Daming: From the Son of Heaven to the Leader of Comprehensive Martial Arts

Zhu Qizhen sat on the dragon chair, and turned his gaze to the last dozen or so censors.

These censors are different from the previous two types.

They impeached Yan Song and Xu Jie, because they received bribes from businessmen, so they vigorously promoted policies that favored businessmen.

Whether Xu Jie and Yan Song accepted bribes or not, I won't say for now.

Because, Zhu Qizhen had received a secret report from Cao Zhengchun that these censor officials had received 50 taels of silver as bribes from unknown people.

The 50 taels of silver were divided into five times, 10 taels each, and sent to their homes.

Apparently, the reason why the dozen or so censors criticized the cabinet ministers and hindered Zhu Qizhen's reforms in the court was that they were instigated by others!

"I would like to know, after you accept the 50 taels of silver, what will the person who bribed you ask you to do?"

Zhu Qizhen looked at the dozen or so trembling censors with a half-smile.

These censors were sweating profusely!

"thump!"

These censors who have always been known for their nobleness suddenly collapsed on the ground: "I am confused for a while, Your Majesty, please forgive me!"

"Snapped!"

Zhu Qizhen rose up against the case and asked angrily: "Do you think my East Factory is just a decoration?"

The majestic voice echoed in the Xuanzheng Hall.

The civil and military officials of the Manchu dynasty were overwhelmed by the imperial power, and all civil and military officials turned their heads to look at the dozen or so censor officials, filled with righteous indignation, wishing to swallow them alive.

"Your Majesty deserves death. I beg your majesty to calm down. I didn't want the money. It was them. They insisted on sending it to me. I didn't want to take it at the time."

Suddenly, a censor official trembled violently and kowtowed desperately to the emperor begging for mercy.

"You don't want to take it? I see that you are very happy to hold these silver coins."

Zhu Qizhen was furious, and glanced at Cao Zhengchun who was standing beside him: "Cao Zhengchun, please recite the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, the good things he has done in the past few months."

"The slaves obey the order."

Cao Zhengchun took out the secret report and looked at the censor with a sneer.

"Three months ago, someone gave Zhang Yushiyan jewelry worth 5 taels of silver. Zhang Yushi was very happy, but also fearful, and put it in the pond. Two and a half months ago..."

Zhu Qizhen was furious, and asked: "This is your incorruptibility as an official of rumors. It's ridiculous. Don't you think it's shameful to accept bribes yourself and falsely accuse the cabinet elders who work hard for the country?"

"Your Majesty deserves to die for his crimes. Your Majesty, they really insisted on giving it to me."

"Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment!"

"According to the laws of Ming Dynasty, how to punish?"

"According to the law of the Ming Dynasty, the amount of corrupted ink is huge, and the whole family is copied and executed."

Zhu Qizhen took a sip of tea and said lightly, "All these people should be dealt with according to the law of the Ming Dynasty."

"The minister obeys the order."

The minister of the Ministry of punishment handed over.

"Cao Zhengchun, Governor of the East Factory."

Cao Zhengchun came out, and Zhu Qizhen pointed to these famous censors and said, "Put all these people to death row and torture them severely. I want to know who they are, who are so bold that they dare to bribe the Qing rumor officials and frame the cabinet. Minister."

"The slaves obey the order."

These gossip officials were all hopeless, and fell into Dongchang's hands, life would be worse than death.

Cao Zhengchun escorted more than a dozen censors, walked out of the court, and returned to Dongchang. His Majesty wanted to find out the black hand behind the scenes. As the emperor's eyes and ears, he had to find out in the shortest possible time.

Otherwise, it is to live up to the emperor's trust.

Above the court, many censors dared not speak out.

Zhu Qizhen asked: "My dearest friends, who still has this Qizhao?"

Yan Song, the chief assistant of the cabinet, came out, cupped his hands and said: "Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, Ming Dynasty has become more and more prosperous, and the Ming Navy has won a great victory in the battle against the British. Your Majesty's achievements surpass Yao and Shun."

Listening to Yan Song's flattery, Zhu Qizhen didn't know what kind of tricks this old fox was going to play.

After Yan Song's words fell, the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty also congratulated: "Under His Majesty's governance, the Ming Dynasty is rich and the people are strong, which is indeed a blessing for all people."

Hearing the compliments from the civil and military courts, Zhu Qizhen showed a bit of relief on his face, and waved his hands: "If Yan Aiqing has anything to say, it's okay to say it directly."

Yan Song cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty's sage, Wenzhi and martial arts are rarely seen in ancient times. I ask Your Majesty to set up an altar to worship the heavens."

"Your Majesty, please go to the Temple of Heaven for the ceremony."

The civil and military Qi of the Manchu Dynasty claimed to drink.

"Sure, Zhao Hengchen, Minister of the Ministry of Rites, listens to the order."

Zhao Hengchen held the ivory slips and went out, Zhu Qizhen said: "Choose a good day and auspicious day, design an altar, and I will ascend the altar to worship the heaven and the earth."

"The minister obeys the order."

Zhao Hengchen took the order and returned to the court.

Yan Song continued to play.

"Since His Majesty conquered Oara and defeated the Royal Fleet of the Empire on which the sun never sets."

"For the 22 subordinate countries around the Ming Empire, the yearly silver has doubled, and twelve small countries have submitted letters, willing to enshrine the Ming Empire as the suzerain country, hoping to join the subsidiary countries of the Ming Empire, and paying the yearly silver every year. The Empire proclaims."

"These two small countries were originally vassal states of Oala, and they belonged to countries in the Western Regions. They have prosperous trade and are relatively wealthy."

After Yan Song's words fell, all the civil and military officials in the court looked happy and proud.

To be born as a member of Ming Dynasty, this is luck!

This is luck!

This is pride!

Zhu Qizhen sat on the dragon chair and asked Yan Song, "How much money do these dependent countries get each year?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, among these affiliated countries, North Korea pays the most annual silver, which is 50 taels of silver. The other affiliated countries all range from 20 taels to 2 taels. Specialties, jewelry corals, luminous pearls, crystal cups and other rare items.”

Listening to Yan Song's report, Zhu Qizhen frowned slightly.

"Is the largest Korean kingdom only 50 taels?"

Hearing the emperor's words, Yan Song thought to himself: "This 50 taels of silver can only be collected by the Korean Kingdom by tightening its belt. The Korean Kingdom is already very poor, and the difficulty of collecting 50 taels of silver is unimaginable."

If it hadn't been for the destruction of Oirat by the Ming Empire, which frightened the King of Korea, the annual silver of the Kingdom of Korea would be only 30 taels.

The yearly silver of other dependent countries is basically the same as that of the Korean Kingdom.

This is the protection fee paid to the Ming Empire, otherwise, they are afraid of being wiped out by the Ming Empire.

You know, it only takes 100 million taels of silver to repair the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, and it is still the kind that can repair the water transportation smoothly for a hundred years.

Those countries are just some small countries, how can there be so much money?

Last year, before the reform of the Ming Empire, the annual treasury revenue was only a few million taels of silver.

Zhu Qizhen was thinking about the yearly money offered by various countries.

Although the yearly silver tribute paid by a vassal state alone is not much, but added together, it is still a very considerable income.

Zhu Qizhen looked at Yan Song, and said lightly: "In the name of the cabinet, tell these dependent countries that if they want to get the protection of the Ming Empire, the annual silver will be increased by 10 taels."

Hearing this, Yan Song sighed.

He mourned in silence for these dependent countries. You were born at an untimely time, and you fell into the hands of this young hero. If you don't peel off your three layers of skin, how can you give up?

"The minister obeys the order."

Yan Song submitted the year-old silver memorials of these dependent countries.

Zhu Qizhen opened the memorial and made some calculations.

The total amount of yearly silver donated by these dependent countries has reached 600 million taels. Counting the 34 subordinate countries that have recently surrendered, the number of dependent countries of the Ming Empire has reached 800. Calculated, it can be nearly [-] million taels more each year. income. "

Looking at the silver offered by these dependent countries, Zhu Qizhen smiled all over his face.

Now, my treasury is thick again.

Just when Zhu Qizhen smiled, Yan Song said again: "Your Majesty, the Empire on which the sun never sets has sent envoys to request an armistice agreement with the Ming Empire. British captives in prison."

Chapter 55 The beauty of the country, the fish and the bear's paw, can be taken into account

Qianqing Palace, Xuanzheng Palace.

Hearing Yan Song's report that the British Empire sent an envoy willing to redeem the captives at a high price, Zhu Qizhen asked lightly, "How much compensation can the British give?"

He knew well that the current Ming Navy did not have the strength to fight in the ocean, to conquer the empire on which the sun never sets, and it did not even have the strength to conquer the British Company in India.

Moreover, even if they wanted to go to the Western Ocean, the navy would have to train for at least one year, and only after the naval officers of Ming Dynasty had rich sailing experience could they go to the Western Ocean.

For today's plan, it is better to kill the captives.

It would be better to take out some reparations from the pockets of the Britons first.

"Your Majesty, the British envoy said that they use gold coins for settlement. They are willing to pay a ransom of five gold coins for a captive, and more than 800 captives are worth more than 4000 gold coins. Moreover, they also want to redeem the royal warship on which the sun never sets. Go, one battleship is willing to pay [-] gold coins in ransom, and three battleships, that is [-] gold coins."

Yan Song cupped his hands and said, "There are more than 4000 gold coins in total."

"Thirty-four thousand gold coins?"

Zhu Qizhen took a sip of tea and sneered, "You want to redeem a warship for [-] gold coins?"

"These Britons are really whimsical. Tell them, I don't want bullshit gold coins, I just want white silver. Let them prepare 1470 million taels of silver to redeem more than [-] captives including the Duke of Charles."

1470 million taels of silver, equivalent to 2100 million silver dollars.

This is the indemnity requested in the Nanjing Treaty when the empire on which the sun never sets opened the gate of China with strong ships and sharp guns.

Zhu Qizhen laughed and said, "As for the imperial warships of the Empire on which the sun never sets, no matter how much money is paid, the Ming Empire will not redeem them."

"Also, tell the Britons that the Ming Navy will go to the West again in a year's time!"

"The old minister obeys the order."

Yan Song bowed his hands and returned to court.

Ever since the Ming Navy defeated the Royal Warship the Sun Never Sets, the British have gained a new understanding of the Ming Empire and the Ming Navy.

They finally realized that there was a huge gap between the Ming Empire and the Sun Never Sets that they were proud of. This ancient Eastern Empire was not something that the Sun Never Sets Empire could provoke.

However, for them.

The most terrible thing is that the Emperor Ming ordered to prohibit the dependent countries around the Ming Empire from trading with the British. The countries around the Ming Empire really interrupted the trade with the British and expelled all the British.

The British route was severely blocked.

The Britons exhausted their connections and finally sent envoys to the Ming Empire to visit the residence of Yan Song, the chief minister of the cabinet.

Yan Song, the chief minister of the cabinet, is an old fox.

No matter who he is to, he always has a smile on his face. It looks gentle, but there is a knife hidden in the out-and-out smile.

However, when the two countries are fighting each other, they will not cut their envoys.

This is the etiquette of diplomatic relations since ancient times.

The British Kingdom sent envoys to express their goodwill to the Ming Empire, hoping that the Ming Empire would cease fighting. Although after the destruction of the British fleet, the Ming Empire did not have any more direct conflicts with the Empire on which the sun never sets.

However, the vassal states of the Ming Empire kept attacking the caravans of the British.

In just three months, more than fifty merchant ships were sunk in the British Kingdom, and the British Kingdom had no place to stand in the entire east.

The countries that had been successfully colonized by them also took advantage of the situation to fight back, and even played the banner of the vassal state of the Ming Empire.

This puts the Britons in a dilemma.

Naturally, they were reluctant to give up the colonies they had conquered.

However, if they use the banner of the Ming Empire, if the misunderstanding with the Ming Empire deepens, there will be another big battle between the Empire on which the sun never sets and the Ming Empire.

Obviously, after seeing the strength of the Ming Empire, they were not sure of winning the war.

In the Xuanzheng Palace, Zhu Qizhen handled a few more government affairs and announced his withdrawal from the court.

Yan Song, the chief assistant of the cabinet, and Xu Jie, the second assistant of the cabinet, left the Xuanzheng Hall with their heads held high. The faces of the two veterans were all radiant.