Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Ever since I traveled through time, being short on money has been a constant theme. I'm used to it, it's fine, I'm fine~ *Cat sighs and then pretends nothing happened while looking around. jpg*
Next update at 6:00 PM~
Chapter 278
Nowadays, maritime trade is actually not that developed.
Even though Fu no longer has the ambition to be a maritime overlord due to his differing status, those capable of conducting maritime business are still a minority.
Because there are too many variables, many merchants simply do not dare to touch it.
Therefore, even if taxes are increased in this regard, not much can be added.
Similarly, inland trade taxes can also be increased by category.
It is just that the country has only just begun to recover; imposing too much would be like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.
"Your Majesty's meaning is.." Fu put away the report and immediately asked a question.
Zhu Ci pondered for a long while before saying, "I intend to establish several direct-controlled prefectures."
"Direct-controlled Prefectures?" everyone said in unison.
Obviously, everyone was somewhat unclear as to what a direct-controlled prefecture was.
Zhu Ci couldn't be bothered to explain it bit by bit, so he simply handed a document to He Tengjiao and said, "Vice Grand Secretary He, you read it."
Hmm, the reason he didn't let the Grand Secretary read it was because there were quite a lot of words, he was afraid of tiring Fu.
He Tengjiao bowed and took it, opened it, quickly skimmed through the first page, began to read.
Simply put, the Direct-controlled Prefecture is not ruled by a province, but is directly under the jurisdiction of the Central Government.
The tasks of a direct-controlled prefecture are also quite complex. First, they bear the heavy responsibility of radiating influence to the surrounding economy and driving the economic development of neighboring cities; in addition to this, they also serve as pilot programs.
When the state needs to test certain new policies, these direct-controlled prefectures are used to trial and error.
Of course, with responsibility comes benefits; although the status of a direct-controlled prefecture cannot compare to that of the capital, it is generally the next most important.
The capital generally carries a heavy political significance, whereas economic development is not as emphasized; in contrast, the remaining direct-controlled prefectures place greater importance on economic development.
Your Majesty, in that case, the choice of the direct-controlled prefecture is of paramount importance.
Zhu Ci nodded and said, "Indeed, but before establishing the direct-controlled prefecture, what is the word from Zhang Xianzhong's side?"
Previously, due to the terrain of Sichuan, Zhu Ci had not moved against Zhang Xianzhong, focusing only on defeating the Qing Army first.
Now that the Manchus have all gone back to farming, it is time for Sichuan to return to normal.
Fu said calmly, "Reporting to His Majesty, Zhang Xianzhong is already dead, his subordinates are willing to surrender."
Ah? Dead?" Zhu Ci was somewhat surprised. "How did he die?
Fu lowered his eyes and said, "They say it was a sudden illness, but the specifics are unknown."
Zhu Ci glanced at him suspiciously; Zhang Xianzhong had been perfectly fine just a few days ago, he had even sent people to persuade him to surrender.
It was just that Zhang Xianzhong had been extremely wild at the time and refused to surrender easily, offering a pile of reasons, one of which was for the Imperial Court to enfeoff him as the Prince of Shu, allowing him to remain in Chengdu.
Neither of these two conditions was something Zhu Ci would ever agree to.
What a joke. His Grand Secretary is nothing more than the Prince of Yue, yet Zhang Xianzhong wants to be the Prince of Shu? And he wants to continue controlling Sichuan? Is Sichuan the Great Ming's Sichuan, or is it the Zhang family's Sichuan?
The two sides failed to reach an agreement. The envoys sent by the Great Ming at that time said they would return with a response, but after they returned, Zhu Ci did not send them again.
After all, Zhang Xianzhong showed no sincerity. Zhu Ci had originally only wanted to prevent the flames of war from spreading, but since he refused a polite offer and insisted on the hard way, he would simply send troops once spring arrived.
He simply did not want to start a war lightly, but it wasn't that he couldn't; Zhang Xianzhong's proposal was clearly not the behavior of someone sincerely surrendering.
Even if Zhu Ci endured it and agreed to his terms, other matters might arise in the future, once Zhang Xianzhong had reaped enough benefits, he might even rebel.
If Zhang Xianzhong had read a few more books, he would have known that no regime in history has ever unified the world from this land of Bashu.
Zhu Ci had recently begun contemplating whom to send when he was told that Zhang Xianzhong had died suddenly and that his subordinates had led their army to surrender.
Although there are many coincidences in this world, isn't it a bit outrageous for them to coincide to this extent?
Although Zhu Ci had his doubts, he ultimately said nothing more, merely nodding and saying, "Very well. Then you, ministers, should go back and consider where it would be best to establish the Direct-controlled Prefecture. Grand Secretary Fu, please stay."
He was somewhat impatient to ask Fu what had actually happened.
Others??
Aren't we already discussing the choice of a Direct-controlled Prefecture?
Most importantly, since His Majesty already had this idea, it is impossible that he had not considered the choice of location; His Majesty is not the kind of person who takes things one step at a time.
Everyone was originally waiting for the Emperor to announce the name of the Direct-controlled Prefecture, but now he's making them come up with one themselves?
Is His Majesty planning to pool everyone's wisdom? Once the interests are involved, there will be plenty of arguing in court.
Besides, why did the Emperor keep the Grand Secretary behind again? Lately, whenever the court session ended, the Grand Secretary would be kept behind.
What important matters could the Emperor and the Grand Secretary possibly need to discuss in private?
Actually, it wasn't anything particularly important; it was mainly to talk about romance.
Of course, there are still some important matters to attend to today.
How exactly did Zhang Xianzhong die?" Zhu Ci asked, pressing down on Fu's hand as he made a nuisance of himself on his body, "Don't tell me he died of a sudden illness.
He was poisoned by his subordinates.
With a beauty in his arms, Fu was clearly somewhat nonchalant, his tone of voice didn't sound as if someone had died.
I remember you mentioned before that there are many resistance forces in Sichuan, it seems his subordinates do not quite obey him either?
Yes, Your Majesty has a good memory." Fu kissed the Little Emperor's forehead and said, "At that time, there were people in my merchant caravans secretly providing aid to certain groups; there were rebels, there were also those under Zhang Xianzhong's command. Back then, I only thought that if Dorgon proved too difficult to deal with, I should find a way to force the Dashun Army out. However, it is clear that I overthought it; no matter how formidable Dorgon is, he is still no match for Your Majesty.
Zhu Ci said with a smile, "Your mouth is getting sweeter and sweeter."
"Really? Then would His Majesty like to have a taste?" Fu said as he leaned closer.
However, His Majesty ruthlessly blocked him with his hand.
Zhu Ci said, "So it was your people causing trouble in Sichuan this time as well?"
“It wouldn't exactly be called making trouble, just a few small schemes. Zhang Xianzhong is already used to being an emperor, he believes that after a major battle between us and the Tartars, we will inevitably be severely weakened, so he is also becoming restless.”
Zhu Ci clicked his tongue. "He has truly been an emperor for too long; he doesn't know the limits of his power. However, the merchant caravan under your command is indeed full of talented people."
Without saying anything else, many of the special talents in the imperial court came from Fu's merchant caravans.
I don't know how his caravan selects people, but every single one of them is a prime candidate for causing trouble.
Fu did not answer, but instead rolled over and placed Zhu Ci onto the bed. His hands wandered restlessly as he asked, "Does Your Majesty really have to talk about others at a time like this?"
Zhu Ci let out a gasp and said, "Then.. let's talk about.. um.. how to build the Jizhou Imperial Palace."
"What kind of one does His Majesty want?" Fu asked, though his movements were not at all hesitant.
Zhu Ci closed his eyes and said with a smile, "I want a large bed.."
Whatever Your Majesty desires, I shall provide.
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: I want the moon in the sky! The kitten looks up at the moon and meows. jpg
The next update will be tomorrow morning at six o'clock~
Chapter 279
That being said, Zhu Ci actually didn't want to be too extravagant; after all, he had no concubines—oh, his Empress had her own Prince's Mansion.
So it was called an imperial palace, but in reality, the final plan made it roughly the same size as Fu's current Prince's Mansion.
At first, Fu thought it was too small and insisted on relocating the surrounding farming households, but Zhu Ci hurriedly stopped him and said, "That's enough. Those people have lived there for generations; where would you relocate them to? Besides, it wouldn't be convenient if it were too large."
The Imperial Palace in Jizhou and the Prince of Yue's Mansion's villa were even closer, separated by only a single wall. The distance from Huagai Hall to the main courtyard of the Prince's Mansion was only five or six hundred meters, which was nearly half the distance compared to being inside the palace.
Most importantly, Zhu Ci had also opened a gate over there.
Even though the distance is short in a straight line within the palace, one would still have to detour through the palace gates to actually get there. After all, an Emperor cannot simply climb over the walls, can he?
Opening a gate in the walls of the Forbidden City was out of the question. According to existing records, the Feng Shui of the Forbidden City was examined when it was first constructed, since then, every successive emperor, whether they were renovating or undertaking other projects, would first consult the Feng Shui before taking action.
Even if it were just to open a gate, it would cause a massive commotion. By then, the entire court of civil and military officials would know, they would likely ask, "Why has His Majesty decided to open a gate here?"
Forget it, although he and Fu did not intend to hide it, they also had no intention of making a grand spectacle of it.
Seeing that he could not persuade the Little Emperor, Fu simply let him have his way.
Instead, the people below began to praise the Emperor for his thriftiness and frugality.
Zhu Ci..
If he were truly frugal, he wouldn't have gone to the Jizhou Imperial Palace to practice cultivation.
However, he was spending his own money, at most, Fu provided some assistance; whether he was frugal or not might not be that important, right?
I have noticed that ever since the world was unified, the people below have become much more pleasant to listen to.
Zhu Ci curled up in Fu Huai's arms, reading memorial reports while eating grapes fed to him by the other man, then squinted his eyes from the sourness.
Fu saw how his face crumpled in such a way that it was incredibly adorable, he couldn't help but lean closer and ask, "Is it very sour?"
Zhu Ci tilted her head up to exchange a kiss with him and said, "Try it yourself."
Mhm, it is very sour. It seems the greenhouse cultivation isn't quite up to par yet.
Zhu Ci couldn't help but laugh after hearing that: "Is there some kind of mysticism in your greenhouse? Why is all the fruit you grow so sour?"
The oranges grown before were sour, the grapes now are sour too.
Fu also laughed and said, "Things that defy the natural order will ultimately have flaws."
Like the Little Emperor and him.
They are unable to have descendants, but the Little Emperor needs an heir.