Chapter 913 Golden Branches and Jade Leaves

The Hongwen Pavilion Sutra Banquet has been held four times so far, but until April 15th, although several officials were promoted because of their suggestions, it is unknown how many officials were promoted to the emperor because of this. But in the final analysis, there was no

The discussion came to a conclusion. But on April 15th, when the noisy discussion came to an end, the big guys who had always just watched silently were still like Bodhisattvas, either approving or admiring or disgusted or

He looked expressionlessly at the courtiers who had been chatting just now, but now they all shut up. But unexpectedly, Zhu Zhan just composed a poem for the courtiers after a banquet.

Ji, the eunuch did not end the sutra banquet with a loud voice, but stood up.

"The topic after the next Hongwen Pavilion banquet is tax and military households. After you go back, you can tell your colleagues and think about it carefully. The tax and service in our dynasty were originally set to be light, but now many years have passed, not only the tax is owed

There is no decrease. On the contrary, thousands of people are lost from the yellow household registration rolls every year because of evading official duties. In the Jiangnan and Huguang areas, there are especially many hidden households. And other households, such as boat households, often have to take the trouble to send their goods to Beijing. As for

Military households are considered by the people to be humble servants, so many military households are lost. The Arsenal Department of the Ministry of War often fails to hook up the military households. However, military households are stationed on the nine sides, so that the Tartars invade the borders.

There are often many casualties because all the thoughts are on military fields..."

The emperor spoke eloquently about a cup of tea, but although those who listened carefully below were all muttering in their hearts. What about the first three things? Should they be shelved and not mentioned for the time being, or have they already made a decision? Speaking of which, the first three things have already been decided.

At that time, there was a lot of turmoil among the censors of the Imperial Procuratorate, and many of them were related to this matter. How did it end? However, looking over it with pairs of eyes, after all, it was an experienced bachelor of Hanlin who was waiting for the emperor to finish.

When given the signal, step out of line and bow down.

"Your Majesty, as for the three matters discussed previously..."

"The three matters discussed before are as of today. I will announce the corresponding matters at the next banquet."

This was the meaning of the dust settling. For a while, the ministers did not dare to ask further questions. When they saw the ministers staying again, many people glanced at Yin Xian. However, the ministers who had just left Nanjing

Although the Hubu Shangshu Huang Fu came over to fill the vacancy of a Shangshu, among the six ministries, the official of the Zhangyin Hall of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of War was still empty. Since Yongle, the government has become increasingly stable, and the six ministers have almost never been

There have been changes in the number of ministers, but there are occasional changes in ministers, and there is no such situation as this time. Although I am eager for the position, it took several months to decide on the candidate for the right minister of the vanguard military department, and no one dared to use it.

Too drastic measures.

The Hanlin officials thought that Yang Pu had not yet held the title of bachelor, so their expectations for joining the cabinet were even lower. Among the several cabinet elders, such as Yang Shiqi and Yang Rong, who have been in charge of cabinet affairs for more than 20 years

, judging from the situation, it seems that he can still work for at least ten years. Huang Huai has retired as an official. Jin Youzi often falls ill, but Du Zhen does not even have a headache from the cold in spring, summer, autumn and winter. Now Yang Rong has gone to Yunnan, and the remaining three people are in charge of machine maintenance.

It was hard to get in. Zhang Ying and Chen Shan quit when they said they wanted to, but there was not even a glimmer of hope for a comeback.

Above the court hall, the only place left for these young people to talk was the Hongwen Pavilion.

Zhang Yue, who was not counted as one of the prime ministers, had a short conversation with the ministers and ministers in the Wenhua Hall, and then left with the others. However, he was intercepted by the eunuch Wang Jin when he arrived at the door. This time, he went straight to Qianqing Palace and accompanied Zhu Zhanji to discuss the affairs of the vassal. When he said that the royal family of the Tang and Song Dynasties had almost no treason, Zhu Zhanji's face couldn't help but change. After a change, he shook his head again.

"I know what you mean. During the Han Dynasty, Emperor Gaozu also established the system, but by the time of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing, changes had already taken place. After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the power of the vassal kings was almost gone. But the same is true for this dynasty. , the vassal king initially brought armored guards ranging from nine thousand to as many as 50,000, but now few of his vassals still retain guards. Yang Qing mentioned before that if a vassal is added to the vassal, they are not allowed to leave the fiefdom without authorization, and they are not allowed to invite the court without permission. Please, don’t encroach on people’s fields, etc., that should be enough.”

Yang Shiqi was mature and prudent, fearing that the vassal affairs would push him too hard and cause something even more outrageous - the Seven Kings Rebellion in the Han Dynasty. Coupled with the successive turmoils that followed, not only Chao Cuo died, but also Chao Cuo died. Moreover, more people were involved, so he firmly believed that Yang Shiqi also did not want Du Zhen to be trapped in the quagmire. However, thinking of the temperament of his father-in-law and mentor, he still shook his head and said: "Your Majesty, it is true that you are now a vassal." Without the authority of the day, they could not handle the large number of people. The princes of several large vassals and even the generals of the country together accounted for more than half of the royal family. These people could not take the imperial examination or serve as officials, and naturally they would not be able to farm. Doing business. If you are bored all the time, you will naturally become unstoppable over time."

When you are still, you think about movement; when you move, you think about change.

Zhang Yue didn’t need to remind Zhu Zhanji of these eight words. He had not yet agreed to Yang Shiqi’s proposal, but he just felt that it was a bit harsh that a concubine would not inherit the title. However, after all, the prince’s wife was determined in the early years of Hongwu. Yes, the same is true for the rules of the genealogy, but it has not been strictly enforced. Think about it, two of my brothers were sealed because they had no children, while other sects and vassals were not even granted the title of county king. No. So after thinking about it, he finally nodded.

"Forget it, those who have not been ennobled can be farmers and merchants. As for being demoted to a higher rank... let's do it from the bottom up."

It's not that Zhang Yue has never thought about sending those royal family members who can't inherit the title overseas - there are constant news coming back from the Ming Dynasty Shenwei ship, and it's not like there aren't wealthy places overseas. It's just that nowadays, this kind of local sentiment is the most In these serious times, it was not the right time to rashly bring this up. Therefore, after discussing the details of the military exercise with the emperor for a while, he stood up, but before he could say his resignation, a man rushed like a gust of wind. Come in.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Concubine Wu... Concubine Wu is about to give birth!"

Zhu Zhan felt a little unhappy because his affection for Concubine Wu was just ordinary, and because the previous palace incident also involved the unborn child, but after all, heirs were difficult, and because of the Queen Mother Zhang's persuasion, he went to visit him several times. time. When he heard this, he couldn't help but stood up with shock and anger on his face.

"Didn't those imperial doctors say that it would take half a month to stop talking?"

Fan Hong was so worried that he was sweating profusely and hurriedly explained: "I heard from the palace officials that Wu Concubine had fetal gas when she got up in the morning. After asking the imperial doctor to take a look, it was found that she was premature, so Wen Po is now

The imperial doctor and others are already there. When I reported back to the Queen Mother, the Queen Mother had already ordered that the baby must be kept. After all, it is April now, the weather is hot and the Yang energy is strong, so even if the baby is born prematurely, it can be saved."

"Then why are you so nagging? Go and guard over there!"

Zhu Zhanji finally couldn't care less and gave a sharp order. When Fan Hong agreed repeatedly, he quickly left. Only then did he realize that Zhang Yue was still there. He couldn't help but feel embarrassed. After a while, he sighed: "I am

I envy you, you have two sons and two daughters, and your wife is pregnant again. Now I only have two daughters and one son. For this, I don’t know how many times I have been taught a lesson by the Queen Mother, and I don’t know how many civil and military officials are hanging there.

Heart...Yuanjie, if this baby is a son, that's all. If I get a daughter and you have a son, how about I promise her to your son?"

This is not the first time that the emperor has mentioned this matter, but this time his tone is not like the previous joke. Zhang Yuezheng was stunned when he saw the emperor walking out from behind the desk with his hands behind his back, and looked up and down in front of him.

How many glances did he have.

"I know what you are worried about. You must know that some ministers mentioned at the beginning that it is not a blessing to have exclusive power for senior relatives, so one of my two uncles inherited the military power of Uncle Peng Cheng, and the other resigned from the military power. During the Hongwu period, most princesses married to senior relatives.

Life was quite happy, but when it came to my aunts, some married happily, some died young, and some gave birth to bastards like Li Maofang... I didn't want to

Forcing you to ask for a princess to be your daughter-in-law, I think there should be a good system for princesses. Since the Tang and Song Dynasties, how many princesses can really marry well? I only have so many children, so I feel sorry for myself.

Daughter, since you have so many ideas, come up with a good one later."

The emperor's daughter was also worried about getting married. This has been a reality since the Tang and Song Dynasties. Therefore, Zhang Yue thought that the emperor was forcing a princess to come to his home, and was frightened. But when he heard what happened next, he was even more frightened.

It's not a big deal. It's true that the princesses of the Ming and Qing Dynasties were pitiful, but the princes-in-law, except for a few who did whatever they wanted, were still pitiful. Therefore, when he was about to refuse, Zhu Zhanji didn't give him a chance at all.

"Although it is a land of blood and no one can trespass, I can't help but keep it in my heart. I will go sit with the Queen Mother and recite a few Buddhist scriptures... It's getting late. I'll give you leave and go home to visit your home.

Wife. By the way, I forgot. Aunt Ning said she was fine today and has gone with her two children. I am afraid she is already at your house."

The emperor left quickly, and Zhang Yue couldn't help but have a headache when he left the palace. Some things he could solve with the experience of later generations, but some things... were really extraordinary troubles. Thinking about Zhu Ning's consideration for the future of his two children,

He also wanted to loosen a layer of restraints and refused to let Zhu Rujun and Zhu Rujun enter the royal family tree. Thinking about the fuss caused by trying to resolve the clan, he couldn't help but shake his head, thinking that Zhu Zhanji would still be the best this time.

Taking it seriously, a layer of vigilance immediately arose.

Zhu Zhanji was still young and in good health. How could such an emperor only reign for ten years?

Returning to the Ministry of War with this full of thoughts, Zhang Yue legitimately handed over a bunch of official duties to Xu Kuo on the grounds that the emperor had granted him leave - of course, since he had squeezed Mr. Xu too hard recently, he naturally

He promised that he would be on duty at the Ministry of War at night for the next ten days, so he got through it. When he rushed all the way from Xuanwumen Street to the door of his house, he heard that Zhu Ning was bringing his two children to see Du Wan.

My son was playing in the back house. After some thought, he asked someone to call him first and then rushed in.

Zhu Ning is Du Wan's close friend. Although she has never married, she has two children. She has completely regarded herself as a mother, so she watched her children crawling all over the floor covered with thick Korean carpets.

, her face was naturally filled with the glory of motherhood. Seeing the Zhang family's two children who were about the same size as Rujun Ruyun crawling around, and Du Wan was still pregnant with one, she couldn't bear it.

He lowered his head close to Du Wan's belly and listened.

"Sister Ning!"

"Why are you so shy? Haven't Zhang Yue heard of it?" Zhu Ning looked at Du Wan with a smile. Seeing that she just rolled her eyes angrily, she smiled and said, "I just thought that I would have the opportunity to take care of the child in the future, but

It would be boring to just let the two of them play together. I might as well bring my children over from now on so that they can play together since childhood. By the way, there is also the one from Xiaowu’s family. Don’t glare at me, there are too many children.

Don't you want to have fun and have fun? I understand. If you are afraid that I will hinder the two of you from getting along in private, I will leave immediately when he comes back, and I will come back after he leaves. Is that okay? "

Hu Hue and Qiu Hen, who were in the room, also laughed at Zhu Ning's joke, and Du Wan looked helpless. Zhang Yueqia, who happened to be outside the door, heard Zhu Ning's words and stood for a moment before revealing his face.

A thoughtful expression. When he saw Zhu Ning in the past, she could not help but reveal a hint of helplessness, but now just by listening to her voice, he knew that the princess had completely put aside those thoughts.

Otherwise, I wouldn’t have made such a joke that only a married woman would tell.

So, he waited for others to report before going in. At this time, the weather was already hot, and the Xiangfei bamboo curtains were put on inside and outside the house. Only the children were crawling on the ground. If there were only bamboo mats, they would be covered in marks when they crawled, so he thought

He was just sweating all over, so he still had a carpet. As soon as he entered the door, he felt a small group of figures bumping into him. When he lowered his head and looked down, he realized that it was a chubby child. He looked at him for a while and then suddenly appeared.

He called out "Dad". After being stunned for a moment, he lowered his body and picked her up, teasing her twice with a smile.

"Little guy, I called you wrong, it's godfather, not daddy!" He looked at Du Wan as he spoke, "Didn't you say you wanted to be Rujun and Ruyun's godmother last time? Sister Ning happened to be taking the child with her.

You’re here, why don’t you bring your things?”

Zhu Ning was originally embarrassed by Rujun's voice, but when he heard this, he let out a sigh of relief and turned into joy. Du Wan suddenly realized the idea and slapped his head, and immediately nodded to Hu Hu, who was furious.

He seemed to go out and came back soon with two purses. The two families had been in contact with each other from time to time, so the meeting gifts had been given long ago. With these two purses, even though it was known that it was Zhang Yue who was embarrassed to get to know each other, Zhu Ning

Thinking of Sister Ning's voice, I laughed for a moment.

They talked for a while, and Du Wan asked why Zhang Yue came back so early. When Zhang Yue told the story about what happened in the palace today, she was stunned. She immediately turned to look at Zhu Ning, only to find that Zhu Ning

Ning also happened to look over.
Chapter completed!