Chapter 508 Kill Chu Thieves, Benefit All People [1 more]
But after all, Chu Yi had been away from Beijing for a year, and there were many officials who entered the court from local areas. Most of these officials only heard about Chu Yi's bad reputation, but they had never experienced the pain when facing Chu Yi.
Kind of trembling.
Now that the news of Chu Yi's return to the capital spread in the court, many officials in the court suddenly changed their expressions, and there were also some new officials who showed curiosity.
In the cabinet, several elders headed by Jiao Fang were naturally familiar with Chu Yi. Although many civil and military officials above the court had changed, Zhu Houzhao had not adjusted the cabinet.
These cabinet members were able to maintain high positions amidst the waves of turmoil in the court. Naturally, they were not ordinary people. No matter what these cabinet elders thought of Chu Yi, at least when Chu Yi was at the height of his popularity, they had no regard for Chu Yi's orders.
Everyone will not compromise on execution, which may be called understanding of current affairs.
It was precisely because the cabinet elders were so aware of current affairs that, except for transferring Yang Yiqing and Wang Shouren to the cabinet, Chu Yi did not make any major changes to the cabinet members.
Jiao Fang has been attached to him for these years. It can be said that in the eyes of the world, Jiao Fang is his spokesperson. No matter what Jiao Fang thinks, this cannot be changed. The two of them can be said to be grasshoppers on the same rope. Once Chu Yi
After losing power, among the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, the first unlucky person must be Jiao Fang, who was the chief minister of the cabinet.
Unless Jiao Fang has water in his head, otherwise, even for himself, Jiao Fang must be loyal to Chu Yi.
Obviously, Jiao Fang did not live up to Chu Yi's respect. In the past few years, she had been in charge of the cabinet and had done a good job in regulating the relationship between the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty and Chu Yi, the emperor.
In the cabinet at this time, Jiao Fang put down a memorial in her hand, glanced at the cabinet elders present, and said with a smile on her lips: "Everyone, by now, Your Majesty must have known that the chief steward is about to return.
According to your Majesty's temperament, he will definitely go out of the city to greet you. Regarding this matter, it is best for everyone to draw up a charter as soon as possible. When your Majesty asks, we can have an answer."
Chen Ding stroked his gray beard, glanced at Jiao Fang and said: "Every penny in the national treasury comes from the people of the world. If your majesty wants to go out of the city to meet the general manager, I have no objection, but the ceremony must be simple.
That’s right, otherwise it would be suspected of being extravagant!”
Hearing Chen Ding's words, several other pavilion elders present could not help but show admiration. Among the several pavilion elders, the only one who dared to say this was Chen Ding, a veteran of several dynasties.
Even if this person faced Chu Yi, he was still the elder who dared to challenge Chu Yi.
Wang Yangming is definitely the youngest-looking among all the cabinet elders. The most important thing is that in this cabinet, Wang Yangming's father, Wang Hua, is also a member of the cabinet.
It was definitely the first time in the hundreds of years of the Ming Dynasty that a father and son had joined the cabinet together. When Wang Yangming was summoned to the cabinet by the emperor's decree, he became one of the youngest cabinet ministers. The whole country was immediately fascinated by it.
Rumor.
As the saying goes, there are only two families in the world that can compare with the Wang family. What's more, Wang Yangming was named the Duke of the country based on his military achievements. He has simply reached the pinnacle of his life and made countless people envious and jealous.
Nearly a year later, Jiangnan has been pacified by the imperial counter-rebellion army led by Wang Yangming. Wang Yangming resolutely carried out the orders of Emperor Chu Yitong and went on a mass killing spree against the local gentry and powerful people in Jiangnan. Only the heads of Jiangnan people were killed, and blood flowed.
Drifting oar.
For a time, Wang Yangming almost became a god of murder among the people in the south of the Yangtze River, and his reputation for evil even surpassed that of Chu Yi.
However, the effect of Wang Yangming's move was very shocking. As a large number of gentry and dignitaries in the south of the Yangtze River were involved in Prince Ning's rebellion, their families were confiscated and exterminated. A large amount of land and wealth fell into the hands of the imperial court.
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A steady stream of wealth confiscated from Jiangnan entered the national treasury and the royal inner treasury. Zhu Houzhao could not be more satisfied with Wang Yangming. He recalled Wang Yangming not long ago and appointed him to serve in the cabinet to assist the government.
At this moment, Wang Yangming smiled slightly and said: "What Mr. Chen said is true, but the general manager's expedition to Japan can be said to be a great achievement. He also opened up territory for our Ming Dynasty and captured a lot of wealth. The scale of this triumphant return ceremony is as big as
But if it's too shabby, wouldn't it mean that those barbarians would underestimate the majesty of our Ming Empire?"
Regardless of whether Wang Yangming is willing or not, the world also regards him and Yang Yiqing as Chu Yi's minions. Besides, what kind of person Wang Yangming is and what Chu Yi has done, in the eyes of most scholars in the world, they are great things that are rare throughout the ages.
Traitor, but Wang Yangming had never thought of it that way.
In the final analysis, everything Chu Yi did was for the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty has been passed down for hundreds of years and has been passed down by several emperors. The Ming Empire has already begun to decline. This is the law of the dynasty cycle. No one has ever been able to break the law of the rise and fall of the dynasty.
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Perhaps Wang Yangming did not have the ability to predict the future, but Wang Yangming could see that the Ming Dynasty had a solidified class, serious land annexation, and various unreasonable taxes. The tax revenue of the huge Ming Empire was only a few million taels. This is simply
Absurdity, and all these things, are not signs that the Ming Dynasty, the oldest empire, is gradually declining.
What Chu Yi did was like injecting new blood into Ming Dynasty. Just the huge changes that Ming Dynasty has undergone in the past few years, as long as they don't lie unconscionably, even a fool can see that Ming Dynasty has changed a lot.
It is rejuvenated and it is definitely not an illusion to extend the life of the Ming Dynasty for at least another hundred years.
Therefore, Wang Yangming only has admiration for Chu Yi, and it is reasonable to speak for Chu Yi now.
Yang Yiqing stroked his beard and smiled slightly. As the Minister of the Ministry of War, he can now be said to be very powerful. Although the power of the Ministry of War has been taken away a lot by the Wucheng Army and Horses Division, with the support of Chu Yi, the military has great power.
Sheng, as one of several giants in the military, Yang Yiqing is naturally rising, and he has enjoyed a series of benefits from the increase in military power.
Only Yang Yiqing nodded and said with a smile: "What Yang Ming said is true. You can be more frugal on other things, but this matter cannot be frugal. You must know that this matter is related to the face of the Ming Dynasty, and there is no room for ambiguity."
Wang Yangming and Yang Yiqing spoke up, and the other elders expressed their support for Wang Yangming, Yang Yiqing and the others, no matter what they thought in their hearts.
Although Chen Ding is said to be old-fashioned and loyal, it does not mean that he is a fool who does not know how to adapt. If he really does not know how to adapt, I am afraid that he will not be able to remain at the top of the court for decades as a veteran of several dynasties.
Long.
After pondering for a while, Chen Ding shook his head solemnly and said: "I still insist on my opinion. It is not easy to save so much gold and silver in the national treasury, but it cannot be extravagant and wasteful. The Ministry of Household Affairs can allocate ten thousand taels
The grain silver is used as a ceremonial expense to welcome the victorious return of the Grand Steward. If it exceeds the cost, the Ministry of Revenue will never add an extra penny."
I originally thought that Chen Ding would change his mind slightly when all the pavilion elders nodded, but he never thought that Chen Ding would be so insistent. Now even Wang Yangming and Yang Yiqing had to feel some admiration in their hearts.
At this moment, Jiao Fang, the chief minister of the cabinet, coughed slightly to attract everyone's attention to him. Under the gaze of everyone, Jiao Fang smiled and said: "Master Chen is also devoted to the country, but to welcome the great leader
The affairs of the general manager cannot be neglected. Why don't we and others jointly submit a letter, imploring His Majesty to allocate some silver from the inner treasury to make up for the consumption..."
Hearing what Jiao Fang said, everyone's eyes lit up. Since they couldn't persuade Chen Ding, they should persuade the emperor.
It can be said that everyone in the civil and military circles of the entire dynasty knew how much the emperor valued Chu Yi. If he wanted to ask the emperor to allocate some gold and silver from the inner treasury, the emperor would never hesitate at all.
Sure enough, when a group of pavilion veterans headed by Jiao Fang presented the charter they took out to Zhu Houzhao, Zhu Houzhao, who was accompanying the queen and the prince in Kunning Palace, couldn't help but smiled and shook his head and said: "This old man Chen Ding is still
You are so stubborn, that’s all. In that case, all the expenses required for the ceremony to welcome the grand companion’s triumphant return should come from the inner treasury of the palace.”
Gu Dayong, who was serving on the side, smiled and said, "Your Majesty is wise!"
The queen, who was sitting next to her and almost looking away from the little prince who was playing in the company of several chamberlains and maids, turned her eyes to Zhu Houzhao and said with some confusion: "Your Majesty, I heard that Taifu Chu is coming back.
Already?"
Zhu Houzhao's face was full of joy and he nodded to the queen and said: "Yes, Chu Daban has been away on the war for nearly a year. I missed him very much and sent orders to call him back several times. Now Daban is finally willing to come back.
"
The queen looked at the little prince in the distance, and said with a bit of love in her eyes: "The chief steward is the Taifu appointed by His Majesty. Now that Taifu Chu is back, the emperor will have to trouble Taifu Chu to teach him!"
Zhu Houzhao laughed and said: "That's natural. Chu Daban is erudite and talented. Even the great scholars in the world may not be able to match Daban's talents. That's why I chose Daban as the emperor's tutor. Even if the emperor can learn
With 10% of Daban's talent and learning ability, he will be able to become a wise king in the future!"
The little prince's birth can be said to be of the highest nobility. His mother is the mother of a country, and he is the eldest son. The Ming Dynasty attaches great importance to etiquette. It has been set by the Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, even if it was later seized by the emperor Zhu Di under the banner of the Qing Emperor.
The emperor's eldest grandson held the throne, but Zhu Di, who was firmly established in the throne, was also a staunch defender of the eldest son succession system.
It can be said that unless the young prince dies young or the prince rebels, it will be difficult for even the emperor to abolish his natural status as prince. At least the civil and military officials of the dynasty will not agree.
Let’s look at the three divisions that Zhu Houzhao arranged for the young prince, Chu Yi, Wang Yangming, and Yang Yiqing. These three are definitely powerful giants in the middle of the court. This shows how much the emperor loves and values his eldest son.
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Across the vast ocean from Japan to the Ming Dynasty, in the golden autumn, the fleet, which had been drifting on the sea for more than half a month, finally arrived safely in Shanghai County, Songjiang Prefecture.
Since the Huating City Shipping Department was wiped out by the wealthy gentry and maritime merchants who colluded with the Japanese pirates, the imperial court reestablished the City Shipping Department as quickly as possible and built a large number of ports in Shanghai County.
Nearly a year has passed, and the port that was originally just a small fishing village has now become one of the most prosperous ports on the southeast coast of the Ming Dynasty.
With a large number of merchant ships going out to sea, several ports naturally glowed with vitality, and their prosperity was simply beyond imagination.
On this day, a group of dozens of officials, including the magistrate of Songjiang Prefecture, the head of the Shipping Department of Huating City, and the magistrate of Shanghai County, were standing on the port looking at the sea in the distance, surrounded by government officials.
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Not long ago, a group of officials received news that the general manager Chu Yi had returned in triumph and that the fleet was about to land at the port of Shanghai County.
For these officials, it was okay not to know what a distinguished figure Chu Yi was. Now that they knew it, they naturally came early to wait for Chu Yi's return.
There are a large number of merchant ships parked in the port. Some of these merchant ships are preparing to go to sea, and some are returning from overseas. Those who dare to go to sea are naturally not ordinary people.
It can be said that these businessmen are definitely the most well-informed group, and many of them have connections with the government.
Since the news of Chu Yi's return has spread among the officials, it is natural that they cannot hide it from these well-informed maritime merchants.
Now seeing the governor of Songjiang Prefecture and other officials appearing in the port one by one, even a fool can guess that these officials must be waiting for the return of the general manager Chu Yi.
Regarding Chu Yi, the attitudes of the maritime merchants were polarized. To be precise, those maritime merchant families who had made huge profits from maritime trade before the sea opened only hated Chu Yi but did not feel the slightest gratitude.
And those maritime merchants who went to sea when Chu Yi insisted on opening the sea naturally felt grateful to Chu Yi after earning a lot of wealth.
Even with the help of the case of Huating City Shipping Company being exterminated, the imperial court almost wiped out the maritime merchants and gentry in Huating and several counties in Shanghai. However, in the huge Songjiang Prefecture, there are more than just a few maritime merchants.
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Songjiang Prefecture is close to the river and the sea, especially Shanghai, which is definitely one of the natural excellent ports. It is jointly controlled by a group of maritime merchants. Now that the imperial court has opened the sea, the port has naturally fallen into the hands of the imperial court.
The establishment of a listed shipping company cut off a big piece of fat from these maritime merchants, and I don’t know how many maritime merchants scolded them behind their backs.
As the saying goes, cutting off a person's financial path is like killing one's parents. Although Chu Yi's opening of the sea did not cut off the financial path of those maritime merchants in the past, it greatly reduced their interests, and they had to pay a business tax that was heartbreaking.
, it is conceivable that as maritime trade becomes more and more prosperous, these maritime merchants hate Chu Yi more and more in their hearts.
On an inconspicuous merchant ship, several figures were hidden in black robes, with only a pair of eyes exposed.
Only one of them could be heard saying in a hoarse voice: "Everyone, we have been planning for a long time, and now we have finally waited for this God-given opportunity. I hope we can eradicate the eunuch Chu Yi in one fell swoop, eliminate harm to the people, and benefit all people!"
