Empress Zhang frowned slightly, her face showing some sadness. She asked hesitantly, "Your Majesty wants my father to do this?"
Zhu Youxiao nodded.
When Empress Zhang saw Zhu Youxiao nod, she felt a little nervous.
Empress Zhang knew very well what kind of person her father was. This kind of thing was definitely not something her father could handle. The key point was that he had offended too many people, which was really not worth the loss.
Looking at Zhu Youxiao, Empress Zhang said with a wry smile, "Your Majesty thinks too highly of my father. How could he do this?"
Zhu Youxiao naturally knew about Empress Zhang's father.
Her father was Zhang Guoji, who had paid money to get himself a student, so he could be considered a scholar. However, Zhang Guoji's ability to take the imperial examinations was not very good, and he had not made any progress in the past few years.
In the original history, Emperor Tianqi did not like his father-in-law very much, which can be seen from the fact that he never gave Zhang Guoji a rank.
In theory, the emperor's father-in-law could basically get the title of earl, which was the lowest level of nobility in the Ming Dynasty. If he was favored, he might also be made a marquis, such as the two brothers-in-law of Emperor Hongzhi. What's more, they were only brothers-in-law, not fathers-in-law.
However, when Emperor Tianqi was alive, he never gave Zhang Guoji a title.
Later, in the sixth year of the Tianqi reign, Zhang Guoji went to ask for the title himself, but the Tianqi Emperor still did not give it to him.
It was not until the 17th year of Chongzhen that Zhang Guoji was granted the title of Taikang Earl because he donated a sum of money to Emperor Chongzhen.
This is a popular theory used to prove that Zhang Guoji was not favored by the Emperor Tianqi. So why didn't Zhang Guoji gain the Emperor's favor? It was because Zhu Youxiao and Empress Zhang had a bad relationship. Why was their relationship bad? Because Empress Zhang was not Zhang Guoji's biological daughter, and there were a lot of messy things going on behind the scenes.
However, there is another saying that Taikangbo was conferred the title in the second year of Tianqi, but there is no record of it.
Zhu Youxiao knew about this matter, but given the credibility of Ming Dynasty history, he did not take it to heart.
Besides, Zhu Youxiao didn't really want his father-in-law to do anything this time. He let Zhang Guoji go just to set up a memorial tablet, and there were other people who could do the real work.
Reaching out and patting Empress Zhang, Zhu Youxiao smiled gently and said, "Don't worry, I have my own arrangements. He is my father-in-law, how could I harm him? I have already sent out orders, asking them to quickly designate a title for him, and give him whatever he deserves."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Empress Zhang said hurriedly with gratitude.
"Alright, this is what you deserve. I understand. Let me tell you what I want to do." Zhu Youxiao said with a smile, "I want to set up another government office to manage all matters within the palace, such as clothing, storage, etiquette, engineering, farms, livestock, guards, and hunting in the mountains and swamps."
"This way, we can separate it from the various government offices of the imperial court. At that time, the royal family will be the royal family, and the imperial court will be the imperial court. There will be no cross-involvement, so there won't be any problems. With this government office, it will be easier for the palace to manage, and corruption will be less likely to occur."
The following sentence about corruption not being likely to occur is actually nonsense from Zhu Youxiao.
No matter what kind of government office it is, corruption is inevitable.
This isn't a government-run problem, it's a human one. It can only be limited and investigated through institutional measures, but it can't be eradicated fundamentally.
Besides, the purpose of establishing the Imperial Household Department was not for this. Zhu Youxiao wanted an Imperial Household Department for a very simple reason, which was to separate all matters related to the royal family. In other words, he wanted to integrate all the resources and power he could mobilize so that those matters would not have too many entanglements with the court, allowing him to use this department to do what he wanted to do.
Of course, the same couldn't be said about the reasons he would tell others. As for how he would explain it, he had already told the Queen the reasons above; he could also tell others about it, and he had even chosen the people who would spread the news: one was the Queen's father, Zhang Guoji, and the other was the palace eunuch, Wang An.
The Queen's reputation as a virtuous queen will now spread widely, and Zhang Guoji will certainly have entered the sight of many people.
Many people tried to influence Empress Zhang through Zhang Guoji, and then influence the emperor himself. This operation was not too difficult for some people. This situation would be particularly prominent after he showed his reliance on Zhang Guoji and his favor for Empress Zhang.
As for Wang An, with his joining, this trend will intensify, and more people will gather around Wang An and Zhang Guoji. By then, I will know who is trying to stir up trouble, and when the time comes to close the net, I will catch them all in one fell swoop.
I can use them to build the Imperial Household Department because they will strongly support it. This is a way to kill two birds with one stone.
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