Chapter 308 Little Surprise

As night fell, the Qianqing Palace was brightly lit.

A thin and beautiful maid tiptoed out of the East Warm Pavilion and was about to prepare new sandalwood, but she met a cat-holding girl humming a little tune.

"Sister Mengmeng, where did you go just now?"

"I went to the Queen's place, what's wrong?"

Niu Mengmeng's figure has gradually grown up, with a cute and beautiful oval face and a faint beauty mole at the corner of her mouth, and she still looks very lively.

Luck, this is a very mysterious thing.

Relying on her strong luck, Niu Mengmeng has now been promoted from the head maid of the East Warm Pavilion to the head maid of the Qianqing Palace. Even in the entire palace, she is already a well-known figure.

"Your Majesty just asked you where you are. Your Majesty may be looking for you!"

"Ah? OK, I know!"

Niu Mengmeng was startled at first, then nodded heavily, and then reached out to pat the restless Hu Zi in her arms, and then hurried to the East Warm Pavilion.

Although she has become the head maid of the Qianqing Palace, she still works part-time as a cat raiser for the emperor, so she often has to take the cat out for a while.

Especially the queen and two concubines all have cats, and she needs to take Xiaohu to play with her fellow cats frequently, so the range of activities is very large.

For the entire Forbidden City, the Qianqing Palace is actually a small kingdom.

Except for the emperor and several eunuchs and maids with a good reputation, the rest of the eunuchs and maids can only live in this spacious courtyard every day, and their only mission is to take care of the emperor's daily life.

Dozens of eunuchs and palace maids were arranged in a hierarchical order, serving Zhu Youtang according to their closeness and distance. Not many eunuchs and palace maids could enter the East Warm Pavilion.

The floor heating under the East Warm Pavilion had been quietly running, the lights in the room were on, and wisps of light sandalwood rose from the copper stove.

Zhu Youtang was far from the age of growing a beard, but now he deliberately kept a few sparse beards under his chin. He took a bath as usual and read the intelligence from all over the country here.

Although officials from the two capitals and thirteen provinces had submitted memorials, in this era of reporting good news but not bad news, many things were destined not to be reported truthfully, and even the emperor could hardly see the full picture of the matter.

Fortunately, the current intelligence system has become more complete, which has enabled him to have a more comprehensive understanding of what happened in the local area.

Zhu Youtang usually gave priority to reading the overseas situation, but the East China Sea and the South China Sea were relatively calm recently, while various places were somewhat turbulent, especially the bandits in some areas.

Although the Ming Dynasty governed the two capitals and thirteen provinces, some provinces were remote and some evil forces remained. For example, the chieftain problem in the southwest was actually the result of the compromise between the court and the evil forces.

As for the bandits in some remote areas that were repeatedly banned, they were somewhat similar to the situation in southern Jiangxi. They were often the inevitable product of regional poverty and official corruption.

After all, it is impossible to have a Jiangnan water town everywhere. Once you encounter a poor place to support a parent official who is only interested in making money, there will often be a group of people who can't survive.

Zhu Youtang knew that this problem was actually difficult to solve. Even if the productivity of later generations could be "hidden in the smoke and dust", the productivity of today could not guarantee that everyone would be well fed.

Even in this relatively peaceful period, there were actually many turbulent areas in the Ming Dynasty. Although southern Jiangxi had been properly resolved, the most concerned thing at the moment was the peasant rebellion led by Yewang Gang in the 20th year of Chenghua.

This force appeared in the 20th year of Chenghua, and then moved to many places, from the initial Kuizhou and Xinning in Sichuan, to Zhushan and Zhuxi in Huguang, and then to Hanzhong and Pingli in Shaanxi, where the borders of Sichuan and Shaanxi are located.

Last month, this matter was finally resolved.

Ye Wanggang led his troops across the Daba Mountains to rob Pingli, Zhushan and other counties crazily, and was suppressed by the Sichuan and Shaanxi troops led by Dai Shan, the governor of Yunyang, resulting in the arrest of Ye Wanggang and more than a thousand bandits.

Although some areas did have the bad phenomenon of local officials joining forces with officials and gentry to oppress the people, the Ming Dynasty as a whole was not completely corrupt, and Ye Wanggang's failure was actually doomed.

Even though Ye Wanggang had been rebelling for many years, his followers had not increased but decreased, and it was actually a matter of time before he was finally destroyed.

Originally, with the arrest of Ye Wanggang and his followers, this matter had been settled and would not attract Zhu Youtang's special attention.

However, after this matter was over, Xunyang Governor Dai Shan only asked the court to execute the bandit leader Ye Wanggang in his crime statement, and the rest of the troops were punished as coercion.

If Dai Shan's method of handling was followed, only Ye Wanggang would be executed, and the other more than a thousand people would only be sentenced to the crime of coercion.

Coercion refers to criminals who are coerced to participate in criminal activities. Since coercion is not willing and is often forced to engage in criminal activities, coercion is given a lighter punishment.

Zhu Youtang has never been a bloodthirsty king. If he can avoid killing, then this result is actually acceptable.

However, this force that has lasted for such a long time cannot be self-sufficient in terms of food supply alone. Where can these "military rations" come from?

Moreover, the robbery of Pingli, Zhushan and other counties this time recorded that many people died under the knife of this rebel army, which made him feel puzzled.

Although in the original history, Dai Shan was a wise minister who was on par with gentlemen such as Liu Daxia, he wanted to know the whole story of the rebellion suppression and whether Dai Shan was a military talent or a pedantic official.

That's right. He didn't immediately adopt Dai Shan's method of handling the case, and he also suppressed several memorials praising Dai Shan, but ordered Sichuan to conduct a secret investigation.

The lights at the entrance flickered gently, and a girl holding a cat came in from outside.

Meow!

When Hu Zi saw Zhu Youtang, he called out in a clever and spiritual way.

Zhu Youtang gently put down the secret report from Sichuan, looked up and saw his pet appeared, and signaled Niu Mengmeng to send his pet over.

In the original history, it was Dai Shan who solved the rebellion of Yewang Gang, and because of this achievement, he was promoted to the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and then formed the backbone of the Ming Dynasty with Liu Daxia, Ma Wensheng, Liu Jian and Xu Pu.

If it is based on historical evaluation, such a wise minister should undoubtedly be reused.

Zhu Youtang stroked the cat slowly, his eyes stayed on the information sent by Sichuan, but there was no joy in his heart, and he was thinking about things silently.

As an emperor, he is not afraid of his subordinates forming cliques and opposing him. He is afraid that his subordinates are loyal and treacherous. Some are treacherous but seem loyal, while others are loyal but treacherous.

"Your Majesty!"

"What's the matter?"

"I'm fine!"

Niu Mengmeng thought Zhu Youtang was looking for her, so she greeted him tentatively, but found that she seemed to have thought too much, and couldn't help but secretly stick out her pink tongue.

Zhu Youtang found that this woman seemed inexplicable, but suddenly remembered something: "The day before yesterday, you said that the maid in Qingning Palace suddenly came to you to cry?"

"Yes! I ignored her. She is a maid, and I am also a maid. No matter how much Empress Dowager Zhou bullied her, I...what can I do? I have been in the palace for so long, and I haven't heard of any palace maid daring to make up the right and wrong of my master, so I think this matter is a bit strange!" Niu Mengmeng said her judgment seriously.

Don't think she acts carelessly, but she is actually very careful and very sensitive to potential crises.

Huh?

Liu Jin frowned slightly and looked at Niu Mengmeng, who liked to talk, with complicated eyes.

He didn't think there could be anything wrong here. She was wronged in Qingning Palace, so it was reasonable for her to complain to you, the emperor's favorite, right?

Zhu Youtang believed in Niu Mengmeng's sixth sense, so he earnestly told Liu Jin beside him: "Send someone to investigate this palace maid and check if there is anything abnormal!"

"I obey your order!" Although Liu Jin didn't think there was anything wrong with the matter, she still said respectfully.

Zhu Youtang returned the cat to Niu Mengmeng for care. After thinking for a long time, he finally had to make a decision. He made a new instruction on the secret decree to the Ministry of Personnel: "Yunyang Governor Dai Shan has made great contributions in suppressing the rebellion of Ye Wanggang, and has been promoted to the right assistant minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Justice!"

The Yunyang Governor was an official position established during the Chenghua period. He was stationed in Yun County, Yunyang Prefecture, and later evolved into the five provinces and eight prefectures in charge of military and civilian affairs in the adjacent areas of Hubei, Henan, Sichuan, and Shaanxi.

Now he has been changed from a governor in charge of military and political affairs in a large area to the right assistant minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Justice. It seems that his official position has been promoted, but it is actually a typical promotion in name only.

Zhu Youtang knew that he had ruined the career of another historical wise minister with his own hands, but Dai Shan's way of dealing with things this time was very gentlemanly, but it did not satisfy him.

The reason why Ye Rengang was able to lead the peasants to rebel was naturally not just relying on personal force and a slogan. He must have his own personal charm.

When facing the encirclement of the Ming army, Ye Rengang actually knew that he was at the end of his rope, so he made a gentleman's agreement with the highest commander Dai Shan.

Dai Shan was indeed a gentleman. Afterwards, he only held Ye Rengang accountable, and did not hold other incited people and Ye Rengang's loyal subordinates accountable.

Although the crime of an accomplice is also to be punished, the punishment is greatly reduced, and some people can even be beaten with a stick and sent home.

Zhu Youtang knew that no matter how good the rebels' starting point was, in order to solve their own food and clothing, they would not only rob the people's property, but also kill people during the looting process, and some people even took pleasure in killing.

He believed that some people might be accomplices, but Ye Wanggang's old subordinates, even if they were good people, became bad people, so Dai Shan's treatment actually had the taste of compromise.

Zhu Youtang did not like this way of solving the problem. Even the famous wise ministers in history decided to abandon such a good gentleman.

There are also some disadvantages of having too large a territory. After all, the capital and Sichuan are separated by thousands of mountains and rivers, so it is difficult to convey the will smoothly if you want to correct mistakes.

Now there may be people who are being coerced. Now Dai Shan cannot properly handle this matter, and he cannot go too far, so he has to acquiesce to Dai Shan's conviction plan: "Anyone who has followed the barbarians for just one month will be sent to the river to serve as a laborer to atone for his sins; anyone who has followed the barbarians for more than a year will be investigated and convicted!"

Although the millions of disaster victims in Henan have been resettled in Jianzhou, the Yellow River bursting its dikes has inevitably caused some changes in the river course, and it has a direct impact on the canal, so now it takes a lot of effort to control the river.

Even if Zhu Youtang wants to use these more than a thousand people as laborers, in the latest river repair project, it is estimated that up to 300,000 laborers will be mobilized.

In fact, whether it is Dai Shan or Ye Wanggang, they are actually small problems of the Ming Dynasty. The biggest problem now is still the finances of the Ming Dynasty.

300,000 people are not only the number of personnel, but also a huge expense.

Since Taizu implemented a tax rate of 1% in thirty and did not intend to impose additional taxes, the empire's fiscal revenue was destined to be difficult to grow rapidly all of a sudden.

Although the revenue from salt administration and grain tax has increased a lot, it is just that the Annan Li Dynasty was attacked last year and Jianzhou was attacked this year. The military expenditure is not small, and the Yellow River must be governed.

Zhu Youtang was really in this era and managed the country as an emperor. Only then did he know that the online novels he had seen in the early days were all lies.

The financial problem is much more complicated than imagined, but it is not possible to make a lot of money by shaking a little cleverness. All kinds of expenses are still emerging in an endless stream.

If there is no disaster in the Yellow River this time, I am afraid there will be other disasters. It is difficult for an empire to increase its fiscal revenue, but there are countless places where you want to spend money.

Take the future as an example. An unexpected infectious disease is enough to empty the local finances, not to mention that the people still have too many needs to be solved.

Although the Ming Dynasty successfully recovered Jianzhou, it still takes many years of operation to make Jianzhou generate economic benefits and bring income to the Ming Dynasty’s finances.

Nowadays, it takes money to build Jianzhou, and it takes more money to manage the Yellow River. The vassal states, civil and military officials, and nobles also need to be paid rice every year.

Seeing the end of the second year of Hongzhi, Zhu Youtang knew that he had to look forward to the third year of Hongzhi.

Although several major events were done this year, the financial problem was not only not completely solved, but became more serious.

Zhu Youtang knew that the best solution was to start the printing press, but if he wanted to take this step, he could not naively think that it could be done as whimsically as in novels, but he needed to have the thinking of equivalent exchange.

Facing the most urgent financial problems of the Ming court, after turning the map repeatedly, he did not limit his sights to the country, but set his sights on the east of Nanyang.

Unlike the agricultural countries in the Indochina Peninsula to the west, this is mainly an island country that lives on fishing and hunting, and the state form here mostly exists in the form of tribes.

Zhu Youtang knew that if he wanted to open up the situation in the east of Nanyang, he needed to find a suitable talent and a suitable reason or opportunity to intervene.

As the night deepened, it was time for the emperor to go to bed.

Zhu Youtang was not very interested in territory, but always cared about economic plunder, so he knew that he still wanted to set up a Nanyang company.

But when he saw that it was too late, he finished his work and returned to his residence behind the East Warm Pavilion. When he saw the bed, he suddenly felt a surprise that his heartbeat accelerated.