Although it is said that Emperor Jiajing abandoned the government's affairs because of his cultivation of Taoism, in fact, no matter which emperor in the Ming Dynasty, the economy was booming, and the national strength was growing, and there was no obvious increase or decrease at all.

In fact, the reason is very simple. The production of commodities during this period is far from sufficient supply.

In fact, the oversupply of social commodities was a matter after the Industrial Revolution. After the transition from home, factory handicraft industry to large-scale machinery industry, social commodities were manufactured in large quantities, which led to the phenomenon of oversupply.

In this era, people can suppress their consumption due to income, but this does not mean that people have no demand.

Whether it is the Jiujiang Prefecture that Wei Guangde is familiar with or the capital, if you compare the East and the West, it is obvious that the people of the Ming Dynasty have a richer life. It is not an exaggeration to say that "the clothes are gorgeous, elegant, polite, and elegant in conversation" is not an exaggeration, and they almost completely crush the West.

You should know that most Western people during this period have just lived a life of eating raw meat and drinking blood, and they wear mostly wool, linen clothes, and even a piece of cloth wrapped around their bodies casually.

In the Ming Dynasty, even ordinary people could not afford to wear silk and satin, the clothes they wore were better than the wool and linen used by ordinary people in the West, because most of these fabrics were made of cotton.

When Zhu Yuanzhang founded the Ming Dynasty, cotton was a crop with high economic value, with much higher benefits than grain. During this period, cotton planting technology was relatively mature.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang vigorously advocated the cultivation of cotton in some places suitable for growing cotton.

After the cotton planting area and output increase, the price is a little cheaper, and ordinary people can afford to wear it even shorter and shorter.

In this period, the best fabric in the West was silk from the Ming Dynasty, which was the highest luxury item, followed by fur, and cotton was the bottom.

During this period, Westerners rarely used cotton, and most people had never seen it. Because of the small planting area, it was still of high value. In the end, they could only use the most common wool and linen to make clothing, which is one of the reasons why the Western wool textile industry can develop rapidly.

So although wool fabrics in later generations are expensive, in fact, in this Western period, the only fabric that the poorest civilians can afford is this.

Many Westerners were amazed at the Ming Dynasty after arriving in the Ming Dynasty. Clothing was actually a major reason.

The people of the Ming Dynasty, even the lowest-level people, were made of cotton as raw materials that only a few people in the West could use. Most of the wealthy people of the Ming Dynasty, such as merchants and gentry, were wearing top luxury goods such as silk, and naturally they had the impression of the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty.

What is the actual living standards of the people in the Ming Dynasty? In fact, it is definitely much better than in the West.

Since the Song Dynasty, the Chinese people have transitioned from two meals a day to three meals a day. This habit has been truly formed during the Ming Dynasty, because as the world is peaceful, the supply of agricultural products has also increased significantly.

And for a long time, the Ming government pursued a small government, low income and low price policy.

In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, common people were divided into three categories: civil, craftsmanship and military.

The main nationality of the Ming Dynasty was farmers, people who specialized in agricultural production. The main obligation of these people was to bear land tax and corvee labor.

The Lijia system can be understood as the grassroots administrative organization similar to the current "village committee". At that time, neighbors also supervised and cared for each other. If there were any bad things, they would report them. It was strictly forbidden to be idle, which basically controlled the grassroots farmers.

Military registration actually refers to the professionalization of the army, the separation of soldiers and farmers. Although the cost of supporting professional troops is relatively high, their combat effectiveness is relatively strong, and they can deal with internal and external troubles and other wars in a timely manner.

The establishment of craftsmanship books actually followed the system of the Yuan Dynasty, and it was also very detailed and there were many types, such as dozens of types, such as kitchen servants, tailors, horse owners, boat owners, weaving, etc. These hereditary craftsmanship books can be regarded as real "iron rice bowls".

Although such a system is solidified, it can solve social problems, so the people can afford to eat, and if you want to be promoted to the class, you can only rely on studying.

In an era of good weather, such a social system can naturally remain stable. Once natural disasters or wars occur, social stability will be broken because every household lacks reserves and it is difficult to go through long and difficult periods.

Since the Zhengde Dynasty, natural disasters have occurred in various provinces of the Ming Dynasty. In addition, the rampant enemy forces in the south and the north have become rampant, and social stability has begun to face challenges.

However, these are not seen in the capital. The pedestrians on the streets have not changed as usual, and they still look like they are rich in life.

However, on this prosperous street, Wei Guangde sensitively noticed that there were so many lieutenants in Jinyi, as if all the lieutenants of the North and South Fushi were on the street.

Well, this is the capital city. It is normal for the Jinyi lieutenant to appear on the streets and alleys. They are also responsible for the security of Beijing city, maintaining peace on the streets, and collecting some extra money.

Wei Guangde felt that perhaps because of his experience in Nanjing, he might have been a little nervous and put down the curtain.

The carriage has entered the inner city and will soon arrive home.

Soon, the carriage turned into Nanxunfang, and the familiar streets came into Wei Guangde's eyes.

The carriage was parked in front of the Wei Mansion. At this time, the door had been opened. His wife Xu Jianglan, who should be called Wei Xu, had already brought his maid and his servants to welcome him back to the house outside the door.

The specifications were a bit high, and Wei Guangde saw it from a distance. Before the carriage could be stopped, he had already jumped out of the carriage.

Although Wei Guangde is not considered a wealthy family, because Xu Jianglan is the only daughter of the Duke of Wei's house, there are still many people who have brought him. Wei Guangde thought that the spacious house was not enough to live in, so he still built a big house in the yard to solve the accommodation problem of so many people.

"Stop being outside, let's go in."

Wei Guangde got out of the car, grabbed Xu Jianglan, who was about to greet him, and pulled her back to the mansion.

The couple separated for half a year this time, so it was normal for them to miss each other, but it was impossible for Wei Guangde to be like in the future. After all, he is still in the Ming Dynasty.

Back in the backyard, Wei Guangde changed his official uniform and put on his clothes at home. Now the scholars' clothes are still wide robes and big sleeves. He is elegant when walking around, but he is not liked by Wei Guangde. He still likes the military uniforms that Lao Zhu has changed. They are simple and convenient to wear, which is very similar to the clothes of later generations.

After chatting with Xu Jianglan in the room for a while, he noticed that Zhang Ji and Zhao Hu were secretly looking inside outside the door, as if they were peeping or looking for him if they had something to do.

"What's going on outside? What's the secretive thing?"

There were also maids and mothers brought by Xu Jianglan outside the door, but Zhang Ji and the others were from the Wei family, so they didn’t know how to say anything. Although they felt that many of their practices were out of tune, Master Wei didn’t care, and they didn’t know what they were doing, and they didn’t know what they were doing.

I mentioned it to my wife in private, but Xu Jianglan just smiled casually and didn't care about those things.

In her opinion, the servants had some bad habits, but Wei Guangde didn't care, so why did she force them to correct them?

"Master, we just knew something outside, so."

Zhang Ji replied outside the house.

Wei Guangde's heart was slightly moved. Zhang Ji must have encountered something very important when he said this, and it was not convenient to say it casually in the backyard. So he smiled at Xu Jianglan, "I have to write a memorial to submit this time, so I will go to the study first."

"You are going to go by yourself."

Xu Jianglan stood up and sent Wei Guangde out of the house and watched him walk towards the study. Although she was a little curious about what Zhang Ji said outside, she didn't ask.

In fact, Wei Guangde had already written the memorial when he was on the boat, and it was just an excuse.

Soon, the three of them arrived at the study room. Wei Guangde leaned on the Taishi chair and asked casually: "Tell me, what big thing happened outside?"

"Master, Governor Lu went to the death yesterday."

Zhang Ji did not speak, and Zhao Hu bowed down and replied.

"What?"

Wei Guangde, who was originally lazy and leaning on the Grand Master's chair, jumped up like a cat with his tail stepped on. He asked in disbelief: "To be more detailed, what's going on? What disease did you get? Have you ever seen a doctor?"

Lu Bing is dead. This time Wei Guangde returns to the capital, and he still wants to take time to discuss with Gao Gong to see if he wants to talk to Lu Bing and see if he can bring him over to help King Yu.

With Lu Bing's help, Prince Yu's Mansion will no longer become blind and deaf in the competition with Prince Jing's Mansion. Isn't it easy for Yan's Mansion to use the power of the Jinyiwei to investigate Prince Jing's Mansion?

Things are very beautiful, but why is this happening?

Lu Bing actually died of sudden illness yesterday. Was he really dead from illness or was he killed?

Thinking of this, Wei Guangde shook his head. Not to mention what Lu Bing does, he will definitely be very careful in his diet and daily life. Moreover, the power of the Jinyiwei is there. If someone wants to murder their adults, it is unlikely that he will not show any flaws and the Jinyiwei will discover the clues in advance.

Could this be Lu Bing's life?

Wei Guangde sat back on the chair, still thinking in his mind.

In Nanjing, Weng Pu analyzed the power in the court for him. Don’t think about the power of the King Jing Mansion and the Yan family. The enemy is them. The Qingliu is relatively scattered and difficult to win over, but it is highly likely that he will support King Yu, so he just let it go.

But there is still a force. The one who is not under Yan Song is Lu Bing.

Weng Pu came up with Lu Bing and Prince Yu's mansion to fight Yan Song together. This was the way to balance the power in the court. But now that Lu Bing is dead, the power naturally disappears.

While Wei Guangde was still thinking, he heard Zhao Hu say in his ears: "The incident was only reported this morning. It was said that Governor Lu died of illness yesterday and invited an imperial physician, but the disease was too fierce and he could not be saved.

As for what disease, I don’t know. I only know that it is a very fierce terminal illness after the onset of the disease. I can’t tell if I don’t have an attack on weekdays.”

Thinking of the sudden extra Jinyiwei on the street, Wei Guangde knew that this might be the one who was sent to the street to patrol and arrested people who spread rumors and cause trouble. After all, Lu Bing is not an ordinary person.

However, Wei Guangde suddenly thought of something and immediately asked: "Who is in charge of the Jinyiwei now?"

The Jinyiwei is different from other wards, and the position of managers can be temporarily vacant.

Lu Bing was in charge of the Jinyiwei as the General Independent Guard. Now that he is dead, who will Emperor Jiajing ask to take charge of the Jinyiwei's big business?

"It's Zhu Xizhong, the governor of Zhu Da, Duke Cheng."

Zhao Hu hurriedly replied, "I heard that he is still in the North Town Fushi."

Zhu Xizhong, the fourth-generation grandson of Zhu Neng, Duke Chengguo, inherited his title in the 15th year of Jiajing. He followed Emperor Shizong to Chengtian and was in charge of the affairs of Zuofu.

Emperor Jiajing went on a tour to Weihui, and there was a fire in the palace at night. He and Lu Bing rescued Emperor Jiajing, and thus received a lot of favor and entered Zhixiyuan.

Zhu Xizhong is mainly in charge of the Governor's Office of the Back Army, the Governor's Office of the Right Army, and the Beijing Camp. Therefore, although he has the title of commander of the Jinyiwei, he never cared about the Jinyiwei, and was managed by Lu Bing.

No matter what, Zhu Xizhong is Duke Cheng and is already a nobleman of the highest level. It would be appropriate for him to temporarily take over the Jinyiwei.

However, when Wei Guangde asked the reason for this, he was making inferences.

Although I don’t think Lu Bing will be killed from the bottom of my heart, I can’t excuse this possibility, at least before the cause of death is verified.

So, whoever benefits the most after Lu Bing's death is suspected to be the real culprit behind the scenes.

But when he heard that it was Zhu Xizhong who took over the Jinyiwei, Wei Guangde shook his head.

For others, perhaps the official position of the Jinyiwei commander is very attractive, but it is dispensable for Zhu Xizhong. He has no need to take risks to punish Lu Bing. You must know that Lu Bing's favor is no longer inferior to Yan Song, and it is definitely more than Zhu Xizhong.

"You go and find out what's going on, and ask me clearly when the disease will occur, what symptoms will happen, and which imperial physician I have invited."

After giving the order, Wei Guangde thought about it and called Zhao Hu who was about to go out, "Go to the account and fulcrum to make some money. I want detailed and clear information."

"Yes, Master."

Zhao Hu hurriedly replied solemnly, then lifted the curtain and went out.

"Master, you doubt Lord Lu"

When Zhang Ji heard Wei Guangde's order, he felt a little guess, but he was not sure.

He is one of the few people in the Wei Mansion who knows that Wei Guangde and Lu Bing have contact, although he rarely walks around.

Wei Guangde raised his right hand and waved weakly, "You have just returned to the capital. Logically speaking, you should let you rest in the mansion for a few days. You will also go out to contact friends outside and ask what I ordered just now.

Also, I sent someone to send a letter to Ren Zhi and the others, saying that I was back and asked them to come to my place to have a drink in the evening.”

News of Lu Bing's sudden illness yesterday began to spread in the capital in the morning, and by the afternoon it was almost known. Not to mention officials, even ordinary people knew who he was.

The Jinyiwei is not a high-ranking organization. They often walk on the streets, which is very down-to-earth.

The people in the capital, older people, have seen the grand occasion of the Jinyi Cavalry being dispatched. Those officials who were considered to be great were waving their tails like dogs in front of these Jinyi Captains.
Chapter completed!