The emperor has no private affairs. This is the Confucian scholars' idea of a perfect emperor. In this way, no matter whether the emperor appoints a queen, takes concubines, or appoints a crown prince...everything can be brought to the court for discussion, and then they can use all kinds of skills to support or obstruct it. As for whether it will succeed in the end, whether it will be famous for thousands of years or infamous for thousands of years, it all depends on luck.
If we take the five words "the emperor has no private affairs" one step further, then it is a state that they hope for even more - the emperor has no private property. After all, as the emperor, he already owns the world, so why does he need private property? What about the imperial farm and the inner treasury? They are all not supposed to exist. They are competing with the people for profit!
The necessary annual expenses of the royal family are allocated from the treasury of the Ministry of Revenue, and then various government offices surrounding the emperor, such as the Guanglu Temple, are used to serve the emperor. The emperor himself can just sit back and rule the world. Isn't this great
Therefore, in daily life, the emperor would sit on the throne during court and make decisions on various petitions, nodding and shaking his head, rather than interfering in everything. This is what a mature bureaucratic system requires of an emperor.
Any emperor with a strong personality would definitely resist such a system with many shackles. For example, the current emperor is a typical person who cannot stand being manipulated by ministers. He is not the only one. The two emperors who came before him, Yingzong and Ruizong, all had such strong personalities. What the current emperor hates most is undoubtedly ministers interfering in his private affairs and coveting his inner treasury.
But compared to this, there was another thorn that was deeply embedded in his heart.
At this time, when Ge Yong mentioned the royal ships, even though the person in front of him was his most respected teacher, the emperor still frowned and said, "Teacher, do you think I don't want to send ships out to sea? Not to mention that Zhang Shou wants to recruit foreign talents, in fact, I also hope to send people with broad vision like him to go out to sea and take a good look at the world outside the Ming Dynasty!"
"That royal fleet was left behind by Emperor Taizu. It has always been managed by the Imperial Household Department. The emperors of all dynasties have only enjoyed the benefits of the merchant ships. The rebellious sons of Emperor Shizong also plotted to gain huge benefits from it. In the end, the fleet almost sailed out to sea for several years without returning. The fact that Emperor Yingzong was able to seize the throne was also due to the evil deeds of those rebellious sons."
"Although the Imperial Household Department submitted to the throne after Emperor Yingzong and my father ascended the throne, and immediately surrendered after the merchant ships returned, Emperor Yingzong had no time to purge those who were opportunistic, and then he encountered a struggle for the throne among his sons, and it was difficult for him to take care of those ships."
"When my father came, he also died before he could start a big fight in the Imperial Household Department. After Chu Kuan entered the Imperial Household Department, it took him a long time to gain a foothold. Now that he has outlasted the old generation and become the seal-in-chief, he has finally taken back the things that originally belonged to the royal family. But these ships are floating outside all day long!"
Ge Yong didn't care about the emperor's angry attitude, and asked leisurely: "Yes, you are right, but after taking over all the things that were previously managed by those people, do you think Chu Kuan is still completely yours? Is he still the half-brother who grew up with you? Although the words "half-brother" may sound disrespectful to others, the emperor should not be angry."