Zhu Youzhen walked to Ciqing Palace, the pair of stone unicorns in front of the palace gate were still there, but there was no one around, which seemed a little deserted.

It wasn't until the palace gate of the Miaoqin Palace that I saw the palace maid Ting'er opening the palace gate, and it seemed that she was going out of the palace.

Ting'er kept her head down, as if she didn't notice Zhu Youzhen, until she approached Zhu Youzhen's side, and suddenly saw a tall figure, "Your Majesty Xià......" She suddenly fell to the ground.

"Ting'er, where is this? Do you want to leave the palace? ”

"Back to Your Majesty, Empress Zhang is doing needlework, it is estimated that the color thread is not enough, let the slaves and maids go out of the palace to buy some back."

Zhang Yan is the queen of Zhu Youxiao, after Zhu Youzhen ascended the throne, she did not give her the title of concubine, so she was also called the queen, but in order to avoid the new queen Zhou Yufeng, the palace called Queen Zhang.

"Ao," Zhu Youzhen responded, "Then you don't have to leave the palace, go back tomorrow, and lead me in first." ”

"Your Majesty ......" Ting'er hesitated, and her feet didn't move.

"Why, my words are not good, are they?" Zhu Youzhen's voice raised three degrees.

"The slave doesn't dare," Ting'er trembled in fright, "Slave and maid, slave and maid will lead His Majesty into the palace." ”

After Zhu Youzhen entered the palace, Ting'er closed the palace door, and then trotted to the front of Zhu Youzhen, really acting as a guide.

They turned around the long corridor and came to the rear, where was Zhang Yan's bedroom.

Ting'er went in first, whispered a few words in Zhang Yan's ear, and Zhu Youzhen came in.

"The concubine greets His Majesty!" Zhang Yan was flustered for a moment, holding the clothes being decorated in her left hand, holding the needle and thread in her right hand, and knelt down in front of Zhu Youzhen.

"Yan'er excuse me, get up!"

"Thank you!"

"What's in your hand? Who is Yan'er making clothes for? Zhu Youzhen found that the clothes Zhang Yan was holding in her hand had no sleeves, which seemed to be a shoulder.

"Don't sue you!" Zhang Yan's face was slightly red, and her hands were hidden behind her back.

"Yan'er is in the palace and has no relatives, is it ......?"

"Your Majesty ......" Zhang Yan interrupted Zhu Youzhen's words a little rudely.

Zhu Youzhen smiled, "Ting'er, you go out first, aren't you going out of the palace to buy needlework?" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Ting'er went out and covered the bedroom door.

Zhang Yan took the opportunity to hide the clothes of her fingers in the box, "Your Majesty, why are you here in broad daylight?" ”

"What did Yan'er say? Do you want to come after dark? ”

"Your Majesty," Zhang Yan was slightly embarrassed, "Is the concubine saying that isn't Your Majesty going to be busy with government affairs during the day?" ”

"Government affairs have been lost to hundreds of officials," Zhu Youzhen sat down on the wooden chair in front of the bed, "Yan'er, you said that if the ministers knew that I left government affairs to them, but I went to the Miqin Palace to stay overnight, would they impeach me?" ”

Zhang Yan shook her head: "No!" ”

"Won't? Why? Aren't there many of them who are self-standard and clear, and they are auxiliary ministers of the Ming Dynasty? ”

Zhang Yan's eyes gently shone on Zhu Youzhen's face: "Isn't it so difficult that you don't understand?" ”

"Understand what?"

"Your Majesty, the governance of all dynasties and dynasties, there is a problem, that is, the problem of the division of power between the emperor and the ministers, the emperor is supreme, but there is only one person, and although the ministers belong to the emperor, they are large in number and can take turns to fight."

"Yes, there is only one emperor." Zhu Youzhen thought that the emperor had lived in the deep palace compound since he was a child, and he was completely unfamiliar with the outside world, he didn't know the basic demands of the people at all, and it was really unreasonable for such a person to make a big deal come true, and it was a good thing to let the ministers properly share some rights, "But, what does this have to do with the harem?" ”

"There has always been a saying that there are 3,000 beauties in the harem, and the ministers still spare no effort to enrich the harem for the emperor, like Tang Xuanzong Li Longji, the harem beauties reach 40,000, he just changes one every night, and it will take more than 100 years to be lucky."

"Yan'er, this is ......"

"The minister is to use a large number of beauties to tie the emperor to the harem, if the emperor puts a lot of energy on women, the ministers can naturally share more political power."

"So, the ministers will only turn a blind eye to the emperor's misdeeds, and even add fuel to the fire?" Zhu Youzhen remembered what Wei Zhongxian had said to him, in fact, it was his idea to move Zhang Yan from Kunning Palace to Ciqing Palace, instead of Cining Palace, where the concubines had always lived.

"Hmm!"

"So the first emperor is the concubine, there are records in the palace, but the ministers don't even let out a fart?"

"Your Majesty ......" Zhang Yan thought that she was also a concubine, and her face turned red, she lowered her head slightly, and scanned Zhu Youzhen's eyes with her residual vision.

"Haha......" Zhu Youzhen is happy, these old-fashioned ministers are sometimes quite cute!

"Majesty?"

"Great discoveries start from the Gongqin Palace!"

"What did you find?" Zhang Yan was confused by Zhu Youzhen's coherent actions.

"Don't talk about this, Yan'er, have you always had a good time?"

"The concubines have always been closed to themselves, raising some flowers in their spare time for fun, since the Wei eunuch subdued the law, the concubines have no longer troubled." Zhang Yan said faintly, her voice was like a gentle breeze and drizzle, and a light smile on her face was deeper than the water of Bibo Pond, which was obviously the precipitation of the years in her heart.

"Ao," Zhu Youzhen sighed, "I'm too busy on weekdays, and I rarely come to see Yan'er." ”

"It is important for His Majesty to govern the country, and if you can see Your Majesty occasionally, the concubines are already grateful to God, and the other concubines in the palace are afraid that it will be rare to see the true face of Your Majesty for the rest of their lives."

Zhu Youzhen smiled self-deprecatingly, he really hadn't seen other concubines, he was the new emperor, even if he saw them, what was the use?

"Your Majesty's Northern Expedition? It's not a small gain, right? ”

"Well," Zhu Youzhen nodded, "At least the Jiannu who threatened the Ming Dynasty for decades have been eliminated?" ”

"This, the concubine has also heard about it," Zhang Yan raised the smile on her face, "Your Majesty, what is the situation outside the gate now?" Can you be like Chengzu and keep the Ming Dynasty safe for a hundred years? ”

"If it's just to keep the Ming Dynasty safe for a hundred years, what about a hundred years later?" Zhu Youzhen was a little proud, "I want to keep Daming safe forever." ”

"Majesty is to say...... What happened outside the gates? Zhang Yan's face was happily revealed, her eyes were already fixed on Zhu Youzhen's face, it seemed that Zhu Youzhen was more mature during the trip outside the border, and he was so mature that he was a superb man.

"The matter outside the Guan, I have already settled it, and I will talk about this later," Zhu Youzhen stretched out his hand and pulled Zhang Yan, "Yan'er come here, I will tell you about the matter in the Guannei." ”

Zhang Yan leaned on Zhu Youzhen's side: "Guannei...... Is Majesty talking about the imperial court? ”

"I came to the Miaoqin Palace today, firstly, to see Yan'er, and secondly, I talked about the affairs of the imperial court, and Yan'er helped me to refer to the details."

"Your Majesty, aren't there so many upright ministers in the court? Like Lord Huang of the Ministry of Rites and Lord Li of the Ministry of War......"

"The ministers of the central government, too confined to the laws of their ancestors, they often look at the practices of their ancestors when they speak and act, in fact, if they rely on their ancestors, then Taizu is just a warrior monk of Shaolin Temple," Zhu Youzhen patted Zhang Yan's little hand, "Only Yan'er can look at the problem and jump out of this fixed thinking." ”

"Your Majesty, the harem is not allowed to interfere in politics......"

"It's okay, Yan'er is just my personal advisor, and the conversation between us should be regarded as a private Lala."

"Personal advisor?"

"It's just that I only provide advice to one person, whether to adopt it or not, that's my business!"

"The concubine understands!" Zhang Yan bowed slightly, "Your Majesty, please say, the concubine should know everything." ”

"In the history of the Han nation, every once in a while, there will be a change of dynasties, such as the Eastern and Western Zhou, the Eastern and Western Han, the Northern and Southern Song Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty, but hundreds of years, and the short such as the Qin Sui, but decades, Yan'er, you say, why is this?"

"Your Majesty, such a big thing ......"

"Yan'er don't worry, I have already estimated, on average, each dynasty, less than two hundred years, and the Ming Dynasty has gone through two hundred and sixty-one years of history, if you can't face up to these problems, the Ming Dynasty will perish sooner or later, this is the law of history, no one can change it, all we can do is to extend the time for the Ming Dynasty to survive."

"陛xià......"

"Yan'er, let's say, you are contributing to the extension of the Ming Dynasty."

"Your Majesty, there are three main reasons for the change of dynasties, one is that the people are in turmoil, such as Qin and Sui; the second is foreign invasion, such as the Two Song Dynasty; There is also a kind of rebellion among the people and foreign invasion at the same time, such as the Tang Dynasty. ”

"Yan'er, there is another kind, which is the rebellion of the ministers, such as the Western Han Dynasty." Zhu Youzhen was quite dissatisfied with Zhang Yan's words, "Yan'er, I want to listen to your heartfelt words, not to list the phenomena, knowing these direct causes is useless, the key is the internal reasons, for example, why the people are in chaos." ”

Zhang Yan's face was slightly red, she took a chair and sat down next to Zhu Youzhen, "Your Majesty, the people are in turmoil, naturally because there is no food to eat, and the Han people are relatively weak, if it is not really impossible to survive, they will not risk killing their heads and rise up against the imperial court, just like the Shaanxi mob who has been in trouble for several years......"

"Yan'er is right this time, the people are in turmoil because they can't survive, but why can't they live? Don't they have good land to plant? ”

"Your Majesty, the people are poor, firstly, because the taxes of the government are too heavy, and the income of the people's fields, after paying taxes, is no longer enough to support their families; The second is that at the end of each dynasty, the land annexation is strict, and the people have no land to plant, or rent the land of large households, adding a layer of exploitation. ”

"Yan'er has analyzed it very well, and I am working on solving these problems." Zhu Youzhen cast an appreciative look at Zhang Yan, "For example, the first question, the Ming Dynasty implemented the law of fifteen taxes and one tax, and the tax itself is not heavy, but the household department and local governments usually increase taxes in order to supplement the depleted financial resources, which is worth being vigilant against." ”

"Your Majesty, once the household department's financial resources are exhausted and the people's taxes are not increased, how will the imperial court operate?"

"Open source," Zhu Youzhen was extremely relaxed, "The people who pay taxes in the Ming Dynasty now are only the poorest people at the bottom, and the businessmen who hold a lot of wealth do not take a penny, which is really unreasonable." ”

"Is Your Majesty ready to levy industrial and commercial taxes?"