Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 384 The huge impact of railways

"Dad, I plan to posthumously confer Zhang Yu, the Duke of Shengping County, as the Prince of Hejian County and change his posthumous title to 'Zhongwu'. I will postulate the Duke of Shengjin County as the Duke of the Kingdom of Jin, and both of them will be worthy of enjoying the Imperial Ancestral Temple."

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly changed the topic.

"Zhang Yu is our number one contributor to the Ming Dynasty's pacification of the Western Regions. It is not excessive to be promoted to a county king, and he deserves to be able to enjoy the Ancestral Temple."

Zhu Di said with a look of reminiscence on his face: "Wang Zhen's achievements are second only to Zhang Yu's. He is the second contributor to the Ming Dynasty's pacification of the Western Regions. He deserves to be promoted to Duke and be entitled to the Imperial Ancestral Temple."

Zhu Gaoxu added: "In addition, I am also planning to let Duke Zhang Wu of Lu, Duke Yao Guangxiao of Rong, Prince Taishi Xia Yuanji, Prince Taifu Jian Yi, King Zhang Yu of Hejian, and Duke Wang Zhen of Jin enjoy the ancestral temple together."

Xia Yuanji was given the posthumous title Zhongjing and was given to the prince and grand master.

Jian Yi was given the posthumous title of Zhongding and was given to the prince and tutor.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di thought for a moment, and then replied concisely and clearly: "Yes."

The so-called "Ancestral Temple" is the emperor's ancestral hall, which contains the spiritual tablets of the emperor's ancestors.

Only a very small number of ministers who have contributed to the country can enter the Ancestral Temple after their death and accept sacrifices from later emperors when they worship their ancestors. This is called worthy of enjoying the Ancestral Temple.

And being worthy of enjoying the Ancestral Temple is the highest honor for a minister!
Historically, there were only six people who were entitled to enjoy the temple court of Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan of the Tang Dynasty (not counting the warrior Xun of King Wei who was added during Wu Zetian's period), namely, King Li Shentong of Huai'an, King Li Xiaogong of Hejian, Duke Yin Kaishan of Yun State, Liu Zhenghui, Duke of Yu State, Hedong Duke Pei Ji and Duke Liu Wenjing of Lu.

As for those who deserve to enjoy the temple of Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, there are only six people, namely Zhao Guogong Changsun Wuji, Liang Guogong Fang Xuanling, Cai Guogong Du Ruhui, Shen Guogong Gao Shilian, Wei Guogong Li Jing, and Jiang Guogong Qu Tutong.

Although the tradition of meritorious officials offering sacrifices to emperors has been around for a long time, the system was actually formed during the Cao Wei period. At that time, almost all the meritorious officials who were honored in the Imperial Ancestral Temple were the founding generals of the country.

Subsequent dynasties generally followed this approach.

Of course, during the Tang and Song Dynasties, there were also many civil servants who were entitled to enjoy the imperial temple.

After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang had appointed meritorious officials to enter the Ancestral Temple.

In the second year of Hongwu, he assigned seven people, Liao Yong'an, Yu Tonghai, Zhang Desheng, Sang Shijie, Geng Zaicheng, Hu Dahai and Zhao Desheng, to the Ancestral Temple. The following year, he added Chang Yuchun, a total of eight people.

In the ninth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang added Xu Da, Li Wenzhong, Deng Yu, Tang He and Mu Ying, and dismissed Liao Yong'an at the same time.

So far, a total of 12 people in the Hongwu Dynasty were entitled to enjoy the Ancestral Temple.

Later, some of the heroes were convicted and executed by Zhu Yuanzhang, but Zhu Yuanzhang did not remove the tablets of such heroes from the Ancestral Temple.

Obviously, Zhu Yuanzhang recognized the achievements of such heroes.

Historically, Zhu Di's reign was equivalent to the founding of the country. After the death of Zhang Yu, Zhu Neng, Wang Zhen, and Yao Guangxiao who followed him in the southern and northern wars, their tablets were also enshrined in the Ancestral Temple by Zhu Gaochi, Emperor Renzong of the Ming Dynasty.

In this regard, it is unknown whether Zhu Di left any instructions to Zhu Gaochi during his lifetime.

From then on, until the Zhengde period, no one had the honor of being worthy of the Ancestral Temple.

During the Jiajing period, the imperial court revised the sacrificial etiquette. Officials believed that Liu Ji had made great contributions to supporting Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty and suggested that he be included in the Ancestral Temple. However, they also believed that Yao Guangxiao was a monk and should not be worshiped in the Ancestral Temple.

Therefore, Emperor Jiajing issued an order to add Liu Ji, the minister of honor to Zhu Yuanzhang, and moved Yao Guangxiao's tablet out of the Ancestral Temple.

From Zhengtong to Wanli years, the Ming Dynasty also had outstanding ministers such as Yu Qian and Qi Jiguang. However, they did not meet the standards for sharing, so they did not have the incense in the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

Just like during the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty, 21 heroes were worshiped in the Jilongshan Temple of Nanjing, but only 12 of them were worthy of enjoying the Ancestral Temple.

It can be seen that the requirements for the meritorious service of the Ming Dynasty were very high. Historically, after the memorial tablet of Yao Guangxiao was moved out of the Ancestral Temple by Emperor Jiajing, all the Ming Dynasty generals except Liu Ji were the founding generals of the country (Jingnan was equal to the founding of the country).

Now Zhu Gaoxu has decided to let Zhang Yu, Zhang Wu, Wang Zhen, Yao Guangxiao, Xia Yuanji, and Jian Yi share the Ancestral Temple. In fact, it means that these six people should share Zhu Di's temple.

Among these six people, Zhang Yu, Wang Zhen, and Zhang Wu are pure military generals.

Although they were not the founding generals of the Ming Dynasty, they made immortal military exploits in pioneering and pacifying the Western Regions and pacifying the desert. They put life and death aside and gave their precious lives for the Ming Dynasty to regain the Western Regions and pacify the grasslands.

The Western Regions had been separated from the Central Plains Dynasty for hundreds of years, and it was of great significance to be brought back under the rule of the Ming Dynasty. The achievements of Zhang Yu and Wang Zhen were enough to deserve the Ancestral Temple.

The same goes for Pingding Grassland!
In the 16th year of Yongle's reign, Zhu Di made his third northern expedition. He defeated Shi Yanran and sealed the wolf as a subordinate. Zhang Wu, the pioneer general, made an immortal contribution, but unfortunately died in battle.

If Zhu Di had not been the commander-in-chief of the army, then Zhang Wu would have had the greatest success in the Northern Expedition.

After this battle, the grassland was completely crippled, and all tribes surrendered to the Ming Dynasty and accepted the imperial canonization, which laid the foundation for Zhu Gaoxu's unification of the grassland in the early Qianxi period.

Zhang Wu's achievements shine through the annals of history, and he deserves to be honored in the Imperial Ancestral Temple!

As for Yao Guangxiao, to Zhu Di, he was like Li Shimin's eldest grandson Wuji, Fang Xuanling, and Du Ruhui.

Without Yao Guangxiao strategizing for Zhu Di and secretly exerting force behind the scenes, Zhu Di would not have been able to achieve the final victory in the fight for the throne in the later period of Hongwu and enter the East Palace.

Xia Yuanji is a master of financial management, and Jian Yi is a master of employing and recognizing people.

Zhu Di sent troops to regain the Western Regions, launched sea patrols, conquered the desert three times, built the Forbidden City, built the palace on Wudang Mountain, etc. The money and food spent were all coordinated by Xia Yuanji.Although Zhu Gaoxu, then the crown prince, had a lot of help in raising the money and grain, Xia Yuanji was ultimately responsible for the implementation and follow-up.

Jian Yi was familiar with the rules and regulations of the court and understood etiquette. Therefore, during the Yongle period, Zhu Di relied on him to handle all major military and political affairs. Because he was favored by Zhu Di, he was ordered to take charge of other ministries several times. Although he had many responsibilities, he was able to handle them with ease.

To Zhu Di, Xia Yuanji and Jian Yi's achievements were like Liu Bang's Xiao He.

Zhu Gaoxu's decision to share the temple with these six people is tantamount to saying that he would give the temple title of "Taizong" to Zhu Di.

Because although Li Shimin was the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty, he made pioneering contributions to the Tang Dynasty and was given the temple title "Taizong".

Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty conquered the Eastern Turks and Xue Yantuo, conquered Gaochang, Qiuci and Tuyuhun, and severely damaged Goguryeo. He also established four towns in Anxi and lived in harmony with all ethnic groups in the northern region, earning the title "Khan of Heaven".

The same goes for Zhu Di. Although he was the second emperor of the Ming Dynasty, his achievements in conquering the Annan and Western Regions, setting up counties and counties, sweeping the desert, making Tatars and Oaras vassals and paying tribute, and opening up new territories were no less than that of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. .

Li Shimin had six ministers who were entitled to enjoy the temple, and Zhu Gaoxu now also proposed that six Yongle ministers should be allowed to enjoy the ancestral temple. The meaning is very obvious.

"Gao Xu, to be honest, I actually don't care what future generations think of me. Whether it's warlike or cruel, it doesn't matter."

Zhu Di said with some emotion: "What I care about is that when I see your grandfather after death, I can proudly tell him that the Ming Dynasty is in my hands, the territory has become larger, the population has become more, and the people have also Richer.”

When he said this, he paused and then said in a deep voice: "Five years ago, with the opening of the Jingtong and Yutong railways, the southern line of the two sections of the route from Beijing to Longcheng was completely replaced by railways. This The impact of this change is huge.”

"So, in the long run, I support the construction of the Beijing-Iraqi, Beijing-Kunming and Beijing-Nujiang railways."

The Jingtong Railway is the railway line from Beijing to Datong, and the Yutong Railway is the railway line from Yulongwei to Datong.

Steam trains can travel thousands of miles in a day.

After the imperial soldiers and horses took the train to Jade Dragon Guard, they were replaced by cavalry. It only took ten days to reach Longcheng, and only twenty days to go back and forth.

As a result, the imperial court's control over Mobei and Moxi reached an unprecedented level. The six provinces of Puchang, Shuofang, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Liaoxi have gradually become the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty.

The caravans used horse-drawn carriages and trains, and the journey from the capital to Dragon City could be shortened to eighteen days at the fastest.

For merchants in Shanxi, it only takes half a month to travel from Datong to Longcheng, and they can go back and forth within a month.

The completion of the Jingtong and Yutong railways and branch lines broke the traditional transportation network pattern of Datong that only relied on land post roads to connect the grasslands and the capital.

From then on, Datong entered the era of train freight that could reach Yulongwei in the north, Taiyuan Prefecture in the south, and the capital in the east.

As a result, the market trading area is no longer limited to a corner of Datong City.

The stations along the railway line are rapidly prospering, which has a huge impact on the economic outlook of Shanxi Province.

From then on, Datong no longer only played the role of vertical transmission in Shanxi. The horizontal railway lines shortened the time and distance and had hundreds or thousands of carrying capacity, which more effectively promoted the development of Datong's commercial trade. .

Merchants in Shanxi quickly took advantage of the improved transportation conditions.

They used Datong as a transfer station to quickly transport herdsmen's dairy products, canned beef and mutton, potatoes and other agricultural products from Shuofang, Yunzhong, Yanran and other places to Taiyuan and Beijing, and then dispersed them to all parts of the country, thereby earning the price difference as profits.

Although these commodities were of low profit, they were large in quantity, and the court also received huge tax revenue!
Two years ago, the sum of various commercial taxes in Datong and Taiyuan exceeded the sum of land taxes in their territories.

"However, it is also true that many courtiers are opposed to it."

Zhu Di continued: "They said they were afraid that the imperial court would be criticized for not caring about the people's power, but in fact they were worried that the imperial treasury would be empty, so they asked them to go back to the days of collecting spices to pay for their salaries."

The imperial government used the labor-employed model to build railways, which did not consume people's labor at all. Instead, it created more jobs and turned hundreds of thousands of lower-class people into railway workers with houses, money and savings.

"Although you are good at managing finances, governing politics, and supporting the people, in the past ten years, the imperial court's expenses have been increasing."

Zhu Di continued: "At present, the imperial court's finances can still maintain a balance of revenue and expenditure. However, once the three railways are opened, nearly [-] miles of railway tracks will need to be built, and the steel required will be tens of millions of kilograms."

"Although the steel output of smelters in various places can keep up with annual consumption, what will happen in three years? What will happen in ten years?"

"That's why I haven't seen you before."

He looked at Zhu Gaoxu with kind eyes and said: "Of course, in today's court, the ministers and chief ministers of various yamen are in the prime of life. Although I don't know anyone, they are energetic. This is a good thing. You want to give It’s understandable that they find something to do.”

"He who is a king must be independent and decisive."

"In short, you still need to make your own decision whether to practice or not."

PS: The two chapters updated continuously today total more than 800 words. I took the time to write, revise and revise them in the past half month.

In the future, like now, I may take the time to save some revised manuscripts and put them together and send them out.

(End of this chapter)