Ming: I am fake, walking on thin ice

Chapter 168: The False Emperor: Welcome the Real Emperor? I Kill Him! I Am the Real One

Imperial College.

The most important affairs of a country are sacrifices and military affairs. The Imperial College initially had a strong "sacrificial" nature, so although the Imperial College was an academy, its president was called Jijiu.

Zhu Qizhen came to the Imperial College today, accompanied by Yang Shan, the Minister of Rites. The reason for coming here is because he had told Yang Shan about his ideas before. Although Yang Shan did not agree with all of them, he still established four new subjects in the Imperial College according to the emperor's wishes: mathematics, agriculture, medicine, and engineering. In the future, the imperial examinations will also add these four categories of examinations, and students who pass the examinations can still serve as officials in the court.

Since the Song Dynasty, it was extremely difficult to enter the officialdom without passing the imperial examination, unless one had military merit. But the Ming Dynasty was different, perhaps because the people who founded the Ming Dynasty were all from the lower classes.

In the 25th year of Hongwu, the Office of Construction was established. The General Works Department was changed to the Office of Construction, with a rank of the seventh grade, and two chief, deputy and assistant officers, who were the most skilled craftsmen.

That is to say, starting from the Hongwu period, the imperial court established a system of selecting craftsmen to serve in the government. Although they were all minor officials, the door was opened.

This is also why the cabinet and the Ministry of Rites did not object to Zhu Qizhen's ideas. In addition to reading sage books, there are other ways to enter the officialdom, but they are not the mainstream.

"Where do these students come from?" Zhu Qizhen asked Yang Shan.

Yang Shan followed him and answered:
"Your Majesty, the students of the Imperial College are roughly divided into six categories: Jujian, Gongjian, Yinjian, Lijian, Yisheng and Junxiu. Among them, Gongjian is the largest, and most of them are recommended by various places. In the future, local governments can recommend students in mathematics, agriculture, medicine, and engineering to enter the Imperial College."

"Also, there are regular inspections, and you just need to pay tribute."

Zhu Qizhen understood that he could get in even if he paid money. He also envisioned promoting the study of basic subjects in all places in the Ming Dynasty, but this road was too long, so he started from the Imperial College. In the future, when people from these four subjects became officials, more people would go to school in the localities, and he would start promoting it from top to bottom.

"What are the textbooks?" Zhu Qizhen asked.

Yang Shan's work is still very solid, and he began to explain. For example, for mathematics, there must be "Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art", there are more textbooks for agricultural and medical sciences, and the least for engineering.

Zhu Qizhen thought that he had to get textbooks of other subjects from the West, such as those from Greece, Euclid's "Elements", the theories of Pythagoras, Archimedes and others.

Next time Western merchants come to buy silk, we can offer them these things as a reward. We can also find teachers of these subjects from them to teach at the Imperial College.

……

After coming out of the Imperial College, Zhu Qizhen asked Shi Biao to take the Jinyiwei back first, because he wanted to use Zhu Wusi's trumpet to pick up girls. He put on a white robe, looked elegant, and came to Ning Rongrong's club.

The guild hall was very lively today. He asked around and found out that representatives from Anhui merchants, Shanxi merchants, Fujian merchants and Jiangsu merchants were all there to discuss some important matter.

Zhu Qizhen wanted to observe secretly, but he was recognized by Ning Rongrong's maid Xiao Cai. She stepped forward to greet him, bending her soft waist slightly: "Mr. Zhu, you are here, my lady is meeting guests, shall I take you to the private room?"

"Okay." Zhu Qizhen followed her.

Xiao Cai brought him into the private room they had met last time. Outside the window was the beautiful Gaoliang River. Just as Xiao Cai was about to leave, Zhu Qizhen stopped her and raised his eyebrows: "Miss Xiao Cai, please stay with me."

"Yeah." Xiao Cai lowered her head shyly, her cheeks flushed.

The girl is thinking about love.

Zhu Qizhen smiled secretly in his heart. It was just right. He asked her for Ning Rongrong's information. He stared at Xiao Cai with burning eyes and said, "Miss, you are so beautiful. You have the temperament of a beautiful girl from a small family. I like you the most."

Xiao Cai had never heard such bold praise before. Her cheeks flushed and she dared not look into Zhu Qizhen's eyes. Zhu Qizhen gently pulled her, and the two stood in front of the window, facing the wind.

"I heard that people from the four major chambers of commerce are here today? Your young lady is amazing. A girl like her can preside over such a big hall." Zhu Qizhen praised.

"Of course!" Xiao Cai's eyes were full of pride. "My young lady is very capable. The four major chambers of commerce are convinced because they rely on my young lady to ship goods overseas."

Shipping overseas?

Zhu Qizhen was secretly shocked. Isn't this smuggling? The Ming Dynasty banned sea voyages. Only officials could do business with overseas merchants.

"Overseas? How can a girl like her have such great abilities?" He pretended to be surprised.

"The lady is also from overseas." Xiao Cai said.

After she finished speaking, she quickly covered her mouth, as if she had said something wrong. Zhu Qizhen was about to continue asking questions, the door was pushed open, and Ning Rongrong walked in. She saw Xiao Cai and Zhu Qizhen standing side by side in front of the window, behaving intimately, and her cold eyes flashed with murderous intent.

"Miss." When Xiao Cai saw Ning Rongrong, fear flashed in her eyes, and she quickly stepped forward and bowed.

Ning Rongrong was still wearing a plain long dress in cool colors, but her graceful figure was cold. She smiled and bowed slightly towards Zhu Qizhen: "Mr. Zhu is here, please forgive me for not entertaining you well."

Zhu Qizhen waved his hand nonchalantly: "Just do your thing, Xiao Cai can chat with me."

Xiao Cai had already stood behind Ning Rongrong, her body still trembling slightly. Zhu Qizhen was secretly shocked. He did not expect that this maid was so afraid of Ning Rongrong. But Ning Rongrong seemed to be just a little bit cold.

He recalled what Shi Biao said, that Ning Rongrong's path to becoming the president was full of blood. It seemed that this woman had a fierce side.

She was from overseas and controlled the smuggling routes. The people from the four major chambers of commerce all relied on her to transport goods overseas.

"It's all over." Ning Rongrong stepped forward with a smile on her face, "Young Master is a distinguished guest of the guild hall, so of course I have to entertain him personally."

Zhu Qizhen spread his hands and said, "I am just a freeloader, how can I be considered a distinguished guest?"

Ning Rongrong's voice was clear and pleasant, revealing a hint of coldness and calmness: "Sir, the spinning machine diagram you gave me has already taken shape. The craftsman said that this may change the entire textile industry. Then you are the benefactor of our entire textile industry, aren't you a distinguished guest?"

"Okay, then why don't you bring the wine and delicious food?" Zhu Qizhen laughed loudly.

Ning Rongrong asked Xiao Cai to prepare wine and food, and she sat opposite Zhu Qizhen and began to skillfully brew tea. She used the tea-making method, and her hands were flexible and free, which was quite pleasing to the eye.

"Have you ever been overseas?" Zhu Qizhen suddenly asked.

"I've never been there." Ning Rongrong was very calm and raised her beautiful eyes. "Why do you ask this, sir?"

Zhu Qizhen smiled and shrugged: "I thought your Chamber of Commerce is so big, you should go overseas. As for me, I have longed to go overseas since I was a child. I heard that it is completely different from my Ming Dynasty."

Ning Rongrong smiled slightly: "Someone from the Chamber of Commerce has been there, but now the court has banned the sea, so they can't go."

An idea came to Zhu Qizhen's mind, perhaps he could ask the people from the Chamber of Commerce to buy the teaching materials needed by the Imperial College.

……

An hour later, Zhu Qizhen came out of the guild hall. After walking a few steps, Shi Biao, who was wearing casual clothes, followed him. Zhu Qizhen was stunned: "You followed me?" Shi Biao shook his head quickly: "Your Majesty, I am worried about you. Knowing that you came to the guild hall, I sent the Jinyiwei secret guards to keep an eye on you. Your Majesty, Ning Rongrong is not simple, they are smuggling again."

"What kind of goods are they transporting?" Zhu Qizhen was not surprised.

"Of course it's silk and porcelain." Shi Biao looked puzzled. "I have already sent letters to the Maritime Customs Offices in Quanzhou, Ningbo and Guangzhou, and they replied that they had found nothing. This is strange. With Japanese pirates rampant on the sea, where do they get their goods from? Aren't they afraid of being robbed?"

Zhu Qizhen frowned.

The current Maritime Customs Office is in name only and cannot be compared with that of the Yuan Dynasty.

"It is a place where foreign goods, exotic treasures and curios are stored, and where the wealthy merchants from different regions live. It is known as the best in the world."

"This country controls the island barbarians, gathers merchant ships, and collects pearls, incense, rhinoceros and elephants, and the tax revenue is so high."

The Yuan Dynasty had the embryonic form of global trade because they were powerful enough to control the entire territory from east to west.

"After we deal with the pirates, we have to open the sea." Zhu Qizhen waved his hand and said, "Overseas trade is a huge source of income. Why did we give it to these merchants to smuggle? They don't even pay taxes. It's a huge loss."

Shi Biao bowed, his eyes full of murderous intent: "Your Majesty, I will go and catch them!"

Zhu Qizhen was speechless: "Why should we arrest them? Don't alert them yet. I still have use for them. The money they earn is mine anyway. It won't be too late to arrest them later. We can just fatten them up and kill them later."

"Your Majesty has foresight and I admire you very much," said Shi Biao.

"If you don't know how to flatter, then don't do it randomly. Learn more from Xu Youzhen." Zhu Qizhen said angrily.

With that, the two of them got on the carriage and returned to the palace.

……

When I returned to the Qianqing Palace, I saw Xu Youzhen was already waiting there.

Shi Biao's face became serious and he bowed, "Old Xu is here too, Your Majesty, I have something to report. Last time, Your Majesty mentioned the Junshan Society, I have found some clues."

Zhu Qizhen almost forgot about it, and Xu Youzhen had no idea what was going on. Shi Biao's face became serious: "Junshan Society is an organization. Their goal is to welcome back... the real... oh no, to welcome that fake emperor back to Beijing."

"What?" Xu Youzhen was shocked and asked, "Who are the members of Junshan Society?"

Shi Biao shook his head. "I don't know. I got the news from the old cabinet minister Wang Zhi. Those who can join the Junshan Society are influential bigwigs like him. It is said that every time the Junshan Society has a secret meeting, everyone wears a mask and no one knows who the other party is."

"Then this organizer is really powerful." Zhu Qizhen asked coldly, "Who is the leader of Junshan Society?"

Shi Biao nodded: "It is impossible to find out how many people there are in Junshan now. Oh, I should have let Wang Zhi and Hu Yi pretend to join the club. These two old men refused decisively, and they didn't even think about your majesty."

"You think they can't think of it? They just don't want to cause trouble." Zhu Qizhen glared, "Both old men are smart!"

Xu Youzhen pondered for a while and said, "I feel that we should not underestimate the Junshan Society. Everything is unknown now. We don't know who initiated it. Shi Biao, you must investigate it quickly and catch them all in one fell swoop!"

"Yes!" Shi Biao nodded, "I will start with some big guys to see if there are any clues."

Zhu Qizhen did not consider these specific issues, waved his hand, and Shi Biao retreated. Xu Youzhen had not left yet, he bowed and said: "Your Majesty, I have found that some gentry still have great opinions on your Majesty's new policies. In addition... the rumors of the false emperor, some people secretly made all kinds of arrangements, which damages your Majesty's holy name."

"What do you want to do?" Zhu Qizhen asked directly.

Xu Youzhen's eyes flashed coldly, and he said, "Your Majesty, we need to open a big case, just like the Hu Weiyong case during the reign of Emperor Taizu, involve all these people and kill a bunch of them!"

You are very much in my heart. It was right to call you back from Jiangnan.

Zhu Qizhen was silent for a moment, then said, "Plan it carefully, don't leave too many traces, and don't make it seem like I'm taking revenge on you."

Xu Youzhen bowed and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I understand everything."

Zhu Qizhen nodded slowly. He just liked such smart people. It was important to have such smart people around him, as they were very efficient in doing things.

……

At dusk, the sky gradually took on a gentle orange-red hue. The early summer breeze blew by, bringing with it a barely perceptible warmth that shuttled between the towering glazed tiles of the imperial palace, emitting a long and delicate echo.

Zhu Qizhen walked slowly on the imperial road, the stone pavement under his feet was mottled due to the baptism of time, and every step seemed to be stepping on the vein of history. His figure was elongated, accompanied by the series of lonely footprints behind him, and he looked particularly lonely.

"Junshan Meeting? To welcome back the true emperor? Humph, it seems that the court and the people are peaceful, but in fact, there are undercurrents. How many people are still on the side of the Zhu family?"

"That's right. These people who read the books of sages have their minds full of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism. How could they easily respect a fake emperor like me? They may respect me on the surface, but not in their hearts."

"There is only one way, and that is to kill the legitimate emperor! Even if I am not telling the truth, it is true. Shi Biao, that guy, is the Jinyiwei just eating for free? They still cannot assassinate the legitimate emperor."

As he walked, he was thinking about how to completely get rid of the orthodox emperor.

At dusk, the flowers are gorgeous, but they look lonely because no one appreciates them; the shadows of the trees are dancing, but they reveal a subtle sigh in the breeze. Zhu Qizhen's eyes swept over all of this, and an indescribable sense of loneliness surged in his heart. As the emperor, he sat on the world, but in this endless dusk, he felt the unprecedented taste of "being alone".

The bells in the distance rang slowly, dull and long, as if telling the story of the struggle for the throne over the past thousand years. Zhu Qizhen stopped, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to catch a trace of comfort from the air of the early summer evening. However, there was nothing but silence all around, and only the setting sun that gradually sank into the horizon seemed to be silently accompanying the emperor, and together they endured the loneliness of being at the top.

"How many people can I trust, both in the government and in the country?"

Unconsciously, he arrived at Kunning Palace.

The Demon Queen was standing in the corridor, wearing a long purple dress, elegant and luxurious, like a goddess high up in the sky, her beautiful eyes looking indifferently at the sunset in the sky.

"Oh, are you enjoying the sunset? You seem to be in a very leisurely mood." Zhu Qizhen said.

"Together?" The Demon Queen raised her eyes and said, "Don't waste the beauty of this world and the fireworks of the human world."

In the setting sun, smoke rises.

The two stood side by side, watching silently, and Zhu Qizhen said slowly: "A lifetime together, half drunk, half awake, half floating."

(End of this chapter)