Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 54 Hongwu Immigration
"That boy really said that..."

"Your Majesty, this is indeed the case. I have confirmed it repeatedly."

On the fifth watch of the day, in the Palace of Qianqing.

As Zhu Yuanzhang's voice sounded, he was standing in front of a bronze mirror, being dressed by palace maids and eunuchs.

Behind him, the military attache who always accompanied him was reporting on the matter, and the content was exactly what Zhu Gaoxu said to Feng Sheng in the first half of the night.

His face was pale, and he obviously felt that Zhu Gaoxu's speech was too bold.

But compared to him, Zhu Yuanzhang was very calm and calm.

He allowed the palace maid to get dressed for him, then turned around and walked slowly out of the palace, with the military attache following closely.

Nanjing is still a bit hot in May. Even though it is still dark, the wind blowing is a bit dull.

Zhu Yuanzhang got on the chariot and motioned to the military attache to follow him.

When the military attaché saw this, he could only bow and accuse him, and then he carefully got into the chariot.

In the car, Zhu Yuanzhang touched his long beard and said: "Song Guogong is right. This boy's transformation has changed too much, and he has become a bit weak."

"With such a temper, it may not be possible to help Fourth and the imperial court guard the north."

Zhu Yuanzhang was a little disappointed, but it was not because Zhu Gaoxu said he was cruel, but because of Zhu Gaoxu's temperament.

The ideal Zhu Gaoxu in his heart is the one who is cunning and ruthless, but also has the humility, studiousness and long-term vision.

What disappoints him is that although his grandson has become more humble and studious, he has also lost the temper he once had.

Today's temper can only restrain some mediocre soldiers, but it cannot restrain the arrogant and capable generals at the frontier.

"I still have to temper this boy for a while. When he is finished, I can send him back to the north to help the fourth child."

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed slightly, then looked at the military attache and ordered him: "Keep watching this kid for me."

"I accept your order!" the military attache agreed, and then seeing that the emperor had no other business, he carefully exited the chariot and disappeared into the long palace road.

In the next few days, Zhu Yuanzhang asked people to observe Zhu Gaoxu's every move.

Zhu Gaoxu lived a very regular life. He would continue studying in the same palace the next day.

When he was studying in the Duke's Mansion, Fu Youde and Feng Sheng didn't often show up to give him advice, but he would save all the questions and ask them all at once when they showed up.

During this period, Zhu Gaoxu would also inquire about Zhu Yuanzhang's decisions from Zhu Gaochi who came to visit him from time to time.

It has to be said that due to the many Hu Feng brought by the BC Yuan Dynasty and the stiff relations with the surrounding countries, there were many things to do during the Hongwu period, and the remote chief envoys and surrounding countries had a negative attitude towards the Ming Dynasty.

In mid-May, the Chief Envoy of Guangdong was scolded by Zhu Yuanzhang.

The reason was that Annan usurped the throne last year, so Zhu Yuanzhang did not allow him to pay tribute, and ordered the officials of the Chief Secretary of Guangxi to tell Annan not to accept his envoys.

As a result, the Chief Secretary of Guangxi was obedient. As a result, the Chief Secretary of Guangdong did not submit a petition first and allowed Annan to pay tribute without authorization.

In addition, many chieftains in southeastern Sichuan did not obey the Ming Dynasty's decrees.

The Yao people in Quanzhou, Guanyang and other counties also gathered to rebel. The newly victorious Xiang King Zhu Bai and Chu King Zhu Zhen were ordered by Zhu Yuanzhang to put down the rebellion with troops from the Huguang and Guangxi capitals.

The military morale of craftsmen households in various military posts and military households in Gansu, Shaanxi, Liaodong and other places was also unstable, and people continued to flee south. Zhu Yuanzhang could only distribute cotton, treasure notes, and cloth to comfort the local military morale.

It can be said that Zhu Gaoxu could feel the pressure from Zhu Yuanzhang due to these things that broke out in May alone, and this was only more than half of the twelve months of the year...

"I'm not going! I'm not going!"

"Grandma's fault! If you don't get on the boat, the master will send you to Liaodong!"

"Mother..."

"Mom, where are we going..."

"Go to where dad is..."

"Brother! I'll go find you when I get the chance!"

"Take good care of yourself! We brothers will see you again in the future!" At the end of May, when cries and children's inquiries rang out at the Dinghuai Gate in Nanjing, thousands of people with their families and their families wearing short brown cloths were walking in Dinghuai Gate. Huaimen Ferry awaits.

A ship entered the ferry dock and stopped in front of them. After picking up a group of people, they moved towards the upper reaches of the Yangtze River by rowing oars and being pulled by trackers on land.

Some people cried and howled and did not want to get on the boat, but the sergeants on the left and right immediately stepped forward to scold them. When they met the stubborn people, they immediately struck with sticks, making the group of crying people get on the boat in embarrassment.

Most of the people did not dare to resist, so they could only lower their heads and pick up a handful of Nanjing soil, put it into a bag, and get on the boat with their heads lowered and weeping.

There are also some cases that are more miserable. Several brothers in the family have to go to different places, so they can only smash the pots and bowls at home and give the pieces to each brother, hoping that they can recognize each other when they meet in the future.

Looking at the scene in front of him, Zhu Gaoxu, who was upstairs at Dinghuai Gate, was filled with emotions.

He was supposed to rest today, but he heard from Wang Jian and others that the people of Liushuwan, Nanjing, were moving to Yunnan today, so he rushed to Dinghuai Gate to check.

During the Hongwu Immigration, hundreds of thousands of people from the south of the Yangtze River were moved to Yunnan. This story was heard by Zhu Gaoxu when he traveled to Yunnan in his previous life.

At that time, he just thought it was novel, but he never thought that one day he would become a bystander of this story and witness with his own eyes this story that would be passed down orally from generation to generation.

Looking at the thousands of people crying and howling, he didn't know what to say.

"This is pretty good. At least we moved early and there is a boat to ride on."

The guard of Dinghuai Gate did not know Zhu Gaoxu's identity, and only thought that he was a military attaché from a certain family, so he murmured next to him:

"After the autumn harvest, there are the most people migrating at that time. There are not enough boats, so we can only migrate on foot. If 1000 people go, it will be considered good if 800 people can reach the local area alive."

"Even if we arrive, we will probably try our best to escape back."

The guard general's words sounded in his ears. While Zhu Gaoxu listened, he also knew that even if most of this group of people moved to Yunnan, they would still find ways to escape back to Jiangnan.

The guard didn't say what happened next, but Zhu Gaoxu could guess it.

After they fled back to the south of the Yangtze River, in order to avoid being searched by the yamen, they could only join some gentry officials and become tenants. They became hermit households during the Hongwu period, and their descendants would farm the land for the gentry.

"Come on, there's nothing to see here."

Seeing that Zhu Gaoxu didn't speak, the guard immediately began to drive away the people.

Zhu Gaoxu did not reveal his identity, but took one last look at the forcibly relocated people outside Dinghuai Gate, then lowered his head and climbed down the city wall, riding Chi Huan to prepare for the Duke Ying's Mansion.

He originally thought that someone in the city would discuss the immigration of Dinghuaimen. However, not many people paid attention to this matter along the way. Everyone was busy with the things in front of them and seemed to have become accustomed to it.

Seeing Zhu Gaoxu on horseback, street vendors would come forward to sell their goods, while ordinary people lowered their heads and stayed away for fear of bumping into this unknown figure.

Zhu Gaoxu was very puzzled by the people's behavior at first, but after more than half a month of studying in the two princes' mansions, he finally understood the reason.

These actions were still caused by the arrogance and indulgence of the noble children before.

Most of the nobles in the early Ming Dynasty were rough people who were infected by Hu Feng and had little education. Therefore, facing the common people, they would only be arrogant about their merits.

In their view, there is nothing wrong with bullying the common people. After all, when they were common people, Mongolian officials and Han officials also bullied them.

Although this phenomenon was prohibited by Zhu Yuanzhang's repeated orders, people such as Lan Yu, Cao Zhen, Zhang Yi, Zhu Shou and their subordinates were all proud of their merits. Not only did they not take the common people seriously, but even many veteran generals Nor was he taken seriously by them.

After the Battle of Yuerhai, Nangui Lanyu felt that his contribution was greater than that of Fu Youde and Feng Sheng, and blatantly Shangshu believed that Zhu Yuanzhang was treating him poorly.

Although Zhu Gaoxu has not experienced all this himself, the memory of his predecessor also contains scenes of Lan Yu blatantly scolding his father Zhu Di and Jin Wang Zhu Fan when he was preparing for the border in the north.

For this reason, after the Lan Yu case broke out, the most vengeful King of Jin, Zhu Fan, single-handedly arranged the arrest of Wu Xun in Huaixi, Shanxi.

It can also be seen from this that above the local level, as long as there is permission from the imperial power, the vassal king can still control the local area by virtue of the imperial power.

Even if he is the founding hero of the country, as long as Zhu Yuanzhang gives the order, the local vassal king can kill him single-handedly.

Thinking of this, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but think of the relationship between Jin Wang Zhu Fan and his father Zhu Di.

Although they are brothers, the two people are in a never-ending quarrel. It's no wonder that Zhu Jiyi comes to trouble him when he has nothing to do.

Zhu Gaoxu stopped his horse and turned his head to look at the bustling streets of Nanjing:

"I still have to go back to the north. This pool of muddy water in Nanjing is not the place I should stay."

(End of this chapter)