After much thought, Emperor Deqing couldn't make up his mind for a while.
In the end, Emperor Deqing's attitude towards Zhou Shangjing's proposal was just non-committal, with neither approval nor objection, or even any comment. He just asked the ministers in the Hall of Supreme Harmony to find other countermeasures.
The Gonggun princes in the imperial court were not completely idle. They all made enthusiastic suggestions and put forward some suggestions. However, these suggestions were either to quench thirst, or were of little use, or water from far away could not quench the thirst of those who were near.
There were even some proposals that were completely unrealistic and were eventually rejected one after another.
In this way, after spending a lot of time and energy, and after endless debates and discussions, Emperor Deqing and his ministers still failed to find a feasible strategy that could produce quick results.
Seeing that the time was approaching noon, Emperor Deqing had no choice but to announce the next dynasty and let the officials return to their respective yamen to continue discussing countermeasures. If any official found a feasible strategy that would be effective quickly, Emperor Deqing would
Promise yourself that you will be greatly rewarded.
But Emperor Deqing actually did not seriously expect the officials to play a role at this time. When he left the Hall of Supreme Harmony, he began to consider Zhou Shangjing's proposal again.
Should Zhao Junchen be asked to come out to solve the current predicament of the court? Is Zhao Junchen willing to come out to help the court get out of the predicament? If Zhao Junchen is not willing, what price will Emperor Deqing have to pay to make Zhao Junchen change his mind?
In this way, Emperor Deqing arrived at the imperial study room full of worries.
After entering the imperial study, Emperor Deqing did not pay attention to the memorial on the imperial case, but continued to think about Zhao Junchen.
"Since this period of time, Zhao Junchen's thoughts have been very obvious. After I took away his financial power, he may have some resentment in his heart, but he did not resist directly, but he was never willing to pay attention to the affairs of the Household Department anymore.
, let alone help me clean up the mess in the household department...
Two days ago, I forced him to temporarily sit in the Hubu Yamen and help the Hubu officials prepare logistical provisions for the Hetao War. He simply put forward three highly controversial grain-raising strategies and then passed out on the spot, causing a scene.
There was a big movement!
To this day, I still can't figure out whether his fainting death was true or not! But in any case, because of this incident, I can no longer force him to temporarily take over the household department's troubles, otherwise I will not mention him
I will definitely use my illness as an excuse to repeatedly refuse and refuse to accept orders. When the time comes, I will also receive an inhumane evaluation...
Therefore, if you really want Zhao Junchen to come out to solve the court's current financial and food difficulties, you must give Zhao Junchen some benefits. The best way is to return the court's financial power to Zhao Junchen again. Only in this way can Zhao Junchen be willing
He returned to the temple to solve problems for the court...
But I finally took back the financial power from Zhao Junchen, weakening Zhao Junchen's influence in the Hubu Yamen. In a few days, I will hand over the Hubu Yamen again to Zhao Junchen.
Not to mention that all the painstaking efforts are wasted, which will make the officials laugh and damage my heavenly power...
However, the current predicament of the imperial court can only be handled by Zhao Junchen. If the treasury is allowed to run out of money and food, the trouble will be much greater..."
As he pondered over and over again, Emperor Deqing became increasingly headache-ridden and in a dilemma.
Finally, Emperor Deqing turned his attention to a few piles of memorials on the imperial case, and decided to change his mood, divert his attention, and deal with these memorials first, which might trigger inspiration.
Then, Emperor Deqing picked up a memorial and looked through it, only to find that it was a memorial written by Mao Jiamin, the governor of Liaodong. It said that the Jurchens in Northeast China were dispatching troops and generals during this period. There were frequent changes, which made all the towns in Liaodong nervous.
, hoping that the imperial court could replenish a batch of supplies and military expenditures for Liaodong and boost the morale of the army.
In short, they are asking for money.
Emperor Deqing directly threw this memorial aside. After rubbing his temples, he picked up another memorial and read it.
This is a memorial from Zhang Shunchang, the prefect of Fengyang, stating that there is a food shortage in Fengyang this year and asking Emperor Deqing to reduce or reduce taxes on Fengyang as appropriate...Fengyang is the hometown of Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang and is known as the central capital of the Ming Dynasty.
It can be said that it is of great political significance and there must be no chaos. Therefore, Zhang Shunchang, the prefect of Fengyang, wrote a memorial that not only asked Emperor Deqing to reduce taxes, but also hoped that Emperor Deqing would spend a sum of money for food relief.
Fengyang people.
In short, it’s still a matter of asking for money.
Emperor Deqing took a deep breath, threw this memorial aside, and picked up the third memorial.
This is a memorial sent by the elder Liang Fuchen from Huamachi Camp, indicating that he has completely controlled the military and political situation in Shaanxi and Gansu, and the war in the Hetao is currently progressing smoothly... However, in order to reduce the burden on the court in ruling the Hetao in the future, Liang Fuchen proposed to the court
A sum of money and food should be spent to build an official road from Shaanxi and Gansu to Hetao.
Still reaching out for money.
Emperor Deqing felt that his head was about to explode!
After taking a sip of tea and barely suppressing his anger, Emperor Deqing once again began to think about Zhao Junchen's comeback.
"Speaking of which, I actually don't have to worry that Zhao Junchen will completely control the imperial court's financial power. Just like this time, I wanted to take back the financial power from Zhao Junchen, but I quickly took it back. Although Zhao Junchen has some
I am angry, but I have no intention of resisting at all... So, what can I do even if I hand over the imperial finances to Zhao Junchen again? It will be easy to take over power in the future!
The various financial troubles that have occurred during this period of time are actually due to me being too impatient when I took over power. The imperial finances have gradually improved under the management of Zhao Junchen. I have also noticed that, and I should wait until the imperial finances are completely
On the right track, after there are no hidden worries in a short period of time, and then take back the power from Zhao Junchen, there will be no worries... Otherwise, like this time, when there are still many hidden worries about the court's finances,
If you can’t wait to leave Zhao Junchen behind, you will naturally have to swallow a bitter pill!
Alas, in the final analysis, Zhao Junchen's military achievements in Shaanxi and Gansu were too amazing, which made me confused. For a while, I just thought about suppressing him as soon as possible, without thinking too carefully...
From this point of view, the current trouble is also an opportunity, giving me a reason to return the financial power of the imperial court to Zhao Junchen, which also has many benefits for me...
After Zhao Junchen saw that I had purged many of his cronies who had been placed in the Household Department, whether it was to avoid suspicion or out of anger, he no longer wanted to take care of the affairs of the Household Department, and he always resigned...
The candidate for the position of Minister of Household Affairs has not been determined. If I hand over this position to a certain "Zhao Party" official, it will be equivalent to handing over the imperial finances to Zhao Junchen again. It can not only show my trust, but also appease Zhao.
Junchen was filled with resentment. At that time, Zhao Junchen could only help the court solve its financial difficulties...
Well, of course I can't just watch Zhao Junchen's power expand, nor can I tolerate Zhao Junchen's development of power in the military. The purges and rectifications in Shaanxi and Gansu will still continue, but there is no need to be too nervous about the financial power.
Don't push Zhao Junchen too hard..."
While thinking about it, Emperor Deqing's mind had quietly changed.
Ultimately, this change was because Emperor Deqing was accustomed to relying on Zhao Junchen in terms of finance.
Emperor Deqing's attitude towards Zhao Junchen was like that of later generations of smokers who were addicted to cigarettes. They were both dependent and vigilant. When he decided to smoke another cigarette, he comforted himself that he would quit smoking completely after smoking this one.
Moreover, Emperor Deqing was completely unaware that the bottom line of his tolerance for Zhao Junchen had quietly increased again.
*
After making the decision in his mind, Emperor Deqing's mood improved slightly.
Emperor Deqing had had enough of having to wipe Hu Bu's butt many times during this period, and now he decided to hand over Hu Bu to Zhao Junchen again. He felt relaxed and his head no longer hurt.
Then, Emperor Deqing began to think about the next thing - how he could appease Zhao Junchen and ease the relationship with Zhao Junchen.
After all, Emperor Deqing's attitude of suppressing Zhao Junchen a few days ago was too obvious. It seemed too blunt to directly return the financial power to Zhao Junchen.
Moreover, Emperor Deqing's plan to cleanse the officialdom of Shaanxi and Gansu was about to begin. Once Zhao Junchen received the news, he would inevitably further increase his resentment.
After Emperor Deqing thought secretly for a moment, he suddenly said: "According to my decree, Wen Caining, the head of the Royal Hospital, is dim and incompetent and has shortcomings in medical ethics. He misdiagnosed important officials in the imperial court. The impact was extremely bad. I was extremely angry and dismissed him from his official position.
Come out of the imperial hospital and admire this!"
After Zhao Junchen passed away suddenly last time, he had been accusing Wen Caining of misdiagnosing his illness. If Wen Caining hadn't sworn that Zhao Junchen's body was fine, Zhao Junchen would not have dragged the sick body to the Ministry of Household Affairs to sit down.
, he would not faint in the end, so Zhao Junchen believed that all this was Wen Caining's fault, and he was extremely resentful.
It stands to reason that under such circumstances, Emperor Deqing should immediately punish Wen Caining severely to appease Zhao Junchen's grievances. However, Wen Caining is an old man next to Emperor Deqing after all. Emperor Deqing has always trusted him, and after all
There were some old feelings, and the reason why Wen Caining swore that Zhao Junchen was fine was entirely because of Emperor Deqing's hint, which could be regarded as taking the blame for Emperor Deqing, so Emperor Deqing kept dragging this out.
For this incident, Wen Caining was fined a moderate salary and demoted him by half a rank.
But now, in order to repair the relationship with Zhao Junchen as soon as possible, Emperor Deqing had to give up Wen Caining.
On the other side, after hearing Emperor Deqing's order, the eunuch Zhang De was shocked and quickly agreed to send someone to deliver the order.
But before Zhang De could take action, Emperor Deqing said: "In addition, I will send someone to Zhao Junchen's house to deliver a message to Zhao Junchen, saying that the candidate for Minister of the Ministry of Revenue has not been decided yet, and I have been undecided.
Please let Zhao Junchen give me some advice."
*
The news that Emperor Deqing suddenly took action to punish Wen Caining, the head of the Imperial Hospital, spread quickly.
In Wenhua Pavilion, Zhou Shangjing also received the news immediately.
After receiving the news, Zhou Shangjing had a smile on his old face.
When Emperor Deqing was reading the memorials, he saw three memorials in succession asking for money. This incident was not an accident, but a small trick of Zhou Shangjing.
In the end, as expected by Zhou Shangjing, Emperor Deqing was so annoyed by the financial situation of the imperial court that he finally decided to make concessions and asked Zhao Junchen to come out.
"...Well, this chess game can only continue if all the chess players sit in front of the chess board... If Zhao Junchen is allowed to hide behind the scenes, it will be an unpredictable variable that will also lower His Majesty's vigilance. No one knows
What is his intention? Now with the help of His Majesty, Zhao Junchen can once again go from darkness to light, and I can guess his true intention from his every move... If he takes the next step,
We should further reduce the variables and invite those unqualified chess players to play..."
Thinking of this, Zhou Shangjing raised his head and glanced at Shen Changmao, the chief minister of the cabinet not far away, with soft eyes.