In the early morning, the autumn rain showered, and it fell big and small. As soon as the wind blew, the white rain curtain floated to the brick floor in the palace, like a flying white veil.

Outside the Fengtian Gate, a large area of green umbrellas, up and down, there are officials above the fifth grade in Beijing, and there are also entourages who give umbrellas to officials, all of them follow the ritual music and the singing of the officials of the Honglu Temple, and bow down in an orderly manner. Zhu Gaoxu also sat under the yellow umbrella outside the Fengtian Gate, maintaining his ceremonial posture.

The worship service is finally over, and everyone will soon be able to leave the wet square.

But at this time, Zhu Gaoxu suddenly stood up from the throne, he left the yellow umbrella, and stood in the rain. The eunuch beside him hurriedly reminded: "Please ask the emperor to rest the dragon body." ”

Some of the officials standing in front of them bent slightly.

Zhu Gaoxu paced back and forth in the rain and asked, "Is the official secretary Jianyi here?" ”

An official clasped his fists and bowed: "Back to the saint, Jian Butang told him that he was sick early yesterday morning, and he was ill and could not see him. ”

Suddenly, the expressions of many officials became slightly nervous, and some seemed to hold their breath.

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and said, "Wang Gui, you ask Neku to take a pair of high-grade Korean ginseng and send it to Jianyi Mansion." Tell him to recuperate with peace of mind, and come back to the value after he recovers. He then looked at the civil official who had just answered and said, "The official affairs of the Ministry of Officials are temporarily presided over by Zuo Shilang. ”

"Commandment."

Wang Gui asked on the spot: "Emperor, did you send the imperial doctor of the Tai Hospital to diagnose the patient?" ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "No need, Jian Butang must have asked Lang Zhong for treatment." Jian Butang is dedicated to state affairs, most of them are sick due to work, and they need to recuperate; The imperial physician was ordered to go, and he had to spend time on rituals to oppose the unfavorable illness. Call his family and relay my condolences. ”

Wang Gui bowed and said, "The slave obeys the order." ”

The crowd seemed to relax a little, and there was already a whisper behind them. The officials of the Metropolitan Procuratorate turned their heads to see who was talking to each other, and the buzzing sound was quiet again.

Zhu Gaoxu paced a few more steps, and suddenly pointed to the top of the crowd, "Only enemies are willing to see the Ming monarchs and ministers dislike each other." But I am not an enemy of some, not my colleagues. ”

There was no sound in the square, only the sound of "rustling" rain. People should only be able to experience Zhu Gaoxu's attitude from the emotional point of view, but it is estimated that they cannot understand his precise meaning: everyone is a landlord, and I am the biggest one, and I cannot become a revolutionary, so there should be no essential contradiction.

He continued: "The Ming Dynasty was vast, and it was inevitable that there would be some political differences between the monarchs and officials (the unequal distribution of spoils in the early days, the literati and landlords who were responsible for managing the country now demanded a larger share of the land rent, and the gap between the rich and the poor among the scholars and doctors was gradually widening). ”

Zhu Gaoxu raised his hands, stood in the rain and said in a sincere tone: "I am the monarch's father, and I will definitely do my best to protect the interests, honor, and dignity of all upright people. I also hope that our dynasty can forge ahead, get more practical benefits, and reward merit and deeds, and everyone has a share. I hope you understand my painstaking efforts. ”

Qi Tai took the lead in kneeling and said loudly: "Holy Saint! ”

Many officials knelt down and shouted, and then a large number of people knelt down on the wetland, shouting: "Hurray, hooray, hooray......

The sound of this moment is more than the previous worship

(This chapter is not finished, please turn the page)

The liturgy was twice as loud.

Zhu Gaoxu raised his hands up with a look of relief: "I have decided that from now on, half of the palace maids in the palace will be abolished, and palace maids under the age of thirty will be selected as dowries and dismissed to return to their hometowns to marry." In the future, the number of draft girls will also be halved.

Among all the officials, the denomination of the treasure banknotes was exchanged for new money from the central bank. In the future, if the state finances improved and more rice was obtained from the southern foreign domains, the official salaries were all paid with new money, and additional rice rations were provided according to the population of each official family. ”

The payment of the Ming Dynasty officials has shrunk greatly, for example, the officials who earn 45 yuan a year can only receive a small amount of copper money, and then use grain and treasure money...... Even pepper noodles offset. Zhu Gaoxu's holy decree just now, nominally did not increase wages, but in fact has risen a lot; In particular, the new money is worth twice as much as the old copper coin, not to mention the Daming treasure banknotes, which are almost like waste paper.

The square was lively again, and many officials in green robes couldn't help but sing praises loudly. Those civil officials of the Qingshui Yamen, or officials with lower ranks and no real power, were the loudest, and they were eager to write articles to recite Zhu Gaoxu immediately.

Zhu Gaoxu understands them too well. The price of the capital division is the highest in the country, and the official furniture designed by Taizu is low; The bad rules, the fire consumption, and the money donated have nothing to do with most officials. Many officials live in very poor straits, and if they want to be corrupt, they always have to have power, and the vast majority of officials have little power. Like the imperial history who was buried alive by Taizong and only showed his head for seven days and seven nights, the house at home leaked rain, so he could only pick up some broken wooden planks and repair them by himself, and he had no money to spare at all.

Most of the people are very happy, but there are also a few civil officials who have a worried face and a look of concern for the country and the people, perhaps because they feel that it is really bad for the atmosphere to talk about interests on such an occasion.

Zhu Gaoxu watched for a while, and then said: "My wish, loyal ministers try not to worry about food and clothing, so that they can serve the country and help the world wholeheartedly." ”

With that, he turned and left the Mukden Gate. At this time, some people with higher official ranks also had to go to Fengtianmen to discuss matters, which was called "listening to the government at the imperial gate". And most of the people who are not qualified to enter the door can break up.

Zhu Gaoxu walked to the door, beckoned to Wang Gui, bowed his head and whispered in his ear: "You personally sent Korean ginseng, and when you saw Jianyi, you want to convey my kindness." Like him, a country soldier with integrity, integrity, and experience is like my left arm and right arm, which cannot be indispensed with. Everything can be discussed, so that righteousness should not be capricious. ”

"Yes." Wang Gui bowed down and left the crowd quietly.

The royal gate listened to the government and the monarch and ministers answered for a while, almost all of which were more general questions. Except for court discussions, the real key decisions are rarely discussed in the Imperial Gate. The politics of the Ming Dynasty never had the concept of transparency.

After going through the scene, Zhu Gaoxu asked the eunuch to inform the military department Shangshu Qitai to meet at the East Corner Gate.

As soon as Qi Tai arrived at the East Corner Gate, he knelt down and praised: "The Holy Lord is lenient and virtuous, and the courtiers are also blessed." ”

Zhu Gaoxu turned around and said, "Get up, you don't have to be too formal when you meet in this kind of scene in the future." ”

Qi Tai said: "Thank you for the honor. ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "I have wanted to do this for a long time, and it is unreasonable for the official salary to be too low. Some people really want to be clean officials, or they are very timid and unwilling to be corrupt or bribed; But we have to give others the opportunity to be clean officials. For more than ten years, is it just to eat chaff? ”

Qi Tai said quietly: "Qing officials are not easy to deal with. If a person who is really intolerable is a clean official, he will sometimes deal with it

(This chapter is not finished, please turn the page)

, not even the handle can be found. ”

Zhu Gaoxu was stunned for a moment, then pointed at Qi Tai and laughed. Qi Tai also smiled.

For a while, Zhu Gaoxu remembered Qi Tai's original idea in Yunnan, and when the military salary could not be paid, he turned his face and denied it, and first gained the battlefield advantage.

Zhu Gaoxu suppressed his smile and said, "Qi Butang has taken the time to talk to Xia Yuanji in the past two days, he should be more or less willing to listen to your opinion." ”

Qi Tai agreed.

Zhu Gaoxu thought for a while, and then said: "People like Xia Yuanji, Jian Yi, and Lu Zhen, since I recognized my throne when I ascended the throne, and because I held the central cardinal, I can generally do my best to maintain the situation, I will not forget it. I am not a character who turns my face and does not recognize people, and my reputation over the years is guaranteed.

Since the New Deal wants to develop industry and commerce, the first thing it does, of course, is to make some practical rules, which is to legislate. Liu Ming openly expressed his support for the New Deal, and he was a jinshi produced within the rules, so I don't need him, where can I find someone?

Liu Ming and these people will not threaten the authority of the Six Ministries and Five Temples, and I will not allow them to engage in nonsense. The next day is the country that my grandfather brought down, and the throne is fought for by me and you with my head, how can we let those who only care about selfish interests act arbitrarily? Xia Yuanji, they are too worried, you have to let him understand that the one I rely on the most is still the old minister who has a strong view of the overall situation. ”

Zhu Gaoxu continued: "Anyway, I am now loyal to my minister. I will at least support them, and at the very least, I will protect their reputations and their existing inheritance; It is absolutely forbidden for his political opponents to beat anyone to death and ruin his reputation. I am here, so that they should not be afraid. ”

Qi Tai said: "The saint is in his heart, Xia Yuanji is not a donkey, and the minister must live up to his mission...... However, the officials seem to be prevaricating the appointment of Liu Ming. Can this matter be compromised? ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Don't pay attention to it, don't do anything." The ministry will do it, but it will be a few days later. I also don't hope that Liu Ming will be able to make any progress immediately after taking office. The New Deal is very complex and cannot be rushed. ”

Qi Taizuo said: "The saint is wise. ”

Zhu Gaoxu stood in front of the wooden window, watched for a while, and suddenly turned around and said, "What did Emperor Jianwen and Huang Zicheng say when they were here?" ”

Qi Tai shook his head and said, "I'm afraid no one will know anymore." After the death of the emperor, although the minister was one of the ministers, he was not very trusted by Jianwenjun. ”

Zhu Gaoxu thought for a while and said, "My cousin may say that he is finally the emperor, and now I have the final say." Huang Zicheng said, not yet, we have to kill those who are not under control first. The cousin said that it made sense, so he cut the uncles on their heads, and whoever disobeyed killed him. Huang Zicheng said, yes, if you want to rectify it, you will die if you want it. ”

Qi Tai looked embarrassed and looked at Zhu Gaoxu.

Zhu Gaoxu said seriously: "Fear can make people succumb, and it may also make people desperate to do things that they don't dare to think about at all, as long as they have a little chance." ”

Qi Tai bowed and bowed: "The Holy Superior knows the subtlety." ”

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Next time we talk, I don't know who informed the officials of the Guangdong Political Envoy Department that they recently sent some good Chaozhou tea. I'm glad to be able to share good things with you. ”

Qi Tai bowed and said: "The Holy Lord Long'en and the ministers can't report it even if they are sick and brainy. Please resign. ”

(End of chapter)