Just after noon, an old acquaintance was welcomed into the house.
"Yu Shibo?"
At the main entrance, Yu Mian, who had received the report from his servants, hurriedly came to greet him, his face full of surprise.
In front of him, a soft cloth sedan was parked outside the gate. In front of the sedan, Yu Shiyue, dressed in a crimson official robe, stood with his hands behind his back.
Seeing Yu Mian coming out to greet him, the cabinet minister smiled gently and said.
"I have nothing to do today. I came to see your father and have lunch by the way."
Yu Mian raised his head and looked at the sky. It was indeed almost lunch time. However, after so many years of friendship, didn't Yu Shibo know that his old friend never returned to his home at noon?
Yu Shiyue saw through Yu Mian's doubts at a glance, waved his hand and said.
"Just go and prepare. Before I come, I have already sent someone to the Ministry of War to summon your father."
"By the way, I have brought you the best Jinhua ham, fresh lotus root, crispy yellow croaker and fermented glutinous rice dumplings. You take them to the kitchen and cook them quickly. Your father will be back soon!"
What he said was more like a master than a master.
However, based on the current relationship between the two families, Yu Shiyue was indeed similar to Yu Mian's elders. Seeing what he said, Yu Mian had to cup his hands, welcome Yu Shiyue in, and then hurriedly ordered people to go down to prepare lunch.
As expected, not long after, Yu Qian's sedan stopped outside the door.
"Brother Shichao, what's important?"
Yu Qian walked in a dusty road and went straight to the flower hall. As soon as he sat down, he asked directly. This attitude left Yu Shiyue speechless.
"Sit down first and talk while you eat."
Yu Shiyue waved his hand and signaled the people under him to serve the food in a skillful manner. With this look, people who didn't know better thought it was his house...
One after another exquisite dishes were served to the table, and even Yu Qian couldn't help but feel his stomach growl.
Although he has never had a bad appetite, Yu Mian would not have wanted these food that was not cheap at first glance if it had not been brought by Yu Shiyue.
Therefore, Yu Qian simply refused, picked up the bowl quickly, and started eating.
Since they had to go to the Yamen in the afternoon, they naturally didn't need wine. At their level, business was not discussed at the dinner table. Therefore, looking at the dishes in front of him, Yu Qian didn't rush to ask any more questions.
The two finished the meal chatting about anecdotes about the capital. Afterwards, Yu Qian changed his clothes, came to the study, put a pot of tea on the table, and sat opposite each other before talking about business.
But this time, it was Yu Shiyue who spoke first.
"Ting Yi, have you heard that today, His Majesty sent Eunuch Shu to Duke Chengguo's mansion to declare an edict, ordering him to seize the title, and also gave him the hereditary iron certificate."
"heard."
Yu Qian's expression was very calm. He took a sip of tea and there was no wave in the ancient well.
Seeing this situation, Yu Shiyue continued to ask.
"Then have you heard that in the edict, His Majesty ordered Zhu Yi to continue to take charge of the young army?"
Yu Qian continued to drink tea, but this time, he did not speak.
He knew Yu Shiyue's purpose. A noble son without a title serving as the commander of the young army in the East Palace and a top nobleman taking over the affairs of the young army were not the same concept.
At least, for Yu Shiyue, the official of the Prince's Mansion, the difference is huge.
but……
"Brother Shi Chao, have you ever thought about what position should be given to the Duke of Guo if he is not allowed to take charge of the Young Army?"
Putting down the tea cup in his hand, Yu Qian sighed and asked.
Yu Shiyue suddenly became a little mischievous. Yes, if he is not in charge of the young army, what should the Duke of the country do?
Sitting up straight, Yu Qian's expression became solemn and he said.
"In today's court, apart from Feng Guogong Li Xian, Zhu Yi is the only duke who has reached adulthood and is in the capital. With this status, he cannot be bypassed for any position in the military government.
"
"Since the founding of our dynasty, both the first duke and the successive duke have been high-ranking and powerful people. Now, although the newly promoted Duke Cheng is not very old, he has already reached the throne.
, if according to the usual practice, he will either be in charge of a military government, or he will be responsible for assisting in the affairs of the Beijing camp."
"The two have power. Brother Shi Chao thinks, besides letting him stay in Youjun, is there any better place for him to go?"
this……
Yu Shiyue sighed heavily, picked up the tea cup in front of him, took a sip, and then said.
"I actually understand this truth, but I'm just worried that Duke Cheng Guo won't give up so easily."
As he spoke, Yu Shiyue frowned and said.
"Speaking of which, were you and Shen Shangshu in the palace that day?"
There is no need to continue, Yu Qian also understands what he is asking.
This matter was not a big secret in the first place, not to mention that it could not be concealed from others, so Yu Qian simply admitted it.
"The day before the prince left the cabinet, Zhu Yi came to see me personally and handed over the field records of the land cultivated by the distinguished families in Beijing on the border."
"Although it is obvious that this field register still conceals something, and the authenticity cannot be guaranteed, it will be much easier to search according to the map!"
"As expected..."
Yu Shiyue sighed and said.
"I'm going to tell you why you were so crisp and clear that day in the palace. After thinking about it, except for the big policy of rectifying the military camp, there is nothing that can impress you."
"So, where is Shen Shangshu?"
Yu Qian nodded and said.
"After going to court, I met with Shen Shangshu. He also received the land register. However, Zhu Yi's book was bigger. He promised to become the Duke of Guo's Mansion just like the Changping Marquis Mansion.
Many properties on the border have been registered as military settlements."
"In addition, there are several nobles who have good relations with the Duke of Chengguo. They are willing to use half of the silver redeemed by the imperial court to convert the border land into military camps."
Hearing this, Yu Shiyue took a deep breath.
He thought that Zhu Yi would pay a lot of money to persuade Yu Qian and Shen Yi to speak for him, but he did not expect that the Duke of the country would be so willing to spend so much money.
After hesitating for a moment, Yu Shiyue still couldn't hold back his curiosity, stretched out five fingers and asked.
"Given the status of the Duke of Chengguo, you must have this number at the border these years, right?"
You must know that the main subjects of the invasion and occupation of military camps are first and foremost the nobles in Beijing, followed by the vassals from various places, and finally the many border generals.
When Zhu Yong was still there, the Duke of Chengguo and the Duke of England fought against each other. He was the top nobleman in the capital. What's more, Zhu Yong was once ordered to patrol the border.
Calculated in this way, Yu Shiyue felt that just the acres of farmland occupied by the army must be tens of thousands of acres, or 500 hectares. He was already being conservative.
However, what he didn't expect was that he only thought that he would be conservative, but he never thought that he was too conservative.
After a moment of silence, Yu Qian said.
"According to the field list handed over by Zhu Yi, there are now a total of 3,200 hectares of border fields under the name of Duke Chengguo."
There was a clang.
The tea cup in his hand fell over on the eucalyptus, and the tea dropped drop by drop on the ground. Mr. Yu was dumbfounded.
Three thousand two hundred hectares?!
One hectare is one hundred acres, what the hell, 320,000 acres?!
Are there really so many fields on the border?
Seemingly seeing Yu Shiyue's doubts, Yu Qian added.
"Not only at the border, the farmland occupied by the Chengguo government on the border accounts for about 30% of the total, and the rest is scattered in various places."
As he spoke, Yu Qian sighed and said.
"Actually, I have known for a long time that the real disaster of invading military settlements is not at the border, but in various places. However, things have to be prioritized. Reorganizing military settlements is not a day's work, so we can only focus on the borders first."
According to records from the early years of Hongwu, the Ming Dynasty should have more than 900,000 hectares of farmland, accounting for about one-tenth of the total number of acres in the world.
Naturally, it is impossible for such a huge number to be concentrated on the border. In fact, the total number of border military camps is roughly one-tenth.
However, with the development of privately cultivated land in recent years, this number is no longer accurate. Judging from the situation that Yu Qian had previously known and the situation reported by the censors from various places.
Privately cultivated land on the border is relatively more serious. If these acres are included, there should be about 150,000 hectares across the border.
In the mainland, on the other hand, due to the court expenditures such as rewards of official land, feudal land, and royal land, and because there is not much room for reclamation in the mainland, the actual number of military camps is declining.
However, even so, to eradicate the chronic problem of encroaching on military fields, we still have to start from various places.
However, this project is too huge.
Yu Qian has been busy for so long and has just opened a gap at the border. Moreover, from the perspective of pros and cons, although the military garrison on the border does not have an advantage in the total number, it has the advantage of being able to supply the officers and soldiers on the spot.
, you don’t have to bear the losses during transportation.
This point is crucial to the nine-border defense line that Ming Dynasty is about to build!
After a long while, Yu Shiyue recovered from the shock and sighed.
"No wonder you and Shen Shangshu are working so hard. This Duke is really willing to spend a lot of money!"
More than 300,000 acres of land, this is no longer a big investment, this is selling all the coffins!
"Huh, just greedy!"
After hearing this, Yu Qian snorted coldly and said.
"The salary of Duke Chengguo is 3,600 shi. Over the years, successive emperors have successively granted land, at least hundreds of hectares. In addition to the acres of land purchased reasonably and legally by Duke Chengguo over the years, the total is more than a thousand hectares.
, the produce from these acres of land is enough to support a county prince’s mansion.”
"But these nobles are still not satisfied and have extended their hands into the country's military garrison. They are doing nothing more than their own desires and harming the interests of the country!"
"Stop it, stop it..."
Seeing Yu Qian starting ideological education again, Yu Shiyue smiled bitterly, finally woke up completely, and waved his hand.
"I understand the truth, but, Tingyi, have you ever thought about it, after paying such a high price, will Duke Chengguo really just want to be reinstated?"
"You know, the current Duke Cheng Guo is not just Duke Cheng Guo..."
Frowning, Yu Shiyue sounded worried.
…………
"Yes, although the land has not been actually handed over yet, once the land register is in the hands of Yu Qian and Chen Yi, we will no longer be able to control it."
In the palace of Duke Chengguo, Zhang Xi sighed, looking rather regretful.
Although the British government did not produce any acres of land this time, Mr. Zhang still felt a little distressed when he saw hundreds of thousands of acres of land being handed over to others.
Not to mention, those nobles who followed Zhu Yi and promised to redeem their fields have been pestering him every day these days.
Of course, Zhu Yi saw Zhang Min's little thoughts, smiled bitterly, and said.
"Shibo, there are rules in the court. If you take advantage, you have to pay the price. The Ministry of War has not used thunderous methods for a long time. It's not that they don't want to, it's just that they lack a reason."
"To go back on my word at this time is probably just in line with Shaobao's wishes. He only needs to disclose the land register to the court, and the consequences will be..."
"You're right, but, alas..."
Mr. Zhang understands the truth, but the heartache is inevitable.
At this time, Zhu Yi smiled and said.
"It doesn't have to be like this, Shibo. Think about it, if the Ministry of War hadn't owed us such a huge favor, it wouldn't have been so easy to get my nephew's title back. What's more, although we can't break the contract, there is still hope if we talk about the conditions.
of."
After hearing this, Zhang Xi's eyes lit up and he said:
"you mean?"
"If nothing else, Shibo's hope of taking charge of the military government fell here!"
Zhu Yi grinned and showed a bright smile.
"really?"
"nature!"
Seeing Zhu Yi's determined look, Zhang Shi finally relaxed and said.
"Thank you so much nephew!"
Zhu Yi smiled and said: "Shibo, you're welcome. Now that your two families are in the same spirit, it's a good thing that we have a unified family. We should naturally support each other."
With this conversation, most of the doubts in Zhang Xi's heart were obviously gone. He laughed twice, then shook his head and said.
"To be honest with my nephew, I have been feeling a little flustered for the past two days. I always seem to feel that something has been missed and I have not considered it. However, after receiving my nephew's words today, I can feel at ease."
After finally sending Zhang Min away, Zhu Yi finally breathed a sigh of relief and turned around, but she was still thinking about the conversation just now.
The breeze in front of him was guiding the way, and Zhu Yi didn't pay much attention to it. He just kept walking forward with his mind on his mind. However, as he walked forward, he felt that something was wrong with the scene around him.
It's almost lunch time now. He almost kept Zhang Shi for dinner just now, but now he has finally sent them away. He should have gone back to the backyard for dinner, but now this place is where he just went to the study...
Then, Zhu Yi came back to her senses and frowned.
"Qingfeng, didn't I tell you to go back to the back house? Madam is still here..."
Halfway through the words, Zhu Yi got stuck.
Because when he looked up, he saw a familiar figure.
He was wearing a green robe and a small hat, dressed as a house servant, and looked very low-key, but how could he not recognize who this person was.
This is none other than Eunuch Shu Liangshu, the eunuch of the Dongchang who was so powerful just now and came to announce the decree!
Next to Shu Liang stood the old butler with a bitter look on his face. Apart from the two of them, there were no other people serving around the study.
Seeing that his young master finally came back, the old housekeeper hurried forward and reported.
"Master, according to your instructions, this noble man wants to come to see you. The old slave dare not stop him, so he can only lead the noble man in from the small side door."
"But don't worry, no one saw the person whom I went to pick up in person on the road. However, you were entertaining guests at the time and did not dare to disturb you, so you made the noble man wait in the back room for a long time..."
The implication is that this person will arrive soon.
Moreover, the back room is connected to the study room. Sometimes when Zhu Yi is tired, he will rest in it for a while. There is a door in the middle, but there is another door outside.
What this means is that this man heard all the conversation he had with Zhang Shi just now.
Zhu Yi's scalp was a little numb, but she still stepped forward enthusiastically and said.
"It's Zhu's fault for keeping my father-in-law waiting for so long..."
Looking at the newly promoted Duke in front of him, Shu Liang's face still had the same fake smile that had never changed for thousands of years, and it was even a bit thicker, and he said.
tsxswtsxsw
"Yeah, what the Duke said has devastated our family. What kind of status do you have? Our family is just a dog beside the Emperor. When we arrive at the Duke's residence, let alone this moment, how long...
You have to wait!"
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