Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 551 The Heavenly Family is the Most Ruthless
After returning to the palace from Fangshan, Zhu Youdong asked someone to invite the three cabinet ministers over.
"Your Majesty, do you mean to tour the country after the Lantern Festival in the eighth year of Tianqi?"
"That's right, three ministers. Due to the innovation of domestic production technology and the drastic changes in the foreign environment in recent years, the time has come for major changes to the court and local institutions. My plan is to implement a new system for the imperial examination in the tenth year of Tianqi, and then to make changes to government offices at all levels. But before that, I must visit various places and take a look, so that I can have a clear idea."
The three ministers looked at each other, and for a moment, no one spoke.
Because the imperial tutor party holds an absolute advantage in this cabinet, overall, the cooperation with Zhu Youdong is more tacit. At least at the level of the cabinet elders, they are very clear that the society of the Ming Dynasty is changing with each passing day , and the government institutions of the country have reached the point where they have to be changed.
The Ming Dynasty has been established for more than 200 years. Although everyone has been shouting about the laws established by the ancestors and the teachings of the great ancestors, in fact, the various institutions of the country have been making corresponding adjustments over the years. But in any case, this adjustment is completely different from the upcoming drastic changes. Only in this way, new changes must be cautious.
So, it seems that it is reasonable for the emperor to travel around the country ?
In the past, civil officials did not allow the emperor to leave the capital. Although the reasons on the surface were high-sounding: do not disturb the people, do not waste national treasury, do not want the white dragon fish costume...but the real purpose was only one: to lock the emperor in the palace and make him a figurehead.
Now, who can sideline Zhu Youdong? Besides, the current cabinet is built with the Imperial Teacher Party as the backbone, and no one has the idea of sidelining the emperor.
"Your Majesty." Seeing that Wen Tiren and Yuan Keli had no intention of speaking, Li Dai stepped forward and asked, "How long do you estimate this tour will take?"
"I plan to start from Beijing, first heading south, then west, north, and east. In short, I have to visit every province. This will take at least two or three years, right?"
"Hiss~" The three cabinet elders couldn't help but take a breath. Wen Tiren and Yuan Keli were fine - they had been with Zhu Youdong for a long time. Although this emperor was very powerful, he often did some weird things. They could still bear it, but Li Dai really couldn't stand it.
"Then I ask the Emperor to appoint a crown prince and let him serve as regent."
Shaking his head, Zhu Youdong said, "This time, except for Ci Yan who is young and will stay in Beijing, Ci Yan and Ci Yi will follow me. I will let them see what the lives of the billions of people in my Ming Dynasty are like."
"Then the emperor wants to invite the emperor back to take charge?"
"Grand Emperor?" Zhu Youdong scratched his head. "Is Grand Emperor taking a hot spring bath at Prince Gui's place? There is no need to trouble him. I want Prince Lai to come back and supervise the country for me."
"emperor!"
This time, not only Li Dai, but also Yuan Keli and Wen Tiren quit.
Alas, the trouble is that I can’t expose myself.
If the emperor wanted to go on tour, it would be unacceptable to do so without the support of the cabinet ministers. After all, there was no wireless telegraph in those days, and once the emperor left Beijing, there would definitely be delays in handling government affairs. This kind of delay was fine for ordinary matters, but if there was an emergency, the cabinet ministers could only deal with it on the spot.
But now the ministers are obviously afraid that Zhu Youxiao's power will grow.
Unfortunately, due to the rules, he could not expose himself. So Zhu Youdong had no way to explain, and could only say firmly: This is what I mean, you must follow it.
The emperor left, leaving the three ministers looking at each other in bewilderment, their faces disheveled in the wind.
Do we three have the final say in this world? Your Majesty, why are you so careless? Every time you leave the capital for a long time, you ask Prince Lai to supervise the country. What if the country is directly transferred to him while he is supervising?
But there was no other way, the emperor had spoken and it had to be carried out. So the three cabinet ministers had no choice but to go to work: the emperor was away for two or three years, and there were a lot of things to prepare in advance.
First, regarding the cabinet staff, after a brief discussion, everyone quickly decided: Li Dai, the third assistant, would follow the emperor, and each of the six ministries would send a vice minister. As for the Imperial Guard, Tian Ergeng would stay behind, and a deputy governor would be sent to follow. Everyone had to focus their main forces in Beijing and keep an eye on His Royal Highness Prince Lai.
The second was the emperor's guards. After a while of discussion, they decided to send a regiment from the Imperial Guards Division to follow: no artillery, but to urge the military to quickly finalize the model of the submachine gun, and then speed up production during this period. By then, every soldier in this regiment would be equipped with the Jiguang submachine gun.
The third is money. The emperor himself has money, but the key is that the country has also had money in recent years. So Wen Tiren, who was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue, made a budget of 5 million yuan.
Next, there are more specific things to do, such as the political review of the accompanying personnel, the determination of the route, the preparation of transportation... It is also thanks to the continuous improvement of the execution ability of the officials of the Ming Dynasty in recent years. Otherwise, it would not be possible to do it well in just two or three months.
The ministers were worried, and Zhu Youdong was also worried when he returned to the palace.
"My son, you said you wanted to travel around the country and see the people's livelihood in my Ming Dynasty. I fully support this. This is what a Ming Dynasty emperor should do. But how can you let Youxiao supervise the country?"
"Uh, mother, why can't Youxiao be the regent?"
"My son, do you still need your mother to teach you about this? You have been the emperor for almost eight years, how could you not know that this position can make people disown their relatives?"
"Don't worry, mother. I can trust Yuxiao. Besides, he has no soldiers and received public education in Fangshan in his early years. It can be said that he has no independent power. If he really wants to do something, who can support him?"
"…You have a point."
"Hahaha, don't worry, mother. I have been in charge of this country for so many years, and I have always held the power firmly in my hands. When has it ever fallen into the hands of others? How about it? Mother, you must be tired of staying in Beijing for so many years, right? Do you want to go out with your son and take a look?"
"I really want to go, but Youxiao has returned... After all, he is not my son. And although his biological mother is gone, his adoptive mother, Li Xianshi, is still here. I have to keep them in check in the palace and support the cabinet and the queen."
"...Okay, thank you for your hard work, mother."
Alas, the royal family is ruthless. To be honest, if there was no "Assistant", I don't think I would dare to let Zhu Youxiao be the regent, right?
The filial son's plan to invite his mother for a trip was thwarted, and when he returned to Kunning Palace, his idea of inviting his wife for a trip was naturally shattered.
"Your Majesty wants to tour the country and see the true situation of the people of our Ming Dynasty. I fully support it. However, since Your Majesty wants to transfer Prince Lai back to supervise the country, I and Concubine You cannot leave."
"Why can't both of you go?"
"As the queen, I am in charge of the harem. With me here, if King Lai does something unreasonable, the ministers can come to me. As for Concubine You, Your Majesty, Concubine You is from a military family. If necessary, she can organize the eunuchs and maids in the palace to respond to emergencies!"
This, you really think too much.
However, Zhu Youdong did not say anything more: being extremely cautious about power, even to the point of being ruthless, is a necessity for those who stand at the pinnacle of power in every era.
…
In December of the seventh year of the Tianqi reign (1625), the Ming court issued a notice throughout the country: starting from the eighth year of the Tianqi reign, the emperor would tour the country!
