Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 309: Proposal! The future construction of Ming Dynasty! Request for an audience!
"Fake? How is this possible?"

Zhu Su came to his senses and immediately questioned this statement.

"Why did Father do this?"

"Nothing is impossible." Feng Sheng's eyes flickered as he said, "I have followed Your Majesty for more than 40 years and I know your father better than you do."

"It's not surprising that he would do such a thing."

Recalling the "big brother" who was usually carefree, mingling with his brothers all day long, and seemed to be very affectionate at first glance, but in fact was always observing secretly and was so scheming and cunning that it was scary, Feng Sheng couldn't help but have an extremely complicated expression on his face.

A person's true character is revealed at critical moments, and loyalty is more evident in times of turmoil.

Isn't Lao Zhu's specialty to pretend to be ignorant at critical moments in order to test his brothers' positions and reactions?
He devoted all his efforts to his children and grandchildren and the Ming Dynasty.

No one else could do such a thing as pretending to be dead to test the court officials and the meritorious veteran generals, but Zhu Yuanzhang might be able to do it.

Although Feng Sheng was not sure.

Zhu Su's face was still full of suspicion.

In his opinion, the emperor's death was such a serious matter that it could not be treated lightly.
Pretending to be dead to deceive the whole world, isn't that too unbelievable?
"Of course, this is just one of the possibilities I analyzed." Feng Sheng changed his tone and said, "All five scenarios I analyzed are possible."

"The specific details require further analysis."

"But the intelligence we have received is too little at the moment. I'm afraid we can only make a judgment after we collect more information."

Zhu Su nodded and said, "My father-in-law is right, but the question now is, if a messenger from the court arrives, how should I respond? Should I obey the order or not?"

"Your Highness must not rashly confront the court." Feng Sheng said: "If the court messenger comes to Kaifeng, Your Highness must still treat him with courtesy and respect the messenger, and must not openly oppose the new emperor."

"Otherwise, Your Highness will probably be used as an example to scare the monkeys."

Zhu Su's face changed drastically, filled with anger and resentment.

But this time, he didn't refute.

I just heard the news suddenly and I was very emotional and reacted strongly.

At this moment, I gradually calmed down and realized that I couldn't be too hasty.

Apart from anything else, Zhu Yunhuan's new army alone is a daunting force.

Although Feng Sheng just said that it is not completely impossible to deal with it.

But winning over the new army generals takes time and cannot be achieved overnight.

Using harassment to fight against the new army seemed perfect. However, Zhu Su was also an expert on military affairs and was aware that this method had great limitations.

If you can't confront head-on, you can't take the initiative.

For example, if the enemy attacks Kaifeng City, what should he do?
In order to avoid direct confrontation, should we simply abandon Kaifeng City?
But once he gave up Kaifeng, it would be seen as a failure by the generals, soldiers and people below. How could he inspire morale, rally people's hearts and call on everyone to follow him if he fled in fear of fighting?
I am afraid that the people below will betray him, leave him, and turn to the court and Zhu Yunhuan.

This has huge political implications and simply won’t work.

But if they confront it head-on, as Feng Sheng just said, the new army's firearms are too powerful and no ordinary army can withstand it.

As for the sneak attack on the gunpowder depot, it just sounds good.

It is extremely difficult to implement.

After all, if you can think of it, the other party can think of it too.

For an important place like the gunpowder depot, as long as the enemy's general is not a three-year-old child, he will know that it must be strictly defended. How could he easily let others take advantage of it?

But a surprise attack on a gunpowder depot actually depends entirely on the opponent's laxity and the possibility of a chance of success if they make mistakes.

Otherwise, even if a military genius were reborn, he would be helpless.

"Your Highness, please remember one thing." Feng Sheng said solemnly, "No matter what the imperial decree is, Your Highness must strive to return to the capital."

"Return to Beijing?" Zhu Su asked.

"Yes!" Feng Sheng nodded: "His Majesty has passed away. As his son, it is only natural for you to return to the capital to attend the funeral."

"Only when all the princes return to the capital can we get to the bottom of this matter and bring him down."

Zhu Su was still puzzled: "If all of us princes return to the capital, then we are all under his control. How can we fight him?"

"No." Feng Sheng shook his head: "The officials support him only because he is the crown prince appointed by His Majesty."

"It is only natural that you ascend the throne."

"As foreign ministers, even if the ministers are dissatisfied, they will not say anything."

"But you are different."

"You are vassal princes, and the sons of His Majesty."

"Your Majesty's Imperial Instructions also gave you the power to purge the emperor's entourage."

"As long as all the princes of the royal family unanimously oppose his ascension to the throne, the ministers in the court will also support him."

Zhu Su's eyes suddenly brightened.

Yes.

Zhu Yunhuan now seems to have all the advantages and holds great power.

But isn’t the source of power still the support of those below?
If he is deserted by his friends and relatives and everyone opposes him becoming emperor, the situation will change.

Even if they were new troops, they might not obey his orders.

"I'm afraid he won't let us, the princes, return to Beijing." Zhu Su said worriedly.

"No." Feng Sheng shook his head: "If it were someone else, they definitely wouldn't do that."

"But I think Zhu Yunhuan is a man of talent, but he also thinks highly of himself."

"He would not think that the princes' coming to Beijing would threaten his position."

"Maybe he will think this is an opportunity."

"It's an opportunity for him to withdraw smoothly."

"It is very likely that he will recall all the princes to the capital, and will even allow the three guards you brought with you."

"If that is the case, Your Highness, do not hesitate or refuse. Just accept the order."

"Even if there is no decree, or the decree is that you are not allowed to enter the capital. We must argue with reason and unite with the other vassals to rise up in the capital together."

"Only by going to Beijing can we make a big fuss out of this matter."

"Only by entering the capital will Your Highness have a chance to overthrow him."

"Your Highness can only create a disturbance if you stay in Kaifeng."

“But it will definitely end in failure in the end.”

Zhu Su hesitated for a moment and said, "Okay!"

……

Jinling.

Zhu Yunhuan was not aware of the conspiracy between Zhu Su and Feng Sheng.

If he knew, he would definitely admire Feng Sheng's amazing analytical ability.

After all, he is a brave general who has fought in many battles!

Even if only extremely limited information was obtained, it was analyzed very clearly and all possibilities were put on the table.

However, analysis, judgment and strategy often play a crucial role when dealing with an evenly matched opponent.

But when facing an enemy that is a hundred or a thousand times stronger than you, it is very likely to be useless.

Because the most powerful conspiracy in the world cannot resist the four words "break the law with force".

Today, Zhu Yunhuan is the new emperor, ruling the world.

He could have crushed his opponent fairly!
Conspiracy?

Zhu Yunhuan simply ignored this.

Old Zhu lived in seclusion in the deep palace only because Zhu Yunhuan's ambitions were too big and too shocking, and he wanted to provide an insurance policy for the Ming Dynasty.

Inside the palace.

Zhu Yunhuan sat on the dragon chair in the study and closed his eyes for a nap.

Since Zhu Yuanzhang's death, he has lived in the palace.

One reason was that he had to preside over Zhu's "funeral" and had no time to return to the East Palace.

Secondly, as the new emperor, he should have moved into the palace.

However, the harem of the palace has now been completely closed, causing the living area of the palace to be drastically reduced.

Besides, Zhu Yunhuan was going to get married eventually, and it was impossible for him not to have a harem.

If he really allowed concubines and palace maids to live in the previous dynasty and communicate with officials and guards, then he, the emperor, would probably have a green grassland on his head.

This was of course something Zhu Yunhuan would never allow to happen. Therefore, the idea of building a new palace had already sprouted in his mind.

Although the original old palace was renovated in a magnificent style, it still had many inconvenient and unhumane features.

To put it bluntly, it just looks good.

It's not comfortable to live here at all.

This is also a common problem in many ancient buildings.

This was the limitation of the times. It was difficult for people at that time to imagine the extremely comfortable life of later generations.

There is nothing wrong with the Chinese gardens and antique buildings built in later generations if they are only appreciated as garden architectural landscapes.

If it is used as a residence, many places will be transformed into modern and livable places.

For example, modern toilets and bathrooms, as well as corresponding sewer systems.

Although the drainage measures in ancient times were very good, most palaces also had drainage channels built.

The drainage channel that can be used to drain rainwater and the sewer that treats toilet sewage are two different concepts.

People of this era are still used to using toilets.

It needs to be taken out for disposal, or collected by a special person with a cart.

Zhu Yunhuan's plan was to build a new imperial palace around the original harem.

In this way, there is no need to touch the palace where Old Zhu lives now.

However, the area of the palace expanded several times, which required the demolition of surrounding houses and cost a lot of money.

money is not a problem.

Although the current Ming Dynasty court is in a lot of debt.

But as the saying goes, too much debt is no worry.

Anyway, there is already a debt of 500 million taels of silver, and according to the plan, the debt scale will continue to rise for at least the next ten years.

Taking out several million or tens of millions of taels of silver is really not a big deal.

Compared to Jiajing who spent millions of taels of silver to build the palace, which worried the Ministry of Revenue and ministers and took years to raise enough silver, his life as an emperor was indeed much more relaxed.

Demolition is not a problem either.

The people in the feudal era were very cooperative with the court's demolition and no one resisted.

They don't even dare to mention the word compensation.

Of course, Zhu Yunhuan would definitely not use simple violent methods to drive them away, but would give them compensation and build new homes for them.

This is a good opportunity to renovate and rebuild Jinling City.

Replan residential areas, commercial areas, industrial areas, and build official residences for court officials.

From Zhu Yunhuan's perspective, the layout of Jinling City was extremely unreasonable.

The residences of nobles and meritorious officials were extremely large, occupying three quarters of the city excluding the imperial palace and royal villas.

The remaining 700,000 to 800,000 people were crowded into less than a quarter of the city.

By later standards, the entire area was a huge slum.

The sanitary conditions are extremely poor.

The stench of emptying the toilet every morning is unbearable.

Such living environment will become worse and worse with the population explosion and commercial prosperity.

Once an epidemic breaks out, the consequences will be disastrous.

There are countless similar things in history.

Some historians in later generations even believed that the demise of the Ming Dynasty was closely related to the great plague at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

When the plague was at its worst, there were no children in the streets. The number of children found dead, both with and without coffins, exceeded 200,000 through the Nine Gates!
It is conservatively estimated that between one-fifth and one-third of the people in Beijing at that time died from the plague.

Until Li Zicheng's army entered Beijing, the city was still a mixed crowd of humans and ghosts, where people dared not walk at dusk.

After Li Zicheng's soldiers entered the city, they were quickly infected with the plague on a large scale, which rapidly weakened their combat effectiveness and made them vulnerable when facing the Qing army.

Of course, the great plague in the late Ming Dynasty was real, and there are a lot of historical records to prove this.

As to how much impact Li Zicheng's army suffered, it is speculated and estimated by some historians.

The truth of the matter has long been lost in the long river of history and cannot be verified.

But what is certain is that the impact of the epidemic is enormous.

In feudal society, medical conditions and sanitary environment were poor.

The only advantage is that feudal society is a self-contained closed society.

Many places are self-sufficient.

People have relatively few connections with each other.

This limits the spread and spread of the plague.

It often happens that a village is wiped out by plague, but people in nearby villages and towns dozens of miles away are not greatly affected.

Fixed personnel is a natural barrier.

After the plague broke out, it was confined to a small area and then subsided naturally.

Plagues only break out in times of war or famine when people flee everywhere to escape the chaos and disaster.

That is, in the so-called year of great disaster, there will be a great epidemic!
In peacetime, the movement of population is restricted and it is difficult for plague to develop.

However, this advantage was broken as Zhu Yunhuan opened up business and encouraged the flow of people and materials.

If the sanitary environment and medical conditions are not improved rapidly to match the large-scale movement of the population, then the outbreak of a nationwide epidemic is only a matter of time, not a question of whether it will happen.

Moreover, once it breaks out, the consequences may be a thousand or ten thousand times more serious than those of future societies!
After all, the Ming Dynasty at that time did not have the medical and health conditions of later societies.

Once a plague breaks out, nine out of ten houses will be empty. This is no joke!
As the capital and the most densely populated place in the Ming Dynasty, Jinling City must be renovated to improve sanitation and the environment.

This matter cannot be delayed.

Because no one knew when the plague would break out.

Every day of delay is a day of increased risk.

This is also a good opportunity to allow people to live in houses with better sanitary conditions.

At the same time, publicity and education are carried out to help the people develop good hygiene habits.

For example, promote boiled water to all people!
This seems like a simple thing, but in fact, it is not easy to change the habits that people have developed over thousands of years.

What's more, drinking boiled water requires matching economic conditions.

After all, boiling water requires fuel.

But firewood is not cheap for the lower class people.

The official residence system was intended to change the malpractice of court ministers building large residences themselves.

In fact, this is the product of the self-sufficiency of agricultural society.

Because many commodities cannot be supplied by society, the mansion needs so many people and servants.

But if it is allowed to develop on its own, it will take an extremely long time to completely eliminate it.

The newly built official residences are used to forcibly change officials' habits by controlling residential area and living environment, thereby speeding up this process.

On the other hand, changes in living environment will also prompt changes in social relations.

Let officials gradually get rid of the influence of clans and reverse the numerous official malpractices caused by it.

It’s not that difficult to do this.

Shanghai in the old society in history is a ready-made example.

Officials, gentry and local tycoons owned vast mansions in their hometowns and had countless servants.

But in Shanghai, where every inch of land is valuable, most of the big mansions have become small Western-style buildings.

Although there were still some servants, their number had been greatly reduced.

Zhu Yunhuan closed his eyes, lay back in the chair, and thought about what to do next.

Just then, there were soft footsteps outside.

"Jiang Li, commander of the Imperial Guard, pays respect to His Majesty!"

……

(End of this chapter)