The six-dimensional pictures of emperors of all dynasties were exposed, and the ancestors panicked

Chapter 529: Emperor Yongle Zhu Di!

【Looking back on Zhu Di's career as an emperor, it can be said to be extremely fulfilling. 】

[The central government launched five expeditions to the north of the desert, conquered Annan in the south, and established the Hami Guard in the west to exercise the central government's sovereignty over the Western Regions.]

【Send Chen Cheng to the Timurid Empire to restore the tributary relationship with the Ming Dynasty.】

【It also launched an unprecedented great voyage in Chinese history: Zheng He's voyages to the West, attracting all nations to come and pay tribute. 】

[There were more than 30 countries that paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty, the farthest of which reached today's West Africa.]

[Internally, the magnificent work "Yongle Encyclopedia" was revised]

【The capital was moved to Beijing and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal was rebuilt. 】

[He was able to perform both civil and military tasks, but then the problem arose.]

Where does the money come from?

……

{He had to rely on Zheng He to promote foreign trade. Otherwise, the taxes from the agricultural empire would only be enough to support him in moving the capital and building the canal.}
｛Although Zheng He made a lot of money during his voyages to the West, almost all of it went into the emperor's pocket.｝
{In fact, if you say that the emperor sent the fleet out to earn some money, there is nothing wrong with that, but the problem is that the money for building the ships is paid by the national treasury.}
{Thus, an interesting cycle was formed during the Yongle Dynasty: the national treasury paid, Zheng He sailed, trade took place, the emperor earned money, and used it to supplement state expenditures.}
{But from the outside court’s perspective, this is a loss to the national treasury that benefits the emperor alone!}
{If the national treasury is in deficit, the country's finances will be in trouble. Although the emperor can make up for the deficit out of his own pocket, the court still cannot agree to continue the voyage to the West.}
｛Because although Zhu Yuanzhang implemented a maritime ban, overseas trade could not be banned, and smuggling was born. ｝
{By the Yongle period, many pirate groups, mainly Chinese, had formed along the southeastern coast.}
{The pirate group is engaged in smuggling trade, but it is not open to the public. The bureaucratic group in the southeast region is indispensable for the disposal of the smuggled goods.}
{Gradually, a strange but reasonable black channel of pirates and bureaucrats was formed.}
{But Zheng He's sudden appearance shattered all of this. Once the national team took action, these individual forces were completely unable to compete with the royal representatives in terms of military force or goods and wealth.}
{The worst thing is that Zheng He's actions were legal, while their underground trade was illegal, so there was no possibility of a fair competition.}
{Cutting off someone's financial resources is like killing their parents. Zheng He's actions were no different from digging up the ancestral graves of these officials. I wonder how many officials cursed him.}
{This is also the fundamental reason why the Ming and Qing dynasties officials have always been firmly opposed to Zheng He's voyages to the West.}
……

The period of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty
Liu Heng looked at the sky and muttered to himself.

"A country with ten thousand chariots has its own merchants; a country with a thousand chariots has its own merchants."

"It is not what you rely on, but what you give."

"So if a ruler does not carefully examine his orders, then in one country there will be two rulers and two kings."

"Do you know why Guan Zhong said this?"

Liu Qi rubbed his wrist which was sore from copying books for so long.

“Merchants took advantage of the people’s distress to control the people’s food and supplies, causing the poor to lose their money and property.”

“And they took advantage of the people’s eagerness to pay taxes and pushed down prices.”

“That is why Guanzi said that if merchants are not strictly supervised, they will become the second monarch of a country.”

Liu Heng nodded.

"The emphasis on agriculture and the suppression of commerce is based on this."

“But that is not the same thing as the other time.”

"During the Spring and Autumn Period, scholars and nobles had hereditary salaries."

"From the Han Dynasty to the end of the Song Dynasty, all officials also had official land and salaries."

"These are all based on the emperor and the land."

"But Zhu Yuanzhang changed all that."

Liu Heng twirled his fingers.
"He cut off the officials' land, and the officials had no choice but to trade."

"If we can learn from Guan Zhong at this time, the Ming Dynasty may be able to support the world with foreign ministers."

"Just like Qi's dominance."

"But he lifted the maritime ban again."

When Liu Heng thought of this, he suddenly felt absurd.

If the king regards his subjects as worthless, then the subjects will regard the king as an enemy.

Doesn’t he understand such a simple truth?

"At this time, these people have already tasted the sweetness, and Zhu Di has lifted the ban on sea trade and allowed the emperor to enter the market and pay money to the inner treasury..."

Liu Qi continued thinking along this line.

"So... Father, I'm afraid the Ming officials are alienated from the emperor."

Liu Heng smiled.

"Have you forgotten who Zheng He is?"

"They have long been divided."

"Zhu Yuanzhang..."

The emperor shook his head in a puzzled tone.

"Then Zhu Yunwen is actually the only emperor who can rebuild trust between the two."

"It's a pity that the naive emperor met the old-fashioned ministers."

"In the end, the usurper princes continued Taizu's policies for the sake of legality."

Liu Qi felt a headache coming on.

"The country has just been founded. Why do you sound like it's been destroyed?"

Liu Heng looked at his son who had a confused look on his face and curled the corners of his mouth.

"It's not like the country will be destroyed."

"We still have the nobles here, so we can balance the civil and military affairs."

"It's just that the emperor and his ministers are on guard against each other."

"The people of the world will once again be caught in the middle of unrest."

……

[This requires mentioning the man behind Zhu Di. ]

[The "Minister of Logistics" under Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yunwen - Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue of the Ming Dynasty. ]

【Xia Yuanji.】

……

Ming Dynasty Yongle Period
Zhu Di frowned with an unspeakable expression.
"What man behind the scenes..."

"Why does it sound so weird?"

……

Ming Dynasty and Xuande period
"Minister Xia is a man of great talent."

Zhu Zhanji stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the sky.

If my father had not been able to coordinate my grandfather's major projects, Minister Xia would have come up with ideas.

"…The best thing Grandpa did was not to kill Minister Xia."

……

Ming Dynasty - Jianwen Period
Zhu Yunwen's expression changed as he looked at the sky.

He knew Xia Yuanji.

He is not the kind of person who would betray his country in the face of danger. In his eyes, he only cares about the country and not the king.

Since he can serve under King Yan, it means that King Yan has his recognition.

He thinks the Prince of Yan is more suitable to be the emperor than I am...

"That's all..."

……

【It is not an easy task to manage the world's finances. 】

【Especially in the Ming Dynasty which had just experienced the Jingnan War. 】

[The money and grain in the national treasury is limited, and it is used to pay officials’ salaries and repair palaces, as well as to build local infrastructure and fight foreign wars.]

[All affairs must be supported by the Ministry of Revenue. Any mistake will result in the death of the head.]

【But Zhu Di was a monarch who needed to prove himself with great achievements. 】

[Compiled the Yongle Encyclopedia, made six voyages to the West, conquered the northern desert five times, attacked Annan, built the Forbidden City, opened the Grand Canal...]

[Each of them is a big project that "burns money." ]

[The country had just been hit by a war, and it was already a great achievement to be able to maintain the daily expenses of the court. How could there be any extra money to fulfill the emperor's ideals? ]

【Didn’t you see that the Sui Dynasty, which had its Kaihuang reign, was “dug up” by Emperor Yang of Sui when he dug the Grand Canal? 】

……

Great Sui.

"I knew it!"

Yang Jian slammed the table angrily!
"My Sui Dynasty can certainly achieve the same success as the Han and Tang Dynasties!"

"It's because of this bastard that I got into trouble!"

"When the Sui Dynasty is mentioned now, who remembers the Kaihuang Reign?!"

"I only remember that bastard who dug the river and destroyed the country!"

Dugu Jialuo looked at him, his eyes turned, and he smiled:

"Think positively, too."

"That kid's lack of discretion led to the destruction of the country."

"It's better than Hu Hai, right?"

"That's a dead giveaway that a country will fall!"

Yang Jian didn't know whether to laugh or cry for a moment.

Can you please find someone better?

……

【But facing all this, Xia Yuanji has a way. 】

[“Reduce redundant food, reduce taxes and labor service, tighten the salt law and money ban, clear warehouses, expand farming, so as to provide relief to the people on the border and facilitate merchants.”]

【Reduce national fiscal expenditure by eliminating unnecessary institutions and personnel. 】

【By reducing national taxes and cracking down on private salt trading, the items stored in warehouses can be liquidated to increase national fiscal revenue. 】

[Promote the method of planting in military farms, so that border guards can also cultivate in peacetime, be self-sufficient, and reduce their dependence on national finances. ]

[Encourage farmers who have not been allocated land to settle down in the border areas, open up wasteland, and rest with the people.]

[By issuing some new policies to benefit merchants, they can help the economic development of Ming Dynasty. 】

[Increase taxes on the rich, reduce taxes on the poor, and allow people to pay to work.]

[When rewarding ministers or foreign envoys, Xia Yuanji suggested a one-time reward. ]

[Although the amount of the one-time reward was huge, it could effectively reduce the continuous waste of Ming Dynasty's financial resources caused by the long-term nature of the reward.] [In the face of the increasing number of Ming Dynasty royal family members, the proposal to open up salt permits]

[Allow the royal family and princes to transport and sell salt and be self-sufficient, thus reducing the large amount of money that the court needs to pay and reward to the princes every year.]

[These measures provided a guarantee for every large expenditure during the Yongle era.]

[While supporting Zhu Di's "ideal" to proceed smoothly, it also allowed the Ming Dynasty to find a balance between increasing national influence, increasing treasury revenue, and improving people's livelihood. ]

【Talents like Zheng He and Song Li found a place to use their talents, and a virtuous cycle was initially formed.】

[Evaluation of people: S-level, 5 points. ]

……

The period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty
Liu Che yawned and then wiped his eyes.

Isn’t it Sang Hongyang?

It’s nothing great, I have it!

……

{I think this five points is too high. Let’s talk about Xia Yuanji. Zhu Di was very sorry for him.}
{When Zhu Di planned to conquer the desert for the third time, Xia Yuanji said bluntly: The country has been at war for years, but basically returned without success.}
{The army and horse reserves have lost 80% of their reserves, and there are constant disasters and famines. You are in trouble both internally and externally. Besides, you are old and in poor health. You can just find a general to represent you in the expedition to Mobei.}
{Which of these words is not from the heart? But Zhu Di directly ordered to confiscate Xia Yuanji's house and put him in prison.}
{This "strongest guarantee of the Yongle prosperous era" managed the country's finances for decades, and apart from the rewards given by the emperor, there were only some rags and bottles and jars left in his home.}
{He had been dealing with money and grain all his life, but he was able to manage the country in an orderly manner, making the Yongle era famous, but he was unable to leave any surplus wealth for himself.}
{This shows how honest he is. He has been working for the country and the people for 20 years. Do you, Zhu Di, really think he is doing this for you?}
……

Liu Che felt that the sky was targeting him.

What use is such a minister to Zhu Di!
It should be given to me!

Sang Hongyang is still a little bit lacking in this regard.

"There is no such thing as a complete Zhuge Liang."

"Give me a Zhuge Liang who is good at internal affairs!"

"I'm not picky!"

Huo Qubing scratched his temples.

Isn’t this a choice?
Can Zhuge Liang still be combined?

……

Period of Jihan and Emperor Huai

Zhuge Liang subconsciously tightened his collar.

Liu Chan saw it, turned around and said loudly:
"Someone! Bring me the cloak!"

Then he said with concern:
"Father, why don't we go in and take a look."

"Don't get caught in the wind or get a cold."

Zhuge Liang waved his hand.

"Nothing, just a cool breeze blowing by, it's nothing."

……

[In July 1403, Zhu Di ordered the imperial scholar Xie Jin to collect all the books in the world and compile them into a book]

[“The books of the classics, history, philosophy, and hundreds of schools of thought, as well as the words on astronomy, geography, yin and yang, medicine, divination, monks, and arts, are all compiled into one book, without being too tiring of its vastness.”]

[A total of nearly 1407 scholars were mobilized to participate, and the work was completed in October .]

[The book consists of 22877 volumes, bound into 11095 books, with approximately 3.7 million words.]

[The whole book is arranged according to the rhyme list of "Hongwu Zhengyun", with rhyme used to organize words and words used to link events.]

【Astronomy, geography, human relations, national order, morality, political system, famous objects, strange stories and different opinions.】

[The sun, moon, stars, rain, wind, clouds, frost, dew, mountains, seas, rivers, etc. are all included along with the characters.]

[The book is divided into categories, recording more than 8,000 kinds of ancient books from the pre-Qin period to the early Ming Dynasty.]

[All books included in the collection shall not be arbitrarily deleted or altered, and must be included in the collection word for word according to the original book, in its entirety, in its entirety, and in its entirety.]

[This editing method has preserved a large amount of rich and valuable information on philosophy, history, geography, language, literature, art, religion, science and technology before the Ming Dynasty.]

[Zhu Di named it "Yongle Encyclopedia" and carefully kept it in the Wenyuan Pavilion in Nanjing after it was rebuilt. ]

[The Yongle Encyclopedia is also known as "the largest encyclopedia in the history of the world" and has become an important symbol of Chinese culture. ]

……

{Then it was burned.}
……

Ming Dynasty Yongle Period
“Burned?!!”

Zhu Di, who felt a little guilty towards Xia Yuanji, was very proud after seeing the "Yongle Encyclopedia".

After talking a few more times, he still felt a little dissatisfied.

Then I saw it was burned!

My heart almost jumped out even though it didn’t jump out during the battle!

……

{The original manuscript that was burned is still there.}
……

Zhu Di breathed a sigh of relief.

……

{But some of them were lost one after another, leaving only about 800 volumes.}
……

Zhu Di: "What!!!"

……

{What was lost one after another were the copies made by Jiajing.}
……

Zhu Yuanzhang: Why is he everywhere?
Zhu Di: Well done!

……

{But it is indeed gone.}
……

Zhu Di was so angry that his whole body was shaking.

That was his hope in legal principles!

Zhu Zhanji on the side looked at him worriedly.

Then I saw Zhu Di muttering there.

He took two steps closer and listened carefully to what was being said.

"Copy it, you must copy it!"

"Copy more! Copy harder!"

……

Qing Dynasty and Qianlong period
Qianlong frowned as he looked at the sky.

“It’s just a book of sorts.”

"Selecting by category does not allow people to get a glimpse of the whole picture of the book, trace its origin, or find out where it came from."

"My Sikuquanshu is something that no one has done before!"

Heshen immediately gave a thumbs up.

"Your Majesty is right!"

"It's just a book of categories. Who hasn't compiled it in every dynasty?"

"But a collection of books like the Siku Quanshu covers all the Confucian classics of the Han Dynasty, the metaphysics of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, the Buddhism of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and the Neo-Confucianism of the Song and Ming Dynasties, including all the sutras in the world!"

"Only Your Majesty can do it!"

“This is God’s will!”

He Shen threw his sleeves, knelt on the ground, and said loudly:

"God, let this be known to His Majesty!"

"Tell all living beings in the world!"

"Only our Great Qing will last for thousands of years!"

"Long live my emperor! Long live! Long live!"

Qianlong pressed down the corners of his mouth, and the fan in his hand was almost smoking.

"Look at you, just say it, why are you so excited, get up quickly."

Heshen stood up and wiped the corners of his eyes with his sleeve.

Qianlong looked at this scene with a smile on his face:

"Look, he's still crying."

"A few days ago, Siam bought a hundred loads of ivory. You can pick a few pairs and take them home to play with."

Heshen's eyes were red and he bowed again.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"

Qianlong waved his hand.

"Alright, alright, keep watching."

……

[Influence on later generations: The only Han emperor to cross the desert.]

[Establishment of Nurgan Dusi, construction of Beijing, dredging of the Grand Canal, Zheng He's voyages to the West, and compilation of the Yongle Encyclopedia]

[If any of these things were accomplished by an emperor of every dynasty, it would be enough to erect a monument.]

【So, when we comprehensively measure Zhu Di's merits and demerits. 】

[It is not difficult to conclude that Zhu Di was a first-class feudal emperor.]

【Among the first-class feudal emperors, he was also outstanding.】

【The four words "Emperor Yongle" are the best description of him. 】

[Evaluation S level, 5 points]

【Total military, system, diplomacy, people's livelihood, personnel, and influence. 】

【Total score: 26 points】

(End of this chapter)