"Long live the will, you have also seen ......"

On the seventh day of the first month of March, when Bi Ziyan's voice sounded in the main hall, it also represented that Zhu Youzhen's meaning was transmitted back to the capital.

In order to go to Nanjing to hide from Zhu Youxiao, he did not hesitate to give him another month of vacation.

At the same time, he also asked the celebrant to write a holy decree to the cabinet, and the content of the holy decree was the same as what he and Zhu Youzhen said.

The household department contracted the cost of repairing the outer court of the Nanjing Imperial Palace, and the emperor bore the cost of repairing the inner court.

However, the whole project was supervised by the celebrants, and the cabinet and the six ministries only needed to pay money.

Regarding this matter, Bi Ziyan convened the ministers of the cabinet, and the five ministers sat in the main hall, but Gu Bingqian was missing a seat.

Since Gu Bingqian fell ill, he has not entered the palace.

Zhu Youxiao also sent someone to see him, and the people sent were Wang Kentang and Wu Youke, the two brothers' most trusted people.

However, Gu Bingqian did not pretend to be sick this time, but was really sick, and it was already difficult to even sit up, and the weight of the whole person plummeted from one hundred and twenty catties to less than one hundred.

Therefore, on the first day of the first month of March, Zhu Youxiao officially approved Gu Bingqian's Zhishi, and awarded him various loose ranks such as the prince and the prince, and at the same time awarded his second son Zheng Erpin, and was awarded the first good doctor.

The next day, Zhu Youxiao promoted Bi Ziyan to the first assistant of the cabinet, and Sun Chengzong served as the second assistant of the cabinet.

On the third day of the first month of March, after a day, Shi Feng, a scholar from the Middle Pole Temple, came to ask for Zhishi, and Zhu Youxiao also readily approved, and summoned Wen Tiren, the secretary of the Ministry of Works, and Zhou Yanru, the secretary of the Criminal Department, to enter the cabinet.

Therefore, the officials sitting in the main hall at present are Bi Ziyan, the first assistant of the cabinet, Sun Chengzong, the second assistant of the cabinet, Zhu Xieyuan, a scholar of Wenhuadian University, Wen Tiren, a scholar of Wuyingdian University, and Zhou Yanru, a scholar of Jianjidian University.

Such a cabinet configuration is not luxurious.

Looking at the four people below, Bi Ziyan didn't think that anyone would dare to make things difficult.

Although Sun Chengzong is a member of the Donglin Party, the Donglin Party is weak at the moment and is powerless to oppose this matter.

As for Wen Tiren and Zhou Yanru, although they belong to the Zhejiang Party and the Kun Party, they are both human spirits after all, and they know that the current situation has changed, and blindly helping the gentry to resist the imperial court is looking for death, so they basically only raise objections.

Excluding these three people, although the remaining Zhu Xieyuan is a member of the Zhejiang Party, his temper is also famous.

At that time, Zhu Guozuo and the others wanted to use the Lu'an Rebellion to promote a large number of Zhejiang party officials, but they were scolded by Zhu Xieyuan, and their temper can be seen.

With the character and temper of this group of people, it is hard for Bi Ziyan to believe that they will cling to this matter.

Therefore, when the matter was said and no one responded, Bi Ziyan expressed his opinion:

"This year, there is a major drought in the north, of which Shanxi and Shaanxi are the most severe, and the Jiangbei land in the south of Zhili has also suffered from drought, and it has not rained for a month and a half."

"Judging from the current situation, I am afraid that there will be no less than 40 prefectures and counties that need to be exempted this year, and the imperial court will lose no less than 20 million stones of money and grain."

Bi Ziyan first talked about the embarrassment of the imperial court, and then changed his tone and said:

"Even so, as long as the situation does not expand, with the land of the four provinces outside the Central Plains, there is no problem with an annual income of 80 million stones."

"On the side of the imperial store and the various divisions, I also asked, and the annual income of 40 million taels is guaranteed."

"Therefore, after the two are folded, I dare not say that I have an annual income of 80 million taels, but there are still 75 million taels."

"At present, the Beijing-West Railway has been completed, and the Beijing-Hangzhou Railway will be completed at the end of the year, and the expenditure of the imperial court next year will save four million taels of silver."

"According to this year's expenditure, it is estimated that next year, even if Enke wants to recruit officials, he will still have a surplus of about 5 million taels."

"After the train is opened, the two capitals can also be used flexibly, so there is nothing wrong with repairing the Nanjing Imperial Palace."

"This time, Long Live promised to use the inner court to repair the inner court, which is already a blessing for the country, and it is normal for the construction of the outer court to fall on the head of the six departments."

Bi Ziyan used "the good fortune of the country" to describe the decision made by the emperor, which shows that in their hearts, Zhu Youxiao is already very frugal.

This is not that Zhu Youxiao is really thrifty, but compared with Jiajing and Wanli, who often embezzle the state treasury, Zhu Youxiao will at least use internal funds to share.

Therefore, after Bi Ziyan spoke, no minister dared to refute.

Seeing this, Bi Ziyan also discussed and asked Wen Tiren: "On the Ministry of Industry, do you have any opinions?" ”

"No...... It is supervised by the master of ceremonies. ”

With Zhu Youzhen here, Wen Tiren did not dare to be corrupt, let alone let the people below be corrupt.

The construction of the Nanjing Imperial Palace is so big that if the hands and feet of the people below are not clean and affect him, then he has just entered the cabinet, and I am afraid that he will be kicked out in the next second.

Don't take the initiative to do things, don't take the initiative to take responsibility, don't take the initiative to be responsible...... This is Wen Tiren's "three noes" principle.

Repairing the palace was originally a laborious and laborious matter, and he had to go to Nanjing, and he had to be vigilant against the people below stealing and stealing, so Wen Tiren did not do this thankless work.

Since the celebrant is going to take over, let them take over.

Thinking like this, Wen Tiren instead thought that after the meeting was over, he would go to the kitchen to eat something.

"Since the Ministry of Industry is fine, let's disperse."

Seeing that everyone was fine, Bi Ziyan shook his head, and for a while he was still a little unaccustomed to this non-nonsense cabinet.

In this way, the affairs of Zhu Youzhen and Zhu Youxiao have been implemented, but the price of this implementation is not just as simple as the cabinet and the household department paying money.

Both brothers wanted to rest, but there had to be someone sitting in that place.

As for this person......

"I'm exhausted!"

"How can it be so hot!"

Almost at the same time, when Bi Ziyan and the others left the main worship hall, Zhu Ciran, who was on the county road of Huai'an Prefecture, stuck out his tongue and almost fainted.

The dry weather and the sudden rise in temperatures caught people off guard, and when Zhu Ciran and his team crossed the large channels of the Yellow River and the Huai River to Hebei, they found that many of the small rivers in Hebei had dried up.

The seedlings in the paddy fields are all sunburned, and the farmers in the river must constantly step on the machinery to divert water in order to pour water into the canal and let the paddy fields be moistened.

The farmers on the side of the road stepped on the water wheel, and Zhu Ciran on the road stepped on the bicycle, and they were no different at this moment.

The only difference may be that the peasants only have a hat to shade them, and Zhu Ciran has a shed anyway.

But even with a shed, the hot wind blowing in front of me was still extremely irritating.

Zhang Xiu...... How many times has it been?! ”

Zhu Ciran vented and shouted the name of Zhang Xiu, an official sitting in the back row of the Siyi Pavilion, and Zhang Xiu also took out the thermometer that was put aside when he heard the words.

】

"Twenty-eight degrees...... This weather, straight thief, obviously in previous years was only 212 degrees, why is it so high this year! ”

Rao is good-tempered Zhang Xiu couldn't help but scold, but Zhu Ciran complained when he heard this:

"These 28 degrees are the same as 30 degrees, doesn't it mean that it is just a small local drought? How is this scene? ”

Zhu Ciran was lying on the handlebar umbrella, his feet were still stepping on it, it was very funny at the same time, he also looked at the seedlings in the field and felt heartache.

He didn't feel sorry for Jiangnan, after all, Jiangnan had a dense water net, and the drought would not make the people go without food, most of them were just reduced grain production, and what he really felt sorry for was the people in the north.

"I don't know how many acres of paddy fields will be harvested after this great drought......

Zhu Ciran couldn't help but sigh, and at the same time, he also got up and leaned on the chair of the bicycle, and took out the map from the bamboo basket next to him to check.

At present, they have arrived in Linhong Town, which is less than 200 miles away from the boundary of Yanzhou Mansion in Shandong.

I just don't know if there will be a drought in Shandong in a few days, and whether it will affect a lot.

Thinking of this, Zhu Ciran couldn't help but take a look at the cloudless blue sky.

He had never hated a cloudless sky so much, but he also knew that his personal dislike could not solve the weather that did not rain.

He looked at the people who kept treading water wheels along the road, and finally could only shake his head and say:

"If this drought continues, I'm afraid that the people of Nanzhili will have to be relocated to one side again."

Despite having said that, Zhu Ciran also knew that with the situation in Zhili in the south and Zhejiang and Jiangxi, migration was the best way out.

Even if the local people have adapted to the days of working for people and being tenants, such days can only maintain food and clothing and daily expenses, and it is impossible to get rich.

The people did not save money, if the economy of Jiangnan has been good, it is okay, but the economy of Jiangnan is to put it bluntly relying on the textile industry to support, once the drought comes, the mulberry tree dies of drought, it will cause more than tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people unemployed.

When millions of people were unemployed and had no silver to save to fight the disaster, the imperial court had to pay the price for Jiangnan's deformed economy.

"How many textile farms are there in Jiangnan Yumajian? How many workers are there? ”

Zhu Ciran rode the car and asked Liu Shun, but Liu Shun couldn't answer this question, he tried to think about it before answering:

"In the fifteenth year of the Apocalypse, it seems that there are already more than 200 families and more than 500,000 workers."

"So much?" Hearing that the textile factory in Huangdian actually supported more than 500,000 people, Zhu Ciran turned around with some surprise, and Liu Shun also took the opportunity to explain:

"Originally, the situation of the dynasty did not affect the situation of the common people's men and women weaving, and it should only be possible to recruit more than 200,000 workers, but there are tens of millions of more people in Xiaoxiyang, and the people overseas also need white cloth, so there are more workers."

"The wage of the textile factory has always been fixed, 20 wen a day, 10 days a knot, and Chen does unitary return (7 o'clock to 17 o'clock)."

Liu Shun explained the treatment and working hours of the textile factory, and Zhu Ciran was also curious when he heard this: "What about rest?" Isn't there a rest? ”

"This ......" Hearing this, Liu Shun was a little embarrassed and said:

"Your Highness, there are too many workers to be supported by the imperial court, and the total number of factories is not less than four million, if they are allowed to rest like officials, then the imperial court will have to spend four or five million taels of silver every year to pay wages."

"If they take four or five million taels, then the imperial court will have four or five million taels less, and several railways will have to be stopped."

Liu Shun told the fact that the Ming Dynasty was in financial distress, and Zhu Ciran only reacted at this time.

In the final analysis, the conditions offered by factories in Huangdian are better than those of the local area, and in this era, it is a fool's dream for people to work and want to take paid Mu Xiu.

The reason why the daily wage is popular in Daming is that people can only work one less day if they want to rest, and paid leave is a benefit that cannot be achieved by productivity in this era.

The only people who can enjoy this benefit are the more than 2 million soldiers, horses, officials, and servants of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, after learning about the situation, Zhu Ciran stopped asking, and he felt that he should make up for his knowledge of economics after returning to Beijing, especially the "Economics" compiled by his uncle.

At the same time that he saw the severe drought in the southeast, Zhu Youzhen, who was far away in Hexi, also received news that the drought was worsening in various places.

He retreated from Jiayuguan to Suzhou City to rest, and when the news came, he was about to go out on horseback with four small ones.

However, when he saw the contents, his mind immediately raced.

"Your Highness, Sun Jingluo has already gone to Xi'an to prepare for the stabilization of grain prices."

When Zhu Youzhen looked at the song in his hand full of drought conditions in various places, Man Gui, who was wearing a round-necked robe, also happened to walk in from outside the house, and just happened to bump into Zhu Youzhen who was watching the song.

He told Zhu Youzhen the news he had just gotten, and Zhu Youzhen also closed his head when he heard this:

"If the drought is really like this, then the price of food in the north will definitely be flattened."

"Is it serious?" Man Gui could only grasp the information of the northwest, so he was curious about the drought situation in other places.

In this regard, Zhu Youzhen stretched out his hand and rubbed his eyebrows, and sighed:

"Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi, North Zhili, Henan, South Zhili...... And Guangdong ......"

"These places have suffered from drought to a greater or lesser extent, but fortunately, the imperial court has stockpiled grain in various places in advance, and presumably the price of grain will not be as exaggerated as in the fourteenth year of the Apocalypse."

Saying this, Zhu Youzhen also instructed Lu Yuangao next to him:

"Tell Sun Chuanting that if you play long live again, you can say that the north can release 30 million Shiping to suppress grain, and the south Zhili can release 10 million Shiping to suppress grain."

"Yes!" Lu Yuangao responded, and followed him to the side to arrange for Jinyiwei to deliver the news.

Zhu Youzhen walked in front of Man Gui, he didn't speak, but looked at Man Gui and felt very satisfied.

Compared with Huanglong, Zhu Youzhen is always satisfied with Man Gui and Sun Yingyuan.

Although the two of them have children and are also in high positions, they did not use their positions to make their heirs promoted to become wealthy, but let them study hard in Suncheon Academy.

It is not difficult to see that the two of them are focusing on the Qi State, so they don't want their heirs to be too involved in the military and political affairs of the Ming Dynasty.

"How are the children in the family learning now?"

Zhu Youzhen and Man Gui chatted about homely things, and Man Gui smiled honestly when he heard this: "That's it, you can't do anything." ”

He is not lying about this, he has four children, but his grades in government and government schools are not very good, and his personality is relatively "weak", which makes him hate iron but not steel.

However, Man Gui has followed Zhu Youzhen for so many years, and he has not learned anything else, but he has learned how to save his life.

In his opinion, with his current status, he will definitely not be able to rise further, at most he will be knighted.

Since you have obtained the title, there is no need to let your descendants hold the authority, as long as they have a certain status in the court, it is enough.

Only the meanness can live a long time, and fighting hard will only lead to death.

"Daddy!"

When Zhu Youzhen and Man Gui were chatting, Zhu Cihong, who had changed his clothes, and the other four little ones ran out and hugged Zhu Youzhen's thighs one after another.

The two thighs were held by four children, and Zhu Youzhen couldn't cry or laugh.

Seeing this, Man Gui also made an interesting gesture: "There are still some military affairs in the government that have not been handled, and the last general will retire first." ”

"Well......" Zhu Youzhen finally rested, and he didn't want to talk too much about military and political matters, so he watched Man Gui leave, and then took four small horses to the grassland not far north of Suzhou City to play.

Maintain a certain amount of exercise every day, this is Zhu Youzhen's habit, and it is also one of the few times when he can play with the four little ones.

But then again, the father takes his son, as long as he doesn't die, so Zhu Youzhen is very bold to take them to horseback riding, swimming, archery, kicking and juju, and playing polo.

Four small teams in one team, Zhu Youzhen and Lu Yuangao in one team.

The four of them rode four short horses, although Zhu Youzhen and Lu Yuangao also rode horses, they always played leisurely and didn't want to win.

After playing like this for a day, when they returned to Suzhou City, the dusk drum representing the curfew had already sounded.

With the passage of time and the continuous progress of industrialization, Zhu Youzhen was able to rest and relax properly.

But the only thing that is difficult to do is probably Zhu Youxiao, who is handling government affairs in the Forbidden City......

"One hundred and forty-nine pounds (89kg), have you lost so much weight?"

In the Kunning Palace at dusk, when Zhang Yan saw that Zhu Youxiao's weight had lost so many pounds, she couldn't help but look up in distress.

Sure enough, her husband, whom she hadn't seen for 12 days, was visibly smaller.

"Banzai didn't eat well?"

Zhang Yan asked distressedly, but Zhu Youxiao touched his short beard: "I have always eaten rice, but sometimes I don't sleep enough and eat less, and people will naturally lose weight." ”

After that, he patted his still big belly and said:

"I know why my younger brother can't get fat, and it's strange that he can get fat by handling government affairs like this all year round."

"Long live, the minister still has to check your pulse......"

Zhu Youxiao sighed, and Wang Kentang, who recorded Zhu Youxiao's weight next to him, also talked about business.

"Well......" Zhu Youxiao, who heard this, sat on the chair and put his hand on the silk bag for diagnosing the pulse.

Eighty-five-year-old Wang Kentang's beard was black, and when he saw Zhu Youxiao sitting down, he also sat down to check Zhu Youxiao's pulse.

When he was diagnosing his pulse, Chen Shigong from Tai Hospital also arrived at Kunning Palace, and he was responsible for examining Zhu Youxiao's body bones, and by the way, he straightened the bones.

Soon after he came in, Wang Kentang withdrew his hand with a smile and said to Zhu Youxiao:

"Long live I have lost twelve pounds in the past two months, and my pulse has become a lot stronger, not as volatile as before."

"That's a good thing, I didn't eat the medicinal food for so long in vain." Zhu Youxiao withdrew his hand and smiled kindly.

Wang Kentang also nodded when he heard this: "If you keep it for another two months, you should be able to lose about one hundred and thirty pounds, and you should be strong and not easy to get sick by then." ”

With that, Wang Kentang stood up, and Chen Shigong also stepped forward.

Wei Zhongxian and the others had people push the cart for orthopedics for Zhu Youxiao to lie down and relax his tired body during this time.

After doing all this, Zhu Youxiao also felt refreshed and moved his body a little in the hall.

Wang Kentang and Chen Shigong saw that Zhu Youxiao was fine, so they retreated and left the Qianqing Palace under the escort of the Jing Army.

After they left, Zhang Yan also ordered someone to pass the meal, and soon four dishes and one soup were placed on the table.

In addition to a dish of medicinal chicken, the rest is Zhu Youxiao's favorite seafood stew and roasted lamb's trotters, as well as some vegetarian dishes that Zhang Yan likes to eat.

Looking at this table of dishes, Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but touch his stomach and sighed to Zhang Yan:

"When I first came to power, I could eat eight or nine dishes per meal, sometimes a dozen."

"Right now, the Ming country is rich and the people are strong, but I can only eat four or five dishes."

Zhu Youxiao sighed at the changes in his life, and Zhang Yan could only persuade when he heard this: "It's okay to eat less, there are too many categories to eat at each meal, and sometimes you will get tired." ”

"This is also ......" Zhu Youxiao nodded his head in approval, and also said to Zhang Yan:

"Counting the time, it's time for Brother Ran to enter the Shandong territory, and when he comes back, it's time to choose a concubine for him."

"Well......" Zhang Yan was also very concerned about the marriage of her own parent, so she took the opportunity to say:

"How about choosing a concubine at the end of the year? Three hundred people will be selected first. ”

"Pretty much." Zhu Youxiao didn't interfere too much in Zhu Ciran's marriage, but asked about Zhu Ciji and Zhu Cijiong:

"How have you been learning this Brother Ji and Brother Jiong?"

"The courses recommended by the fifth uncle for them are easy to understand, these two children have learned well, but according to their age, I am afraid that after learning, the ministers will urge them to become vassals."

Zhang Yan is very worried about Zhu Ciji and Zhu Cijiong, although these two are not her own, but after all, she grew up watching.

As soon as she thought that they were going to surrender, Zhang Yan was a little panicked.

"Hmm...... Recently, Fan Guifei told me about this. Zhu Youxiao said while eating:

"I think that with the premise of a younger brother, they can follow their younger brother and study for two years without hurry."

"The concubine thinks the same way." Zhang Yan breathed a sigh of relief, she was most afraid that Zhu Youxiao would send these two children out directly.

After all, according to the new policy of the new dynasty, the Ming Dynasty itself did not allow vassal kings to become vassals, so if Zhu Cijiong and Zhu Cijiong really became vassals, it is estimated that it will be either Levia or the Hezhong region.

Such a far away, and the two of them are so small, it is strange that Zhang Yan is not worried.

It would be great for them to learn from Zhu Youzhen, not only could they learn something, but they would also be able to choose two better places in the future.

"By the way, long live, Concubine Li Xian and Concubine Zhang Hui are both happy."

After settling the matter of Zhu Cijian and Zhu Cijiong, Zhang Yan remembered the happy event in the inner court, so she reported it to Zhu Youxiao.

But Zhu Youxiao shook his head after hearing this: "I don't know if it's a son or a daughter this time......"

"......" Hearing Zhu Youxiao's words, Zhang Yan couldn't cry or laugh.

It stands to reason that Zhu Youxiao travels back and forth to the harem all year round, and it should be right that he has many heirs.

However, I don't know if he was born with only three sons in his life, and after so many years of hard work, he got six daughters.

Compared with Zhu Youzhen, who gave birth to six sons and four daughters in seven years next door, Zhu Youxiao, who has three sons and six daughters, feels very faceless.

Zhu Youxiao looked at Zhang Yan's pretty face, and was a little itchy for a while, but when he thought of the more than two hundred pieces of music that had not yet been processed by the Heart Cultivation Palace, he suddenly lost interest.

Looking at the medicinal food in the bowl, Zhu Youxiao was so interested that he couldn't help but think:

"I don't know how my brother handles so many sloppies every day and can give birth to so many children."