"Forget it, Father, it's almost done." Xiaopang advised, "We can't kill any more."
"No, this is not over yet."
Zhu Di made it clear this time that he wanted to get things done. His temperament was the same as his father's.
Either don’t do it or do it!
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If we don't remove the cancer while the military generals are returning to their hearts, it will be extremely difficult to deal with these people once they become powerful in the future.
"Gao Chi, you will never be a good emperor in the future." Zhu Di couldn't hide his disappointment, "A strong country can only make the people rich, but a rich people does not mean a strong country;
I know that you care about the people and want to be a benevolent king. But if the country is not strong, what will happen to the people no matter how good their lives are?
The Song Dynasty was the richest. Even though officials were corrupt and aristocratic families were in power, people's lives were still much better than in the Ming Dynasty today;
But...if we don’t have strong national power, what should we do if the enemy invades?
Without the protection of the state, the people are just lambs to be slaughtered, fish and meat, left to their own devices."
Zhu Di said flatly: "It is easy to be an emperor who is loved by all ministers and praised by the people, but... this is just what the world thinks of as a good emperor;
Your kindness will leave hidden dangers for future generations, and will leave hidden dangers for the Ming Dynasty!"
Xiaopang said helplessly: "Father, my son wants to let the people live a good life, but he will not do it at the expense of national power. I am not as miserable as you said;
I am merciful because of you, my father... you have to moderate it, right?"
Zhu Di was startled for a moment, then nodded slowly: "What you said makes sense, but... forget it, I don't think you can be tough."
After a pause, Zhu Di said seriously: "You can maintain your benevolent character forever!"
"Ah?" Xiaopang's face was full of surprise, "Father, what do you mean by this?"
"I have Zhanji." Zhu Di's disdain for the good old man was palpable. "Besides, you are not a young man. I have nothing to worry about if he takes over the army a hundred years later. As for you, it doesn't matter."
Xiaopang's face was full of hurt, "Father, you have gone too far. I have done so many things, and you don't praise me, so you don't praise me. Instead, you always belittle me. I have contributed to the country."
"Look at your fat body!" Zhu Di said with disdain, "You look like a stone grinder, you don't have any imperial demeanor at all."
"People should not be judged by their appearance, and sea water should not be..."
Zhu Di turned away and stopped looking at him, "Let's go aside."
"..."
~
The Jin Yiwei went out in full force to search for the temptress Tang Saier. For more than a month, they were surprised not to find this person.
Tang Sai'er seemed to have disappeared out of thin air, or in other words, he didn't exist in the first place.
Zhu Di was extremely annoyed, but had no choice but to change his gun, and directly investigated the officials in Beijing, mainly focusing on civil servants in Jiangnan.
Unexpectedly, still found nothing.
No evidence of official collusion with the local authorities was found, and everyone was innocent.
Zhu Di couldn't accept such a result, so he caught Xiaopang and beat him up, "Did you cover up those officials?"
"It's unjust!" Xiaopang was about to cry but had no tears, "What does this have to do with me?
Father, you know me, but I don’t have the courage!"
Zhu Di kicked him again angrily, "Go away!"
——
Unable to achieve his goal, Zhu Di was unwilling to give up, so he asked Li Qing to think of countermeasures.
"Your Majesty, stop it!" Li Qing didn't want him to continue doing this, at least not now. "Move the capital first, nothing else is as important as moving the capital."
Zhu Di pondered for a moment and nodded lightly: "Now that all the ministers have agreed to move the capital, I will ask the Qintian Supervisor to predict the auspicious date tomorrow and move to Shuntian Mansion as soon as possible."
However, he still refused to give up. Due to his personality, Zhu Di was not generally suspicious, because Jianwen's disappearance made him always feel like "there are always unscrupulous people who want to harm me."
He hasn't had a solid night's sleep in all these years, and he doesn't even trust his own son, which shows how suspicious he is.
"Li Qing, what's the reason you can't find out?" Zhu Di said, "But it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter if it involves the prince."
"First of all, exclude the prince." Li Qing said with a bitter smile, "Your Majesty, he is your son. You have watched him grow up. Don't you know who he is?"
Zhu Di was silent, "Then what's the problem?"
"It took so long for them to start investigating, which was enough for them to calmly arrange the arrangements and destroy the evidence." Li Qing said, "Perhaps they started operations when the imperial court sent troops;
As for Tang Saier..."
Li Qing frowned and thought for a while, "I suspect that this is a made-up person. Maybe he doesn't exist at all. Didn't the generals who suppressed the rebellion say so? From the beginning to the end, I have never seen this bitch."
"It doesn't matter whether Tang Saier is there or not. Even if he does exist and escapes, it doesn't matter. After this incident, the White Lotus Sect will no longer be a thing." Zhu Di waved his hand, "What worries me is that those people can be watertight.
.”
After a pause, "Do you think it's possible that the top brass of Jinyiwei were infiltrated or bribed?"
Zhu Di had this suspicion mainly because Ji Gang was attracted by Hanhan.
Even a fool like Hanhan could win over Jin Yiwei, so that his trust in Jin Yiwei was almost gone.
"Hmm... I don't rule out the possibility." Li Qing said, "But it's not important..."
"Isn't this important?" Zhu Di raised his voice.
"Move the capital, move the capital as soon as possible." Li Qing said seriously, "Nothing is more important than moving the capital. Your Majesty, move it while it's hot... ah no, move it as soon as all the officials agree!
Don’t let Qin Tian monitor the auspicious date. Let’s move the capital first. The original plan was to move the capital in early March. It’s already May and we can’t delay it any longer.”
He said earnestly: "No matter what the emperor wants to do, it will not be too late until the capital is moved."
"Look at how anxious you are. The emperor is not as anxious as the eunuchs." Zhu Di teased, "Don't worry, no one will dare to stop the capital move this time."
~
That's what he said, but Zhu Di still listened to Li Qing's words.
The next day, he proposed to move the capital, and only two days later, the capital move was officially carried out.
The Hanlin Academy and the Metropolitan Procuratorate took the lead, followed by the Six Ministries, the mainstream nobles, and the great grandson Zhu Zhanji personally led 10,000 Beijing troops to transport grain and grass to Shuntian by water transport, and then Xiaopang led his wife and children to move to the new capital.
Zhu Di was in charge of the army and did not move.
Moving the capital was more troublesome than imagined. The move started in early May and lasted until August before all the ministries and offices were in place. Of course, during this period, political affairs were also being handled.
Officials from various parts of the Ming Dynasty split the coupons in two, with one half sent to Zhu Di and the other half to Zhu Gaochi.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the prince Zhu Gaochi and the grandson Zhu Zhanji successively presented memorials to express that everything was in order and respectfully requested the emperor to move.
Zhu Di remained unhurried and sent his personal eunuch to investigate. After receiving confirmation, he coyly led his army to Peking like an ugly daughter-in-law meeting her parents-in-law.
…
When all the dust has settled, it’s the beginning of winter.
The officials temporarily live in the yamen, the military generals temporarily live in the military camp, and the nobles are treated the best and live in the collective prince's mansion.
Although it is slightly crowded, the conditions are already very good in comparison. At the same time, the imperial court has also provided subsidy policies for ministers to choose from.
Li Qing was the last one to go to Shuntian. He was selling things.
He is no longer young and has not been retired for many years. Even if he enters an official career in the future, he cannot use the status of Yongqing Marquis. He has no son to inherit it, so as long as it can be sold, it can almost be sold.
If it weren't for the fact that the Hou Mansion was a house rewarded by Emperor Taizu and could not be sold, he would have wanted to sell the Hou Mansion.
However, Li Qing was not polite. The huge Hou Mansion was empty and very shabby.
After getting some extra money, Li Qing rushed to Shuntian with the three girls.
~
The snowfall in the eighteenth year of Yongle was later than that in the seventeenth year of Yongle.
However, the officials still couldn't bear it. They had to get up at the fourth watch in the morning. The wind along the way blew like a knife. The generals were strong and could withstand it, but the civil servants could not.
Once the snow starts to fall in the north, it will never end and will not melt yet. At first, you will step into a hole that is up to your ankles, and then it will freeze hard. If you are not careful, it will be like a dog eating shit. That feeling...don't mention it.
.
The Ming Dynasty stipulated that when officials went to court, only those with a third rank or above could ride in sedans and horses, while the rest could only walk.
Of course, this does not mean that people below the third rank cannot travel in sedan chairs, but that they cannot ride in sedan chairs to go to court.
Nearly a thousand people attend court every day. If they all ride in sedan chairs, traffic accidents may easily occur.
The senior members of the Six Ministries were okay, but the ordinary officials couldn't bear it. It was just that they couldn't ride in the sedan chair. What's more important was that they were not qualified to enter the palace.
Among the nearly a thousand officials, only a hundred were able to enter the Fengtian Palace, and the rest were standing outside the palace.
The cold wind was biting and the snowflakes were flying. Their hearts felt cold, and so did their people. They were all hopeless and miserable.
Isn’t it too damn hard to be an official in the Ming Dynasty?