Volume 4: Hot! The whole world is a warring state Chapter 640: Overall domestic stability
"Your Majesty, we respectfully welcome you back to your country. Your Majesty has expanded our territory thousands of miles away, and his achievements surpass those of the Han and Tang dynasties. We, your majesty, would like to congratulate you!"
"No need to be polite, everyone. Thank you for your hard work during my absence."
After a simple exchange of greetings between the emperor and his subjects, the crowd escorted Zhu Youdong from the Tianjin Port terminal and headed towards the Tianjin Railway Station. Along the way, the common people who heard the news flocked to the streets and cheered loudly for Zhu Youdong's imperial sedan chair.
"Youxiao, you didn't arrange all this, did you?"
"Your Majesty, you are joking. These are all spontaneous actions of the people." Zhu Youxiao, who was 29 years old this year, had been regent for many times, especially this time when Zhu Youdong was thousands of miles away and could not ask for instructions or reports. He had to make the final decision on all matters. His temperament became more calm and restrained.
"It is now December 5, the 16th year of the Tianqi reign. Since the news of the execution of the Mughal royal family reached the country two months ago and the six major newspapers publicized it everywhere, the people's love for our brother has risen to a whole new level. This is still in Tianjin. If we return to Beijing in the afternoon, the crowds welcoming the emperor will be even larger and more turbulent."
At this point, Zhu Youxiao stood up respectfully in the carriage and saluted, saying, "After a long expedition of thousands of miles, in less than three years, we have conquered a country with an area of 4 million square kilometers and a population of nearly 100 million. The poem that my brother wrote on his way back from conquering Nurhaci has become a reality. The achievements of the Qin Emperor, Han Emperor, Tang Emperor, Song Emperor and even Genghis Khan are all inferior to my brother. I would like to congratulate my brother."
"…Hey, Principal You, logically speaking, I should be happy for having achieved such an achievement. But, I really can't be happy?"
"Is it because Spain and the Ottoman Empire are still confronting the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty is still not sure of victory?"
"As expected, as a former regent, he has a much higher level of vision than those ministers outside." At this point, Zhu Youdong became a little interested: "That's right, Principal You, in today's world, due to the advancement of science and technology, various regions of the world are gradually connecting into one. And as time goes by, this connection will only become closer and closer. In this process, only one world leader will emerge. I hope that this only leader is the Ming Dynasty, our China."
"Under my brother's leadership, this country has gone from the brink of collapse to today's prosperity. I am confident that this goal will eventually be achieved."
"... I have this confidence, too." Lifting the curtain and looking at the cheering people outside, Zhu Youdong's smile became more genuine. He leaned back gently on the chair and said, "During the time I was on the expedition, how is the domestic situation?"
"Your Majesty, this question is a bit broad. Let me talk about the most important things first." Zhu Youxiao pondered for a while and said, "The most important thing is, of course, people's livelihood. Your Majesty, I am incompetent. Since your Majesty took office as regent, the grain price of 0.5 yuan per stone that our Ming Dynasty has maintained for more than 20 years has fallen. Nowadays, the price of grain per stone in our Ming Dynasty has risen to 0.8 yuan. When the grain price rises, the price of salt, meat, oil, and carbon will also rise. The livelihood of the people has indeed been affected."
"Hmm." Zhu Youdong frowned at the first point Zhu Youxiao said : Speaking of which, the Ming Dynasty did mobilize more than one million soldiers and civilians to invade India this time. But considering the population of the Ming Dynasty and its East Asian vassal states of nearly 200 million, this mobilization was not considered to be excessive. But even so, food prices still could not be stabilized?
"But now that my brother has conquered India, I heard that there is a lot of arable land there, with abundant water resources and a much higher average annual temperature than our Ming Dynasty. Most of the land can produce three crops a year. Therefore, I am not worried about the food problem. If the price of food drops, the prices of salt, meat, etc. will also drop."
"Well, although food prices have risen, they are still within an acceptable range. Although people's livelihood has been affected, it is not so bad that they can't survive. Thank you for your hard work during this period. Please continue."
"Yes, my Royal Brother. In terms of civil service, the civil service system continues to be popularized. Currently, there are more than 136,000 civil servants nationwide . The number of petty clerks and runners who worked in government offices at all levels without taking any exams has been reduced to more than 23,000. Because I don't know when my Royal Brother will come back, I have made a plan this year and plan to recruit another 30,000 civil servants next year. In this way, all the traditional clerks and runners can be eliminated."
"Very good. During this process, was there anyone dissatisfied or causing trouble?"
"That's for sure, but it didn't cause much trouble. The only thing to worry about is that according to the intelligence from the Royal Guards, the White Lotus Sect in some places is showing signs of revival. It's said that some of the backbones of the sect were former clerks and runners. In this way, the White Lotus Sect's organizational ability is much stronger than before."
"Hmph, a clown." After a contemptuous evaluation, Zhu Youdong said, "In recent years, I have rebuilt the Yellow Book, simplified the tax types, distributed the tax according to the land, and made officials and gentry pay taxes together. So many factories have been opened among the people... The lives of the people are much better than before. Those who are still foolishly following the White Lotus Sect at this time are hopeless and unruly people. There is no need to ."
"Haha, my royal brother, don't tell me this. Now that you are back, I will be stepping down as the regent. You can decide with Tian Ergeng how to deal with these people."
"Tsk, you. Well, go on."
"Yes, my Royal Brother, the next thing is domestic armaments. According to your previous instructions, I have continued to promote the construction of the armed police force and the reserve force in the past year or so. At present, 370,000 of the 500,000 armed police forces set by your Royal Brother have been built. As for the reserve force, 3.8 million men and 750,000 women of military age have registered. It's just that the country has been short of financial resources in the past two years and has not been able to allocate special funds to train them at least once a year."
"Ah, speaking of finances, how are the school's revenue and expenditure this year?"
"I was just about to report to my brother that this year the court's income was 240 million and its expenditure was 263 million. Even if my brother's inner treasury subsidized 10 million, the court would still have a deficit of 13 million. However, the court had a surplus every year in the past few years, so after offsetting the income and expenditure, the Ministry of Finance still has more than 8 million in deposits in the Royal Bank."
"Hey, if there is a disaster in the country, this amount of money won't be enough."
"That's true, but my brother, didn't we conquer India? At least in the short term, there won't be such a large-scale war in the Ming Dynasty, right?"
"Haha, of course."
"That's it. After the Ming Dynasty took over India, its already thriving national power will surely be further strengthened."
Looking at Zhu Youxiao who was full of confidence, Zhu Youdong was not happy at all: First, the current national strength of the Ming Dynasty was still not enough to support a long-term large-scale foreign expedition. Fortunately, the battle was against the unreliable Third Brother this time, and the war ended quickly. If this battle really dragged on for more than five years, the local economy of the Ming Dynasty would definitely be hit hard!
Secondly, what effect would it have if Philip took away Aurangzeb's talent for music? This was really a thorn in his side, making him depressed all the time.
So, even though he created the greatest conquest in the history of the Chinese Empire, he really couldn't be happy.
Oh, I really envy those seniors who wear it alone.
"Royal brother? Royal brother?"
"Ah? Oh, I'm so sorry. I was a little distracted. Well, you continue."
"Your Majesty, I am sorry to bother you with your journey. But, Your Majesty, I have an important matter to report."
"speak."
"Brother, in the past year or so, some ignorant tribes or monks have challenged the authority of our Ming Dynasty in the Snow Region, the Western Regions, the Northern Desert, and even the Greater Khingan Range. However, these are just ants trying to shake a tree. We don't even need to send out the regular army of our Ming Dynasty. The newly established armed police force is enough to suppress them. The only thing to worry about is America, which is thousands of miles away."
"America? What's wrong? What difficulties do Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong have?"
"That's right, my brother. Our Ming Dynasty is too far away from America, so the latest information from America that my Ming Dynasty receives is often four or five months old. In the more than one year since my brother personally led the expedition, I have received a total of seven letters from Zhu Shengmiao and Diya. Li Zicheng received three letters, and Zhang Xianzhong, uh, Zhang Xianzhong never reported to Beijing."
"Hey!"
"Royal brother, the contents of Zhu Shengmiao and Tiya's letter can be summarized into three points. First, Spain has been increasing its military forces in America, and the siege on our American rebels has become more and more intense. It is difficult for them to hold on to their base in the Andes Mountains. Second, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong have become powerful and gradually stopped listening to Zhu Shengmiao and Tiya's arrangements. At the beginning of this year, Spain's Raimondo organized 60,000 troops to launch a large-scale attack on the rebels' Andes base. However, Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong not only did not launch an attack on the local Spanish forces in Mexico and Argentina to relieve the pressure on the base, but took this opportunity to lead the main force to the west coast of America to receive the arms shipped to Zhu Shengmiao and others by our Ming Dynasty... Third, Li and Zhang, especially Zhang Xianzhong, only know how to destroy, not build. Gradually, the Indians have become dissatisfied with them..."
