Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 327 The Prince Supervises the Country

"Uuuuuu——"

On the first day of March in the third year of Yongle, the horn sounded as the dragon boat set sail.

On the Jiangdongmen Pier, horse-drawn boats worth three thousand dollars gradually left the port. Most of the passengers on those horse-drawn boats were soldiers and officials from the Sixth Ministry, the Sixth Army's Governor's Office and the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

At the edge of the pier, Zhu Gaoxu led hundreds of officials from the Sixth Ministry, the left and right censors of the Imperial Procuratorate, and the Sixth Army Dudufu to see off the dragon boat heading north.

Zhu Di took Empress Xu to Xingzai in Beijing. According to the route, they would go all the way north along the canal and pass through Yanzhou, Dongchang and Jinan in Shandong.

Therefore, before setting off, Zhu Di said that he would see how Shandong's new policies were when passing through the three prefectures. However, Zhu Gaoxu not only did not feel uncomfortable, but welcomed him very much.

He didn't have time to leave Nanjing, so he didn't know what Shandong's new policy was going to be like, and whether there would be anything that Sun Cheng deceived and concealed.

If Zhu Di can see some problems in this trip north, it will be a good thing for the implementation of the New Deal.

"The memorials from Peiping, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and other places will be sent directly to His Majesty Longzhou for disposal, and there is no need to send them to Nanjing."

"The rest of the memorials do not need to be sent to Wuying Hall, just send them directly to Chunhe Hall."

"I will teach you..."

As soon as Zhu Di left, Zhu Gaoxu gave instructions to the ministers behind him without thinking.

He would not do anything that would tire him to death. Even if the old man went to the north to fight, he could not leave behind his government affairs.

Facing his edict, the officials of the Six Ministries and Six Governments bowed one after another and did not dare to refute.

When Zhu Di was around, they could still refute Zhu Gaoxu. After all, Zhu Di was the peacemaker.

Now that Zhu Di is gone, their lives are becoming more uncomfortable, and they feel that the environment is much more depressing.

"Put the driver back to the palace."

Looking at the appearance of the ministers, Zhu Gaoxu felt very proud in his heart, and then walked back to the golden carriage on the pier, preparing to return directly to the East Palace.

The road from Jiangdongmen back to the outer city of Nanjing is paved with a cement road ten feet wide. After all, Jiangdongmen is the busiest dock on the Yangtze River waterway. Building such a road is conducive to the development of commerce.

Except for the cement road at Jiangdong Gate that extends out, cement roads are also built at the other inner city and outer city gates. The difference is that they stop the outer city gate and do not extend outward.

The reason for this is simply because Jiangnan cement production is insufficient.

After three years of continuous expansion, Jiangnan Cement Plant now has seventeen plants with an annual output of 17,000 tons. The output seems to be good, but there are really too many places where cement is needed.

The dredging of the Wusong River has not yet been completed. The construction of the Yellow River channel in the north of the Yangtze River, as well as the many sluice gates and dams used to rectify the Yellow River, collect water and flush sand, have not yet been completed.

In addition to these, Jiangnan officials who saw the benefits also lamented their poverty. They thought that Sanhe soil consumes food and is not as cost-effective as concrete, which could have been built with Sanhe soil.

It is obvious that the water conservancy construction in the south of the Yangtze River has been greatly improved during the Hongwu period, but it is reported that there are more than 20,000 water conservancy facilities that need to be repaired and constructed.

"It's really shameless."

Looking at the amount of memorials in his hand, Zhu Gaoxu, who had just returned to Chunhe Hall, was laughed out of anger.

"Among these memorials that need urgent construction, I specially highlight them. Your Highness only needs to deal with these."

Standing in front of Zhu Gaoxu, Huang Fu, Minister of Industry, explained deliberately, and Zhu Gaoxu also nodded with satisfaction.

He circled the memorial in red and looked at Huang Fu.

Huang Fu looks ordinary, but has an extraordinary temperament. Zhu Gaoxu has high hopes for him.

After all, he did a good job in history whether he was responsible for the construction of Beijing or served as the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing. Especially in the governance of Jiaozhi, even the powerful and wealthy households in Jiaozhi and the common people at the bottom were admired.

If Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanji had not transferred him back twice, and the eunuch Ma Qi had committed evil again in Jiaozhi, Li Li would not have been out of control.

Of course, Zhu Gaoxu valued Huang Fu the most because he dared to angrily attack Zhu Zhanji when Zhu Zhanji retreated to seek peace.

Zhu Gaoxu forgot the specific content, but Zhu Zhanji was humiliated anyway. He was criticized by Huang Fu for everything from finance to military affairs. In the end, he had to send Zheng He to go to the West again, and Huang Fu was sent to Nanjing as a household officer. Minister of the Ministry, responsible for collecting taxes from the south and transporting them to the north.

Facts have proved that Zhu Zhanji's move was correct. At least from the seventh year of Xuande, when Huang Fu took office as the Minister of Household Affairs in Nanjing, to the fifth year of Zhengtong's death, there were no major tax problems in the south, which supported the first northern expedition in the Zhengtong period. and the first conquest of Luchuan in the south.

After Huang Fuyi's death, not to mention the financial difficulties in the south during the Zhengtong period, many local uprisings broke out in which officials exploited the people.

It would be a pity not to make good use of such a talent, so Zhu Gaoxu directly promoted him to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Industry.

If Yu Xin can no longer work at any time, Xia Yuanji can replace the vacancy of the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Huang Fu can replace the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Zhu Gaoxu can also arrange for Sun Cheng to take over the Ministry of Works.

As long as these three bureaucracies, namely the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Works, are in good hands and no major problems occur, the Ming Dynasty can still prosper for fifty years.

Thinking like this, Zhu Gaoxu showed more concern for Huang Fu: "I'd rather trouble you to worry about the Ministry of Works matters."

"Among the courtiers, I trust you, Yu Xin, and Xia Yuanji the most. I love you very much but I don't know how to repay you. I can only show my favor with rewards."

Huang Fu bowed quickly to Zhu Gaoxu's earthy love words. Before Huang Fu could react, Zhu Gaoxu said to the eunuch in the corner:

"Give Huang Fu, Xia Yuanji, Yu Xin, and Sun Cheng four bullfighting uniforms, thousands of coins, and hundreds of pieces of silk and satin each."

"I will teach you this slave."

"I thank Your Highness for your kindness..."

The ceremonial eunuch and Huang Fu bowed to each other one after another. Zhu Gaoxu signaled Huang Fu to get up and asked him at the same time: "What happened to the Yellow River and Wusong River?"

"Reporting to Your Highness..." Huang Ful collected his thoughts before continuing:

"The lower reaches of the Wusong River have almost become flat land, and the section where the Huangpu River passes through the entrance of the Wusong River is even more choked and difficult to dredge."

"I am dredging and visiting at the same time. At present, nearly a hundred miles have been dredged. However, if we want to go further, we must build stone gates at the intersection of Xiajiapu, Xinyang River and Wusong River to control the river flow and prevent the backflow of tide and sand. Wusongjiang."

"In addition, we have to open a river channel of 15 feet and build it from Huangdu to Songjiaqiao, a distance of 80 miles, to restore some order to the Wusong River."

"However, if we want to completely solve the problem of Wusong River, we have to dredge the north and south beaches of Wujiang River to drain the water of Taihu Lake."

"I have calculated with the officials from the Ministry of Industry that if we want to solve the problem of Wusong River and Taihu Lake, I am afraid that the money and food consumed will be no less than 6 million yuan..."

Six million yuan, which is almost one-fifth of the current Ming Dynasty's annual fiscal revenue.

If you exclude the salaries of civil and military officials and military salaries, it would take at least five years to raise this amount of money.

The reason why Huang Fu divided governance into three stages was because he felt that it was impossible for the court to solve this problem in a short time.

"Let's do this. The imperial court will allocate 600,000 yuan to you every year. Within ten years, the problems of Wusong River and Taihu Lake will be solved, so that the people of Songjiang Prefecture can enjoy peace."

Zhu Gaoxu has always taken floods very seriously and will not stop local construction just because the wealthy gentry and wealthy households in the six prefectures of Jiangdong hate him.

Once the flooding problems in the Wusong River and Taihu Lake are resolved, Jiangnan, a land of plenty, will be able to move to a higher level, and the court will receive more benefits.

In the long run, this is definitely something to do.

"The Ministry of Industry estimates that it will cost 200,000 yuan to dredge and repair the Yellow River and canals, and it will take five years to solve the current problems."

"However, if the Yellow River continues to flood in the future, the canal will still be silted up. Therefore, after the problem is solved, a fixed amount of money and food must be allocated every year for maintenance."

"I have calculated with the Ministry of Industry that if we do not launch corvee according to the new policy of the imperial court, we will need at least 4 million guan, which is about 800,000 guan every year."

"In addition, subsequent maintenance will cost approximately 200,000 yuan."

One wave after another, Huang Fu talked about the Yellow River and the Canal, but Zhu Gaoxu, who was tired of listening, wanted to pull out the emperors of the two Song Dynasties and whip them to death.

It was his turn to mend the pot that caused the Huihe River and the Yellow River to burst in the Two Song Dynasties and Three Times.

"Are there any other expenses? Let's talk about them together." Zhu Gaoxu looked at Huang Fu with a slight headache.

"The main thing is to build cement plants locally, and build ponds, canals, embankments, and official roads in various places."

Huang Fu summed it up: "I have calculated that there are about 34,000 projects outside Jiangnan. If corvee is used, the cost should be about 800,000 guan. If not, it will be about 4 million guan. .”

On the issue of whether to use corvees alone, Ming Dynasty had to face an expenditure of 3.2 million, so Zhu Gaoxu also hesitated after hearing this.

Undecided, he asked Huang Fu: "Do you think the court should use corvees?"

"In my opinion, it is better not to use it if possible. It is better to delay it than to delay the farming work."

Huang Fu is still people-oriented, and Zhu Gaoxu thinks the same way, but he still makes arrangements for these projects: "These things, the Ministry of Industry divides them into priorities, and the urgent things are done first, and then the less important ones are done slowly. I did it urgently."

"The imperial court's expenditures this year are also large. The Ministry of Revenue has contacted me many times, so this is the only way."

The third year of Yongle was destined not to be peaceful. The northern expedition and the southern expedition were carried out at the same time, and there were still many major projects in the country.

Regarding this year's financial situation, Zhu Gaoxu is not prepared to see any savings or balances. As long as he does not take advantage of Lao Zhu's bottom line, he will be thankful.

Huang Fu also knew it well, so he said he would delay it if he could, because he knew that the imperial court was under great financial pressure.

"In this case, I will return to the Ministry of Industry now to arrange things, and then make an inventory with the Ministry of Household Affairs."

He did not stay at Chunhe Hall, but bowed and left after discussing the matter.

After he left, Zhu Gaoxu also began to devote himself to the processing of memorials.

Days like this will probably last until Zhu Di returns to Nanjing.

If Zhu Gaoxu hadn't finished teaching this year's Taixue courses during the winter vacation, he might have been anxious at this moment.

"Yu Xin, Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, asks to see His Highness..."

"Xuan!"

The sound of singing came from the palace gate, and Zhu Gaoxu responded without hesitation.

Not long after, Yu Xin walked into the palace with the memorial and handed it to the eunuch in charge of rites, who forwarded it to Zhu Gaoxu.

After Zhu Gaoxu opened it, he immediately frowned.

"Your Highness, the total amount of grain transported by the imperial court by sea in the past three months was more than 226,000 shi, and only more than 194,000 shi were delivered safely."

The disadvantages of shipping were brought up by Yu Xin, but after seeing it, Zhu Gaoxu asked:

"The shipping grains between China and North Korea all use the sea channel. Even if it sinks, it can be salvaged. Why is the loss so huge?"

Seeing this, Yu Xin also explained: "The main losses are from Qinzhou from Annan, from Jiangnan to Zhigu, and from Jiangnan to Yinqi."

"Besides, this loss of money and food is much lower than the loss of shipping during the high emperor's time. It mainly depends on the technological advancement of horse ships, which allowed the construction of five thousand material horse ships." "Are you trying to say that this loss is inevitable?" Zhu Gaoxu raised his head and asked Yu Xin, but Yu Xin could only nod.

"Okay." Zhu Gaoxu rubbed his brows and could only accept the loss.

It is better to go by sea and get 10% overturned than to go by land and get 30% corrupted by officials along the way.

"Is there anything else?"

Seeing that Yu Xin had no intention of leaving, Zhu Gaoxu put down the memorandum criticizing Hong and asked. Yu Xin also hesitantly raised his hands and bowed: "I am old and want to beg for help at the end of the year."

"..." Upon hearing Yu Xin's idea of ​​going home to retire, Zhu Gaoxu subconsciously felt that Yu Xin was under pressure, but he realized after a moment that Yu Xin had indeed died of illness within a few years of working during the Yongle period. .

Looking at it now, he only has a few years left to live. He must have really felt that his body was not as good as before, so he came to beg for his old age.

"Besides Xia Yuanji, is there anyone else you can recommend?"

Zhu Gaoxu also wanted to let Yu Xin go home and live a few more years, but there was indeed a shortage of people in the court, especially people he trusted.

Sun Cheng will not be able to escape from Liaodong and Shandong and enter Beijing until at least the end of next year. Yu Xin has to leave at such a critical moment, which really makes him a little helpless.

"Chief Envoy Sun Cheng..."

Yu Xin recommended Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaoxu was very helpless: "Sun Cheng will not be able to enter Beijing until at least the end of next year. Is there anyone else you can recommend?"

"Beijing Bank Shangshu Guo Zi." Yu Xin reluctantly named Guo Zi, the Shangshu who is now in charge of Beijing Bank's work.

Guo Zi is Zhu Di's man, which is why Yu Xin didn't mention him at first.

However, he underestimated Zhu Gaoxu. Zhu Gaoxu didn't care who Guo Zi belonged to. After all, most of the people in the Ministry of Revenue belonged to him.

"Let's do this. When the Northern Expedition is over, I will transfer Guo Zi to the south. You can take him to get to know him well, and then return to him in the spring of next year."

"Thank you, Your Highness, for your kindness..."

After getting Zhu Gaoxu's answer, Yu Xin breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he wanted to do more things for Zhu Gaoxu, his body no longer allowed him to continue like this.

Everyone is afraid of death, and Yu Xin is no exception.

Now he just wants to go home and recuperate and enjoy his last few years.

"I will send an imperial doctor to the Household Department every month to diagnose your pulse. Don't be too burdened and take good care of yourself."

Looking at Yu Xin, who was only fifty-eight years old, Zhu Gaoxu could only sigh that the Hubu was indeed a waste of energy, and anyone who could live to sixty in the Hubu was regarded as a remarkable person.

If Yu Xin could live to be in his seventies, he would be relieved of most of his financial pressure.

It's just a pity...

"My minister retire."

Seeing Yu Xin slowly exiting the Chunhe Hall, Zhu Gaoxu sighed deeply, shook his head and continued to deal with the memorial.

While he was dealing with the memorial, time also passed little by little.

On the ninth day of March, the ninth day of the dragon boat trip north, this highly anticipated team finally crossed Xuzhou and entered Shandong.

As Zhu Di said at the beginning, after arriving in Shandong, he used the excuse that the canal was blocked and the fleet could not move, so he took Xu off the ship and took a chariot to the north.

This is the third year of the implementation of the New Deal in Shandong, but for the people of Yanzhou Prefecture, this is only the second year, because the policies of the New Deal were only implemented locally in the second year of Yongle.

As the most populous province in the north, even if millions of people moved to Liaodong, the population of Shandong is still denser than that of the northern provinces.

Starting from disembarking from Jiagou Shuiyi, the team could see people working in agriculture on both sides of the official road as they went north.

In this season, the people of Shandong were still busy with spring plowing. In order to get to know them, Zhu Di specially took Queen Xu to change into clothes made of fine gauze.

Although ordinary people can wear fine gauze, a piece of clothing made of this material can cover the income of a farmer's two acres of land. Except for some small landowners who are willing to wear it, ordinary rich farmers and ordinary people are absolutely reluctant to buy such clothes.

As Zhu Di rode a carriage and was escorted by dozens of cavalry to the countryside far away from the official road, the local district chief and grain chief also got the news and hurriedly came to greet the two.

"Zhang Ping, the head of Xiaogouhe Village (grain chief Wang Wu), comes to see Your Majesty, long live long live long live long live..."

As the chief and grain chief of Xiaogouhe Village, Zhang Ping and Wang Wu never thought that they would be able to see the emperor and queen.

They prostrate themselves on the ground, waiting for the emperor's words.

"Everyone, get up and tell the people that I am the county magistrate and I just want to see how Shandong's new policies are going."

Zhang Ping and Wang Wu were stunned when Zhu Di blurted out "I". The two looked at each other, obviously not expecting that the emperor would call himself "I".

"You two have become subordinates at this age, serving as the head of the district and the head of grain?"

Zhu Di looked at the two people who were only eighteen or nineteen years old, and couldn't help but wonder why they were so young.

"Return to your Majesty..." The two people who reacted looked at Zhu Di who was being escorted by cavalry and the charitable Empress Xu next to them. After a pause, they explained:

"Most of the students who graduate from Bohai and serve as subordinate officials are between fifteen and twenty-five years old. The two ministers are already considered older."

"Oh?" This made Zhu Di a little surprised, and Queen Xu on the side also asked:

"At your age, you have to deal with the people in the countryside, measure their fields, organize the people into households, and collect taxes. Haven't you encountered any difficulties?"

Empress Xu is not someone who is aloof from the world. She knows very well that there are difficult people among the people in the countryside, so she knows that doing things in the countryside is not an easy task.

At Zhang and Ping's age, it was a time when they were looked down upon, and they suffered a lot after thinking about it.

"Go back to Your Highness..."

Wang Wu, as the head of the grain collection area, saw Queen Xu asking and replied: "There were at first, but when we met these people, we sent one of us to the town and asked our brothers in the army to come and punish the troublemakers with corvee service." Half a month."

"If things continue like this, no one will cause trouble in the village, and besides, the food collected by the imperial court is not much."

"Isn't ten Fu and one not too much?" Zhu Di stroked his beard. He always felt that his second son was exploiting Shandong a lot, so he said he wanted to come to Shandong.

"It's much less than during the Hongwu period." Wang Wu immediately explained when he saw the emperor speaking.

But when faced with his explanation, Zhu Di didn't believe it at all, and directly said to Xu Zengshou, Wang Yan and others around him: "Send two of you to watch them, and the others will follow me into the village to have a look."

"I accept the order!" Xu Zengshou and others agreed, but Zhu Di glared at them: "Call me the county magistrate."

"It's... the county magistrate." Xu Zengshou and Wang Yan looked at each other, holding back laughter and nodded.

"Magistrate, if we don't enter the village, I'm afraid the villagers won't be able to talk to you easily."

When Zhang Ping and Wang Wu saw that the emperor was going to send someone to guard them, they immediately bowed to remind them.

"Hmph!" Zhu Di snorted coldly after hearing this: "I think you are afraid that the people will tell me the truth, so you said that on purpose."

"You asked me to take you with me, but I won't!"

After that, Zhu Di walked into Xiaogouhe Village proudly, but Queen Xu did not follow him and asked the two of them: "Why don't the people dare to talk?"

"Go back to Your Highness." When Zhang Ping saw Queen Xu asking, he immediately explained:

"The fields in this village were all equally divided from the Yanshengong Mansion, and most of the people in the village were former tenants of the Yanshenggong Mansion."

"Although the land is equalized now, Duke Yan Sheng's Mansion often sends people here, as if they think the land will be returned to their hands in the future."

"The more times they come, the people in the village naturally become more wary and do not dare to talk to outsiders. Most of the time, I and I are asked to come forward to drive away the servants of Duke Yansheng's Mansion."

As Zhang Ping explained, Queen Xu frowned more and more as she listened, and finally said, "You guys go in with me."

"Yes!" Zhang Ping and Wang Wu bowed excitedly upon hearing this.

Not long after, the two of them walked into Xiaogouhe Village with Queen Xu not far behind Zhu Di and the others.

At the same time, Zhu Di also saw dozens of people working in the fields, and immediately stepped forward with a smile pretending to be honest.

"My father-in-law, your field is pretty good. Is it the equal field of the imperial court?"

Zhu Di pretended to be honest and honest, but as soon as he said those words, the old farmers who were working looked at each other, then lowered their heads and did not answer.

Zhu Di was not shy after being defeated. Instead, he stepped forward to an old farmer with increasing courage, grabbed the farm tools from his hands, and said while helping him work:

"Don't be afraid of me. I'm an official going to the north. I'm passing through Shandong just to ask you. Now that Shandong has implemented the New Deal, how is life compared to before?"

"Give me back my hoe." The old farmer did not answer the question, but just tried to snatch the hoe back from Zhu Di's hand.

"I can't help you with the work." Zhu Di often watched people doing farm work in Peiping, and he also had two brushes.

In the past, when he helped with farm work in Peiping, the people were grateful to him, but now he is disliked here.

"I'm not missing any arms or legs. I need help from people like you?"

The old farmer snatched the farm tools back from Zhu Di's hands, lowered his head and just focused on his own work, too lazy to talk to Zhu Di.

Such a scene made Zhu Di very frustrated. He couldn't help but wonder if he had become aloof after becoming emperor. In the past, he used this method to fight the people of Peiping, but now he can't.

He was still doubting himself. Zhang Ping and Wang Wu in the distance bowed to Queen Xu and said:

"Your Highness, you have also seen that the villagers really do not dare to talk to outsiders without me and my presence."

"Why is that so?" Queen Xu was puzzled: "It's just a small chat, there shouldn't be any problem, right?"

"This..." Zhang Ping and Wang Wu hesitated for a while, and then said: "Since the land was equalized, there have been many officials, gentry and wealthy households who want to cause trouble with the New Deal."

"Some villagers spoke freely and answered a few questions before being made a fuss by the group of people, using this to impeach the New Deal and lose the support of the people."

"After being fooled, the villagers no longer dare to communicate with outsiders."

"No wonder..." Queen Xu nodded after hearing this, remembering that Zhu Di often told her that officials in Shandong often impeached the New Deal.

The reason why Zhu Di felt that there was something wrong with the Shandong New Deal was because of these impeachments.

Before Zhang Ping and Wang Wu explained, Queen Xu did not doubt these officials, but now it seems that things may not be that simple...

(End of this chapter)