Zhu Di's personal expedition this time defeated the ambitions of the Northern Yuan Dynasty in one fell swoop, and reaped great political results. A few months later, the Tatar Grand Master Arutai came to pay tribute with a large amount of tribute.

Then, the Oara tribe also sent envoys.

A large number of tributes such as horses, mink skins, and ermine skins were paid as tribute by both sides, which relieved the Ming Dynasty's finances to a certain extent.

Zhu Di also gave symbolic gifts of silk and tea in return, but in general, it was the Ming Dynasty that made the profit.

However, this personal expedition also brought some changes.

When the officials saw that the current emperor was so martial, they felt more and more that the King of Han was in trouble, and many of them joined the King of Han.

The second child's power has grown stronger and stronger, and has even surpassed that of the eldest child.

This was unexpected by Zhu Di. This was not the result he wanted to see. There was no suspense about the crown prince's position, and Zhu Di had no real plans to establish a second son.

But the second child was so useful that Zhu Di didn't want to let him go. As long as the second child was there, civil servants and the boss couldn't do anything about it.

For emperors, appropriate court strife is not a bad thing, but a good thing.

What Zhu Di wants is to let the boss do things and let the second boss suppress the boss.

However, pressing too hard won't work.

So, he went to Li Qing to find a solution.

As the New Year was approaching, Li Qing was comfortably preparing to celebrate the New Year. He complained: "Your Majesty, there are no people who are celebrating the New Year like you!"

"Stop talking nonsense," Zhu Di said, "Do you have any other plans?"

Li Qing was indifferent to the second child and said directly, "Let the King of Han become a vassal."

"He can't leave yet." Zhu Di shook his head.

Li Qing was helpless: "Then get closer to the prince."

"This... can't be done either." Zhu Di said, "I don't want the boss and civil servants to taste the sweetness."

"...I asked you to say everything, what else can I say?" Li Qing said angrily, "I can't help it."

"No, you do."

Li Qing: "..."

After pondering for a moment, Li Qing said, "In that case, let's find a helper for the prince."

"I can't believe it."

"No, you can trust me."

"Who is it?"

"The emperor's eldest grandson!"

"Zhanji?" Zhu Di was startled, then nodded his head, "Okay, this is good."

…

In the ninth year of Yongle, on the first day when officials came to court, Zhu Di announced a big news.

——Canonize the emperor’s eldest grandson as the emperor’s grandson!

The ministers knew very well what the emperor's grandson meant, because the first emperor's grandson in the Ming Dynasty was Jianwen.

For a time, the situation in the struggle for heirs changed again. The princelings seemed to have been given a shot in the arm, while the powerful Hanwang party also restrained a lot.

The struggle for heirs restored the results Zhu Di wanted. The princelings had the upper hand, while the Han kings pursued and fought fiercely.

Zhu Di felt relieved and once again focused on building the capital and opening the canal.

Thanks to the taxes and tributes paid in the second half of last year, the treasury finally had a little money.

This time, Zhu Di's waist became stiff again.

Repair, keep repairing!

The Fourth Brother dared to do this because he had something to rely on. Sanbao would be back in the second half of the year at the latest.

At that time, there will be another large amount of fiscal revenue.

However, the national treasury could not afford Zhu Di's lavish spending. After only three months, it fell into depletion again and could not even wait for the first half of the year's taxes.

At this moment, a person stood up.

——The King of Han, Zhu Gaoxu!

In order to please Zhu Di, he directly spent most of his wealth to fully support my career.

The second child took the money, but the eldest brother couldn't just watch, so the little fat boy gritted his teeth, scrimped on food and clothing, and sold off a lot of valuable things.

It is said that even the furniture was sold.

I finally managed to squeeze out some money. Although I couldn't keep up with my second brother, I still tried my best.

Seeing this, Zhu Di immediately held a court meeting to ceremoniously praise his two sons. Of course, he mainly praised the King of Han.

Without him, the King of Han paid the most money.

At the same time, Queen Xu Miaoyun also donated money, and Zhu Di even took out all the money from internal funds.

When King Zhao heard the news, he also sent people to send a large amount of money and food. The news spread to the ears of other vassal kings. They cursed and had to show off.

Although they were reluctant to bleed a lot, having so many vassal kings gathered together would be a huge fortune.

The emperor, empress, prince, and even the entire royal family all took the money, and the nobles also donated money one after another.

It is hard for civil servants to stand idly by if they donate their honors and nobles. They are committed to suppressing military generals, so naturally they will not be compared with others.

Ever since, the officials began to donate money in a vigorous manner, and Li Qing also donated a lot.

Xia Yuanji counted the money until his hands cramped and he smiled from ear to ear.

But he was not happy for long before he stopped laughing. Zhu Di couldn't have money in his hands. As soon as he had money, he felt irritated and had to spend it.

Immediately ordered: Repair, intensify efforts to repair.

Such a huge project has placed a serious burden on the people. While the country is strong, the people's lives are becoming more and more miserable.

You can't have your cake and eat it too. Zhu Di's policy is absolutely correct in the long run, but it is not a good thing for the current people.

In order to ensure the smooth progress of the project, the corvee system became increasingly stringent, making the people miserable.

For a time, the memorials to impeach Zhu Di were like snowflakes, and the officials scolded Zhu Di for being so happy with his achievements and wasting money and people.

This is true.

Zhu Di, like Lao Zhu, knows his mistakes, corrects them, but does not admit them.

He appropriately lightened the corvee system to allow the people to take a breather, and at the same time, he also put an end to the officials who had impeached him.

No one was killed this time, but Yan Guan had a hard time. He couldn't get off the ground for half a month after the imperial staff came down.

Li Qing could not persuade Zhu Di, nor did he want to do so. Only he could implement Zhu Di's policies. If he stopped here, he would not be able to implement them when he got to the prince or grandson.

It hurts one generation and benefits many generations.

Especially for canals, they can be used continuously after being dredged, which will benefit the future.

All he can do is ensure that while implementing these policies, the people will suffer as little as possible.

…

With the cabinet here, Li Qing's workload is not heavy. He works less than two hours a day, only makes some key suggestions, and spends the rest of the time having fun.

As the three girls grew older, Li Qing cherished the time in front of him more and more. He would take them shopping when he had free time. Sometimes he would take a leave to take them to Suzhou and Hangzhou to experience the wonderful places.

In September, the Three Treasures return to court.

This time, Sanbao went to more places, such as Champa, Bintonglong, Chenla, Siam, Jilimartin, Jiaolanshan, Java, Chonggaro, Gilimandi, Guli, Manlajia, Alu,

Sumatra, Sulu and dozens of other countries.

The things they brought back were much more than last time. The soil and water support the people. Silks, porcelain and other commodities from the Ming Dynasty were regarded as natural products, but the local specialties they had there were also rare in the Ming Dynasty.

Many of them are priceless.

The Three Treasures not only brought a lot of wealth, but also brought envoys from various countries. Envoys from dozens of countries paid homage one by one.

All of them paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty and established tribute trade with the Ming Dynasty.

Such a scene of all nations coming to court made Zhu Di, the ministers, and even the people in the capital feel honored.

National pride arose spontaneously. At this time, Ming Dynasty was the king of the world, no one else.

——Not even the Roman Empire!

Looking at the envoys from various countries with different skin colors, hair colors, and even eye colors, everyone in the imperial court was filled with pride.

The political correctness of the voyages to the West is irrefutable to anyone.

Even civil servants whose interests have been harmed can't open their eyes and tell lies.

The national prestige of the Ming Dynasty is famous all over the world. Today, the Ming Dynasty is at the peak of its national power. Even the barbaric Northern Yuan Dynasty has become a vassal and pays tribute. It can be said that no one can defeat it.

~
To be continued...