Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 122 You told me it was a natural disaster? You are blaming the Jiangnan gentry

The first day of the first lunar month in the first year of the Jiajing reign.

Zhu Houcong first went to worship the Taimiao, and then went to the southern suburbs to worship heaven and earth.

Afterwards, he returned to the palace and paid New Year's greetings to Empress Dowager Shao, Empress Dowager Zhaosheng, Empress Dowager Xingguo, and Empress Zhuangsu.

"Brother, my sister and I are here to wish you a happy new year."

After that, Princess Yongchun and Princess Yongfu came to him with a smile to wish him a happy new year.

Zhu Houcong smiled and gave the two the gifts he had prepared for them.

"Your Majesty, your servants wish you a happy new year as well!"

Then, Huang Jin, Wang Chunjing and others also greeted him and he gave them some rewards.

On this day, all the ministers wished him a happy new year, and officials from China and abroad also presented him with congratulatory messages.

Zhu Houcong also gave some rewards to important officials.

Zhu Houcong also took a special look at the congratulatory message, and when he saw the words "the first year of Jiajing" on it, he felt infinite emotion in his heart.

He hoped that his Jiajing reign would truly be a good start for this empire and even this civilization.

but.

Because I need to take a vacation.

For the next period of time, Zhu Houcong did not deal with much government affairs, but continued to spend the holidays with his family in the palace.

But not everyone is taking a break.

These days, Gui E patrols more frequently than in the past to prevent disputes from arising during the festival period due to the more prosperous business.

In order not to delay the court's affairs, Xi Shu, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and Jia Yong, the Cabinet Scholar, left Beijing and headed south to purchase supplies in the name of the Grain Bureau, after spending New Year's Eve with their families.

It was the sixth day of the first lunar month.

Zhu Houcong officially ended his vacation and began his imperial lecture in the Wenhua Hall.

After the lecture, Zhu Houcong summoned Liang Chu to the Wenhua Hall and asked, "Has the grain confiscated from the Kong family in Shandong arrived?"

"Your Majesty, I just arrived."

Liang Chu replied.

Zhu Houcong nodded.

Although Shandong is not far from the capital, the canal is frozen in winter, so transportation is slow and the goods are not delivered to the capital until after the New Year.

"Let the Minister of Warehouses keep a close eye on it and make sure nothing goes wrong. This is the key to reshaping the money law this year."

Zhu Houcong instructed.

Liang Chu bowed and said yes.

then.

Zhu Houcong added: "I will also ask the Jinyiwei to allocate personnel to secretly assist and monitor."

Liang Chu said: "This is even better. I believe that God will not let your Majesty down. Since it is beneficial to the country and the people, it will definitely succeed! Please don't worry, Your Majesty!"

Zhu Houcong nodded and smiled.

although.

Zhu Houcong also pretended to remain calm on the surface.

But he knew.

There are fifteen granaries in the capital, and each granary has a large number of warehouses. The Jinyiwei currently has limited strength. Apart from guarding the interior and spying in the city and various important roads, they are spread out to guard the granaries. It is estimated that they cannot keep a close eye on every granary.

The most crucial thing is that due to insufficient manpower, the grain has not yet been stored in brick granaries. It is only temporarily stored in temporary wooden warehouses. It is really difficult to keep a close eye on the grain from the Kong family in Shandong.

This made Zhu Houcong secretly make up his mind that after the financial revenue increased and the army was expanded, he would quickly expand the Jinyiwei.

After all, the Jinyiwei’s strength is seriously insufficient now.

It is not enough to keep an eye on the capital, so how can we keep an eye on the entire country, or even on important overseas strategic locations in the future?

But that’s a story for another day.

After all, expanding the Jinyiwei is not as simple as issuing an edict. How to select people, how to train, how to assess, how many schools should be built, and how many people should be trained first based on the current financial resources?

These are all things to consider seriously!
Zhu Houcong can now only try his best to ensure the smooth progress of the current task of reshaping the currency system in Shuntian Prefecture based on the actual situation.

So, after thinking about it, Zhu Houcong said to Liang Chu:
"We still need to quickly organize the laborers to transfer Shandong's grain to the granaries!"

Liang Chu said: "I have already given instructions, but before the Lantern Festival, there are too many laborers returning home, so it is difficult to recruit them at once. We have to wait until the Lantern Festival is over before we can organize the laborers to move the grain into the granary as soon as possible."

Zhu Houcong nodded: "In any case, it must be done as soon as possible!"

"Yes!"

The Lantern Festival is here in a blink of an eye.

For the people of the Ming Dynasty, Lantern Festival and New Year's Day are equally important.

Especially the Lantern Festival.

Many people started going out to watch the Aoshan Lantern Festival.

Zhu Houcong also accompanied Princess Yongchun to the back mountain again to see the lights all over the city.

But at this moment, Zhu Houcong saw a fire spreading outside Chaoyang Gate, illuminating the entire sky red.

Zhu Houcong's face darkened on the spot.

"Brother Royal?"

Princess Yongchun noticed the unhappy look on Zhu Houcong's face.

"Sister, let's go back first. His Majesty should have something to deal with."

Zhu Houcong's sister Yongfu took Yongchun and left the back mountain first.

After Yongfu and Yongchun left, Zhu Houcong asked the eunuch Qin Wen of the Imperial Household Department:
"I remember that was the Nanxin Warehouse where Shandong's grain was stored, right?"

Qin Wen's lips and teeth were already trembling: "Yes, Your Majesty, yes!"

"How bold!"

"This is a deliberate attempt to burn the grain I prepared to stabilize prices before the Lantern Festival ends!"

Zhu Houcong said this through gritting his teeth.

Subsequently.

Zhu Houcong quickly walked down the back mountain.

"Send Wang Jing from the Imperial Guard here!"

"go with!"

Zhu Houcong then gave an order.

Qin Wen bowed and said yes.

At this time, Zhu Houcong looked at the red sky in the south again.

now.

to him.

This red sky is really dazzling.

After all, what was stored there was a large amount of grain copied from the Kong family!

What if these foods are burned?

The capital was left with only the originally stored grain and the grain transported to the capital this autumn.

And if the grain is not delivered this year.

The remaining food in the capital can only be eaten by millions of soldiers and civilians in the capital.

in this way.

The matter of reshaping the money system in Shuntian Prefecture could only be postponed until next year, which Zhu Houcong could not accept in any way.

Now, what makes him even more depressed is that he still doesn’t know who burned the food.

But what Zhu Houcong could not accept was that after the grain was burned, when they investigated, they would only say that the fire was caused by the mistake of the clerks, and then a minor clerk who might have just entered the granary to manage the grain would be blamed.

In short.

Although Zhu Houcong had expected this to happen, now that it had happened, he could not help but return to Qingning Palace with a sullen face, still muttering to himself: "Damn it! Damn it!"

Wang Jing soon arrived at Qingning Palace.

He also saw the flames rising into the sky in the south.

At that time, he was naturally very angry and scared.

Because he knew that his emperor valued these grains very much.

But now something is wrong with the food.

Wang Jing no longer knew how to face Zhu Houcong.

He even wished he would just die right now.

But thinking of his family, he still forced himself to come to Qingning Palace.

When Wang Jing saw Zhu Houcong's chilling face, he wanted to kneel down immediately, but because his legs were weak, he fell directly to the ground and hit his knees.

"I am sorry!"

Wang Jing quickly knelt down again and said tremblingly.

"What happened in Nanxincang?"

Zhu Houcong asked.

Wang Jing said: "I don't know! My son Wang An was watching there. When I found out about this, I immediately sent someone to ask him."

When Zhu Houcong heard that Wang Jing had sent his son, he was sure that there was no problem within the Jinyiwei, so his expression became much calmer and he said, "Then go and find out clearly before coming back!"

"Yes!"

Wang Jing breathed a sigh of relief.

……

The fire in Nanxin Warehouse in the capital soon attracted the attention of court officials.

When the Minister Gu Dingchen learned about this, he was relieved and said to the Minister of Rites Mao Cheng and the Minister Zhu Xizhou who also came to the Qianbu Gallery to check the fire: "This is an opportunity!"

"Yes!"

Zhu Xizhou even laughed out loud.

Zhu Xizhou continued, "Tomorrow during the court session, I will submit a report asking Your Majesty to forgive the officials who are still imprisoned in the imperial prison!"

"Will this further anger His Majesty?"

Mao Cheng asked at this time.

Zhu Xizhou said: "Your Majesty is a wise ruler, and you will know that we pleaded for the imprisoned officials for the sake of the overall situation of the court, not for personal friendship!"

Mao Cheng and others nodded.

The next morning.

Mao Cheng, Zhu Xizhou and others came to Zuoshunmen, ready to attend the court session.

But just as they came to the court, Gu Dingchen suddenly said, "It is said that the fire last night was caused by heaven?"

"Skyfire?"

Mao Cheng, Zhu Xizhou and others were greatly surprised.

Mao Cheng even narrowed his eyes.

Gu Dingchen said: "It is said that a meteorite was found in the fire at the scene."

Zhu Xizhou nodded.

Mao Chengze said: "Wait for the court first."

Zhu Houcong did not receive any news from Wang An last night, and only learned that most of the grain confiscated from the Kong family was burned.

Even the uncooked ones are mostly cooked.

Although he forced himself to sleep for a while under Wang Chunjing's persuasion, he did not sleep well after all, so he went to court with dark circles under his eyes.

At the court meeting, Zhu Houcong saw a look of pride in the brows of many court officials.

This made Zhu Houcong feel even worse.

But he did not get angry and just waited for the court officials to report.

"Your Majesty, this year is the year of the new era, everything is new, it is time to show mercy and benevolence. I beg Your Majesty to forgive the ministers who are hiding in the palace, and show the world your benevolence!"

"Your Majesty, I second the proposal that the punishment should not be too severe. Although the ministers in the palace are rebellious, they are loyal and have won the support of many people in the world. Therefore, for the sake of the people in the world, please show mercy and forgive their crimes. Give them lenient punishments. The ringleaders can be dismissed from their posts, and if the punishment is light, just fine them so that they can reform themselves."

"Your Majesty, the most important thing right now is to reshape the monetary system. The key to the monetary system is to make people's hearts flow freely and the people from top to bottom work together. Only in this way can the grain and cloth be dispatched smoothly and the reform will not end in a sloppy manner. Therefore, for the sake of the overall situation, I sincerely ask Your Majesty to forgive the ministers who are here."

for a while.

Many court officials submitted memorials requesting Zhu Houcong to forgive the ministers who were still imprisoned in the imperial prison.

Zhu Houcong understood what they meant.

It was simply telling him that if he wanted to successfully reform the currency system without affecting the food and cotton cloth security of the capital, he could only rely on the cooperation of the southern big families to provide enough food and cotton cloth, and he should forgive the ministers who were in hiding in order to reform the currency system.

At this time, Deng Jizeng, the Imperial Secretary, also continued, "Your Majesty, I also heard that the fire yesterday was caused by heaven, and heavenly fire is the main ritual, which should be to celebrate the mistakes of reward and punishment. Your Majesty is a saint who always thinks about troubles. You should follow the will of heaven and please your relatives for the safety of the world, forgive the ministers who are in awe, and reconsider the rituals you are in charge of."

Imperial Censor Shen Zhuo also followed suit and said, "Your Majesty, I also heard about yesterday's disaster. A meteorite appeared where the water was flowing. This is obviously a punishment from heaven! This is because of the excessive punishment for violating etiquette and speaking inappropriately!"

"Who told you that this is heavenly fire?"

Zhu Houcong suddenly asked in a cold voice.

Deng Ji Zeng said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty! It is said that it is heavenly fire. I did find a meteorite nearby last night!"

"His Majesty!"

"Your Highness Wang An, please report!"

Zhu Houcong heard the voice of Wang An, a captain of the Imperial Guard, outside, and said, "Announce!"

Wang An walked in.

When Zhu Houcong saw that his face was covered with blood, like a ghost, and there were several wounds on his arms, he knew that he must have been in a fierce battle last night.

Wang An knelt down and said, "Your Majesty! I am incompetent and failed to help the Ministry of Revenue to keep an eye on the new grain in Nanxin Warehouse, but I have discovered the reason why the new grain in Nanxin Warehouse went bankrupt."

"what reason?"

Zhu Houcong asked.

Wang Andao said: "It can be said to be a fire from heaven, or it can be said to be a man-made disaster."

"how to say?"

"Because we did find a meteorite at the scene, but we only found one. But there was a sign on this meteorite that said 'It was done by someone from Jiangnan'!"

"At the same time, I caught a man with flint nearby! I'm not sure if this man set the fire."

"So, whether it was a fire from heaven or a man-made disaster, I can only ask Your Majesty to make the final decision."

Wang An replied.

"Was it done by people from Jiangnan?"

Zhu Houcong looked at Mao Cheng and other officials from Jiangnan.

Mao Cheng and Zhu Xizhou were shocked.

then.

Zhu Xizhou stepped out first and said, "Your Majesty! I think this must be a man-made disaster! It's not a warning from heaven! Moreover, someone is trying to frame Jiangnan and alienate the scholars in Jiangnan from the court, in an attempt to divert Your Majesty's desire to reshape the money law!"

(End of this chapter)