On May 11, the twenty-fifth year of Chongzhen, Zhu Youzhen met Cui Changwu in the Qianqing Palace.

Cui Changwu respectfully bowed to the Son of Heaven, and only stood up when he heard the sound of being exempted.

"Throne!"

Cui Changwu arched his hand and said: "The minister doesn't dare!" ”

Zhu Youzhen saw that Cui Changwu was very restrained, and he did not rely on Li Zhi's power at all, and he was very satisfied. He stroked his beard and said, "Who is Cui Xianggong?" ”

Cui Changwu replied: "The people of the Tianjin Acropolis grew up in the same neighborhood as King Qi. ”

Zhu Youzhen nodded and looked Cui Changwu up and down.

"Cui Xianggong's appearance is extraordinary, so heroic, being my Ming Dynasty's auxiliary minister can hold up the scene. It's just that he looks younger, and he lacks the majesty of his superiors. ”

Cui Changwu smiled and said, "Holy Mingjian." Those who are ministers take their talents, and they dare not speak of authority. King Qi often taught us that if we do our own things well, let the people benefit, and make the country rich and strong, this official is a good official. As long as he is a good official, he can win the hearts of the people without a trace of official authority. ”

It was the first time Zhu Youzhen heard such words, and after pondering for a while, he laughed.

"So, the officials in Tianjin don't seek personal gain? They all worked for the people? ”

Cui Changwu arched his hand and said: "In Tianjin, there used to be some selfish officials. However, since the minister became the head of the discipline inspection team, dozens of people have been arrested, and they have simply deterred the crumbs of self-profit. Nowadays, the officials in Tianjin do not say that they are all selfless, but there are no more who dare to fill their own pockets. ”

Zhu Youzhen looked at Cui Changwu, as if he was pondering Cui Changwu's words.

After a long time, he said: "Although my auxiliary minister of the Ming Dynasty does not have the power of the prime minister of the previous dynasty, he has the duties of the prime minister!" If I take Cui Xianggong as an auxiliary minister, how should this Ming Dynasty be governed. ”

Cui Changwu heard the Son of Heaven say the auxiliary minister, not the first assistant, and pondered for a while. Then he arched his hand and said: "If the Son of Heaven takes the minister as an auxiliary minister, the first thing the minister should do is to pay for the land in Jiangnan." ”

"The so-called people are rich and the country is strong, and the gentry do not accept the land and exploit the people, which is the moth of my Ming Dynasty. Only by cutting off the channels for the gentry to exploit the blood and sweat of the people can the people become rich. When the people are rich, they will not follow the thieves to rebel, and the court can also collect taxes to raise soldiers. ”

"Therefore, if the minister is an auxiliary minister, the first thing is to urge the king of Qi to send troops to Nanjing and implement the matter of stationing 20,000 troops in Nanjing. Moreover, the soldiers and horses of Nanjing must be cavalry, and they must ensure that they can travel 100 miles a day, and they can kill anywhere in the south of the Yangtze River as quickly as possible, and arrest traitors who disobey the holy decree. ”

Zhu Youzhen and Wang Chengen glanced at each other and nodded with satisfaction.

Obviously, Cui Changwu had already agreed to the garrison of Nanjing instead of Li Zhi. Cui Changwu has obviously accepted the arrangement of being a second assistant instead of the first assistant, and is ready to urge Li Zhi to send troops.

With Cui Changwu's words, the matter is half done.

Zhu Youzhen said with a smile: "How can Cui Xianggong stand and talk, sit!" Come on, serve tea! ”

Cui Changwu thought about it and sat down calmly. After a while, a little eunuch brought oolong tea.

Cui Changwu said: "The minister has followed the king of Qi all these years, but he has learned some strategies for governing the country, please be enlightened!" ”

Zhu Youzhen stroked his beard and said: "Cui Xianggong, please speak!" ”

Cui Changwu said: "The king of Qi often said that the people take food as the sky. In my Ming Dynasty, there have been disasters and famines for many years, and the most lacking thing is food. In some disaster-stricken areas, grain prices have increased several times, and the people have become cannibalistic and have been the first to join the thieves. Therefore, the minister thinks that the first step in governing the country is to eat enough. ”

"After the equalization, the courts must be established and the rules will be established in the villages. The rules are very simple, whoever contributes will benefit! My Ming Dynasty has a vast land, and there are hundreds of millions of land that can be cultivated locally. As long as there are rules in the countryside, and the people can cultivate the wasteland by themselves without exploitation, countless wastelands will be turned into fertile land. ”

"The farm tools and waterwheels needed to reclaim the new fields can be purchased from Tianjin. Tianjin produces these things in large quantities, and the price is very cheap. Ten households of the common people are united, and often only a few dozen taels of silver can be used to open up hundreds of acres of land. ”

"With Xintian, the people will be able to eat enough, and the court will have more land. Then the first step to make the people rich and the country strong will be. ”

"And the key to this first step is for the courts to be impartial and establish local rules. According to the words of King Qi, as long as the property rights are clear, the efficiency of the society will naturally be maximized. ”

"The minister has been in charge of the law and discipline for many years, and he is best at suppressing traitors and eradicating the crumbs, so if the Son of Heaven takes the minister as an auxiliary minister, the minister dares to guarantee that the courts and tribunals in the north and south of the country can play a role and clarify all kinds of ugliness in the place."

Hearing Cui Changwu's words, Zhu Youzhen was a little moved, and he stroked his beard silently.

If the first step mentioned by Cui Changwu can be realized, he Zhu Youzhen will be a virtuous monarch who has been famous for centuries.

"If the first step is successful, then the people will no longer suffer from famine, the court will no longer have the worry of thieves, and the world will be peaceful. But it's not enough to be just peaceful, there is still a second step. The minister thought that all parts of the Ming Dynasty should be on par with Tianjin, so that the people could not only have food and clothing, but also be rich. ”

Zhu Youzhen has been to Tianjin and knows how rich the people of Tianjin are. Hearing Cui Changwu say that he wanted the people of the Ming Dynasty to look up to Tianjin, he couldn't help but ask: "How to enrich the people?" Choi Sang-ko, please. ”

Cui Changwu stood up and arched his hand and said: "The key to enriching the people is to improve the output level of the people. The number of people in the market remains the same, and there are more goods, and eventually the goods that the people can enjoy will naturally increase, and the people will naturally become rich. ”

"For farmers, prosperity means expanding the area of cultivated land and introducing Qiwang's agricultural machinery. At the same time, the yield per mu of agriculture was increased, and guano soil was purchased from Tianjin as fertilizer. ”

"After a few years, when peasants' grain production increases, they will consume a large number of industrial products produced in the cities."

"For the handicraftsmen in the city, it is necessary to introduce advanced machinery from Tianjin to open assembly line factories. Turning something that used to take a month into a product that can be completed in a few hours. You can buy a steam engine from King Qi and use the steam engine to drive the machinery, which greatly saves manpower. ”

"With factories, the prices of clothes, furniture, ceramics, farm tools and all kinds of daily necessities will drop dramatically, and people will be able to afford them."

"For the idle laborers in the countryside, it's about scouting and digging mines. I have abundant products and all kinds of mineral deposits. Nowadays, Tianjin's various industries are developing rapidly, and there is a great shortage of iron ore, copper ore, lead ore, saltpeter, sulfur, tin ore and tungsten ore. ”

"For merchants, they should be encouraged to develop maritime transportation. At the same time, we can imitate the construction of railways in Tianjin, and build two vertical and two horizontal railway routes in Daming, so that the products of Daming can flow. ”

Cui Changwu said for a while, stopped, and finally said: "The minister has witnessed with his own eyes that it is precisely this development of the King of Qi in Tianjin that he can build such a rich town and nine provinces in more than ten years. ”

Hearing Cui Changwu's words and long-term planning, Zhu Youzhen's eyes couldn't help but be a little excited.

He suddenly laughed a few times, stroked his beard and said, "King Qi really won people!" King Qi wins souls! ”