Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 578 The Emperor's Sorrow

"My father was well versed in military affairs since he was young. He knew how to appoint the right people to the right positions. He was a man of great military strategy. He led six armies to fight many times and cleared the barbarian invasion."

"During his seventeen years in office, he was diligent and hardworking, and his prestige and virtue spread far and wide. In remote and desolate areas, his prestige and virtue spread far and wide, and all directions were submissive. Nearly seventy-eight countries paid tribute in response to his orders, and his territory was vast, which was also magnificent..."

On July 18, the 17th year of the Hongxi reign, Zhu Di died on horseback on a mound outside Jiuyuan County at the age of 75.

Coincidentally, this place was originally a piece of sandy land. Trees were planted only with the construction of the railway. The trees planted happened to be elm trees, so it was called Yumuchuan by the locals.

After Zhu Di's death, although Zhu Gaoxu was grief-stricken, he calmly sent his body to Beijing. He told Zhu Zhanhe about this and asked him to inform the royal family to come to Beijing to pay their respects.

Upon hearing the news, Zhu Zhanhe was shocked and unable to recover for a long time. Fortunately, Guo Yan stepped forward in time to arrange Zhu Di's funeral, while Zhu Gaoxu watched quietly in the Jiyan Hall as Zhu Di's body was placed in the coffin that had been prepared long ago.

As it was hot in July, Zhu Gaoxu ordered the river ice stored last winter to be taken out and placed in the banquet hall, and at the same time urged the various vassal states to come to Beijing.

Of course, those who are far away overseas don’t need to come to Beijing, after all, there is not enough time.

Kneeling in front of the spirit tablet, Zhu Gaoxu could hear the singing of the Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and behind him he could hear the sobbing of officials dressed in plain clothes who came to pay their respects.

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at them and saw that most of them were crying for show.

However, among them, Huang Fu and several people who had already retired, such as Guo Zi and Xia Yuanji, cried so bitterly that their voices were almost hoarse.

From yesterday till now, they basically have not stopped crying. During this period, Xia Yuan Ji Hai even fainted once due to crying due to his sick body.

Looking at them, Zhu Gaoxu's grief was gradually suppressed. He was very curious whether anyone in this group would cry for him like this after his death.

But when he thought about it carefully, he felt that it was unlikely. After all, he was not good to officials. In fact, he was particularly harsh on them, second only to Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Dad, have a drink of water..."

Zhu Zhanhe, with red and swollen eyes and wearing plain clothes, handed Zhu Gaoxu a glass of water. Zhu Gaoxu shook his head and was not prepared to drink it.

"Is your uncle here?"

His voice was a little hoarse, but it wasn't because he was crying, but because he was in pain.

"Third Uncle... should not be here yet." Zhu Zhanhe hesitated and did not answer the question directly. Instead, he bowed and said:
"On the ninth day of the seventh month, thirty-eight counties including Daming and Yuancheng in the two capitals, Shandong, Shanxi, and Henan were hit by a locust plague. More than an inch of land had to be restored and crops had to be repaired. Millions of people were affected by the disaster."

"Father, how do you think we should deal with this matter?"

Zhu Zhanhe knew his father's temper very well. Government affairs were always more important than family affairs, so he tried to use government affairs to distract Zhu Gaoxu's attention. After all, the disaster that affected the two capitals, three provinces and thirty-eight counties was probably the biggest disaster the Ming Dynasty had ever experienced.

"The taxes of the counties affected by the disaster in the two capitals and three provinces will be exempted. In addition, 6 million dan of grain will be transferred from the local granaries for disaster relief."

"For those who are seriously affected by the disaster, their families will be relocated to Anxi. You can decide where to relocate them."

Zhu Gaoxu's attention was drawn to the disaster, but before Zhu Zhanhe could catch his breath, Zhu Gaoxu continued, "Send someone to see when your uncle will arrive..."

"Third uncle, he..." Zhu Zhanhe felt helpless after hearing this. Just as he was about to talk about Zhu Gaosui, he saw Guo Yan, who was wearing plain clothes, walking towards him.

She helped Zhu Gaoxu up from the mat and walked him to a corner. After taking a look at Zhu Zhanhe, she said with red and swollen eyes, "Prince Zhao learned of the death of the retired emperor and died in the palace in front of the palace yesterday..."

"The third brother... is gone too..."

Zhu Gaoxu was a little dazed. Even though he was not nice to Zhu Gaosui and their interactions were not as close as those with the eldest brother, he couldn't help but feel sad when he suddenly learned that Zhu Gaosui was gone.

"You guys take care of it, I'm tired..."

Zhu Gaoxu turned around and walked out with a staggering gait. Although he was still tall, he was now hunched over.

He walked out of the Jiyan Hall. Zhu Qiyue, who was waiting outside the hall, saw him coming out, but he had to receive the ministers, so he signaled Wang Tao with his eyes to follow him.

Wang Tao followed him. The footsteps sounded behind him, and Zhu Gaoxu recognized who was coming: "Wang Tao..."

"It's me, Your Majesty." Wang Tao hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, but Zhu Gaoxu's eyes were slightly cloudy: "Where is your godfather?"

"Godfather wanted to come, but the imperial physician said he needed to rest, so I took it upon myself not to let him come."

Wang Tao explained respectfully, and Zhu Gaoxu nodded: "Be nice to your godfather..."

"Yes." Wang Tao responded quickly, and then followed Zhu Gaoxu walking aimlessly.

The bells and drums from the bell tower, drum tower, Taoist temples and Buddhist temples in Beijing continued to ring. Zhu Gaoxu walked around the Jiyan Hall unconsciously, and then found a corner to sit down.

Seeing this, Wang Tao hurriedly used his sleeves to wipe the dust off the steps for Zhu Gaoxu.

After Zhu Gaoxu sat down, he looked at the vermilion palace wall in front of him with cloudy eyes and did not speak for a long time.

He sat there for an hour, until Zhu Qiyue came over and bowed to him, and then his eyes regained some of their spirit.

"Grandpa, the ministers are preparing to choose a temple name and posthumous title for Grandpa. Please go over and make the decision."

Zhu Gaoxu was very tired. He didn't know why, but he felt exhausted both physically and mentally.

"Then choose Emperor Taizong Wen. Your father and his family will decide on the posthumous title. You don't need to ask me."

"Besides, your third grandfather has passed away, so let your father help make the decision..."

The ministers did not propose Zhu Di's temple name and posthumous title on their own initiative, mainly because Emperor Taizong Wen was too important, and they were not sure whether Zhu Gaoxu wanted it.

Besides, Zhu Di rose to power through the Jingnan Rebellion. As long as he was thick-skinned enough, there was nothing wrong with calling himself the ancestor. It was nothing more than admitting that he had not come to power in a legitimate way.

Now that Zhu Gaoxu has spoken, it means that Zhu Gaoxu still cares about Zhu Di's face, and Emperor Taizong Wen is indeed the temple name and posthumous title that Zhu Di wanted. There is no need for Zhu Gaoxu to fight with Zhu Di for false reputation.

Temple names and posthumous titles cannot represent a person's level. It is just that Emperor Wen of Han and Emperor Taizong of Tang elevated these two temple names and posthumous titles to a higher level.

Zhao Guangyi, who was also Emperor Taizong Wen, had a very low presence. Apart from his bad reputations such as his donkey cart drifting better than the Liao cavalry and having tasted Concubine Xiao Zhou, his reputation could not be compared with that of Emperor Wen of Han and Emperor Taizong of Tang.

"Grandpa, it's time to eat, you..."

Zhu Qiyue was worried about Zhu Gaoxu's health, but Zhu Gaoxu waved his hand and said, "I have no appetite. You go quickly."

"Yes……"

Zhu Qiyue agreed reluctantly and looked at Wang Tao. Wang Tao nodded, indicating that he would take good care of Zhu Gaoxu.

Seeing this, Zhu Qiyue left reluctantly.

In the past few days, Zhu Qiyue cried and broke down, but he still pretended to be fine in front of his grandfather, only because he didn't want his grandfather to see his sadness and make his grandfather feel sad as well.

Maybe if he were to sit alone, time would slowly heal the discomfort.

After Zhu Qiyue left, the temple name and posthumous name of Zhu Di and the posthumous name of Zhu Gaosui were determined respectively.

The 75-year-old Zhu Di ended his life with the temple name Taizong and the posthumous title of Emperor Qi Tian Hong Dao Gao Ming Zhao Yun Sheng Wu Sheng Gong Chun Ren Zhi Xiao Wen.

Zhu Gaosui, who died with him, was posthumously named "Xiang" by Zhu Zhanhe and his ministers, and was made King Xiang of Zhao.

Although his behavior was not worthy of being called "Xiang", he was his uncle after all, and Zhu Zhanhe wanted him to be more decent.

Zhu Di's burial was scheduled for the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, which is fifty-five days from now.

During such a long period of time, the body could only be kept in good condition by continuously transporting ice to the Jiyan Hall.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't want the funeral to stay for so long, but the princes needed to come to Beijing to pay their respects, so he could only accept this time.

In the following days, time passed little by little, and the princes who were closer and had access to railways came to Beijing one after another to pay their respects.

It has been nearly thirty years since the last feudal lords came to the capital, so many faces have disappeared.

Of course, there are also familiar faces to Zhu Gaoxu, such as Prince of Jin Zhu Jihui, Prince of Zhou Zhu Youdun, Prince of Ning Zhu Quan, Prince of Han Zhu Zhanji, and Prince of Zhao Zhu Zhanhao.

Zhu Jihui, Zhu Youdun and Zhu Gaoxu did not have much contact, so they just exchanged a few words and then left.

He turned his gaze to Ning Wang Zhu Quan, Han Wang Zhu Zhanji, Zhao Shizi Zhu Zhanhao and others who were burning incense.

Zhu Quan is now fifty-seven years old, but he is still healthy and agile.

Zhu Zhanji was thirty-seven years old. According to history, he should have fallen ill at this time and died at most half a year later.

However, his body was much more symmetrical at this moment than before. It was obvious that the death of Zhu Gaochi made him pay attention to his health. He began to eat well according to the recipes given by Zhu Gaoxu, so his body was still healthy.

Zhu Zhanji was supposed to die at the age of seventeen, but now he has lived to the age of twenty-four.

Many things have changed, and many people's experiences have changed.

It’s a pity that Zhu Zhanji didn’t bring Zhu Qizhen with him, otherwise Zhu Gaoxu would like to see what Zhu Qizhen looked like in this era.

"Fourth brother has lived to such an old age and witnessed the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty. I think he has no regrets. Your Majesty, don't be too sad."

Zhu Quan comforted Zhu Gaoxu. Since the end of the Mobei Campaign, Zhu Quan returned to Nanyang and lived out his days in the palace. He was in good health.

There was a youthfulness about him that made him look no more than forty years old.

Compared to him, Zhu Gaoxu, who was two years younger than him, looked gloomy and depressed, which made him unable to help but speak out to comfort him.

"Well, thank you Uncle Seventeen for your concern."

Zhu Gaoxu nodded, forced a smile, and then asked Zhu Zhanhe and Zhu Quan to reminisce and greet each other.

"How is the war going in the southwest?"

Zhu Gaoxu walked up to Zhu Zhanji and asked him. You should know that a month ago, Zhu Zhanji was still fighting in Myanmar.

Upon learning that Zhu Di had passed away, he rode at full speed to Lihua Horse Posthouse, took the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway to Haiyang Port in Jiaozhi, and then took a boat to Guangzhou.

He then rode north to Yingde, and then took the Huguang Railway all the way north to Beijing, arriving in Beijing just before Zhu Di was buried.

"The war in the southwest is going smoothly. We can take over Burma and Babai Dadian at any time."

Zhu Zhanji bowed calmly. Having been on the battlefield in the southwest, he naturally knew what his second uncle was planning.

Before the war began, the population of the Xuanweisi in Burma and other places was at least two million, but now only four out of ten remain, most of whom died from their own methods of conscripting men and sending them grain. If the war continues, I am afraid that in a few years, they will gradually become a local minority as time goes by.

"How is your mother's health?"

Zhu Gaoxu asked about his eldest sister-in-law Zhang, and Zhu Zhanji said respectfully: "Mother is in good health. I have not been to Kunming this time, but before that, mother often said that Your Majesty treats mother and son very well, and asked me to see Your Majesty and tell him about it."

"Well," Zhu Gaoxu forced a smile and said, "We captured a lot of Ferghana horses during our trip to the Western Regions. I'll let your nephew take you to choose one later."

"Qi Yue, take your uncle to the stable to choose a Ferghana horse."

Zhu Gaoxu gave instructions to Zhu Qiyue, who was not far away and hurried over. After bowing to Zhu Zhanji, he took Zhu Zhanji out.

At the same time, Zhu Gaoxu found Zhu Zhanji, first comforted him, and then promised to issue an edict to let him inherit the title of King of Zhao after the national mourning was over.

Zhu Zhanji was frail and sickly and had an introverted personality. He just responded to Zhu Gaoxu respectfully and did not take any other action afterwards.

Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu did not stay, but nodded and left the Jiyan Hall with Wang Tao.

Time passed little by little, and the seventeenth year of Hongxi was destined to be an uneasy year for the Ming court.

After the death of Emperor Zhu Di, more than 200,000 people from three counties in Jiangxi were relocated. A locust plague broke out in 38 counties in the two capitals and three provinces, affecting millions of people.

This is because the court’s policies towards the people have been good over the years, so nothing has happened.

On the ninth day of the ninth month, bells, drums and pestles were blasted 30,000 times in the Taoist temples in Beijing, and Zhu Gaoxu's coffin was carried to Changling.

During this period, some ministers believed that taking a train was not in accordance with etiquette, but Zhu Gaoxu retorted that times had changed and they could not stick to the old ways.

Because of this, the journey of more than 90 miles, which should have taken three days, actually took less than four hours to reach Changping by deploying more than 20 trains.

After a night's rest, the team set out for Changling the next morning. At an auspicious time, they placed Zhu Di's coffin into the tomb and buried him with Empress Xu.

When the tomb door was closed, all the funeral procedures were over. Zhu Gaoxu dismissed the officials and clerks, sat in the Ming Tower of Changling, looked up at the portraits of Zhu Di and Empress Xu, and did not speak for a long time.

"They're all gone...it's good that they're gone."

Half an hour later, he slowly stood up and walked out of Minglou with a hunched back.

When he walked out of Minglou, he stopped and looked back.

Looking at the portraits in the hall, he felt a little more at ease and walked a few steps outside. However, he still couldn't help but stop and look back a few times.

Only when his vision became blurred did he walk down the sacred path from the Ming Tower under the protection of soldiers and return to Beijing by carriage.

In the following days, Zhu Gaoxu locked himself in the Qianqing Palace, writing his own books every day and never leaving the house.

During this period, Zhu Zhanhe, Zhu Qiyue and Guo Yan all came to see him, but he just responded with a few words and continued to immerse himself in his own world.

At the same time, with the publication of the third issue of "Da Ming Bao" in the 17th year of Hongxi, the whole world learned about the death of the retired emperor.

For a time, there were many people who were mourning the passing of a good emperor.

Of course, Zhu Di’s departure was a good thing for some people because they finally saw what they wanted to see.

Zhu Di has passed away, so how long will Zhu Gaoxu be long behind?
Many people held this idea, and they were all looking forward to the death of Emperor Hongxi, who absolutely controlled the entire world.

But compared to their ideas, Zhu Gaoxu's methods came faster.

On the fourth day of the winter month, Zhu Gaoxu sent a rare imperial edict to Wuying Palace, which aimed to relocate the people in the two capitals and three provinces who had been affected by the disaster and had not been able to settle down for a long time to the Western Regions.

Compared with the previous migrations organized according to the severity of the disaster, the migration brought about by this decree is more significant.

In the event of a natural disaster, even if the imperial court's relief grain can ensure survival, one still has to live the rest of the day.

The land was already in short supply, and now there was a drought, so all the savings were spent.

There is still some time between the beginning of spring and the end of autumn harvest next year. If they want to survive, they can only sell part of the land to wealthy households in exchange for enough money and grain to buy seeds for planting.

However, in Zhu Gaoxu's decree, the court paid to purchase some of the victims' arable land and relocated some of them to the Western Regions. At the same time, the purchased arable land was distributed equally to another group of victims who were not wealthy but would be able to cultivate the land in the coming year.

As a result, the landlord's plan to buy land at a low price was declared bankrupt. Even if he bought the land, he would not be able to make any profit because there were not enough tenants to farm the land due to the migration of disaster victims.

Of course, this approach also brought considerable problems to the Ming Dynasty's finances. Therefore, at the end of the year and the winter solstice, memorials from the six ministries were delivered to Zhu Gaoxu's desk by Zhu Zhanhe.

"This year, 2 million strings of cash were allocated for the Western Region Railway, 1.16 million strings of cash were spent on the relocation of people from Jiangxi and three provinces, and 7.42 million strings of cash were spent on the purchase of farmland for some disaster victims in 38 counties in the two capitals and three provinces."

"It cost two million strings of cash to provide relief to the people, and it is estimated that it will cost another three million strings of cash to relocate the more than 700,000 people affected by the disaster."

"All in all, the cost of building new railways, disaster relief, and relocation alone was nearly 15.6 million strings of cash."

"If we include the 800,000 strings of cash used for Grandpa's national funeral, there are only 34,800,000 strings of cash left in the treasury."

After Zhu Zhanhe finished his report, he glanced at his father's expression covertly.

Zhu Gaoxu was seen flipping through the memorials one by one, and then closing them one by one.

“How much is the bank savings?”

Zhu Gaoxu asked Zhu Zhanhe, and Zhu Zhanhe answered without hesitation: "More than 340 million strings of cash."

"However, since Wang Hui took charge of the Ministry of Revenue, he has opened a mortgage loan service at the bank with an annual interest rate of 5%. Currently, about million guan have been borrowed, and the bank can earn more than guan from this service every year."

"Do you think this policy should be continued or suspended..."

"Go ahead." Zhu Gaoxu knew that banks must have revenue, and doing business was not surprising.

Judging from the loan of 8 million guan, private business in the society seems to have not recovered since the collapse of the overseas merchant group.

"Next year, the Huguang Railway will be completed and reach Guangzhou. The Liaodong Railway in the north will also be completed, and the Qilu Railway from Dongchang to Wendeng will also be completed."

"After the completion of these railways, the imperial court will have an additional 4 million guan of savings each year. Will this money be invested in the construction of new railways?"

With Zhu Gaoxu's return, Zhu Zhanhe seemed to have returned to his indecisive state.

However, Zhu Gaoxu was not angry this time, because based on Zhu Zhanhe's previous performance, Zhu Gaoxu already knew that if he was not around one day, Zhu Zhanhe would be able to come up with his own opinions, and that was enough.

"In addition to the three railways in the Western Regions, there are also scattered railways in Yunnan and Guizhou, as well as the Mobei Railway and the Anxi Railway that connects Mobei and Anxi. After the completion of the remaining railways, no more railways will be built in the interior."

Zhu Gaoxu was preparing to put a halt to major infrastructure projects because economic reforms had already begun to gain momentum and he wanted to see the results, which could also help save money for the national treasury.

"If so, according to the report from the Ministry of Industry officials, we will be able to accumulate about 4 million guan next year, and 5 million guan the year after..."

Zhu Zhanhe reported year after year, and then continued: "If this is accumulated for about four years, the national debt and interest issued in the past should be repaid on time, and after repayment, there will still be about 7 million strings of cash left in the national treasury."

"Well, you can do whatever you want. You can start to be the head of the family soon. You don't have to ask me about everything."

Although Zhu Gaoxu had no intention of abdicating, he had already begun to delegate power to Zhu Zhanhe.

Zhu Zhanhe felt mixed emotions upon hearing this and didn't know what to say. He could only bow and slowly retreat.

After he left, the hall fell into deathly silence again.

From afternoon to dusk and then to late night, only being busy could relieve his sorrow at the moment.

It was not until late at night, when he had taken a breath, checked the books and confirmed that there were no problems, that he got up and prepared to go to Kunning Palace to rest.

But just as he reached the gate of the Qianqing Palace, he saw a hunched figure standing at the gate, revealing an indescribable loneliness.

Zhu Gaoxu took a few steps closer and then he could see clearly that it was Wang Yan from the Daming Palace.

"His Majesty……"

Wang Yan bowed to Zhu Gaoxu, who stepped forward to support him and said, "It's snowing heavily, why did you come at this time?"

“I…” Wang Yan’s eyes were sad, and she lowered her head and said, “The emperor has left, and I am feeling very uncomfortable being alone in Daming Palace.”

"This time, I came to ask Your Majesty for permission to return to my hometown to retire..."

Wang Yan wanted to leave. This eunuch, who had followed Zhu Di in the campaign against Nairbuhua and the Jingnan Campaign, seemed to know that it was time for him to exit.

"The palace still needs you, and I still need you, so please stay."

The appearance of Wang Yan reminded Zhu Gaoxu of Zhu Di, and he couldn't help but grab his wrist.

It was a pity that in the face of his entreaty, Wang Yan shook her head and said, "The emperor is gone, and I have no more thoughts."

"In this life, I only want to serve the Emperor..."

In response to these remarks, Zhu Gaoxu slowly loosened his hands. Wang Yan knelt down, kowtowed five times and three times to Zhu Gaoxu in the wind and snow, then slowly bowed, turned around and walked into the wind and snow.

Gradually, his figure disappeared into the darkness, leaving Zhu Gaoxu alone standing in the wind and snow at the palace gate.

"His Majesty!"

Seeing that Zhu Gaoxu had not returned to Kunning Palace to rest for a long time, Guo Yan came to look for him. As a result, he saw him standing in the wind and snow, so he hurriedly walked up to him and pulled him under the eaves.

She stretched out her hand to brush the snow off Zhu Gaoxu's body. Zhu Gaoxu felt the warmth and couldn't help but think of the scene when Zhu Di brushed the snow off his body.

He subconsciously reached out his hand to touch his cheek, but he didn't know when tears started to flow and he couldn't stop them.

"Your Majesty, you..."

When Guo Yan saw this, he quickly reached out to wipe it for him, but Zhu Gaoxu sat on the ground and looked up at Guo Yan.

As their eyes met, Zhu Gaoxu was overwhelmed with grief and tears could not stop flowing.

"Yan'er, I don't have any parents anymore..."

(End of this chapter)