"Your Majesty, the Jinyiwei have found out the person who spread the rumor. They will arrest him as soon as your Majesty gives the order." Wang Chengen read the message sent by the Jinyiwei to Chongzhen.
"No," Chongzhen shook his head, "We can't arrest anyone."
"But they spread rumors that the emperor forced the prince of Zhao to lower his clan salary..."
"You can't move that either!"
Faced with the war of public opinion by the princes, Chongzhen remained calm.
He has never been afraid of anyone when it comes to propaganda struggle.
He sat beside the dragon desk and asked Wang Chengen, "Which issue of the imperial newspaper has been published in the seventeenth year of Chongzhen?"
"In reply to the emperor, the 42nd issue has been published."
"In the 43rd issue, leave a space for Duke Ying to help me explain whether I threatened the King of Zhao that day. Also, spread the news that I have kept the draft of the Ministry of Rites' proposal to reduce the salaries of the princes."
Wang Chengen was somewhat puzzled: "The Emperor's move will intensify the opposition of the vassal kings, right..."
Chongzhen smiled coldly, "It doesn't matter, the purpose of my doing this is to make the princes think that I care about public opinion!"
The meaning of leaving the title in the middle is that Chongzhen was hesitating.
Hesitating whether to reduce the salary of the princes.
When the princes know this, they will think that their war of public opinion has worked and will devote most or even all of their energy to it.
But they forgot that the goal of public opinion warfare is not to create public opinion, but to attract the enemy's attention!
Who is the enemy?
The enemy of the princes was Chongzhen, and the enemy of Chongzhen was the princes.
The princes thought that their previous actions had worked, so they would intensify the war of public opinion, and Chongzhen would then be forced to stop reducing the princes' clan salaries.
But Chongzhen didn't think so.
Reducing the princes' royal salaries was just a cover, actually it was to buy time for the Imperial Guards to investigate the princes.
His purpose in condoning the princes' propaganda warfare was to make them focus their attention on the capital and thus relax their vigilance.
This way, the Jinyiwei would have time and opportunity to investigate the princes.
By the time the Jinyiwei had found out all the information, it would be the day when Chongzhen would reduce the power of the princes.
With the release of the 43rd issue of the imperial gazette in the 17th year of Chongzhen, the people of the capital were immersed in the joy of eating melons.
"Hey, hey, hey, have you read the latest court bulletin? The Duke of England came out in person to prove that Your Majesty did not force the King of Zhao."
"But some people say that the King of Zhao was forced by Your Majesty! Who do you believe?"
"Me? Of course I trust the Duke of Ying! He took the lead in paying the back taxes, so there must be no problem with his character."
"Who do you believe?"
"I don't believe anyone, I just want to watch the fun!"
Although this matter has nothing to do with the common people, they love to watch the excitement, especially the excitement of the royal family.
Amid the discussions of the people, dozens of Jinyiwei personally selected by Chongzhen quietly set out from the capital and went to various parts of the country.
They went to thoroughly investigate the crimes and assets of the vassal kings.
Since this matter was top secret, Chongzhen selected very few people.
Chongzhen was not worried that these people would not be able to complete the task because he gave them a long time.
If three years is not enough, try four years. If four years is not enough, try five years!
As long as you check clearly and accurately, it will be fine.
In mid-November, it started snowing again in the capital.
Faced with heavy snow, some people are happy while others are worried.
The happiest person was Chongzhen.
When heavy snow falls to the ground, it covers the soil, which can not only reduce the heat dissipation of the soil, but also block the invasion of cold air, protecting the wheat seedlings in the field to safely survive the winter.
At the same time, melting snow can replenish soil moisture and alleviate drought.
It was a great thing for the Ming Dynasty.
The saddest ones are the poor.
The cold winter is already hard to endure, and the severe cold after the heavy snow will be unbearable for them.
Afternoon.
Wang Chengen ran into the Palace of Heavenly Purity holding an official document, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Works sent us good news. The iron mold casting cannon was successfully tested!"
Chongzhen turned over and sat up from the warm couch.
With a gleam in his eyes he asked, "Where is the cannon now?"
"It's inside the Ministry of Industry!"
"Go to the Ministry of Works!" Chongzhen was so anxious that he put on his clothes.
While instructing the eunuchs outside to prepare the imperial carriage, Wang Chengen quickly walked forward to change Chongzhen's clothes.
The Ministry of Works was very close to the imperial city, so Chongzhen simply abandoned his sedan chair and walked out on the snow.
Li Xianzhong rushed to the front and was on guard as if facing a great enemy.
When he arrived at the Ministry of Works, the Minister of Works Fan Jingwen and a group of officials were waiting outside the door.
After the ceremony, Chongzhen, under the guidance of Fan Jingwen, came to the backyard of the Ministry of Works.
I saw a huge military tent in the yard, with a dozen people standing outside the tent.
Jiao Xu, the leader, saluted Chongzhen and said, "Your Majesty, I, Jiao Xu, pay my respects to you."
"Excuse me, where are the cannons?" Chongzhen asked.
"It's inside, Your Majesty, please move!" Jiao Xu lifted the curtain of the military tent, and a group of people walked in.
As soon as I entered the military tent, a wave of heat hit me in the face.
There was a medium-sized cannon placed in the middle of the military tent.
The cannon was about four feet five inches long and about an inch and a half in diameter, and the pitch-black muzzle exuded a chilling chill.
Fan Jingwen came to the front and began to introduce: "Your Majesty, the iron mold casting method may seem simple, but it is actually very difficult. The most difficult part is that the iron mold and the molten iron will stick together and cannot be separated after contact, causing the cannon to become a large iron rod and lose its use value."
"It took the craftsmen of the Ministry of Works a year and a half and more than 30,000 taels of silver to finally solve this problem."
While Fan Jingwen was taking credit for the work to the government office, he was also telling Chongzhen how the 30,000 taels of silver were missing.
After all, thirty thousand taels of silver is a huge sum of money for anyone!
"Good, very good!" Chongzhen nodded and praised: "This month, the Ministry of Industry's performance silver will be fully paid out!"
The officials of the Ministry of Works and the craftsmen all smiled happily.
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