Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

There was silence in the secret room.

Originally, the question of moving the capital was a multiple-choice question that must be wrong in everyone's mind!

No matter what you choose, it’s all wrong!

Choosing Beijing as the capital will make the south unable to lose its power and face huge problems in transporting grain.

If Nanjing is chosen as the capital, it will face the division of the north and the south, and the problem that the northern border defense cannot solve.

But Jiang Xinghuo told them today that the answer to this multiple-choice question is very simple. As long as there is a [Qianli Chuanwen] who can communicate in real time, just open the options.

The emperor, who held military power, government decision-making power, and judicial decision-making power, was based in Beijing, while the prince was based in Nanjing.

In fact, in Zhu Di's mind, in order to solve the problem of the separation of the north and the south, he also planned to establish a crown prince, one for the south and one for the north.

Zhu Di felt that as for the [Iron Horse] mentioned by Jiang Xinghuo, it was far less important than [The Thousand Miles of Documents].

In Zhu Di's view, even if the [Iron Horse] cannot be realized, it is just a slight flaw. The economic weakness in the north is not just a year or two, but three to five hundred years. It doesn't matter if it can't be changed in a while.

After all, the money bag in the north is weak, but the handle of the knife is strong!

Zhu Di thought about it, as long as his basic base remains unchanged and the military power is in his own hands, no money is a trivial matter, and there is always a way.

If it doesn't work, just increase the intensity of the tax guards. Why can't you collect taxes even if you have a knife handle?

impossible.

But the suggestion was good, but at this moment, the air fell into a strange silence.

"Your Majesty, I object!!!"

Zhu Gaochi said loudly. Sweat was already pouring from his forehead. He struggled to stand up from the chair and then fell to his knees.

"I think it would be okay to set up two capitals, the north and the south, or even four or five capitals, just like the old system of the Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties."

"But I am opposed to the proposal of 'the emperor and the prince separate the northern and southern capitals'! Regardless of whether I am the prince or not, I am opposed to this proposal!"

As Zhu Gaoxu is about to be released from prison, the battle for the crown prince seems to be about to cause waves.

From any angle, it was impossible for Zhu Gaochi to agree with Jiang Xinghuo's idea of ​​decentralization of power between the 'emperor and the prince'!

Otherwise, what would Zhu Di think?

The prince has not yet become the prince, but he is already thinking about dividing my authority?

Even this decentralization has actually lasted for four years.

During the Jingnan period, all government affairs under Zhu Di were basically handled by Zhu Gaochi. What was handed to Zhu Di was usually a briefing and handling opinions, and Zhu Di usually did not refute Zhu Gaochi's opinions on handling government affairs.

Zhu Di was only responsible for military power, judicial decision-making power, and government decision-making power. He held these three most important powers and left the rest to Zhu Gaochi.

After the Yan army entered Nanjing, this pattern continued.

Except for Zhu Di who worked diligently for a period of time when his plans were fresh, Zhu Gaochi was in charge of government affairs at other times.

"You should get up first."

Zhu Di also fell into thinking.

Regarding the future, Zhu Di's vision was actually revealed to Zhu Gaochi. Zhu Di went to Beijing to prepare for the expedition to Mobei, leaving Nanjing's government affairs to Zhu Gaochi.

This is no different from what Jiang Xinghuo said.

but.

——The fact that there is no difference does not mean that there is no difference in name!

Zhu Di could do this temporarily because he could trust his elder son, who was capable of handling government affairs, but he himself was not good at handling government affairs. These conditions were indispensable.

Precisely because of these special conditions, this de facto ‘emperor-prince’ decentralization of power must never become a system!

What if future emperors cannot trust the prince? What if the prince is not good at handling government affairs? What if the emperor followed Zhu Yuanzhang, an ancestor who especially liked to deal with government affairs?

"The division of the emperor and the prince into southern Beijing cannot become a dynasty system. Maybe it can be done in two or three generations, but problems will inevitably arise in the future."

Zhu Di finally vetoed the decision.

In fact, if you implement it this way, you can!

Putting the facts into the system won’t work!

As the supreme ruler of an empire, Zhu Di's greatest concern was always imperial power.

It doesn't matter if Zhu Di and Hao Daer share power, because Hao Daer without military power cannot threaten his imperial power.

But if it becomes a system, then the "imperial power of future generations" will be threatened by the prince, which Zhu Di will not allow.

Zhu Di sighed: "Twenty or thirty years is really too far away. Let's not say whether Mr. Jiang's so-called [Thousand-Li Chuanwen] really exists. Even if it exists, I am afraid it will not be effective in bridging the north and the south by then."

At this moment, Li Zhigang, the Minister of Rites, suddenly spoke boldly.

"Your Majesty, and the most important thing is that the north, which has been barbarized for hundreds of years, cannot wait for these twenty or thirty years! It is imperative to prepare to move the capital!"

Obviously, Li Shangshu, who had a flexible moral bottom line, saw the change in the emperor's attitude and decided to stick to his temple idea again, which was to move the capital to Beijing.

As for whether the actual situation is as scary as Li Shangshu said, and whether he can wait for twenty or thirty years, Li Zhigang himself can't say.

Anyway, Li Zhigang was thinking about it. The barbarism in the north was serious. Is it a top priority to separate the north from the south?

If you say yes, that's right, because it is related to the unification of the Ming Dynasty. Now the contradiction between the north and the south is very profound.

If you say no, that is indeed not the case, because they have been separated for hundreds of years. As long as the nomads do not go south to the Central Plains again, then the north and the south can only make do with each other.

As time went by, the separation between the north and the south naturally healed.

Therefore, the matter of moving the capital is very important, but it is by no means so urgent that it must be solved overnight. It cannot be solved in the short term. It depends on the policies given by the court and then slowly healed over time.

Afterwards, I listened to the opinions of a few more people.

Zhu Di came to a conclusion in his heart.

The 'emperor-prince' division of power mentioned by Jiang Xinghuo guards Nanjing and Beijing respectively. The emperor in Beijing has military power, judicial decision-making power, and government affairs decision-making power. The prince in Nanjing can handle daily government affairs. This can be done in fact, but it must not become a system.

Although this would not threaten Zhu Di's imperial power, it would threaten the imperial power of future generations, and Zhu Di did not intend to waste it.

Anyway, it's just a matter of status. If you don't have it, there will be no trouble.

This was also the first time Jiang Xinghuo's proposal was completely rejected by Zhu Di in his heart.

In fact, this is the deep-rooted ruling attribute of feudal emperors.

The emperors that were beautified in various films and TV dramas of later generations were by no means their original images.

For a ruthless person like Zhu Di, in order to obtain Jiang Xinghuo's unique knowledge, he could tolerate Jiang Xinghuo's unbridled talk and give him enough respect and status, but there was a prerequisite for this.

That is, Jiang Xinghuo cannot threaten his imperial power.

Otherwise, let alone banishing the immortals, even if the immortals came down from the sky, Zhu Di would dare to draw his sword.

This is not only Zhu Di's domineering power, but also the foundation of his interests.

The road is long and the road is long. The future relationship between Jiang Xinghuo and Zhu Di, which will be both cooperative and confrontational, has already taken root at this time.

——————

People think differently.

For Zhu Gaoxu inside the wall, he really didn't have that many messy thoughts.

Zhu Gaoxu, who grew up in a cultural desert like a military camp, admired the omniscient and omnipotent Mr. Jiang, so even if Jiang Xinghuo proposed "Iron Horse" and "Thousand Miles" that were completely fantasy in his opinion, [Article], Zhu Gaoxu still thinks it is completely possible.

Since he thought it was possible, Zhu Gaoxu was completely unaware of the twists and turns involved in the decentralization of power between the northern and southern capitals proposed by the 'Emperor-Prince' based on this. He was just confused and had a fleeting idea.

What Zhu Gaoxu cares most about is the prince!

The reason why Zhu Gaoxu was so excited was because he knew that Mr. Jiang's lecture had been eavesdropped by his father.

And Mr. Jiang’s proposal to decentralize power between the ‘emperor and the prince’ is, to him, a proposal to maximize interests!

Why?

If the battle to establish the crown prince succeeds and Zhu Gaoxu becomes the crown prince, then he will be able to take control of half of the Ming Dynasty by himself early on. Isn’t that cool?

If the battle to establish the crown prince fails and Zhu Gaoxu does not become the prince, then he can stay in Beijing with Zhu Di. The first one who is closer to the throne will get the moon. Maybe as time goes by, his father will change his mind again.

Then why Zhu Gaochi can't have such a "win-win" situation? The reason is very simple. Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Di are closer.

Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Di staying together can easily change Zhu Di's mind, but Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Di staying together will not have this effect.

Jiang Xinghuo can roughly guess this, anyway, whether it is the division of power between the 'emperor and the prince', or [Iron Horse] and [Thousand Miles of Documents].

These are all things he drew up, and the purpose was to test the tolerance of the high-ranking officials of the Ming Empire towards him.

In other words, the reason why Jiang Xinghuo talks about things that cannot be done in a short time is contrary to his previous attitude of rigorous deduction, and this is the root cause.

——Because Jiang Xinghuo knew that he was noticed by the top brass of the Ming Empire.

And his student is the second prince Zhu Gaoxu!

Zhu Di is likely to know what he told Zhu Gaoxu.

Then he had to tease the imperial power. If Zhu Di couldn't accept it and killed him with one knife, then Jiang Xinghuo would have nothing to say.

The reason is simple. If Zhu Di is an emperor who cannot accept anything that affects his power, then it is impossible to transform the Ming Dynasty!

It’s still the same underlying logic as before.

Transforming the Ming Dynasty, whether it is thinking or artifacts, all aspects will have an impact on Zhu Di's existing power system and power structure.

It's just that some things are of great benefit to Zhu Di, and some things have benefits but also have slight disadvantages.

If Zhu Di can't even accept this historical deduction policy and wants to attack Jiang Xinghuo, then there will be no need to change anything in the future, because changing anything will lead to Zhu Di's opposition.

Without Zhu Di's support, Jiang Xinghuo would not be able to transform the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, Jiang Xinghuo brought out these uncharacteristic and advanced things to speak out in order to test the tolerance of the Ming Empire's high-level officials for his proposals by drawing a big pie.

This is also the invisible game and trial between Jiang Xinghuo and Zhu Di.

As for the results of the game and testing, Jiang Xinghuo will get the answer after a while if nothing unexpected happens.

If Jiang Xinghuo openly teased the imperial power and Zhu Di did not kill him, it means that Zhu Di tolerated and valued him to the extent that Jiang Xinghuo needed to transform the Ming Dynasty.

In the era of autocratic monarchy, without the support of the emperor, the Ming Dynasty could not be reformed.

Only if the emperor can endure it and pays enough attention to him can Jiang Xinghuo put his theory into practice and do practical things.

Unless it was for this purpose, Jiang Xinghuo would not talk about things that are currently impossible and would take up to twenty or thirty years to be achieved.

This doesn't suit his style.

As for Zheng He

He has been imitating the shape of a propeller.

Zheng He was very fascinated by Jiang Xinghuo's idea of ​​using iron horses to drive ships.

Zheng He didn't care much about temple policy.

Because Zheng He knew very well that these had nothing to do with him at all, and it was best for him not to get involved, otherwise it would be useless and cause a lot of trouble.

People like him would be used no matter which emperor came to power. Zheng He would not gain any more benefits by participating in the dispute over the appointment of a prince.

Only fools do things where the disadvantages far outweigh the benefits.

Zheng He is not a fool.

Zheng He asked: "Mr. Jiang, can this [Iron Horse] you mentioned really be built?"

"Sure, but not now."

Jiang Xinghuo thought carefully and replied: "Perhaps in the next few years, you will be able to see the appearance of the [Iron Horse] invented by the people of the Ming Dynasty."

The Ming Dynasty was still in the middle and late stage of feudal dynasty society.

Can Jiang Xinghuo rub a steam engine by hand?

Of course, in the sixth life, Jiang Xinghuo started out as an ordinary worker and worked hard in various chemical and mechanical factories during the industrial salvation period. Finally, relying on his own wisdom and ability, he opened several chemical and mechanical factories of his own. Machinery-related factories and provided material support for the anti-Japanese movement.

The ending of that life was that Jiang Xinghuo, a factory owner on the surface and a special worker secretly, faced certain death and ignited the explosives produced in his factory. After being killed by a bullet, the explosives that entered the countdown also took away the factory and the factory. Everyone inside.

Of course, don't expect modern industrial things, such as internal combustion engines, because those things cannot be made by one person.

But no matter what, Jiang Xinghuo still had some capabilities in some technological points during the more than three hundred years from the Middle Ages in Western Europe (500-1500 AD) to the second industrial revolution (1870-1914 AD).

For advanced things like wired telegraphy, if it had the support of the most basic industrial system, spent more time (20-30 years), and spent more money (hundreds and tens of millions of taels of silver), a major line from Nanjing to Beijing could still be built. built.

However, Jiang Xinghuo's attitude towards climbing the technology tree remained the same as before.

The significance of guiding and establishing a system is far greater than rubbing your own hands.

Even after he was released from prison, Jiang Xinghuo still believed that using the environment to force people and using creativity to force and create relationships was the right way.

As for any restrictions on imperial power in the future, those are the seeds left for hundreds of years to come.

At present, the imperial autocracy is more beneficial to support him in transforming the Ming Dynasty.

"What about [Thousand Miles of Documents]?" Zheng He asked further.

Jiang Xinghuo answered frankly: "If it goes well, it may take twenty or thirty years. If it doesn't go well, it may not happen in my lifetime."

Zheng He nodded, with some expectation hidden in his heart.

If iron horses can drive ships, then the performance of Ming ships will be greatly improved immediately.

To a considerable extent, ignoring whether things are going smoothly or not, how unnatural is this ability in this era?

I, the great navy master of the Ming Dynasty, am invincible in the world!

etc.

Zheng He suddenly frowned. Is there something wrong?

"Mr. Jiang." Zheng He's red face was a little weird, "How did our topic come up here?"

After hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu was also stunned.

Yes, when did the topic stray to this point?

Fortunately, in recent months, as he had given up drinking and sex, read more books, and maintained a regular schedule in prison, Zhu Gaoxu's brain became much clearer, and he quickly recalled the content before he went astray.

Ashamed to say it.

The topic was led astray by Zhu Gaoxu himself.

It was Zhu Gaoxu who insisted on citing the fact that after the Ming Dynasty established its capital in Nanjing, it considered moving the capital but then gave up.

Zhu Gaoxu repeated it honestly.

"I just talked about land power, sea power, and international power. Temples are the continuation of the economy, and war is the continuation of the temple. International power means that a country can influence other countries in all aspects from the perspectives of war, temples, economy, etc. capabilities, the most fundamental and lasting of which is economic interests.”

Zheng He also added: "He also said that the core of economic interests is the time and quantity of goods transportation, and discussed why the control of trade routes in the Western Regions by the Han and Tang Dynasties failed in the end."

"What you guys said is very good." Jiang Xinghuo praised: "As for the reason for the failure of the Han and Tang Dynasties, we have already reached the conclusion in our discussion about water transportation and sea transportation just now."

"Mr. Jiang, are you talking about shipping costs?" Zhu Gaoxu asked tentatively.

"That's it!"

Jiang Xinghuo affirmed: "The core of economic interests is the time and quantity of cargo transportation. Sea transportation, or water transportation, is naturally faster and larger in quantity than land transportation, because water transportation ships can borrow wind and water, while land transportation can only rely on Transporter’s legs.”

"Then we can easily draw a conclusion that the failure of the Han and Tang Dynasties in controlling the trade routes in the Western Regions was because long-distance transportation by land was not advisable. On the other hand, long-distance transportation by water is completely advisable, so it is also related to the theory of land power. A corresponding theory."

"That's the theory of sea power!"