What could be more exciting than returning home with a golden coat? Although Zhu Di was not born in Peiping, he officially became a feudal lord in the thirteenth year of Hongwu. In total, he had more than 20 years of the best youth, full of joys and sorrows.
Sweet and sour, they are all in Peiping.
And there are no parents or brothers to control you, you are free to do whatever you want.
Zhu Di liked Peiping so much... and now he has returned to his hometown with the dignity of the emperor.
Zhu Di really wanted to imitate Liu Bang, the great ancestor of the Han Dynasty, and sing a song called "The Wind Rises"...
"Xu Jingchang, come here."
Xu Jingchang urged his horse, and when he arrived in front of the holy chariot, Zhu Di smiled and said, "Is it your idea to invite so many elderly people?"
Xu Jingchang smiled and said: "Your Majesty has profound virtues. The old neighbors who came here looked up at your Majesty and wanted to see that your Majesty has lost weight."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Di was even more excited, "After all, he is one of his own... Xu Jingchang, have you prepared anything? I want a reward."
Xu Jingchang smiled and said: "Your Majesty, don't worry. There is no shortage of cattle, horses, livestock, gold, silver, cloth, or even salt land in Beiping at the moment... I promise that everything will be properly arranged."
Zhu Di was overjoyed, "Okay, let's go to the city!"
In this way, Zhu Di entered Peiping amidst cheers. The streets along the way were decorated and paved straight, and there were more soldiers and civilians lined the streets to welcome him.
Zhu Di leaned forward and waved to the people frequently, receiving countless cheers of long live.
Queen Xu's chariot followed Zhu Di, and when she saw this scene, she was also excited... After all, when Li Jinglong's hundreds of thousands of troops besieged Peiping, and Zhu Di did not return from the trip, it was she who personally led the troops to defend Peiping and fought bloody battles.
Perhaps among these people are the soldiers and civilians who fought side by side!
It is self-evident that Empress Xu was happy to be able to return to Peiping.
The emperor and the queen, surrounded by people, entered the former Prince Yan's Mansion.
After Zhu Di ascended the throne, Prince Yan's palace became the Qianlong Palace. In order to welcome Zhu Di's arrival, Xu Jingchang also ordered renovations... Therefore, after entering the palace, Zhu Di was full of joy.
"Okay, it's better here. It's better than Yingtian. I can't wait to live here in the future."
Xu Jingchang was not surprised at all. Zhu Di had already known about his intention to move the capital.
What surprised him was Empress Xu. Seeing this, her aunt also liked Peiping quite a bit.
"My nephew, now the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty are opposed to your Majesty moving the capital. My aunt asks you, what do you think?"
Xu Jingchang immediately said: "Of course I support moving the capital!"
"Seriously?" Queen Xu asked in surprise.
"That's natural." Xu Jingchang said: "Your Majesty wants to move the capital, and Peiping is an important border defense town. Therefore, it is natural for the old capital of the Yuan Dynasty to be moved here... I have also drawn up an article and intend to present it to Your Majesty!"
Empress Xu was overjoyed and said, "It's rare that you have such a heart. You are indeed my good nephew."
Zhu Di also heard it and said with a smile: "Okay, let's talk while eating."
Xu Jingchang also prepared a banquet for Zhu Di to wash away the dust... Only Zhu Di, Queen Xu, Han King Zhu Gaoxu, Zhao King Zhu Gaosui, emperor grandson Zhu Zhanji, and Xu Jingchang attended this meal.
Even Huang Guan, the Minister of Rites, was not qualified. As for the grand banquet held by all walks of life in Peiping to welcome the emperor, it was postponed for three days until Zhu Di had rested before giving the banquet.
In a word, this is a family conversation, and outsiders have no right to interfere.
"Xu Jingchang, tell me, what's going on in Peiping now?" Zhu Di asked curiously.
"To tell you your Majesty, now all businesses in Peiping are flourishing, all industries are prosperous, and everything is fine."
Zhu Di smiled, "Well, I ask you, how about moving the capital?"
"That's even better. I was just about to tell your majesty, don't listen to the nonsense of those people in Yingtian... Moving the capital to Peking will balance the north and south and develop the north. It will play a huge role in the country's long-term stability and border security, and it will have many benefits. Your Majesty
Moving the capital is a well-thought-out and appropriate move that will definitely benefit the country and the people."
Zhu Di clapped his thighs excitedly, looked around his two sons, and said to Empress Xu: "Listen, what a wonderful thing to say! I should have asked Jingchang for his opinion in the first place. The princes in the court really let me down.
"
Empress Xu smiled and said: "That's not true. This is our nephew, a family, and it must be different from those people."
Zhu Di couldn't wait to say again: "Jingchang, I heard that you have also drawn up a strategy. If you want to move the capital, what should you do?"
Xu Jingchang said seriously: "I have repeatedly calculated that if the capital is moved, the Ming Dynasty will need to prepare a budget of 20,000 taels of silver in order to succeed."
"What?" Zhu Di was a little stupid, "How much did you say? How did you calculate it?"
Even Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaojiu moved their butts. Dear brother, do you really dare to say how much your income will be next year? If you really say that, I'm afraid I won't be able to eat or drink for twenty years.
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't spend so much money when he decided to Yingying Tian!
"Your Majesty, if the capital is moved, the first priority is food. The Grand Canal must be renovated. After all, during the Jingnan War, the canal was damaged in many places. Rebuilding the canal will require more than 10 million taels, and an investment of 20 million taels will be made every year.
One million taels of maintenance. This does not include the cost of building water transport ships."
Zhu Di hummed: "You won't need so much...the budget reported by the Ministry of Industry is three million taels."
"They didn't count the money to recruit civilian men. If your majesty still recruits civilian men for free as before, Shandong will rebel... Well, your majesty can ask Yuan Gang."
Zhu Gaosui also said quickly: "Father, I know something about this. Shandong is really suffering. Governor Yuan returned the Kong family property to the people despite his ruined reputation... Many bandits and bandits have been recruited. It seems that there are no more than three years and five years."
Don't even think about recovering. If we recruit civilians on a large scale, I'm afraid that what we do now will fall short."
Zhu Di frowned when he heard this. He couldn't recruit civilians for free. If he wanted to build the canal, the expenses would be huge.
"Jingchang, the court officials didn't say anything about this, but you have this opinion. What's the point? Are you trying to deceive me?"
Xu Jingchang smiled and said: "Your Majesty, in the past you wanted to move the capital and the court officials opposed it. If you make up your mind to move the capital and they dare not openly oppose it, what will happen?"
Zhu Di was startled.
Zhu Gaosui said with a smile: "Of course it's doubled... If there really is a civil unrest, they will say that it was the emperor who moved the capital, and they will let the emperor take the blame. They can force the emperor to issue an imperial edict to punish themselves, or even cancel it.
The idea of moving the capital.”
Zhu Di was shocked, "Lao San, who did you listen to?"
Zhu Gaosui said: "Isn't my son in charge of the Di newspaper? He has come into contact with many literati, and their methods are not difficult to understand."
Zhu Di thought about it and sighed helplessly.
This is called the evil of meeting the king!
As the emperor, those who oppose you may not be loyal ministers, but those who all obey you may not be good people... The complexity of government affairs is far beyond what outsiders can imagine, and even if you are in the middle of it, you may not be able to understand it clearly.
Just building the canal is a headache.
But Zhu Di is not someone who retreats easily.
"Jingchang, you just said 20,000...10,000 taels. Apart from river work, what other expenses are there?"
"The next step is the cost of building Beiping City... The palace will be expanded into a palace, and everything will be according to Yingtian's specifications. The three main halls alone will not be enough without two million taels. And when the emperor arrives, it will be necessary to build an outer city to protect the Holy Emperor.
.An outer city costs more than 5 million taels. Moreover, all the six ministries and five prefectures and all the yamen have to be relocated. This is also a huge sum of money... The construction cost alone is more than 30 million taels, and it also has to be paid.
Provide 20 million to compensate for land acquisition."
"Land acquisition? What land acquisition?"
Xu Jingchang said: "Your Majesty, the houses around Prince Yan's Mansion will definitely be demolished. The construction of the Yamen will also require land. There are also tens of thousands of officials who will go north and need accommodation. They will definitely occupy the houses of the people of Peiping. The court has to compensate them."
, Your Majesty cannot make the people sad!"
In front of Zhu Di's eyes, a scene of people warmly welcoming him suddenly flashed across his eyes. He really couldn't occupy a private house in vain.
"Do you really need 20 million taels of compensation? This is too much."
Zhu Gaoxu, the king of Han, suddenly said: "Returning to my father, some time ago, in order to transfer the land of the guard station to the entire guard station... Shuntian Prefecture's Yamen has signed a contract with the guard station, and the land is not allowed to be requisitioned at will... If it must be requisitioned...
, three times the compensation needs to be given. Since Beiping City is also among them, the people in the city also received the same covenant."
Zhu Di frowned at first, then his expression changed instantly!
He seemed to understand something... Some people clamored to support the move of the capital, but in fact they set up obstacles for the move. How can you set such a compensation standard?
"Xu Jingchang! I want you to take it back now!"
Xu Jingchang hurriedly said: "I obey the decree... I just boldly ask your Majesty to think carefully. After all, doing so will hurt the hearts of the people of Peiping. They warmly welcome your Majesty, are loyal to the Ming Dynasty, and regard you as their father. How can your father let down all the people?"
Thousands of people, the elders of Peiping!"
Zhu Di was so angry that his eyes widened and he gritted his teeth. No wonder so many people came to greet him.
"Xu Jingchang, you are even more hateful than Jian Yi and Xia Yuanji! You were very busy when I came to Peking! It turns out that you were busy with these things. You dug a hole for me, and you deceived me!"
Zhu Di was so angry that he slapped the table. Empress Xu was stunned for a moment and then understood.
She coughed lightly first, and then said to Xu Jingchang: "Of course you do this out of love for the people and out of good intentions. But you also know that His Majesty is moving the capital to Peking, and you shouldn't disappoint His Majesty!"
Xu Jingchang thought about it again and again, and finally plucked up the courage to say: "In reply to Your Majesty, I believe that Beiping at this time does not have the conditions to become the capital of the Ming Dynasty... The north is in decline, and its output is too little. The most basic food products must come from the south.
supply, the national treasury is empty, and there is not enough funds to support the move of the capital... I have just yet to settle several accounts, the most important of which is security. If your Majesty wants to move the capital, you must use a large number of troops against the Mongols, or at least expel them
Only by leaving Monan can the safety of Peiping be ensured. The large-scale use of troops and various expenses will exceed tens of millions of taels. Moreover, the dead and wounded soldiers need to be compensated. If the court does not care, it will become your Majesty's fault. As the deputy envoy of Pingzhangyuan, I
It is my duty to tell His Majesty everything. I can only say that the conditions for moving the capital are not mature in the short term!"
When Queen Xu saw Xu Jingchang saying this, she was also worried that it would anger Zhu Di, so she said: "I just arrived in Peking today. Let's talk about this later. Let's eat..."
"No!" Zhu Di suddenly stopped Empress Xu and said with a smile: "Xu Jingchang, I believe what you said. You said two million taels of silver, and I have no objection... I will appoint you now to be responsible for moving the capital and raising money.
, even if it’s less than a tael of silver!”
Xu Jingchang: "..."
I'm still squirting now... but I'm feeling a little better. I've taken several medicines. Everyone should also pay attention to their health...
