jdhmnovel Chapter 749: The Battle at Xuanwu Gate: Whoever Wins Becomes the Crown Prince; The Battle at Xiangji
Chapter 749: The Battle at Xuanwu Gate: Whoever Wins Becomes the Crown Prince; The Battle at Xiangji
As an emperor, I am not afraid of my ministers arguing, nor am I afraid of them fighting. What I fear most is that my ministers are all getting along well.
Let them argue, let them fight, as long as the general direction remains the same, everything else is irrelevant.
It can even generate some revenue for the national treasury.
On the surface, Emperor Zhu wore a dark and sour face, but inwardly he was secretly amused as he watched Wang Guangyang and a dozen other provincial governors fight each other.
Yang Shaofeng whispered to Zhu Biao, "Just watch, we'll soon see who wins and who loses. Whoever wins will get more cattle and horses."
Zhu Biao was completely dumbfounded.
No.
It was quite normal for civil officials to fight in the Ming Dynasty court.
The problem is, my dad can't possibly decide who gets more cattle and horses based on winning or losing, right?
Zhu Biao said with a dark face, "If we really do that, what difference will there be between our Ming Dynasty court and the court of the barbarians of Hu Yuan?"
Yang Shaofeng chuckled and said, "That's not the rule on the grasslands."
"Back in the Tang Dynasty, the winner of a duel at Xuanwu Gate was crown prince, and the loser of a duel at Xiangji Temple was a traitor."
"In officialdom, it's normal to resort to violence when you can't win an argument."
"Besides, this world is just a huge makeshift operation that believes in whoever has the biggest fist is right. If Your Highness doesn't believe me, you can go to the Dengzhou border market and point at a deer and say it's a horse. I guarantee those barbarians will praise this horse as magnificent."
Zhu Biao's face immediately turned even darker.
Zhao Gao was the one who called a deer a horse!
That guy is a eunuch!
"Brother-in-law, you go ahead and call a deer a horse. I'll just watch from the sidelines."
Yang Shaofeng and Zhu Biao hid behind the dragon pillar and whispered among themselves, their conversation becoming increasingly outrageous, while Wang Guangyang and the other dozen or so provincial governors fought more and more fiercely.
Just as someone was about to use their eye-gouging and groin-kicking moves, Emperor Zhu coughed with a dark face and shouted, "Enough!"
"The civil and military officials of our Great Ming Dynasty are all outstanding! Not only are the military generals capable of leading troops into battle, but even the civil officials can fight each other. You guys are truly amazing!"
"What, do you want us to find you a place and have a fight according to the old rules of the grasslands? Whoever wins is right."
As soon as Emperor Zhu finished speaking, Wang Guangyang and the other provincial governors immediately bowed and admitted their mistakes like quails.
Emperor Zhu coldly glanced at the assembled officials and angrily said, "The Censorate has failed in its duty to investigate official misconduct. All officials in the court, from the Grand Censor down, shall be fined three months' salary."
“Wang Guangyang and others have shown contempt for the imperial court and will also be fined three months’ salary.”
"And you two."
Emperor Zhu turned his gaze directly to Yang Shaofeng and Zhu Biao.
"The Crown Prince doesn't act like a Crown Prince, and the Duke doesn't act like a Duke."
"Not only did they not try to stop him, they stood by and watched the show. They should be fined six months' salary!"
As Emperor Zhu finished speaking, Liu Bowen, Wang Guangyang, and the others were stunned for a moment, then bowed to Emperor Zhu in unison and said, "Your subjects accept the punishment and hope Your Majesty will calm your anger!"
It's just a three-month salary deduction.
Although it hurts a lot, there are two other people next to me who have been fined half a year's salary.
Especially that crazy Yang.
He was fined half a year's salary, which meant he would lose his allowance for at least half a year.
That’s right!
Emperor Zhu snorted again and looked at Wang Guangyang and the others, saying, "You need not argue about the distribution of camels, horses, cattle and sheep. Just wait patiently for the cabinet to make arrangements."
Li Shanchang was furious.
So you're saying the cabinet has to handle things like this that offend people?
There are seven Grand Secretaries in the Cabinet. All seven of them are going to take the blame for Emperor Zhu.
Li Shanchang was displeased. He suddenly turned to look at Yang Shaofeng, then bowed to Emperor Zhu and said, "Your Majesty, I have some thoughts."
Emperor Zhu was stunned.
Li Shanchang is a clever man, but in the current situation, shouldn't he consult with the other six Grand Secretaries before submitting his memorial?
Or does he have some good idea that he is confident he can persuade the other six Grand Secretaries without prior communication?
Just as Emperor Zhu was pondering Li Shanchang's intentions, Li Shanchang spoke directly: "Your Majesty, our Great Ming has tens of millions of households, but only about two hundred thousand camels, horses, cattle and sheep. On average, it takes fifty households to get one."
As the saying goes, "It is not scarcity that is to be feared, but inequality."
"Whether the distribution goes to someone or not, it will inevitably make the people feel uncomfortable."
"Rather than that, it's better not to separate for the time being."
Emperor Zhu was slightly taken aback and asked, "Not distinguish?"
Li Shanchang nodded slightly, stroked his beard and smiled, and said, "Your Majesty, I think the livestock farm that the Duke of Ying set up in Ningyang County is a good idea."
"Our Great Ming Dynasty now has more than a thousand prefectures and counties."
"These camels, horses, cattle, and sheep were distributed to various prefectures and counties, with each prefecture and county receiving approximately a hundred or so."
"By imitating the livestock farms in Ningyang County, we can use these hundred or so camels, horses, cattle and sheep to breed more camels, horses, cattle and sheep."
“Various prefectures and counties can also gradually distribute the newly born calves, ponies, lambs and the like to the people.”
"Or perhaps the camels, horses, cattle, and sheep are allocated according to the urgency of projects such as road construction or farming."
Emperor Zhu nodded slightly, and Yang Shaofeng whispered to Zhu Biao, "That's indeed a good idea, but Lao Wang and the others got beaten up for nothing today."
Zhu Biao almost burst out laughing.
Today's brawl was quite something. A dozen or so provincial governors, whose average age was forty or fifty, got into a fight, and many of them ended up with bruises and swelling on their faces. As a result, the camels, horses, cattle, and sheep were temporarily indistinguishable—what else could it be but a free beating?
Zhu Biao suppressed the urge to burst into laughter, secretly feeling sorry for Wang Guangyang and the dozen or so provincial governors for two seconds.
But Li Shanchang continued, “Your Excellency, the matter of the livestock farm originated in Ningyang. Apart from Ningyang County and Dengzhou Prefecture, officials in other places didn’t even know what the livestock farm was all about.”
"Therefore, I request that some clerks knowledgeable about livestock farms be transferred from Ningyang County and Dengzhou Prefecture, and that they be sent to other prefectures and counties to take a look and help them set up livestock farms."
This time, Yang Shaofeng was dumbfounded.
What's wrong with that old scoundrel Li Shanchang?
I haven’t provoked him recently, yet he’s still eyeing the manpower in Ningyang County and Dengzhou Prefecture.
No.
From Lao Deng to Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, and then to Hu Weiyong, and now it's Li Shanchang's turn. Are you all afraid that you can't make Ningyang County and Dengzhou Prefecture into movie stars?
Yang Shaofeng grew increasingly annoyed and couldn't help but snort, "Look at what Duke Han is saying. It's as if, apart from Ningyang County and Dengzhou Prefecture, the people in other places don't know how to raise cattle and horses?"
"What's so great about a livestock farm? It's just a place to pen up livestock and raise them."
"Then just distribute the calves, foals and the like to the people."
Yang Shaofeng passionately retorted to Li Shanchang's suggestion, which almost made Emperor Zhu burst out laughing.
When her son-in-law is shrewd, he is truly shrewd; but when he's stupid, he's truly stupid, just like that Northeast mascot he talks about.