Yongle fifteenth year, the end of March.
Water mist enveloped the sky over Jinling City, and in the month when swallows flew north, King Qi was also discussing with his ministers in the Wenhua Hall to move the capital north.
The person who presided over this meeting was the prince, and those who participated in the meeting were the cabinet bachelor, the six military governors, the fifth army commander, the commander of the Jin Yiwei, the commander of the guards in South Zhili, Ge Shizhong, Zhongshu Sheren, and the thirteen Taoists. Zhangyin Yushi, General Administration Secretary, Dali Temple, Taichang Temple, Taipu Temple, Yingtian Mansion, Hanlin Academy, Chunfang, Guanglu Temple, Qintianjian, Shangbaosi, Wujun Duanshi and Jingxian County officials.
There seems to be something wrong with this list...
By the way, there has been no prince since the 13th year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty.
The former prince was deposed as King of Gan, and King Qi was appointed to supervise the country.
To be more precise, since February 2, the 15th year of Yongle, there has been no King Qi. Now he is the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty.
The following is the edict read by Mr. Tang at the court meeting on February 2:
"The emperor is destined to be transported by heaven, and the edict says:
When a country builds reserves, it cannot be left open for a long time, because the foundation of the world lies in it. In the past, I suppressed disasters and succeeded in establishing a great government, which was a great achievement in times of great adversity. Now that the foundation has been established, the country is at peace and the people are at peace, I have appointed you Zhu Gaojie as the crown prince. Zi'er is in the East Palace, he respects heaven but is cautious, and he also cares about the army and supervises the country. This is your duty. The Sixth Division looks after the people. It is appropriate to conquer their hearts with benevolence, trust, grace and majesty, and to keep them in the country forever, and to be cautious. "
Since the appointment of the Crown Prince more than a month ago, His Majesty the Emperor has started to ignore state affairs and become a hands-off shopkeeper.
Although the officials were shocked, they also thought it was reasonable. They had expected this incident.
It is not just a matter of a day or two for Lord Yongle to be the master. Since two years ago, Lord Yongle has begun to delegate power to King Qi. All military and political power is handled by King Qi who supervises the country in Wenhua Palace. Even when King Han rebelled None of them showed up.
If it were Zhu Di who had just ascended the throne, he would have led his army to kill them as soon as he heard that there was rebellion, so there would be nothing else to do.
It's just that two years ago, His Majesty the Emperor was more or less in charge of things, but now he has completely ignored it. The officials also realized that this old man who was nearly sixty years old was really determined to regard Zhu Gaojie as the crown prince this time, and there was no change. The prince’s intention is clear.
…
In the Wenhua Palace meeting, in addition to the addition of a prince, there was also the loss of one of the most active people in the matter of moving the capital.
——Zhu Di.
Because since the time when he was established as a prince, Lord Yongle had already gone to Shuntian Mansion to take care of his old age. The affairs of Jinling City were fully entrusted to Crown Prince Zhu Gaojie and Young Master Yao Guangxiao, and they were waiting for the capital move to be completed and move the capital to Shuntian Mansion.
What this man did was really clean. He went to Shuntian Mansion to relax and didn't care about anything else.
…
"Sunchon Palace has been built to this day, and the major projects have been completed. The architecture and policies are perfect, and the only thing missing is the name officially announced by the imperial court."
Zhu Gaojie took a sip of tea and said, "All of you here are important ministers of the country. Please tell me when this day should be set."
The Qintian Supervisor stood up and bowed his head and said: "I am reporting that last night I observed the sky and calculated the fortune. I found that the 23rd of April is the auspicious day of the zodiac. There are no taboos."
Zhu Gaojie frowned slightly: "I think April 23rd should not be considered an auspicious day."
The Qintian Supervisor was asking tentatively: "May I ask, Your Highness the Crown Prince, when do you think the time will be auspicious?"
Zhu Gaojie said calmly: "The ninth day of April is a good day."
The Qintian Supervisor said solemnly: "Your Highness is wise, I was just going to say that on the 9th day of April, the stars will return to their positions, and the world will be auspicious, so it is the best time to move the capital."
Zhu Gaojiu gave a thumbs up: This Qintian prisoner is a good and sensible person.
There is no such thing as a good time and auspicious day. The so-called good time and auspicious day are just the conclusions reached by exploring the thoughts of the superiors in the name of Qin Tianjian.
The great sage Wuhou Kongming, a great sage in ancient times and modern times, could have expected the heavy rain that would destroy the luck of the Han Dynasty? Did Liu Ji, a great scholar from Qingtian, ever think that he would be hidden by all the birds?
Those who are good at observing words and colors, and who are sympathetic to the superiors will be the most kind-hearted people in the world.
The Minister of Rites stood up and asked: "Since His Highness established the throne, he has only announced to the people, but has not yet offered sacrifices to the ancestral temple. The Ministry of Rites has also been dragging this matter down. I wonder when Your Highness wants to perform the grand ceremony?"
Zhu Gaojie waved his hand and said: "This matter is not urgent. How can my small personal matters compare with the big affairs of the country? The state affairs in the first half of this year are busy, and the vassal affairs have not yet come to an end. The matter of moving the capital must be resolved first, and so on. I’ll talk about my own business after I’m done with this.”
The Minister of Rites was about to say that the prince's sacrifice was no small matter. Now that you are the prince, you must tell your ancestors in the mausoleum.
However, when the words came to his lips, the Minister of Rites swallowed them back and said instead: "Your Highness is dedicated to serving the public and does not care about his own life. It is really fair and righteous."
The previous Minister of Rites, Lu Zhen, was not a great talent, but he did not make any big mistakes during his tenure. He retired and returned home inexplicably.
There was one emperor and one courtier. Although the emperor had not changed yet, it was just a matter of easy storage, but it was enough to change the court. The previous prince Zhu Gaochi became cold, and so did the ministers who followed him, even the senior officials of the Six Ministries were no exception.
Therefore, it is important to stand in line.
Being sensible is more important.
In front of a person as wise and authoritative as the current Crown Prince, whatever he says will be done by the people below, and there is no mistake.
Zhu Gaojie said: "By the way, I said before that Su Wu, the chief envoy of Koryo Province, has made great achievements during his tenure. Today, the political affairs of Koryo Province have flourished. Su Wu's contribution is indispensable. What do you think about transferring him back to the capital?"
】
During his one year in Koryo Province, Su Wu built the system of Koryo Province into an iron-clad iron wall. He did an extremely outstanding job both economically and politically.
In the past, Zhu Gaojie had Su Wu as his secretary by his side, and he felt relaxed in everything he did. Now that the Korea Provincial Affairs Office is more secure, he is thinking of transferring Su Wu back.
Although Su Wu did well in other provinces, he was not as able to show off his talents as he could in Beijing, and Zhu Gaojie also needed the support of such an all-round player.
Yang Rong asked: "The position of Zuodu Yushi of the Metropolitan Procuratorate has been vacant for a long time. With Su Wu's talents, he is fully qualified for this position. If he stays in Koryo Province as the chief envoy, he will be overqualified... ...Well, these are all one-sided remarks made by the minister, they are not serious, they are not serious.”
Mr. Yang has become more lively and transparent over the years he has been in charge of the cabinet.
When working under King Qi, well, when working under His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Yang Rong was able to tactfully analyze what can and cannot be done, what should be done and how to do it, and do it in the most appropriate way. What matters is personal sophistication.
Zhu Gaojie just said a sentence, and Yang Rong was able to guess what the superior wanted to express, and cleverly raised the topic.
"As it should be."
Zhu Gaojie nodded slightly and said, "Then let the cabinet draw up a draft and plan to transfer Su Wu back first. After all, he is transferring a provincial official. Who should fill the vacant position later? The cabinet and the The officials of the Sixth Department will have a good discussion, and I will not interfere further. You will submit the regulations after you have prepared them. You will write the report and I will approve the note."
"promise."
…
After all the state affairs were discussed and all the officials in the Wenhua Palace had dispersed, Zhu Gaojie breathed a long sigh of relief and stretched his waist: "Every day, the total number of things in the Wenhua Palace can run around Jinling City. Two laps, I’m so exhausted.”
Prime Minister Yao Guangxiao, dressed in black, said with a smile: "Doesn't this further prove that His Majesty values you? In the past, when King Gan was supervising the country, His Majesty had never delegated power as much as he does now."
"The old man went to Shuntian Mansion by himself to enjoy his happiness, leaving me here alone to toss." Zhu Gaojie sighed.
Fortunately, the old man still has some conscience and left Yao Guangxiao to assist him. Otherwise, if Zhu Gaojie was left to handle state affairs alone, he would be too busy even if he was cut in half.
In the huge Ming Empire, from the six ministries and nine ministers to the prefectural and county yamen, all matters, big and small, had to be reported to the court for handling, and even the toughest men could not withstand such a burden.
This also made Zhu Gaojie determined to reform the civil service. If the Ming Dynasty system did not change, even if he raised the empire to the top of the mountain, within thirty years, the foundation underneath would be corrupted and decayed.
"The salt merchants in Lianghuai, the landlords in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the foreign businessmen in Fujian, the customs in Guangdong and Guangxi, and the private mines in Yunnan are all extremely rich, and they are all dancing on the tip of a knife."
Zhu Gaojie sighed, "You are obviously exploiting loopholes in the imperial policy, but you can make yourself fatter. Where do these fatties come from? It is nothing more than robbing money from the people and the country. Now the capital of the country is in Jinling City. If we can't live with these young people, if the country moves its capital to the north, I'm afraid it will become even more debauched."
Yao Guangxiao smiled and said: "This has been the truth since ancient times. The imperial court is in charge of the imperial court, and the local government is in charge of the local government. The former Sui Yang Emperor tried to get involved in the local government, but in the end he was ripped off by the local government."
Zhu Gaojie asked: "It seems that the young master is quite experienced. Can you talk to me about it?"
Yao Guangxiao said with a smile: "Since ancient times, if you want to implement local decentralization policies and collect taxes, the gentry must first take the lead in paying the money. After the gentry pays the money, the people will follow suit. After the matter is completed, the money of the gentry will be returned in full, and the money of the people will be paid back." , 37 points."
Zhu Gaojie frowned slightly: "Why is it only 70%?"
Yao Guangxiao said: "70% belongs to that person, and 30% depends on his face."
"Look at whose face it is."
Yao Guangxiao pointed to the ground: "He."
The gentry is suppressing the people below, and the court will not be able to collect taxes for ten thousand years.
Zhu Gaojie smiled: "I have become the superintendent and the prince. I have conquered the north and south without a single defeat and defeated all my opponents. How can I still look at his face? Am I not going to kneel down and beg for food?"
Yao Guangxiao's eyes were sharp: "If you want to raise taxes, this is the only way. How many people are kneeling and still can't collect taxes."
"My legs and feet are weak and I can't kneel down!"
Zhu Gaojie slapped him on the stage, "Isn't he just a small tycoon? Deal with him!"
"I have to collect this tax!"
