In the palace of Ganqing.

Liu Hongjian was stunned when he looked at the Royal Gift Feast in front of him. After coming to the Ming Dynasty, he had not eaten a decent meal. He finally had a free meal. Moreover, Emperor Chongzhen invited him to accompany him. I think it must be a delicacy of mountains and seas and a delicacy of jade plates.

Looking at the dishes in front of him, Liu Hongjian was embarrassed to start first. This... is too shabby!

A plate of shredded garlic sprouts, a plate of fried cabbage, a plate of fried meat that cannot be called a name, and a plate of fried meat with more vegetables and less meat. A small pot of duck blood vermicelli soup, the only thing that can be ordered is the plate of roasted oily and shiny chicken in the middle.

This is the emperor of the Ming Empire. The supreme ruler of a land of millions of kilometers. The feast for entertaining heroes was actually four dishes and one soup. Is the royal family so poor that it is so poor?

"This time I went to my magical weapon to save my Ming Dynasty from water and fire. I should have treated you to me in the mountains and seas. However, in the face of national crisis, in order to reduce the burden on the people, the food and clothing in the palace have been greatly reduced in recent years. I will give you some!"

Chongzhen's face was very gentle, and his words did not look like a gentleman's tone to his subordinates, but rather like a kindness to his younger generation.

"Come on, I'll give you a glass!" Chongzhen picked up the wine glass and raised it towards Liu Hongjian.

"I dare not! It is a great honor to be able to eat the banquet given by the emperor." Liu Hongjian quickly picked up the wine glass and stood up to show respect.

Hiss--It's so spicy! After a sip of wine, Liu Hongjian almost burst into tears.

By the end of the Ming Dynasty, distilled liquor was already very popular, and the liquor brewed was almost the same as in modern times, and it was brewed with pure grains. Unlike in the previous life, more than 90% of the wine on the market were alcohol mixed with water.

"Haha, do you don't drink often? There are no outsiders here, so you don't need to be polite, just use your chopsticks!" Emperor Chongzhen calmly picked up chopsticks and vegetables.

"Thank you, the emperor! You are not good at drinking, and the emperor laughed." The smell of alcohol surged a little. Liu Hongjian hurriedly picked up a chopstick and stuffed the dishes into his mouth. Well, let alone, don't look ordinary, the taste is extremely delicious.

"You should call yourself a minister. Are there other people in your family? Life can pass!" Chongzhen said and picked up the wine glass again. It seemed that Chongzhen liked to drink some wine if he had nothing to do.

"I still have an old father in my family, plus a wife who is a little poor, but I still have no problem with having enough food!"

Humph, when you see that I dress like this, you will know that my family has no money. Don’t talk about these useless things. You should give me some money to spend money! Liu Hongjian picked up the wine glass with a smile, but secretly slandered in his heart.

"Oh by the way, the emperor, I was in danger when I was guarding the city and was rescued by a small soldier. If it weren't for the small soldier, I would probably not be able to sit here and drink with the emperor. So I hope that Your Majesty can give me kindness and forgive him for his military status!"

"This is a trivial matter! I'm sure! Wang Erxi will write it down and the people from the Governor's Office of the Five Army will handle it later." Chongzhen turned to the eunuch who was waiting beside him and said.

After three rounds of drinking, Liu Hongjian blushed and didn't know what he was talking about. However, Chongzhen looked calm and still spoke as if he was chatting about home.

"Your Majesty, it's not me... I say you, you are the emperor. The so-called world is the king's land, and the boundaries of the land... Is it a king's minister, you are rich... rich in all the world, but you are not as good as a seventh-rank capital official. This is too... too disgrace..."

Liu Hong was dizzy and completely ignored what occasion this was and who he was talking to. Wang Erxi, who was waiting beside him, was stunned and kept winking at Liu Hongjian, and finally his eyes were almost cramped.

"This father-in-law, your eyes are... not getting into the sand, why are you blinking!" Liu Hongjian pointed at Wang Erxi and scared Wang Erxi to kneel down quickly.

"Haha, yes, I may be the most failed emperor in the world!" Chongzhen knew that the boy in front of him was just outspoken and did not intentionally offend him. Not only did he not get angry, he smiled bitterly.

"No, no, no, as far as I know, you are a... quite diligent emperor. I heard that you are wearing... with patches..."

"Don't talk nonsense! Master!" Wang Erxi, who was kneeling on the ground, couldn't help but whisper to him when he saw Liu Hongjian becoming more and more irresistible.

"Get back and pour some sober tea for Liu Aiqing!" Chongzhen's face was still as normal, because he wanted to hear what other earth-shaking words this presumptuous young man could say.

"Hehe! Seeing that the emperor is so concerned, I will tell you one...a way to make money!"

"Oh? My dear, come on." The world has been poor for a long time and natural disasters have continued. How can there be any way to make money? Could it be that the Ministry of Works has discovered a new copper mine? Chongzhen immediately became interested.

Liu Hongjian was imitating the TV series and signaled that Chongzhen had ears across the wall. Chongzhen waved his hand and drove Wang Erxi out together.

"I tell you, Your Majesty, the Ming Dynasty is rich, and there are countless people, but they are not in the palace, nor are they in the people who are not full or in the clothes or warm. Do you know where?" Speaking of money, Liu Hongjian woke up halfway through the wine, poured himself a cup of tea and drank it all.

Seeing Chongzhen silent and looking at listening with a slight look, Liu Hongjian took another sip of tea and continued.

"Talent, gentry, and... and those scholars in your palace who are shaking their heads!" Liu Hongjian said as he glanced at Chongzhen. If Emperor Chongzhen showed signs of furiousness, he would definitely not say the second half of the sentence, but Chongzhen only showed doubts.

According to later historical records, Chongzhen once called on his ministers to raise funds. In order to set an example, Chongzhen wanted his father-in-law Zhou Kui to donate 100,000 taels to take the lead. However, after Zhou's wealthy man cried to death, he donated 10,000 taels with righteousness.

Later, seeing that he couldn't fool him, Empress Zhou asked her father for a bag of 5,000 taels and asked him to raise another 10,000 taels. As a result, his father-in-law only donated 3,000 taels, and the remaining 2,000 taels were stuffed into his pocket by Mr. Zhou.

After the King of Rebellion Li Zicheng captured the city of Beijing, most of the so-called ministers of the Ming Dynasty took the lead in suing Li Zicheng, but were extorted by Li Zicheng. Zhou Guoye's family found 3 million taels of silver, and hundreds of rare treasures were drawn out. The entire city of Beijing was even more than 70 million taels of silver.

This is obvious from the collusion between officials and businessmen. Liu Hongjian knew about this, but Chongzhen did not.

"My dear, I know a little about what you said. Merchants are unrighteous. I wanted to collect commercial taxes before, but most of the ministers disagreed..."

Just kidding! Since ancient times, officials and businessmen have already reached a political and business alliance. If you want to cut off your wealth, you will agree!

"Haha! It would be strange if they were willing to agree! The emperor should have heard the story of the cold lips. Well, maybe this is a metaphor for them to be a bit polite to praise those gentry! I will ask the emperor one thing! The emperor must tell you the truth, and say that you should ask the emperor to forgive me for being innocent before!"

After pretending to be X, it's time to play the show.

"I know you care about the Ming Dynasty, but I love you, but it's okay!" At the risk of your life, he saved the Ming Dynasty from water and fire twice, and didn't even want to give it to the officials. In Chongzhen's eyes, Liu Hongjian was a voluntary warrior who regarded fame and fortune as dirt, which was of great use.
Chapter completed!