Rich gentry have a lot of energy, because they have money, and it is easy to do things with money, and it can be used at any time.
When the canal was opened, people made trouble; when building Kyoto, the transportation of materials was blocked; in the Weaving Bureau, desperadoes set fire to it; although no major commotion was caused and the fire in the Weaving Bureau was extinguished in time, the progress of the construction period was seriously delayed.
A series of disgusting things happened one after another to Zhu Di, which made Zhu Di furious.
Facts have once again proved that the emperor cannot do whatever he wants.
The main reason for this situation was that Zhu Di was too domineering. The wealthy gentry were not good men and women. They had no righteousness for their family and country, and only looked at their own interests.
If someone prevents them from making a fortune, even the emperor will dare to resist.
That would be Zhu Di. If it were Jianwen, someone might really dare to rebel.
Blocking someone's way of making money is like killing one's parents, not to mention that Zhu Di has already reached the point of cutting off the flesh of wealthy gentry.
Zhu Di was exhausted mentally and physically, so he had to postpone the Northern Expedition and focus on overseas trade, opening the canal, and building Kyoto.
With a large number of military guards, the minor disturbances finally subsided and the project progress was back on track.
But soon, troubles broke out again, such as: construction timber was burned, brick kilns collapsed...
Zhu Di was furious, and he understood that it would not work without blood.
Therefore, he issued a decree to the world: past events will be forgotten, but those who commit the crime again will be killed without mercy. Wherever there is a problem, all local officials will be killed and no one will be spared!
Zhu Di dared to do this, because he could do this, the army was firmly in his hands, and the world would not be in chaos.
After the edict was issued, more than a thousand people were executed in just one month.
Seeing that the emperor was serious, the rich gentleman immediately restrained himself a lot, and the situation improved instantly.
But there were still problems, big and small. In addition, the news that Emperor Jianwen was not dead also spread among the people, which made Zhu Di very anxious.
This information spread very quickly, causing a huge uproar for a while. When Zhu Di learned about it, he couldn't find out the origin even if he wanted to.
We can't just kill all the people, right?
In desperation, Zhu Di had no choice but to lead hundreds of officials to pay homage to Jianwen and tell the world about the crimes committed by Qi Fang and Huang.
This move alleviated the rumors, but it still did not curb them.
And with the instigation of thoughtful people, it became more and more intense.
For this reason, Zhu Di had a headache, but he was even more angry.
Zhu Di was not a weak emperor, and he knew well where the source of the trouble was, so he made a decision that most emperors would not dare to make.
——A complete break with the wealthy gentry.
Next, wherever rumors are prevalent, people will always accuse the wealthy gentry of bullying the people. Coincidentally, Jin Yiwei will always know about it at the first time.
Then, order and supervise the local officials to deal with them quickly and strictly.
Beheading for beheading, exile for exile.
The rich gentry used the people to deal with Zhu Di, and Zhu Di did the opposite and used the people to deal with the rich gentry.
The difference is that Zhu Di only suffered a reputation injury, while they lost their lives.
The wealthy gentry was not a fool. The target was so obvious, how could they not see it, so they gradually stopped.
In the end, Zhu Di won, but his victory was disgraceful and created instability.
Since ancient times, all dynasties have ruled the world together with the scholar-bureaucrats. In the Song Dynasty, the scholar-bureaucrats even reached the point of evading the imperial power.
Zhu Yuanzhang believed in sharing the world with the people, but he did not dare to make enemies of the rich gentry in the world because they were very powerful.
Even the Ming Dynasty did not completely break away from co-governance with scholar-bureaucrats. This model has been deeply ingrained, especially after the Song Dynasty, and it cannot be changed by simply changing it.
The wealthy gentry has great influence in the local area because they control the jobs of many people, and the clever wealthy gentry can win over the people and improve their prestige.
Of course, if the emperor forcibly changes it, it can be changed, but it will only force the rich gentry to rebel.
In that case, even the emperor would not be able to bear the price paid.
And the final result is nothing more than killing all the wealthy gentry in the world.
But even if all the rich gentry in the world are beheaded, their homes are confiscated, and the wealth is re-divided, after decades, the wealth will still return to the hands of a few people, and there will be new rich gentry.
This is a historical law and no one can change it.
Therefore, in a sense, co-ruling the world with scholar-bureaucrats is a good move.
However, human greed is always endless. If you get cherries today, you will want apples tomorrow, and watermelons the day after tomorrow. This is human nature.
The Song Dynasty was destroyed at the hands of scholar-bureaucrats. With the example right in front of us, how could Zhu Di give in?
On the surface, Zhu Di seemed to have won this fight, but Li Qing knew that internal conflicts had begun because Zhu Di did not abide by the rules of the game.
It was just that Zhu Di, the Emperor Wu, was holding back for the time being.
But this contradiction will break out sooner or later.
Li Qing secretly thought: "Perhaps, this is the root cause of the collapse of the Ming Dynasty, and even all feudal dynasties."
He saw it, but he couldn't think of a solution. It seemed that whatever he did was wrong!
The only real solution is to abolish the feudal dynasty!
…
Two months later, after Zheng He was ready, he took the envoys from various countries and set off again.
The second voyage to the West has begun.
Things are calm in the court, and with the loosening of the household registration system, people's lives have gradually improved, and everything seems to be developing in a good direction.
On this day, Li Qing was summoned to the Imperial Study Room.
Zhu Di got straight to the point: "Li Qing, I want to print more treasure banknotes. How many do you think is appropriate?"
The treasury was really out of money, so Zhu Di had to do this.
He spent so much effort to finally push forward the construction of the canal and the construction of a new capital, and of course he would not give up halfway.
Moreover, once you stop, it is extremely difficult to start again.
Li Qing thought for a while, "How many printings does the Emperor want?"
"Thirty million!"
This amount was fully digested by the Ming Dynasty. Since the 18th year of Hongwu, the imperial court has not printed more treasure banknotes. With the development of the economy, the treasure banknotes have become somewhat insufficient.
With the overseas trade, things from overseas countries entered the Ming Dynasty, and there was an even greater need for treasure money.
There are more and more oranges, but if you don't print more money, in serious cases, the oranges will rot.
However, Li Qing was afraid that the money-shredder Lao Si would not be able to stop once he got a taste of the sweetness. He shook his head and said, "It's too much, maybe ten million!"
"Twenty million!"
"..." Li Qing said, "Your Majesty, if you print so many treasure banknotes at once, if the news spreads, it may cause unrest among the people and reduce the credibility of the treasure banknotes. You can print it slowly in batches."
Zhu Di pondered for a moment and nodded slightly: "Okay, let's print five million first and wait until the money is spent."
"Your Majesty, treasure banknotes..."
"Bao banknotes are currency, not wealth." Zhu Di said it for him, "Don't worry, I don't understand this truth. The ancestral precepts of the Emperor Ming Dynasty clearly stated that excessive printing of treasure banknotes will harm the country, the country, and even the country.
No guarantee, you don’t need to remind me about this.”
Is there a possibility that the ancestral precepts of the Emperor Ming were written by you after listening to my words... Li Qing rolled his eyes: "The Emperor is wise."
"I don't even care about flattering you." Zhu Di said displeasedly, "I'm used to you being too cruel."
Li Qing: "..."
"Your Majesty, is the canal project going smoothly?"
"There are no big things, just small things." Zhu Di sighed, "Overall, it's going smoothly!"
Li Qing smiled and said: "This is already very good, compared to Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty... ahem, what about the construction of Kyoto?"
"I really want to beat you up." Zhu Di glared at him fiercely and said angrily, "How can such a big project be said to have just started when it is still being planned?"
After a pause, "Li Qing, I have thought of a solution. Do you think it is feasible?"
"Your Majesty, tell me."
"Bring the dick back."
"emperor……"
"Listen to what I have to say." Zhu Di said, "The wealthy gentry is secretly causing trouble, it's all the civil servants who are causing trouble. As soon as the second brother comes back, he gives the military generals a chance. This way, the military generals who already have the advantage will become even more powerful.
;
And the civil servants have no energy to do this, so they let the civil servants and military generals fight secretly to buy time for the canal to be opened and the new capital to be built!"
Li Qing tasted it and thought it was a good idea.
He asked: "Your Majesty, who do you plan to seat the crown prince?"
"It must be the eldest son!" Zhu Di sighed, "It's true that I like the second oldest son, but it concerns the Ming Dynasty. How can I change the prince based on my personal preferences, let alone establish a direct heir."
Li Qing nodded, just because it was not worth it to be naive. It was really bad luck to meet such an old man.
He was already a vassal, and even if he called him back all the way, gave him hope, and finally kicked him away, Li Qing felt stupid and pitiful.
A look of apology appeared on Zhu Di's face, and he sighed softly: "I can't help him, but for the sake of the overall situation, I have to do this;
Putting the second child aside, what do you think of this approach?"
"If you leave it aside...it is indeed feasible."
Hearing that Li Qing also thought it was feasible, Zhu Di smiled and said: "Then it's settled. I'll tell you this. Don't let it leak out, especially with the prince. Everyone must participate in this play.
"
After a pause, "If you shake it out, I will chop you into pieces."
"...Don't worry."
…
So, two months later, Zhu Hanhan came back.
Looking at Jinling City getting closer and closer, he was full of energy and laughed loudly: "I, Zhu Gaoxu, am back again!"