November 10th.
Near noon.
Zhu Yijun ended the sutra banquet and returned to Xiyuan.
Walk around Xiyuan aimlessly.
He had not seen this familiar yet unfamiliar Xiyuan for a long time.
Unfortunately, today's landscape is very different from that of later generations.
Zhu Yijun casually twisted a leaf, unconsciously tore it into pieces in his hands, and let his mind wander.
The court was definitely not at peace now. After all, a major case involving the three clans had just occurred. Various censors interceded and explained the pros and cons of the matter.
But after Zhu Yijun left all government affairs to the cabinet and moved to Xiyuan, these voices were no longer heard.
He strolled in Xiyuan for about half an hour, and it was almost time for lunch.
When the time came, it was natural to go back for a meal, so the group returned to Wanshou Palace.
Halfway through, he bumped into Li Jin who was catching up.
Zhu Yijun knew at a glance that Empress Dowager Li was looking for him - since the fire in Ciqing Palace, Zhu Yijun had left Zhang Hong with Empress Dowager Chen, and Li Jin sent to Empress Dowager Li and ordered them to send the people around the two empress dowagers.
, after cleaning them all, return to Wanshou Palace.
Li Jin came closer and said, "Your Majesty, the abbot has come to Xiyuan. The Queen Mother invites you to come and have a meal with us."
When Zhu Yijun heard this, he waved his hands indifferently, indicating that he understood.
With Uncle Wu Qing's rank, it didn't take much for him to deal with it, so he just thought of it as a rest.
He asked about business: "How is the dismissal of the palace maids and eunuchs?"
Li Jin followed respectfully.
Hearing this, he replied: "Your Majesty, most of the female officials in the Sixth Palace, the Food Bureau and the Sleeping Bureau have been dismissed from the palace, leaving only their confidants."
"In the remaining four bureaus, all those who want to leave the palace, whose origins are not clear enough, and those who have received favors from foreign governments, will be sent away."
Zhu Yijun nodded.
The Shang Shi Bureau and Shang Sleep Bureau are related to wealth and life, so be cautious, and the other four Bureaus will be checked one by one, which is reasonable.
Of course, this is only the first round, and you will have to screen it several times in the future.
Zhu Yijun hummed and waited for him to continue.
Li Jin talked about eunuchs again: "Your Majesty, eunuchs are not like palace maids. They can be sent out of the palace after being given some money."
"Currently, those with bad backgrounds are sent to guard mausoleums, and those who have received favors from foreign dynasties are sent to Nanzhili for retirement."
"The majority of the others are placed in non-critical places such as the Shrine Prison and are not allowed to set foot in Xiyuan."
Zhu Yijun added: "Take this opportunity to check the number of people in each prison and bureau again, and all the free money will be refunded."
"Within ten years, five eunuchs will retire and only three will come in."
There are too many positions in the inner court. In the tenth year of Jiajing, just the inspection of craftsmen in the inner court revealed the old, weak and disabled. There were 15,167 people who were named and unemployed, and 12,255 were actually left.
Having more positions means not being paid enough, but it also means there are loopholes to take advantage of.
These famous people are an excellent way for people with ulterior motives to insert people.
Although the Forbidden City is an imperial city, it is actually a sieve that leaks air everywhere.
Fortunately, I took this opportunity to check everything. If I didn't check, I wouldn't know. If I checked, I would be shocked. Now, if outsiders want to enter the Forbidden City, there are many ways.
The eunuchs are blatantly selling tickets!
Fortunately, the fire in Ciqing Palace gave him the opportunity to move to Xiyuan. Otherwise, if something happened in the future, it would be too late to regret it.
Li Jin bowed in response.
Zhu Yijun looked at Li Jin and said abruptly: "After the personnel are dismissed, the salary of the post can be reserved for you for another half year."
"But if you don't cooperate in this matter, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Li Jin's eyelids twitched and he quickly said: "Slave..."
Zhu Yijun interrupted him: "That's it, I will let Zhang Hong and Jiang Keqian do this together. I promise you half a year's salary and share it with the people below to do this well."
After being in the red for so long, it’s not less than half a year.
On the contrary, it is justifiable to let them go out for another half year and give these eunuchs a share - after all, they have just experienced the turmoil in the Qing Palace, and they must be appeased.
Li Jin was sincerely convinced.
…
Fortunately, Sejong built a lot of palaces and pavilions in Xiyuan, and now there are many palaces and pavilions in Xiyuan - naturally more than enough to accommodate the Queen Mother and several princesses.
Among them, Empress Dowager Chen chose Qianguang Hall to live in, while Empress Dowager Li chose Yuanxi Yannian Hall to live in.
When Zhu Yijun came outside Yuanxi Yannian Hall, he heard the voices of a large number of people inside.
There are children, women, and middle-aged voices.
The emperor and his entourage, a large number of people, seemed to hear the movement outside, and all the sounds suddenly stopped.
Zhu Yijun rubbed his face, showed a gentle expression, and walked in slowly.
"His Majesty."
"Meet my eldest brother, His Majesty the Emperor"
"Your Majesty."
Everyone saluted.
Zhu Yijun took a cursory glance and found that many members of Li Wei's family had come. The eldest son Li Wenquan, the second daughter Li Caiyun who was married to Pingjiang Bo's house, and his grandson Li Chengming.
In addition, there are younger brothers and sisters from the same mother, Princess Zhu Yaoe of Shouyang, Princess Zhu Yaoyuan of Yongning, Princess Zhu Yaoyuan of Ruian, and younger brother Zhu Yili.
He stretched out his hand and asked everyone to stand up: "We are all one family, why should we be so strange?"
Li Caiyun couldn't help but glance at this nephew.
Before she came, her husband's family repeatedly told her that the emperor was ruthless and cruel, and she must not be arrogant and offend the Sacred Heart, otherwise she would be doomed.
But now she looks like she doesn't feel anything.
He is clearly an eleven-year-old child, how cruel and ruthless can he be?
Zhu Yijun took his younger sister Zhu Yao's little hand, walked up to Queen Mother Li, and said with a smile: "When my mother's clan enters the palace, my mother doesn't even know she's a child."
After that, he went to pay his respects to Queen Mother Li.
Empress Dowager Li rolled her eyes at the emperor: "The last time my father came to the palace to see you, you said he was not available."
Zhu Yijun automatically ignored the words of blame and said to Li Wei: "Oh? What did the abbot do when he came to the palace to look for me last time?"
Li Wei met the emperor not once or twice, and he was no longer as reserved as before.
He was a little embarrassed and said: "Your Majesty, last time you talked about shipping, I sent someone to look at it. There are indeed many ways to make money."
Queen Mother Li glanced at the two of them strangely.
Curious: "What shipping? Why don't I know?"
Zhu Yijun took Zhu Yao to Queen Mother Li and explained: "Mother, this is how it is."
"Do you know Hai Rui?"
Queen Mother Li nodded. She still knew Hai Rui's reputation.
The ladies often told her about this person, how he was stubborn and couldn't get along with the ministers.
Zhu Yijun continued: "In June, in order to drive away Gao Gong, I was forced to agree to let Hai Rui return to Beijing."
"But when the boy thought that this man was too cruel and unkind, he was afraid that Bao Zheng's incident would happen again, so he wanted to find a serious way to make money for the father-in-law."
As soon as he finished speaking, Li Wei didn't realize anything. His eldest son, Li Wenquan, and his eldest grandson, Li Chengming, looked at each other and felt something was wrong.
Sure enough, Queen Mother Li was able to grasp some of her son's connections.
He looked at the emperor suspiciously: "What's wrong with Bao Zheng? Is it a serious way of making money?"
The implication is that there is some shady way to make money!?
Zhu Yijun nodded, smoothed Zhu Yao's knotted hair, and said inadvertently: "My child once heard that during the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song Dynasty, there was a relative of the emperor named Zhao Qing."
"This man committed an offense and fell into the hands of Bao Zheng, and was actually punished by Ming Zhengdian."
"I don't know what Song Renzong thinks. Anyway, I don't want my father to follow in his footsteps."
Li Weiwu didn't react yet.
Li Wenquan and Li Chengming immediately bowed down: "I am guilty!"
Seeing that Li Wei could not be held back, the father and son became even more furious.
Zhu Yijun quickly helped the man up and comforted him: "I can't ignore the national law and appease the father-in-law. It's because I'm not capable enough. How can I let the uncle-in-law plead guilty?"
Li Caiyun finally realized something and quickly knelt down to apologize together.
Queen Mother Li's face turned cold. She looked at her son, who looked sincere, and then at her father, who was completely out of sorts.
He said angrily to the emperor: "Stop beating around the bush. With my father's qualifications, I have to scold him directly! After all, what exactly did you commit?"
Li Wei suddenly came to his senses. It turned out that the emperor was asking for guilt!
He quickly bowed down.
Zhu Yijun supported him and said sincerely: "Mother, we don't have to eat like this as a family today."
"It's not a big deal."
"When Gao Gong assassinated Feng Bao, I thought that Feng Daban had no heirs, so it would be better to confiscate the property and hold a funeral for him."
"As a result, Sun Yizheng of Shuntian Prefecture was asked to ransack his home and asked for 200,000 taels, so he paid 20,000 taels for it. The rest were all divided up."
"Jinyiwei said that Sun Yizheng was crazy and deliberately gave a lot to the abbot, hoping to drag him into trouble."
He finished telling the whole story with a gentle expression and helped several family members up one by one.
Seeing that Empress Dowager Li was about to scold Li Wei, he quickly smoothed things over and said, "Mother, there is no need to be too harsh on the father-in-law."
"My child had already thought that there is no way to make money in the father-in-law's house, and sooner or later he will be seduced by foreign dynasties."
"When I talk about this now, I really don't mean to offend my father-in-law. I really do it from the bottom of my heart and want to protect my father-in-law."
"Mother, you don't know that Hai Rui is so bold that he scolded Shimiao until his nose bleeds! I'm afraid that he will target the father-in-law and imitate Bao Zheng!"
Li Wei fell to his knees again with a plop: "Your Majesty, Queen Mother, Sun Yizheng gave me eight thousand taels of silver!"
"I'll return it immediately! Return it immediately!"
Zhu Yijun didn't seem to notice, and casually touched Zhu Yao's nose - this little girl is really cute.
Empress Dowager Li looked livid: "Go! Go back to me immediately!"
Zhu Yijun had already anticipated Empress Dowager Li's reaction.
Historically, Li Wei was doing business with Zhang Siwei, but was exposed by Zhang Juzheng. Li Wei also rushed into the palace and was scolded by his own daughter.
After Li Wei was scolded, he got up and left, not even daring to stay for lunch.
Zhu Yijun quickly grabbed him and begged Empress Dowager Li: "Mother, this is just a small matter, don't hurt your harmony."
"Besides, this is just a temporary solution. If mother wants the father-in-law to live such a life as Hai Rui, the child will not be able to bear it."
He left Li Wei behind and said cordially: "Don't be in a hurry, my Majesty. I'll return it when you get back. Let's have a meal first and talk about shipping."
Empress Dowager Li got off the donkey along the slope and said yes, which was considered to have revealed the matter.
After all, he is my father. He finally went to the palace and didn’t want to leave on bad terms.
She glanced at Li Jin and said, "Let's have lunch."
Zhu Yijun interjected: "Mother, let Li Daban join us for a meal. It can be regarded as a family banquet."
Queen Mother Li hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Li Jin was at a loss for a moment.
It was Li Chengming who pulled him into the table, and then he sat down uncomfortably.
Everyone sat down one after another, and Li Caiyun lowered her head silently, not daring to look at the emperor. Only then did she understand why her husband's family described the emperor like this! He was indeed a red-faced person with a dark heart!
After Zhu Yijun sat down, he looked at Li Chengming: "Is Xiang Zhi not an official yet?"
Xiang Zhi, the name of Li Chengming, was suddenly mentioned and he quickly replied: "Your Majesty, the student has tricked an Imperial College student."
Zhu Yijun said oh.
He looked at Li Wei and said, "Prince Zhang, please don't return Sun Yizheng's money. It won't look good on you."
"Ask Xiang Zhi to send the money to the new school and tell Ma Ziqiang, the mountain chief, that it is a benevolent donation from the father-in-law of the country, so that he can go to the new school to find a job."
"The new school will also have official ranks in the future, so there is no chance that Xiang Zhi is talented."
Without waiting for Li Wei to reply, Li Chengming immediately stood up to thank him.
Zhu Yijun fell in love with this clever cousin.
He asked Li Wei again: "Zhang Guozhang, do you have any clues about shipping?"
Uncle Li Wenquan carefully handed over his hand, indicating that he was responsible for the matter.
Zhu Yijun looked at him and nodded to signal him to speak.
Li Wenquan carefully considered his words and replied with some embarrassment: "Your Majesty, in June, I checked a lot of case files and asked many Cao merchants with whom I have friendship."
"It was only then that I learned that shipping by sea was impossible without tooth soldiers, so I found Uncle Ping Jiang's house to work with me."
At this time, Li Caiyun bowed slightly, indicating that it was her husband's family.
Zhu Yijun naturally knew, otherwise he would not have let Xun Gui take action.
It is not clear what the composition of the Japanese pirates is on the sea, but if there is a chamber of commerce with such unfamiliar faces, they are bound to encounter them.
If there are no soldiers, they will be eaten up and wiped clean.
He nodded and motioned for Li Wenquan to continue.
Li Wenquan pointed at Li Chengming again: "Subsequently, he sent a dog to go to Guangzhou Port, Fujian Yuegang, Zhejiang Ningbo Port and other places to conduct a detailed investigation together with Pingjiang Bo's house."
"Relying on the connections in Uncle Pingjiang's house, I acquired several dilapidated maritime merchants in South Zhili and the Chief Secretary of Guangdong."
This is the shortcoming of the foreign relatives. They suddenly gained power and have little foundation, so they can only rely on the old nobles.
Li Wenquan briefly talked about local knowledge, the operation of maritime trade, and the plans of the shopkeepers, etc.
Then he hesitated for a moment, thought for a while and finally said the truth: "Your Majesty, you make money by shipping."
"But... in this maritime place, there is serious smuggling, exclusion of outsiders, connections with powerful people, and the secret support of the city's ship lifting department. I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to squeeze in."
It's hard for a strong dragon to defeat a local snake, that's the truth.
Zhu Yijun nodded, he naturally expected it.
The resistance to opening up the sea is no less than that to South Zhili.
Places like Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Fujian rely on this for their meals.
Emperor Sejong wanted to make a splash on this, but the result was a good one.
Zhu Wan was one of Sejong's core members. Sejong entrusted him with supervising the coastal defense and military affairs of Zhejiang and Fujian and resisting Japanese pirates, and allowed him to "act expediently".
His people attacked Wen, Pan, and Nanji thieves, and successively won great victories at Shuangyu in Ningbo, quelled the mining chaos in Chuzhou, and won great victories in Zhao'an, Fujian.
And then... came the overwhelming impeachment.
The reason for impeachment is also very simple.
As soon as this person arrived, not only Japanese pirates, but also merchants, pirates, and powerful men all plowed the land.
It is said that one has no authority over the king and kills without permission.
As for whether the people killed were Japanese pirates, common people, or common people who looked like Japanese pirates, it was unclear.
After Zhu Wan was impeached, he said - I am conceited and do not want to go to court. Even if the emperor does not want to kill me, the people of Fujian and Zhejiang will definitely kill me. If I die, I will solve it myself without needing others.
He wrote the epitaph himself, wrote his final words, and drank medicine to die.
Zhu Wan had a saying that is still popular among the people in the southeast - it is easy to get rid of foreign robbers, it is difficult to get rid of the Ming dynasty robbers, it is easy to get rid of the robbers on the coast, it is difficult to get rid of the robed robbers in the court.
It was precisely because he did not want another Zhu Wan to appear that Zhu Yijun had to release the nobles to open the sea.
Zhu Yijun did not reply to Li Quanwen's words, but looked at Li Wei: "I heard that the state leader has a good relationship with Zhang Siwei?"
"Would you like to ask Zhang Siwei if he is interested in a joint venture?"
Having experienced what he had just experienced, Li Wei was already a little at a loss and looked to his son for help.
Li Wenquan understood immediately.
After thinking for a while, he shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, Shanxi merchants mostly deal in border army tea, horses, and mines, and they are not very involved in shipping."
Zhu Yijun nodded and explained: "I know, what I mean is that we might as well form a bigger game, and my uncle can recruit other nobles to join the team."
"Just like Princess Dachang's family, Xu Congcheng's family, the British Duke, and Marquis Taining, you can also ask."
"Zhang Siwei, the Minister of Rites, might as well give you more dry shares and just sit on the ground and divide the money."
"If he is interested, he should consider it and report to the Fujian Shipping Department and... let the Ministry of War reinstate Yu Dayou as the right commander to guard Fujian."
He looked at Li Wenquan with a sincere and sincere look that made the uncle shudder subconsciously.
I'm a little sleepy. I'll report my results tomorrow⑧
Chapter completed!