Zhu Gaoxu became a vassal, no matter whether he wanted to or not, or what he thought in his heart, he became a vassal.
When the King of Han becomes a vassal, the civil servants are happy and the generals are silent. In short, the matter is settled!
Li Qing felt much better after hearing the news. He felt that this was good. Zhu Gaoxu was not the material to be the emperor. This would be good for him, Xiaopang, and even the Ming Dynasty.
It has been more than 30 years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty. Strictly speaking, Zhu Di was also an Emperor Wu. It would not be a good thing if another Emperor Wu came later, adding up to an Emperor Wu who was dozens or even hundreds of years older.
The world needs to be governed, and governing the world requires civil servants. Just like the people who are suppressed by household registration do not have a leader, if the civil servants do not have a leader, then the gain outweighs the loss.
Civil servants can be suppressed, but they cannot be crushed to death.
Feeling lucky, Li Qing couldn't help but sigh: "This bitch is really good at it, she just solved it silently."
It seems that Xu Miaoyun is cruel, but in fact she is doing it for the sake of Hanhan and Xiaopang.
The King of Zhao and the King of Han took vassal status one after another, leaving only one little fat man in the capital, the court was calm, and the civil servants were full of energy.
Zhu Gaoxu's resignation not only calmed down the civil servants and generals, but also Zhu Di no longer had any illusions and devoted himself to cultivating Xiaopang...'s son.
Although Xiaopang couldn't help him anymore, Zhu Di didn't give up completely and arranged two marriages for him.
——Marry Guo Ying’s son and Guo Ming’s daughter.
——Marry Zhang Yu’s son and Zhang Fu’s daughter.
As a result, the founders of the country and those who contributed to the peace of the country were all connected with the prince. One day when the little fat man ascended the throne, they would become relatives of the country.
Zhu Di did this to appease the generals and suppress the arrogance of the civil servants to prevent them from getting carried away.
The marriage was a bit old-fashioned, but it was very effective. Xiaopang became the winner in life and was very happy all day long.
…
East Palace.
Li Qing looked at the fat boy with black eyes, frowned and said: "Women are as lustful as wolves and tigers, you have to control yourself!"
"Brother Qing, why doesn't he get tired of you talking about this?" Xiaopang put down the memorial and said cowardly, "I heard that the prescription you prescribed for my father is very useful, so give me one too."
"..." Li Qing was speechless, "Your father is not like you. He is busy with national affairs all day long."
"I'm busy too!" Xiaopang spread his hands, "Do you see that I'm idle?"
Li Qing said angrily, "You are so lustful and delicious, and you still deal with government affairs all day long. Your iron-clad body can't handle it!"
"Hey~ In this world, there are only two words: eating and drinking." Xiaopang didn't care, "If in order to live longer, I ban this or that, what's the point of living? I'm already tired enough, and I can't enjoy it anymore?"
After a pause, he said with a smile, "Brother Qing, with our friendship, you can't hide your secrets!"
"Okay, I'll open one for you."
Li Qing took up his pen and wrote down a prescription, "Once a day, for half a year."
"Just once a day." Xiaopang took the prescription and asked, as if he had found a treasure, "Take it before the day, or later?"
"..." Li Qing said helplessly, "In the evening, beforehand."
"Hey... don't leave, let's talk for a while."
Li Qing left without looking back, saying to himself: "Little Fatty, don't blame Brother Qing, Brother Qing is doing it for your own good."
What he prescribed to Xiaopang was not a prescription for increasing physical strength, but a medicine for drowsiness.
This guy is too indulgent and doesn't care.
As soon as he went out, he met Zhu Di.
"I was just looking for you." Zhu Di grabbed him and said, "Let's go to the imperial study room to talk."
"What's the matter, Your Majesty?"
Zhu Di said, "Three Treasures reported that the casting of the treasure ship will probably be completed in the spring of the year after next. One weaving bureau is not enough. You can go to Suzhou and Hangzhou to get two more, as well as porcelain..."
When they came to the imperial study, the emperor and his ministers sat down, and Zhu Di talked about his plan in high spirits.
Li Qing frowned when he heard this: "Your Majesty, I think it is better to leave some room for the rich gentry."
"They are rich enough. It doesn't matter if they make less." Zhu Di said angrily, "I didn't steal it from them."
Li Qing smiled bitterly and said, "What's the difference?"
"Stop talking nonsense, just do it if I ask you to do it." Zhu Di said displeasedly, "I need money, and the country also needs money. Do the country, the country, and the people of the world have to make way for the wealthy gentry?"
"This..." Li Qing smacked his lips, speechless.
After pondering for a moment, Li Qing said, "The weaving department is okay, but I don't know much about porcelain, tea, and so on, and I have no skills at all."
After a pause, "The most important thing now is to fill in the mulberry fields vacated by the rich gentry. Without silkworms, no matter how good the loom is, no matter how skilled the weavers are, they will not be able to weave silk."
"I have informed Xia Yuanji about this, so you can rest assured." Zhu Di said, "You can just run the weaving bureau with peace of mind. As for the porcelain kiln... Since you are too busy, I will find someone else to do it."
Li Qing nodded and asked: "Your Majesty, is our Ming's treasury still enough to support it?"
"I'm a little nervous." Zhu Di cursed, "It's all because of that bastard Jianwen who was throwing money around. Taxes weren't high to begin with. He dropped them randomly, and with the expenses of the Jingnan Campaign, the treasury was almost drained. Damn it."
…
I haven’t spent it yet, so I have no money!”
In fact, Zhu Di also spent a lot of money, and he spent more money than Jianwen, but almost all of the money he spent was used properly, which is indeed better than Jianwen.
Zhu Di was angry that Jianwen gave him a bad start.
He was not in the right position, and he did not want to offend the people, so when he abolished the Jianwen New Deal, he retained the Jianwen tax policy.
Moreover, to show that he loved the people even more, Zhu Di lowered another round of taxes on the original basis.
The taxes of the Ming Dynasty were not high to begin with. After continuous tax reductions, although the state treasury did not make ends meet, it did not have much surplus.
In addition, Zhu Di spent a lot of money on reducing vassal status, building ships, building weaving bureaus, and porcelain kilns. The national treasury was getting poorer and poorer. Otherwise, with Zhu Di's temperament, he would have embarked on the Northern Expedition.
However, although reducing taxes has disadvantages, it also has advantages. People's lives are getting better and better. It is foreseeable that the population of Ming Dynasty is about to grow.
Zhu Di sighed and said: "Now, I can only hope to make a fortune from maritime trade."
Li Qing nodded and said with a smile: "Sea trade can definitely make a lot of money. The emperor can rest assured about this, but... don't rush for success in everything. The Ming Dynasty's financial resources are tight now, and it is not a good time to open up more money. Reducing expenditure is the top priority."
After a pause, "Your Majesty, you might as well go to the Minister of Household Affairs to discuss the matter of reducing expenditures."
He advised: "Fighting alone will not bring about prosperity. Your Majesty, please don't neglect your civil servants too much. They are also your ministers!"
Zhu Di nodded slowly, "That makes sense."
After pondering for a moment, he raised his voice and said, "Go and tell Xia Yuanji to come."
…
Half an hour later, Xia Yuanji hurried over to see the driver.
Zhu Di got straight to the point, "Xia Aiqing, the national treasury is becoming increasingly tight. Do you have any good ideas?"
Hearing this, Xia Yuanji almost cried. How pitiful the emperor was. He finally knew that the treasury was out of money.
After thinking for a while, Xia Yuanji cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, I have a plan that can greatly alleviate the financial problem."
"Let's talk and listen." Zhu Di became more energetic.
"Reduce the feudal prince's salary!"
"No, the king of the Jiubian vassal has just changed the vassal territory and has rashly reduced their salaries. If they are not guaranteed, there will be trouble." Zhu Di shook his head, "Even if it is reduced, it is not now."
Xia Yuanji was helpless, thought for a while, and then said: "The veterans in the army can be reduced, so..."
"Mobei has not yet been pacified. Doing this is too chilling and must be done."
Xia Yuanji: "..."
"Is there no other way?" Zhu Di asked.
"Uh... I have another idea, but the money saved is not much."
"Talk about it."
Xia Yuanji cupped his hands and said: "There are a little more officials in the imperial court, so they can be eliminated appropriately. This can save some salary."
"Well, that's good." Zhu Di nodded, "You go back and prepare a plan as soon as possible, and you can save whatever you can."
Xia Yuanji nodded helplessly. The vassal king's treatment was not reduced, and the army was not laid off, but only for civil servant positions. The emperor was so focused on military affairs and neglected civil affairs, which made him feel helpless.
"I excuse myself."
Zhu Di waited for him to leave the hall, smiled at Li Qing and said: "This guy is not bad. He doesn't collude with the civil servants. He has a good heart."
"Haha..." Li Qing smiled and nodded, "There are many civil servants who are dedicated to serving the country, and they are not what the emperor thinks."
"Lier is such a liar, but it's better to suppress them." Zhu Di shook his head and said, "The army's system is reasonable, and it is basically impossible to rebel. Civil servants will not rebel, but they will corrode the country, so we still have to deal with them.
Be careful."
Li Qing scratched his head and said, "The Emperor is considering this too."
After briefly talking about trade matters for a while, Zhu Di suddenly said: "Li Qing, I think it is better to print more treasure banknotes. The Ming Dynasty is on the rise. In the process of spending treasure banknotes, the court can also improve people's lives."
Li Qing said silently, Zhu Di's words are not unreasonable. Appropriate water release is conducive to promoting consumption. It can be said that there are only advantages and no disadvantages.
But he is also afraid that once this hole is opened, it will be difficult to close it in the future. So far, his greatest achievement is to stabilize the purchasing power of Baobao, and he really does not want the Ming Dynasty Baobao to make the same mistake again.
Then he said: "Bao banknotes are just bargaining chips for transactions, not wealth. It does not mean that more treasure banknotes cannot be printed, but it must be determined according to the national conditions of the Ming Dynasty."
After a pause, he said, "After the opening up of trade, overseas goods will gradually enter the Ming Dynasty, and the country will become richer and richer. At that time, we will print more treasure banknotes according to the situation. This will benefit the country and the people."
Zhu Di nodded and sighed: "Then it will be as you say!"