Top Scholar

Chapter 616 New Year's Plans
"Isn't this all up to you?" Zhu Houzhao put another piece of cheese on his plate.

“Then we must first inform the Emperor; we cannot act on our own,” Su Lu said solemnly. “Consider this a work report for the beginning of the year.”

He paused for a moment, then asked, "Is it okay?"

"Alright." What else could Zhu Houzhao say? He could only listen obediently.

"Your Majesty, we have drafted a monetary law, which we plan to implement on a trial basis in Shuntian Prefecture. It clearly stipulates—"

First, no one, whether government officials, civilians, or merchants, may refuse to accept Zhengde silver coins, nor may they melt or destroy them. Otherwise, it will be considered a great disrespect and this regulation will be displayed in places such as the Ministry of Education.

Second, all government taxes will be collected in yuan, abolishing the old cumbersome process of weighing silver ingots in taels and converting them into cash.

Third, clarify the exchange rate. During the pilot period, one Zhengde silver dollar was exchanged for one tael of Kuping silver or one thousand copper coins, ensuring that official and private transactions and tax payments were conducted in a regulated manner.

"There are only three points for now, simple and clear." He continued, "Once the trial in Shuntian Prefecture is stable and the people fully accept it, and the loopholes are corrected and improved, it will be gradually rolled out. Firstly, to be on the safe side and avoid chaos. Secondly, to give the people time to accept Zhengde silver dollars."

"Alright, very alright. Is there anything else to report? Let's do it together," Zhu Houzhao said, seeing the thick stack of documents in his hand.

“There really is one.” Su Lu chuckled. “The second one is the big event at the beginning of the year—the first phase of the Wuding River water conservancy project. Last winter, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, together with water conservancy officials from the Capital Water Conservancy Bureau and Shuntian Prefecture, conducted on-site investigations and studied historical archives. Based on the actual situation, they formulated this plan, which combines water storage and flood diversion functions, codenamed ‘Yongding Water Tank’!”

"The Yongding Water Tank?" Zhu Houzhao raised an eyebrow, finally showing interest again; it was clear how important a catchy name was. "How exactly will it be repaired?"

Su Lu then unfolded a 'Gyeonggi Hydrological Map' and began to introduce this year's No. 1 project.

"The main water tank area was selected in a natural depression upstream of Lugou Bridge and near Shijingshan. The terrain here is low-lying and close to the capital, which facilitates water transportation."

"At the same time, the old course of the Xiaoqing River will be widened and renovated to serve as a flood discharge channel during the flood season, which can greatly reduce the waterlogging in the south of the city during the rainy season."

"Finally, we will dig main canals east and south from the water tank, connecting Liangxiang, Daxing, and other grain-producing areas in the capital region. This way, not only will our imperial estates benefit, but the common people will too. Of course, only the villages participating in the project will be guaranteed priority water supply." Su Lu continued proudly:
"The entire Yongding Water Tank project will take three months, and is expected to employ 100,000 laborers and cost 80,000 yuan. After the project is completed, it will impound floodwaters from the Wuding River during the flood season to protect the capital and surrounding grain-producing areas; and release water for irrigation during the dry season, covering more than 80% of our imperial estates. Moreover, it will be ready for use this year!"

"This is a great thing!" Zhu Houzhao gave it a thumbs up and readily approved the funds.

According to the regulations drafted by Su Lu, every expenditure of the Imperial Funds Commission had to be signed by the emperor. However, Zhu Houzhao found this too troublesome and stipulated that expenditures exceeding 50,000 yuan required imperial approval, while expenditures below 50,000 yuan only required Su Lu's signature.

"I'm really worried about this year's military rations!" the emperor said excitedly. "If we can irrigate the land, the grain from the imperial farms alone will be enough! Second brother, let all the families of the three major camps join the fight. The land belongs to them; they can't just sit back and enjoy the fruits of others' labor."

"Yes," Zhang Yonggong replied respectfully.

"Sigh, I used to think that having money meant having everything, but now I realize that's not the case at all... No wonder Shang Yang forbade all the people in the country from engaging in commerce and forced them all to farm," Zhu Houzhao sighed.

"Shang Jun was in the Qin state more than two thousand years ago. The situation is completely different now. Even if all the water conservancy projects in Beijing were completed, it wouldn't be enough to support the massive capital. Moreover, there are still the Ji, Liao, Xuan, and Da regions that need supplies, so we still can't do without grain from the south," Su Lu said in a deep voice.

“Speaking of grain in the South,” Zhu Houzhao recalled something and said, “When your maternal grandfather presented his memorial to the emperor last year, he seemed to say that the problems along the Grand Canal were getting more and more serious, and that the grain transport could be cut off at any time… Even if it’s not that exaggerated, we can’t stand being robbed every day!”

“Yes, there are bandits in Hebei and Shandong. They come and go on horseback without a trace, and the government's soldiers sent to catch them can't catch them at all.” Su Lu nodded.

Hebei was a horse-breeding area of ​​the Ming Dynasty. Many people could not bear the harshness of the horse administration, so they directly killed officials and rebelled. They rode their horses across the Yan and Zhao lands, attacking cities and plundering villages, killing the rich and helping the poor, and leaving after fighting, which caused the court a great headache.

Upon hearing Wang Qiong's report, Zhu Houzhao became extremely worried that the bandits would cut off the Grand Canal, the capital's fragile lifeline...

“Indeed, the consequences of a prolonged blockage of the Grand Canal would be unimaginable.” Seeing that the emperor seemed to have a plan, Su Lu immediately stopped reporting and asked intriguingly, “What is Your Majesty’s opinion?”

“Let’s build a treasure ship! Do you still remember our original dream?” Zhu Houzhao patted Su Lu on the shoulder and said with a look of longing, “Back then, I extorted 200,000 taels of silver for you to build a ship, but it all went into filling holes, and our shipbuilding dream was delayed.”

He raised his voice excitedly, "But now we have money, it's time to fulfill our dream—build a treasure ship fleet! If the canal isn't open, so be it! We can use sea transport like the Yongle Emperor did!" "Your Majesty is wise! Changing to sea transport when the canal is closed is truly brilliant," Su Lu praised, then sighed, "But right now, we can't build a single treasure ship!"

"How can you not build it? With your great skills, you can't even build a ship from a hundred years ago?" Zhu Houzhao said incredulously.

"Your Majesty, I dare not lie. Last year, I already sent people to investigate the feasibility of replicating the treasure ship," Su Lu said somewhat dejectedly.

"Unfortunately, the conclusion is that replicating the treasure ship is not simply a matter of having money; it requires a complete foundation to support the giant treasure ship, and that foundation is no longer there!"

"What do you mean?" Zhu Houzhao asked, frowning.

"Your Majesty," Su Lu said with a sorrowful tone.

"Back then, Emperor Yongle's construction of the treasure ships was coordinated by the Ministry of Works, supervised by the Imperial Court, and involved the cooperation of seven coastal provinces. It was not something that a single government office could do. It required a large shipyard like the Nanjing Longjiang Treasure Shipyard, which specialized in building giant ships, with dozens of workshops and five thousand skilled craftsmen employed year-round—each with their own specific duties and clear division of labor, from keel construction to sail calibration."

"But now, the Longjiang Shipyard has long been abandoned, and only the Qingjiang Shipyard remains, specializing in building inland waterway cargo ships. The craftsmen don't even know the mortise and tenon structure of ocean-going ships, let alone build a giant ship weighing several thousand tons!"

"Then rebuild the shipyard and let the craftsmen revive their ancestral skills!" Zhu Shou said, feeling frustrated. "I refuse to believe that a treasure ship that could be built a hundred years ago can't be built now!"

"Your Majesty is wise. It is indeed necessary to reopen the shipyard, but a shipyard alone is not enough. To build a treasure ship, we also need supporting materials from all over the world—you need century-old ironwood from the deep mountains of Yunnan for the main beams, and rosewood from Southeast Asia for the main mast... Now that the world is in chaos, it is impossible to procure and gather all kinds of materials!"

"In addition, we need complete blueprints and nautical data for the treasure ship to determine how to cut materials, how to build it, and how to outfit it. But the blueprints have long been lost by the Ministry of War. How could such a complex behemoth be built based on mere imagination?"

"What's needed even more is a nationwide collaborative system—it requires the cooperation of over a hundred trades, including carpentry, ironwork, lacquering, and sail-making; it requires the sail-fitting skills of Fujian shipwrights, the anchor chain forging skills of Guangdong blacksmiths, and the compartmentalization techniques of Zhejiang carpenters; it also requires the Ministry of Revenue to allocate resources, the Ministry of War to coordinate transport capacity, and local officials to procure materials! Back then, when Emperor Yongle built his treasure ships, the entire nation's resources were mobilized to supply just one vessel; now, after years of maritime prohibition, shipyards have long since closed down, and shipwrights are dwindling. No amount of money can buy back the lost skills, the abandoned docks, and the collapsed shipbuilding system!"

By the end, Su Lu's eyes were filled with tears, and she choked out:
“Your Majesty, the treasure ship is no ordinary cargo ship. It was a national treasure of the Yongle Dynasty, a pinnacle of the Ming Dynasty built by the combined efforts of countless government offices, various industries, and over ten thousand craftsmen! Now, that entire system has long since vanished, leaving only ruins. Even if I possessed extraordinary abilities, I could not rebuild that now-hidden treasure ship on my own... I cannot do it!”

"..." Su Lu's heartfelt report completely ruined Zhu Houzhao's good mood.

He thought that as long as he avoided listening to bad political news, he could avoid feeling upset, but he didn't expect that listening to history would make him feel even worse...

This was the first time Zhu Houzhao had heard Su Lu complain that it was "too difficult." He couldn't help but retort indignantly, "Difficult, difficult, difficult! Does that mean we should do nothing at all just because it's difficult?!"

“Of course we must do it.” Su Lu shook his head resolutely, emerging from his sorrow over history, and said proudly, “Your Majesty, my detailed account of the difficulties in building the treasure ships is not intended to persuade Your Majesty to give up, but rather to let Your Majesty know—just how great a challenge we face!”

"There's a mountain with an unfathomable peak waiting for us to climb, but if we don't begin today, we'll forever remain at its foot, gazing up in awe!" His gaze hardened as he spoke, each word carrying weight:
"The best time to plant a tree was ten years ago, and the second best time is today! If my Great Ming Dynasty intends to possess treasure ships capable of traversing the seven seas at any time in the future, then we must begin preparations today!"

"If we don't prepare today, fifty years from now when our Great Ming wants to build treasure ships, we will still have to start by finding lost craftsmen, reviving lost techniques, procuring rare giant timbers, and repairing abandoned shipyards."

He bowed and spoke again, his voice full of sincerity: "So let's start preparing to rebuild the treasure ship from today!"

"Alright, let's start today!" Zhu Houzhao nodded emphatically and swore to Su Lu, "We will overcome all difficulties to ensure that the treasure ships of the Ming Dynasty can once again sail on the South Seas!"

Zhang Yong, standing to the side, also had tears in his eyes, and couldn't help but sigh at how wonderful it is to be young. In the eyes of these two young people, any difficulty could be overcome…

"So, what should we do first?" Zhu Houzhao asked again.

"Let's build small ocean-going vessels first, for sailing in coastal waters, and gradually train our shipwrights and sailors," Su Lu said, having already planned ahead.

"Let's start with the maritime transport of grain..."

(End of this chapter)