Majesty calligraphy. If you don't want to play with leaves, you can also ask Your Majesty to practice calligraphy together." Sun Wang held her daughter's little hand with a smile on her face, "Look at Ming'er while she is practicing calligraphy. It’s the most joyful thing to do.”
Sun Ming only felt that what her mother was thinking about every day now was how to behave in front of His Majesty, how to invite favors and gain affection.
She began to feel nervous in confusion. She was about to enter the palace again and see His Majesty again.
Although she knew that he was only one year older than her, according to her father, His Majesty's mind was superior to that of countless people, and his experience seemed to be comparable to that of an old man who had traveled north and south.
This is very contradictory. I remember the young, cheerful and playful face I saw that day, and the smile in his eyes when he looked at me.
It's like there's a look hidden behind that smile.
I heard my mother say again: "This kind of honor is rare in all dynasties. How much more time did you have to get close to His Majesty than other concubines? Your father is also the elder of the pavilion. Don't be too restrained in front of His Majesty." It makes people feel hard to get close to them! Just treat them like a husband..."
When the girl heard about her husband, she felt strange in her heart, and she couldn't help but feel anxious and scared.
Is it possible that His Majesty must comply with any overdue behavior before the wedding?
The sedan slowly headed towards the Forbidden City. In a certain village in southern Zhili, Li Zheng nodded and bowed to the county officials, then said to the person who called him: "You all heard it. This year, Your Majesty For the wedding, the county magistrate has already received the order from the Shangguan. This is the amount for us. Before April, everyone will collect it from every household. In addition, His Majesty's wedding is celebrated by the whole world, and the county also wants to congratulate it. On the 10th. Each of us will send one person to serve as an errand in the county. I will finalize the list tomorrow and I will take it to the county."
There are eleven armors in each mile and ten households in each armor.
A leader hesitated for a moment and said to the county official: "Sir, are you going to enlist starting tomorrow? Although it is still the first month, the farm work in the fields is about to get busy. How long will you be enlisting? ?”
"Every armor is a small one, what are you talking about?" The county official stared, "It is a blessing to be able to work on His Majesty's wedding celebration! This year is the year of the reform of the Yuan Dynasty, and the imperial envoys in the palace have to come down for inspection. They are honored by the county and all of us. Congratulations to the residents of the county. Everything in the county needs to be repaired. This is the top priority assigned by the county! The summer tax cannot be missed, and the annual affairs cannot be missed. This year, His Majesty’s wedding ceremony must be completed before April! "
Ten A's capital remained silent.
After the clerk finished speaking, he emphasized: "You must be a strong man! Don't give me half-grown men and old guys to fool me!"
"...Sir, the imperial envoy was assigned to handle the case last year, and the miscellaneous tasks he sent have not yet been completed. If summer grain cannot be missed, strong men are indispensable for spring plowing..."
"That's a long way to go! Which is more important, entertaining the imperial envoy or His Majesty's wedding? You can't tell the importance, so do you still want me to tell you?" The young official weighed his stick and asked, "Do you want to disobey your order?" ? This is to resist the emperor's order, I can take the person to the county and lock him up now!"
"Master, please calm down. Master, please calm down." Li Zheng hurriedly grabbed him, and then said in a begging tone, "We really can't miss the summer grain, and the annual affairs are very important. Can you be accommodating? We have a heavy burden, can you just give us five Who are you? For the remaining six, please ask the county magistrate for help. Let’s raise some money. Doesn’t the county always hire some refugees to work as relief?”
"The job is very heavy this year!" the clerk snorted. "Those refugees are either so hungry that they don't have much energy, or they are all deadbeats. I'm afraid twelve refugees can't do the work that six strong men can do." !”
The other chiefs looked at the village chief and the people from the county government, and all of them were silent.
How many servants are dispatched? I don’t know, and I can’t ask clearly.
But if you don't send Ding's armor, you have to collect some money and hand it over.
Seeing the chief discussing with him how much silver should be discounted for the difference, some of the leaders lowered their heads to hide their anger and confusion.
Every time I change my Yuan, it is the most difficult thing to endure.
The county magistrates would use swords, guns and sticks to urge them to pay the land tax in full, and they would pay tribute in various ways to please the emperor.
If you want to work for a certain master, it becomes harder and harder to find a job, more and more money is spent, and the rent is getting higher and higher.
How to get through this year?
If there is another natural disaster, it will be all over...
The same thing is happening in almost every province and most counties in the Ming Dynasty at this moment.
Some of them have been arranged since before the Chinese New Year.
So before the New Year, news from some places has also reached the capital.
"Guangdong is no exception?"
In the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Houcong confirmed to Zhang Bor.
"No exception."
Zhu Houcong nodded silently, and then calmly ordered: "You did a good job. As I told you, secure all the money for the Fourteen Cicada King and put in more eyeliners."
"I obey the decree!"
Since the arrest of Fang Muxian and several of his adopted sons last year, the Internal Affairs Bureau has only been paying attention to a lot of information secretly.
When His Majesty summoned him for the first time after the Spring Festival, Zhang Bor originally did not want to say these things that would upset His Majesty.
But His Majesty asked him if there were any people in various places making money through talent shows and weddings, so Zhang Bor could only report it.
The Internal Affairs Bureau can hide it from everyone, but it cannot hide it from His Majesty.
"...Your Majesty, Mr. Sun Ge's wife and daughter have arrived at Qingning Palace."
After Zhang Boring left, Huang Jin whispered a reminder.
Zhu Houcong asked him: "In which province did Fang Feng, who was arranged by Xie Changjie to impeach Yuan Jinsheng, go to serve as the censor?"
The name is awesome, but the Inspector Censor is actually only in the seventh rank. It's just that if an ordinary supervisory censor has the qualifications to patrol a province, he will be on the fast track for promotion later.
"Your Majesty, after the murder of Fujian's censor, Fang Feng filled the vacancy."
"Tomorrow you go and call Xia Yan. In the next month, pay attention to the memorials submitted by the provincial inspectors and governors. If anyone mentions that I have used my Yuan reform, drafts, and weddings to send officers indiscriminately, put their names and provinces. Sort it all out.”
Huang Jin's heart trembled: "I obey the order."
Xia Yan has already contributed a lot to the reorganization of the three major camps. Now that things have been sorted out and the next two years only need to be implemented according to the rules to allow the Beijing camp to expand, prepare and train, then Xia Yan looks like it will be of great use. .
"Say yes to Yan Song too."
Zhu Houcong gave a faint order, stood up and walked to Qingning Palace.
"My slave understands." Huang Jin followed and advised, "Your Majesty, it is a wedding after all, and these things are inevitable. You love your people like your own children, and your slaves will remember it in their hearts. Don't be angry."
"I'm not angry." The smile at the corner of Zhu Houcong's mouth was cold.
It is indeed inevitable that the local community should celebrate him. It is inevitable to squander a little bit in the name of celebration.
But if the food looks too ugly, Zhu Houcong is also ready to send another knife to it.
In the new atmosphere of Yuan Dynasty, all that fell on Zhu Houcong was resentment.
This belongs to the suffering people, and they get most of the benefits. I am responsible for the infamy.
"Your Majesty, you are still angry." Huang Jin said.
"Then what can you do?"
"You call all the Portuguese prisoners over. I'll ask them to put on a show of wearing a monkey and wearing a crown. Let them put on costumes and learn a few steps. Will you and Sun Niangniang be entertained later?"
Zhu Houcong was immediately amused by him: "You can't imagine what it is like to be crowned by a monkey..."
Those who were escorted to Beijing earlier than Zhu Yunming included about forty "imperial prisoners" captured in the Second Battle of Tuen Mun, of whom twenty-seven were Europeans.
Along the way, six of the forty people died. After arriving in Jinyiwei Prison, eleven more people died in the past month.
Today, only seventeen of the twenty-seven Europeans are left, and the other "treacherous traitors" who helped the tyranny have been executed.
Including Pillai and the two Portuguese people who were sent to the capital before, there were exactly twenty.
Zhu Houcong asked Luo An to bring them here today, not to show Sun Ming something new.
"Ask Wei Bin and Zhu Yunming to go see them together. Tell Wei Bin that I told him before that he can pay attention to the things bought back to the Ming Dynasty in the sea trade house, and ask him to ask these Westerners if they have seen them before and what they look like. Zhu Houcong waved his hand, "Then let Zhu Yunming listen to the description and draw it."
Zhu Houcong couldn't draw, and he didn't know what things like sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn, which had not yet been introduced to the Ming Dynasty on a large scale, looked like or what their names were.
The rich families along the coast who often go to sea may have seen these things, but maybe they just treat them as novelties and taste them.
Who knows the current situation?
Luo An's focus was on interrogating the Portuguese's current strength in the south, their next plan, their warships' gunnery skills and other "military information."
Although Zhu Houcong had no taboos as an emperor, it was a more systematic approach to let Wei Bin do this first, in the name of collecting overseas products.
It is more important to find more stable sources. Zhu Houcong vaguely remembers that these high-yielding species also have disadvantages. Including breeding and planting methods, Zhu Houcong knew nothing about it.
After arriving at Qingning Palace, he greeted Empress Dowager Jiang and smiled and nodded to Sun Ming. Zhu Houcong said to Sun Ming in a familiar manner: "Let's go, let's take you to the Imperial Garden to see all kinds of strange stones and stones." Flowers and plants.”
"...Your Majesty, are the eldest princesses over there too?"
Following Zhu Houcong, Sun Ming felt as if he was walking alone into a strange jungle when his mother did not follow him, nor did he see the emperor's elder sister.
"Are you afraid of being alone with me?"
Of course Sun Ming was uneasy and nervous, but when he heard this, he could only purse his lips and lower his head, shaking his head: "No..."
"I heard that you read a lot of books at home. I'll see how many of the origins you can recognize later." Zhu Houcong looked back at her and said with a smile, "She will be my queen in the future. Come to me, I will take you to visit the Royal Garden, don’t be afraid.”
When the little girl heard his gentle tone, she clasped her hands together and slowly raised her head to peek at him.
Seeing that he was looking at her with a smile, she softly said "Hmm" and suppressed her nervousness, taking two quick steps to a place slightly behind him.
It's not lively, but the timidity of the girl revealed by it is absolutely perfect.
Zhu Houcong walked slowly: "I haven't been to the Imperial Garden much. It's only the first month now. I heard that there will be some plum blossoms blooming next month. Let's go see them then. Let's look around today to see if there are any. Hua Guduo. Can you draw?"
"...folk girls are not very good at painting."
"You just talk about me, I already talked about me."
Sun Ming suddenly chuckled, and then covered his mouth in panic.
Zhu Houcong turned to look at her. The little girl's eyes were full of panic.
"Is this sentence interesting?" Zhu Houcong thought to himself that it was a joke. "Did you know that there was an Imperial Academy editor named Chen Quan in the Yongle Dynasty?"
Sun Ming actually nodded: "I know... the young chrysanthemums are scattered with light smoke, and the green pistils contain morning dew. I don't see Chai Sangweng, but I am so distant and careless. People... I like this song "Ink Chrysanthemum"..."
She read out the poem in a crisp and tender voice, and Zhu Houcong looked at her in surprise.
After mentioning someone casually, she could actually recite a poem written by someone else, although Zhu Houcong didn't know whether the poem was written by Chen Quan.
But a little girl should not dare to deceive you.
"...You probably don't know the interesting story I'm going to tell you, but it's hard to tell it now."
"Why?" Sun Ming was a little curious.
"Gao Zhong, tell me what you told me."
Nowadays, if there are no urgent matters during the day, Gao Zhong is always with him, so Huang Jin needs to catch up on his sleep.
At this time, Gao Zhong took two steps forward but said with a grimace: "Your Majesty, if I tell you this old story, it will be insulting to your Majesty's listening..."
Although they haven't got married yet, looking at the emperor's "favor" for the daughter of the Sun family, Gao Zhong could not understand the situation.
"You can talk as long as you want. Now you can focus on having fun."
"...Yes." Gao Zhong cleared his throat, "This old story was also heard from the palace. It was said that during the Yongle Dynasty, the editor Chen Quan used to tell jokes. One day, he got lost in the palace and strayed into the forbidden area. , was caught by a Dajue. Chen Quan was extremely frightened and quickly begged for mercy. Although the place was a forbidden area, it was not a big deal. Dajue then tested him: "I heard that Editor Chen is good at joking. If you do it today, You can make us laugh with just one word, so I'll let you go. 'Do you know what Chen Quan's answer was?"
Sun Ming shook his head, curiosity in his bright eyes.
How can you make someone laugh with just one word?
Gao Zhong smiled and said: "Chen Quan opened his mouth and answered: 'Fart'."
Sun Ming blushed immediately, and then secretly looked at the emperor: If this Eunuch Gao didn't speak, would your Majesty be able to speak the word...?
But there's nothing funny about this word.
"Da Jue lowered his face and asked him: 'What's so funny about this?' Unexpectedly, Editor Chen replied with a bitter look on his face: 'It's not up to the father-in-law to let him go, and it's up to his father-in-law not to let him go.'"
"Pfft..." Sun Ming burst out laughing immediately, and then raised her sleeves to cover her face. Her face was flushed beside her sleeves, but her shoulders were still shaking.
Zhu Houcong looked at it interestingly and said with his tongue: "The tender chrysanthemum is scattering light smoke, what is scattered is this light smoke..."
Sun Ming's eyes widened, and she forgot to stare at the emperor shyly for a moment: What a poem!
"Your Majesty's wonderful explanation!" Gao Zhong immediately flattered him, "This is more amusing than that one word."
They don't know what tender chrysanthemum is, but they know what light smoke is.
"This is also a coincidence." Zhu Houcong said with a smile, "Isn't it also a coincidence that you and I have ruined a poem you like? I will tell you something elegant later to make up for it."
Sun Ming followed him into the Imperial Garden, but her mood relaxed unknowingly.
Your Majesty is also an interesting one, and...except for his brother, Sun Ming has never visited the park like this with any man of the same age.
When we came to the Imperial Garden, sure enough, a few plum blossoms began to sprout, and there were a few flower buds.
She looked at the emperor who was chatting and joking with her easily, and the girlish feelings in her heart also sprouted.
What mother said is right. For a woman, it is a great blessing to be able to meet her husband before the wedding and to go to the park together.
Only a few days later, His Majesty's appearance became clearer in her mind.
The emperor was adjusting his mood with the future queen on the day of rest, but Huang Jin went to Xia Yan's house first and told him to see the emperor tomorrow.
"Eunuch Huang, I wonder why Your Majesty summoned you?" Xia Yan insisted on handing Xie Yi to him.
After Huang Jin pushed it off, he just smiled and said: "We don't know, maybe he has some errands. Your Majesty is merciful and loves the people, so it's fine for Xia to be loyal to you."
Xia Yan kept these words in mind and bowed solemnly to Huang Jin: "I will be loyal to you and live up to your majesty's high expectations."
No matter what the mission is, the key point is the words "Your Majesty is kind and loving to the people."
The emperor's eunuch always refuses to accept thanks, so this time he came in person to remind him of these words.
With Huang Jin's status, he naturally does not need to deliberately make friends with foreign ministers, so he should be here to remind himself that the next mission he will receive should be very important.
What mission could be more important than his current mission?
(End of chapter)
