Chapter 238 Having too much money also causes troubles
Regarding Liu Rushi, Zhu Cixiang did not engage in any trick of substituting others, but directly issued an order to pardon his crime.
Although such an unreasonable pardon is easily criticized by the people of the world, it is the right of the emperor.
It is better to be so direct and aboveboard than to be secretive. It will be much better if Liu Rushi's identity is revealed in the future.
After all, as a famous courtesan in Qinhuai, Liu Rushi was well-known and knew many dignitaries and literary talents. Unless she did not show up, she would definitely be recognized.
"Your Majesty, why don't you let me be my concubine..."
Seeing that Zhu Cixi wanted to directly pardon Liu Rushi, the red lady thought for a moment and tried to speak.
After all, apart from her good looks and talent, Liu Rushi had no other praiseworthy qualities. For the young emperor to directly issue a pardon like this would really damage the image of a wise and powerful warrior.
Maybe it will be edited by those literati in the future, and it will become a stain and be criticized by future generations.
"I appreciate your concubine's kindness. If I am not in the capital, I can let my concubine do the work for me. But I have returned to the capital, so it is a bit inappropriate!"
Zhu Cixiang naturally understood what she was thinking, waved his hand, and rejected her proposal.
He is not in the capital, and the Red Lady can indeed pardon him. After all, when he went south, he left a bunch of blank imperial edicts with big seals, and took out one to pardon Liu Rushi. Everyone would only think that the imperial concubine was acting willfully.
, treating His Majesty’s trust as a trifle.
But he, the emperor, had already returned to Beijing, so naturally it was not easy for him to let the noble concubine Hong Niang do it for him.
Even if she is a political idiot, Lady Hong understands that the blank imperial edicts left to her by the emperor were out of trust, but they could not be really used, so she did not say anything. The main reason why she brought it up just now was because Zhu Cixiang was there.
Beijing.
"Okay, my dear, don't worry about it. It's just a small matter. I don't believe that pardoning a mere woman will affect my reputation through the ages."
As a person from later generations, Zhu Cixiang naturally knew that people in later generations would not be as pedantic as today's literati, so he didn't care at all and didn't bother to beautify himself in this regard.
Because he knew that if he could secure a large territory for the Han people and allow China's technology and military force to stand at the top of the world, even if he was debauched and immoral, he would still be the object of worship for countless people hundreds of years later.
"Your Majesty, now that the country has been completely pacified and the morale of the soldiers is at a high level, why not go all out and directly destroy the Jiannu?"
The red lady obviously didn't want to spend all her thoughts on a promiscuous woman. If it wasn't related to Zhu Cihong's reputation, she wouldn't say a word at all.
As for jealousy, she had never thought about it, because in her opinion, no matter how lustful or lustful the little emperor was, or even had bad habits, it was nothing to worry about.
"It is indeed possible to take advantage of the victory and wipe out the slaves in one fell swoop, but there is no need to rush as a lamb to be slaughtered. It is better to wait for another year or two. When the reform in the south is completely completed and the Tumut troops are resettled, it will not be too late to send out troops.
.”
Zhu Cixi waved his hands and said.
The reason why he did not plan to mobilize troops immediately was because his goal was far more than just establishing slaves, so he wanted to wait another two years until the domestic reforms were completed before launching troops.
Because once he plans to use troops abroad, he will not stop, but will expand his territory while developing domestic economy and technology.
Therefore, it is necessary to slow down for two years and completely build a solid foundation, so as to avoid taking too big steps and having to stop and go back to rectify the country.
"Then Your Majesty, what will I do in the future?"
The red lady was a little disappointed, and then looked at him nervously. She was obviously worried that she would be locked up in the harem if there was no battle, and she also didn't know what else she could do to help the little emperor in the future.
"My dear concubine, your next task is to give birth to a royal son for me. There is no need to worry about other things."
Zhu Cixi hugged her over and said with a smile.
The red lady's cheeks also turned red. She was happy but also a little sad. She knew this would be the result.
"Alright, dear concubine, you look like this, it makes me feel like I am trying to kill the donkey. Even if you have a prince, if you still want to fight in the future, you can do it."
Zhu Cixi obviously saw her thoughts and comforted her with a smile.
"Does your Majesty really mean what he said?"
Sure enough, when the red lady heard this, she sat upright and then realized that she shouldn't question it.
Zhu Cixiang didn't pay much attention, nodded and said: "Of course it's true. When did I ever deceive my beloved concubine? And from now on, don't call me your majesty. It's too alienating. Just call me husband."
"Um!"
The red lady gave a soft hum and leaned her head in his arms, her eyes flushed with emotion.
In the following days, the two of them have been working hard for the heir to the throne. Zhu Cixiang did not run around. He originally planned to go to the grassland again, and Hou Xun took care of allocating the pastures to the leaders.
The leaders of the Tumut tribe only stayed for a while to see the prosperity of the capital, and Zhu Cixiang released them all.
Because it is meaningless to detain them, and it will not be conducive to the imperial court's future rule on the grassland, it is enough to detain the Tugel family in the capital.
As more and more military attaches moved to the capital, the capital became more and more prosperous and lively.
The commercial area in Dongcheng and the residential area in Beicheng have already taken rough shape, while the industrial area in Xicheng is almost completed.
But in such a large industrial area, apart from arsenals, the only light industry is spinning and dyeing workshops, which results in a large number of empty factories.
The textile industry has obviously reached its limit. Even though imperial stores have opened all over the country, and the cotton factories in Jiangnan have completely transformed and shut down, the monthly output of 400,000 pieces of cotton cloth still cannot be sold out, and there is still a large amount of inventory piled up in the warehouse.
, more and more warehouses are being built.
There is no way, this textile industry has been related to the livelihood of millions of people near the capital, and it cannot be stopped at all.
Once it stops, some of the farmers who weave at home will be fine and have land, but those craftsmen and the hundreds of thousands of people who migrated from Jiangnan will definitely go bankrupt and starve and cannot survive.
In a short period of time, it will be difficult to increase the purchasing power of ordinary people, so it is necessary to produce a bulk commodity that is consumed by the rich.
There were countless such industrial products in previous lives, but in this era, apart from silk, there really is nothing left. Even silk cannot truly be called an industrial product.
Although products such as soap and glass are also consumed by the rich, as long as they are made, they will definitely make money, but they are not production-intensive products. For Zhu Cixiang now, making money is secondary, and the main thing is to stimulate economic development.
What he needs is products like cars and bicycles, but the technology of this era simply cannot produce them.
Without suitable industrial products, Zhu Cihong finally had no choice but to carry out infrastructure construction and renovate all the official roads in the north, widening those that should be widened and repairing bridges that should be repaired.
After all, after the completion of the entire southern New Deal this year, the total agricultural and commercial taxes will definitely exceed 100 million taels of silver. It will definitely be impossible not to spend so much money, not to mention the tariffs.
As for military expenses, the royal family still has to bear them for the time being, because the royal family also earns a lot of money every year, and it is impossible not to spend it.
The annual profits earned from the salt monopoly alone amount to tens of millions of taels.