Guangzong Yaoming

Chapter 460: Emperor Dai's Southern Tour
For a "civil war" that involves such a wide range of issues and has such a vast front, there are naturally too many things to arrange.

And because the solutions provided were very "novel", Zhu Changluo had to explain many details personally so that they could understand the key points.

"If what I have done this time can be regarded as rebuilding the foundation of the country, then this battle can be called the battle of founding the country!" Zhu Changluo said solemnly at the end, "Can the comrades I mentioned before be tempered in this battle? This is the first! Can the economic and livelihood structure of the Ming Dynasty be changed because of this, and can the money system, tax system, official system, culture and education be stabilized? This is the second; can the court rule over all provinces, and its prestige and virtue extend to all vassal states, and can it concentrate manpower and financial resources to accomplish great things? This is the third!"

When the emperor said this, a man suddenly came hurriedly from behind the Huangji Palace.

"I congratulate Your Majesty! Concubine Zhao and her child are safe!"

Zhu Changluo was stunned for a moment when he saw Liu Ruoyu coming to report the good news, and then a smile appeared on his face.

There were signs last night, and today was supposed to be the day Wang Wei was due to give birth.

And he had to deal with this important matter urgently.

Upon hearing the news, the other ministers and Wang An and others could not help but immediately congratulate Zhu Changluo.

"The seventh prince has been born safely. Let this be announced to the world: all summer grain taxes in all provinces of the Ming Dynasty will be exempted this year." Zhu Changluo immediately made a decision that shocked everyone.

Although the proportion of summer grain in the annual grain tax is not very high, it is still a big amount.

But the problem was that the emperor had a "big fight" with the gentry in the south of the Yangtze River over the exemption issue at the beginning of his reign. After that, he only exempted some places because they had indeed suffered disasters and were confirmed by both the external and internal officials. But now he issued a grace to exempt all summer grain in the entire Ming Dynasty.

"It's okay to use courtesy before force," Zhu Changluo said. "This way, the people will feel more at ease, and there will be more food to sell at the autumn and winter fairs. Local government officials will have to work harder. In this troubled time, we can easily tell which officials are working for the people. The wealthy merchants have also benefited from this. If they still stir up trouble, they deserve to be put to death!"

Ye Xianggao could only thank the emperor for his kindness on behalf of the people. But he had already issued a "military order" and there was no turning back.

He has truly become second to none and the new law has been implemented to this point. For him, he can only succeed and not fail.

"Three years!" Zhu Changluo said again, "Within three years, Zongminghao and Changminghao must be prepared for losses. If we can lay a solid foundation for the money system in three years, we will have a foundation for comprehensive reform of the tax system. After that, we will have silver banks and a national treasury, and a new tax system that suits reality. Only then can the government finances be fundamentally renewed."

He discussed with them here for a long time, and only when it was completely dark did he have time to return to the harem.

He first went to Yude Palace to see Wang Wei and the newly born seventh child. Zhu Changluo touched the tender face of the sleeping little guy, and then spoke softly to Wang Wei who was resting in bed.

"Your Majesty... the child's name..." Wang Wei looked at Zhu Changluo eagerly, and then pleaded, "Can you please not give him the same name as his three older brothers?"

Zhu Changluo laughed dumbly: "Okay, okay, okay."

Apart from the eldest, the second Zhuzi and the third Zhu Youcai, the names of the fourth, fifth and sixth children were of course very random, like branches, forks and tips. Therefore, the names of his own children have always been a concern for Wang Wei, who is very knowledgeable.

It would be fine if it was a daughter, but now it was a son, she naturally hoped that he would have a better name.

Zhu Changluo thought for a moment and said, "How about the tenon of the mortise and tenon joint?"

Wang Wei was stunned for a moment: "Is there any deep meaning?"

Zhu Changluo just smiled and said, "The pillars, wood, branches, forks and tips, when they are put into place, they will become a useful tool. I have seven sons, and I hope they can cooperate with each other in the future to stabilize the country. He was born at this special time, and I also hope that the court will be united and cooperate tacitly to overcome this great wave."

Although Wang Wei was still not very satisfied, the emperor finally mentioned that he hoped he would become a useful person, which was a good thing.

"I forgot to tell you that I have issued an imperial decree to exempt the country from this year's summer grain tax in recognition of his birth."

Wang Wei was shocked: "Your Majesty, no! The prince didn't..."

"For special reasons, I will explain it to the Queen. You don't need to worry too much. Just take good care of yourself..."

Of course, this needs to be explained to Guo Lanzhi.

The emperor's "favor" to the newborn seventh prince would naturally cause a lot of discussion in the harem.

But there is a reason for this. Zhu Changluo has the final say in the harem. How big a commotion will this cause?
What's more, Zhu Changluo will give the prince an important task.

After arriving at Kunning Palace, he first told Guo Lanzhi about the current situation, and then summoned Zhu Youjian.

When the prince arrived at the Palace of Tranquil Longevity, he was surprised to see his mother was there, looking at him with a worried look on her face.

"...Let your son go on the southern tour on behalf of your father?" Zhu Youjian was shocked after hearing his father's arrangement.

"That's right!" Zhu Changluo nodded. "This trip may be dangerous. Are you afraid?"

Guo Lanzhi could not help but become more anxious, but Zhu Youjian only thought about it for a moment and immediately replied: "Since I am the crown prince, how can there be any real danger? If there really is such a villain, how is it different from rebellion?" "Yes, I want you to shock the locals!" Zhu Changluo's eyes were sharp, "As long as you are not desperate to seize the throne in advance, then the local people with ill intentions will have to think carefully. And you have only one task this time, take a good look at the people's livelihood, help the people through this period of turbulent money prices, and let them know that the royal family and the court want to change the money law to help them."

Zhu Youjian was no longer a naive child. He was stunned for a moment and asked anxiously, "Father... do you want me to win the hearts of the people first?"

"That's not all." Zhu Changluo did not avoid this point. "I will ask Lu Xiangsheng to set off from the Southern Capital as well and meet up with you as soon as possible. In addition, the civil and military officials and young talents of the court will naturally accompany you. You will have a lot of training on this trip. You should pay attention to those young people who care about their country and can be the emperor's allies in the future. When the internal affairs and external wars are stabilized, you can handle things on your own at your age."

"My son's talent is still..."

"It's all gained through training." Zhu Changluo didn't allow for any discussion. "Starting from your father's reign, the rules will be changed. When you are on your way to the southern tour, there will definitely be incidents somewhere. You can first gain some experience in a prefecture or even a county. If things get serious later, you might as well gain some experience in a province. From now on, the crown prince must first gain experience in local affairs, and then the central government offices must also gain experience. I will let you go for a while and let you truly supervise the country and govern. In this way, you will be able to handle state affairs smoothly when you succeed to the throne in the future."

Zhu Youjian was extremely nervous. On the one hand, he was highly trusted by his father, and on the other hand, he was worried that this southern tour on behalf of the emperor would not meet his father's requirements.

"The situation has forced me to change my plan. Otherwise, I was planning to let you go to the local area to gain experience under a different name for ten years." Zhu Changluo encouraged him with a smile, "I will make proper arrangements for your trip. You should learn and apply what you have learned. If you don't understand something, you should consult with others and try your best to respect the decisions of the local officials. This trip is mainly to let the local people see our father and son's love for the people, and you should also practice your ability to judge people."

"Your Majesty..." Guo Lanzhi was still worried, "If there are really some people with bad intentions..."

"The personal guards of the Tianshu Camp will follow, and I will give instructions to the Privy Council and the Security Council. Don't worry too much." Zhu Changluo didn't care. "If the Ming Dynasty could really be in such chaos, it would be a waste of all my hard work over the years."

However, Zhu Changluo was not completely careless: "Remember! Tianshu Camp has its own guard system. If you want to travel incognito to see the real people's sentiments, you must follow the arrangements of the commanders of Tianshu Camp for safety!"

"I understand, and I will not be careless!"

At this point, although Zhu Youjian was still nervous, he couldn't help but feel excited and looking forward to it.

He looked up into his father's eyes and saw only encouragement in them.

"Father..."

"Don't be like this." Zhu Changluo looked at him with red eyes, "Always remember, as the crown prince, you have to face more than just the supreme authority inherited from the throne. Your real enemy is not Dad and your brothers, but the responsibility that the throne represents. Dad only hopes that you can shoulder it."

Guo Lanzhi's face turned pale immediately, but Zhu Youjian was already quite accustomed to his father's frankness in discussing these issues with him.

"My son, please remember this!"

"Go ahead. Prepare well first. You must make a plan for me to see first, so that I can let you leave the capital without any worries."

On the one hand, the emperor bestowed grace on the world because of the birth of the seventh prince, and on the other hand, the emperor made another arrangement for the crown prince.

At this time of undercurrents, the prince's southern tour on behalf of the emperor and the frank conversations between father and son in the imperial court were certainly a sign of great trust, but the risks involved were real after all.

Zhu Changluo knew that Guo Lanzhi was worried, so naturally he had to analyze the pros and cons of the matter to her.

Faced with the temptation of the throne, human nature must be taken into consideration. But for Zhu Changluo, he was not an emperor with traditional ideas. What he had to consider was how to ensure the continuity and stability of the overall national politics while there was still an emperor.

In addition to the many systems he has gradually changed, allowing the crown prince to have relatively clear expectations and improving his abilities bit by bit in the process is also a very important part.

In fact, this is also a consideration out of human nature. Having some power first, and then gradually increasing this power is finally a clear ladder, which is relatively easier than just being a prince who tries to keep a low profile for fear of the emperor's suspicion.

Many times, temperament gradually becomes extreme under extremely extreme circumstances, which eventually leads to many human tragedies.

Of course, these are just Zhu Changluo's beautiful expectations. Zhu Changluo cannot be completely sure to what extent it will develop.

But what if we don’t work towards the best, but just prepare for the worst?
Zhu Changluo told Guo Lanzhi the truth, so she could only suppress her worries and began to prepare for her son's upcoming journey based on her identity and position.

During this period, the emperor's decree to exempt the entire Ming Dynasty from summer grain taxes due to the birth of the seventh prince was spreading to all parts of the country, and the central government also began to mobilize in an all-round way.

The dry season is about to begin again, and Outer Yunnan is preparing to start a new round of advancement, hoping that this time we will be able to achieve complete success.

A larger and more complicated situation is also brewing in Japan.

Meanwhile, within the Ming Dynasty, there seemed to be a turbulent tide due to the announcement of the new currency law and its official implementation the following year.

At this moment, another imperial decree was issued to the world: the Crown Prince will tour the south on behalf of the Emperor.

There is no clear deadline or plan at all.

(End of this chapter)