The capital is still very hot at the end of summer, and the tiger problem seems to be particularly serious this autumn. Things are better in the palace, with ice cubes in the icehouse ready, but the people are suffering a bit. Fortunately, there are no major disasters in general, and the harvest is not bad. Finally, for this A perfect end to the year.
Xian Ruxing went to the imperial kitchen to make some iced bread. Thinking that he had not seen the little emperor for several days and heard that he was busy with government affairs these days, he took something to reward him. However, when he ran to Qianqing Palace, he felt a little wrong.
In this huge palace, apart from a few guards standing guard at the entrance, no other palace residents were seen.
Huang Jin, who was waiting outside, saw Xian Ruxing and hurriedly greeted him, whispering: "Hey, my real grandma, you are finally here?"
"What happened to him?" Xian Ruxing was a little confused.
Huang Jin looked confused and didn't know how to speak, so he could only motion for Xian Ruxing to go in first.
Xian Ruxing, who was full of questions, pushed the door open and walked in. The room was dark and empty. He looked around and found Zhu Houcong standing in the corner. He couldn't help but stepped forward and wondered: "What are you doing here? Why don't you light more candles?" "
He started lighting the candlesticks himself, and when the room was completely lit up, he was shocked when he noticed the young man's condition.
Zhu Houcong was seen wearing wrinkled brocade clothes and no net scarf on his head. A few strands of hair were scattered on his forehead, looking a little haggard.
You must know that from the day you met him, the beauty and narcissism of the other party has been deeply rooted in people's hearts. Although he does not wear pink hairpins like some men in this era, he still has his hair tied and his clothes are extremely exquisite. He even himself The design has improved the dragon robe!
So seeing the young man in such a state of desolation, he couldn't help but said anxiously: "But did you fall down? Or did someone in the court make you angry?"
Zhu Houcong stared at her for a long time and said slowly: "No, I left the palace today and I didn't change my clothes when I came back."
"Ah? Are you still observing the candidates who came to Beijing to take the exam? Do you have any new gains?" Xian Ruxing asked subconsciously.
"It's a great harvest," Zhu Houcong nodded. He wouldn't have known it if he hadn't been reminded of it by accident.
Is this how I originally felt about Xian Ruxing?
Zhu Houcong is just seventeen years old this year, and he is not familiar with the relationship between men and women. He is busy fighting with ministers all day long, and Xian Ruxing is a king of scrolls, and is a monk in name. In addition, the two of them spend most of their time together, even though Occasionally my heart palpitated but I didn't think about it. Only now did I understand what was going on.
No wonder he hates Xian Ruxing when he praises other men so much, and no wonder he instinctively resists the draft.
Yes, my future queen is and can only be her!
Zhu Houcong was so excited that he ran all the way back to the palace. He finally cooled down a bit, but now that he saw the female Taoist priest, he became confused again.
Seeing that he didn't look like anything was wrong, Xian Ruxing didn't care too much. He handed the other person an iced bread and the two of them started to eat it together.
Zhu Houcong was preoccupied. He always felt that as a man, he should take the initiative now that he understood what he wanted. However, he was a little confused as to where to start. He hesitated for a long time while biting the bread and did not speak.
Suddenly, Xian Ruxing next to me said, "By the way, how are you going to deal with the Dongting Lake flood issue?"
Zhu Houcong was stunned for a moment, automatically switched to work mode, and said directly: "The memorial presented yesterday will not be discussed until tomorrow. In short, we must take care of the people first."
Dongting Lake is a large lake. It has been flooded in the past dynasties. It rained heavily for several days in a row. The lake water broke down the dams and nearby fields and houses. People were displaced and it has caused tragedy.
As mentioned before, the Ming Dynasty mainly focused on water conservancy projects to protect water transportation. If other places were hit by disasters, tens of thousands of taels of silver would be given to appease them. However, it was different in Jiajing. First of all, let’s not talk about what he wanted to do.
Regarding grades, Huguang, where Dongting Lake is located, was his hometown in the past, so the land of Longxing must be given preferential treatment.
"Well..."
Zhu Houcong immediately responded and said quickly: "It's okay, just say what you want to say."
Xian Ruxing hesitated for a moment. Logically speaking, water conservancy is a national matter and she shouldn't be the one to speak up. However, all the Taoist priests in Baofang are from Huguang, and many of them were thrown into Taoist temples to make a living after suffering disasters at home.
Eat. Everyone is very concerned about the flooding of Dongting Lake this time.
As a qualified boss, Xian Ruxing naturally wanted to solve the concerns of his employees so that they could work normally, so he finally said: "Your Majesty, you know that I have been studying something called cement recently, mixing ash powder and water.
, it is extremely hard after solidification. It was originally used to pave roads, but now that we have to build river embankments, it is better to take it and give it a try first."
Zhu Houcong was stunned, "Is it possible? Didn't you say before that the thing is not so hard that it can't even repair a house?"
"It can't be repaired mainly because of the lack of steel bars, but using it as an adhesive is better than the current clay. Moreover, the original cement absorbs water well, but the early maintenance is a little troublesome, but it doesn't matter. I sent a few people to follow. What can I say?
It can also last a little longer." Xian Ruxing explained.
Zhu Houcong has become accustomed to the new terms popping up in her mouth from time to time, and he can quickly transform and accept the information. After listening to it, he became thoughtful.
When Xian Ruxing saw that he didn't say anything, he directly said that the finished cement products were now available in Leopard Room and he could find someone to test them.
"No, of course I believe you." Zhu Houcong explained warmly: "But if this is the case, then this cement will not be able to bear your name in the future."
Xian Ruxing was slightly startled, but then he immediately realized. Yes, if it is used as a road surface, it will crack. At worst, it will just be repaired. But if the embankment collapses in the future, there is no guarantee that no one will use it to attack Xian Ruxing. So the best way is
Even if Zhu Houcong, the emperor, had full power, the imperial court would be responsible for everything.
"Damn it, I have enough labels on my forehead, and I worry about attracting too much attention. That's okay. But thanks to you this time, I really didn't notice it." Xian Ruxing waved nonchalantly.
Wave.
Zhu Houcheng felt that her free and easy appearance, which did not care about fame and fortune, was very attractive. He knew that although the female Taoist priest was rigorous and beautiful in her work, she always had a chivalrous spirit of "doing great things without sacrificing one's own life". If she did not take care of some aspects, she could easily be underestimated.
People make mistakes, so people need to be around to make up for it.
I will always watch over her. Only I can do this kind of thing, no one else can! Zhu Houcong was proud and satisfied, but after thinking about it, he still felt aggrieved for the other party, so he said: "You
Don’t worry, I’ll remember all this for you, and we’ll reward you together in the future!”
"The poor Taoist will thank Your Majesty first," Xian Ruxing smiled and cupped his hands, and then said: "But just building the embankment is not enough, the key is to find a way to manage it." To be honest, let alone the Ming Dynasty, even if it enters the Ming Dynasty,
In modern society, floods have occurred in Dongting Lake. It is unrealistic to really want to solve the problem once and for all. The current plan can only provide temporary relief.
Although these two people had good brains, they knew nothing about water conservancy projects. In the end, they had no choice but to order Wang Qiong, who had previously treated local water conservancy, to be summoned to the palace for questioning.
Wang Qiong was on duty at the Ministry of Household Affairs at this time. He didn't dare to delay after hearing the Holy Sage's instructions, and hurried over. Because of the previous clan reform, he had completely bowed to Jiajing, and now he has become the number one thug after Zhang Cong.
When the emperor needs courtiers to speak out, he is usually at the forefront.
Well, although Wang Qiong's moral integrity is not very high, his ability is really not bad. After hearing Zhu Houcong's troubles, he immediately gave a solution.
"Reporting to your majesty, floods are natural disasters that are always uncontrollable, but sometimes they are actually caused by disasters. I have never been to Huguang, but I think they are pretty much the same everywhere. When I was in the territory, it was common for people to cut down river embankments.
The trees on both sides were burned and sold for money, and some even went so far as to encircle the lake and convert it into farmland. Coupled with the negligence of the local government, they often did not clean up the mud in order to save effort. Over time, floods will naturally occur. So sometimes
We only need to strengthen supervision and a lot of troubles can be solved."
Xian Ruxing felt that what he said made sense, and immediately asked: "But the embankment near Dongting Lake was just built in the last year of Hongzhi. According to the records of the imperial court, a lot of money was spent at that time. It was reinforced again in the tenth year of Zhengde. Now,
Why can’t you hold on for a moment?”
"Well..." Wang Qiong hesitated, "Maybe it's also because of natural disasters."
Jiajing was no longer so good-tempered towards others, and with a stern look on his face, he scolded him and said whatever he wanted.
Wang Qiong saw that he couldn't escape, so he sighed in his heart and explained where the Ming Dynasty was now.
In fact, it cannot be blamed for the lack of money for disaster relief in the Ming Dynasty. The main reason is that the Ming Dynasty actually did not have a unified financial and taxation department. Each locality collected taxes by itself and left money for use, such as the salaries of local officials or funds reserved for disaster response.
The rest were then handed over to the court.
The actual tax rate in Ming Dynasty is very low, so this leaves a huge hole for the local government.
But to be honest, corruption in the central government of the Ming Dynasty was not uncommon. Right under the emperor's nose, the vassal kings dared to directly bribe the cabinet, and the cabinet minister actually accepted it. So how can we expect that the upper beam is not upright and the lower beam is upright? The local left
Almost all of the response money issued went into the pockets of officials, large and small. The instructions issued by the imperial court to strengthen the river embankments every year were merely dealt with casually. This was already a tacit rule in the officialdom.
Although he was aware of the local political nature, Zhu Houcong was still extremely angry when the facts were put in front of him so bluntly.
That’s all money! It’s all my money!
Taizu's original intention was to make the place flexible and not too rigid, so he gave them so many convenient doors. However, instead of being grateful, these worms of the country shamelessly sucked the blood of the Ming Dynasty!
After Wang Qiong finished speaking, he huddled in the corner and didn't dare to speak out. After all, he was one of them. Finally, Xian Ruxing jumped out to save the siege, saying that it was getting late today, so why not discuss it tomorrow, so he took Wang Qiong with him.
Joan ran away quickly.
In the blink of an eye, only Jiajing was left in the hall, and the little emperor only reacted after his anger subsided. He had been preparing for a long time, but he seemed to have not said a word to Xian Ruxing...