Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 315 Going Home
On the day Zhu Cibei arrived in the capital, the accompanying civil and military officials immediately took on their respective duties and began working.

They traveled to Beijing by land, which was much faster than the canal transport.

He didn't bring much with him, just packed up official documents from the Nanjing government office and various books, and sped all the way home, eager to get back.

Those who were able to enter the court with Zhu Cibei this time were all righteous men who had persisted in resisting the Qing for many years since the eighteenth year of the Shunzhi reign.

Such as Zhang Huangyan, Huang Zongxi, Wang Fuzhi, Fu Shan, Lü Liuliang, Qu Dajun, Qi Bansun, Wei Geng, Qian Zhanbai, Qian Zuanzeng, Pan Tingcong, Li Qianru, Zhang Luxiang, etc.

There seemed to be quite a lot of people; all these scholars must have numbered in the hundreds.

However, compared to the countless officials who surrendered to the Manchus at the end of the Ming Dynasty, their numbers were pitifully small, not even enough to fill the thousands of vacancies in Beijing.

Therefore, Zhu Cibei intensified efforts to restore order to the cabinet and the six ministries.

There are three urgent matters at hand.

First, the entire country should be restored to normalcy, allowing people to engage in agriculture, merchants to conduct business, and all sectors to quickly return to production, in order to alleviate the reduction in productivity caused by the war.

Secondly, the establishment of local government offices was to restore order and prevent people from taking advantage of the chaos to break the law. Furthermore, the various policies and decrees of the imperial court needed to be conveyed by local government offices.

Third, we must eliminate the remaining poison of the Jurchen Tartars, deal with the Jurchen Tartars who have fled to various places, and then settle accounts with those national traitors who once served the Tartars.

The first two require a large number of officials to help the court govern.

Unfortunately, by the eighteenth year of the Shunzhi Emperor's reign, most of the older generation of scholars and former officials had defected to the Manchus.

The new generation of intellectuals, such as those born at the end of the Chongzhen reign and raised at the beginning of the Shunzhi reign, had completely different ideas and education.

His values ​​were molded to be loyal to the Jurchen Manchu court, and he took the imperial examinations after the tenth year of the Shunzhi Emperor's reign. His mind was completely out of step with those scholars who were loyal to the Ming Dynasty and retained traditional Han Chinese ideas.

This group of people is naturally unusable.

The newly established Ming Dynasty had to dismiss a large number of Manchu officials, but where would the replacements come from?

The imperial court could only search extensively for those scholars who lived in seclusion among the common people and refused to serve the Manchu Qing dynasty.

The literati of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties basically fell into three factions: the surrender faction, the submissive faction, and the resistance faction.

If the surrender faction accounts for 80%, then the "lying down" faction accounts for 19.9%, and the resistance faction may be less than 0.01%.

After all, most of the resistance fighters had been killed by this point in time.

Therefore, when the surrender faction cannot be used and the resistance faction is too small, using the "lying down" faction is a last resort.

By April, after more than a month of pursuit, the Manchu forces in and around Beijing had been mostly dealt with, and all that remained was to eliminate the remaining threats within the country.

Zhu Di also returned from Xuanfu.

Before, he did more than just kill Wu Sangui near Xuanfu. He also followed his own example and marched out of Xuanfu to conquer the southern desert, striking fear into the hearts of the Mongol tribes in the southern desert beyond the Great Wall.

Basically, he just circled around Hohhot and Ulanqab in later times, forcing the surrounding Mongol tribes to submit to the Ming Dynasty, which can be considered as clearing an obstacle for this newly established Ming power.

He brought another person with him when he returned, namely Gu Yanwu.

Huang Zongxi and Wang Fuzhi, two of the three great thinkers of the late Ming Dynasty, were lecturing in their hometowns and Hunan at the time. Therefore, they quickly joined Zhu Yuanzhang after he raised an army in the south.

However, Gu Yanwu traveled extensively to famous mountains and rivers, and even visited Beijing several times to see Yan Ermei. He also went to Shanhaiguan, Shandong and other places.

At that time, he was in Huayin, Shaanxi, and naturally he was unaware of what was happening in the south.

It wasn't until Zhu Di's victory in the Battle of Chongqing, where he eliminated Ao Bai and entered Shaanxi via the Chencang Road, that Gu Yanwu learned of this. He then hurriedly went to find Zhu Di's troops and joined them.

He followed Zhu Di all the way from Shaanxi to Shanxi, and then from Shanxi to Xuanfu.

He even accompanied Zhu Di to southern Mongolia, an experience far more exciting than Wang Fuzhi's journey to Yunnan to join Zhu Cibei, or Huang Zongxi's uprising in Jiangnan to join Zhu Yuanzhang.

After Gu Yanwu returned to the capital, Zhu Cibei appointed him as a Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall and made him one of the cabinet ministers.

Compared to Wang Fuzhi and Huang Zongxi, Gu Yanwu was more capable.

He was well-versed in military strategy, border defense, finance, medicine, water conservancy, taxation, history, and geography. It can be said that he knew everything except for inventions.

With the help of three great thinkers of the late Ming Dynasty, Zhu Cibei quickly stabilized the situation in the court and gradually restored order to the newly established Ming Dynasty.

A series of measures followed.

This included bestowing the title of Imperial Uncle upon Emperor Yongli, and many loyal ministers who followed Emperor Yongli also received rewards.

He then bestowed gifts upon Zheng Chenggong, Li Dingguo, Bai Wenxuan, and others, and commissioned the "Loyalty to the Lonely Officials" painting. He also built the "Loyalty to the Lonely Officials" pavilion, which was divided into two sections: one for civil officials and one for military officials. He painted portraits of many civil and military officials and hung them inside the pavilion.

This appeased many loyal officials who, even in the eighteenth year of the Shunzhi reign, were still fearlessly resisting the Manchu Qing court.

Secondly, it stabilized the situation in the imperial court.

Then he ordered the abolition of the three taxes, reduced or exempted taxes, and ordered all localities to restore agriculture as soon as possible after the war, and to relocate landless people and refugees to Guanzhong, Sichuan and other places to live and multiply.

It's funny to say.

The "Three Taxes" were a military tax levied during the Wanli era to deal with the Jurchens. After the Manchus seized power, Dorgon abolished it in the first year of the Shunzhi reign.

However, with the abolition of the three taxes, the Qing court's finances began to tighten. So in the third year of the Shunzhi reign, the three taxes were reinstated, but under a different name. They played word games, replacing the abolished three taxes with additional silver levies, but the actual amount remained the same.

Therefore, Emperor Chengwu Zhu Cibei's reduction and exemption of taxes, the abolition of the three taxes and the additional nine li of silver levied by the Qing Dynasty, can be considered a real relief of the people's burden, allowing them to recuperate and live in peace, and to farm and ensure their livelihood.

However, after the abolition of the three taxes, a large number of taxes were reduced or exempted, which meant that the newly established Ming Dynasty was in dire financial straits. The army needed to be supported, officials' salaries needed to be paid, and post-war repairs needed to be done.

So where does the money come from?
Zhu Cibei's current plan is to live off his savings until they run out, wait for Zhu Yunfeng to provide relief, and wait for a few years of peace before gradually collecting taxes. With the help of business development, he should be able to overcome the difficulties.

Current expenditures are mainly military spending.

There was no need to worry about Zhu Cibei, the soldier of the Hongwu Ming Dynasty. Old Zhu had purchased a large amount of marching rations from the modern world, exchanging them for resources such as oil, minerals, and rare earths, which exhausted the factories that sold the marching rations.

After all, this kind of food is not eaten during normal training in my country. The mess hall supplies the troops with food, and it is only used temporarily in very rare cases, such as long-term field training.

Therefore, even military factories don't produce this kind of thing much; at most, they sell it online so that military enthusiasts can get a taste of it.

However, Lao Zhu's job is a perfect match for his expertise.

In ancient times, warfare involved long marches, so carrying a large amount of marching rations was very helpful. These rations were not only small in size and high in calories, but also easy to eat.

Just like when I was a kid, I thought instant noodles were a luxury food that I could only eat during holidays.

If the generals and soldiers of the Southern Ming Dynasty could get their hands on a portion of the Hongwu Army's marching rations, they would be happier than if it were the New Year, and they would even be reluctant to eat it.

Because it actually contains canned beef or luncheon meat.

Therefore, since he did not need to manage the military expenses of the Hongwu soldiers, Zhu Cibei was mainly in charge of the expenses of the Southern Ming army.

This includes soldiers' salaries, rations, pensions, weapons, and equipment.

This money currently comes from spoils of war seized from the Qing dynasty, as well as from the confiscation of the property of landlords and gentry in Jiangnan and other places who had surrendered to the Qing and acted as their lackeys.

However, doing so is like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. While it may have provided a large amount of money and food in the short term and ensured the army's supply, it is certainly not sustainable in the long run.

Therefore, we still need to find a way to ensure both low taxes for the people and sufficient government revenue. Under normal circumstances, we can maintain this for three to five years, and then gradually increase taxes. This way, the country can recover, the people can rest and recuperate for a few years, and it won't cause too serious consequences.

That's exactly what the Shunzhi and Kangxi Emperors did. The Shunzhi Emperor continued to levy the three taxes until they were gradually reduced during the Kangxi Emperor's reign.

But now there is a better way.

Zhu Yunfeng's Yunfeng Group can obtain a large amount of silver from modern times, which the Chengwu court can use for fiscal expenditures. This will also accelerate the circulation of commodities and ensure national development.

The price is rare earth elements.

Since there was no way to refine it in ancient times, they exchanged ten catties of silver for every ton of unrefined raw rare earth ore.

Although by 2033, as the global situation becomes increasingly volatile, my country has tightened its rare earth contraction policy, leading to a surge in the price of unrefined raw rare earth ore, averaging around 12 yuan per ton.

The prices of refined light and heavy rare earth elements have skyrocketed, with some special heavy rare earth elements, such as terbium oxide, selling for tens of millions of yuan per ton.

The price of silver is currently maintained at 8 yuan, and ten catties of silver is less than 50,000 yuan. Yunfeng Group is making money by almost doubling its profits with just a few transactions.

But that’s not how the accounts work out.

Firstly, rare earth elements were useless to the Ming Dynasty in ancient times, so exchanging them for money was the best option.

Secondly, in ancient times, there was no way to undertake the search, mining, and transportation of rare earth elements. In the end, Zhu Yunfeng would still have to spend money and effort to hire people to mine and transport them back.

Third, my country already has enormous reserves of rare earth elements, and with so many global suppliers, my country currently possesses an astonishing abundance of rare earth resources. The current price increase is a consequence of international tensions, not a sign of a rare earth shortage.

If my country chooses not to scale back its rare earth strategy and instead exports large quantities to increase employment and revenue, given the abundant supply, prices could very well plummet and continue to fall.

In addition, the technology and equipment for refining rare earths also incur costs.

So to some extent, Zhu Yunfeng's money was quite risky.

All I can say is that he has been more than kind to his ancestors.

Only Zhu Cibei, as the founding ancestor of the Zhu family of Shangfeng Mountain, received this special treatment.

If it were any other Ming Dynasty emperor, he would definitely have bought rare earth at rock-bottom prices, and he wouldn't have dared to call himself a merchant if he didn't get a ton of rare earth and a pound of silver.

With this confidence, Zhu Cibei could focus on using the money and grain seized from the Tartars to maintain low taxes on the people, and then develop industry and promote the progress of manufacturing.

These measures enabled the newly established Ming Dynasty to quickly recover its vitality.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not interfere in Zhu Cibei's administration.

In fact, the initial decision to make Zhu Cibei emperor was not only due to Zhu Cibei's skill in flattering Zhu and making him happy, but also, to some extent, because of Zhu Yunfeng's influence.

However, after more than half a year, Zhu Yuanzhang changed his opinion of him, who was originally just a sycophant.

Although this guy is a sycophant, he does have some skills.

Most importantly, Zhu Cibei consulted Zhu Yuanzhang on everything, and paid his respects to him every morning and evening with an excellent attitude. Such a descendant would naturally be satisfactory.

On April 15th, Xu Da went to Beijing.

Li Wenzhong entered Nanjing with Zhu Cibei, while Xu Da, who had previously been stationed in Yunnan, brought the stone tablet to Beijing as well.

It was April, just the beginning of summer. The weather was cold during the Little Ice Age, but surprisingly, it wasn't particularly hot in the summer; instead, it was cool.

The sun hangs high in the sky, and leisurely white clouds drift across the horizon, making Beijing peaceful and serene.

The canal became lively.

The autumn grain harvested from the south in the second half of last year was transported to Beijing. Only a very small portion of this grain was used for taxation; the majority became commodities and entered the market, supplying hundreds of thousands of people in Beijing.

A Ming army slowly approached from the northwest, entered the inner city through Xizhimen, and finally stopped outside the Meridian Gate.

Zhu Di and Zhu Yunfeng personally went to greet them.

Now, Hongwu and Chengwu are completely two separate systems. Zhu Yuanzhang doesn't care about Zhu Cibei's administration and military affairs. He just stays in the palace every day, at most listening to Zhu Cibei's reports, and is practically an emperor emeritus.

The Hongwu soldiers had all returned and were currently stationed outside the city, while the palace was temporarily guarded by three thousand imperial guards, with strict security and good order.

"I see your Majesty!"

Zhu Yunfeng and Zhu Di met Xu Da at the Meridian Gate and proceeded to the Qianqing Palace to pay homage to Zhu Yuanzhang.

It wasn't the main hall of the Qianqing Palace, but rather the study.

Old Zhu took a sip of tea and then said, "Get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"I've been away from home for eight months now, and I'm starting to miss it. How about you guys?"

"I also wish to."

Xu Da said with a smile, "I miss my grandchildren a little."

"Hahahahaha."

Old Zhu laughed and said, "At this age, you're still traveling around with me. It must be tiring."

Xu Da quickly replied, "Following His Majesty is not tiring."

"Ah."

Old Zhu nodded and said, "Once the stone tablet is in place, we can open the gate and leave in a few days. It's time to go back."

"Yes."

Xu Da agreed.

They talked for a while longer.

At this moment, the square outside the Qianqing Palace is still in the same location.

There are traces of filling below.

In normal historical terms, it should have been during the reign of Zhu Qizhen that the underground palace collapsed, and then the stone tablet was taken out and used to fill the gap. The stone tablet also went to Changsha with Zhu Jianjun when he was enfeoffed.

However, a special change occurred during the Hongwu era. The stormy weather and a chance encounter in a parallel world created a special situation that led to this predicament.

Now the underground palace has been excavated, floor tiles have been laid, and the stone tablet has been placed, waiting for the modern side to charge and blast open the spatial node.

A few more days passed.

Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao agreed that the power would be supplied from the modern side on April 20th.

In the past few days, Zhu Yuanzhang had given Zhu Cibei some more instructions, and by April 20th, it was finally time for him to leave.

(End of this chapter)