Chapter 83 The Queen Mother passed away

After the court session, Zheng Yi called the Shadow Guards who had been waiting for a long time.

"What's the hurry?"

"Reply, Your Majesty."

The Shadow Guard hesitated and said, "The Queen Mother has passed away."

"what?!"

Zheng Yi's eyes suddenly lit up and he walked quickly towards the harem.

"Show off at Cining Palace!"

April 20th, the fifth year of the Zhengei era.

The Queen Mother passed away.

A group of eunuchs, palace maids, and aunts knelt on the ground, crying loudly: "Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager... Wuuuuuuu..."

The crying sound spread from the Cining Palace to the three palaces and six courtyards, then spread to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and finally spread to the entire imperial palace and the capital.

Countless officials and common people spontaneously brought out white mourning clothes from their homes to see the empress dowager off.

Outside the Queen Mother's bedroom, the Queen cried her heart out.

She was the niece of the Queen Mother and the head of a palace, but now that the Queen Mother had passed away, she didn't simply feel that her aunt was gone.

But the greatest backer in this world is gone!

"Wow, auntie..."

When Zheng Yi arrived, the entire Cining Palace had been decorated as a mourning hall by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

All the eunuchs and palace maids were dressed in plain clothes, kneeling on the ground and crying towards the direction of the Empress Dowager's bedroom.

Zheng Yi walked over quickly, his eyes serious and said: "Wasn't the Queen Mother in a good mood a few days ago? Why...?"

The imperial physician knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, the Queen Mother accidentally heard that the fake Prince of Yan was captured alive. She was so excited that she couldn't breathe, then, then..."

Zheng Yi nodded and waved his hand to signal the imperial physician to leave.

With the death of the Queen Mother, the stone that had been pressing on his head was finally gone.

Now, he has the final say in the entire harem, and even the entire Dayu!

"Cheng En."

"The servant is here."

"Send an order, and have the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Rites, and the Ministry of Revenue handle all of the Empress Dowager's funeral affairs. All expenses must be handled on the highest scale."

"promise!"

"Your Majesty~!"

Lu Lin'er cried and threw herself into Zheng Yi's arms like a young swallow returning to its nest, crying bitterly.

"Your Majesty, my aunt is gone. What will Lin'er do in the future? Wuwuwu..."

Zheng Yi hugged Lu Lin'er, who was now more and more cute, and comforted her softly, "Lin'er, be good. I am here. I will take care of you for the rest of your life."

"Ok!"

In addition to Lu Lin'er, other concubines including Concubine Duan, Concubine De, Concubine Cui, and Concubine Yang also knelt outside the palace.

At this moment, they are also dressed in plain clothes, dignified and solemn.

Afterwards, the entire palace seemed to be shrouded in a dark cloud.

The sky is filled with white silk and paper money is fluttering.

The coffin was kept for seven days, and countless officials and clan relatives came to pay their respects. The entire capital city was under curfew every night, and any form of entertainment was strictly prohibited.

During these seven days, Zheng Yi had to stop his feasting and drinking and keep vigil for the empress dowager.

In the past few days, many concubines have lost weight, which made Zheng Yi feel very distressed. He had to open a back door behind the mourning hall and comfort them with all his heart.

Seven days later, the empress dowager's coffin was carried out of the Cining Palace and carried by 128 imperial guards, slowly heading towards the tomb of the deceased king on Tianshou Mountain.

As one of the late emperor's most beloved concubines, the empress dowager's mausoleum had already been built, right next to the late emperor's mausoleum.

When the Empress Dowager's mausoleum appeared in the capital, countless people, either willingly or forced, came to both sides of the street to see her off.

Thousands of people knelt down and the place was crowded with people.

Snow-white satin and paper money were scattered all along the way.

"The Queen Mother has passed away. What a big scene!"

"Your Majesty is so filial!"

"Your Majesty governs the country with filial piety, and we, the subjects, should follow..."

"Her Majesty the Queen Mother...!"

After the burial in the mausoleum, Zheng Yi quietly called Hu Bafeng and asked him to take advantage of the burial of the empress dowager to quickly find the tomb of the founding emperor Zheng Mingsen and excavate it secretly!
A few days later, the Ministry of Rites sent a selection of posthumous titles for the empress dowager.

The person was already dead, and Zheng Yi was too lazy to bother with her, so he immediately chose "Empress Renxuan Chengxian Gongyi Zhide Chunhui Yi Tianqi Shengwen".

Abbreviation: Empress Dowager Wen of Tianqi!
With the demise of the Pseudo-Yan and the passing of the Queen Mother, the whole world became different again.

With the arrival of spring, the rioters in the north began to become active, attacking cities again and moving towards the south.

As the prime minister in charge of suppressing the riots, Miao Xiu also dispatched troops to chase and intercept the rioters, killing thousands of enemies.

The civil unrest in the north is about to be put down.

In the direction of Yongzhou, the drought continued after the spring.

The eight main rivers flowing through Yongzhou have all dried up, leaving thousands of miles of barren land and starving people everywhere!
Under such harsh circumstances, Zheng Yi had to hold a grand court again.

"Your Majesty, the great man of Yongzhou, I beg for disaster relief!"

"Prelude!"

Zheng Yi said, "I want to gather the people to dig a canal from the Canglong River to Yongzhou, transport the water from the Canglong River to Yongzhou, and irrigate the thousands of miles of land in Yongzhou."

"At the same time, we can provide the civilians we recruit with food every day to support their survival, and also pay them salaries. This is: using work in lieu of relief. What do you think, my dear ministers?"

As soon as the voice fell, many ministers pondered for a few minutes, and then someone said: "Your Majesty! This plan is not appropriate. The nearest tributary of Canglong River is more than 300 miles away from Yongzhou. This project is very expensive, and the Ministry of Revenue does not have enough money and grain."

Zheng Yi said: "I want to make this a national policy. If the canal is successfully dug, it will definitely affect the three states of Yong, Bing and Liang, making them fertile fields for thousands of miles. This is a long-term plan!"

"As for the money and grain, one can transport them in stages and allocate them on schedule, instead of having to arrive all at once."

"Secondly, we can call upon the gentry and merchants of Yongzhou, Liangzhou, and Bingzhou and collect their money to wish for the success of the canal construction!"

"My dear friends, what do you think?"

Many officials looked at each other. It seemed that His Majesty had already made up his mind about this plan. He looked at the cabinet ministers in the front and saw that no one spoke. He could only helplessly say, "I second the motion."

Many people became active in their thinking, building the Grand Canal is a lucrative job!
Just to mobilize the civilians, hundreds of thousands of people would be needed. God knows how much money and time it would cost to provide food and food for the people and horses.

How great it would be if I could get a position there!

and……

Cash-for-work?

We still need to pay money to the civilians? What a joke!
Being able to let them have two meals of porridge a day is already a blessing from heaven!
Just as they were about to recommend themselves or someone from their own party, Zheng Yi directly said, "Tian Wenjing!"

Tian Wenjing, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel, immediately stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, I am here."

"You are the commander-in-chief of the construction of the Grand Canal. I grant you the position of Imperial Commissioner, in charge of the entire Yongzhou area to mobilize the people to build the Grand Canal."

Tian Wenjing's face lit up immediately, and he said repeatedly: "Yes!"

"I will do my best to complete this mission for your majesty and Dayu!"

"Where is the Jinyiwei Tongzhi?"

"Chen, here!"

Lu Lian quickly stepped out of the line and bowed.

"You are the 'Supervisor' of the Grand Canal. You will supervise all corruption and bribery during the operation of the Grand Canal. I grant you the power to act at your own discretion. As long as there is solid evidence, you can execute officials below the third rank first and report later to ensure the normal construction of the Grand Canal."

As soon as Zheng Yi finished speaking, all the court officials gasped.

Those below the third rank have the power to execute first and report later?
Doesn't that mean that even Tian Wenjing is within the power to be killed?
The power of the Jinyiwei is really... too terrifying!

Lu Lian immediately said respectfully: "Your Majesty...I accept your order and thank you!"

At this time, Lu Xiangqing suddenly turned sideways and said, "Your Majesty, I have a report to make."

Many court officials looked at Lu Xiangqing again.

Because of the Pseudo-Yan incident, Cui Jinghao, one of the cabinet ministers, has been in retirement, but Your Majesty has not allowed it.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Cui Jinghao was finished.

Even if he doesn't die, his position in the cabinet will be greatly reduced, or even dismissed.

Many people have secretly tried to curry favor with Lu Xiangqing and change their attitude.

"Oh? What's the matter, Lord Lu?"

Lu Xiangqing said: "Your Majesty, the fake Yan has been destroyed, the fake Yan Palace has been confiscated, and countless money, grain, and military equipment have all been handed over to the Ministry of Revenue."

"But what should be done with the land registered under the name of the palace?"

"His Majesty."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zheng Zongbing, the head of the clan affairs office, suddenly said, "Although the fake Yan is a traitor, he is a descendant of the royal family after all. The land under his name should be managed by our royal family."

"All the fertile fields, forests, minerals, etc. under the name of the Pseudo-Yan have already been registered. We only need to report to Your Majesty and then someone will be assigned to take charge of their management."

The Pseudo-Yan plotted treason, and apart from the Pseudo-Yan King himself, his mother's family, his wife's family, and others would all be executed.

At most, only the fake King of Yan would be left to survive.

However, the fertile fields, forests, etc. under his command constitute a huge fortune.

Zheng Yi asked, "How much land does the fake King of Yan, Zheng Yuantao, have in his name?"

"Return to Your Majesty."

Zheng Zongbing had already remembered it clearly, and immediately said: "Under the name of the fake Yan Wang Zheng Yuantao, there are 1.7 million acres of fertile land, 500,000 acres of paddy fields, and 300,000 acres of forests."

"These lands are all my royal family's property."

"How many?"

Zheng Yi asked subconsciously.

Zheng Zongbing thought Zheng Yi didn't hear clearly, so he repeated it again: "There are 1.7 million mu of fertile farmland, 500,000 mu of paddy fields, and 300,000 mu of forests."

I rely on...

He thought that the land owned by these princes was at most tens of thousands of acres.

Unexpectedly, there are nearly two million acres of land!

This amount of land is enough to cover the total land area of ​​several counties in the south.

This shows how serious the land annexation is.

A fake King of Yan who intends to rebel has so much land under his name.

Not to mention other clan members, noble families and high-ranking officials.

The rebellion of the people in Dayu has nothing to do with this group of relatives, ministers, and noble families who suck the blood and fat of the people!

The people have no land to farm and no food to eat, so they can only rebel!
Zheng Yi took a deep breath and suppressed the murderous intent in his heart.

If we kill all the dignitaries in front of us, we can collect enough land for all the people of Dayu to cultivate in their lifetime.

However, Zheng Yi understood that he could not act recklessly at this moment.

Land annexation is the most fundamental problem and cannot be solved overnight.

However, he already had some ideas in his mind, and immediately said:

"The Grand Master stipulates that after a vassal king is enfeoffed, he can only move around within his fiefdom. Where did the fake King of Yan get so much land? He must have taken it by force!"

"Preach my will."

Zheng Yi said coldly: "All the land and forest land under the name of the Pseudo-Yan will be divided into half and given equally to the tenants who are currently working on the land!"

"The land was taken from the people, so I will return it to them!"

"If anyone dares to continue to rob these people, I will never forgive them!"

After this threat, the entire court fell silent and no one dared to speak.

Although the country of Dayu has been in turmoil in the past few years, Emperor Zhengyong himself has been diligent in government affairs and has the potential to revive the country.

In particular, he successively suppressed the rebellions of King Tang, Yang Xiang and King Yan, and gained great reputation in the army.

Especially the Shenjiying that destroyed the Pseudo-Yan is the sharpest knife in Zheng Yi's hand.

No one present dared to object!
Zheng Zongbing hesitated and said, "Your Majesty, if half of the land is given to the people, what about the remaining half?"

"I will take care of it myself."

Zheng Yi said coldly: "Now the people are in turmoil, Wu State is invading in the north, and Nanzhao State is invading in the south. I want to establish a military merit system. Any soldier who makes great contributions will be rewarded with land!"

"Li Changfeng!"

Minister of War Li Changfeng immediately stepped out and said, "I am here."

"Find someone to set up a military merit system, divided into twelve levels, and each level must have corresponding rewards of money and land."

Li Changfeng's eyes lit up and he said immediately: "Yes!"

Your Majesty's heavy troops are a great blessing for them!

I believe that after this matter gets out, Your Majesty will gain support from military personnel.

After dealing with these matters, Zheng Yi was about to leave the court, but Cui Jinghao suddenly stood up.

"Your Majesty, I have a memorial."

"What else does Cui Aiqing want?"

　Asking for a monthly ticket~
　　Asking for a monthly ticket~
　　Asking for a monthly ticket~
　　Asking for a monthly ticket~
　　Asking for a monthly ticket~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)