"Woo-woo-"

On the first day of the third month of the third year of Yongle, the horn sounded with the dragon boat setting sail.

On the wharf of Jiangdongmen, the horses and boats of 3,000 materials gradually left the port, and most of the passengers on those horses were soldiers and officials of the Sixth Ministry, the Governor's Office of the Six Armies, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

On the edge of the wharf, Zhu Gaoxu took hundreds of officials, including the Six Ministries, the Imperial History of the Left and Right Metropolitan Inspectorates, and the Governor's Office of the Six Armies, to send the dragon boat north.

Zhu Di and Empress Xu traveled to Beijing, and according to the route, they would follow the canal all the way north, passing through Yanzhou, Dongchang and Jinan in Shandong.

Therefore, before leaving, Zhu Di said that he would see how Shandong's new policy was when he passed through Sanfu, but Zhu Gaoxu did not feel uncomfortable, but welcomed it.

He didn't have time to get out of Nanjing, so he didn't know what Shandong's new policy was like, and whether there would be something like Sun Cheng's deception.

If Zhu Di can see something wrong in this trip to the north, it will be a good thing for the implementation of the new policy.

"Beiping, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and other places will be directly sent to His Majesty's dragon boat for disposal, and there is no need to send it to Nanjing."

"The rest of the music doesn't need to be sent to the Wuying Palace, it is directly sent to the Chunhe Palace."

"Ministers and Leaders ......"

As soon as Zhu Di left on his front foot, Zhu Gaoxu commanded the ministers behind him without thinking.

He won't do anything to exhaust himself to death, even if the old man goes to the north to fight, then the government affairs can't be left behind.

In the face of his fatwa, officials such as the Six Ministries and the Six Prefectures fought one after another, not daring to refute it.

When Zhu Di is there, they can still refute Zhu Gaoxu, after all, there is Zhu Di as a peacemaker,

Zhu Di is gone now, and their lives are uncomfortable, and they only feel that the environment is a lot more depressed.

"Drive back to the palace."

Looking at the appearance of the ministers, Zhu Gaoxu was very proud in his heart, and then walked back to the golden chariot on the dock, preparing to return directly to the East Palace.

The road back to the outer city of Nanjing from Jiangdong Gate is paved with a cement road ten zhang wide, after all, Jiangdong Gate is the busiest wharf of the Yangtze River waterway, and the construction of such a road is conducive to the development of commerce and trade.

In addition to the cement road of Jiangdong Gate, which is extended, the rest of the inner city and the outer city gate have also built cement roads, the difference is that they cut off the outer city gate and do not extend outward.

The reason for this is simply because Jiangnan cement production is insufficient.

After three years of continuous expansion, there are now 17 farms with an annual output of 17,000 tons.

The dredging of the Wusong River has not yet been completed, and the course of the Yellow River in the north of the river, as well as many sluices and dams used to sort out the Yellow River and flush the water and sand have not yet been completed.

In addition to these, the Jiangnan officials who saw the benefits also cried poorly, and they could have used the Tangyan canal and embankment to build Sanhe soil, and they all thought that Sanhe soil consumed food and was not as cost-effective as concrete.

Obviously, the water conservancy construction in the south of the Yangtze River has been greatly improved in the Hongwu period, but there are more than 20,000 water conservancy facilities that need to be repaired and built.

"It's shameless and skinless."

Looking at the amount of money in his hand, Zhu Gaoxu, who had just returned to the Chunhe Palace, laughed angrily.

"Among these swords, which need to be built urgently, the minister deliberately circled the red, and His Highness only needs to deal with these enough."

Standing in front of Zhu Gaoxu, Huang Fuyi, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, explained, and Zhu Gaochu was also satisfied.

He circled red on the song and looked at Huang Fu at the same time.

Huang Fu looks ordinary, but his temperament is extraordinary, and Zhu Gaoxu has high hopes for him.

After all, he did a good job in history, whether he was in charge of the construction of Beijing or as the secretary of the household department in Nanjing, especially in the governance of Jiaozhi, even the local wealthy families and low-level people in Jiaozhi were admired.

If it weren't for Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanji who transferred him back twice, and the eunuch Ma Qi did evil in Jiaozhi again, then Li Li would not have been out of control.

Of course, Zhu Gaoxu values Huang Fu the most, or he dared to lash out at Zhu Zhanji when he shrank and begged for peace.

Zhu Gaoxu forgot the specific content, but Zhu Zhanji was scolded facelessly anyway, and was scolded by Huang Fu from finance to military, and finally had to send Zheng He to the West again, and sent Huang Fu to Nanjing to serve as the head of the household department, responsible for collecting taxes from the south and transporting the north.

Facts have proved that Zhu Zhanji's move is very correct, at least during the period from Huang Fu's inauguration of Nanjing Hubu Shangshu in the seventh year of Xuande to his death in the fifth year of orthodoxy, there was no major problem with the taxation in the south, which supported the two battles of the first northern expedition in the orthodox period and the first conquest of Luchuan in the south.

As soon as Huang Fu died, the southern finances in the orthodox years could not be collected and not mentioned, and many local officials broke out to exploit the people and revolt.

It's a pity that such talents are not well used, so Zhu Gaoxu will directly promote him to be the secretary of the Ministry of Industry.

In case Yu Xin can't do it anymore, Xia Yuanji can replace the lack of the household department, Huang Fu can replace the secretary of the department, and Zhu Gaoxu can also arrange for Sun Cheng to take over the Ministry of Works.

The household department, the official department, and the Ministry of Industry, as long as these three yamen grasp it firmly and there are no major forks, the Ming Dynasty can still prosper for 50 years.

Thinking like this, Zhu Gaoxu also cared for Huang Fu a lot: "The affairs of the Ministry of Industry are bothering you a lot." ”

"Among the courtiers, I trust you and Yu Xin and Xia Yuanji the most, and I love you very much but I don't know how to reciprocate, so I can only show my favor with rewards."

Huang Fu, who Zhu Gaoxu said about this earthy love story, hurriedly moved, and before Huang Fu could react, Zhu Gaoxu said to the celebrant and eunuch in the corner:

"Give Huang Fu, Xia Yuanji, Yu Xin, and Sun Cheng four bullfighting suits, thousands of money, and 100 pieces of silk and satin."

"Slave and maid to teach."

"Your Highness Your Highness Long's ......"

The celebrant eunuch and Huang Fu fought one after another, but Zhu Gaoxu motioned for Huang Fu to get up, and asked him at the same time: "What happened to the Yellow River and Wusongjiang?" ”

"Returning to Your Highness......" Huang Fu sorted out his thoughts before continuing:

"The lower reaches of the Wusong River are almost silted into flat land, and the section of the Huangpu River passing through the entrance of the Wusong River is even more difficult to contain."

"The minister dredged and visited at the same time, and now it has been dredged for nearly 100 miles, but if you want to go further, you have to build a stone gate at the confluence of Xiajiapu, Xinyangjiang and Wusong River, so as to control the flow of the river and prevent the tide and sand from pouring into the Wusong River."

"In addition, we have to open a river for 15 zhang, from Huangdu to Songjia Bridge, which is 80 miles long along the way, so that the Wusong River can restore order a little."

"However, if you want to completely solve the problem of the Wusong River, you have to dredge the north and south beaches of the Wujiang River to cover the water of Taihu Lake."

"The officials of the Ministry of Industry have calculated that if the problem of Wusong River and Taihu Lake is solved, I am afraid that the cost of money and grain will not be less than six million guan ......."

6 million, which is almost one-fifth of the annual financial revenue of the Ming Dynasty.

If the salaries of civil and military officials and the army are removed, it will take at least five years to make up for this money.

The reason why Huang Fu divided the governance into three stages was that he felt that it was impossible for the imperial court to solve this problem in a short period of time.

"In this way, the imperial court will transfer 600,000 guan to Ling every year, and solve the problems of Wusong River and Taihu Lake within ten years, so that the people of Songjiang Mansion can enjoy peace."

In the face of floods, Zhu Gaoxu has always attached great importance to it, and he will not stop building the local area because the squires and wealthy households in the six prefectures of Jiangdong are disgusted with him.

Once the problem of flooding in the Wusong River and Taihu Lake is solved, Jiangnan, the land of fish and rice, can also be further improved, and the imperial court can also get more benefits.

It's something that is definitely going to be done in the long run.

"The dredging and repair of the Yellow River and the canal, the Ministry of Industry estimates that it will take 200,000 yuan to start construction, and it will take five years to solve the current problem."

"However, if the Yellow River continues to flood in the future, the canal will still be silted up, so it is necessary to allocate a fixed amount of money every year to maintain it after the problem is solved."

"The minister and the Ministry of Industry have calculated that if according to the new policy of the imperial court, if no conscription is launched, it will need at least 4 million guan, about 800,000 guan per year."

"In addition, the follow-up maintenance will cost about 200,000 yuan to maintain."

Huang Fu told the Yellow River and the canal together, but Zhu Gaoxu, who had been listening to it, wanted to pull out the two Song emperors and whip their corpses.

The pot of the two Song and Sanyi returning to the river and breaking the Yellow River was his turn to mend it.

"Is there anything else to cost? Let's talk about it together. Zhu Gaoxu looked at Huang Fu and had a slight headache.

"It is mainly the construction of cement yards in local areas, as well as the construction of pond weirs, canals and embankments, and official roads in various places."

Huang Fu summed it up: "The minister has calculated, except for the work in Jiangnan, there are about 34,000 items, and if you use forced labor, the cost should be about 800,000 guan, and if you don't use it, it will be about 4 million guan." ”

On the issue of whether or not to use conscription, Daming would have to face an expenditure of 3.2 million yuan, so Zhu Gaoxu was also a little hesitant after hearing this.

Undecided, he asked Huang Fu: "Do you think the imperial court should use forced labor?" ”

"In the opinion of the ministers, it is better not to use it if it can be used, and it is better to delay it than to delay agricultural work."

Huang Fu is still people-oriented, and Zhu Gaoxu also thinks this way, but he still makes arrangements for these projects: "The Ministry of Industry divides these things into priorities, first do urgent things, and then slowly do not rush to do them." ”

"The expenses of the imperial court this year are also large, and the household department has approached me many times, so this is the only way."

Yongle is destined not to be peaceful in three years, the northern expedition and the southern expedition are carried out at the same time, and there are still major projects in the country.

As for this year's financial situation, Zhu Gaoxu is not prepared to see any savings and balances, as long as he does not eat Lao Zhu's old bottom, he will be thankful.

Huang Fu also knew it, so he said that he would delay it if he could, because he knew that the imperial court was under great financial pressure.

"In that case, the minister will return to the Ministry of Industry now, arrange the matter, and then count it with the Ministry of Households."

He did not stay in the Spring and Temple, but left after discussing the matter.

After he left, Zhu Gaoxu also began to devote himself to the handling of the music.

I am afraid that such days will last until Zhu Di returns to Nanjing.

If it weren't for the fact that Zhu Gaoxu had already finished teaching Taixue's course this year during the winter vacation, he might have been anxious to burn his eyebrows at this moment.

"Tobe Shangshu Yuxin asks to see His Royal Highness......"

"Xuan!"

The sound of singing at the palace gate came, and Zhu Gaoxu responded without thinking.

Not long after, Yu Xin walked into the palace with the song and handed it over to the eunuch who was the celebrant of the celebrant and handed it to Zhu Gaoxu.

After Zhu Gaoxu opened it, he frowned.

"Your Highness, in the past three months, the total amount of grain transported by sea by the imperial court has been more than 226,000 stones, and only more than 194,000 stones have been safely transported."

The disadvantages of shipping were brought up by Yu Xin, but Zhu Gaoxu asked after reading it:

"The country's seaborne grain is all in the near sea lane, and it can be salvaged even if it sinks, why is the loss so big?"

Seeing this, Yu Xin also explained: "The main reason is that Qinzhou has a large loss from Annan, as well as Jiangnan to Zhigu, and Jiangnan to Yinqi. ”

"Moreover, the loss of money and grain is much lower than the loss of shipping during Emperor Gao's time, mainly because of the technological progress of the horse ship, which allowed the construction of 5,000 material horse ships."

"You're saying that attrition is inevitable?" Zhu Gaoxu raised his head and asked Yu Xin, and Yu Xin could only bow his head.

"Okay." Rubbing his eyebrows, Zhu Gaoxu could only admit this loss.

It is better to be overturned by one percent by sea than to be greedy by officials along the road by land.

"Anything else?"

Seeing that Yu Xin had no intention of leaving, Zhu Gaoxu put down the red note and asked, and Yu Xin also hesitated and raised his hand: "The minister is old and wants to beg for support at the end of the year." ”

"......" Hearing Yu Xin's idea of going home to retire, Zhu Gaoxu subconsciously felt that Yu Xin was under pressure, but after a while, he reacted again, Yu Xin did die of illness after a few years of work during the Yongle period.

Now that he has a few years to live, he should really feel that his body is not as good as before, so he came to beg for support.

"In addition to Xia Yuanji, do you have anyone else you can recommend?"

Zhu Gaoxu also wants to let Yu Xin go home and live for a few more years, but there is indeed a shortage of people in the DPRK, especially those he trusts.

Sun Cheng will not be able to get out of Liaodong and Shandong to enter Beijing until at least the end of next year, and Yu Xin's decision to leave at this juncture does make him a little helpless.

"Political envoy Sun Cheng ......"

Yu Xin recommended Zhu Gaoxu's person, and Zhu Gaoxu was very helpless: "Sun Cheng will not be able to enter Beijing until at least the end of next year, do you have anyone else to recommend?" ”

"Guo Zi, the secretary of the Beijing Branch." Yu Xin reluctantly said that Guo Zi, who is now in charge of the work of the Beijing Bank.

Guo Zi is Zhu Di's person, which is why Yu Xin did not mention him at the beginning.

However, he underestimated Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Gaochu didn't care who Guo Zi was, after all, most of the household was his people.

"That's it, when the northern expedition is over, I will transfer Guo Zi to the south, you take him to get familiar with him, and then return in the spring of next year."

"Thank you, Your Highness, ...... Long"

Getting Zhu Gaoxu's answer, Yu Xin breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he wanted to do more for Zhu Gaoxu, his body no longer allowed it to continue.

People are afraid of death, and Yu Xin is no exception.

Now he just wants to go home and enjoy the last few years.

"I will send the imperial doctor to the household department every month to check your pulse, you don't have too much burden, take good care of your body."

Looking at Yu Xin, who was only fifty-eight years old, Zhu Gaoxu could only sigh that the household department really consumed energy, and those who could live to sixty in the household department were considered great figures.

If Yu Xin can live to be in his seventies, he will lose most of the financial pressure.

It's just a pity......

"The minister retired."

Seeing Yu Xin slowly withdraw from the Chunhe Palace, Zhu Gaoxu sighed deeply, shook his head and continued to deal with the music.

As he dealt with the notes, time passed little by little.

On the ninth day of the first month of March, the ninth day of the dragon boat journey north, this high-profile team finally crossed Xuzhou and entered Shandong.

As Zhu Di said at the beginning, after arriving in Shandong, he took Xu off the ship and took the car north under the pretext that the canal was blocked and the fleet was difficult to walk.

This is the third year of Shandong's implementation of the New Deal, but for the people of Yanzhou Prefecture, this is only the second year, because the policy of the New Deal was only implemented locally in the second year of Yongle.

As the most populous province in the north, even if millions of people have migrated to Liaodong, the population of Shandong is still denser than that of the northern provinces.

Starting from the disembarkation of the Jiagou Water Station, the team could see the people farming on both sides of the official road all the way north.

The people of Shandong in this season are still busy with spring ploughing, in order to understand them, Zhu Di specially took Queen Xu to change into clothes made of fine yarn.

Although the common people can wear fine yarn, a single piece of clothing of this material can cover the income of the peasants on two acres of land, and except for some small landlords who are willing to wear it, ordinary rich peasants and ordinary people are absolutely reluctant to buy this kind of clothes to wear.

As Zhu Di rode in a carriage under the escort of dozens of cavalry to the township far away from the official road, the local lieutenant chief and grain chief also got the news and hurriedly came to greet the two.

"Zhang Ping, the head of Xiaogouhe Village (Wang Wu, the chief of grain), see Your Majesty, long live long live......"

As the chief and grain chief of Xiaogouhe Village, Zhang Ping and Wang Wu never thought that they would be able to meet the emperor and empress.

They prostrate on the land, waiting for the emperor's speech.

"Let's get up, just say to the people that I am the magistrate of the county, I just want to see how the new policy in Shandong is."

Zhu Di blurted out "I" made Zhang Ping and Wang Wu stunned, and the two looked at each other, obviously not expecting the emperor to call himself me.

"You two became officials at this age, serving as the chief and the chief of the grain?"

Zhu Di looked at the two who were only eighteen or nineteen years old, and couldn't help but wonder why they were so young.

"Back to Your Majesty......" The two who reacted looked at Zhu Di, who was guarded by the cavalry, and Queen Xu, who was charitable next to her, and explained after a pause:

"Most of the students who graduated from Bohai and served as Xu officials are mainly fifteen to twenty-five, and the two ministers are already considered to be older."

"Oh?" This surprised Zhu Di a little, and Queen Xu on the side also asked:

"At your age, you have to deal with the people in the countryside, measure the acres of land for them, organize households for the people, and collect taxes, so don't you encounter difficulties?"

Empress Xu is not a person who does not eat fireworks in the world, she knows very well that there are difficult people among the people in the countryside, so she knows that it is not easy to do things in the countryside.

At the age of Zhang Ping and the others, it was the time when they were despised, and they suffered a lot when they thought about it.

"Back to Your Highness......"

Wang Wu, as the chief of the grain collection, replied when he saw Empress Xu's inquiry: "At first, there were, but when we met these people, we sent one person to the town, invited the brothers in the army to come, and punished the troublemakers for half a month's imprisonment." ”

"After a long time, there will be no more trouble in the village, and the grain collected by the court is not much."

"Isn't one out of ten not too much?" Zhu Di stroked his beard, he always felt that his second child was very exploited in Shandong, so he said that he wanted to come to Shandong for a walk.

"It's a lot less than in the Hongwu period." When Wang Wu saw the emperor speak, he immediately explained.

It's just that in the face of his explanation, Zhu Di didn't believe it at all, and said directly to Xu Zengshou, Wang Yan and others around him: "You send two people to watch them, and the others follow me into the village to have a look." ”

"Command!" Xu Zengshou and the others responded, but Zhu Di glared at them: "It's called I know the county." ”

"Yes...... Zhixian. Xu Zengshou and Wang Yan looked at each other, and nodded with a smile.

"Zhixian, if we don't enter the village, I'm afraid the villagers won't talk to you easily."

Zhang Ping and Wang Wu saw that the emperor was going to send someone to guard them, so they reminded him.

"Humph!" Zhu Di snorted coldly when he heard this: "I see that you are afraid that the people will tell me the truth, so you deliberately said this." ”

"You let me take you with me, I don't!"

After that, Zhu Di walked into Xiaogouhe Village with high spirits, but Queen Xu did not follow and asked the two: "Why don't the people dare to talk?" ”

"Back to Your Highness." When Zhang Ping saw Empress Xu asking, he immediately explained:

"The fields in this village are all equally divided from the hands of the Yansheng Mansion, and most of the people in the village are former tenants of the Yansheng Mansion."

"Although the land is now equalized, the Yansheng Mansion often sends people here, as if they think that this field will be given back to them in the future."

"The more they came, the more people in the village naturally became more vigilant, and they didn't dare to talk to outsiders, and most of the time they asked the two of us to come forward to drive away the slaves of the Yansheng Mansion."

Zhang Ping explained, but the more Empress Xu listened, the more frowning she became, and finally spoke: "You go in with me." ”

"Yes!" When Zhang Ping and Wang Wu heard this, they were instantly excited.

Not long after, the two and Empress Xu walked into Xiaogouhe Village not far behind Zhu Di and them.

At the same time, Zhu Di also saw dozens of people working in the fields, and immediately stepped forward with a pretended honest smile.

"Uncle, your field is good, is it the Juntian of the imperial court?"

Zhu Di pretended to be honest, but as soon as he said that, several old farmers who were working looked at each other, then lowered their heads and did not answer.

Zhu Di was not shy after eating, but stepped forward more and more courageously to get to an old farmer, snatched the farm tools from his hands, and said while helping him work:

"Don't be afraid of me, I am an official who went to the north to take office, and I just want to ask you when I pass through Shandong, now that Shandong has implemented a new policy, how is my life like before?"

"Give me back the hoe." The old farmer didn't answer the question, but just tried to snatch the hoe back from Zhu Di's hand.

"I can't help you with the work." Zhu Di often watched the people doing farm work in Beiping, and he also had two brushes.

In the past, he helped with farm work in Beiping, and the people were grateful to him, but now he is disliked here.

"I'm not missing arms and legs, and I need help from people like you?"

The old farmer snatched back the farm tools from Zhu Di's hands, lowered his head and only cared about his own work, too lazy to take care of Zhu Di.

Such a scene made Zhu Di very deflated, and he couldn't help but wonder if he became high after becoming the emperor.

He was still doubting himself, and Zhang Ping and Wang Wu in the distance saw this and said to Queen Xu:

"Your Highness, you have also seen that the villagers are not present without me, and they really dare not talk to outsiders."

"Why?" Empress Xu was puzzled: "Just a few small talks, there shouldn't be any problems, right?" ”

"This ......" Zhang Ping and Wang Wu hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Since the land has been equalized, there have been many officials and squires who want to find trouble with the new policy. ”

"Some villagers were unabashed, and after answering a few questions, they were made a fuss by the group of people, so as to impeach the new policy and discourage the people."

"After being fooled, the villagers are not afraid to communicate with outsiders."

"No wonder ......" Empress Xu shook her head after hearing this, thinking of Zhu Di often telling her that there were often officials in Shandong impeaching the New Deal.

The reason why Zhu Di feels that Shandong's new policy is problematic comes from these impeachments.

Before Zhang Ping and Wang Wu explained, Empress Xu did not suspect this group of officials, but now it seems that things may not be so simple......

(End of chapter)