"Xu Qing, please go to the banquet. You should drink a few more cups of my wedding wine." Zhu Youxiao said with a smile, "Submit your memorial tomorrow, and I will grant you the imperial decree to appoint Xu Qing as the Grand Secretary of the Dongge."
Xu Guangqi quickly bowed and declined, "I haven't done anything great. Your Majesty is promoting me too quickly. I'm afraid..."
Zhu Youxiao waved his hand, interrupting Xu Guangqi and saying, "I have made up my mind. You don't have to resign. Please leave now!"
Xu Guangqi opened his mouth, but didn't want to upset the emperor on this day, so he bowed to thank him and retreated.
Zhu Youxiao reached out and took out the small notebook he carried with him and wrote down the names Xu Guangqi mentioned.
Li Zhizao was a man of profound knowledge, skilled in astronomy, calendar calculation, and mathematics. He was "familiar with the art of war and proficient in Western learning." He had a close friendship with Xu Guangqi. He was currently serving as the Shaoqing of the Guanglu Temple and concurrently in charge of the affairs of the Langzhong of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Water Resources.
Sun Yuanhua, a student of Xu Guangqi, passed the imperial examination in the 40th year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty. He learned firearms and mathematics from Xu Guangqi. However, because he was keen on Western learning, he failed to pass the imperial examination. He then gave up the imperial examination and devoted himself to studying Western learning.
Xu Guangqi also recommended Guo Shiqi and Zhang Tao, who were "familiar with Western art." "Please help me with the painting and management. The results will be quick."
Zhu Youxiao approved all of these and allocated 300,000 yuan from the treasury to establish the "Weapons and Gunpowder Bureau" outside Beijing to fully support the military industry of Xu Guangqi and others.
At the same time, Zhu Youxiao also handed over the management of the imperial farm to Xu Guangqi and others, allowing them to try out whatever they wanted. Of course, this year's main focus was on the trial planting and promotion of sweet potatoes, which had already been tested in the north, as well as potatoes.
"All under heaven belongs to the king." Why did the emperor, the supreme ruler, set up imperial farms as his private property? This requires us to start from the beginning.
The establishment of Huangzhuang was during the Chenghua period, when the newly enthroned Emperor Zhu Jianshen confiscated the land of the eunuch Cao Jixiang and converted it into palace farmland, also known as Huangzhuang.
The establishment of imperial farms actually set a precedent for land annexation in the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Jianshen's imperial farms soon spread to Shunyi, Baodi, Fengrun, Xincheng, Xiongxian and other places.
By the time of his son Emperor Xiaozong Hongzhi, there were five imperial farms within the capital, covering an area of hectares.
Within a month of his grandson Emperor Wuzong Zhu Houzhao ascending the throne, he established seven imperial farms in Daxing County, and gradually expanded them to Changping, Zhending, Baoding and other places. Within ten years, the area of the imperial farms reached 46 acres.
Land annexation undoubtedly intensified social contradictions. The rapid increase in imperial farms near the capital directly led to the Liu Liu and Liu Qi uprisings in Ba County, Hebei during the Zhengde period.
Moreover, the management of the imperial farm was very chaotic, and behaviors such as "occupying land, amassing property, and raping women" occurred frequently, causing considerable social problems.
Therefore, in the early years of Jiajing, the imperial farms were abolished on the surface and renamed as official lands, but it was just a change of name.
It was only through Xu Guangqi's memorials that Zhu Youxiao learned that he was actually a large landowner. Since Xu Guangqi wanted to promote planting, he generously handed over the imperial farm to Xu Guangqi and others for management.
Of course, Zhu Youxiao also understood that setting up imperial farms was competing with the people for profit and destroying the economic foundation of the dynasty's rule.
You know, although the imperial farms amounted to tens of thousands of hectares, they were insignificant compared to the rest of the country. But if the emperor took possession of them, how could the royal family, relatives of the emperor, civil officials, and military officers be left behind? And then there were the official fields, the school fields...
Therefore, Zhu Youxiao was thinking about how to strike himself first, return the imperial farm to the people, and then take action against other bastards who invaded the land.
The income from the imperial farm was all Zhu Youxiao's private money, so he wouldn't feel bad if it was cut. But he had to set an example, otherwise it would be difficult to convince the public.
However, Zhu Youxiao had not yet come up with a perfect idea, so until he found a better solution, he could only maintain it this way.
Factional strife and the misfortune of the civil service, the useless royal family and princes, land annexation exacerbating social contradictions, corrupt and decadent bureaucracy, the garrison system with its deep-rooted problems that are difficult to remedy, the impending Little Ice Age, and the formidable Later Jin enemy wreaking havoc in Liaodong...
Zhu Youxiao put down his chopsticks, and even the food he was chewing seemed to have no taste.
"Send these four dishes to the Palace of Heavenly Purity and let..." Zhu Youxiao casually drew a line on the table and instructed Wang Tigan, "Let Lady Bai taste them."
Wang Tigan bowed in response and called the palace servants to put the dishes into food boxes and send them to the Qianqing Palace.
Wang Tigan was very sensitive to the pause when the young emperor gave the order. He guessed that these dishes were mainly given by the emperor to Zhang Yu'er, but he was embarrassed and changed them to White Lady.
The emperor was nostalgic and a man of integrity. Wang Tigan felt he had come to understand the young emperor a little better. Seeing a young man smiling and toasting him, he quickly reminded the emperor.
Zhu Youxiao looked at the teenage boy who was walking up and said with a joking smile, "Youjian, it's not good for children to drink. If they get drunk, they'll be laughed at!"
Yes, this is Zhu Youxiao's half-brother Zhu Youjian, the historical Emperor Chongzhen. He is six years younger than Zhu Youxiao and is only eleven years old this year.
Zhu Youjian held the cup and bowed, smiling and congratulating, "I wish you a happy wedding, my brother. I wish you and your wife a happy marriage and a son soon."
Hehe, Zhu Youxiao smiled and nodded, and stretched out his hand to signal Wang Tigan to bring an embroidered cushion. "Who taught you these words? Although they are folk slang, I am happy to hear them."
Zhu Youjian saw that he had pleased his brother, and the child was also very happy. He sat down on the embroidered cushion and said to his brother, "Youjian listened to the palace people talk about folk wedding customs and wrote them down himself."
Zhu Youxiao raised his cup with a smile, took a sip, and said, "It's time to build a palace for my brother and make him a king. However, the war in Liaodong and Southwest China has not stopped, so the cost of building a palace is probably not high. I'm sorry to ask you to do that."
Although Zhu Youjian was underage, he was still a man. With the empress and concubines already in the harem, it was not convenient for him to stay in the palace.
"Your Majesty, your words make me feel ashamed." Zhu Youjian didn't seem to care much about it. He bowed and said, "The national situation is difficult, and the expenses of your Majesty's wedding have been reduced again and again. As long as your mansion can be lived in, it will be very good. Your Majesty, don't worry about it."
Zhu Youxiao looked at the young boy with complicated emotions in his heart.
The fall of the Ming Dynasty was certainly due to various reasons, including natural disasters, man-made calamities, constant factional struggles, and accumulated problems, but Chongzhen was also absolutely to blame and had an unshirkable responsibility.
It can be said that Chongzhen had neither the strategy to govern the country nor the ability to appoint people, and he was harsh, suspicious and distrustful.
Although he "got up at the crowing of the cock and stayed up all night, and there were never any banquets or entertainments in the palace", the harder he worked, the worse the situation became.
But it is meaningless to blame Zhu Youjian at this time. He is just a little kid, who is still in elementary school in later generations. You can scold or blame him for something that has not happened.
Zhu Youxiao put away his complicated thoughts and asked with a smile: "What book are you reading recently? Tell me about it."
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