Moving the capital was a big event, but with the completion of the move, the matter itself became unimportant, and the advantages of being in Beijing and controlling the four directions began to be reflected.
Taking advantage of the westerly trend of downsizing the personnel of the imperial court, Gu Pu, the minister of the Ministry of War, Huang Fu, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Xu Huizu, the Duke of Wei, re-planned the imperial post system, adjusting the original post of thirty or sixty miles to one post of eighty miles, and abolished Many inns were merged, reducing the number of inn staff by nearly 2,000 people.
Zhu Yunwen had some concerns about abolishing the post station. After all, it would easily lead to unemployment. If a guy named Li appeared among the unemployed, it would not be good to cause some trouble. However, considering that the country is peaceful and the people are safe, the military is cohesive, and there is no large-scale disaster, it is estimated that the person named Li can only stare blankly, so he approved the abolition and merger of the post station, but at the same time, he also gave a compensation to those who left, and a half-year salary replacement at a time .
The change of the post station from 60 miles in the past to 80 miles today is not a simple increase in distance. Behind it is the rapid increase in the mileage of concrete roads and the increasing number of war horses.
Over the years, the imperial court promoted two five-year concrete road construction plans. The first phase mainly built the routes from Jinling to Beijing, Jinling to Suzhou and Hangzhou, etc. The second phase was to open up important military towns and important administrative areas.
It’s just that Zhu Yunwen underestimated the efficiency of technological iteration and road construction, and also underestimated the local desire for a good road. Since the eighth year of Jianwen, local government and county governments have to build concrete roads every year, especially when the officials believe that repairing Having many roads was a good political achievement, but as a result, the magistrate here left, and the new magistrate who just came immediately ordered road construction.
The imperial court no longer requisitioned free corvees, but paid them. Although this move affected many people, the results were obvious. In four years, concrete roads connected more than 70% of prefectures and counties in the Ming Dynasty.
The concrete road is smooth and will not be muddy in rain or snow. In the past, officials could travel sixty miles on the bumpy road, but now they can travel eighty miles by horse-drawn carriage. Although it increased fatigue for officials on the road, the most important consideration for setting up post stations for the imperial court was not to receive passing officials, but to deliver documents and messages.
The messenger who delivers the message at the post station rides on a war horse and travels eighty miles, which can take no more than an hour at the fastest. If he travels slowly and allows for a short rest for the messenger and the war horse, it can only take two and a half hours.
Post stations are connected with each other, and documents can pass through four inns in one day. This means that if local documents are delivered day and night, documents from three hundred miles away can be sent to Beijing in one day, and documents that are thousands of miles away can be sent to Beijing in more than three days. Da, it only takes seven days to send documents two thousand miles away.
For documents that are three thousand miles away, such as documents from Guangdong, Fujian and other places, traveling from the inn is not the most efficient, but taking a steam engine ship is even faster. In view of problems such as sea storms, documents from Guangdong and other places can use the navy to deliver general documents during normal times. Urgent documents are delivered by water and land. When the sea is rough, they can be sent by land station.
The farther west Xinjiang province's document transmission system has also been re-planned. Instead of walking within the Great Wall and climbing this mountain and that mountain, it will instead go outside the Great Wall, directly exit the customs, and go westward through the grassland. Now there are no enemies on the grassland, and the Walas have been placed on fixed pastures. As for the remaining Tatar tribesmen, most of them are old, weak, women and children, they have also been scattered.
….
After the reshaping of the relay system, Beijing's control over Western Xinjiang was significantly strengthened. The initial period of the document was shortened from thirty to forty days to fifteen to twenty-five days.
This is not only the speed of transmission of local documents to the imperial court, but also the speed of imperial decrees to the local governments. In the face of emergencies and local changes, the court can respond more calmly.
The problem of rising grain prices in Beijing caused by the relocation of the capital also quickly disappeared with the news that the government granary had stored 4 million shi of grain. Considering that many officials were worried about the "bitter cold in the north", Zhu Yunwen ordered the royal family to invest in industry and allocate 3,000 new stoves. To officials in Beijing to prepare for the coming winter.
Beijing is very lively, with countless residential buildings rising from the ground, and various shops displaying a dazzling array of goods. Goods from all over the world are gathered here.
On September 5, Zhu Yunwen ordered the prince to supervise the country, and he, escorted by Li Jian, Luo Guanying, Ping'an, Liu Changge and others, left Beijing and sailed south in Tongzhou.
He promised that the navy would send them sailing, and as an emperor, he could not break his promise.
Isn’t Zhu Wenkui supervising the country?
Once or twice. In addition, he personally handled many matters of moving the capital. He has good experience in document processing. With the assistance of Xie Jin, Yang Shiqi, Tie Xuan, Xu Huizu and others, there is no problem in handling government affairs.
Ships travel on the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.
Zhu Yunwen looked at Ping An, who looked disappointed, and said with a smile: "The world only knows the Second Artillery Bureau, how many people know Tao Zengguang and Hu Yuancheng? Some heroes are destined to be unknown. Serving for the court, there is no difference between the front and the back. What's more, the Jinling Army's The positioning has been very clear, training better reserve talents for the navy."
Ping An hesitated for a moment, and finally asked: "Your Majesty, Ping An is not afraid of going to Jinling, but I am afraid that I will be useless. As long as I am useful to the court and can share your Majesty's worries, not to mention going to Jinling, I am going to the desert of Western Xinjiang. I have no regrets even if I remain anonymous until my death. It’s just that the size of the navy is not small now. The four naval divisions of the East China Sea, Southeast, Nanhai, and Nanyang have a combined strength of more than 300,000, and there are no enemies in the waters around the Ming Dynasty. I don’t know how to continue training. What is the purpose of the Navy?"
"If it is just to transport minerals from Africa, maintaining the size of the entire navy at 200,000 people is enough. Why are the land defense stations repeatedly abolished and merged, but the navy increases its troops again and again? Without foreign enemies, the size of the navy does not need to be maintained too much If it is large, the size of the navy should be reduced every year. If so, where can I send the talents I trained in Jinling?"
Zhu Yunwen looked at Ping An, smiled heartily, and said to Luo Guanying, "Tell him."
Luo Guanying couldn't help but shake his head. The world Ping An saw was the Ming Dynasty and its vicinity. If there are no enemies nearby, it means that there are no enemies in the Ming Dynasty.
But the Ming Dynasty and the vicinity of the Ming Dynasty do not represent the entire world.
Luo Guanying said to Ping An seriously: "The navy's mission is still very important, and there are still many unknown lands. The emperor's vision is that in the next hundred years, it will take three generations to occupy some territories and incorporate them into the territory of the Ming Dynasty. In addition, Mamuru Croatia has reached an agreement with Venice to fully explore the river channel between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, and this river channel will be a strategic artery to contain many Western countries."
"Although the Ming Dynasty has no plans to conquer the Western countries, you should also know that there are only two ways for the Ming Dynasty to maintain a strong position. One, the Ming Dynasty becomes stronger. The other is, the opponent becomes weaker. The emperor's strategy is , the Ming Dynasty is getting stronger and stronger going forward, and the enemy is getting weaker and weaker backward. Therefore, although there will be no conflict between the Ming Dynasty and the West in the short term, in the long run, war is inevitable."
….
"Once there is a war between the Ming Dynasty and the Western countries, it will not be a small fight, but will go all out to destroy all their possible paths to power with the smallest cost, the smallest sacrifice, and the shortest time. , became a miner, providing a steady stream of resources for the Ming Dynasty."
Ping An was shocked and looked at Zhu Yunwen: "The emperor's arrangement is so far away?"
Far away is not just space, but also time.
Zhu Yunwen put his hands behind his back and said solemnly: "This is a century-old policy, a long-term plan. Ping An, don't underestimate those white-skinned people in the West. They are enlightening and awakening. Some of them are no more stupid than the Ming Dynasty people. On the contrary, they are very smart. Once they are given enough time to expand, accumulate, and develop, they will be powerful enemies in a hundred years. If you give them another few hundred years, they will also be able to build strong ships and powerful cannons to conquer the four seas!"
"At that time, if the Ming Dynasty declines, without absolute leadership in science and technology, without a layer of peripheral barriers, and without a powerful naval defense, the Ming Dynasty will suffer a loss. I do not want to see this kind of loss, nor do I want my descendants to see it. .So, three generations and a century-old plan reduced the entire West to the miners, farmers, and herdsmen of the Ming Dynasty. Without advanced technology or advanced ships, it would be better to keep them in the dark Middle Ages."
Ping'an was surprised by Zhu Yunwen's plan, which allowed Wala and Tatar to disarm and become herdsmen of the Ming Dynasty.
Just, what is the Middle Ages?
Zhu Yunwen looked deeply at Ping An: "Navigation will not decline within a hundred years. After a hundred years, global navigation will be the norm, and ocean cruising will no longer be a rare thing. I hope that the future Ming Navy will be able to dock wherever it can. At the port, no one said a word. Now, it is not to this level. So Ping An, are you willing to train the Jinling garrison now and contribute to the century-old plan? "
Ping An's eyes were filled with fire and he shouted: "I am willing!"
Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly and looked towards the south: "Zheng He and King Yan must be ready."
Jinling.
Zhu Zhanji climbed up from the cabin, stood on the deck and looked up at the tall mast, where there was a large sun and moon flag fluttering in the wind.
Zhu Gaoxu walked towards Zhu Zhanji and said with a smile: "The west wind has begun to blow, and we are not far away from sailing."
Zhu Zhanji gave Zhu Gaoxu a bright smile: "Yes, my second uncle must check everything and don't leave it in Jinling. Once you set sail, there is no turning back."
Zhu Gaoxu sighed: "Speaking of this, I need to discuss this with you. If you don't have a quota of fifty households, how about allocating ten to me?"
Zhu Zhanji shook his head: "Grandpa gave me the quota of fifty households, but I gave it all to Tang Sai'er. How about my uncle go to Tang Sai'er and ask for a try?"
Zhu Gaoxu's face looked a little ugly.
Tang Saier wouldn't give herself any face. The last time she asked her for a house, she actually shouted in front of many people, "You want to take away my house in order to accommodate the brothel girls. Could it be that you want to go there?" Are you happy opening a brothel in America?"
Since that incident, Zhu Gaoxu has never been with Tang Saier again. You know how happy a young girl is, but you can't imagine our happiness.
Besides, she was not a brothel girl. She just took in more than a dozen concubines in one breath and didn’t accept guests!
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