Zhu Youzhen knew that what he had inherited was a mess. But before he ascended the throne of the Ming Emperor, he just knew that this mess was very bad, but to what extent, he didn't know.

For an emperor, Zhu Youzhen is very insecure in the Forbidden City. His grandfather, father, and elder brother were all once the supreme rulers of the Ming Dynasty, the supreme ruler of the Celestial Empire, but his father and brother all died bizarrely, which made him feel nervous and in crisis all the time when he had just moved from the Xinwang Mansion to the Forbidden City.

For Zhu Youzhen, he thinks that his biggest threat is none other than Wei Zhongxian, the old eunuch who is respectfully waiting for him to give orders in front of him.

If Wei Zhongxian knew that Emperor Zhu Youzhen regarded him as a threat to his life, then he would definitely feel very wronged.

Wei Zhongxian also knew why Zhu Youzhen was so good at guarding against the embankment. When the Emperor of the Apocalypse was still alive, Wei Zhongxian, who controlled the spy power of the Ming Dynasty, had indeed sent people to monitor and control Zhu Youzhen. But this is not his personal thoughts and attitudes.

As a confidant of the previous emperor, whether it was the emperor's direct instruction or the emperor's secret hints, it was out of the natural mission of a confidant, and he had to take full precautions against all factors that might threaten the emperor's position.

For Wei Zhongxian, Zhu Youzhen was not even the main object of his defense and surveillance. His main object of defense is none other than Zheng Guifei, the favorite concubine of the Wanli Emperor, who was in various palace mysteries in the late Ming Dynasty. If it weren't for the fact that Zhu Youzhen no longer trusted him now, he would have ordered people in the palace to investigate the mysterious cause of the Emperor's death.

Wei Zhongxian even always suspected that the Emperor of the Apocalypse fell into the water for no reason, which was definitely directly related to Concubine Zheng Guifei, a woman who had held the power of the palace for decades.

Although Wei Zhongxian's body parts are mutilated, he is not a psychopath, he is also a person with normal feelings. For the Emperor of the Apocalypse, Wei Zhongxian is truly loyal and loving. Wei Zhongxian has never read a book, and it is true that he is a ruffian, but this kind of background determines that Wei Zhongxian has always had a strong plot of repaying his gratitude in the depths of his heart.

His allegiance to the Emperor of the Apocalypse was, on the one hand, indeed because of the great power that this allegiance brings. But on the other hand, Wei Zhongxian, who was infamous and conscientious in front of the Ming Dynasty, did have a certain factor of repaying the kindness of the Emperor of the Apocalypse.

In September 1627, Wei Zhongxian did not know that he would end up with a tragic end of being dismembered to the public. He always thought in his heart that he was not a person like Wang Zhen of the Tianshun Dynasty and Liu Jin of the Zhengde Dynasty. He felt that he was a person like Huang Jin of the Jiajing Dynasty and Feng Bao of the Wanli Dynasty. Both Huang Jin and Feng Bao held great authority and power at that time, but everything they did was at the behest of the emperor. That's the kind of person I am.

Therefore, after realizing that the new emperor was not ready to follow the will of the previous emperor and reuse his will, and was also very disgusted with himself, Wei Zhongxian, who had already made all his efforts, was disheartened. He doesn't care about the government anymore. Wei Zhongxian silently waited for the new emperor's men to take over the internal and external power in his hands, and made sufficient mental preparations for being sent to Nanjing to guard the imperial tomb and farm the land.

"Wei Zhongxian, what do you think about this matter?"

Zhu Youzhen is different from Zhu Youxiao, he does not exist as a prince. The education of the vassal king and the education of the crown prince were completely different, although when he was a child, Zhu Youzhen and Zhu Youxiao, as the crown prince, received the same lecture treatment and received the same Confucian education. However, he did not have the corresponding officials to be prepared in advance as political helpers in the future. And about how to be an emperor and how to deal with government affairs, Zhu Youzhen has not received imperial education.

Therefore, after ascending to the emperor's throne, Zhu Youzhen, who was deeply disturbed, lacked helpers. He was caught off guard by the sudden situation. In this case, follow his brother's will, "Wei Zhongxian is loyal and loyal, and he can count big things!" Relying on Wei Zhongxian's political wisdom has become Zhu Youzhen's only choice.

Wei Zhongxian was stunned when he heard Zhu Youzhen's words. Since Zhu Youzhen ascended the throne, he has almost never consulted Wei Zhongxian about anything. The communication between the two is just to report some important things to him, and then the new emperor will send him away lukewarmly, and he will not say a superfluous word to himself. Today, the new emperor actually asked his opinion with a rare attitude, which surprised the disheartened Wei Zhongxian.

However, Wei Zhongxian did not see this as a signal that the new emperor was about to reuse himself. He knew that the reason why the new emperor would ask him this question was entirely because the new emperor did not have a reliable helper yet. This new emperor, who attaches great importance to Confucianism and is like a young Confucian student, believes only in civil ministers. So he said to Zhu Youzhen with a cold expression:

"Emperor, this chaotic matter of the people is not something that only exists now. Whether it is Shaanxi, Shanxi, or Henan, these places have been plagued by famine since the old age of the temple master (Emperor Wanli) in his later years. These common people don't know the truth of the saints, they will be honest when they are full, and if they can't eat enough, they will rebel and make trouble. ”

Hearing Wei Zhongxian's reasoning about whether he was a sage or not, Zhu Youzhen's brows couldn't help frowning. But he didn't say anything, but motioned for Wei Zhongxian to continue.

Wei Zhongxian sensitively noticed the new emperor's displeasure, but he sneered in his heart and continued:

"The imperial court has nothing to do about it. The response to the famine in this place is nothing more than tax exemption and relief. However, all the people in this place who wanted to rebel and make trouble were almost all poor men who had no land, and the benefits of tax exemption would only fall on the local gentry. ”

"However, there are still some benefits for the people. But it was up to local officials to distribute the relief. However, most of the local officials are greedy for money. When this relief reaches the place, it is good that one or two layers can be left and distributed to the people. Therefore, when the imperial court allocates grain funds, it must always prepare more, and take into account the benefits of local officials, so that the people can get more benefits. ”

Zhu Youzhen couldn't listen to Wei Zhongxian, a eunuch, talk about the disadvantages of civil officials. Hearing this, his stomach was already full of fire. However, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan have all reported serious cases of gangsters, and Zhu Youzhen must now rely on Wei Zhongxian to solve these problems.

"Then in your opinion, how to solve the current situation in Shaanxi?"

Wei Zhongxian could clearly feel Zhu Youzhen's dissatisfaction, and he replied to him a little crookedly: "When Emperor Daxing was alive, he felt that all civil officials were thieves and thought they were unreliable. Therefore, when you hear about this kind of local matter, you must always send Jinyi Wei to investigate or check the report of the eunuch guarding the town. ”

The slave maid thought that the favorite thing of the local governor was to shirk responsibility. Therefore, since the matter has reached Shaanxi, and the local government does not dare to hide the situation that has to be reported, the local situation will only get worse. Therefore, the slave maid felt that the emperor might as well understand the truth before making a decision. "Time Gate 1619

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Chapter 322 The King of the Fallen Country & The Minister of the Fallen Country 1