My God, I am the emperor, the lord of mankind.

Chapter 71 On the Yongding River
"Is what your Majesty said true?"

"You have no jokes!"

Zhu Houcong said with a smile.

Sure enough, without any pressure or benefits, this group of aristocratic families would just wait and see when the court encountered problems. They didn't care about the life and death of the country and the people, and only thought about the personal interests of their own family.

On weekdays, he uses the name of the court to dominate and oppress the poor people more cruelly than anyone else.

When the country is in trouble, it becomes a mere wallflower.

Be ready to change flags and camps at any time.

Zhu Houcong does not welcome fence-sitters here.

Although Zhu Houcong is not stingy with power, position and treasure, he prepares it for those who can follow him to eliminate the evil spirits in the world and save the people regardless of danger.

Don't expect a treacherous person to get a dime advantage from Zhu Houcong without any effort by relying on his ancestral connections or family power.

Hearing this, the expressions of several people in the cabinet present became solemn.

Without him, the benefits given by Zhu Houcong this time are really too great.

In the past, if you wanted to gain power in the central government of the Ming Dynasty, you could not achieve it without more than ten years of hard study and decades of accumulation in officialdom.

But now, the opportunity to reach the sky in one step is right in front of you.

They can't help but make their eyes red for the immediate benefit.

The official position given by the little emperor will be occupied by people from other forces if his own people cannot occupy it.

Moreover, that is the military position of the Forbidden Army and will soon be on the same level as the Six Ministers. It is also the position of the third-rank Qintian Supervisor, and there are a lot of departmental positions below.

And depending on the emperor's intentions, it is impossible to say that the Qintian Prison, which is usually a small and transparent one, will become a real power department with the same level as the six departments in a while.

Moreover, the previous emperors, even Ming Xiaozong, the cabinet's answering machine, had considered layoffs and salary cuts for Beijing officials who had been bloated for a century.

Not to mention Xianzong and Wuzong, who directly dealt with the connections among the officials in the capital without hesitation.

Now the little emperor actually wants to take the initiative to expand the number of officials in the capital and add more positions!

"Your Majesty has such a desire to recruit talents, why should I, the Ming Dynasty, be unhappy!"

Liang Chu and Jiang Mian looked at each other, and apart from their joy, they both saw a hint of wariness and hostility in each other's eyes.

The expression on Wang Qiong's face was a little tangled, with both excitement and worry!
That’s all!Although the court's finances are tight, it would be better if some truly useful talents could be recruited to serve the court.

It is better to give funds to them than to give them to mediocre people who have nothing to do with their bodies.

……

Looking at the backs of several people in the cabinet leaving in a hurry.

Lu Fang and Huang Jin subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.

"Your Majesty! The Taiping demons are less than a day's journey from the capital. We need to ask the Supervisor of Ceremonies to pass the order and let the Xuanfu and Liaodong troops come to the capital by water to assist in defense!"

Lu Fang carefully observed Zhu Houcong's expression and spoke.

"Yes! Even if Mr. Liang Ge and the others recommend talents overnight, the journey from the local area to the capital will be less than half a month! Your Majesty, please first order the rebels to pass through the prefectures and counties along the way and let the Beijing army strengthen the defense of the capital. .”

Huang Jin added from the side.

"God has arranged this matter. The rebels will not be able to reach the capital within one month!"

Zhu Houcong closed his eyes and concentrated, saying no more words.

Huang Jin on the side knew that Zhu Houcong wanted to meditate again, so he quickly lit incense.

"Lu Fang!"

"Chen is here!"

"Send a message to Wang Meng and ask him to take a few royal guards to Wofo Mountain in Yu County to see for me whether the Taiping Dao demon is as evil as the rumors say! Is he really three heads and six arms, invulnerable to weapons and bullets?"

"promise!"

After Lu Fang heard this, he quickly went out to deliver the order.

"You should go down too! During this period, take a good look at whether there are any trustworthy people among the four guards of the Yumajian under your command. If there are any, send them to Qiu Luan and let him choose and train them."

"Your Majesty is a man of great wealth, and he is destined to achieve enlightenment and become an immortal in this life! I am ignorant and incompetent, and I wish I could help your Majesty! But please also take care of your body, and never overwork yourself!"

Huang Jin knew that Zhu Houcong might have made arrangements again.

He said with tears as he parted.

"I am sensible! You take care of the inner court for me! Don't cause any trouble. This is the best way to repay the court!" Huang Jin kowtowed and left in tears after three bows.

After everyone left, Zhu Houcong took out the Nine Heavens Thunder Fire Sword and silently recited the sword-controlling technique.

He opened the window and looked in the direction of Datong in the west.

The rebels will not be able to reach the capital within a month——

I said it couldn't be reached, it just couldn't be reached.

After all, what is the strength of the forces behind these senior Ming court officials in the DPRK?

Zhu Houcong was particularly interested.

……

Yu County, Wofo Mountain.

There is a river in front of it, which is the Yongding River where Zhu Di drank his horses when he led the Mongolian cavalry south to Jingnan.

At this time, the wind and rain were miserable, but there was mist on the river, which was a bit strange.

Since the time of Emperor Xiaozong, there have been constant natural and man-made disasters, and many people have been displaced by bandits.

Even the families of senior officials in the capital were not spared, let alone the areas outside the capital.

River bandits and horse thieves often appeared, and countless travelers were sunk in the river who were robbed, killed and then thrown into the river.

Therefore, most travelers crossing the river carry knives and guns for self-defense.

They are all located on the piers along the river. Those with money can charter a boat, while those without money can only wait to share a boat with others.

At this time, a group of people came from not far away. There were three people in the group, all wearing raincoats and carrying long knives on their backs.

The leader was a middle-aged man in his 30s with a deep and majestic face. After seeing that the last idle boat on the river had rowed away.

I frowned and went to the shore to ask when the next boat would leave.

Then he walked to the side and once he reached the shore, he stared at the center of the river and wondered what he was thinking. The young man beside him said respectfully.

"I heard they said this was the last boat in the morning. After the boatmen finished this trip, they went to the other side to eat and rest. It will be an hour later in the afternoon!"

Wang Meng said, but a playful smile suddenly appeared on the young man's face.

He pointed to the center of the Yongding River in front of him and said to Qiu Luan and Wang Meng beside him.

"Isn't there another boat? The boatman! Maybe he can take us across the river!"

In the mist in the middle of the Yongding River, a small boat suddenly appeared and sailed towards the shore.

The boatman heard what the young man said and rowed the boat calmly.

"Where are the guests going?"

"Just cross the river!"

The boatmen on this river are not only engaged in the business of pulling people across the river.

The Yongding River originates from Guanlui Mountain in Ningwu County, Shanxi Province. The whole river flows through Shanxi, the Mongolian Plateau, Hebei and Henan, and merges into the Haihe River in North Zhili, and then flows into the Bohai Sea in Tanggu.It is the largest river in the northern part of the Haihe River system, with a drainage area of ​​47016 square kilometers.

Delivering goods to people, fishing and raising shrimps, and feeding hundreds of thousands of people along the coast.

"Guests, please come on board!"

He stretched out his hand to take the broken silver thrown by Zhu Houcong and others. It looked like three or four coins, which was equivalent to half a month's income of these boatmen.

After taking the money, the boatman saw that Zhu Houcong and others were traveling lightly, so he didn't say much. After stopping the boat to pick up the people, he shook the oars and left the ferry.

"Wait a minute, please take me for a ride."

A voice came from behind, the voice was old and strong.

Zhu Houcong looked back and saw an old man with a white beard and cotton armor.

At this time, he was holding a long gun as a crutch and ran quickly towards the shore.

The old man behind him shouted in a high-pitched voice, but the boatman seemed not to hear anything and continued rowing toward the other shore calmly. "

Zhu Houcong was sitting at the bow of the boat, Qiu Luan was at the stern, and Wang Meng and Zhu Houcong were sitting opposite each other.

In the silence, Zhu Houcong suddenly spoke.

"If the boatman is convenient, he can give this old man a ride!
"The guest has chartered my ship. Whether to pick him up or not is naturally up to the guest's arrangement——"

(End of this chapter)