It was precisely because of the strict religious administration of the New Dynasty that the missionary progress of Western Christianity in China has been slow, and many missionaries lamented it.

"Niangniang, please rest assured, when building the defense project before, the ministers and others have always been careful to prevent Western missionaries from mixing into the craftsmen to preach, and after discovering a few, they were severely punished, and most of the craftsmen who remain now are staying for the salary given by our court, and they are not interested in preaching." Wei Guogong cautiously responded to the imperial concubine's question, "In the future, the ministers will continue to carefully monitor and use, and will never let the Western religion spread in this way." ”

"That's good." The imperial concubine also put her mind at ease, "Now that the new dynasty has been established, many systems have not yet been completed, and the country is also open, so Western missionaries are coming one after another, and sooner or later we must tighten the channels for Western missionaries to enter China, so that they can also understand that China is not a place where they can set foot at will......

"Western missionaries want to block, but blindly relying on blockade is not enough, if it is too strict, Westerners will not be able to enter, then it will become a forbidden sea." The emperor suddenly spoke at this time, "China wants to be based on the world, relying on being eclectic and learning from others' strengths. Besides, governing the country depends on letting the people live and work in peace and contentment, at least food and clothing are available, if the people have abundant food and clothing, they will naturally believe in our dynasty, if the people of the world have no food and clothing, even if foreign religions are banned, other religions will not be opposed? ”

The emperor's words were a bit harsh, but everyone understood that it was not aimed at the imperial concubine, but indirectly taught the princes, so they didn't intervene.

"Erchen understands," the prince nodded again and again, "The teacher also said that governing the country is more important than governing the people, as long as the people have no worries about food and clothing, they naturally know the etiquette and etiquette, and they also know the education of the court in their hearts." ”

"This makes sense, this teacher is not bad, it is rare not to be pedantic." The emperor nodded.

"Hey, let's eat quickly, just patronize and talk, the dishes are almost cold." Seeing that everyone had been chatting for a long time, the queen simply urged them to finish the family banquet first.

Soon, the family banquet in the Heart Cultivation Hall was finished, and after Wei Guogong's family and the royal family enjoyed the night scene in the palace together, they took their leave and left. The prince Xu Hecheng was originally the prince's attendant, and it stands to reason that he would continue to serve the prince, but because of the New Year, he has also been put back by the royal family, and he is ready to go to the outskirts of the capital with the prince and his father to survey the terrain after the New Year.

According to the rules, they naturally can't stay in the palace, but Wei Guogong's family did not go home directly from the palace, Wei Guogong first went to the cabinet to visit the class, and made sure that the cabinet had been on vacation, most of the cabinet ministers had gone home, and the prime minister did not leave him any other explanation, Wei Guogong took his wife and children home.

After the fall of the former Ming Dynasty, many of the mansions of the nobles in the capital were confiscated by the new dynasty, and many of them were transferred by the emperor to the ministers to use. As one of the top nobles of the new dynasty, Wei Guogong's family was naturally assigned to a mansion of nobles of the previous dynasty, with very large specifications and facilities.

I have to say that the cabinet is so keen to build a palace for the emperor, I am afraid that it is still because of some apologies, feeling that these ministers live so well, but the royal family lives so shabby, which is really a little unreasonable.

And after Wei Guogong's family left, the royal family also chatted happily with each other for a while, and then the emperor called the prince to the royal study in the west conservatory of the Qianqing Palace, as if he had something to explain to him.

As soon as he was called in by the emperor and faced his father alone, the prince's heart suddenly felt a little apprehensive, because his father's face became very serious, and he no longer saw the relaxed and easy-going at the family banquet just now.

"Father, may I ask...... What is the matter with the solitary summoning of the sons? He asked, a little nervously.

"What do you think of how you behaved at the meeting yesterday?" After a moment of silence, the emperor suddenly asked the crown prince. "What's the catch?"

It turns out that I'm finally here to test me...... After hearing his father's words, the crown prince breathed a sigh of relief.

When he attended the state meeting, he thought that his father would definitely come to test what experience he had learned, but his father only delayed until today to ask.

"Back to my father's words, the sons and daughters have a lot of feelings." He hurriedly lowered his head and said everything he had in mind before, "It's shallow on paper, and after the first time the minister attended the state meeting, he found that the state affairs were so complicated...... is the matter of conquering Japan, there are so many links to consider, it is necessary to convene the ministers, and determine the top and bottom in advance, the father is really tired. ”

"Soldiers, national affairs, a move is earth-shattering, I don't know how much financial and material resources will be spent, so we must be cautious, and no link can be negligent. The same is naturally true of other state affairs, whether it is civil affairs or finance, they are all deeply involved, how can it be as simple as it seems. The emperor nodded quietly, "So, you have to read and learn more, and understand everything you can understand, so that you can not be deceived and manage state affairs yourself." ”

"Erchen understands." The crown prince nodded, "Erchen has already obtained the appendix of the meeting minutes and Xingyangbo's notes, Erchen will definitely participate in the study in detail this time, and learn about the military affairs against Japan as soon as possible, so that it will be convenient for Erchen to go to Goryeo to take charge of the rear affairs later." ”

"It's not enough to just learn on paper, you have to practice it yourself. But fortunately, you are the crown prince, so naturally someone will come to help you teach you, as long as you don't worry about your identity, you can always learn well. The emperor looked at the crown prince quietly, "Do you have any other feelings?" ”

"And ......" The prince hesitated for a moment, as if he was choosing the wording, and finally he still mustered up his courage and raised his head and said, "Father, the sons and daughters feel that the ministers seem to be doing pointless disputes sometimes. For example, the two uncles Yongguo Gong and Cai Guogong, there is no reason for them to quarrel, right? In the end, it all became a battle of will, and the quarrel was so bad...... The retainers felt the need to stop the senseless battle of will above the court, so as not to lose the dignity of the minister......? lest the ministers gradually ignore right and wrong for the sake of will, and repeat the mistakes of the party strife of the previous Ming Dynasty......"

This was indeed something he had the audacity to say, because what he said was actually an allusion to the big dispute in the council hall, and there was a suspicion of a party dispute between the ministers of civil and military affairs. This was a very serious statement, and it was not necessarily pleasing to his father, but after careful consideration, the crown prince decided to say it anyway, speak out to his father, and do his duty as a son.

"In addition, it seems that the sons and daughters are all capable ministers, and there is no doubt about their loyalty, but after all, the official is in a high position and can't bear to be angry, so sometimes he will fight for some will, and the father only needs to mention one or two points to them, and they will naturally restrain themselves in the court in the future, so that such a fierce dispute will not break out." Then, the crown prince said what was in his heart, "These are some of the thoughts of the sons after this meeting, if there is anything wrong...... Please also ...... Please also ask my father to teach ......"

However, unexpectedly, after hearing the prince's bold and outspoken advice, the emperor did not become annoyed when he looked at the prince, and of course did not show joy, but a very strange expression. It's as if he wants to say something, but he doesn't know how to talk to the prince.

"Father......?" The prince's heart was slightly nervous, and he dared to ask.

"You...... You...... What should I say about this? The emperor was silent for a moment, and finally sighed, "Say you didn't think about it, you think a lot, and your brain is flexible, you know how to speak; Say you think about it, you don't think about it in the right place, you don't get to the point, and you can't satisfy me......"

My father was not satisfied with my reply! The prince chuckled in his heart.

"Erchen just said some of his own thoughts, if there is anything wrong, please ask my father to correct it......"

"Well, you're still young, it's not your fault, those teachers of yours are just teachers, and you can't force them to know more......" After a moment of silence, the emperor sighed again, "With the lessons of the previous Ming, those teachers of yours taught you to guard against party disputes, which is understandable, but if you want to say that your uncles quarrel so fiercely for some boring battle of will, you are underestimating them." ”

"Father...... Could it be that the uncles are not just arguing over the ownership of those gold and silver mines, but for something else? The prince was even more surprised. Are they drunkards not meant to drink? ”

"For the gold and silver mines, of course, but also for something else. When you sit high, you have to see things accurately. The emperor glanced at it, and seemed to be a little dissatisfied with the prince's performance, "You are right, their spirit has been accumulated for a long time, and today they just found an excuse to quarrel." ”

At the emperor's prompting, the prince fell into a deep groan, and it was not until a moment later that he raised his head in some shock.

"Father...... Father didn't mean to say that a few uncles ...... Several uncles are quarreling over the distinction between civil and military, and is it Wenchen Gao or Wuchen Gao who is arguing? ”

"Naturally, it is." The emperor remained silent, "Didn't you already see it?" Wenchen is on the side of Wenchen, and Wuchen is on the side of Wuchen, all for their own people...... It's not a battle of wills, it's a battle of factions......"