Chapter 21

After the morning court urging to ascend the throne, Zhu Yijun retired early for a rare occasion.

The reason was none other than that today was the day for the Ciqing Palace to be cleared.

Starting tonight, Zhu Yijun would move into the Qianqing Palace.

During these days, the Qianqing Palace had long been tidied up, and the coffin of the late Emperor, which had been staying in the Qianqing Palace, would also be moved to another hall today.

Likewise, the items in the Ciqing Palace would be gathered one by one, either sealed up as holy relics or taken to the Qianqing Palace together.

"This padded jacket can no longer be worn; why are you still taking it to the Qianqing Palace?" Imperial Consort Li looked at Zhu Yijun in confusion.

Zhu Yijun took the padded jacket from Imperial Consort Li's hands and rubbed it in his hands.

"This padded jacket was sewn by Mother herself for me; every time I wear it on my body, I feel maternal love and warmth; even if it can't be worn, it's good for warming my feet at night."

He skillfully brought out the trump card of maternal and filial affection to win over Imperial Consort Li.

Imperial Consort Li reached out and pinched her son's face, saying softly: "Winter is still early; Mother will make you another one this year."

After saying that, she still ordered the palace maid to seal up this padded jacket.

Zhu Yijun smiled: "Thank you, Mother."

Imperial Consort Li felt warm in her heart, but it was not easy to show it on her face, so she simply pointed to another pile of items: "Is my son preparing to seal these things up, or take them to the Qianqing Palace?"

Zhu Yijun looked along the direction.

It was surprisingly a pile of toys for children, such as spinning tops, mechanisms, and the like.

Most of them were offered by small eunuchs under someone's instruction, but Zhu Yijun hadn't looked at them straight for a long time recently and had almost forgotten them.

Zhu Yijun shook his head: "My heart is filled with the nine provinces and ten thousand directions; I have no heart to play with these things anymore."

Imperial Consort Li nodded with satisfaction and directed the palace servants to seal them up together.

"Let's go; follow Mother to the Qianqing Palace to take a look."

After saying that, she pulled Zhu Yijun's hand and left the Ciqing Palace.

Just as they stepped out, they saw Feng Bao leading people carrying the sedan chair to meet them: "Your Ladyship, Your Highness."

Imperial Consort Li was about to speak, but Zhu Yijun pulled Imperial Consort Li's hand: "Mother, we mother and son haven't been out for a stroll together for many days; why not walk?"

When her son said this, as a mother, she naturally agreed; Imperial Consort Li looked at Feng Bao: "Great Eunuch Feng, withdraw the sedan chair; I will stroll with my son."

Feng Bao hurriedly winked, withdrew the sedan chair, arranged for people to clear the path in front, and respectfully followed behind the two.

It was just the beginning of summer, and the weather was not yet hot.

Both mother and son were wearing casual clothes, walking slowly in the Forbidden City.

The Imperial City was towering and magnificent, the roads were spacious and clean, and the two talked and chatted, occasionally making Imperial Consort Li cover her mouth and laugh, enjoying the rare family happiness.

Zhu Yijun pretended to be casual and turned back to say: "Great Eunuch Feng, stay further away; I have some private words to say to Mother, which are not suitable for you to hear."

Feng Bao had been pretending to be air, following behind with his ears pricked up; suddenly being pointed out, he was stunned for a moment, but didn't move, instead looking at Imperial Consort Li.

Imperial Consort Li was in high spirits, and upon hearing this, she also waved her hand casually, signaling him to follow further away.

Feng Bao was helpless and had to slow down his pace.

Seeing him retreat, Zhu Yijun felt relieved.

He looked at Imperial Consort Li and continued what he had just said: "I have said so much; if Mother has any worries, why not tell me? I have learned many principles from my teacher recently!"

Imperial Consort Li shook her head with amusement: "As long as you study diligently and cultivate virtue, what worries could Mother have? Even if there are, they are political affairs; even if I told you, you wouldn't understand."

Zhu Yijun said unconvinced: "How could I not understand? Is Mother worried about the Examination Method, and the Ministry of Revenue refusing to put the 100,000 taels of silver into the inner treasury?"

Imperial Consort Li looked at him unexpectedly.

She couldn't help but say with curiosity: "Oh? Then suppose it is; what principles does my son have to tell Mother?"

Imperial Consort Li did not get angry as soon as this matter, which caused her decree to be rejected, was mentioned; instead, she was quite interested in seeing Zhu Yijun's view.

In fact, this matter had already been clarified these past few days.

First, the late Emperor repeatedly took silver from the Great Granary Treasury and the Court of Imperial Entertainments, and never returned it, failing to distinguish between public and private, so he was not in the right.

Second, the current Ministry of Revenue is indeed somewhat stretched.

The late Emperor passed away suddenly; whether it was the mausoleum or the ceremony, it was a sudden large increase in expenses; there was also the summer flood season of the Yellow River, and a batch was taken away by the Ministry of Works, not to mention the military pay and salaries owed from before.

This time, Gao Gong came forward to block the hand reaching out from the palace, and it was not just his own idea; he had obtained the support or acquiescence of almost half of the court officials from the Ministry of Works, Ministry of War, Ministry of Rites, and Ministry of Revenue.

Imperial Consort Li knew the importance and did not make a big deal out of this matter.

Zhu Yijun now has the Embroidered Uniform Guard as his eyes and ears; these matters naturally did not escape him.

He deliberated, found a starting point, and said slowly: "Let's talk about the silver first."

"Mother is a benevolent elder and will certainly not covet these 100,000 taels, but is afraid that this will form a precedent, causing the authority of the inner treasury to be repeatedly eroded, making it impossible to hand over a full inner treasury to me, right?"

Regardless of whether it is right or not, put the high hat on first, and then lead the train of thought astray—setting aside the fact that the Ministry of Personnel withheld the silver, if one asks how to fill the inner treasury, I do have some ideas.

Imperial Consort Li thought about it and felt that even if she had some thoughts about this silver, the rest was not far off, so she hesitated and nodded.

Zhu Yijun said calmly: "If you want to fill the inner treasury…… Mother, I do have a method that satisfies both sides."

Imperial Consort Li was stunned: "Satisfies both sides?"

Zhu Yijun paused, and under Imperial Consort Li's confused gaze, said: "Mother, I will give you an example to explain."

"Does Mother know how much tea was used in the palace last year?"

Although Imperial Consort Li held a high position, she didn't pay much attention to these things, so she thought carefully before saying: "14,000 catties?"

This was mentioned when the late Emperor chatted with her; the tribute tea seemed to be limited to this number and could not be more.

This included rewards, sacrifices, the Ministry of Revenue, and what was used in Nanjing.

Zhu Yijun shook his head: "Mother, last year, there were a full 80,000 catties."

Imperial Consort Li was astonished: "80,000 catties? How could the palace use so much!?"

Zhu Yijun sighed: "Mother, during the Hongwu reign of the Founding Emperor, the tribute quota for tea was no more than 4,000 catties; the Founding Emperor, 'because it burdened the people', set up 500 tea households, exempted them from labor, and specialized in production, which is the so-called official garden and official roasting."

"But apart from these official gardens and official roasting, the rest of the garden households in each province produced it themselves, and then it was converted into the inner treasury at a rate of 6 fen of silver per catty."

"When the late Emperor was alive, although the quota was set at 14,000 catties, according to the accounts of the Court of Imperial Entertainments, the tea used in the inner treasury actually increased year by year; by last year, it had already reached 80,000 catties in one year!"

"These extra 60,000-plus catties are a solid 36,000 taels of silver!"

Zhu Yijun glanced at the palace servants and eunuchs behind him.

Imperial Consort Li was not a foolish person and immediately understood that the people in the palace had taken many benefits from it.

If each person shared a bit of the wasted tea, it would be several times more.

She was silent for a moment before saying: "No wonder the inner treasury is always short of silver."

Imperial Consort Li did not mention a thorough investigation of this matter; one couldn't investigate everything, could one? What if something was really found?

She could say that the officials of our dynasty lived by corruption, so she naturally wouldn't have any expectations for eunuchs.

It was just that she didn't expect the number to be so exaggerated!

If the palace maids and eunuchs took 20%, or even 30%, she would have accepted it, but she didn't expect…… that they took 20% themselves!

If there was 36,000 taels of moisture in one tribute tea, what about gold, money, grain, silk, tea, wax, and pigments?

The millions of taels entering the inner treasury every year were all consumed!

Zhu Yijun nodded: "Mother, it's not just this; this is just what's done in the dark."

"There are also things done in the open; half of the various calligraphy, paintings, and rare books in the Wenyuan Pavilion are probably replaced with fakes now."

"Those who are bolder simply stole them directly."

He glanced at Feng Bao from the corner of his eye.

That precious "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" currently in the Palace Museum still has this Great Eunuch Feng's private seal on it.

It was written blatantly on it: "Although the Sui pearl and the He jade are combined, they are not enough to be called precious; it is truly a rare treasure of the world, and should be treasured." One can see how rampant it was.

Imperial Consort Li became increasingly silent; only then did she know that this family was not easy to manage.

Zhu Yijun struck while the iron was hot: "If this continues, even if Mother suppresses the Ministry of Revenue and sends silver to the inner treasury every year, it won't be enough for the people below to share, and we will also get a bad reputation as villains."

"Mother, I will talk about the Ministry of Revenue withholding the inner treasury's financial resources later; just talking about Mother wanting to fill the inner treasury, it is truly time to cut expenses."

His tone was slow, guiding her step by step.

But Imperial Consort Li suddenly realized something and asked in confusion: "How does my son know these things?"

She frowned tightly: "Who is privately chewing the tongue of the palace?"

Even she didn't know these things; how could her own son, who didn't know anything, be so clear?

The court debates, tea laws, and stolen books mentioned just now involved all aspects of the Ministry of Revenue, the Court of Imperial Entertainments, and the inner court; it didn't seem like something anyone would mention casually.

Could it be Gao Gong……

Imperial Consort Li was afraid that an outside official had bewitched her son and sent him as a lobbyist.

Zhu Yijun did not answer this question directly.

Instead, he shook his head unhurriedly and firmly: "Mother, the I Ching says, if the monarch is not secret, he will lose his ministers; since I am the monarch and have received the trust of my ministers, I must not be 'not secret'; please forgive me for not being able to answer what Mother asks."

If he really learned from Xiang Yu and said "This is the word of Cao Wushang of the Left Sima", that would be a brain malfunction.

Those in power should be able to handle things.

Imperial Consort Li's expression immediately turned gloomy.

Seeing that Imperial Consort Li's face was not very good, Zhu Yijun did not retreat at all.

He held Imperial Consort Li's hand tightly, word by word, and said earnestly: "Mother, I am the new monarch of the Great Ming Dynasty."

Imperial Consort Li's eyes narrowed.

Her son's reaction was completely beyond her expectations.

In a trance, the son who recognized his mistakes with tears and was cowardly and weak gradually blurred, and replacing him was the Great Ming's new monarch, who was soft on the outside but firm on the inside, with a firm tone.

She previously only felt that her son had gradually become wise, calm, benevolent, filial, and intelligent, which made her gratified.

The rest, like Li Chunfang and Gao Gong, are not ranked!

This talent and power, in a trance, has the style of Shizong; is this the love across generations?

The difference is that Shizong used power to control subordinates, while her son used it to discuss major policies with her.

From this moment on, she finally believed that what her son said that day about seeing the late Emperor in the dark must be true.

The late Emperor manifested! The ancestors manifested!

If this seedling is taught well and becomes a wise monarch…… in the future history books, her deeds will also have a few more lines.

Inadvertently, her eyes were a little moist.

"Mother? Mother?"

Imperial Consort Li came back to her senses.

Seeing Zhu Yijun calling her, she hurriedly turned her face away, pretending that nothing happened and said: "This matter is not up to us; it still has to be discussed in the Cabinet."

Not to mention that her decree was rejected.

Even if the Emperor issued a decree, without the Cabinet drafting the ticket, it would be a middle decree, and the process would be illegal.

Gao Gong acts fiercely and might not act arbitrarily, simply ignoring her—Imperial Consort Li only thought that the Examination Method was proposed by Gao Gong.

Zhu Yijun was full of confidence: "Mother, don't worry; I have also told Grand Secretary Gao about this method, and Grand Secretary Gao also gave many suggestions for the omissions; presumably, he will persuade the Chief Grand Secretary, so Mother doesn't need to issue a decree."

"By the way, Mother, don't tell anyone that it was my idea; after all, I am still young……"

Gao Yi is a very useful excuse; Zhu Yijun naturally created it out of thin air.

But he wasn't lying to Imperial Consort Li; he just planned to persuade Gao Yi first and then let Gao Yi come forward.

A moral gentleman like Gao Yi is best persuaded by great righteousness.

Imperial Consort Li looked at his high-spirited appearance, her eyes full of gratification.

……

The sixth year of Longqing, June 7th.

At this time, it was only three days away from the enthronement ceremony, and there were more busy figures in the Forbidden City.

But none of this affected Zhu Yijun.

He was still developing in an orderly manner, strengthening his body, caring for his oral health, pleasing the Li clan, and accumulating prestige.

In the morning, when Zhu Yijun went to the Wenhua Hall for the daily lecture, two readers were missing.

Ma Ziqiang and Tao Dalin, the Junior Supervisors of the Household of the Crown Prince and concurrently the Readers of the Hanlin Academy, went to prepare the etiquette for the enthronement ceremony with the Ministry of Rites, as well as the late Emperor's posthumous title, so the daily lecture had to ask for leave.

Zhu Yijun didn't have a deep impression of these two and didn't take it to heart.

After greeting each other, Zhu Yijun skillfully walked to Gao Yi, grabbed Gao Yi's hand, and walked inside.

"Come, bestow a seat for Mr." Saying that, he turned his head to look at Gao Yi, "Mr., which chapter are we lecturing on today?"

Gao Yi no longer resisted this chain of moves.

He answered naturally: "Your Highness, it is the Zicai and Zhaogao chapters of the Book of Documents."

Zhu Yijun nodded, helped him sit down, and then returned to the desk and sat upright.

He intended to show a certain degree of intelligence, and his recitation progress of the Book of Documents was also extremely fast.

In these six or seven days, he had already finished learning the Book of Shang and had reached the Book of Zhou.

There even appeared lecturers who deliberately flattered him, boasting outside that the Crown Prince read ten lines at a glance and never forgot what he read.

In fact, this progress can only be considered slightly fast; two or three articles of two hundred words a day, for him, is really not strenuous to recite; in his previous life, he could recite seven or eight poems a day at the age of seven.

Gao Yi sat on the low stool with half his butt, and his heart was also quite self-satisfied.

Who doesn't want the students they teach to never forget and draw inferences from one instance?

At the moment, the Crown Prince followed the lecturers to chant the classics, stopping and breaking sentences, and was proficient in no more than two times.

He understood the meaning of the lecture, and often had different insights into the different interpretations of the lecturers, extending them to his own conduct and governance.

A smart student, a student who respects teachers and values the way, a benevolent and filial monarch, almost met all of Gao Yi's thoughts.

Gao Yi looked at Zhu Yijun on the imperial desk, who was either reciting, meditating, or suddenly enlightened, and unconsciously stroked his beard, revealing a smile.

Such a school is simply an enjoyment.

It was only when the lecturer on the side whispered in his ear that he realized it was noon and the daily lecture was over.

Gao Yi hurriedly stood up and stepped forward: "Your Highness, let's stop the daily lecture here today."

The other lecturers stood up and saluted together.

Gao Yi was ready to leave.

But he heard the Crown Prince's voice from above: "Mr., stay."

"Today's daily lecture, I have quite a few insights; why don't you have a meal with me, Mr., so you can correct me."