Chapter 442 Flying clouds and rising dragons, Dapeng transports the wind
Wang Chonggu is not pushing the envelope, but his ability and current situation do not allow him to do it. There are only two people who can promote this matter, that is Zhang Juzheng and His Majesty, in Zhang Juzheng In the fundamentalist class theory, the emperor is a separate class, a detached class that cannot and cannot make mistakes. Therefore, there is actually only one person who can do this, and that is Zhang Juzheng, a minister.
The emperor can choose to support it, because the emperor stepped forward to promote land equalization and caused a big mess, and there was no way to end it. This has always been the rule of the game, such as Shang Yang's reform, such as Chao Cuo's reduction of feudal lords. , such as Wang Anshi who implemented the New Deal, such as Yu Qian who deposed the emperor and established a new emperor, such as Zhang Juzheng now.
When the ministers promote great changes, causing irreversible and bad consequences, the ministers bear the responsibility. Official appointments, beheadings, and clan executions are all the price of bearing responsibility.
Now the issue is stuck here. Wang Chonggu raised it and needs someone to implement it.
Zhang Juzheng thought for a while and said: "I will take charge of this matter."
Don't worry if there are too many lice. Zhang Juzheng has too many lice on his body. , six volumes and one account, rectification of academic affairs, the Ming Dynasty meeting, not paying salaries to clan members (the princes and below have to make a living on their own), etc. Zhang Juzheng offended the virtuous rural gentry, prominent families, powerful right-wingers, and elected officials. All officials in the world, hereditary military honors, clan members, and even the emperor, it can be said that he has offended all classes except the poor and coolies.
Zhang Juzheng’s New Five Matters confirmed the emperor’s five obligations, which stipulated and limited the emperor’s responsibilities. Zhu Yijun himself was not dissatisfied with this and implemented it in depth. Zhu Yijun believed that rights and responsibilities were equal. Yes, since we are supreme, we must also fulfill our responsibilities.
But the matter itself is of the same nature as Gao Gong's attempt to knock out the Supervisor of Ceremonies. It is a transgression and a transgression of the Lord's majestic power.
"Sir, this is a big matter. I think we can start by counting the number of Dingkou. Once we have found out the Dingkou, we can then determine the categories of superiority and inferiority, and divide them into fertile and barren ones. "The number is very high," Zhu Yijun said.
In terms of superiority and inferiority, not every acre of land is fertile and crops can be harvested three times a year. It is also based on local conditions. The acres of land are divided into three grades. The standards for grading are fertile, barren, and silt-rich. These were marked during the Hongwu period. .
"I obey the order." Zhang Juzheng obeyed the order of his leader.
As the emperor, Zhu Yijun would never leave Zhang Juzheng alone. From the time he assassinated the king, Zhang Juzheng used the assassination of the emperor in exchange for the implementation of the imperial examination law, and from the time when the Ministry of Personnel and Yang Bo became officials, Zhu Yijun has been supporting him. Zhang Juzheng, to be more clear, Zhang Juzheng's New Deal would only be blocked at every turn if it were not for the emperor's connivance.
This time too, Zhu Yijun issued an order, and it was a very clear order, asking Zhang Juzheng to investigate Dingkou's production of the yellow book. The responsibility was still borne by Zhang Juzheng, but he acted according to the order.
As he said before, he wanted to see whether the world sinned against me or I sinned against the world.
In the original history, something happened that completely broke up Emperor Wanli and Zhang Juzheng. In November of the eighth year of Wanli, Emperor Wanli had a night banquet in the palace.
Emperor Wanli was strictly managed by the Empress Dowager and Zhang Juzheng, and had always been cautious. Finally, under the leadership of a eunuch named Sun Hai, the emperor opened the door to the new world. He had a night banquet in the palace, so happy and drunk After getting drunk, he led the eunuchs on a rampage and asked two maids to dance. The maids couldn't dance. The eighteen-year-old Emperor Wanli was so angry that he wanted to behead the maids in public.
In the end, the trouble got so bad that Emperor Wanli shaved off the maid's pigtails, which was regarded as a symbolic beheading.
This farce happened at the end of November, but broke out in early December. When Queen Mother Li learned about it, she was furious and took Emperor Wanli to the Ancestral Temple. Queen Mother Li cried, Emperor Wanli also cried, and then Queen Mother Li It was decreed that the cabinet should draw up his own notes and let Emperor Wanli read them in the Ancestral Temple.
Eighteen-year-old Emperor Wanli was very dissatisfied, and immediately issued an edict: I have repented, and Sun Haike used him to tempt me into doing anything. Now I am reduced to a small fire, and I will be placed in Nanjing, and I will be the ceremonial supervisor and so on. The imperial court supported me so kindly, but when I saw that I occasionally fell into a coma, I should be advised. It was because I was happy for a moment and kept silent, relying on the teachings of the Holy Mother. Now I have changed my ways and set out to drive away evildoers. If there are such villains in the future, I will mention them together.
Being dragged to the Ancestral Temple by Empress Dowager Li to teach him a lesson was a matter within the family. The Sinner's Notes must not be read. It is self-evident what the emperor's edict to sin against oneself meant. It is not clear that Empress Dowager Li lived deep in the inner palace. Emperor Wanli Still understand.
Empress Dowager Li was even more dissatisfied and demanded that Sun Hai, the eunuch who had seduced the emperor into absurdity, be killed. She also issued an edict to the cabinet and asked Zhang Juzheng to lead the ministers to remonstrate and execute Sun Hai and other eunuchs on the spot.
The Queen Mother wanted to kill Sun Hai and other eunuchs, while Emperor Wanli wanted to demote him to a small fireman (a firewood chopper) and send them to Nanjing.
With the empress dowager on one side and the emperor on the other, Zhang Juzheng's cabinet was in a dilemma. In the end, he came up with a suggestion: Send Sun Hai and other eunuchs to the streamside, a smog-ridden land. This is a harmonious approach, a compromise, aggravating some punishments, but not killing people, so that everyone can save face.
Emperor Wanli was very satisfied with Zhang Juzheng's attitude, so he wrote a copybook and gave it to Zhang Juzheng. He also said that he should advise me again and handle state affairs carefully instead of neglecting his studies.
Zhang Juzheng replied very cautiously: I am separated from the outer court and do not dare to believe the rumors, and the imperial government has not found any shortcomings, so I do not dare to say anything.
The meaning of Zhang Juzheng's words is very clear: As long as there are no deficiencies in the government's affairs, such a small issue as the night banquet, he will not care about it.
Empress Dowager Li was still dissatisfied. After conducting an in-depth investigation into the case, she listed the eunuchs Sun Dexiu and Wen Gong, the eunuchs of the Bureau of Rites, and Zhou Hai, the eunuch of the War Bureau, as accomplices, and asked Zhang Juzheng to lead the cabinet ministers. Once again he was admonished to have his head beheaded in public as a warning to others.
At this point, Zhang Juzheng, the master who pretended to be confused, was still pretending to be confused. He never submitted the crucial "Notes of a Sinner" to the palace.
Emperor Wanli, Empress Dowager Li, Zhang Juzheng, and Feng Bao never cared about the life and death of eunuchs such as Sun Hai, Sun Dexiu, Wen Gong, and Zhou Hai. Instead, they revolved around the "Notes of Sinful Self". In the palace, Empress Dowager Li wins, but if Sinner Notes does not enter the palace, Emperor Wanli wins.
Zhang Juzheng has been pretending to be confused, refusing to kill, only willing to be exiled. His attitude is very clear. Zhang Juzheng is not willing to write a note about his sins, but only wants to prevaricate and fool by the Holy Mother's sincere teachings and His Majesty's repentance.
In the rebellious period, Emperor Wanli became more and more rebellious, and the things he did became more and more ridiculous. Night banquets soon became the norm. Empress Dowager Li could not restrain her, and finally had the idea of deposing the emperor. A biography of "Huo Guang" Arrived at the cabinet.
Huo Guang, the great Sima general of the Western Han Dynasty, once did something. He deposed the dissolute emperor Haihunhou Liu He and replaced him with Liu Xun, the emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty.
Empress Dowager Li's meaning is very clear. If you don't write the Notes of Sinner, the absurd Wanli Emperor cannot hold on to his ancestral heritage, so he will make King Zhu Yili of Lu the emperor.
At this time, Zhang Juzheng finally could no longer pretend to be confused, so he took the sinner's notes to the palace on the grounds that "the holy will was not as good as before". In the end, several eunuchs were imprisoned. Those who were demoted to Xiaohuo were resettled in Nanjing. Emperor Wanli went to the Ancestral Temple to read the Notes of Sinners and promised not to commit the crime again in the future.
Things seemed to have come to an end here, but Emperor Wanli was extremely dissatisfied with Zhang Juzheng's final compromise. He didn't even reply to Zhang Juzheng's exhortation note, but asked Feng Bao to be handed over directly to Empress Dowager Li. Ended by agreeing to the request.
Zhang Juzheng knew clearly that he did not have much time left for him, so he hurriedly promoted a whipping method. However, there are two important prerequisites for the implementation of a whipping method: sufficient silver and excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes to be merged into the fields. It was not completed, and the whip method was not completed after all.
Now, Zhang Juzheng finally has enough time to slowly make plans to make the New Deal more stable and able to operate stably.
During the turmoil over the deposed emperor, Empress Dowager Li's main concern was that Emperor Wanli was ineffective and could not maintain the ancestral foundation. Therefore, Emperor Wanli was very angry and severely punished any ridiculous behavior of Emperor Wanli.
Empress Dowager Li's worries were correct. Emperor Wanli was indeed ineffective and failed to maintain the inheritance of his ancestors.
"Your Majesty, last time the Queen Mother issued an edict to the cabinet, saying that she wanted to supplement the nine concubines and ordered the Ministry of Rites to select beauties to enter the palace. Your Majesty said last time that it would not be necessary for the time being. Can this matter be handled by the Ministry of Rites in the next chapter?" Zhang Juzheng said. An old thing.
For the sake of the sexual happiness of the two sisters, the Queen said that Concubine Li and Concubine Liu were pregnant and would have another child. Zhu Yijun was right. After that time, Concubine Li and Concubine Liu had been sleeping together. They had been together before. How conservative you were, now how liberal you are.
"Ah, I forgot about this. Let's talk about it after the army returns home in triumph." Zhu Yijun only remembered this after being reminded by Zhang Juzheng.
The Queen was pregnant, Concubine Ran Shu and Concubine Zhou De were recovering from childbirth, Concubine Liu and Concubine Li were still not pregnant while sleeping, and Zhu Yijun never thought of it.
Now, Empress Dowager Li was not worried at all that Zhu Yijun was ineffective and could not defend the ancestral kingdom. Instead, she felt that the emperor paid too much attention to state affairs and neglected the harem. She wished that Zhu Yijun could have a night banquet in the palace, which was ridiculous.
The last time Empress Dowager Li issued an order to replenish the harem, Zhu Yijun has not bothered to do it now. He has really forgotten.
"There is no contradiction between the triumph of the army and the acceptance of concubines into the palace." Wan Shihe raised his doubts. The Ministry of Rites was ready and communicated with Feng Bao, the envoy of flowers and birds. The emperor has been stuck. No matter what, the reason now is that the army went out to fight.
"In the twenty-sixth year of Kaiyuan, Zhang Shougui, the governor of Youzhou, fought against the Xi people. He lost the battle but lied about the military situation. Gao Shi wrote a satirical poem "Yan Ge Xing", saying: The first half of the warrior army is alive and dead. The beauty is still singing and dancing in the tent." Zhu Yijun shook his head and said: "It is hard for the soldiers on the front line to fight. I pay tribute to the emperor's billions. I should give up drinking and feasting to focus on daily life, focus on raising children, and save rewards and money, but play. It is good to calm one's mind, to have tens of thousands of friends to clarify the common government, and to teach diligently to help govern."
"This is the way for a monarch to build a province. The army spends thousands of dollars on campaigns, and the soldiers are out in the bitter cold. I heard that I am here. The capital is naturally dissatisfied with the acceptance of the concubine, so it would be better to wait for the army to return in triumph."
"Your Majesty's virtue is shining brightly!" Wan Shihe just felt a headache!
You have learned it. Your Majesty has really learned it. Your Majesty has learned the classic trick of Confucian scholars, chanting sutras!
There is a lot of reasonable nonsense. There is no problem with this truth. The key is that Queen Mother Li only urges the Ministry of Rites, and it is their Rites Ministry that is in trouble!
But Wan Shi and this courtier could not say that if His Majesty keeps concubines in the rear, the soldiers in the front would not be dissatisfied. This is to persuade the emperor to be a coward.
From Zhu Yijun's perspective, it is not appropriate to have a concubine now. It's a bit like, brothers are fighting hard on the front line, and I have found two sisters-in-law for you in the capital!
Isn’t this nonsense?
But the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty actually didn’t care much about this. The emperor of the Ming Dynasty did not deduct their war food and salary to pay for the concubine. I will do my job and the emperor will fulfill his pre-war promise. It doesn’t matter what you, the emperor, do. .
Wan Shihe really had no way to slander, because His Majesty used a light cake every day, which showed that Zhenwu was determined and shared the joys and sorrows with the soldiers.
Empress Dowager Li was very dissatisfied with Concubine Li and Concubine Liu because they had been in the palace for a long time, Wang Yaozhuo was already pregnant with her second child, and Concubine Li and Concubine Liu had occupied the emperor's time for several months. There was no movement at all. The seedlings that did not bear fruit would naturally have to be shoveled away. Empress Dowager Li had been urging the Ministry of Rites to recruit beauties as soon as possible. Wan Shihe was also in a dilemma. Empress Dowager Li was urging her, but Your Majesty was not in a hurry at all. He was a minister and could only be angry at being splinted.
"Your Majesty, the special envoy from Taixi asked a few questions about the Ming Dynasty's campaign, and one of them is quite interesting." Wan Shihe finished talking about business and talked about what he had heard recently Interesting facts.
"What's the problem?" Zhu Yijun asked curiously.
Wan Shihe said: "Does the gunpowder, lead and other materials wasted by the Ming army during the war need to be compensated?"
"What do you mean? Compensation? What compensation?" Zhu Yijun I was stunned for a moment, what kind of hell problem is this? Is it because I am too stupid to understand the question?
Wan Shihe explained more clearly: "Not every gunpowder will hit the enemy after being fired. Gunpowder is so expensive. The artillery fire has no effect. The side chariot is damaged and abandoned by the roadside. This All the armaments were prepared by the imperial court, so who will bear the loss? "
"Ah this..." Zhu Yijun looked at Zeng Xingwu, the Minister of War, and then looked at Da Situ. Wang Guoguang and Young Master Zhang Xueyan said with confused faces: "I have always claimed to be stingy, but this question makes me full of doubts. The soldiers fought for the Ming Dynasty and died for the country. Do I still have to compensate them?"
"It seems that I am not stingy enough, nor am I right. This is not a question of whether to be stingy or not."
Wan Shihe looked around and said with a dumbfounded expression: "The Minister of Honglu Temple, Chen Xuexue, will Question: If nothing else, how can you claim compensation if the soldier died on the battlefield? Ligasi said: He still has family members. "
In the West Flower Hall of Damingtong Palace. It was so quiet that the sound of the wind blowing through the curtain could be heard clearly.
It is difficult for Zhu Yijun to imagine that kind of scene. After the soldiers went to the front line, the Ming Dynasty Ministry of Household Qing Lisi Langzhong sent a bill to the other party's family: "Your son died for the country. I inform you with great sadness. to you. Before his death, your son used side chariots, muskets, long and short soldiers, armor, etc., all worth XX taels of silver raised and manufactured by the imperial court. This is the bill. After deducting the pension, the remaining part will be charged at XX Interest will be calculated. Overdue interest will be charged at XX interest penalty. Please pay as soon as possible. Thank you and your family for your contribution to the country. ]
"This cannot be summarized by simple cultural differences. Is this documentary literature from The Merchant of Venice?" Zhu Yijun was stunned for a moment and finally asked his doubts.
If he really did this, Zhu Yijun felt that he had better unscrew his head and play football for the soldiers, which saved the intermediate link. Before the Ming Dynasty, it was already outrageous not to pay full wages, and to claim war losses from the soldiers...
Wan Shihe suppressed a laugh and said, "I don't know. Chen Xuexue can only express shock and confusion about this."
"Haha." Zhu Yijun and the ministers all laughed, Xi The flower hall was filled with cheerful air.
Even in the West, Spanish soldiers will not demand compensation for the loss of equipment on the front line due to the losses of their troops in the war. Only Venetian merchants in the entire West will do this. Similar to the Ming Dynasty, which has always been light on business, the West also Hated The Merchant of Venice.
Collecting the bones for official burial, offering condolences and praying for blessings, building ancestral halls and temples, paying funeral expenses, sending envoys to express condolences, exempting people from taxes and servitude, providing for heirs, and giving preferential treatment to survivors are all clearly stated pension regulations in the Ming Dynasty. For example: the army will pay a funeral fee of one stone for those who died in battle, and will be granted five years of reinstatement, and half of those who died of illness in the camp; soldiers who were wounded in battle will be expelled from their ranks, and will be granted three years of reinstatement; if a general is killed in battle, his son will be hereditary, and one rank will be added, etc.
Be loyal to the country, be virtuous to the people, build a temple to bestow honors, build a temple to pay homage, this is a sentence that every loyal and brave martyrs’ temple has, it comes from the emperor’s handwriting, and it has been the same throughout the ages. .
In many places, the Zhongyong Martyrs' Shrine is used as a temple for the City God and the Earth God, and the people spontaneously worship it.
On May 12th in the ninth year of Wanli, the light rain in Tianjie was as moist as crisp. The Ming Dynasty gradually entered the rainy season. The rainy season on the grassland was later than the original one. When the Ming army’s campaign was still going on, the Songjiang Mansion of the Ming Dynasty The Municipal Shipping Department ushered in a special fleet.
The Ming Dynasty Exploration Fleet, led by Xu Jiugao and Liu Ji, finally returned to Songjiang Mansion after a full year of sailing and completed its circumnavigation.
Songjiang Prefecture New Port is one of the busiest ports in the Ming Dynasty. Songjiang Governor Shen Shixing could not order the port to be closed to welcome the return of the exploration fleet, but Shen Shixing still cleared a section of the channel to allow five ships and five ships to return. The over-masted ship, a stargazer, sailed into the berth smoothly.
Outside the new port, the waiting barge finally saw the sentry post on the top of the ocean-going ship. The seabirds were not afraid of danger and landed on the mast. The sailboat's canvas gradually appeared in everyone's field of vision, and the Big Dipper flag was on it. The sea breeze continued to roll, and as they approached the port, the five large sailing ships gradually dropped their canvas, and the barges threw the ropes to the large ships.
The barge was pulling five large sailing ships gradually towards the port. Seeing this scene, Shen Shixing walked down from the tide watching building and came to the end of the port berth trestle, waiting for the returning warriors.
Xu Jiugao stepped off the trestle, stepped on the hardened ground, chopped his feet hard, and said sincerely: "The earth is under our feet. We sailed eastward from Songjiang Prefecture, passing by Ryukyu Naha, Japan, Mexico, Peru, the Straits of Magellan, Rio de Janeiro, Natal, and the City of Liberty, arrived in Lisbon, Tessin, and set out from Lisbon, passing through the City of Liberty, the Cape of Good Hope, the Compass Summit, Manbasa, and Marin , Guri, Malacca, Manila, and returned to Songjiang Prefecture. "
"The world is big, we are back, and the earth under our feet is indeed a ball."
Xu Jiugao, Liu Ji and other Ming Dynasties together. Thirteen hundred military and naval officers completed the Ming Dynasty's first circumnavigation of the world. They all studied at the Songjiang Maritime School. Although they had learned about the earth many times from the "Maritime Tongjian" written by the Imperial Academy of Sciences, It is a ball, and it is a ball with an inclination angle. It has four seasons of cold and heat, but if you don’t go there in person, it is not practice.
The Ming Dynasty finally completed its first circumnavigation. It has been sixty years since Taixi completed his first circumnavigation.
The total mileage of this voyage exceeded 160,000 miles, which was equivalent to fifty round trips from Beiya to Nanya. It was divided into six sections, the Pacific section, the Strait of Magellan section, the upper Atlantic section, the lower Atlantic section, The Western and Southern Ocean sections filled a large number of gaps in the star maps, needle maps, and map maps of the Ming Dynasty's global voyages. They also completed the preliminary drawing of the globe, confirmed the conjecture that the sea covers land and is connected with the ocean, and also established a basic fact. , that is, with wooden sailing ships, Ming Dynasty can also cross any ocean.
Similarly, this round-the-world voyage was also a voyage to open up the Maritime Silk Road. After the Ming Dynasty had its own needle map, it could truly realize ocean-going trade. The five-masted ocean-going ship was finally no longer an illusion. But it lives up to its name.
Xu Jiugao, Liu Ji and others were very excited, but not as excited as they imagined. Along the way, they also discovered that Ming Dynasty was lagging behind in its exploration of the sea for a full sixty years. This made Ming Dynasty, which claims to be the supreme dynasty of heaven, actually finds it difficult to accept it, even though it has long been clearly aware of this fact.
The Empire on which the Sun Never Sets has been achieved by some people in the West. So since the Ming Dynasty claims to be a celestial empire, it is natural for them to strive for this achievement.
When Antonio and Legaz, on behalf of Felipe II, met the Ming Emperor for the first time in the first year of Wanli and claimed to be an empire on which the sun never sets, Zhang Juzheng had already realized the seriousness and urgency of this problem. Nine years later, Time, the special envoy of the Ming Dynasty, saw with his own eyes that it did exist. Even if it was a simple declaration, it would never set, and the sun would not set from the territory of the empire.
"Welcome home." Shen Shixing, Songjiang Commander-in-Chief Chen Lin, Songjiang Town Admiral Zhang Jin and others welcomed Xu Jiugao and other soldiers home.
Compared with Magellan and Francis Drake’s first circumnavigation exploration, which took two to three years, the Ming Dynasty only took one year and one month.
First, thanks to the ships of the Ming Dynasty, the five-masted ocean crossing ship is still the fastest ship in the world, with the largest load capacity and the strongest ability to withstand wind and waves, and five ships were dispatched at once ; Second, it was due to the fact that before departure, the Ming Dynasty already had some proven sea charts, including needle maps and star maps of the Eastern and Western sections, and part of the Pacific section; third, because the Ming Dynasty's exploration fleet had already made it clear before setting off. First of all, they knew that the earth was a ball, and the purpose was clear and not unknown; fourthly, because of precision manufacturing, the Ming Dynasty had more advanced navigation instruments. The star observation ship was an extremely professional observation ship responsible for piloting.
Shen Shixing did not immediately take care of Xu Jiugao and other soldiers. After they had a simple meal, they would immediately set off for Tianjin Guards to meet with the capital. They would only rest after facing the emperor and returning to their orders. Shen Shixing Xing, Chen Lin and others brought Xu Jiugao and Liu Ji to the huge dock.
"What is this?" Xu Jiugao looked at the huge dock and skeleton in front of him in horror and asked dully.
There are two docks, with two huge keels lying inside. Hundreds of workers are working around the docks. Busy craftsmen are everywhere, and various materials are constantly being loaded onto the ships. There are craftsmen holding spray guns, red-hot rivets, and forging them hard. On the scaffolding are craftsmen who are busy installing ship planks and constructing them meticulously.
“The Youlong is as graceful as a giant, graceful as a wandering dragon, and the other ship is the Feiyun, with flying clouds and undulating dragons, and a roc carrying the wind.” Shen Shixing looked at it. Two fast sailing ships, full of ambition.
The emperor gave two million silver, and Wang Daokun tried his best to fight for it, saying that one million silver was completely enough, but the emperor gave too much, so he directly trial-produced two ships. Compared with Youlong and Feiyun The hull of the ship is more narrow and elongated, and the difference can be seen just from the frame.
"Youlong is a sealing ship, mainly carrying cargo, while Feiyun is a warship. It has only three masts, but its speed is faster than Youlong. It is mainly equipped with artillery. Total It is equipped with one hundred and twelve artillery pieces. In comparison, the Youlong is more like a merchant ship or a flagship and is not suitable for combat, while the Feiyun is more suitable as a warship in terms of speed and firepower. "Shen Shixing is simple. introduced Feiyun. The design skeleton of Feiyun has been completed, but it is still not finalized.
The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty gave too much. Two million silver just allowed the Youlong to be developed from a model to a real object. It was too wasteful. The Feiyun was also planned. Because it received sufficient financial support, the development was advanced in advance. On the agenda.
Shen Shixing asked someone to bring up two models and said: "Within two and a half years, these two ships can be launched into the sea as scheduled. Special Envoy Xu returned to Beijing and brought two models to me. Your Majesty, Your Majesty likes this. It also tells Your Majesty what we have done.” After being ordered to go to sea, we have to return to Songjiang in the end. We are all grasshoppers on the rope of opening the sea. Helping Shen Shixing is helping ourselves.
Shen Shixing only made two models and sent them to the capital, one for His Majesty and one for His Royal Highness Prince Lu. This meant very clearly that the governor of Songjiang, a thoroughfare of nine provinces, could only be an imperialist and not a partisan of Zhang Juzheng. , His Majesty can order the Bureau of War and War to make some gifts for Zhang Juzheng, but those are all gifts from His Majesty and have nothing to do with Songjiang Ground.
"Special Envoy Xu is in a hurry this time. Did he prepare any gifts for His Majesty? I have some seafood here." Shen Shixing looked around and asked in a low voice.
Xu Jiugao also whispered in a low voice: "Get ready. No matter how many gifts you have, it's not too much. What good things do you have here?"
I came back from the sea and didn't have any rare treasures to offer to Your Majesty. , do you have the nerve to say that you went to sea? Every time Zheng He came back from his voyages to the West, he would bring gifts. Once he brought back two unicorns, but everyone preferred to call them giraffes.
Obviously Xu Jiugao and Shen Shixing were cheating, treating the rare treasures received by Songjiang Mansion as obtained overseas. This was a long-standing shortcoming of the Ming Dynasty, and the government was accomplished through bribery.
"I have a twelve-pound pearl here. It is round and purple, so it is most suitable." Shen Shixing muttered in a low voice.
Xu Jiugao nodded and said: "This one of mine only weighs eight pounds. It's better to use yours. Just use yours."
The Shibo Department is known as the Southern Treasury of the Emperor. This twelve-pound pearl was originally intended to be dedicated to the emperor, but in the end it ended up being transferred to the internal coffers.
(End of this chapter)