Ming Dynasty: I risked my life to teach the prince, the emperor begged me not to die

Chapter 541 Financial Meeting
In the 16th year of Hongzhi's reign, on the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, there was a great meeting.

This was the last court meeting in the 16th year of Hongzhi's reign. All civil and military officials and nobles above the fourth rank in Beijing attended the court.

It was still dawn and the area outside the Meridian Gate was already full of people, including Chen Ce.

During this period, Chen Ce has rarely appeared in public. If the court had not made a summary report on the development and construction of the Ming Dynasty in recent years today, Chen Ce would not have appeared here.

He does not hold an official position now, but he is also the lord of Tai'an Marquis, so he stands relatively close to the front, standing with the two marquises of the Zhang family and the Duke of England.

It was freezing cold, and snow was still falling outside the Meridian Gate. Zhang Heling asked Chen Ce, "Have you finished your toys? When will you give them to me?"

Chen Ce: "...At this time, shouldn't you pay attention to national affairs?"

Zhang Heling stared and exclaimed, "Chen Ce! You don't want to regret it, do you? You can't be passive and lazy about our brothers' business just because you don't get a share of the profits!"

"I forgave you in front of the emperor at that time."

Chen Ce said speechlessly: "I see, can I send it to you tomorrow?"

That’s good enough, Zhang Heling nodded.

Soon, the Meridian Gate was opened by golden-armored guards, and the officials entered the Forbidden City in an orderly manner from the east and west. When they arrived at the official area outside the Fengtian Hall, they stood in line again. After the eunuchs inside the Fengtian Hall called out their names, the civil and military officials entered the Fengtian Hall under the leadership of Grand Secretary Li Dongyang and Duke of England Zhang Mao respectively.

After Emperor Hongzhi arrived at the Fengtian Hall, all officials shouted "Long live the Emperor" and the grand court meeting officially began.

The chief minister of the cabinet, Li Dongyang, was the first to report on the affairs. Since the 12th year of Hongzhi, the Ming Dynasty had fought the Battle of Hami in the northwest, the Battle of Tusi in the southwest, and the Battle of the Japanese Islands.

During these five years, the Ming Dynasty seldom launched foreign wars, only three in total, and all achieved the intended objectives.

In the imperial examination, about 170 Jinshi were selected every year, and each of them had his own duties.

In terms of reform, the Ming Dynasty made adjustments to agriculture. Within five years, agricultural fields were reduced, and most agriculture moved to the southwest, Liaodong, and the Japanese islands. Commerce was gradually replacing agriculture.

The Ming court also made innovations in various aspects of social welfare, such as welfare institutions for the elderly and children.

Culture was also flourishing. In the past, simply studying Confucianism and using this knowledge to take imperial examinations and become an official seemed to be the only way out for the people of the Ming Dynasty.

Yes, society is progressing. From the previous situation where no commoners could pass the imperial examinations and no gentry could pass the imperial examinations, the Ming Dynasty can be said to have entered the ranks of social progress.

However, it also defined the way for the people to improve their lives. The single idea of ​​taking imperial examinations to become an official and to improve their family's status left many people with no way out at all.

Therefore, many training industries were born. The society has a great demand for various industries, such as schools in various fields such as medicine, accounting, and construction. After entering the school for training, it is easier to find a job after graduation. These jobs can basically meet the needs of people to support their families.

In the Ming Dynasty, there was no longer a need for everyone to spend their entire lives and wealth on imperial examinations.

Li Dongyang made a summary of the development of the Ming Dynasty in the past five years, and then the six ministries made detailed reports. The Ministry of Rites came out first and stated that the Ming Dynasty had established diplomatic relations with dozens of countries in the past five years, especially after the voyage to the West this year.

The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Justice came forward again and summarized the officials who had retired in the past five years, praising their contributions to the Ming Dynasty. The Ministry of Justice mainly reported on the number of criminal cases and death sentences in various parts of the Ming Dynasty in recent years.

The proportion of criminal cases in various places is still the highest in remote areas, reflecting the backwardness of local education and the need to strengthen legal education.

Next was the Ministry of War, where Ma Wensheng gave a very detailed report on the entire Ming Dynasty's national defense. Currently, the Ming Dynasty's main defense areas were still the Oirat and Tatars in the north.

As for the defensive armaments in the southeast, southwest, South China Sea and other places, the Ming Dynasty has sufficient them and there is no need to worry.

During these five years, the Ming Dynasty invented the most lethal weapon on the battlefield, the Red Cannon... This was naturally the credit of Chen Ce, and Ma Wensheng emphasized this.

The historians were writing furiously for today's reports. All these things had to be recorded in historical materials. After all, this court meeting was very important to the entire Hongzhi Dynasty, and it could be regarded as a major summary after five years of reform.

The Ministry of Industry has more things to report. In recent years, the Ministry of Industry has done a lot of work in dredging the Yellow River and the Yangtze River basins, such as the Yellow River's segmented water-diverting and sand-flushing method. Of course, these things are also the credit of Chen Ce. After Chen Ce invented the water-diverting and sand-flushing method, the Yellow River has rarely burst its banks in recent years, harming crops on both sides of the river.

In addition to the two larger river basins, the Ministry of Industry is also focusing on the achievements in water management in Taihu Lake, Poyang Lake, Dongting Lake, etc.

The farming racks on agricultural tools, the victory chariot patterns on military equipment, etc. were all made by the Ministry of Industry. Of course, these were still invented by Chen Ce.

In the reports from the five ministries, almost every sentence was related to Chen Ce. Among the officials standing in the Fengtian Hall, some knew about Chen Ce's contributions to the Ming Dynasty, but most people were not aware of it and would not know the changes that Chen Ce had brought to the Ming Dynasty in such detail.

After hearing this today, I couldn't help but gasp frequently, and from time to time I would look at the young man in purple silk standing in the front.

Only then did he understand why he was able to stand at the forefront of all officials at such a young age, and he was qualified to do so.

Some officials looked at Chen Ce with amusement and a bit of jealousy in their eyes.

After the Ministry of Works finished its report, it was almost noon and all the officials were already starving, but the main point of the court meeting had not yet ended. Emperor Hongzhi allowed all the officials to rest first and then continue the court meeting after having lunch.

They had lunch outside the Fengtian Hall. The eunuchs in the inner palace had already prepared some cooked corn, sweet potato soup and some side dishes.

These overseas crops brought back from the voyages to the West are very easy to grow in the land of the Ming Dynasty. For example, potatoes can be grown in winter, and corn can be planted in autumn and harvested in winter. It can be said that there is food to be harvested in all four seasons, making up for the gap in the single food source.

At the beginning, Chen Ce went against all odds and even pulled down a chief censor of the Censorate in order to promote the voyage. At that time, no one understood it. It was not until now, seeing the results brought by the voyage, that people realized how correct Chen Ce's persistence was.

The shadow of Chen Ce can be seen in the changes in all walks of life, including food, clothing, housing, transportation, agriculture, commerce, education, and culture. How could this not shock all officials?

The key is that all these things were accomplished in just five years. What kind of monster is Chen Ce to be able to do this? !

(End of this chapter)