On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Chongzhen's schedule was full.

Chongzhen has always been able to let go of the cumbersome government affairs. In addition to the necessary court meetings, Chongzhen was not enthusiastic about the court, which was completely different from Chongzhen in the Beijing period, and even absenteeism occurred from time to time. However, today it was Chongzhen who convened the cabinet and six ministries to discuss matters, with two issues, one was the issue of the royal family and the other was the issue of national railway development. Neither of these two issues could be solved by the ministers.

Zhu Tongyi and Wang Youqing attended today's court meeting.

Regarding Zhu Tongyi's memorial to the royal family to participate in the "official-private joint venture", the cabinet masters and the six ministers of the ministers had read and agreed with this proposal. Chongzhen and Shi Kefa and Wang Youqing had some communication. Of course, Wang Chengen and the princess also proposed the problem. This was not just about the matter, but the purpose was of course to find a fundamental solution, striving to reduce or even remove the main burden of the royal family, the Ming Dynasty.

As the prime minister, Shi Kefa began his opening remarks:

"Reported to the Emperor, from Emperor Taizu's enfeoffment of the royal family, to Emperor Chengzu set rules that the royal family could not interfere in politics. Since then, the imperial court has followed the strategy of maintaining the royal family. Over the past 200 years, the growth of members of the royal family has been quite fast, and the rules of the ancestors cannot be violated. This policy of maintaining the royal family has become a major burden to the court by the Wanli Dynasty. After the Tianqi Dynasty, the salary of the royal family can no longer be divided, and it is common for the arrears of the salary. As of this dynasty, the salary of the royal family has exceeded half of the local tax. It can be seen that with the rapid increase of the royal family, the imperial court has been overwhelmed. To this day, how to treat the royal family is indeed an urgent problem to be solved. I think that a new policy should be made early, which will not only prevent the royal family from becoming a burden to the court, but also guarantee the salary of the royal family, and cannot be wronged. Therefore, today's proposal is given. Please suggest to propose solutions and propose solutions, and then ask the emperor to make a decision."

Zhang Shenyan agreed:

"Since the Wanli Dynasty, the court has not been able to afford the salary of the royal family, and the arrears have been increasing. This matter is known to everyone in the world. I think it is better to seek other good strategies to reduce the burden on the court."

All the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet and the Six Ministers knew that the issue of the royal family was a serious problem in the Ming Dynasty, but none of them had any ideas. This was a royal family matter, and no one dared to slander the strategy of abolishing the royal family. Not to mention that the ministers had no countermeasures, even if they had a solution, they were unwilling to touch on this sensitive issue.

Seeing that these people had a lot of truths, but none of them involved the root cause, Wang Youqing said:

"I think the clan should be allowed to be officials and business. Since the 'official and private joint venture' has set a precedent, why not further relax? I think that even if the clan members are allowed to enter the military, it is also a temporary measure when the army is urgently needed to strengthen it."

Zhu Tongyi was concessioned to participate in the court meeting today. For two hundred years, the royal family has not had such an opportunity. Zhu Tongyi will not let the opportunity be lost in vain. So he seized the opportunity and started speaking:

"Reporting to the emperor, I am also a clan of the royal family. For more than 200 years, the clans of the royal family have not made any contributions to the country, but have only consumed national treasury. I am deeply ashamed of the royal family. At this time when the Ming Dynasty is in danger, my clans of the Ming Dynasty should serve the country, make strong efforts and money. I am asking Your Majesty to approve that all the ‘official-private joint venture’ projects need to be sent by the official to select the clan children. I suggest that, first, the treatment of the clan children will be reduced by half, and two years later, the treatment of the clan children will be reduced to 10%. Second, children of the appropriate clans are encouraged to take up new responsibilities in the court, and only then can they enjoy their salary when they take office. Third, encourage the clans of the royal family to do business and build factories, enter new industries, and strive to be self-sufficient. In this way, the clans of the royal family may not drag down the development of the Ming Dynasty, and even become a support for the development of the Ming Dynasty, which is unknown."

Chongzhen was very satisfied with Zhu Tongyi's words. In later generations, "those who do not work cannot eat" was a basic truth known to everyone. However, the Ming Dynasty raised this parasitic team to become larger and larger, which was enough to drag down the national finances, but no one dared to speak up for reforms lightly. However, Chongzhen really had no confidence in these pampering royal children, and asked them to do things. Who knows what these playboys would do! If they were unbearable, failed to succeed, and had enough trouble, it would only cause trouble.

To solve the problem of the royal family, the princess' idea was to let the royal family enter new industries in the process of industrialization, get a piece of the huge profits of the new industries, use interests as a medium to transform the royal family from parasitic to capitalist. Wang Chengen's suggestion was to focus on the big and let go of the small, or raise the king or the honor, and other royal family members provided employment opportunities to solve the problem. Chongzhen also weighed the matter with the right and wrong, but he was not sure whether other royal family members had this awareness. Although Zhu Tongyi was very enthusiastic, he didn't know whether other royal children had this kind of awareness. After all, the royal family members were proficient in music, academic, mathematics and art, and were indifferent to fame and fortune. After all, there were only a few. Most of them were greedy and afraid of death and idle people, and they might be the same as the infamous Eight Banners children who were later in the Qing Dynasty. Chongzhen couldn't help but sigh and asked:

"I appreciate your advice very much! But what I am worried about is that for 200 years, the royal family has been fed with rich clothes and food, and has no intention of doing everything all day long. I am worried that the royal family members have no ambition and no spirit of hard work. I am especially worried that the royal family members are self-righteous and do not succeed enough to make things worse. So it is better to maintain the status quo to avoid endless harm. According to my good friend, how many people can do things in the royal family, 10% or 20%? You can, according to fact, provide a reference for the court, do you understand?"

Zhu Tongyi took a deep breath and knelt down and said:

"I reported to the emperor that, as far as I see, the number of people available in the royal family should be more than half. In the past twenty years, it has been common for the court to arrears of the royal family's salary, which is known to everyone in the world. If you are a prince, a prince, and a large number of good land, you will certainly be rich. However, the royal family is huge and the prince is a limited number. For example, I am a lieutenant of the auxiliary country, and receive less than 30% of the salary every year. My family is not well-off. I am a poor minister, but I have no way to serve the country, and I am often depressed. The children of the royal family are like the concubine, and their family is ordinary.

There are many people who secretly have the ambition to serve the country. Even if these clans are a little arrogant, they are definitely not playboys. If the emperor gives them the opportunity, they will do their best to serve the emperor. All the clans with little knowledge understand the current situation. If the Ming Dynasty is not guaranteed, the clans will be slaughtered. What else can they enjoy? I dare to ask the emperor to be kind to the clans to serve the country. I dare to swear to my ancestors that our clans are willing to share the worries of the emperor and go through fire and water. I will never let them down and never lose their face."

After hearing Zhu Tongyi's words, Chongzhen knew what he said was not false, and he was very excited. It seemed that these clans of the clan were really suffocated. OK, then use it! There is nothing to be taboo. Gong Daming did not have the obligation to let the Zhu family live in the world for generations. In Gong Daming's eyes, the clans of the Zhu family were the same as others, but it was not easy to deprive them of their privileges at once. As for relaxing restrictions on clan children, if they were not worried about the bad things of these clan children, they would have done this long ago. The political affairs of this country were affected by one move, and it was not just a whistle. They had to weigh the pros and cons of the left and right. For example, the shock therapy of Russia in later generations almost caused Russia to collapse. Alas! It was really troublesome! However, Chongzhen no longer hesitated, and had made a decision in his mind. He made a decision immediately:

"Dear friends, it is related to the royal family. I must be cautious! But at this point, only reforms have been made. I decided to let the clans join the army, politics, and business, and in principle, not restrict the clans from engaging in all legal matters. I pass on my will and immediately release the former Tang King Zhu Youjian. At the same time, the Royal Assets Management Committee was established, referred to as the Royal Assets Commission, selecting outstanding clans to manage royal assets. All royal shares were handed over to the Royal Assets Commission for management, requiring value preservation and appreciation. In addition, the royal family should be strongly supported in the participation of the "official-private joint venture". I hope that the clans will be self-reliant and achieve self-sufficiency as soon as possible. Of course, I will not ignore the welfare of the clans. Part of the income of the royal assets will be used for the welfare of the clans. Of course, matters involving the salary of the clans cannot be achieved overnight and must be gradually improved. The cabinet and the clans' office draw up a charter based on this. I will issue an order after reading it and implement it as soon as possible and do not delay."

This royal family matter was originally a private matter of the royal family, and there was a sect's office in charge, so the ministers were inconvenient to argue. However, Qian Qianyi still expressed different opinions on the royal family's involvement in the military, worried that after the royal family was in charge of the army, it would be difficult to avoid mutiny. Chongzhen laughed and said that the new army's military discipline was strict and had completely eliminated the bad habits of private army. There was no need to worry about mutiny, even if there were any, it would not cause any big waves. Therefore, the reform on the royal family issue began.

The second issue of the court meeting was the railway construction issue. In order to make the ministers have some emotional understanding of the train, they suddenly paved 30 meters of simple railway tracks in the steam locomotive factory. After visiting the ministers, they finally had a brief understanding of the construction of the railway.

The discussion was nothing more than railway planning. The ministers did not have the urgency to build a railway. Moreover, after learning that railway construction was a money-burning event, everyone was just perfunctory. In the end, Fang Yizhi was enthusiastic, and the railway planning matter was handed over to Fang Yizhi. Anyway, there was no sign of the eight characters, and this was just a plan. It was still far from construction, and the ministers did not have to stop it. As for building a demonstration railway in Nanjing, and the User Department did not pay for the money to build a railway, this was something that everyone would like to see.

After Chongzhen thought he had been relieved of the burden of the royal family, he was in a very good mood. In the afternoon, he pulled Wang Chengen to discuss the matter of tanks. Wang Chengen felt a headache about the emperor's keen on tanks, and the emperor insisted on building steam-powered tanks, which made Wang Chengen run the tanks all over the past two days. In his mind, there was a steam reciprocating drive plan and a steam turbine drive plan, which was really difficult to choose. The split tank the emperor wanted to build made Wang Chengen always think of tractors, well, it was simply a tractor. So Wang Chengen jokingly called this the "tractor tank" plan.

Chongzhen didn't care what he called it, so what if he called it a "tractor tank"! Anyway, as long as it was a tank.

Wang Chengen is technically difficult to choose whether to use steam reciprocating or steam turbine drive. The cylinder is easy to serve and the reciprocating drive scheme is good for maintenance, but the steam turbine is efficient and has great output. The two solutions have their own advantages. Finally, Chongzhen made a decision, both of them are on, first on the reciprocating type, and then on the steam turbine. The practice is based on real knowledge. How can you know which one is better if you don’t try it!

Wang Chengen muttered in his heart, no one is good! It’s better to drive a diesel engine.

According to the established arrangement, Chongzhen will participate in the Lantern Festival. This year's Lantern Festival has a special performance program, and a large stage was set up outside Zhengyang Gate. In addition to performing traditional singing and dancing operas, the princess, as the director, also specially added some elements from later generations. The princess claimed that this Lantern Festival performance will lead the leapfrog development of stage art in the Ming Dynasty.

Chongzhen was very excited today. The Ming Dynasty was regaining vitality in his hands. When this person was proud, he would do something unknown. Chongzhen not only wanted to attend the lantern festival himself, but also had a more proud idea. Referring to the custom of the head of state of later generations, Chongzhen decided to bring Zhou Feier to attend. According to the practice of Chongzhen bringing his concubine, the first choice was of course Yuan Fei, but Gong Daming's consciousness in his brain was still a little resistant to Yuan Feier, so he finally brought Zhou Feier, a Xiaomi-level.

Zhengyangmen Street is very lively tonight, with all kinds of colorful lanterns hanging all over the street, crowded with people, bustling, guessing riddles, playing soy sauce, and having fun, making the Lantern Festival lanterns auspicious.

At eight o'clock, the large stage outside Zhengyang Gate officially started. The combination of later stage art introduced by the princess and the existing stage art of the Ming Dynasty made this performance cater to the public's tastes and unique.

Four alcoholic steam lamps were lit on the stage, making the whole stage bright as daytime. Chongzhen and Zhou Feier sat in the open-air private room, surrounded by crowds of people watching the show. The Jinyiwei was mixed in the crowd, paying attention to everything around him. Once any movement occurs, the Jinyiwei will take action in time to ensure the safety of the emperor.

It was now the turn of performing a pantomime sketch - "Eating Chicken". The performers on the stage performed vividly with only movements and eyes: it is not easy to enjoy a chicken that is not stewed. Even if they use up all the pliers, hammers and other eighteen martial arts, they were unable to eat the chicken as they wished. This sketch that plagiarized Wang Jingyu's performance in the Spring Festival Gala in later generations was quite successful and won laughter.

Zhou Fei'er was so happy that she couldn't breathe. Although Chongzhen's "joy with the people" act was a bit suspicious of making a show, she was indeed having fun with the people at this time. The guy's performance on the stage was vivid, and compared with Wang Jingyu's performance, it was simply the same as that of Wang Jingyu. Chongzhen was happy. This art was so fresh and everlasting, and it transcended the times and was immortal, haha!

At this time, all the people watching the performance, including the Jinyiwei, were amused by the performance on the stage, and laughed so hard that they leaned back and forth. Most of the Jinyiwei also forgot their security guards. This time was obviously the best time to commit crimes. I don’t know how many thieves were looking forward to this dream moment. Afterwards, hundreds of people reported the case, claiming that they were stolen. Maybe it was at this time that the thief’s Taoist was caught.

At this time, some people in the crowd would not miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. At the moment when everyone was hilarious, two grenades were thrown out of the crowd at the same time and headed straight for the direction where Chongzhen was. One grenade exploded above the box, and Chongzhen, Zhou Feier and several eunuchs fell into a pool of blood. The other grenade was a little lost and exploded a few meters away, knocking down several casual Jinyiwei, which affected three people. They also suffered unrestrained disaster out of thin air.

This sudden explosion caused chaos in the scene of the performance. People fled in all directions like headless flies. It was obviously impossible to maintain order at this time. Fortunately, the cathedral was very wide and there was no death of trampling. But tens of thousands of people scattered and no way to capture terrorists.

When the Jinyiwei lifted Chongzhen and Zhou Fei'er to the backstage of the stage, the princess hurriedly stepped forward to Chongzhen's injuries. Chongzhen was already unconscious, with bloody and blood on her back. When the princess looked at her pulse, her pulse was not exhausted, and her heart felt relieved. She took off her bloody clothes and saw two shrapnels penetrated her back. Fortunately, she was wearing leather armor inside, and the high-speed shrapnel was slowed down. The shrapnel did not hurt the internal organs. Apart from the serious blood loss, she had no worries about her life. Zhou Fei'er was unfortunately hit by the shrapnel and had already died, and she was powerless to turn the world back.

At the same time, the Jinyiwei found more shrapnels. The grenade was obviously not made by the Ming Dynasty. The shrapnel was made of steel, not cast iron for the Ming Dynasty grenade. Moreover, the power of the grenade explosion was not comparable to that of the Ming Dynasty grenade. The princess knew that this was a modern grenade from Japan, but she didn't know if the assassination also came from Japan. In any case, this assassination was mostly the Japanese envoy, at least it was related to the Japanese!
Chapter completed!