Zhu Zhongliang thought about Zhu Jingyuan's state and lay back on his recliner:
"Besides collecting gift tax and inheritance tax, do you have any other ideas that can be considered as outrageous?
“In a few years, I may really be unable to move, and it’s time for your father to retire.
“Try to do as much as possible during these few years.”
Zhu Jingyuan was stunned for a moment, then shook his head subconsciously:
"no, I'm fine……"
Zhu Zhongliang immediately waved his hand and pressed down:
"Don't be polite to grandpa. It is the duty of elders to pave the way for future generations. It will be the same with you in the future."
Zhu Jingyuan was silent for a few seconds, and then tried to say:
"If you want to talk about things that are the greatest injustice in the world and can be done in the past few years, they probably include these.
"In addition to collecting taxes, there are just a few major things like building buildings, moving the capital, and cultivating calendars..."
Zhu Zhongliang was listening attentively at first, but after hearing this, he couldn't help but sit up straight again:
"What are you doing? What do you want to do? It's okay to build a building and study for a degree, but what do you mean by moving to the capital?
"Are you going to find another place to build the palace and then move the capital there?"
Zhu Jingyuan nodded directly and said:
"Yes, I want to build a new palace on the north bank of the Yingtianfu City River, and at the same time build a new set of central government office facilities.
"This will replace the Forbidden City in the northern and southern capitals and serve as the official palace and administrative center of the new Ming Dynasty royal family and court.
“This is equivalent to moving the actual capital of the Ming Dynasty from the old city of Shuntianfu in Beijing back to Yingtianfu in Nanjing.
"At the same time, we will continue to dredge the lower reaches of the Yangtze River to ensure that sea-going ships of 100,000 tons can go upstream to Yingtianfu."
Zhu Zhongliang breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this.
Yingying Tianfu is a little less exciting than moving to another place.
However, Zhu Zhongliang still has a lot of puzzles:
"Why do you want to return Yingtian Mansion? What exactly are you thinking?
"If you don't tell me about such a big thing as moving the capital, your father and I will not be able to support it."
Of course, Zhu Jingyuan knew that this matter had a great impact, so he had been thinking about it alone for a long time.
Now I explain my thoughts to Grandpa unhurriedly:
"The original reason why Chengzu placed the capital in the north was to facilitate dealing with border troubles in the north.
“When dealing with northern border affairs in Beijing, the response speed is a whole level higher than that in Nanjing.
“Until the border troubles in the north are completely eliminated, the Ming Dynasty’s capital can only be placed in the north.
"Although I have to choose, Beijing was also the most suitable capital for the Ming Dynasty before Chongzhen.
“Before industrialization, the imperial court had limited control over local areas and could only selectively direct certain areas.
"The north is the Ming Dynasty's 'high ground of martial virtue'. If you master the north, you will master the sword.
"As long as the imperial court has control of the sword, the moneybags in the south will have to obey.
“On the other hand, if it only controls the money bag of the South, it will not have strong binding force on the North.
"The scholar-officials in the south can only use morality to restrain the sword handles in the north.
“Once the North gives up its control and has no enforced moral restraint, the South’s money bags will only be robbed.
“After the Chongzhen Dynasty and before the Ankang Dynasty, Beijing was also a more suitable capital than Nanjing.
“This is the boundary between the Central Plains and the northern grasslands.
“It is located on the North China Plain and can easily control the northern interior.
“But it is very close to both the grassland and Liaodong.
“Through here, we can control the northern grasslands, the Central Plains, and the Liaodong Plain at the same time.
“Coupled with the suppression by force, the wealthy South also had to obey.
“These are the most critical areas of the Ming Dynasty. If you control these places, you will control the Ming Dynasty.
“After the completion of industrialization and before Ming Dynasty reached the level of true global leadership, Beijing was also a relatively suitable capital.
“Because this is still the boundary between land and sea.
“It’s both the inland area closest to the ocean and the coastal area closest to the inland.
“This place is on the North China Plain, less than 300 kilometers away from Datong, and only about 400 kilometers away from Guihua City, which is already a Mongolian grassland.
“But at the same time, Shuntianfu City is only less than 150 kilometers away from the coast.
“The key is that although it is very close to the ocean, it is located in four nested inland seas: the Bohai Sea, the northern Yellow Sea, the southern Yellow Sea, and the East China Sea.
"As long as the Ming Dynasty's navy is not stretched to the point of being broken by a single touch, it will be difficult for external forces to break through these four lines of maritime defense.
“Here we can simultaneously control the Chinese mainland and the Great Ocean, and control the world’s largest landmass and largest ocean.
“It is unique in the world that it has both sea power and land power and has such an advantageous geographical location.”
Zhu Jingyuan came up and played Beijing once. Zhu Zhongliang couldn't help but nodded and shook his head:
"Then you want to move the capital? You don't want such a good place?"
Zhu Jingyuan smiled and said:
"Times have changed, Beijing's advantages have basically lost their meaning.
"We now control the Xianbei Wasteland and dismembered Lucia. The Ming Dynasty's northern border troubles have been eradicated.
“After we took over Southern Tianzhu, most of the Great Ming Yang and Little Western Ocean were no longer enemy-free.
“Continuing to place the capital within several layers of inland seas has no practical significance in terms of defense, and will instead hinder transportation.
“At the same time, the new round of industrial revolution has brought the complexity of military equipment and warfare to a major stage.
“Coupled with the popularity of the internal combustion engine, the role of horses in the north in the war was infinitely reduced.
"The threat posed by the Wude Highlands in the north to the south gradually loses its significance.
“It is long past the time to gather enough farmers, make simple and usable swords, guns and sticks, and summon up a courage to fight or even defeat the regular army.
“In addition to the direct control and influence of the personnel themselves, the importance of controlling logistics has once again increased by an order of magnitude.
“Nowadays, these mechanized troops will be paralyzed as soon as their logistics are interrupted.
“The key is that it can be quickly defeated by troops with logistics.
“The complex logistics of war require a system powerful enough to produce, integrate and maintain supply.
“The center of this system, no matter where it is placed, can affect huge troops far away.
“Coupled with the popularity of wired telegraphs, wired telephones, radios, faxes and other equipment, distance no longer affects communication efficiency.
“So Beijing’s advantage has been wiped out, and Nanjing’s advantage has become more and more prominent.
“The Jiangnan region is the richest place in Ming Dynasty and the largest industrial center in Ming Dynasty.
“Nanjing is located in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and controls the most important inland waterways of the Yangtze River and the world.
“This inland waterway can directly reach the world’s largest ocean.
“If the Yangtze River was a giant dragon, then Nanjing would be at the top or throat of the dragon.
“With a little dredging, the Yangtze River waterway below Nanjing can be used for ships of 100,000 tons.
“The distance between this outlet and Tianjin and Guangzhou is basically the same.
“The distance to Vladivostok and Hainan Island is basically the same.
“The distance from Edo and Luzon is basically the same.
“The distance from Liugui (Kamchatka) and Lion City is basically the same.
“The distance to the Liaodong Industrial Base in the north and the Guangdong Industrial Base in the south is basically the same.
“This is the real middle point between the entire Ming Dynasty’s golden coastline and industrial system.
"The Ming Dynasty wants to control the world based on its own homeland, and this is the most suitable place."
Zhu Zhongliang listened quietly to Zhu Jingyuan's explanation.
After a few seconds of silence, he nodded very seriously:
“Indeed, times have changed again now, and we no longer need to hide our country’s capital at the bottom of several inland seas.
“We now need an export-oriented capital, and we also need a capital that controls the world’s wealth.
"Looking at it this way, Yingtian Mansion is indeed more suitable as the new capital than Shuntian Mansion.
"Songjiang Prefecture is closer to the ocean, but too far away from the land. Yingtian is the core of the Jianghuai area.
“The port environment in Guangzhou may be better and it is easier to control the Little West Sea, but it is too far from the core area in the north.
“The key is that the conditions in the inner hinterland of Guangzhou and Pearl River are far less vast than that of Yingtian.
"Our golden waterway of the Yangtze River is indeed unique in the world, and the location of Yingtian Mansion is indeed critical and dangerous...
“As for moving the capital, Yingtian Mansion was originally the Nanjing of the Ming Dynasty, and its status has never changed.
“Now that the office is moved here, although the impact will definitely still be huge, it is not considered to be risking the disapproval of the world.
"In order to separate the central court's office area from the industrial and commercial areas like the old city of Shuntianfu, it is reasonable to rebuild a palace in the north of the Yingtianfu River.
"The key is that you are not using this palace as a palace, but replacing the Forbidden City with this new palace. If it is used as a formal ceremonial palace for the Ming Dynasty, it will have a huge impact...
"It has become a tradition to hold court in the Wenhua Hall in the morning, to handle military affairs in the Wuying Hall, and to hold major ceremonies in the Fengtian Hall.
“And the center line of Fengtian Hall in the Forbidden City of Shuntian Prefecture is also the base point of the Prime Meridian.
"The entire Forbidden City is a holy place in the hearts of officials and scholars all over the world, and can even be regarded as the center of the world.
"Why do you want to change this now? Do you simply want a more comfortable office?
“That doesn’t require changing the status of the Forbidden City.
"Just choose a more comfortable place for going to court and working."
Zhu Jingyuan scratched his head:
“I just feel that the Forbidden City is too significant, so I want to change it to a more suitable one.
"Its design can be said to be very unreasonable. The key is that it is a bit sorry for its status.
"This is no longer just a matter of comfort...
“And I don’t want to tear down the original building and rebuild it, or change the original layout that has been maintained for hundreds of years.
“So we are planning to find another location to redesign and build.
"To build a palace worthy of the special status of the highest authority in the Ming Dynasty and even the world."
Zhu Zhongliang was a little confused when he heard these words, and then instinctively continued to ask:
"The symbol of the highest authority in the world? What do you want to do? Don't say you want to create a spectacle!"
The word wonder has been around for a long time. It can be used to describe sights and natural things, as well as buildings.
But the daily application of creating wonders probably came from the influence of Emperor Shizu.
Zhu Jingyuan replied solemnly:
“I really want to create a spectacle and make the largest hall a hundred or even two hundred meters high.
"It is precisely because of this idea that I feel that building a building can be regarded as risking the world's disapproval.
"After all, opposing the imperial court's large-scale construction projects was originally a hobby of scholar-bureaucrats.
“The imperial court made the new hall a spectacle, so one can imagine the response among the people.
"Even if they don't talk about it in court, they will definitely discuss it among the people, and there will definitely be comments in newspapers."
The Forbidden City has a very special status. It is of course the palace of the Ming Emperor, but it is also the symbol of the Ming Dynasty.
In addition, it also functions as a part of the Thai-Chinese church.
In the western continent, the tallest and most magnificent buildings are definitely cathedrals, not the palaces of kings and emperors.
The church is the house of God and should be as tall as possible to show the sublimity and divinity of God.
When this kind of house is designed and built, whether people feel comfortable living in it is usually not considered.
Only this kind of building used to worship gods can allow the Taixi people to continue to build it for hundreds of years.
The reverse was true for the palaces of Western kings and emperors.
Of course, kings and emperors should pursue the comfort of residence and also consider the convenience of handling court affairs.
Therefore, the palaces of Thai kings basically only have a few floors.
And usually only one floor is used for the daily residence, entertainment and offices of royal members.
The other floors are basically warehouses for storing supplies.
Not only used for storing food and daily necessities, but also usually for armories, guard barracks and even prisons.
Without pursuing divine functions, the Tessie kings tried to solve all their needs in one big house.
The purely religious buildings in China are mainly Taoist temples and temples.
The tallest building is usually a stupa housing the relics of the Buddha.
Pagodas also do not pursue living comfort, and may even have no living function at all.
Monks and Taoists often live in other houses within the temple.
People who have not been exposed to these things may not imagine that a huge building cannot be inhabited.
The key issue is that the Thai people are basically religious, and religion has long been above the royal power.
Regardless of the upheavals and dynasty changes in secular society, God's church will continue to be built.
War rarely affects a building as transcendent as a church.
However, the people in Shenzhou are basically not religious, and local religions are still suppressed by the imperial power.
Once religious forces affect the emperor's authority and interests, various "Buddhist extermination" incidents may occur.
Therefore, although ancient temples in China are religious buildings, they are usually not comparable in scale to churches in Thailand and the West.
The emperor's Forbidden City is a building with certain religious significance that is worshiped by all Chinese people.
Therefore, the Forbidden City must satisfy ritual or divine needs.
But the Forbidden City was also the official home of the emperor, and the other palaces could only be used as temporary palaces, equivalent to places used for tourism and vacation.
Therefore, the Forbidden City also had to meet the daily needs of the emperor and his family.
As we all know, if you want to take into account two irrelevant or even opposite needs in design, the end result is usually that neither need is well satisfied...
In addition, in traditional Chinese culture, masonry materials can only be used to build underground palaces, while living people must use wood to build houses.
Tall timber has been decreasing with the development of cultivated land. The key is that it disappears as soon as the fire is put on.
The later the dynasty goes, the less large timber can be found when building palaces.
The ministers of China also had the political correctness to oppose the emperor's large-scale construction projects.
It is impossible for the emperor of China to build a palace as comprehensively as the man-made churches in the West.
Therefore, the palace buildings in the Forbidden City of the Ming Dynasty are not only not majestic and grand in themselves, but they are definitely not very comfortable to live in.
Jiajing liked to live in Xiyuan, Qianlong lived in Old Summer Palace, and whoever liked lived in the Forbidden City.
In this world, the Forbidden City renovated by Emperor Shizu, after adding various industrial products, is much more comfortable and reasonable than the original design.
But it still retains the purpose of taking into account both needs. Of course, the comfort is still not as good as that of the palace.
So Zhu Jingyuan now wants to abandon the Forbidden City and redesign and build one...
The ceremonial part was built as grandly as possible, while the residential part was planned to be as comfortable as possible.
Although they can be placed in the same large yard, the two parts are designed and constructed completely separately.
Starting from the era of Emperor Sejo, it can be said that concrete was used in normal palace construction, which eliminated material restrictions.
The current financial and technical level of the Ming Dynasty can also support the construction of such a wonder-level palace.
So Zhu Jingyuan had the idea to really create a spectacle...
The Emperor of Ming Dynasty is the most authoritative person in the world, no one.
To maintain and strengthen this authority, in addition to effectively controlling various resources, money and more than a dozen forces, social influence is also a very important part.
Spectacles certainly increase impact...
(End of chapter)
