I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 472 The capital is not only the heart!

In Xiyuan Qinzheng Hall, Hu Zongxian, Tan Lun and Pan Yinglong were still a little confused. Why was the capital city going to be expanded when everything was going well?

Zhu Yijun waved his hand, and Qi Yan hung another map on the screen, which was a map of the capital and its surrounding prefectures and counties.

"This is the capital, which is divided into five cities. The east, west, north and center cities are the old cities built during the Yongle period. The south city is the outer city newly built by the emperor during the Jiajing period.

It looks big, but the population of the capital has been increasing over the past two hundred years, and it is not enough. Apart from other things, my relatives from various vassal states, dozens of princes, hundreds of county princes, and thousands of other generals and lieutenants all need to live in the capital. How many mansions and houses do I need to find to accommodate them?"

Hu Zongxian and the other two were shocked.

"Your Highness, have all the princes of the various vassal states been settled in the capital?"

"Yes, the princes, dukes, and generals who guard and assist the country are all settled in the capital and the capital area. The rest of them make their own livings. I and the court have no control over them. They can live wherever they want."

Hu Zongxian and the other two were speechless.

I originally thought that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would discipline the various vassal states and royal family members, and that everyone would be examined and released back to their respective states after passing. However, it turned out that they were all detained in the capital.

this.
It's really unexpected.

But there are both advantages and disadvantages to doing this.

From now on, the princes and royal family members will live in the capital, under the rule of the whole country and under the watchful eyes of all officials. It will be difficult for them to be arrogant and domineering and they will no longer be able to do evil.

There are so many censors and officials in the capital watching you. If they find any evidence against you, they will submit a petition to impeach you and try to gain fame from you.

The impeachment memorial can be delivered to Xiyuan in two or three days, and the fate of the person and the punishment will be decided immediately.

There are disadvantages, too. All these vassal clans live in the capital, and their salaries are a large sum of money. In the past, they were shared by all regions, but now they have to be transported to the capital before being distributed.

In the past, the capital relied on water transport, which was very expensive and indeed a heavy burden. But now that sea transport has become popular and industry and commerce are flourishing, transportation costs have been greatly reduced, and the burden does not seem to be very heavy.

According to the ancestral system, the various feudal lords were stationed in different places to consolidate the country forever?

Now it seems too idealistic.

Two or three hundred years had passed, and these vassal states had neither the intention nor the ability to guard important cities for the royal family in peacetime or to help the king quell rebellion in times of crisis.

They have degenerated into a group of parasites who do not produce anything and only know how to suck the blood and flesh of the people. They are a heavy burden to the Ming Dynasty.

Not only did the royal family not get their help, but they also had to clean up their messes and bear the consequences for them.

Hu Zongxian and the other two looked at each other and somewhat understood Zhu Yijun's thoughts.

"Your Highness, how should we deal with the various ancestral temples and royal palaces in various places?"

"The ancestral temple will be preserved and handed over to the local government for good care and maintenance. Once a year, the princes and dukes of the vassal state will go back to pay homage and comfort the spirits of the ancestors.

I sent people to inspect the royal palaces and other residences of royal clans, and found some that could be converted into colleges, public schools, clinics, and poorhouses; some that could be auctioned off to merchants and converted into shops, restaurants, and hotels.

The imperial court has supported them for so many years and spent so much money and food, it is time to see the money in return. "

Your Highness, you are so cruel.

You have summoned all the princes and royal family members to live together in the capital. The mansions and fields of the princes scattered across the country will definitely not be preserved and will be handed over to the local authorities for disposal.

Most of the fields are used to house retired veterans.

The mansions and houses can be used for public welfare such as schools, clinics, elderly care and childcare, or auctioned for commercial use. This can be regarded as a kind of compensation for the local government's years of support.

In the past, the common people suffered.

Now, Your Highness has changed the rules, making life difficult for the royal family.

Hu Zongxian and the other two were close ministers and knew Zhu Yijun's temperament very well.

First, the Jin party, Jin merchants, salt merchants, Nanjing nobles, and local families such as the Yanshenggong Mansion suffered, then the various vassal states and royal families suffered, and it goes without saying who will suffer next.

No wonder His Highness is so close to Hai Rui.

Zhu Yijun looked at Hu Zongxian and the other two, and seeing that they had no objection, he continued to say on the map: "My idea is to expand in the east, west and north directions and build three new cities in the east, west and north.

The three cities of East, West and North were unified into the Central City. Later, the capital was divided into the Imperial City and the five cities of East, West, North and Central.

There are many government offices in the middle city, many officials and civilians live in the north and south, many shops and warehouses in the east city, and many libraries and schools in the west city.

Zhu Yijun located the five cities one by one.

After Hu Zongxian and the other two listened, Tan Lun said worriedly, "Your Highness, the capital's expansion will cost a lot. I'm worried that there will be a lot of opposition, and I'm also worried that the cost will be too high to bear."

Zhu Yijun nodded, looked at the five cities of the capital on the map, and sighed softly.

"In this world, doing things is the hardest thing, and talking is the easiest. When things need to be done, no one says anything. When others start to do things, countless people stand up and make irresponsible remarks.

I have carefully considered the expansion of the capital."

At this point, Zhu Yijun turned to Hu Zongxian and the other two and said, "Let me ask you, what is the capital in your mind?"

What is it?
The capital of the Ming Dynasty is its heart.

Seeing that the three people didn't quite understand, Zhu Yijun explained: "What I want to ask is, what is the main function of the capital?"

Function?

Hu Zongxian and the other two hesitated for a moment before expressing their thoughts.

"The capital was previously called Beiping, and it was a key military base for resisting the Northern Yuan Dynasty."

"It is also the storage and transportation center for military equipment, money, food, and soldiers in the Nine Borders."

"Now that the threat from the northern barbarians has been eliminated, the pressure on the nine borders has been reduced, but the exchanges with the south and north of the desert and the northeast have become closer, and it has become a center for trade and the storage and transportation of goods."

Zhu Yijun nodded with satisfaction, "You are all right. The capital is the political, economic, cultural, military and transportation center of the Ming Dynasty."

Why not an industrial center?
In Zhu Yijun's mind, the Ming Dynasty's heavy industrial bases were in Luanzhou and Taiyuan.

Once the Northeast is stable, another one will be built in Shenyang.

The smell of coal smoke from the Industrial Revolution, the breath of the great era, is okay to smell occasionally, but it is unbearable to smell it for years.

Hu Zongxian, Tan Lun and Pan Yinglong looked at each other in surprise. In His Highness' mind, is the capital city so many centers?
Not to mention the political center.

Cultural center?

There are the emperor, royal family members, nobles, and civil and military officials. Scholars and students from all over the country, including opera artists, will flock to the capital to make a name for themselves and gain both fame and fortune.

It is indeed a cultural center, and it is also a military center.

Over the years, elite soldiers who had gained experience in battles in the Nine Borders and the Southeast took turns to serve in the Beijing camp.

The Twenty-Sixth Army, the Sushen Army, and the Left Six Wings of Mongolia, these elite divisions in the world, all issued orders from the capital.

Economic and transportation center, a little confusing.

In recent years, the understanding of the term "economy" by the government and the public has been in sync with Zhu Yijun's.

How can the capital be the economic center?

The most prosperous place in the world is Shanghai. It was built by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who pointed his finger and drew a circle, and then Yang Jinshui, Li Sanjiang and others worked hard to build it.

Everyone who has been there will be amazed. Throughout history, there has never been a more prosperous place than this.

How come the capital became the economic center?
There is also a transportation center, and Shanghai has the most convenient transportation.

It is connected to rivers and seas, faces the sea and has its back to the Yangtze River Canal, making transportation very convenient, which is one of the reasons why it can develop rapidly.

Pan Yinglong raised questions about the economic and transportation centers on behalf of the three people.

Zhu Yijun smiled slightly and explained, "Now the Northeast is stable, and the southern part of the desert has surrendered to the left wing. It is expected that the right wing will be pacified in the future.

If we want to win over the southern and northern deserts and permanently secure the northern border, we must change the previous crude and crude means and methods. In addition to the Han and Mongolian families and regular westward expeditions, we must also use economic and cultural means.

One of them was to allow the sons of nobles who were heads of a hundred households or above to study in the capital, Shenyang, Taiyuan or Xi'an, and to teach them loyalty, righteousness, benevolence and filial piety.

The second is to trade, collect cattle, sheep, horses, fur and cheese. Now Taiyuan, Liaoyang and Luanzhou have newly established several large woolen factories, spinning wool from the grasslands into woolen cloth and felt hats and clothes.

In the future, it will be convenient to transport goods. We can set up processing plants in the south and north of the desert to process beef, mutton and milk to keep them fresh, and then transport them to various places. All these trade exchanges and goods transportation will be carried out with the capital as the center. "

There is one thing Zhu Yijun did not make clear.

The first commercial steam engine was built, and railways and steam locomotives were not far behind.

The capital city must become a railway transportation center. A railway should be built in the east to connect with Luanzhou, and then split into two routes, one going out of Shanhaiguan and into Liaoyang and Shenyang, connecting with the new agricultural and industrial center of the Ming Dynasty.

Another route goes through Chengde, Chifeng, and Tongliao, goes north along the old Chahar area, then turns west and goes deep into the heart of the Mobei grassland.

A railway was built in the south, connecting Tianjin and Dagu. Another railway was built in Tianjin, going south through Shandong, Jiangsu, Yingtianfu, and then across the Yangtze River to Shanghai.

Daming Beijing-Shanghai Line.

Build another road in the west, passing through Zhuozhou, Baoding, Zhending, and then split into two routes.

One route turned west, entered Shanxi from Jingxing, and went straight to Taiyuan. The other route continued southwest, crossed the Yellow River, and went straight to Zhengzhou and Kaifeng.

Another railway was built in the north, going northwest from Juyongguan to Xuanhua, where it split into two routes, heading north, out of Zhangjiakou, through the southern desert, and directly to the Langjuxu Mountain, the core of the Mobei grassland.

The other route continued westward to Datong, then turned northwest, passed through the heartland of the Tumed tribe, and reached the Hetao area.

Once these railways were built, they were like iron chains, making the northern border of the Ming Dynasty as stable as Mount Tai, and the capital naturally became an economic and transportation center.

After a brief explanation, Zhu Yijun said to Pan Yinglong: "Fengwu, the expansion is also an important opportunity to rebuild the old city of Beijing. Dredging rivers and ditches to avoid floods and waterlogging; laying sewer pipes, improving municipal facilities, and improving public health.
In a city, we must not only live safely, but also live comfortably. The capital is the best place in the world, Fengwu, you must build a model city for the world."

After hearing what Zhu Yijun said, Pan Yinglong suddenly felt a great responsibility and the pressure doubled.

However, the greater the pressure, the greater the political achievements.

"I will do my best to complete the great cause set by Your Highness."

After seeing off Tan Lun and Pan Yinglong, Zhu Yijun kept Hu Zongxian.

"Mr. Hu, have you found Dang Rugui?"

Dang Rugui was the accomplice who tricked Hu Zongxian into submitting a petition to impeach Ling Yunyi and tried to stir up internal strife between Hu Zongxian and Zhang Juzheng.

"Your Highness, I have sent a letter to the Ministry of Justice, and they have also issued a warrant for his arrest. The Imperial Guard's Envoy Song Du also sent me a letter, saying that the Imperial Guard is also doing its best to arrest this boy.

But so far, there has been no news.”

"This guy was either silenced, or he used fake names and fake places of origin before, deliberately. Now he has restored his real name and settled in his hometown, so it is very difficult to find him.

Now that the Ming Dynasty is booming with commerce and industry, and the population is moving around frequently, it is difficult to track down people like this.”

"I also think it's difficult to investigate. But I can't find out who is behind this. I feel uneasy."

Zhu Yijun looked at Hu Zongxian's face.

Maybe he has already guessed who it is, but he just doesn't want to say it.

Zhu Yijun comforted him, saying, "Mr. Hu, there is no need to filter. It is impossible for the court to be free of parties. If there are parties, there will naturally be open and covert struggles.

Mr. Hu, I want you to join the Supervisory Office and take charge of military affairs, but we won't get involved in the muddy waters of the cabinet."

Hu Zongxian knew that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was protecting him.

I will have to bear the responsibility of being a member of the Yan Party for the rest of my life.

If I enter the cabinet, those elegant and upright scholars will rush up to me like chicken blood, impeach me to death, and even dig up the old accounts of eight hundred years.

Hu Zongxian said sincerely: "Your Highness's good intentions, I am deeply grateful. I will definitely supervise the military affairs for Your Highness, especially the southwest."

Zhu Yijun nodded with satisfaction.

It is easy and comfortable to use a talented person like Lao Hu who is capable of getting things done and knows when to advance and retreat.

After Hu Zongxian left, Zhu Yijun sat in a chair, with a lot on his mind.

Zhu Yijun also guessed the mastermind behind the discord between Hu Zongxian and Zhang Juzheng.

This person's identity made Zhu Yijun hesitant and difficult to make up his mind.

"Qi Yan, go to the Jige Library and get an old document, that is..."

Qi Yan immediately took the order and got it back soon.

Zhu Yijun took the document, read it again and again, and couldn't help but pick up a pen to write on a piece of white paper.

"Your Highness, Eunuch Feng of the Imperial Household Department and Commander Song of the Imperial Guards wish to see you."

"Please come in." Zhu Yijun replied without raising his head.

(End of this chapter)