Chapter 357 There is no such thing as a feast that lasts
Zhu Houzhao had thought about the scene when the courtiers would pay homage to the crown prince after he was appointed the crown prince, and he also thought about the scene when the courtiers and the common people would start to pay attention to Zhu Zailei after he decided to abdicate. However, he did not expect that these officials would behave so excitedly when he decided to abdicate!
Many times, Zhu Houzhao didn't feel that he was doing well as an emperor, and most people's indifference to politics and lack of concern for the emperor made him think that he had not touched the people of the empire much at all.
But Zhu Houzhao did not expect that when he decided to abdicate and leave the Ming Dynasty's political arena, the people of the empire would be so heartbroken.
However, if you have the way, there will always be a feast in the world.
Zhu Houzhao would not choose to stay just because people in the empire began to express their unwillingness to let him leave the center of imperial power.
Once he decides on something, he has no intention of changing it.
Therefore, Zhu Houzhao just walked down the jade steps calmly and walked to the emperor's eldest son Zhu Zailei: "You see, how reluctant they are to be their father means how heavy your burden will be in the future."
With that said, Zhu Houzhao helped up the eldest son of the emperor, Zhu Zailei, who was also kneeling on the ground, and then immediately helped the second son of the emperor, Zhu Zaitu.
Zhu Zailei was in a pleasant mood. After all, he was now established as the prince, which even meant that he would ascend the throne as the emperor after the Longevity Festival.
However, like the civil and military officials, when he saw the people outside the Forbidden City who were deeply afraid of returning to the era of fate because his father was about to abdicate, and when he saw the ministers inside the Forbidden City who were anxious because his father was about to abdicate, he thought He also became a little uneasy when he thought that he was about to take charge of this empire where the steam industry and small peasant society coexisted, and where Confucian clans and joint-stock companies coexisted.
He once thought that he was over fifty and had contact with the workers and peasants at the lowest level of the empire, as well as the middle-level gentry and businessmen, and had led the empire's most high-end technology. But at this moment, when he found out that he was about to take over from his father. He still felt like he was walking on thin ice when it came to this empire.
At the same time, Zhu Zailei did feel pressure, a kind of pressure from his father. He knew that his father was great. After all, he exempted the world from corvee, established a social security system, and developed industry to solve the problem of tens of millions of people. The issue of becoming refugees due to the contradiction between man and land...etc.
But at this moment, Zhu Zailei still did not expect that his father's abdication would frighten so many people. He knew that this meant how difficult it would be for him to surpass his father in the imperial career.
When Zhu Houzhao was drafting the edict to establish the crown prince and prepare to abdicate, he also enfeoffed other princes who stayed in Beijing.
Among them, the second son of the emperor was named King of Song Dynasty, and the fiefdom was Folangji, which was occupied by Ming Dynasty not long ago.
The second son of the emperor, Zhu Zaitu, was naturally very disappointed. After all, he did not become the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, but he knew that his father was worthy of him and granted him a wealthy area.
He had already learned about the wealth of Fo Langji from Yu Dayou, and when he saw the officials and people showing extreme reluctance towards his father who decided to abdicate, he also knew that anyone who took over the throne would face his father. This huge mountain belongs to the emperor.
Therefore, Zhu Zaitu felt a little lucky at this time. He was glad that he did not bear such great pressure. He even wanted to see how his royal brother faced the pressure from his father.
Zhu Houzhao had no intention of changing his original intention. After the edict was read out, he drove back to the palace and asked the eunuch and eunuch to pass on the edict. He also assisted the cabinet and the Ministry of Rites to prepare for the crown prince's canonization ceremony, prepare for the Longevity Festival birthday celebration ceremony, and His own abdication ceremony.
Seeing this, Xia Yan, Zhang Rong and other civil and military officials knew that they could only accept this reality now. The emperor was unwilling to do it, and they could not force him to continue.
Although the civil and military officials did not want Emperor Zhu Houzhao to abdicate, because the crown prince's canonization ceremony was approaching, they had to withdraw from their sorrow and manage the affairs.
But for the common people, after learning from the official media that Emperor Zhu Houzhao had decided to abdicate, they all became more depressed, and their desire for consumption and entertainment dropped significantly. The prosperity of the empire's commercial economy was even greatly affected by this. The most direct The performance is that the stock market suffered a setback.
Of course, although Zhu Houzhao abdicated, he did not mean to abdicate immediately. At present, Zhu Houzhao is still in the position of emperor, handling the military and national affairs of the empire.
However, what is different from the past is that Zhu Houzhao asked Zhu Zailei to resign from the position of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and go directly to Hanbitang to participate in government affairs with him.
In order to have some free time, Zhu Houzhao had basically handed over all the daily responsibilities to Zhu Zailei. Only when Zhu Zailei encountered difficulties did he, as the emperor, give guidance.
Not only did Zhu Houzhao begin to give Zhu Zailei some power, but even Xia Yan and Zhang Rong, the only two ministers who are still presiding over the court recommendation, also gave Zhu Zailei face and unanimously recommended Zhu Zailei at the council meeting. Xu Jie, a trusted official of Lei, joined the cabinet and served as the third assistant to the cabinet, while Yan Song filled in as the second assistant.
Even when it came to the appointment of new political ministers, Zhu Houzhao asked Zhu Zailei to determine it himself before reporting it to him, so that Zhu Zailei could gradually become familiar with taking charge of the entire empire.
Zhu Zailei knew that the minister was a prime minister who could decide major affairs of the court, so he naturally did not dare to be disrespectful. After considering the interests of himself and his father, he finally decided to follow the old practice of Zhu Houzhao, so he reported to Zhu Houzhao:
"Father, my son and ministers think that Yan Song, Xu Jie, Wen Yuan, and Yu Dayou can be added as ministers to discuss government affairs. Yan Song and Xu Jie are originally cabinet ministers. They are in the central position and should have the power and responsibility to recommend in the court;
And Wen Yuan is a heavenly official in the Ministry of Personnel, who is in charge of the world, so he should naturally have the power and responsibility to recommend;
Now that Jiangdong is seriously ill, he should be relieved of his duties as minister of political affairs and should be replaced by Yu Dayou. Yu Dayou is an upstart in the army. He has experienced the recovery of Jiaozhi and the expedition to the West. He is familiar with the generals at all levels in the Ming Dynasty. He should serve as deputy envoy to the privy council and also discuss political affairs. Ministers can enable the empire to select famous future officials. ”
Zhu Houzhao saw that Zhu Zailei only included one of his own people among the newly appointed political ministers, and the rest were chosen out of public concern, so he had no objection and nodded:
"That's very good. In that case, you can draft an edict on behalf of your father and send it to the Guards to confer Yu Dayou with a title but not a title."
But because Zhu Zailei had inserted Xu Jie into the ranks of ministers, Zhu Houzhao had to think more about Xu Jie.
Zhu Houzhao knew Xu Jie and knew that he was one of the most powerful figures in the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty. Even the cunning Yan Song could not deal with Xu Jie in history.
But Zhu Houzhao also knew that Xu Jie was also very capable of making a fortune in history. After serving as an official for many years, he managed to transform his family from a middle- and lower-class landlord family into a large family with 400,000 acres of fertile land! Zhu Houzhao didn't know whether Xu Jie had accumulated wealth in this life, but he also had to be wary of whether Xu Jie would affect Zhu Zailei, and influence Zhu Zailei to turn the Ming Empire into a country that only safeguarded the interests of carnivores step by step in the future. To the extent that it no longer actively develops industry, no longer increases investment in social public infrastructure, no longer increases social welfare security, and no longer protects the most basic bottom line of civilian interests.
Zhu Houzhao felt that he had to guard against this day happening, at least not to let the Ming Empire continue to exploit farmers and be unwilling to develop industry under the influence of these people. After all, the inertia of the small peasant economy in the Ming Dynasty was still very strong.
"Father, this is a memorial from the Bureau of Statistics. It states that the national treasury revenue has increased by 10% compared with last year, while the proportion of agricultural tax revenue has dropped to 1.6%, and the proportion of tax revenue from non-government-run businesses, company workshops, etc. The proportion has been increased to 40%." At this time, Zhu Zailei handed Zhu Houzhao a memorial.
Today's Ming Empire court also began to conduct a lot of data statistics when ruling the empire, and carried out macro-control based on the data.
At this moment, when Zhu Houzhao heard that Zhu Zailei said that the income from agricultural taxes accounted for less than 2% of the national treasury income, he was quite shocked. After hurriedly confirming that it was correct, he suddenly had a bigger plan in mind.
……
"Your Majesty, the legacy of Taizu, the legacy of Taizu, and the great achievements of Emperor Cheng have brought peace to the whole country, and all the barbarians are in submission. However, the world has been relying on your Majesty for a long time. Your Majesty is concerned about the safety of the country, and your Majesty's great rule is only a moment away!
However, Your Majesty suddenly wants to abandon all the people and find peace alone. Although he is safe for himself, he will make the world uneasy! Don't you hear the wails of all the peoples in the four seas! Between heaven and earth, the sun and moon are colorless! If Your Majesty wants to be idle and idle, it will be unjust to abandon the world! Prince Kuang is newly established and does not know the actual situation..."
At this time, Hai Rui went to the Taoist Memorial Book and directly criticized Zhu Houzhao for not abdicating the throne and seeking happiness for himself.
Seeing this, Yang Lin, the imperial censor of Zuodu, couldn't help shouting and asking: "Hai Rui, are you crazy? The emperor values you so much. He allows you to control the world's public opinion, and also allows you to be an official of Feng Xian. Yet you dare to take office?" Impeach Your Majesty directly, what do you think of your father by doing this?”
"The General Xian calmed down because it was not because Hai Rui didn't understand the divine grace, nor because Hai Rui disrespected the emperor and his father. However, since Hai Rui has been reused by the emperor, controlling public opinion and admonishing the stage, it is even more impossible to sit back and watch the emperor fall into this unjust place. Today, The emperor is the first to carry forward the past and open up the future A saintly king, the world cannot leave him for a moment, just as hungry people who have had a good meal do not want to suffer from hunger anymore. If the emperor abandons all people at this time, all people in the world will be in trouble. Hai Mou wants to advise your majesty not to hurt the hearts of all people!"
Hai Rui bowed deeply to Yang Lin and said.
Yang Lin turned the wheelchair himself and took out the big seal: "Forget it, I will stamp this seal for you and submit it to the emperor. If the mud ox falls into the sea, don't blame me for stopping you from fulfilling the hope of all people!"
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Zhu Houzhao didn't even read Hai Rui's memorial, and he didn't even know about it, because he had already explained to the crown prince Zhu Zailei that any memorial from officials urging him to withdraw his decision to abdicate would be ignored or rejected.
One autumn moon, half a lifetime of leisure, Zhu Houzhao did not believe that he could not enjoy the retirement life in his later years. The little prince born to Elizabeth staggered over with little Cuju in his arms. He had just put the little Cuju in his two chubby hands. In front of Zhu Houzhao's boots, Zhu Houzhao kicked him out and landed in the net in front of the flower stand. The little prince was so happy that he just clapped his hands: "Father is so awesome!"
Zhu Houzhao touched his waist and said, "If it weren't for your mother, I could play again. Let's go and accompany my father to see how the Imperial Stadium they built is going."
But at this time, Crown Prince Zhu Zailei ran over and saw Zhu Houzhao holding a boy with fair skin, black hair and dark eyes. For a moment, he didn't know if he was his brother or his nephew. He only nodded after the little boy called him His Royal Highness. He nodded, and then said to Zhu Houzhao:
"Father, England sent a messenger to say that their Queen Mary I has passed away and they want to take Yi Xuan back to England to inherit the throne."
"Shi Yi Xuan is pregnant now, so it is naturally inconvenient for her to go to England to inherit the throne. Moreover, Shi Yi Xuan loves me deeply and cannot be away from me for a moment. So just tell me what I want and ask the cabinet to reply to the envoy from England. I can let the prince Zhu Zaidong go. England will inherit the throne. In addition, I would like to warn the envoys from England to say that it was me who said it. As an in-law of the English royal family, I must not sit back and watch others. The kingdom has usurped the inheritance rights of the English royal family! The only ones who can legally inherit the king of England are Yi Xuanshi and his son Zhu Zaidong. Let the cabinet draft a decree to confer the title of King Zhu Zaidong, and appoint a great scholar with both ability and political integrity to serve as chief of staff. Shi, choose another general to lead two regiments of navy and army, ready to escort the King of England to the West to inherit the throne of England."
Zhu Houzhao naturally would not let Elizabeth go back, because he knew that Elizabeth was a very powerful politician. Once he let Elizabeth go back, who knows whether Elizabeth would allow England to continue to rise as it had in history.
But now, Mary I passed away, Zhu Houzhao asked his son to inherit the throne of England, and he just took the opportunity to annex England in a non-war way. So, why not do it.
"It's just a pity that my youngest son is not yet a minor, so I have to send him across the ocean to inherit the imperial legacy left by his grandfather!"
Zhu Houzhao sighed for a while, and Elizabeth's attendant couldn't help but ask Zhu Houzhao: "Your Majesty, why don't you let me go back and inherit the throne? If I go back, I will definitely be able to conquer many countries like you!"
"I don't need you to conquer other countries, you just need to conquer me at this time." Zhu Houzhao said. Although he is nearly seventy years old, he still has a sword that is not old. He also wants to wait until Elizabeth gives birth to her second child. , let Elizabeth give birth to another child, lest this Elizabeth only knows about conquest.
Just when Zhu Houzhao asked the cabinet to ask the English envoy to allow the Ming Dynasty King Zhu Zaidong to return to inherit the throne, Zhu Houzhao decided to do one last good thing to benefit the people before abdicating the throne. He summoned officials from the cabinet and the Ministry of Household Affairs and proposed:
"I have decided to abolish the agricultural tax and make it clear to the world that starting from the first year of the new emperor, the people in the Central Empire of the Ming Dynasty will no longer collect agricultural tax! And it will never be levied! This is my last grace to the people of the world!"
Abolish agricultural tax?
All the officials present were as happy as if they had won the first place in the imperial examination.
Because even when the Han and Tang Dynasties were prosperous, there was no edict to permanently abolish agricultural taxes. At most, they were nothing more than frivolous corvee and low taxes.
However, now the Ming Dynasty has been able to abolish the agricultural tax in the world. This is not only a manifestation of the benevolence of the Ming Dynasty, but also a grand event that can only be achieved when the empire is so wealthy that it has never been seen before.
Xia Yan, the chief minister of the cabinet, bowed to Zhu Houzhao first and said: "I thank the emperor for all the people, and the emperor will be grateful to him forever. This is the blessing of our people in the Ming Dynasty!"
The same was true for Yan Song, who all expressed their sincere gratitude to Zhu Houzhao.
Crown Prince Zhu Zailei and Xu Jie also began to salute.
When the old minister who was a Jinshi in the 18th year of Hongzhi heard about it, he looked north and kowtowed, and burst into tears: "Although I have been through the three dynasties of Chenghua, Hongzhi and Zhengde, I never dared to imagine such a grand event. Agricultural tax, this is something that has never been possible for emperors throughout the ages! The prosperity of the Ming Dynasty has already surpassed that of Yao and Shun, far surpassing that of Tang and Wu!"
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(End of chapter)