strictlysupreme Chapter 944 Nanjing
Chapter 944 Nanjing
Chapter 944 Nanjing
He reduced taxes and levies, promoted culture and education, appointed talented people to important posts, and encouraged agriculture and sericulture.
After these policies were implemented, both the court and the people suddenly calmed down.
As the emperor, Zhu Houzhao could also feel that although the number of memorials submitted remained the same, the number of major events had suddenly decreased a lot.
So half a year after Gu Renyi took office, he finally started the original agreement with Gu Zu - to go to the south of the Yangtze River.
This was the third time the emperor visited the south of the Yangtze River since the 12th and 17th years of Zhengde.
I still remember that twelfth year, when he first arrived at the Nanjing Imperial Palace, he also instructed that the palace should be carefully maintained in preparation for his next visit.
In this way, the Nanjing Imperial Palace finally regained its vitality during the Zhengde period.
It is already October now. If we go south at this time of year, we will definitely have to spend the New Year in Nanjing. It is too cold in winter and it is inconvenient to travel.
Therefore, the preparations for this trip south were very thorough.
The first is the large number of people.
Considering that he would spend the New Year in Nanjing, the emperor also brought his old mother, Empress Dowager Zhang, along.
Empress Dowager Zhang was a long-lived person. Historically, she did not die until the 20th year of Emperor Jiajing's reign. Moreover, Emperor Jiajing was not very warm to her. Even in this state, she could still live to be over 70 years old. She was not an ordinary person.
Now the emperor is her own son, the national situation is good, and she has so many grandchildren. She is in even better condition. Although she is 58 years old, she has kind eyes, a rosy complexion, and looks auspicious.
Now Zhu Houzhao used Gu Renyi to restore the traditional Confucian concept of governing the country, so he also brought Empress Dowager Zhang with him, which just showed the image of a benevolent monarch and a filial son.
That's really what it is all about.
In addition, the emperor also brought all his favorite concubines with him.
Including Empress Xia, Noble Consort Xian (the biological mother of the third son), Noble Consort Shun (the biological mother of the fourth son), Noble Consort Jing (the biological mother of the fifth son), as well as Consort Ning, Consort Zhao, and Consort Hui Ning and Consort Rong Ye, who entered the palace in recent years and served the emperor more often because of their young age.
Since we have brought all these people with us, we can't leave the children behind.
The eldest brother has been ordered to supervise the country and cannot leave.
The second child is away, and the third child has taken the fourth child to Mongolia.
There was only the fifth brother, Zai Tian, left, and Zhu Houzhao must take him with him.
As for the princesses, his three oldest daughters have already married and are living with their husbands-in-law in the capital. As for the rest, if they are too young, forget it.
There is only one Princess Xiu Ya, who is about the same age as the fifth child.
She was born after Queen Xia's many efforts. After giving birth to two daughters, Queen Xia's health deteriorated and she has not been pregnant again in all these years.
In addition to the harem, the emperor also ordered the Minister of the Treasury Fan Yuchang, the Minister of Revenue Jiang Yong, the Minister of War Zhang Jing, the Minister of Industry Xing Guan and the newly appointed Minister of Personnel Jiang Mian to accompany him.
Jiang Mian was originally the Minister of Personnel. Because Zhang Cong fell from power, a number of officials including Wang Qiong and Lu Zhongming resigned, so he took over this position.
The old is replaced by the new.
This person was an important official during the Zhengde and Jiajing periods in history.
Emperor Jiajing once relied heavily on him and commented that he was "loyal, upright, and respected both inside and outside the country."
All in all, he was a steady, dignified and upright official, a typical product of the imperial examination system.
The emperor had his reasons for bringing these people with him. The Shaofu and the Ministry of Revenue were the money bags, the Ministry of Industry was because he was going to Hangzhou to hold an industry conference, and as for the Minister of Personnel, it was actually because he knew that this person was close to Zai Yao, so he was unwilling to place him in the capital.
Otherwise, when you go back after the New Year, you will find that many people have been replaced.
If he overthrew everything at that time, Zai Yao would lose face and outsiders would say that the emperor was too harsh on his son.
But if it is not overthrown, Zai Yao and his people will receive the wrong message, thinking that it is okay, and will eventually become more aggressive.
Neither of these two options is good, so it would be better to let Jiang Mian follow him to Nanjing.
As for the Minister of War, that is because the country is still at war, so this person is indispensable.
The original Minister of War was Gui E. After Yan Song left, he took over the position of Prime Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Zhang Jing was the former Minister of War. When the third brother went to Luzon, the emperor also sent him along.
After the victory in Luzon, all the officers and soldiers who went on the expedition were rewarded, and Zhang Jing was naturally not left out.
In history, Zhang Jing was also a civil official with considerable "military merits", so there was no problem for him to serve as the Minister of War.
In addition, there are two very special arrangements.
The emperor took away the two cabinet elders, Gu Renyi and Wang Tingxiang.
This arrangement had never been made during the emperor's previous tours. In the past, at least a prime minister had to be left at home to "guard the door."
This time, no matter what.
The reason behind this is somewhat intriguing.
So the one who was really disappointed was Zai Yao,
The Cabinet, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of the Imperial Household were all taken away. What country was he supposed to supervise? Was he supposed to judge a "major case" about whether a widow was chaste or not?
But there was no way, he had just been punished by the emperor, and now he was in the stage of keeping his tail between his legs and pretending to be good.
On the sixth day of October, the emperor officially set out.
The emperor's dragon chariot was accompanied by a huge team with flags covering the sky, and it marched out of the city of Beijing in a mighty manner.
With the country being so powerful, Zhu Houzhao did not save on small expenses like carriages. His carriage was pulled by eight strong black horses. The carriage was more than twenty feet long and divided into two independent areas. At the front was a desk for handling government affairs, and at the back was a wide and soft bed separated by a wooden door for him to rest on the road.
There is a small window on each side of these two areas, and the wheels are arranged in a pattern of two in the front, four in the middle, and two in the back. As for the materials and decorations of the curtains and wood, there is no need to say much.
It can be said that this is almost a moving Qianqing Palace.
If necessary, it can even accommodate seven or eight ministers.
There is no need to worry too much about bumpy roads. The Liangjing Avenue has been repaired. Although it is not as smooth as modern highways, people will not feel uncomfortable sitting on it.
And because the emperor was traveling, closing the road was an inevitable operation.
Zhu Houzhao did not make things difficult for the Shenwu Guards who were responsible for guarding him in this regard. Otherwise, if anything unexpected happened, it would not only threaten his personal safety, but would also cause chaos in the court that had finally calmed down.
Of course, the disadvantage of this is that the scenery outside is rather monotonous, with most of it being flat farmland as far as the eye can see. When you first leave the Forbidden City, you still feel fresh, but when you arrive in Baoding, you no longer want to look outside, but instead listen to your ministers talking about specific things.
During this period, something advocated by Xing Guan and Jiang Yong caught his attention.
In fact, it was not a formal political discussion, but more of an academic discussion, where the conversation started randomly.
Xing Guan said: "The main reason why Emperor Taizong Wen moved the capital to Beiping was out of consideration for the defense of the north, to have the emperor guard the country. More than a hundred years ago, the biggest threat to the Ming Dynasty also came from the north. So that consideration was appropriate.
But times have changed, and the emperor's civil and military achievements are unrivaled in ancient and modern times. The remnants of the Mongolian tyrants in the north are no longer a concern. Moreover, since Marquis Bowang's mission to the West, everyone has realized that the trend of the world today is that the great cause of navigation is overwhelming and irreversible. In particular, the concept of industrial power and industrial establishment is obviously more suitable for the current world and the current Ming Dynasty.
The Ming Dynasty also trades with many countries in Southeast Asia and the West. Now the ships on the sea are like the emperors crossing the river. From this, we can know that the center of gravity of the country will shift from the north to the south in a few decades. Your Majesty also said that the main threat to the Ming Dynasty in the future is more likely to come from the sea. In this case, can we consider moving the capital to Nanjing again? "
Xing Guan was not making a special report to the emperor. Perhaps it was because he happened to be on his way there that he said a few more words.
But after he said that, the others actually seemed to take it seriously.
At the same time, Zhu Houzhao was thinking in his heart: Zhu Di had political considerations when he wanted to move the capital to Beijing.
He severely criticized Emperor Jianwen's policy of reducing the power of the princes, but after he became emperor he had to reduce the power of the princes. This was an unchangeable political structure. How could he not reduce the power of the princes?
But when he rebelled, he must have said that I was one of the nine frontier kings appointed by Emperor Taizu, and was responsible for guarding the border.
Even after becoming emperor, he had to emphasize this point, because it was given to him by Zhu Yuanzhang. Therefore, moving the capital to Beiping and having the emperor guard the country was naturally the product of this political logic.
In his previous life, Zhu Houzhao would not have thought this way. Even if we look at history, we can feel that Zhu Di probably still considered military factors and the defense pressure in the north of the country.
But now that he has been emperor for so many years, those thoughts just now suddenly popped up in his mind.
After Xing Guan, the Minister of the Imperial Household Fan Yuchang said, "What Minister Xing said is not without reason. The Ming Nanyang Company is more like a government office in Beijing than a local government."
Zhu Houzhao silently agreed with this statement in his heart.
The Ming Nanyang Company was too important, and its top executives were all his absolute confidants.
Although it is in Hangzhou, it is actually directly controlled by Beijing.
From this perspective, the country's center of gravity is indeed in the south. Otherwise, why not just put the Nanyang Company in the capital?
"How can we talk about moving the capital lightly?" Gu Renyi said in a steady voice, "Even if we talk about the money it would cost, it would be a huge sum. Besides, the capital has been in Beijing for more than a hundred years, and people all over the world are used to it."
Jiang Yong smiled. He had some free time on the way, so he just said it. He said, "From an economic point of view, the key to making any decision is not how much it costs, but whether it is cost-effective or not. If moving the capital to Nanjing is beneficial to the world, then it is worth it no matter how much money is spent.
In fact, the population of the north is large, but the main grain-producing areas are in the south. In order to feed the north, four to five million shi of grain are transported from the south to the north every year. Emperor Renzong said: "The north and the south are working hard to provide for the people. The military and civilians are all in trouble. The four directions look up to Nanjing. This is also my sincere wish."
This is an old story again.
After Zhu Di's death, Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi succeeded to the throne and later became Emperor Renzong of the Ming Dynasty.
But this old man had only been emperor for seven months when he started clamoring to go back, demanding "an imperial decree to return the capital to Nanjing, to have all the offices in Beijing referred to as the imperial court, and to restore the Beijing executive office and the rear military governor's office."
He also asked the later Emperor Xuanzong Zhu Zhanji to go to Nanjing in advance to repair the palace, which was equivalent to paving the way for him. He would go there after the work was done.
As a result, Emperor Renzong did not live long and died before he could accomplish anything.
This led to the absurd incident that Zhu Zhanji was preparing to return to Beijing to succeed to the throne, but Zhu Gaoxu wanted to intercept him halfway. Otherwise, Zhu Zhanji would not have stayed in Beijing but was running around.
Now Jiang Yong mentioned this,
It is to borrow the righteousness of Renzong,
That is to say, the purpose of returning the capital to Nanjing is to relieve the people’s difficulties. For this purpose, is it necessary to save that money?
Gu Renyi really couldn't tell, because Emperor Renzong had a very high status. In ancient times, if an emperor could get the word "Ren" after his death, he was not an ordinary person. To be honest, even Zhu Houzhao couldn't do it, because he killed too many people.
"I wonder what the emperor thinks?" Gu Renyi bowed.
Zhu Houzhao leaned sideways and leaned back.
"It's the first time for the Queen Mother to come to Nanjing. I don't know if she can adapt."
In fact, he had not thought much about this issue, and this issue was of great importance, so he was unwilling to express his opinion, and used the word "filial piety" to shirk it.
In fact, he was a little conflicted.
Logically speaking, the next few hundred years will indeed be an era of sea power. With the growing prosperity of maritime trade, Jiangnan will definitely become the most important region. If many matters can be handled in Nanjing, it will naturally be more efficient.
Moreover, if the Jurchens were inevitably going to rise, moving the capital could also move the capital away from the front lines.
But such considerations are sometimes meaningless. If the emperor is dissolute and does not govern with benevolence, even if he hides in Nanjing, the day will come when the country will be destroyed.
Perhaps the method of the Tang Dynasty was not bad. At that time, there were two capitals, the East and the West. Now we can also have two capitals, the North and the South.
Seeing that the emperor was not interested in discussing this matter, the other ministers tactfully stopped talking about it.
Wait till they are gone.
Zhu Houzhao rubbed Zaizhen's head and asked, "What do you think? Should we return the capital to Nanjing?"
Zai'an turned fourteen this New Year. At this age, he should be married in two years.
He frowned, apparently hesitant, and after thinking carefully he said, "I don't think it's a good idea."
"why?"
"Nanjing is too far from the northwest. We can take care of the southeast but not the northwest. And if there is an alarm in the northwest, it will force the court to deploy heavy troops, which will be dangerous."
Zhu Houzhao was slightly stunned.
In fact, if you think about the map, you will find that Zai'an is right. The Ming Dynasty continued to expand its territory westward and northward. In comparison, Nanjing is really too far away from those places.
If a heavy army is deployed for defense at that time, then having hundreds of thousands of troops so far away from the capital...it is hard to say whether it is a blessing or a curse.
"Then what about the maritime trade along the southeast coast and the South China Sea?"
"Well... I think that the terrain in the east is flat and it is not difficult to build roads, so the problem of long distance can be solved by building roads. After the road is unblocked, the difference between the two capitals in the north and south will only be a few days, which will not have much impact."
"So what if someone brings up the idea that the country's center of gravity is shifting southward?"
Asking this question actually has a kind of testing flavor.
Zai Xian said, "There is no distinction between the important and unimportant parts of the country. They are all the territory of the Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Houzhao's eyes narrowed and he felt greatly relieved. His fifth son really had the feeling of a young eagle flapping its wings.
(End of this chapter)