Prince Chongzhen

Chapter 479: A letter? So soon?
The news of the Ming army's landing on the east bank of Hongze reached Yingtian just over two days later, which made Zhu Cilang, who was used to following large armies, inevitably feel a little uneasy.

If it were any other time, he, the emperor, would have to move to Jiangbei at any time, but during this period of time, all matters had to be decided by him personally, so sitting in Yingtian became an inevitable result.

"Your Majesty, I understand that the scholars have gradually reached a consensus on increasing the number of candidates for the imperial examination, but there are still some differences on the source of these official positions."

"Oh? What's the disagreement?"

Although the sky was just beginning to brighten, Qian Qianyi and others had already appeared in the warm room.

According to the practice handed down from their ancestors, court officials did not need to get up so early except on the days when there were court meetings, large and small. However, each emperor has his own ministers, and each emperor has his own rules. In the Jingwu Dynasty, the small court meetings had been replaced by the warm pavilion dialogues, so it seemed that cabinet ministers and hall officials had to come more frequently.

"Your Majesty, the disagreement is mainly about the responsibilities. Some people think that handling menial affairs is really a disgrace to society, and it would be better to add more positions in the noble government offices."

Although Qian Qianyi looked calm when he said this, Xu Yu and Liu Zongzhou on both sides of him couldn't help but glance at Zhu Cilang's face, obviously afraid that such things would anger the Emperor.

Needless to say, Xu Yu knew that His Majesty looked down upon the so-called noble government offices since the siege of Yingtian. At this time, Qian Qianyi directly put forward the opinions of the literati without reservation, so his worries were understandable.

The key lies in Liu Zongzhou.

He has always been the leader of the literati and the literary world, and he should support those people from any angle.

But the situation has changed. After his trip to Zhejiang, his position changed rapidly. At this time, although he could not help but raise some objections, he stood on Your Majesty's side without reservation on key issues.

Zhu Cilang knew Liu Zongzhou's experiences in Zhejiang very well, and he also had some understanding of his mental journey.

In the eyes of others, Mr. Liu has been forced to stand opposite the Zhejiang scholars, and clinging to the emperor's thigh is his only choice, but there are other opinions.

After all, if one only focused on political struggles, Liu Zongzhou would only need to use the issue of concealing land properties to cause chaos in Zhejiang. By then, the task of striking at local forces would be successfully completed, and he could use this as a token of his allegiance to the emperor.

However, Liu Zongzhou handled many cases of bullying men and women and robbing people in Zhejiang, and was even praised by Liu Qingtian for this.

One has to know that investigating such cases is not only time-consuming and laborious, but also difficult to achieve the goal of striking at the entire family. If he were the kind of Donglin Party member that Zhu Cilang had in mind, he probably wouldn't have wasted his time and effort, and would not have gotten involved in these matters.

Of course, this may be for reputation, or he may have other intentions, but no matter what, Liu Zongzhou's behavior made the atmosphere in Zhejiang much cleaner, and Zhu Cilang was willing to give him another chance.

"The court lacks people who can get things done. If you just want to be noble, then just live an idle life in the countryside."

Zhu Cilang did not contain much anger in his words, so the people in the pavilion breathed a sigh of relief. But when they were thinking about how to respond, Zhu Cilang's voice came again.

"How about this, gentlemen, write an article in the next issue of the official newspaper, focusing on the fact that empty talk ruins the country, while hard work makes it prosperous."

"Old minister accepts the order."

At this point, the discussion on selecting officials came to an end. Afterwards, Liu and Huang said goodbye and left, leaving only the emperor and the prime minister in the cabinet.

Under normal circumstances, it would be time to call in the next group of court officials. However, before Zhu Cilang could speak, Mr. Qian, who had been holding back for a long time, spoke first.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me for speaking frankly. Some people have noticed that the cities in Jiangbei that have been restored are all controlled by clerks. I'm afraid there will be another disturbance soon."

Qian Qianyi's worries were not without reason. After all, the difference between officials and civil servants was a right that civil servants had successfully fought for after hundreds of years of hard work. If someone linked the events in Jiangbei with the direction of the court during this period, it would not be difficult to guess Zhu Cilang's true purpose.

But then again, with the spread of court reports among scholars, the Ming government had already gained an absolute advantage in guiding public opinion. Moreover, compared with ordinary scholars, the juren and jinshi who were qualified to become officials were only a drop in the ocean.

Under such circumstances, let alone whether some people can spread their ideas quickly, even if they can really spread them, they will probably only attract thousands of scholars to attack them.

It is obvious that Mr. Qian did not have a correct understanding of the power of the court bulletins. His way of thinking was probably still stuck in the days when a few provocative remarks from a great scholar could arouse the entire literati community.

However, during the past year or so, the old minister's position was upright, and Zhu Cilang was willing to help him understand what he had not understood. So when he finished speaking with a hint of worry, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty began to explain in detail to his Prime Minister.

After about an incense stick of time, Qian Qianyi finally realized that the court had seized the right to speak in the literati community from the hands of the great scholars. While he was digesting this matter in shock, Zhu Cilang had already picked up a memorial.

This question was sent by Gu Yuanjing, and it was about the money shop.

In Zhu Cilang's original plan, this money house should first gain a foothold in Guangdong with the support of the government, and then expand to the surrounding areas after accumulating some experience and capital by taking advantage of the booming maritime trade.

But according to Gu Yuanjing's description, the money houses at that time had already absorbed a lot of personnel and capital from other places, and it was time to open stores in several surrounding provinces.

To be honest, Zhu Cilang has heard many professional terms related to finance, but he doesn't quite understand how they work.

Therefore, he had been extremely cautious about this matter from the very beginning. When he saw that Gu Yuanjing seemed to have ambitions to expand the overall situation, he immediately started writing on the question book.

"You must be extremely cautious when expanding your bank. You must not do it on a grand scale just because things are going well for a while. You can first open a few stores in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces, and then you can set up more stores after the situation is stable.

In addition: The same should be done for the issuance of silver bills, but any flaws must be corrected in a timely manner, and no one should shy away from addressing the problem! "

After writing this, Zhu Cilang blew gently on the book a few times. At this time, Qian Qianyi, who had just come to his senses, praised sincerely: "Your Majesty's move is so effective that I really admire you!"

"There's nothing to admire about this. The public already has printed lists, but they haven't been widely disseminated." As Zhou Quan spoke, he quietly stepped forward and took the wet-inked book from Zhu Cilang's hand. As Zhu Cilang continued to blow gently on it, he continued, "The factory has developed new movable type, and the cost of printing books has been reduced a lot. I think in a year or two, someone will learn to spread their ideas through the court reports, and the cabinet must think of a way to deal with it as soon as possible."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will ask the Ministry of Justice to keep a close eye on it when I return."

Zhu Cilang couldn't help sucking his teeth when he heard the words, but then he changed his mind and thought that it was understandable that a person like Mr. Qian couldn't understand new things, so he put on a smile.

"Mr. Qian has misunderstood. What I mean is that it is better to facilitate than to block. Instead of letting those things circulate privately, it is better to put them under the supervision of the court. This way, the people will not lose their vitality, and people with ulterior motives will not take advantage of the loopholes." Having said this, Qian Qianyi could understand the emperor's intention. Then his old face turned red and he was ready to flatter him a few more times, but at this time Zhu Cilang said another sentence.

"In the future, when you encounter new things, you must not rush to fight and kill them right away. You must always understand the pros and cons of the situation before deciding how to deal with them."

"Old minister, I understand."

The relationship between a monarch and his subjects is actually not much different from that between a couple. If both sides are strong, there will be disputes. If both sides are weak, the family business will be ruined. The best combination is naturally one strong and one weak like in the Jingwu Dynasty. Only in this way can the effect of yin and yang being harmonious and everything going smoothly can be achieved.

Zhu Cilang was well aware of this, and even though Mr. Qian was not a brilliant man, he still allowed him to sit firmly on the position of Prime Minister.

But the old gentleman is getting a bit old, so we have to find a successor as soon as possible.

As his mind turned, Zhu Cilang was distracted for a moment. After seven or eight breaths, he regained consciousness and asked Zhou Quan, "Who else is outside?"

"Your Majesty, Li Bu Tang said that he has something to report about the steam engine, and Zhu Bu Tang wants to ask your Majesty for your instructions on the next step of the war. Zhang Bu Tang, Yang Bu Tang, and Du Guanzhang are waiting outside."

"Who? Du Chen?"

"Your Majesty, it's Director Du Chen."

"Why is he here?"

When he said the last sentence, Zhu Cilang, who was quite surprised, had already turned to his cabinet prime minister. However, the central government of the imperial court never interfered in customs affairs, and he didn't know why Du Chen came so quickly.

Seeing his confused look, Zhu Cilang realized that he had asked the wrong person. He then waved at Zhou Quan and began to think.

Earlier, he had agreed to Philip IV's request to exchange military aid for market because the Dutch sold firearms to the Tatars. Afterwards, Du Chen rushed to Macau to convey the news of the Ming Emperor to the Spanish mainland.

Normally speaking, it would take at least seven or eight months to travel from Ming Dynasty to Europe and back. At this time, it had been less than half a year since Du Chen left Yingtian, so Zhu Cilang thought that there was a problem at the customs.

But to his surprise, Du Chen said as soon as he entered the cabinet that he had received a reply from Philip IV, which made Zhu Cilang so confused that he couldn't say a word.

Seeing this, Du Chen obviously realized his oversight, and after apologizing, he began to explain in detail.

Normally, it would take a long time to travel from the Ming Dynasty to Spain, but this was just a message from the Ming Emperor, and Philip IV's situation was so difficult that he could no longer sustain the war, so the messenger did not go around the Cape of Good Hope, but went directly to the Ottoman Empire's Egyptian province after arriving in the territory, and then took a ship to Spain after entering the Mediterranean Sea from land.

". In this way, the time spent will be much shorter than usual, and the speed at which the news is transmitted back will be much faster than before."

After saying this, Du Chen looked at his emperor's expression cautiously, and was obviously ready to continue answering questions. But to his surprise, after hearing all this, Zhu Cilang just smiled with a hint of self-mockery, and did not even ask the first half of the question about the Ottoman Empire and the Egyptian province.

"Tell me, has Philip IV agreed?"

"Your Majesty, the King of Spain has agreed to your terms and is willing to use Luzon as collateral in exchange for two million taels of military supplies. The envoys sent to New Spain have also set off at the same time. I don't think the ban on Ming cotton cloth will happen again."

As Du Chen spoke, the smile on Zhu Cilang's face grew wider.

In his view, Luzon and other things are just secondary things, and the American market is what he really values.

After all, from the perspective of the country, the key to whether an industry is worth supporting lies in whether the industrial chain is long enough.

For things like porcelain, tea, and silk, either the industrial chain is not long enough or the sales volume is too low.

In comparison, the price of cotton cloth is not high and the profit is very slim, but from planting cotton seeds to spinning cotton cloth, this long industrial chain involves more than one million people.

Once Ming cotton cloth can be successfully sold to America, which has a population of tens of millions, not only will the people of Ming be able to benefit widely, but the industrialization process will also be greatly accelerated.

With such benefits, it is natural that Zhu Cilang's smile would be a hundred or a thousand times brighter.

just
"Is Philip IV going to die?"

It is naturally gratifying to gain a huge market, but as the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he cannot just be happy.

After all, although the conditions he proposed seemed much more lenient than Philip IV's own demands on the surface, both of them were at the top of their countries. How could they not see through the calculations behind it?
According to Philip IV's original idea, the South China Sea was not only occupied by the powerful Ming Dynasty, but also by the three countries of Britain, France and the Netherlands who were eyeing it covetously.

Under such circumstances, it is only a matter of time before Spain loses Luzon. It would be better to give this place directly to the Ming Dynasty, which might cause some discord and friction among these countries.

But Zhu Cilang was ultimately bombarded by a wave of information.

Not only did he fail to fall into the trap of killing four men with a peach, but he also put the conditions elsewhere.

If we follow common sense, Philip IV would not easily allow the Ming Dynasty to take all the benefits, so it is reasonable for him to negotiate a few times.

But now.
"Your Majesty, when the messenger arrived, although the main force of Spain had been defeated by France, small-scale battles were still taking place. At this time, the Holy Roman Empire had already planned to negotiate peace with France, so Spain's situation was naturally not very good."

After hearing the words, Zhu Cilang slowly nodded.

He only had a general idea of ​​this period of history, and was able to barely match the two together according to Du Chen's statement. He then called in Li Yongmao, who was waiting outside. But before he could arrange for the military aid, a loud shout came from outside.

"Urgent news from Jiangbei!"

(End of this chapter)