What……
As soon as the emperor finished speaking, the officials were stunned, with expressions of astonishment on their faces.
Looking at the surprised looks of their colleagues around them, they knew that they had heard correctly. The emperor was talking about the abolition of the southern capital and the return of the southern pass to the north.
Looking at the stunned ministers, Chongzhen said calmly: "The ministers are silent. Could it be that they acquiesce? If they acquiesce, the matter will be settled. The cabinet will draft an edict and spread it to all the prefectures and counties of the Ming Dynasty."
I go……
The emperor doesn't play by the rules. Are we acquiescing to this? This is a shock, okay.
None of the six ministers said anything. Although they were also shocked, after the discussion in Wuying Hall a few days ago, Yuan Keli and Sun Chengzong were left behind.
This shows that the emperor has already lost his temper with them, and they have to wait and see before talking.
They didn't speak, and the people below were even less able to speak. The atmosphere in Huangji Hall became strange again.
But they kept silent, so the emperor took it as their acquiescence. After a while, the officials were forced to go out of work because of the matter.
"Your Majesty, the decision to keep Nanjing as the capital has been made since the founding of our ancestors. It has lasted for more than two hundred years. It is considered an ancestral system. It seems inappropriate to abolish it now. Please think again!"
"Your Majesty, Southern Zhili is an important tax area of the Ming Dynasty, accounting for 60% of the Ming Dynasty's tax revenue. If the remaining capitals are abolished, Beijing is far away from Southern Zhili, and supervision is not in place. Will the officials use this to deceive the court? Your Majesty, please think twice. !”
"Your Majesty, Nanjing's geographical location is extremely important, especially for the management of water transportation. If water transportation is blocked, the entire north will be affected. It is also a land of salt, iron and tea, so it cannot be messed up!"
"Your Majesty, after Taizu established the capital in Nanjing, he once said that after finding stability, he would choose a city to be the capital of the country and reduce Nanjing to a companion capital.
Chengzu moved the capital to Beijing to protect the country, but after driving away the Mongols, Nanjing was still not abolished, and none of the previous emperors were abolished. Renzong even wanted to move the capital back to Nanjing, which illustrates the importance of Nanjing. Nanjing cannot be evacuated, or in other words Can't withdraw now. "
"I agree with Mr. Hu's point of view. Now the Ming Dynasty has recovered its national power and is becoming more and more prosperous, but what about a few hundred years from now?
I would like to say something disrespectful. If last year's slaves detour to attack Jizhen again, or someone rebels, etc., the imperial court can still withdraw to Nanjing or the prince can go to Nanjing.
Relying on the natural dangers of the Yangtze River and the ministries in Nanjing, just like the Southern Song Dynasty, they relied on half of the southern country to accumulate strength for counterattacks. "
"Yes, if you don't have long-term worries, you will have immediate worries. I think Chengzu and all subsequent emperors must have had this consideration. Your Majesty, please think twice."
…
After the officials spoke out about the matter, it seemed that a certain signal was triggered, and the officials began to refute from the perspectives of politics, culture, economy and taxation, geographical location, and the foundation of the court.
Chongzhen's face was calm, but he was sneering in his heart.
He admitted that the reasons for the ministers' rebuttal had some truth, especially the last one, but that was before Chengzu cut off the vassal, and after the cut off the vassal, this was no longer applicable.
When we carefully study the areas where Zhu Yuanzhang divided his sons into various parts of the country, we can find that there are no vassal kings in several southern provinces.
And they are all distributed around the three natural dangers of the Great Wall, the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. Each of these vassal kings has military power. If the Mongolian tribes want to attack, these vassal kings are ready-made frontline generals.
The aliens can only break through one line of defense after another before they can attack Nanjing.
Unfortunately, Jianwen and Chengzu cut off the vassal vassal, which reduced the military power in the hands of the vassal kings and forced them to stay in the palace, which directly led to the destruction of all three lines of defense.
Therefore, at this moment, Nanjing's use as an alternate capital has no practical significance. If the Great Wall defense line is broken, defending the Yellow River and Yangtze River will be a joke.
He didn't know whether the emperors of the previous dynasties knew about these strategies of Taizu, nor whether the current ministers knew about them, but he knew that these ministers' advice to refute the abolition was at least 80% for their own sake.
Nanjing is no longer as important as it was when the capital was first moved to Beijing. The Ming Dynasty stayed in Beijing for more than two hundred years, and its focus has also shifted a bit.
Officials in the five ministries and six government offices in Nanjing were either demoted due to failure in the party struggle, or they went to retire.
But even so, it is on par with the Six Ministries in Beijing. Although it does not necessarily have great real power, the treatment is real and can pave the way for future generations.
Or it may not be impossible to re-activate it. Taking a job in Nanjing and becoming an official at home should definitely give priority to Nanjing.
This is what these people have in mind, for their own future.
"Your Majesty, I agree to abolish Nandu!"
A different voice came out, which instantly silenced the noisy court, and everyone looked towards the source of the sound.
After discovering that the person who made the noise was Li Ruolian, the commander of the Jinyiwei, everyone's expressions changed instantly, and an unpleasant feeling arose in their hearts.
This Jin Yiwei commander is not only good at commanding the Jin Yiwei, he is also extremely sharp-tongued.
In the past few times, during the reduction of vassals and the Kong family, this commander silenced the ministers who were fighting against each other. Will it happen again today?
Li Ruolian saluted Chongzhen and then glanced at the ministers: "My lords, can you listen to my command?"
"Master Huang, you just said that after Nanjing was abolished, because of the distance, officials there might use this to deceive the court and then conceal corruption from above and below?
Can this commander understand that you regard our Jinyiwei and Dongchang brothers as idiots?
Have they asked our Jinyiwei and Dongchang brothers who have 20,000 to 30,000 yuan?
Have you asked the more than 100 supervisory censors in the Inspectorate? "
"Master Zhou, the water transportation is blocked. This is a matter between the Ministry of Industry and the Water Transport Yamen. What does it have to do with Nanjing?"
"Master Hu, you are right when you say that leaving behind is a reserve, but what this commander wants to say is that the emperor guards the country, and the king dies in the country.
Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, no emperor has left Beijing to seek refuge. In the 14th year of Zhengtong, Oara defeated the Ming army in Tumubao, and Oara's army besieged Beijing.
In the 29th year of Jiajing's reign, Ida led a large army to besiege Beijing again, and both times he came to the city gates. Can you see that His Majesty and the royal family have evacuated?
Not to mention that the emperor will not evacuate, even if one day, wherever His Majesty is, that is the capital.
If His Majesty withdrew from Xi'an and Luoyang, would Nanjing still have to exercise the rights of the five ministries and six prefectures? Do you think the situation is chaotic enough?
Or are you saying that when His Majesty evacuates the capital, the people in your ministries will stay in the capital and co-exist and die with the capital? "
"And what you said, if you let the prince go to Nandu, aren't you afraid of being used by someone with ulterior motives, bringing the prince with you to command the heroes, and then father and son meet on the battlefield?"
…
"My lords, this time my commander is accompanying His Majesty on his southern tour. Ninety-nine percent of the more than a thousand officials in the entire Southern Zhili region have committed crimes such as corruption, dereliction of duty, taking merit, perverting the law, favoritism, and deceiving superiors and subordinates.
Is this the result of the six-year-old Beijing inspection conducted by the Nanjing Ministry of Civil Affairs in charge of the southern Zhili area? "
