Signed to Zhu Cihong, Prince of the Late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 21 Chapter 21, Fang Gongqian, the governor of the East Factory, Zhou Guozhang, who is rich
Cao Huachun was abolished, and the military power was controlled by the British Duke and others who were loyal to Ming Dynasty. This allowed Zhu Cihong to finally sleep peacefully after returning to the palace.

Back in his own Duanben Palace, an eunuch immediately appeared: "Prince, the empress has just sent someone to send a message, asking you to go to her place tomorrow morning."

Zhu Cihong hummed, and looked at the young eunuch in front of him: "Fang Gong, how many years have you been with me?"

The eunuch named Fang Gongqian hurriedly said: "Return to Your Highness, the slave entered the palace at the age of 13, and His Highness was only three years old at that time, so you have been serving His Highness for 12 years."

Zhu Cixiang nodded. This Fang Gongqian was Zhu Cixiang's personal eunuch. He was considered the most confidant and the current chief eunuch of Duanben Palace. He had been loyal and reliable for more than ten years.

If we follow the normal trajectory, after Zhu Cihong succeeds to the throne, Fang Gongqian will basically become an important member such as the eunuch in charge of the ceremony or the chief eunuch holding the pen. He will leave a mark in the history books. Pen.

It's a pity that in history, Zhu Cihong was finished before he succeeded Daming, so there was nothing to talk about.

But now, history is different.

Zhu Cixiang said calmly: "You should also know that the old man Cao Huachun has been removed by my father."

Since he is a confidant, his attitude is naturally much more casual when speaking.

Fang Gong hurriedly said: "Exactly. To tell you the truth, many people have long been unhappy with Cao Huachun. Now that His Highness has withdrawn him, many people say that he is doing justice for the heavens! Your Highness is indeed wise and powerful, peerless in the world." ,unprecedented!"

Zhu Cixiang waved his hand indifferently and said, "I also told my father that from now on, Cao Huachun's position as Governor of the East Factory will be yours."

Fang Gongqian was shocked when he heard the words, and then he was overjoyed: "Thank you for your appreciation! Your Highness is indeed very wise. Fang Gongqian will definitely devote himself to His Highness and Daming. It's only after death. His ambition is fierce, and he will not rest until he dies!"

Zhu Cihong: "..."

The word "wisdom" made Zhu Cixiang's teeth sour for some reason.

Zhu Cihong coughed and said slowly: "Fang Gonggan, do you know what you need to do after taking over the East Factory?"

Fang Gongqian said hurriedly: "Of course I have followed His Highness the Prince's words and worked hard, diligently, and without complaint."

Zhu Cihong coughed, and said: "You should also know that the former Dongchang was very prestigious, making all the ministers of Ming Dynasty silent. So, you have to change the Dongchang back to its original appearance in the shortest possible time. ,do you understand?"

Fang Gongqian hesitated after listening.

After a while, Fang Gongqian said: "Fang Gongqian belongs to His Highness, so Fang Gonggan will naturally do what His Highness says, but His Majesty...can you agree?"

The reason why the previous Dongchang was so fierce was of course because it belonged to the department directly under the emperor and used the supreme imperial power to protect itself.

But Zhu Cixi was only the prince after all, and there was still a big gap between the prince and the emperor.

Zhu Cilang smiled, and said: "Don't worry, since the emperor promised to let you be the governor of the East Factory, couldn't he have thought of this? Just act boldly."

Fang Gonggan nodded, and said: "The servant will do it as soon as possible, and must do it perfectly and impeccably. But to tell His Highness, there are still some problems, such as the white jade with a slight flaw, If it cannot be resolved, Dongchang will be unable to continue."

Zhu Cihong said: "What's the problem?"

Fang Gong said: "If the East Factory is going to build a shelf, a group of people is essential. If you want to recruit people, without money, the East Factory is just a castle in the sky, just like a mirror that breaks when you touch it. You see …”

Zhu Cihong smiled slightly, and said: "This problem is not big, it should be resolved in a day or two, you just go find someone first."

Fang Gongqian looked at Zhu Cihong with some doubts.

Of course, Fang Gongqian also heard that Zhu Cihong went to Cao Huachun's house to copy a wave, but a mere Cao Huachun's house might not even have enough money to recruit soldiers and horses in Beijing. Where did the money come from to set up the East Factory?
I hope the prince will not just brag at will.

Zhu Cihong could see Fang Gongqian's doubts, but he didn't explain too much.

Silent all night.

After waking up the next day, after washing up and having breakfast, Zhu Cihong went to pay his respects to his mother, Empress Zhou.

What surprised Zhu Cixiang was that Chongzhen was also there.

"I have seen the father and the mother."

As the empress of the Ming Dynasty, the Zhou family, born in an ordinary family, is quite beautiful and dignified, and her temperament is also very docile.

After seeing Zhu Cihong, Empress Zhou hurried forward, took Zhu Cihong's hand, looked up, down, left, right, and right, and found that there was no injury, so she breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhu Cihong couldn't help laughing: "What is the queen mother doing?"

Empress Zhou glared at Zhu Cihong, raised a slender finger, and made a gesture to hit him: "You bold thing, who gave you the courage to go to the city wall of Changhua Gate? I don't even want to think about what to do if something happens! "

Regarding this, Zhu Cihong naturally understood that it came from his mother's concern. As for the scolding... just go in one ear and out the other. This is the fine tradition of countless Chinese sons.

Originally, mother and son were supposed to be talking about Ti Ji, but since Chongzhen was here, the words were different.

Chongzhen stroked his beard, still very unhappy: "According to the statistics just obtained, 24 taels of silver were found in Cao Huachun's home, and there are many treasures. It is roughly estimated that his net worth is more than 50 million taels. Thanks to him What a bastard to keep telling me that I have no money!"

Queen Zhou said hurriedly: "Eunuch Cao has served your Majesty for so many years. He was also responsible for the liquidation of Wei Zhongxian's party, which can be regarded as meritorious. Your Majesty spared his life, which can be regarded as an explanation to the people of the world. "

Chongzhen sighed and said: "What's the use of having an explanation? Now Li Zicheng's troops are besieging the city. The British Duke has said that if he wants to recruit enough soldiers and horses, he will need at least two to three million taels of silver. And the 300 What’s the use?”

There was silence in the hall for a while.

This is actually a very real problem. If you have no money, who will work for you?

Back then, it was the first, the last, and so on. When Beijing was surrounded, as long as the treasury was opened and a lot of money was thrown out, tens of millions of people in Beijing would scream and fight the enemy desperately.

But now, the treasury of the Ming Dynasty can starve the rats to death, and even the food and salaries of the Beijing camp of the real combat troops are in arrears. Who will give this Ming Dynasty his life?
Money is very important to an empire.

It's like why Li Zicheng wanted to rebel?It was because the Ming Dynasty had no money, so the postmen were abolished. Li Zicheng, who was working well as a courier, suddenly lost his job. He couldn't survive. What else could he do if he didn't rebel?
Why did Li Zicheng survive the suppression for 15 years, but became stronger and stronger, and even surrounded Beijing now?It was also because of the famines in the Central Plains every year, and the Ming Dynasty had no money to relieve the disasters, so countless victims who could not survive continued to join Li Zicheng's team.

And what about the Ming officers and soldiers?Arrears of food and salaries, lack of weapons and armor, the soldiers did not have the mind to train and fight at all, and even the Northwest Frontier Army took the initiative to defect to Li Zicheng in large numbers, which led to slowly getting weaker and weaker until they were overthrown by Li Zicheng.

The collapse of the middle and late Ming Dynasty actually boiled down to the fact that the country ran out of money and could not sustain itself in the end.

Now, if there is still no money, the city of Beijing cannot be defended!
If Cao Huachun's money is personal, it is indeed a lot, but if he wants to use the more than 20 taels of silver to fight against Li Zicheng's army outside the city, it will be a drop in the bucket.

Daming, need more money.

Although Empress Zhou was worried about the crisis her husband was facing, there was nothing she could do as a woman, she could only gently hold Chongzhen's hand, hoping to give Chongzhen a little more warmth in his heart.

But at this moment, Zhu Cihong's voice suddenly sounded: "Father, in fact, this money can only be taken from Cao Huachun alone. There are many people in Beijing, and the family's money is Cao Huachun's is several times."

Chongzhen was stunned for a moment, and said, "For example?"

Zhu Cihong looked at Empress Zhou, and said slowly: "For example, my mother's father, that is, my grandfather Zhou Kui, Zhou Guozhang, has more wealth than Cao Huachun, I don't know how much!"

(End of this chapter)