The truth about Zhongdu was covered up.
The lives and deaths of 90,000 craftsmen, 70,000 soldiers, and more than 400,000 civilians were ignored.
The people of Fengyang were gasping for breath on the verge of death, like old and dying cattle, looking at the devastated land and wailing their last days.
Zhu Biao went deep among the craftsmen, among the sergeants, among the civilians, and among the dying people. He saw people with pale faces who had never bled, saw skinny arms holding hammers, and saw When they arrived at the enslaved sergeants, they were like oxen and horses on their backs, and they saw the old farmers who were as impoverished as beggars.
Zhongdu Construction is a disaster.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the memorial and his expression became more serious.
The tragic scenes shocked Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhu Biao said sternly: "Father, the stones and wood needed in Zhongdu are too huge and require two hundred people to transport them. Because the construction is too delicate, carving is needed everywhere. It takes dozens of days for craftsmen to carve one stone. If it is accidentally damaged, it is unlikely that a life will be lost. Of the 90,000 craftsmen, less than 20% have food and clothing."
"I heard that during the cold winter of last year, most of the craftsmen did not get any rest, but continued to work day and night, with their hands full of cracks, and were forced to work in a hurry. Some people died of hunger, cold, and illness, and even their bodies were hastily thrown away. Outside the city..."
Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes were slightly cold, he closed the memorial suddenly, stood up and said: "This is unreasonable!"
Zhu Biao knew that all these mistakes were not caused by his father alone. The corruption problem in Zhongdu and the problem of meeting deadlines were serious. In addition, Fengyang was either suffering from drought or floods. Not to mention that the local people were already extremely poor or had moved there. The wealthy households are almost dying.
Even if such a place was built, it would not be able to become the capital of the Ming Dynasty.
Yes, Fengyang can solve the food problem through transportation, but the problem is that once the capital is moved, Fengyang's population will reach 800,000 or even one million in the next ten years!
With such a huge population, less than 10% of the population is self-sufficient and relies almost entirely on transporting food from the south of the Yangtze River. So what is the point of moving the capital like this?
If so, it would be better to choose Xi'an, at least where there is the central plain, or even Kaifeng, where at least there are no too frequent droughts and floods.
Not to mention the food problem, in terms of geographical location, Zhongdu seems to be in the middle, with Jinling in the south and Peiping in the north. But in fact, it is embarrassingly inaccessible to the south and out of reach to the north.
Besides, the Huaihe River is not as dangerous as the Yellow River, let alone the Yangtze River. Which one is not more dangerous than the Huaihe River?
When Zhu Biao stood in Fengyang, he thought more than once, would he want to stay here in the future? Looking from a high place, are there either poor and helpless people or homeless beggars?
When choosing the capital, we consider the foundation of the empire, its survival and continuation under foreign enemies, and the life and death of the people without foreign enemies!
But Zhongdu did not take these two points into consideration.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Biao with an unhappy expression.
It has been the fifth year since the construction of Zhongdu was ordered in the second year of Hongwu. The voices opposing the construction of Zhongdu have not been seen for many years. Now they suddenly appear, coming from the mouth of Zhu Biao, the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty!
"Zhongdu Construction is almost completed. I will send people to check the problems you mentioned. Zhongdu Construction cannot stop!"
Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a long time, unwilling to accept that the hugely expensive Zhongdu plan would become a joke.
Zhu Biao lifted his clothes and knelt down.
"What are you doing?"
Zhu Yuanzhang was a little angry.
Zhu Biao straightened his back and said solemnly: "Father, what I have seen is not true. Who else needs to be sent to verify? Tens of thousands of craftsmen and soldiers are complaining. The people of Fengyang are in dire straits! This year, Fengyang is experiencing another drought. From New Year's Day to When my son returns, there is not a drop of rain! If my father does not delay the construction of the Central Capital, there will be more corpses every day, and there will be more mass graves in a hundred days!"
"shut up!"
Zhu Yuanzhang scolded sternly, his breath a little disordered: "Why, your wings are stiff after going out? The matter in Zhongdu is a matter of national importance. How can you suspend it with just one word?"
"As the crown prince, I should speak out and express my views on matters that are fundamental to the country!"
Zhu Biao pushed back.
Zhu Yuanzhang became angry and pointed at Zhu Biao: "Get out, get out!"
Zhu Biao kowtowed, stood up, and left.
Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry that he grabbed the tea bowl and threw it to the ground.
After hearing the news, Queen Ma hurried in and looked at the chairs and stools that had fallen to the ground and were in a mess. She hurriedly stepped forward and said, "You are so good, why are you so angry?"
Zhu Yuanzhang was silent, sitting on the stool, pointing to the memorial on the table: "Look, the prince dares to talk about me!"
Empress Ma picked up the memorial, glanced at it a few times, looked at Zhu Yuanzhang who was still angry, and said comfortingly: "Chongba, this is a good thing."
"Good thing?"
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Queen Ma.
Empress Ma said with a smile: "I think you contradicted Marshal Guo in the beginning. Why, because you thought you were right. Now that the prince contradicts his father, isn't it also because he thinks he is right? The child has his own opinion and knows how to withstand pressure. Stick to your own ideas, isn’t this the result you always wanted?”
Zhu Yuanzhang frowned.
Empress Ma took out her handkerchief and wiped the tea stains on Zhu Yuanzhang's clothes: "Biao'er will take over from you in the future. If he is weak and has no independent ideas, can you rest assured to leave this country in his hands in the future? It is inevitable for civil servants and generals to avoid this. There will be people who speak well, follow the trend, and deceive people's hearts. If Biao'er can't stick to his own opinion, won't there be powerful officials who will cause chaos in the country in the future?"
This is the wisdom of Empress Ma. She did not dwell on the issue of Zhongdu, stand on Zhu Biao's side and accuse or try to persuade Zhu Yuanzhang to postpone the construction of Zhongdu. Instead, she only talked about the relationship between father and son, Zhu Biao's growth and opinions, and resolved the differences between father and son. contradiction.
Zhu Yuanzhang was convinced.
Yes, as his eldest son and a prince, Zhu Biao must have his own opinion in doing things and have the courage to stick to his opinion.
This is not an advice or advice, but a proof of his son's growth.
Zhu Yuanzhang calmed down, took the memorial from Empress Ma, opened it and read: "We have many things to do every day, and sometimes we are even busy until midnight. There are so many state affairs, how could we expect that there are so many things in the middle of the day!"
Empress Ma waved the servant away and raised the chair with her own hands: "Wealth and wealth do not return to their hometown, and they walk at night like fine clothes. This is for ordinary people. Chongba, you are the emperor, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Liu Bang, the great ancestor of the Han Dynasty, started with Pei Pei. There is no Dupei County in the county. You and Han Gaozu are both emperors of common people, so why do you have to raise Fengyang and make the capital Fengyang?"
As a person beside her, Empress Ma knew that Zhu Yuanzhang admired and imitated Liu Bang a lot.
Zhu Yuanzhang had a headache: "Do you also think it is inappropriate to move to Fengyang?"
Empress Ma shook her head slightly: "Wherever your Majesty goes, my concubines will follow you. Whether it is appropriate or not depends on state affairs."
Zhu Yuanzhang was silent.
Empress Ma poured a cup of tea and brought it to Zhu Yuanzhang: "Chongba, why don't you go to Fengyang yourself."
Zhu Yuanzhang took the tea bowl and nodded solemnly: "We are thinking about going there next April on the 30th anniversary of the death of my parents and eldest brother. Since Biao'er said that so many things happened in Fengyang and complained, we If we can’t just sit back and do nothing, then go to Fengyang in April this year, or at worst, go there again next year.”
Empress Ma was overjoyed: "The Ming Dynasty was founded on filial piety. Your Majesty's visit has won the hearts of the people."
"Won the hearts of the people?"
Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said with a cold look: "I'm afraid some people won't be able to sleep after knowing this. This time when we leave Jinling, we will travel incognito. Didn't Gu Zhengchen say that from the people, we must go to the people? . We are from the common people, so we naturally want to see among the common people. If someone really harms the common people, I will not forgive him lightly!"
Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang had made up his mind, Empress Ma turned around and said, "It seems that Gu Zhengchen's idea of robbing wealthy households cannot be discussed with the prince today."
Zhu Yuanzhang patted the table: "This stinky boy contradicted me and didn't even know how to apologize."
Zhu Biao returned to the East Palace, feeling a little unhappy.
It is said that Fengyang is the place where the dragon rises and has the aura of the dragon, but this is only said by officials and the royal family. Ask the people of Fengyang, who would be proud that Fengyang gave birth to an emperor?
No!
This is the greatest sadness!
Zhu Biao even heard some folk songs, saying that "if you don't enter the temple, the streets are full of monks." This does not mean that there are many monks in Fengyang, but that there are many people begging for alms. Because it is easy to beg for food with a bald head, many people simply shaved their heads. Bald.
Some people also made up phrases such as "Wealth and wealth spread to Huaixi, and the people have little rice and porridge." This shows that what the imperial court did has no good reputation in Fengyang, and people's hearts are almost ruined.
If he hadn't heard it with his own ears and seen it with his own eyes, Zhu Biao would never have imagined that the people of Fengyang didn't even want to get involved with the royal family!
Crown Princess Chang looked at the unhappy Zhu Biao and sighed: "His Majesty personally made the decision to move the capital. He lost his temper a lot because of this decision, and Bo Zhidu was implicated because of this..."
Zhu Biao was very worried: "As a prince, if I don't dare to speak out and give advice, then who among the civil and military officials in the dynasty will dare to speak out?"
The Crown Princess took Zhu Biao and comforted her: "I don't blame His Majesty for your remarks, but His Majesty is impatient and sometimes stubborn. If you are too direct, it will easily make things troublesome. Why don't you bow your head to Your Majesty?" Keep a low profile and persuade slowly."
"Lower your head?"
Zhu Biao frowned.
The Crown Princess patted the back of Zhu Biao's hand: "The Queen said that during our trip, His Majesty would check on our safety every day. Today when we went to say hello, His Majesty was also waiting at the door."
Zhu Biao knew that his father cared about him, but he was just not good at expressing it.
"I enter the palace again."
Zhu Biao stood up.
No matter what, you need to stabilize your father's mentality first. If your father gets angry, who knows what will happen and who will be involved.
Zhu Biao entered the palace for the second time and admitted his mistake in a low-key manner, which made Zhu Yuanzhang very satisfied. Without waiting for Zhu Biao to speak, he said: "In a few days, I will go to Zhongdu to have a look. If it is true as you said, this Zhongdu It’s time to put it on hold for a while.”
