As for the candidate for the Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, after Zhu Youxiao thought about it, he finally decided to appoint Zeng Houbin, who had always been harsh and strict.
Zeng Houbin was from Shaanxi, and he was an official who had just been transferred back to the capital from Henan. He basically had no collusion with the people in Jiangnan, so sending him there gave Zhu Youxiao some peace of mind.
The main thing is that he can manage the Taicang warehouse in Nanjing well and collect taxes normally in accordance with the court's policies, which is enough.
After drafting the edict and handwriting, Zhu Youxiao carefully checked it twice before handing it over to Yang Huan, who came to deliver the letter, and told him to arrange for someone to go south overnight to deliver the letter.
Zhu Youxiao walked out of the palace gate and stared at the back of Yang Huan walking away in a daze. This move was indeed hasty.
But it was not without gain. At least it caught them off guard, and in their panic, they basically revealed all their trump cards.
When he takes action again, the resistance will be much smaller and the possibility of success will be greater.
Although they will be prepared, as the saying goes, the best defense is offense. No matter how prepared they are, they will never be able to defend against it.
And judging from their strong reactions, if they want to solve the scourges in Jiangnan, there is probably no one else who can do the job except themselves.
Forget it, let them live in peace for a while. When he goes on a southern tour, he will let them know what imperial power is and the consequences of confronting the emperor.
Just as he was meditating, young Cao Bianjiao suddenly walked out of the side hall. Seeing the emperor in a daze, he immediately ran forward, saluted first, and then asked:
"Is Your Majesty worried about the slaves in Liaodong?"
Cao Bianjiao grew up in the military camp with his uncle Cao Wenzhao, so he naturally knew about the Liaodong war and the creation of slaves.
He also knew that His Majesty brought him into the palace, asked Ma Xianglin to teach him martial arts, and personally taught him the art of war and strategy, in order to train himself into a qualified general.
"Why are you wandering around the palace if you don't sleep in the middle of the night?"
When Zhu Youxiao saw this young man who was a few years younger than him and was like a younger brother, his smile reached his forehead.
Apart from anything else, since he entered the palace, this quiet and boring palace has become more energetic and lively. At least there are people who dare to tell the truth to him and joke with him.
"I couldn't sleep, so I wanted to come out and blow in the wind. If Your Majesty is worried about establishing a slave, then there is no need. When I get a few years older and reach the age where I can go to the battlefield, I will definitely sacrifice the old slave's dog head to Your Majesty!"
Cao Bianjiao said confidently, and in his words he did not take the old slave who was bullying Liaodong and feared by the Liao army at all!
"Okay, go back to sleep. It's not your turn to sacrifice the old slave's head. With so many civil servants and generals in our Ming Dynasty, do we still need a child like you who doesn't even have hair?"
Cao Bianjiao said with an unconvinced look:
"Your Majesty looks down on people. Although I am young, my strength and martial arts skills are not comparable to ordinary people. Besides, Your Majesty is only eighteen years old. It is inappropriate to say that I am a child!"
After he finished speaking, he ran away, heading straight to the side hall where he lived, without any hesitation, because he knew that if he ran too slowly, he would be beaten severely by His Majesty.
Zhu Youxiao looked at this innocent child with a smile on his face, shook his head and went back.
When Zhu Youxiao returned to the palace and prepared to sleep, Tiqi Qianhu from Beizhen Fusi came to Qianqing Palace with Shanxi Report.
With the close cooperation and full support of Xuanda Governor Chen Qiyu, Governor Wang Sanshan, and Right Chief Envoy Sun Chuanting, Xu Xianchun's property search went extremely smoothly.
In just ten days, all the fields, houses, warehouses, and shops of Shanxi merchants had been sealed.
A preliminary statistics was also made on the gold and silver treasures that were copied, and it turned out to be as high as more than 30 million taels of silver and more than 500,000 taels of gold.
As for important supplies such as grain, cloth, salt and iron, there were countless of them. Xu Xianchun bluntly stated in his report that it would take at least ten days of verification before he could calculate the approximate amount.
There are even more than 3,000 war horses, and thousands of forged weapons and armors, enough to arm an elite army. Even the border troops do not have such luxurious and sophisticated equipment.
Zhu Youxiao didn't even have to think about it. These things were to be sold to the Mongols at high prices. Food and supplies, as well as the scarce equipment of the Mongolian army, were exchanged from them for a large number of war horses, medicinal materials, furs, etc.
Then the war horses obtained in exchange were used to do business with the army. The generals in the army used the military pay allocated by the court to buy from them and arm their own private soldiers.
Rare medicinal materials and animal skins, which are scarce resources in the Central Plains, will become hot commodities on the market. The wealthy gentry and landowners are very interested in these things.
However, Zhu Youxiao would not be deceived by appearances. With so many armors and weapons, they were definitely not made by themselves.
It's okay for the people to make swords, guns, swords and halberds. The government and the court don't care about it and won't stop it. But those sharp sabers and fine armor must have been made by the generals of the border towns.
The generals in the guard posts will take up the bulk of the work, and although the generals in the border towns will also use weapons and armor to exchange for things from Shanxi merchants, they still have to lead troops to fight after all.
Therefore, they will not sell it too much, and they are reluctant to sell it, because they need these to equip their private soldiers. After all, this is their foundation and the safety of their lives.
The generals of the guards will not care. Their official positions and power are hereditary. As long as they are not targeted by the court or the emperor, their jobs will still be there.
The most important reason is that they don't need to fight. The border town generals need to go to the battlefield to fight, and as for them, as long as there is no civil unrest, they will never see blood in their lives.
It can be said to be a life of peace of mind. Although Emperor Taizu abolished barons and viscounts, he strictly stipulated that no knighthood could be granted except for military merit.
But these hereditary generals of the guards and those who were given the status of imperial guards all received salary from the court and did not need to do anything. What is the difference between them and titles? It is just that they do not have a formal title.
The local government also distributes weapons and equipment to them according to the quantity every year. The purpose is to maintain their combat effectiveness and look decent. However, in the end, it has become their private property and can be sold and exchanged at will.
Zhu Youxiao originally thought about dismantling the guard station, but now the more he thinks about it, the angrier he becomes. After so many years, countless Han people have died under the slaughter knives of the Mongols, and these murderous weapons were all made by the Han people.
Therefore, he angrily added a decree that those generals with official positions of more than 100 households in the abolished guard posts must donate all their property to the national treasury to compensate for the vacancies and losses.
If there is anyone who is unwilling or disobeys the order, all their homes will be ransacked, and the whole family will be arrested and imprisoned, and will be interrogated and investigated by the Ministry of Punishments.
Those who are willing to donate will need to be verified by personnel from the Jinyiwei and the Ministry of Household and Military Affairs.
If anyone dares to conceal or commit fraud, he will also be sent to jail and held accountable. He will not be tolerated and will be treated equally.