Chapter 85: Civil and Military Harmony
Zhu Yuhuan handed the prey he had caught to his mother and ordered the palace maids beside him to peel off the fur of the prey and make it into hand warmers and covers. Hu Shanxiang smiled happily when she heard this and asked the palace maids beside her to accept it.
The emperor advocated frugality, and Empress Dowager Hu Shanxiang naturally supported it. She ordered the palace's old inventory, dating back ten years, to be taken out for inventory and then sold at Zhengyang Gate. This old inventory consisted primarily of relatively poor-quality furs and clothing, some of which had been damaged or moth-eaten due to long storage in the palace. After inspection, the intact inventory was sold to supplement the palace's expenses, such as providing new clothing for the palace servants.
If this kind of thing is kept, it will gradually become waste. It is better to sell it directly. Even if this amount of money is nothing compared to the expenses of the palace, it is at least an income.
This scene not only demonstrated the deep affection between the Empress Dowager and the Emperor, but the Emperor also promoted thrift and diligence, which was a two-pronged approach.
Except for the prey presented to his mother Hu Shanxiang, the rest were divided into quantities and distributed to Zhu Shuyuan and Zhu Jianshen.
As for the prey of others, Zhu Yuhuan picked out a few and asked someone to take out the prizes that had been prepared long ago and give them to the students of the Imperial College who were preparing to play polo.
The defeat at Tumu had just happened not long ago, and Zhu Yuhuan had previously taken the opportunity to clear out the military settlements, so the border was relatively "stable". Zhu Yuhuan also hoped to use the opportunity of hunting to re-stimulate the martial spirit, which would also facilitate her subsequent border patrols.
According to Wang Ji's original idea, the literature and martial arts teams would each compete in polo skills to showcase the achievements of the martial arts students.
The result was naturally that the martial arts students won.
Over the past year, Zhang Fu, Jiang Gui and Wang Ji have worked tirelessly for this group of students. Most of these students are excellent in martial arts, and some of them are children of noble families who already know polo, cuju and other social skills, so teaching students to play polo is naturally easy for them.
Besides, playing polo is closely related to horse riding and archery, so it is not difficult for them.
In comparison, for students of literature, riding and archery were mostly formalities, just as martial arts originally had no mandatory requirements for the Four Books and Five Classics. The emperor's polo match was announced suddenly, and they had no time to practice, let alone be the opponents of the martial arts students.
Under such "unfairness", it is inevitable that some people will feel dissatisfied.
Zhu Yuhuan certainly understood this. Wang Ji was eager to show his results to Zhu Yuhuan and prove his loyalty, so he didn't care what the people on the literary side thought.
As an official who had been strongly supported by Zhu Qizhen and Wang Zhen in the campaign against Luchuan and the suppression of the rebellion in Fujian, Wang Ji was more anxious to prove himself than anyone else, and it was understandable that he acted in this way.
Zhu Yuhuan personally selected a few active students and distributed the prizes. Then he said, "I think this polo match is a bit boring. How about another game?"
Zeng Heling was about to speak when Zhu Yuhuan said, "Bring the rosters of both sides here, and I will personally regroup them."
Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment when they heard this, and only Zhu Yuhuan was enthusiastically rearranging the names in the book.
With Zhu Yuhuan's redistribution, the two teams were balanced in both civil and military aspects, and the players stood on the polo field again.
Now the polo match is very interesting. It is not just a pure crushing of one team against the other. Even the players on both teams dislike each other, target each other, and snatch the ball from each other. Sometimes they even help their friends on the other team to grab their own ball, which is quite fun.
However, after a brief run-in, the two teams gradually began to adapt to their new teammates, and the game became more and more exciting.
Zhu Shuyuan and Zhu Jianshen were originally sitting nearby, but they became fascinated as they watched. They both ran to the railing and looked out, obviously very curious about the final outcome of the game.
Seeing this, Zhou Yingying quickly asked the palace maids around her to stay by the two little ones to prevent any accidents from happening.
The final result of the game was naturally a tie between the two teams. After all, neither side had time to get used to each other. Even if one of them was very good at polo, it would be impossible for him to lead the team to win the championship easily alone.
The ministers who accompanied Zhu Yuhuan were unsure of the emperor's thoughts for a moment.
Although the game looked interesting, the scores of both sides were not high, and there were occasional "jokes" of discord. It was not really an enjoyable and exciting game.
Zhu Yuhuan, however, didn't seem to mind. Instead, she clapped her hands and smiled, saying, "The polo match today was quite good. It was truly quite interesting." She glanced around and said, "The martial arts department hasn't been around long, but the students are truly exceptional. If they can collaborate with the Imperial College's literature students, either team will undoubtedly be invincible."
After he finished speaking, everyone understood the emperor's intention of asking for another polo match.
The emperor hoped to see a situation where both civil and military officials were given equal importance, rather than one dominant position.
Not only that, the emperor also hoped that the civil and military officials could gradually communicate with each other, rather than the situation on the polo field just now.
For a country, being the only one that thrives is not conducive to long-term development.
Upon seeing this, Hu Shanxiang ordered someone to bring the prey that Zhu Yuhuan had just delivered and gave it as prizes for the second polo match to the students of the Imperial College who were participating in the match.
These prey were all hunted by the emperor himself as a tribute to the empress dowager. Now, the empress dowager has bestowed them as rewards to the students of the Imperial College, which is a double favor.
The polo students expressed their gratitude for being given such an "honor".
Zhu Yuhuan and his mother looked at each other and couldn't help but smile.
These furs cannot be used up even if we take them back. There are still a lot of them in the internal transport warehouse. It would be better to distribute them as rewards in the name of the emperor so that it will not be a waste.
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