Jiajing Chengming

Chapter 188 Jiajing’s new way to immortality, ministers offer auspicious signs!
"Tang Yin?!"

Zhu Houcong was shocked and asked, "When did you meet someone else outside?"

"Your Majesty, I don't know him. I saw his paintings at the order of the Queen Mother! And then I was harmed by his paintings!"

Wang Chunjing's eyes were filled with tears as she spoke, and it was obvious that she was truly regretting her dissolute behavior last night.

Zhu Houcong realized it at this moment and said with a smile: "I actually forgot about him!"

"Mai Fu, tell the cabinet to summon him to Beijing!"

Zhu Houcong then gave this order.

"Is he rumored to be coming to Beijing?"

Wang Chunjing was stunned.

Zhu Houcong held onto the beams and walked down the steps, getting on the jade sedan chair. For the first time in his life, he did not walk to the Wenhua Hall to receive the imperial lecture.

These days, Zhu Houcong felt a little drowsy when attending lectures on imperial court.

The lecturers in the imperial lectures also saw it, but did not say much. They knew that the emperor was doing this to continue the royal heir. Some lecturers who tended to be conservative were even secretly delighted.

In fact, they knew better than anyone that Confucian classics would not make the emperor give up reform, but only the beautiful scenery in the harem could make the emperor content with pleasure.

After all, they have all been there.

Moreover, many officials who came from prominent families had a youth life after completing their studies and getting married that was no worse than that of the emperor, and they were often surrounded by beautiful wives and maids.

If their family's wealth and stability were not even worse than that of the royal family, they would be even more lazy than the emperor in listening to the boring teachings of saints.

Although the officials who wanted the emperor to continue to be determined in governing the country were somewhat worried, they were not too anxious. As experienced people themselves, they believed that the emperor would get better after a short period of decline, especially after he had an heir. They also thought that even if they had to remonstrate with the emperor, it should be done after he had a son.

After all, no matter what, the most important thing is that the emperor has offspring.

The late emperor is proof of this.

When the imperial lecture ended and Zhu Houcong summoned important ministers to the Wenhua Hall to ask about government affairs, the chief minister Liang Chu reported to Zhu Houcong:

"Your Majesty, Earl Hui'an has reported that preliminary statistics show that the confiscated property of the rebels in Jiangnan amounted to more than 50 million silver dollars."

Zhu Houcong was refreshed after hearing this. He looked at Liang Chu and said with a smile, "Okay!"

With this amount of counter-industry income entering the government, Zhu Houcong could basically use the method of "flooding the market with money" to monetize the silver dollar, stimulate productivity, and allow the Ming society to solve the problem of "money shortage" in advance.

Of course, this is only in theory. There will definitely be changes in the actual operation process. In addition, the silver dollar is not the most ideal currency at present.

The problem of the Ming Dynasty's shortage of silver and copper could not be fundamentally solved by confiscating the gold and silver hidden in the cellars of wealthy households and making them official property.

After all, the flaw of this land is that its silver and copper resources are really scarce.

Liang Chu then presented another copy and said, "In addition, the 'Kunyu Wanguo Quantu' that Your Majesty ordered the Ministry of War to supervise has been produced on silk."

"very good!"

Zhu Houcong nodded and ordered Gu Dayong to send someone to carry the map to Qingning Palace as soon as possible and install it.

When Zhu Houcong returned to Qingning Palace after the imperial lecture, he saw that the "Kunyu World Map" he had asked someone to make had been hung on the inner wall of the warm room.

Under the warm winter sun, this map reveals the outline of the Ming Dynasty's territory and the seven continents and four oceans.

It stands to reason.

The "Kunyu World Map" did not appear until the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, and it was not as accurate as later world maps.

but……

In this life, Zhu Houcong first drew a sketch himself, and then asked the Ministry of War to expand it based on his sketch and existing map data.

Zhu Houcong named it "Kunyu World Map" and asked the Western missionary who taught Zhengde Portuguese in the past to mark the names of countries along the way based on his experience.

Although this "Kunyu World Map" is much more accurate than the historical "Kunyu World Map", it is ultimately incomparable with the world maps of later generations.

Even so, when Zhu Houcong saw the "Kunyu World Map", he couldn't help but cross his arms across his chest, and suddenly felt the heroism and ambition that an emperor should have.

Especially now, he has just acquired a large fortune.

This made it difficult for Zhu Houcong not to develop the ambition to use this money to build a larger Ming dynasty.

In Zhu Houcong's view, the territory actually controlled by the Ming Dynasty is too small!

The key point is that there is a clear lack of silver and copper mines in the mainland, while there are many areas rich in silver and copper mines outside. There is no political power, and there is currently no world law and order in the world. Not to mention grabbing resources or even massacring cities and destroying countries, there is no international public opinion to condemn it.

Therefore, Zhu Houcong felt quite agitated after seeing the map.

His inner desire to be a peaceful emperor who wanted to live a life of drunkenness and dreams, and his longing to taste the beauties in the harem again, also disappeared without a trace at this moment, and what remained was only the ambition to conquer a larger territory.

Even though he still had a desire for beauty, he couldn't help but begin to fantasize about conquering a larger territory and taking in more exotic beauties from all over the world.

Zhu Houcong suddenly reflected on himself and realized that desire can only be diluted by greater desire.

If an emperor does not pursue the expansion of territory, he will easily indulge in wine and sex, which will not only lead to the transfer of power and the decline of wisdom, but also affect his lifespan. Only by pursuing the expansion of territory can he maintain vitality and dilute low-level desires.

"It seems that emperors who were keen on expanding territory in ancient times lived longer. The First Emperor of Qin ruled for more than 40 years, Emperor Wu of Han ruled for nearly 50 years, and Emperor Qianlong, who boasted of his ten military achievements and desperately spent the wealth accumulated by Emperor Yongzheng to expand territory, actually held power for more than 60 years."

Zhu Houcong began to involuntarily find more reasons in his heart to justify his desire to expand his territory.

"Practice longevity, seek longevity, the way to longevity lies here!"

Zhu Houcong then silently recited this sentence.

Next.

Because Zhu Houcong had a greater desire, his control over beauty was much stronger, and he began to achieve the level that Sun Simiao mentioned that a normal young man should ejaculate once every fourteen days. He began to focus more on how to open up more territory and exploit more resources and wealth.

He began to have people write labels on officials above the rank of prefect in various places and stick them everywhere on the maps. He also pasted the forces of other countries on them.

This post made him even more eager to expand territory, because he found that there were no Ming officials outside the Great Wall and overseas, but the Western Barbarians had already begun to have their own governors around the Ming Dynasty.

But just when Zhu Houcong was developing a greater desire, Yuan Zonggao submitted a memorial to him requesting to retire and return home.

Zhu Houcong summoned him for this.

"Sir, do you really want to go back home?" Zhu Houcong asked.

Yuan Zonggao saw that Zhu Houcong looked much better than when he first got married, and he knew that the young emperor had finally gotten out of the predicament of having too many beauties around him. This surprised him, and he said:

"Your Majesty, I am really old and my old illness is getting worse. In addition, the climate in the north is really not suitable for me. So I want to return home as soon as possible while I still have some strength to walk. Moreover, Your Majesty has already married and there are many loyal ministers around him, so please allow me to do so!"

Zhu Houcong nodded.

He could see that Yuan Zonggao was indeed much older than when he first came to Beijing.

Therefore.

Zhu Houcong said at this time: "Since this is the case, I will allow you to retire and return home!"

"But please stay for another month, sir. When someone comes, I will ask him to leave a portrait for you before he leaves."

Zhu Houcong then said something with a smile.

"I thank your majesty and will obey your command!"

Yuan Zonggao wanted to perform a great ceremony, but Zhu Houcong hurriedly stood up and supported him: "Sir, no need to perform the ceremony!"

Yuan Zonggao then asked, "Who is the person your majesty is talking about?"

"Tang Yin!"

Zhu Houcong replied.

Yuan Zonggao raised his eyes slightly.

"Sir, please don't misunderstand me. I heard that this man has extraordinary painting skills, so I intend to let him paint portraits of loyal ministers and generals for me to pass on to future generations, not to let him pass on obscene paintings."

"This will also prevent him from continuing to paint for the bad guys and lads for money."

Zhu Houcong said.

Yuan Zonggao recalled the painting of the Lingyan Pavilion by Emperor Taizong of Tang, and he sighed: "Your Majesty is following the example of the wise emperors of the past, which is a blessing for the ministers of the world. However, my merits and virtues are shallow, and I am really not worthy of leaving my image in the future generations."

"Deserving."

"Great sounds are silent, great images are invisible, and your achievements are so great that they have no limits."

Zhu Houcong replied with a smile.

"Your Majesty is so complimentary!"

Although Yuan Zonggao said this with his hands clasped, he was actually overjoyed in his heart.

Zhu Houcong said again: "I have been a little indulgent these days, and I have wasted a lot of time chatting with you about the affairs of the world."

"It is human nature for young people to love sex. Your Majesty should not blame yourself too much. Moreover, please forgive me for speaking frankly. The more your Majesty behaves like this, the more reassured most people in the world will be!"

Yuan Zonggao said.

Zhu Houcong pretended to be puzzled and asked, "Really?"

"For many hypocrites, the words of saints are spoken for people to hear, not for people to really do. Your Majesty, please do not really believe what many hypocrites say."

“They say they hope the emperor will be diligent in his work, but they actually hope he will be lazy; they say they hope the emperor will love his people, but they actually hope he will cheat them; they say they hope the emperor will be frugal, but they actually hope he will be greedy.”

"Because of this, they can follow the lazy governance, bully the people, and be greedy, while still standing on the righteous side, saying that the world is in such bad shape that it is not their fault, but that the emperor is unjust. If the emperor is really diligent in governance, loves the people, and is frugal, they will feel mean and uneasy."

Yuan Zonggao replied.

Zhu Houcong smiled and said, "That makes sense."

Yuan Zonggao continued, "In fact, it is not easy to be a wise ruler. Your Majesty can pretend to be a wise ruler, but if you really want to be a real wise ruler, it will only make them uneasy!"

"These days, your Majesty is newly married and is in love with the beauties in the harem. He does not interfere in politics or exercise power, which makes them feel at ease. Therefore, they have not had any worse thoughts."

"Worse intentions?"

Zhu Houcong frowned slightly, as if thinking about something.

Yuan Zonggao said: "People are evil, and taking away the benefits of others will inevitably lead to hatred. Even if you are an emperor, you cannot be sure that there will not be people who take risks to vent their hatred."

Zhu Houcong nodded.

in fact.

As Yuan Zonggao said, Zhu Houcong's obsession with beauty some time ago did make the spies of the ritual protection faction who entered the palace during the selection of concubines temporarily give up their radical behavior against the emperor.

But what these people didn't expect was that the emperor was no longer addicted recently.

Qu Cuiying, who was not selected as a concubine but only entered the final round and was selected as a female official in the six western palaces, came to Wen Jing, a young eunuch in the inner court who was bribed by the outer court to be in charge of communicating with her, and whispered:

"The emperor hasn't come to the harem these days! It seems that he is not so obsessed anymore. What is the elder's plan? Should I really burn down the palace and do that?"

After hearing this, Wen Jing whispered, "The elder said, don't act rashly! It wasn't easy for you to be chosen, you can't destroy yourself so easily!"

"Moreover, someone from Nanzhi will offer auspicious signs recently, so even if we want to take risks, we have to see whether the emperor is willing to accept the auspicious signs first!"

"The elder has already inquired about it. There is a concubine named Xue Shun in the palace. She is from the same hometown as you. You should get in touch with her more and try to get close to the emperor through her. With your beauty, you will not worry about not being favored by the emperor in the future."

"Yes!"

Qu Cuixiang breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the elder asked her to obey his orders and burn the emperor to death when necessary, it was after all the murder of the emperor. She did not want to see this scene happen unless it was absolutely necessary. After all, this might implicate the elder who had raised her and her sister as his own daughters and was waiting for them to repay his kindness.

Let’s talk.

After Yuan Zonggao left, Zhu Houcong was alone again, with his arms folded, looking at the "Kunyu World Map" on the wall.

"Taking away the benefits of others will inevitably lead to hatred, but my reform is not really to take away the benefits of all people in the world, but to promote the benefits of all people!"

Not long after Zhu Houcong sighed inwardly, he learned from the Cabinet Chief Liang Chu that Wang Song, the Imperial Censor of Liaodong, reported that a pair of white deer were found in the area, and said that this was a sign of prosperity and good fortune, and requested that they be presented to the emperor.

(End of this chapter)