eldest son of Ming dynasty

Chapter 896: Conferring the Title of Prince
"Hahaha."

At the gate of the Qianqing Palace, the emperor walked in with Zai Hao and Zai Xi, laughing and talking happily.

Zai'e told a joke about the Champa envoy, which made the emperor and the second son Zai'e laugh out loud.

Zhu Houzhao put his hands on his waist, sighed and said, "It was a pleasant discussion today. Boss, you did a good job."

"I dare not take credit for it. This is all thanks to my father's teachings."

"Ah, counting the time, I have been the emperor for twenty-one years. In the past few years, I felt that the affairs of the country were the top priority, and how could I mess around with state affairs? But in the past two years, my thoughts have changed a little. A person's life is always limited. I have worked hard to expand the territory and enhance the prestige of my country, but if my descendants are not good, then all this will collapse in a moment.

Genghis Khan, the great emperor of that time, conquered a large territory, right? But now the Golden Family is being chased by the cavalry of our Ming Dynasty. I sometimes wonder what my greatest achievement in this life will be?

Now, I have the answer. If I have any achievements, the greatest achievement should be to leave a courageous, decisive and capable monarch after Zhengde for the Ming Dynasty!"

The princes of his generation were considered quite normal.

During the Ming Dynasty, due to palace turmoil, several generations of emperors did not receive proper education during their childhood.

However, all of them had received systematic education in both Chinese and Western styles. On the one hand, they were well versed in Chinese traditions, and on the other hand, they had no resistance to science.

Zhu Houzhao sometimes wondered which one was better.

The issue of succession was quite sensitive, but Zai Yao only felt that it was his father's encouragement and recognition of him, and he immediately stated, "Father, I will never let you down!"

"Let's not talk about whether I'm disappointed or not. Come, come, come in with me."

The emperor held one in each hand and said he was in a good mood today so he wanted to have a drink.

After the general direction of Nanyang was determined, with the "Ming Yue" as a constraint and Yan Song's implementation, as an emperor, his job was actually very simple. He just had to make decisions when there were problems in the process. Now everything had just begun, so he just had to wait for the results.

Yan Song rose to prominence quickly, and enjoyed a relatively prosperous period during the Zhengde reign. The reason for this was that he was open and honest in his work.

However, this matter was extremely difficult, and even he felt a little pressured. Moreover, he knew the character of Emperor Zhengde very well. If something went wrong, he would definitely punish someone.

So he did not delay and on his way back he thought about calling the envoys from Malacca and Champa.

"Yan Weizhong is a man of quick thinking and resourcefulness. If he carries out the idea you proposed, there will be no major mistakes. It is estimated that it will take about ten years. By that time, the major seaports in the South China Sea will complement each other, the economy and society will be prosperous, and the Ming Dynasty will be stable.

Governing a country is like governing a family. Internally, we need harmony and unity. How can a country achieve unity? The sages have said that we should not worry about the lack of wealth but the inequality of wealth. Therefore, we should always pay attention to the living conditions of the people. Externally, we should work together, that is, we should not be divided or fight among ourselves.

After a few drinks, Zhu Houzhao began to enjoy the future he had planned in his mind.

Taking Nanyang under his control was no small feat. More importantly, commerce and trade had flourished. From this moment on, he was almost confident that
The Ming Dynasty would not miss the Age of Discovery.

Instead, it will be gradually embedded in it under the exploration of businessmen.

In this way, even if we cannot lead the Industrial Revolution, at least we will not be completely unaware of it when it comes.

From this perspective, his mission as a time traveler has basically been accomplished.

He actually has no control over how well the follow-up will be done.

"Father," Zai Bi put down his wine cup and suddenly stood up, "I have a favor to ask of you."

"You said."

"I would like to ask the Emperor for permission to follow Lord Yan and learn how to handle Nanyang affairs together to increase my knowledge."

Zai Yao looked at his second brother with a little surprise.

He was not surprised that this matter was brought up. What surprised him was that the second brother had never revealed a word to him before.

but,
The relationship between the brothers was not like this before.

At this moment, Zai Yao suddenly felt that his second brother was different.

"Why do you have such an idea?"

Zai said, "I see that the emperor is concerned about this matter. He will definitely think about it day and night in the next few years. If I were in the capital, no matter how much the emperor sighed, I would have no good advice to give. I would be unfilial if I could not share the emperor's worries. Since this is the case, I want to follow Lord Yan to the south, remember the emperor's instructions, and do a good job of the important things that the emperor cares about."

Seeing the emperor's surprised and relieved expression, Zai Yao squeezed the wine glass in his hand.

It's his turn to say this.

"Father, I, your son, also ask for your permission to assist in handling the affairs of Nanyang."

Although the boss is slow to react, it is definitely better to say something than not to say anything.

"Okay, okay." Zhu Houzhao said with satisfaction, "As a father, I feel your kindness. But it's thousands of miles away to go to Nanyang. It will take at least two or three years to come back. Besides, that place is not as safe as the capital. I will think about it again."

"Yes!"

"Boss,"

"My son is here."

"You have made great contributions this time, and you have been working very hard recently. You are not only my son, but also my eldest son. I should say that you have not lost my face. Everyone in the court is excited now. This situation is hard-won. The way to be a monarch lies in the words of reward and punishment. You must reward those who have made contributions. This time, I will upgrade your title of county king to prince, right?"

There are two types of princes in the Ming Dynasty now, namely first-class princes and second-class princes.

The difference lies in whether it is hereditary or not.

Normally speaking, if it is not emphasized, it is referred to as the second-class prince.

But no matter what, it was enough to make Zai Tao happy, especially considering that the second son Zai Xi was conferred the title of prince first, which made his eldest son feel very depressed for the past six months.

Then he knelt down and kowtowed.

"Thank you, father, for your kindness!"

Zai's expression did not change at all, he just smiled and said, "Congratulations, big brother!"

"Thank you, second brother."

Zai'e was delighted.

In addition, he also learned a set of logic for doing things, which is to find out what his father cares about and do something about it. It's that simple.

The idea of ​​this "great power strategy" was originally proposed by him at the request of a group of ministers around him.

Then, Zhu Houzhao took out a memorial from his bosom, "It's not easy to be a prince, take a look at this memorial. Xinjian Earl Wang Shouren is telling me again that the grain price in Jiangnan this year is significantly higher than in previous years. The court has also found a solution, which is to transport grain from Tai and Lu to the north. Nowadays, there are ships and navigation technology, and the court has also allowed merchants to enclose land and settle there.

I will give you a task now. This task consists of two parts. First, find a way to transport food from Southeast Asia to the Central Plains in the next few years. Second, continue to encourage immigration. It is not just the court using money to transport food. It is best to let the people of the Central Plains go there voluntarily. This is difficult, so you have to use your brain. "

The current Ming Dynasty has a population of 60 to 70 million, which is an overwhelming population size in the world. In fact, the strength of a country is very complicated. It involves many factors and conditions, but one factor that cannot be missing is population.

Population means potential, at least there are many soldiers recruited.

Zhu Houzhao wanted to let them go to sea. One more person going out would mean more influence, and it would also reduce the burden on the mainland. Judging from the examples of the later Qing Dynasty, the abolition of the head tax and the introduction of high-yield crops would quickly lead to a doubling of the population.

This incident would be a disaster if everyone stays at home, but if we handle it well and create an atmosphere for people to go out, it would be a great opportunity.

(End of this chapter)