vrcanaries Chapter 160 Zhu Houzhao: My father is a spendthrift!
Chapter 160 Zhu Houzhao: My father is a spendthrift!
Lin Ke took a sip of fruit tea and continued, "Although Zhu Houzhao is known as the most pleasure-seeking emperor of the Ming Dynasty, some people believe that he made decisive decisions and was a wise ruler. Let me give you a few examples."
For example, the record of the weaving industry in the "Annals of Emperor Wuzong" in the History of Ming states: "The people of Lianghuai were appointed as the weaving commissioners of Shaanxi."
"In Volume Thirteen of the Veritable Records of Emperor Wuzong of Ming, it is recorded: '...There are many troubles in all directions...How can the people bear it...The emperor said that there was a disaster in the year...and reduced it by half to relieve the people's burden.'"
"In the 'Annals of the History of Ming,' this part only mentions that Zhao Zhao sent out textile commissioners, but does not mention that he reduced or exempted textile commissioners."
"For example, in the 'Annals of Emperor Wuzong' in the History of Ming, it says: '...one million taels of silver were needed in Xuanfu.' In reality, this was recorded in the Veritable Records, but it was opposed by Shi Jie, the Minister of Revenue, and only half was given."
"As for taxation, the Ming History only records that the tax revenue of the whole country was one million taels of silver for the construction of the Qianqing Palace. However, another record states that additional taxes were levied on Zhejiang and the northern and southern provinces... with a tax of twelve taels of silver per year."
A bystander from the Han Dynasty commented: "Did he offend scholars too?! Why write about him like this!"
Zhu Youcheng of the Ming Dynasty: ...
A scion of a prominent family in the Song Dynasty: There are two copies of the history book! ??
……
"The entire annals of the emperors are filled with descriptions of things like bestowing 127 adopted sons with the imperial surname, the emperor being wounded by a tiger and refusing to attend court, and the persecution of ministers and the punishment of officials who spoke out. However, his own policies or achievements are only mentioned in passing."
"In fact, he also re-measured the military farms. For example, in the 23rd year of Chenghua, it was 280,000 hectares, in the 16th year of Hongzhi it was 160,000 hectares, and in the 15th year of Zhengde it was 260,000 hectares." (Wu/Xiaozong Shilu)
"As for the grain tax paid by the garrison troops, it refers to the tax paid by the garrison troops who were unable to engage in production due to old age or other reasons. In the eighteenth year of the Hongzhi reign, it was 104 million shi (a unit of dry measure), and by the first year of the Jiajing reign, it had reached 374 million shi." (Veritable Records of Emperor Wuzong)
"This shows that the rectification of military settlements has been quite effective."
Emperor Zhu Jianshen, the devoted emperor of the Ming Dynasty: Wait a minute! Why is the number of military settlements so low during the Hongzhi reign?!
General Judy, the Northern Expeditionary Army: ...This guy doesn't even know how to do military stuff!?
Lin Ke glanced at Zhu Houzhao, who was lost in thought, and then looked at Li Jing, who was sitting upright on the other side.
General Li, aren't you tired?
Zhu Houzhao: A sorrowful river flows against the current!
Li Jing: When can I go home?!
"His father, Emperor Xiaozong of Ming, was the opposite; he had an excellent reputation among civil officials. So let's take a look at what kind of legacy Zhu Youcheng left for Zhaozhao before he took over!"
According to the "Ming Shilu" (Veritable Records of the Ming Dynasty), a year before Zhu Jianshen's death, the grain reserves in the capital's warehouses were still around 1 shi (a unit of dry measure), which was much more than the 18 million shi after Zhang Juzheng's tenth year of reform in the eleventh year of the Wanli reign.
"However, in July of the fourteenth year of the Hongzhi reign, Li Dongyang was sent on a mission and said that the people's livelihood was in ruins, there were thieves everywhere, and the warehouses were almost empty."
"By about fifteen years, all the grains that had accumulated in the warehouse over the years were gone! This is very strange, since logically, more than 20 million shi (a unit of dry measure) should have been used up in just over ten years!?"
"Not only that, Emperor Xiaozong greatly revered gods and Buddhas during his reign, spending tens of millions of taels of silver on them, leaving the imperial granary almost empty. Couldn't you have used that money for the military and the people?!"
"In addition, the construction of civil engineering projects has mobilized tens of thousands of laborers, including soldiers from the capital's military garrison. It's not that no one advised him against it; some even warned him that the Ming Dynasty was prone to natural disasters at this time and could not withstand such construction."
"Alas, these projects are said to be all thanks to Empress Zhang. To be honest, in the time of our ancestors, having three wives and four concubines was common, let alone in the palace, but Emperor Xiaozong of Ming was very rare."
"But that's not to say he's good. I'm saying that as the ruler of a country, do you think you can do such a thing?"
Big Han Liu Zhuzhu: Does your Ming Dynasty only produce lovelorn fools?
First Emperor: I can't understand!?
Li Erfeng of the Tang Dynasty: Hahaha, the First Emperor was famously indifferent to women! But there are many interesting anecdotes and stories about him!
Fusu of Qin: ? ? ?
Judy, the Great General Who Conquers the North: Spendthrift!
……
"So, was the so-called Hongzhi Restoration of Emperor Xiaozong of Ming just a lie fabricated by civil officials? In the later years of his reign, the problem of displaced people became serious again, and land annexation led to a large number of people being deprived of their land. Even more tragically, the farmers became tenant farmers, which led to the Liu Liu and Liu Qi Rebellion during the Zhengde period."
"At the beginning of Zhu Houzhao's reign, the Grand Secretaries declined the rewards, knowing that the treasury was empty, and they even almost couldn't hold the funeral for Emperor Xiaozong of Ming."
"It seems that Emperor Xiaozong did not leave Zhu Houzhao any money, and there was not even any money for military affairs. He even used the soldiers as laborers, so the defense here was not very useful."
"It should be noted that Zhu Jianshen recovered the Hetao region and almost wiped out the Jurchens. As a result, during Zhu Youcheng's reign, the number of invasions by the Northern Yuan was the most serious in the entire Ming Dynasty."
"Sometimes we would be invaded by the Northern Yuan twice in a month. Which dynasty could tolerate that? And more than ten years have passed, and the Hetao region is gone. If I were Zhu Jianshen, I would be furious!"
"As for governance, Zhu Youcheng also abolished the death penalty for corruption. If you committed such a crime and did not want to die, you could use money to pay the price. If this continued, wouldn't the corrupt officials become increasingly rampant?"
"Moreover, he indulged the civil officials, which reversed the effect of the Chenghua Dynasty's suppression of the civil officials. If it weren't for his actions that allowed the civil official group to expand again, his successors would not have tried every means to fight against the civil officials, although they ultimately could not stop it."
"Finally, this point also became one of the factors contributing to the downfall of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, in the eyes of these civil officials, Emperor Xiaozong of Ming was practically like their own father, so his reputation was extremely good!"
Zhu Jianshen of the Ming Dynasty: ...the treacherous son! I'm going to beat him to death!
General Judy, the Northern Expeditionary Army: This is fucking speechless! ...%? ... (using very vulgar language)
Zhu Bajie of the Ming Dynasty: This is fucking amazing! ...? %...Where did you get that brain?!
……
In another timeline, the silenced civil official cursed and swore, his face flushed with anger and the veins on his forehead bulging.
They did it for the sake of the Ming Dynasty!
How could the emperor go to the front lines and disregard the danger?
As a subject, I advised Your Majesty not to be ambitious and eager for quick success; all I did was to ensure the stability of the Ming Dynasty!
What wrong have they done? His Majesty should reside in the inner palace!
……
Back to the live stream
Lin Ke continued, "Now that we've introduced Li Jing and Zhao Zhao, we've arrived at the main part."
Zhu Houzhao: I need to deal with that group of people when I get back!
Li Jing: It's finally time to answer the questions!
Lin Ke addressed the two, saying, "This time, the prizes are a set of old cotton shoes and a salt-making recipe. Each recipe will also come with a box of snowflake salt. Quantities are limited, and everything else is the same as before."
People from all timelines felt their hearts race and their breathing quicken. They wanted the salt recipe! They wanted it!
The importance of salt was well understood by everyone from emperors to commoners.
Salt is known as the "ancestor of all flavors and the general of food," and it is said that it was recorded as early as the Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica!
Moreover, during the reign of Emperor Yan, the Su Sha clan of the Shandong Peninsula discovered a method of boiling salt from seawater.
The word "salt" has been present in almost every dynasty. In the past, Emperor Shenzong of Song made money by monopolizing salt, which shows its importance!
But what about the other old cotton-padded shoe?! A warm shoe?!
Whatever, I want them all anyway! I'll get them first!
Salt vendor: Damn it! How am I supposed to make any money now?!
……
Lin Ke then asked the two, "Which of the following Han Dynasty emperors was referred to as Liu Momo by later generations?"
"The first one is Emperor Xuan of Han, Liu Xun, and the second one is Emperor Fei of Han, Liu He."
As soon as he finished speaking, the numbers on the small screen suddenly started counting down from five. Li Jing and Zhu Houzhao hurriedly chose one at random, and the others did the same.
A moment later, Lin Ke revealed the answer: Zhu Houzhao had won, and Li Jing had almost chosen correctly!
With a wave of her hand, the two returned to their respective time and space.
Zhu Houzhao/Li Jing: !!!
999 System: I still have to cooperate!
"Before introducing today's protagonist, let me first explain why the deposed Emperor Liu He of Han is called Liu Momo."
“I said before that later generations would study tombs for the purpose of preservation, so the same applies to the tomb of Liu He, the deposed emperor of Han.”
"Liu He was the son of Emperor Wu of Han and his favorite concubine, Lady Li. However, his father died young, which allowed Liu He to become the second Marquis of Haihun at the age of five."
"In 74 BC, Liu Fuling died without an heir, so Huo Guang enthroned Liu He as emperor."
"I don't know if this person was too happy or what, but after bringing 200 people to the capital, he did 1127 absurd things in just 27 days, making the palace a mess. Can Huo Guang tolerate this?"
"It was definitely not going to work, so Liu He was deposed, reduced to a commoner, and sent back to his hometown. The tomb of the Marquis of Haihun, which was discovered by later generations, had decomposed into a frothy state after more than two thousand years. Only a set of teeth remained on his body, so he was called Liu Momo by later generations."
A farming expert in the Ming Dynasty: ? ? ? Can do over a thousand things in 27 days! ?
A scion of a prominent family in the Song Dynasty: Could it be because of political infighting?
A spoiled young master from the Tang Dynasty: How tragic! I'm all turned to mush!
Liu He, the Great Han Dynasty's Momo: !!!
Big Han Liu Zhuzhu: How tragic!
……
During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han
Upon hearing this, Wei Qing and Huo Qubing exchanged a glance, their eyes revealing complex emotions, before shaking their heads and looking at Huo Guang, who was still a child.
No one would have imagined that Huo Guang, a man of such talent, would one day be able to decide the deposition and enthronement of emperors!
Wei Qing and Huo Qubing both sighed. What could they do? Spoil them! The responsibilities on their shoulders were getting heavier and heavier!
On the other side, Liu Che was scratching his head, wondering what happened to the Han Dynasty after Liu Fuling's death!
……
Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty
Zhu Houzhao returned to the Leopard Chamber and remained silent for a long time. On the table was the list of civil and military officials Lin Ke had given him: Wang Shouren, Qiu Yue, Yang Yiqing…
He would never believe that there wasn't some foul play involved in his death.
So, does this actually have anything to do with his teacher, Yang Tinghe?
The most important thing right now is how to turn these civil and military officials into his own people!
And then there's Zhu Houcong, that brat who succeeded to the throne. Miss Lin once said that he removed Emperor Renzong from the ancestral temple.
So, my lineage has died out?
Zhu Youcheng from another timeline also realized this, and was furious. He had worked himself to the bone, only to have his younger brother benefit from it all!
He first needs to clean up the eunuchs in the Eastern Palace; he can't keep building like before!
These civil officials are so audacious and reckless, isn't it all because of me? So, did they do something wrong?
……
Back to the live broadcast room.
"Our protagonist this time has changed to the Han Dynasty of Emperor Zhuzhu, but by then Zhuzhu had already kicked the bucket. The character we are talking about today is his great-grandson Liu Bingyi."
Big Han Liu Zhuzhu: ...
"The story begins with the outbreak of swine fever in the later years of the emperor. That year, Chang'an was stained with blood. Crown Prince Liu Ju committed suicide. Although the emperor chose Liu Fuling as the next emperor, he did not expect that the throne would eventually return to the hands of Liu Ju's lineage."
"The witchcraft scandal involved many people and the case was quite complicated, so the court transferred people back from other places to help."
"Among them was a man named Bing Ji, who had previously served as the Right Supervisor of the Court of Justice. He had no connection with this case and was considered an unofficial member, so he was transferred to participate in the trial of this case."
"But in reality, the so-called trial was just a formality. The whole case had already been decided, so the task assigned to Byung-gil was just to guard the prison."
"At that time, in the prison, there was an infant who had just turned one month old. He was the grandson of Crown Prince Liu Ju. His relatives had been murdered one after another, but the officials did not know what to do with him, so they threw him into the prison."
"When Byung-gil found him, the baby was already on the verge of death. The kind-hearted Byung-gil then found two female prisoners who had just given birth to take turns feeding the child and provided the child with a well-ventilated cell that was fully equipped."
“In the following months, Bingji would use his salary to support the child as soon as he received it, and he would frequently check on the child’s growth.”
"Because the baby was weak, the child was frequently ill, and each time Bingji would promptly call a doctor. Therefore, Bingji named him Bingyi (病已), hoping he would never fall ill again."
"However, at that time, the witchcraft saga implicated many people and continued for years. It wasn't until Liu Bingyi was five years old that Bingji found out about the Shi family. This family had a daughter who married Liu Ju's son, so Bingji handed him over to Shi Liangdi's family."
"If it weren't for Bingji, Liu Bingyi probably wouldn't have been able to live peacefully in prison until he was five years old."
A scion of a prominent family in the Song Dynasty: Fortunately, Bing Ji is a good person, otherwise I don't know if this child would have survived!
A spoiled young master from the Tang Dynasty: I don't understand why they would choose an eight-year-old child over a perfectly good crown prince!
A bystander from the Ming Dynasty: I know! The crown prince in his prime, and him in his old age! Many of them have this problem!
Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty: I've been offended again!
An official from the Song Dynasty said: "I doubt anyone else would have taken on this hot potato!"