I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 263 Meeting
In the back hall of Fengtian Hall, two young men were sitting on chairs drinking tea.
Zhang Yong hurried in and reported, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, the village elders have been brought in."

"Brother, it's your turn now." Zhu Houxuan looked at Zhu Houzhao and said with a smile.

Zhu Houzhao, who was sitting opposite him and wearing the full outfit of the emperor, said with some boredom: "Going to meet a group of old men, it sounds quite boring."

"Brother, you can't think like that. These village elders are all your supporters. Don't you want to become a sage king? Then you should treat these village elders well." Zhu Houxuan glared at Zhu Houzhao.

"Okay, I get it! I will cooperate with you and do as you say." Zhu Houzhao stood up and said.

Zhu Houxuan also stood up and helped Zhu Houzhao to tidy up his clothes and crown. "Those village elders are all elders. Brother is of noble status, but if you treat the elders with more courtesy, people in the world will only praise you."

"Okay, I understand! You've become so nagging now!" Zhu Houzhao gave Zhu Houxuan a helpless smile.

"The emperor has arrived!"

Following the announcement, Zhu Houzhao slowly walked onto the golden platform and sat on the dragon throne.
The moment they saw Zhu Houzhao, the emotions accumulated in the hearts of the villagers finally reached their peak.
"I pay my respects to your majesty!" The village elders knelt down one after another. The accumulated emotions in their hearts finally found an outlet.
Many village elders knelt on the ground and couldn't help crying. The feelings in their hearts could not be described in words.
Fortunately, the villagers who were able to come to the capital were in good health, and no one fainted due to excessive excitement.
"Please stand up, fellow villagers. You are all elders. You have traveled thousands of miles to the capital, and you must be exhausted. Please quickly offer you seats." Zhu Houzhao's voice reached the ears of everyone in the hall.

Zhu Houzhao's gentle words made the villagers present even more grateful. During their visit to the palace, they constantly felt the majesty of the imperial power, which had been deeply imprinted in their hearts. They had also heard many bad rumors about Zhu Houzhao before, but after they really met Zhu Houzhao, they found that he was so humble and polite. This huge contrast moved them immensely.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!" Old Man Guan took the lead.

Chairs were quickly brought over by the eunuchs. The village elders hesitated for a moment but finally sat down. They were indeed a little tired after walking for such a long time.
However, these village elders did not show any signs of fatigue. They all had rosy faces and were full of energy. They did not look old at all, like a group of young men. This was because there was a force in their hearts that supported them.
"I, Guan Yue, a commoner from Neiqiu County, Shunde Prefecture, present to Your Majesty a letter from the 80,000 people of Neiqiu County, thanking Your Majesty for stabilizing the price of salt!" Old Man Guan spoke first.

Then the other village elders took out the Book of All Nations that they had brought with them.
Copies of the Book of All Nations were piled up on the ground, and soon a small mountain was formed.
Seeing so many books of all people, Zhu Houzhao was really moved. He walked down from the imperial platform, picked up a book of all people, and looked at the various names and handprints on it. Each name and handprint represented a living person, and he had a wonderful feeling in his heart.
He knew he would receive books from all nations, but he didn’t expect to receive so many!
A simple count of the names on the Book of All Peoples brought by these village elders turned out to be over ten million, which represented the support of tens of millions of people for him.
These books from all walks of life piled up into a small mountain. This was the first time that Zhu Houzhao had a direct sense of the magnitude of tens of millions.
And what did he do about it?
Zhu Houxun was only allowed to run the salt field to stabilize the price of salt.

In his opinion, stabilizing the price of salt only meant that every citizen would spend 200 to 300 coins less on salt, but this small favor made the people so grateful and supportive of him. This made him feel very wonderful and changed his mentality.

After his mentality changed, he suddenly felt that today's incident had become different and was not as boring as he had imagined before.
He has begun to enjoy the feeling of being supported.
Zhu Houzhao still remembered Zhu Houxuan's instructions at this time. He talked to the village elders in a cordial manner, asking about their well-being and chatting about some family matters.
At the same time, in response to the concerns of the village elders that the price of salt would rise again, Zhu Houzhao made a guarantee that the price of salt would not rise again.

The price will not increase, but the quality of salt will be further improved.

This made the villagers feel relieved. In short, the guests and hosts were very happy while chatting.
However, the conversation still had to end, and when it was about to end, Zhu Houzhao actually felt that he had not finished yet. He liked to listen to the villagers talk about some folk stories, which he could not normally touch.
The village elders were escorted out of the palace with great satisfaction, and each of them had a huge change in their impression of Zhu Houzhao.

In the words of Grandpa Guan, "Isn't His Majesty just a handsome young man? How could he be as bad as the previous rumors said? There must be treacherous officials in the court who have been destroying His Majesty's reputation."

Every village elder was very satisfied with the trip to Beijing. When they recalled the trip, they felt like they were dreaming, or even more outrageous than a dream.
The news of their knocking on the palace gate today had spread throughout the city. After they returned to the inn, the entire audience process and what Zhu Houzhao said spread throughout the capital at the speed of light, causing a huge response.

This was Zhu Houzhao's first statement since the start of the Salt War. This statement was so clear and so in line with the will of the people.

Therefore, Zhu Houzhao's reputation in the capital suddenly rose a lot. The incident of the village elders knocking on the palace gate became a huge topic and directly reversed various public opinions about the salt industry in the capital.
In fact, the previous public opinion situation in the capital was the result of Zhu Houxuan's failure to control it and his deliberate indulgence.

This was to ensure that Zhu Houzhao's clear statement at this time would win the most support from the people.

This time, the knock on the palace gate not only changed public opinion, but also directly sounded the clarion call for a counterattack. The various propaganda agencies of the Royal Group were also dispatched, and the public opinion field in the capital was cleared up in a short period of time.
This made many people who were still hoping for the best face the reality. Many salt merchant groups and their supporters began to consider how to end this matter and how to protect themselves.
Among these people, there was one exception, that was the Imperial Censor Shen Hao. He finally received the news that the Shen family in Shunde Prefecture had been destroyed, and he was the second Jinshi of the Shen family in this dynasty.
He was extremely angry and sad when he received the news, but he had no other choice. He knew something about what was going on at home.
He knew that he would soon be implicated in his family affairs and his political career would end.
This made him even crazier. Since I am not doing well, I will make you suffer too! He thought viciously.
He spread out a piece of white paper and began to write a memorial. He also recently realized where the crux of the problem lay.
"Your servant Shen Hao weeps and sheds tears to report that Jing Wang Zhu Houxuan has been in the capital for a long time. He is said to be managing the royal property, but in fact, seeing that Your Majesty has no heir, he secretly cultivates his followers and covets the sacred artifact."

(End of this chapter)