Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 387 Desert Dragon City, Zhu Di’s death

Qianxi 14th year, August [-]th.

The morning sun rises slowly, and the golden light passes through the clouds, dispersing the thick fog between heaven and earth.

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu was supporting Zhu Di on the second floor pavilion of Zhenqing Palace, Zhenwu Temple, five miles east of Yulong City, and the two of them were looking at the rising sun in the east side by side.

As for the noble military officers accompanying them, including Zhang Fu, Duke of Yingxian County, Zhu Neng, Duke of Chengxian County, and Yang Hong, Marquis of Jingxiang County, they led their escorts to guard the entrance to the pavilion and around the palace.

"Look at the sun, it must be another sunny day."

Zhu Di sighed: "It is difficult for the four prefectures and sixteen counties in Shuofang not to have a good harvest this autumn!"

"Indeed, the autumn harvest in Shuofang has begun. According to Governor Yang Wenbin, the crops in Yulong Mansion can be said to be a bumper harvest, especially the potato production, which has more than doubled compared to last year."

Zhu Gaoxu answered.

It has been six years since Zhu Gaoxu ordered the abolition of the Shuofang Dusi and the establishment of Shuofang Province in the eighth year of Qianxi. The changes in Shuofang can be said to be rapid.

The original eleven acropolis and five garrison cities have been transformed into the county seat with a permanent population of tens of thousands.

What used to be 55 cities with thousands of households have now become rural towns and towns with a permanent population of several thousand.

Each township is connected by rural roads and has a post station.

Telegraphs were used to communicate between the stations, and news spread so fast that it was unimaginable for Yang Hong, who was the uncle of Jingxian County six years ago.

After the Yutong Railway was opened to traffic, Yang Hong was promoted to the title of Marquis for his role in presiding over the construction of this railway, and was even summoned by the Supreme Emperor Zhu Di.

For Ming Dynasty, controlling the four palaces of Shuofang was tantamount to firmly holding the lifeblood of the grassland.

The completion of the west extension of the Yu-Tong Railway means that the Ming Dynasty's army can set out from the capital, cross Shuofang, and go north to Mobei in just ten days to suppress all dissatisfaction in the grassland.

Since then, the three provinces of Gansu, Shaanxi, and Shanxi are no longer the border provinces of the Ming Dynasty!
A few days ago, Zhu Di, who was practicing Xuanwu in the Zhenwu Temple in the capital, summoned Zhu Gaoxu and expressed his intention to take a special train to inspect the grassland.

Zhu Gaoxu advised Zhu Di to focus on taking care of his body and not to go out. After all, even taking a train would still feel tiring.

Zhu Di said that during his military life, he would never die on his bed. Even if he died, he would have to die on horseback!

Zhu Gaoxu knew in his heart that Zhu Di's deadline was approaching and there was not much time left, so after thinking for a long time, he agreed to Zhu Di's request.

On the same day, Zhu Gaoxu issued a decree to the ministers. He would set off in two days and accompany the Supreme Emperor to leave Beijing to inspect the grassland. During his absence from Beijing, the Crown Prince would supervise the country and the ministers in the cabinet would assist in the administration.

In this regard, although the ministers gave advice, they were unable to change Zhu Gaoxu's decision.

Therefore, Zhu Gaoxu accompanied Zhu Di on a special train, which first took one day to drive from the capital to Datong, and then spent another day driving from Datong to Yulong.

Shuofang Province governs four prefectures: Heishui, Duye, Jiuyuan, and Yulong. The provincial government is Heishui City, Heishui Prefecture, located in the west of Shuofang Province, while Yulong City, Yulong Prefecture, belongs to the deputy provincial government and is located in the east of Shuofang Province.

Zhu Gaoxu was worried that Zhu Di, who had been on the train for two days and did not sleep well during the ride, could not bear it anymore, so he stopped the special train at Yulong and rested for a day before heading west.

As mentioned earlier, when Zhu Di built Wudang Mountain, Zhenwu temples and Zhenwu temples were also built all over the world.

Especially in every prefecture and city, there are Zhenwu temples or Zhenwu temples.

There are many reasons why officials in various places do this, but there are only two most important ones.

The first is to respond to the national policy of the imperial court. After all, it is rumored that Emperor Yongle was the descendant of Zhenwu. The palace he built on Wudang Mountain was to build Emperor Zhenwu’s heavenly palace on earth. Moreover, the achievements he made during his reign were enough to conquer the world. All the people bow down and worship.

The second is to educate the people through the deeds of Emperor Zhenwu, so that the people will know how to repay their kindness, not to do evil, but to do more good deeds.

Yulong City also has a Zhenwu Temple, which is built on the mountain five miles east of the city.

Zhu Di didn't want to disturb the people, and since he had been practicing Xuan for many years, it was natural for him to live in the Zhenwu Temple outside Yulong City.

Zhu Gaoxu did not object to this, but ordered the accompanying officers and generals to pay attention to defense.

At this time, the rising sun rises in the east, the fog dissipates, and the sky is clear.

Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu's father and son chatted for a few more words, then returned to the dining hall for breakfast.

Then Zhu Gaoxu summoned Yulong magistrate Lu Qiang and other Yulong local officials in the lobby of Zhenwuguan as usual.

Afterwards, the father and son, escorted by military generals and guards, took a special train again and headed west. Yang Wenbin, governor of Shuofang, and Shuofang's chief envoy, inspection envoy and defense envoy accompanied them on the westward journey.

Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu lived in the same imperial carriage.

This carriage is surrounded by reinforced ultra-thick steel plates that can withstand the impact of general artillery, and Zhang Fu, Zhu Neng, and Yang Hong take turns to lead the team on duty outside the door.

In the carriage, the father and son were chatting.

"If I remember correctly, Yang Wenbin's father, Mr. Pingba (Yang Bangji), is almost 90 years old today, right?"

Zhu Di's thoughts seemed to go back to the 26th year of Hongwu, and he said leisurely: "If Mr. Pingba hadn't risked his life to bring the bloody book from Taiyuan, things would not have been so smooth."

What he meant was that Yang Bangji, a co-president of Taiyuan at that time, escaped from Taiyuan under the cover of local people with a blood letter from all people suing Jin King Zhu Fan. Later, after many twists and turns, the blood letter fell into the hands of Zhu Yuanzhang.

If these things had not happened back then, it would have been impossible for Jin King Zhu Fan to be deposed by Zhu Yuanzhang, and it would only have become more difficult for Zhu Di to enter the East Palace.

After meeting Yang Wenbin, the governor of Shuofang, Zhu Di thought of Yang Bangji. The implicit meaning of his words at this time was to express his gratitude for Yang Bangji's contribution back then.

Yang Bangji was a native of Pingba Town, Taiyuan Prefecture. After becoming an official, he returned to Pingba Town to write books and treatises. He was also an honorary professor of Taiyuan Normal Science Academy, so he was known as "Mr. Pingba" by the world.

"Dad, Mr. Pingba passed away four years ago at the age of 85, and the memorial text was written by his son himself."

Zhu Gaoxu explained warmly: "Although Mr. Pingba has only raised Li Shi (Li Yao) for more than five years, he is Li Shi's nominal adoptive father after all, and this is the family that the emperor agreed to back then."

Therefore, after Yang Bangji passed away, in order to show his honor and show his grace, he wrote a memorial inscription for Yang Bangji as a condolence. He was allowed to be buried with the courtesy of an earl, and he was given the posthumous title of Ronglu doctor and buried in his hometown of Pingba Town, Taiyuan Prefecture.

In the early years of Qianxi, Zhu Gaoxu reformed the military system and set military ranks. At the same time, he also reformed the civilian ranks.

The civil official rank was renamed as official rank, and the official rank was divided into three grades and ten grades, namely provincial official (tangguan), prefectural official and county official.

Among them, the provincial official titles are divided into four categories from high to low: Ronglu Doctor, Guanglu Doctor, Zishan Doctor, and Zizheng Doctor.

Doctor Ronglu is the highest official rank, which is equivalent to the rank of general among military ranks. The posthumous official title of the six ministers is usually only this level.

Zhu Di felt disappointed: "More than 40 years have passed in a blink of an eye."

He paused, refreshed himself, and then asked: "How has Yang Wenbin done in office these years?"

"Last year, there was a drought in all the four prefectures in Shuofang. Heishui City was a prosperous city and immediately became the target of begging for the victims. On the one hand, Yang Wenbin reported the disaster to the court, and on the other hand, he opened warehouses to provide relief, so that the people could receive coupons and supplies, and there was a great prosperity. He worked as a laborer, built roads and ponds, recruited hungry people from far and near to go to work, and ordered large households in counties and towns to open porridge sheds to cook porridge to relieve the victims, making tens of thousands of people alive. In the autumn, when the harvest was poor, he petitioned the court to reduce the taxes for that year, and his son agreed. "

Zhu Gaoxu said: "When Mr. Pingba passed away, Yang Wenbin was serving as the governor of Zuo, Gansu. Three years after his death, his son promoted him to be the governor of Shuofang, and he was also the first governor of Shuofang. In summary, Yang Wenbin was not qualified to be governor. More than a year.”

What he meant was that Yang Wenbin had only been in office for more than a year as governor, and in his first year he encountered a large-scale drought in Shuofang. Judging from the results of his response to the disaster, he had considerable political achievements.

Zhu Di stroked his beard and praised: "As expected of Mr. Pingba's son, he cares about the common people. He is a good official and a capable minister."

Yang Bangji was a veteran of three dynasties. He was diligent in his work and had considerable political achievements. He became the prefect of Taiyuan in the late Hongwu period. During the Yongle period, he served as minister of Dali Temple, Shanxi inspector and Shanxi chief envoy. During the Qianxi period, he served as the first governor of Shanxi and served as governor. Return to his hometown after becoming an official.

"Dad, my son plans to revise Ding You's system."

Zhu Gaoxu continued: "When Yang Wenbin fell in love with Ding You, his son wanted to retaliate against him, but the time had not come yet, so he did not stop Ding You."

According to the traditional Confucian concept of filial piety, if a court official's parents die during his tenure, no matter what official position he holds, he must resign and return to his ancestral home from the day he learns of the funeral, and guard his parents for 27 months. This is Ding You.

The word "Ding You" first came from "Jin Shu Biography of Yuan Yue", also known as "Ding Yan".

"Duoqingqifu", also known as "duoqing", is an extension of the Dingyou system, which means that if you have deprived the country of filial piety, you do not have to resign, you can work in plain clothes, and do not participate in auspicious ceremonies.

In other words, in order to deal with various situations, "grabbing love" can legally not abide by etiquette. For example, "Book of Zhou·Biography of Wang Qian": "The court discussed that Qian's father died and marched in battle, and he was given a special favor, which was awarded to Qian Zhu. A great general of the country. He refused to bow before the end of the love ceremony. The great ancestor seized the love with an imperial edict and attacked the noble and incompetent duke."

It's just that in history, it's rare for civil servants to seize love, and it often happens to soldiers on the battlefield. The Ding You system should not be used on the battlefield. The ancients called it "mo Liao joins the army", also known as "the affairs of the Jin Dynasty are not avoided", which means that filial piety comes first among all good deeds. , Do not avoid the affairs of the Jin Dynasty, sacrifice filial piety and be loyal.

Since the situation faced by the Ming Dynasty at the beginning of its establishment was very different from that of the Tang and Song Dynasties, the Ding You system formulated in Zhu Yuanzhang's era was slightly different from that of the previous dynasty. It was mainly reflected in three aspects: not allowing military officers to Ding You, attending funerals for relatives, and raising maternal clothing. .

In the early days of Hongwu, the world had not yet been unified, and the north was still under the control of the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang stipulated that military commanders were not allowed to worry about Ding You, mainly to prevent military commanders from escaping the war by going home for funerals.

In ancient times, there was a clan society, with many uncles and brothers, so bereavements of relatives were common. If an elder in the clan died and had to go back to attend the funeral, it would be inconvenient for the country and the family. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang stipulated that officials should pay tribute to Ding Yousan except for the death of parents and grandparents. Outside of the year, when other clan elders die, they are not allowed to attend the funeral.

In the early years of Hongwu, in accordance with the etiquette of the Tang and Song Dynasties, it was stipulated that the father should serve as the emperor for three years, the mother should serve as the emperor for three years, and the concubine should serve as the emperor for three months.

The ancient mourning dress system was divided into five types according to the length of mourning and the thickness of the mourning dress, namely Cui (same pronunciation as "Ji"), Qi Shai, Da Gong, Xiao Gong and Qi Ma.

Therefore, Zhansheng is the heaviest mourning dress among the "Five Clothes", followed by Qishan and finally Qi Ma.

In the seventh year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang reformed the traditional mourning ceremony. Regardless of whether the father is alive or not, the son is the parent, the concubine is the biological mother, the son is the stepmother, the adoptive mother, and the unmarried woman is the parent. They all wear mourning clothes for three years.

Zhu Yuanzhang's reform completely broke the traditional funeral tradition of "no two honorable persons in the family" and greatly improved maternal attire, thereby achieving the purpose of ruling the world with filial piety.

Zhu Gaoxu knew that improving maternal clothing was not in line with the actual situation.

If a man who was born as a concubine had a biological mother, an adoptive mother, an aunt, a stepmother, and his father, then he would theoretically have to suffer a total of 15 years of subjugation in his life.

Of course, this is only theoretical. In reality, the birth of a son from a concubine would only cost his biological mother, aunt, and father three years each, but this would also add up to nine years.

Therefore, in Zhu Gaoxu's view, this point must be changed or clarified.

As for the historical system of seizing love in the Ming Dynasty, different periods and different emperors had different approaches to seizing love.

During the Hongwu period, as the Ming Dynasty had just been founded, Zhu Yuanzhang focused on restoring China and reorganizing etiquette. Therefore, he strictly abided by the system during his reign, and there were basically few cases of love-stealing. Even Liu Ji, Song Lian and others who made great contributions to the establishment of the Ming Dynasty were When Ding You needed to go home, he was not forced to seize his love.

During the Yongle period, due to the complicated matters of moving the capital and the Northern Expedition, the court was eager to hire people, and Zhu Di began to compete for the affections of ministers.

After Yongle, it was also more common to seize love during the Xuande and Tianshun years. First, the border troubles in the north were more serious during this period. Second, things such as the "Tumu Fort Incident" and the "Gate Seizing Incident" occurred.

During the Chenghua period, as the world gradually stabilized and the etiquette issues caused by robbing love gradually became less frequent.

Historically, the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty were mainly high-ranking officials such as cabinet ministers, ministers, ministers, local governors, and imperial censors.

However, no matter what form of love-stealing behavior it is, it will cause etiquette issues. For example, in history, Zhang Juzheng's love-stealing incident during the Wanli Period triggered a series of incidents.

Zhu Gaoxu, on the other hand, likes to plan things before he does anything and hates fighting unprepared battles.

Yang Wenbin's father, Yang Bangji, is the adoptive father of Queen Li Yao. Although it is only in name, in theory, the Yang family can be regarded as relatives of the emperor.

However, Zhu Gaoxu did not treat the Yang family according to the standards of his relatives. Not only did he not reward the Yang family with titles, he also did not reward the Yang family with a mansion.

Only in the year when Li Yao was named queen, he gave some brocade, cloth, silk, books and other items to the Yang family, saying that he was grateful for Yang Bangji's kindness in raising the queen.

The reason why Zhu Gaoxu did this was that he did not regard Yang Bangji as a relative, but as a capable minister and official.

Otherwise, he would not have personally written a memorial tribute to Yang Bangji after his death.

After all, the imperial court has restrictions on foreign relatives. They are supported by high-ranking officials and generous salaries, and generally they will not be sent to other places to serve as frontier officials.

If Yang Bangji confirms his identity as a maternal relative, he will have many worries when doing certain things and it will be difficult for him to achieve anything.

It was for this reason that Zhu Gaoxu resisted the urge to take action against Ding Youli when Yang Wenbin attacked Ding Youli for the second time.

On the one hand, Yang Wenbin was a Jinshi in agricultural science under the new imperial examination system. During his tenure in the prefecture and county, he made considerable achievements in agriculture.On the other hand, Yang Wenbin is the son of Yang Bangji. If Zhu Gaoxu seizes Yang Wenbin's love, it will inevitably trigger a series of political and etiquette issues.

Therefore, Zhu Gaoxu began to make plans. Every two months in the past three years, he would have people publish some stories attacking Ding You's shortcomings in newspapers such as "Jinling Xunbao" and "Jingshi Xunbao" - mainly based on the actions of certain capable ministers. The official's real experience of Ding You is used to arouse readers' empathy.

"Dad, let my son tell you the impact of Yang Wenbin's two Dingyou incidents."

Seeing that Zhu Di was thoughtful, Zhu Gaoxu spoke again.

"Alright."

Zhu Di nodded.

So, Zhu Gaoxu slowly told the details.

The Ming Dynasty respected the left. After Zhu Gaoxu was reorganized in the early years of Qianxi, provinces without governors usually had only one chief envoy. If the right chief envoy had served for one year without making any mistakes and had achieved political achievements, he would be transferred to the left. Political envoy.

In the sixth year of Qianxi's reign, according to the promotion regulations of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the Ming Dynasty, Yang Wenbin, who was then the Right Chief Envoy of Gansu Province, could be transferred to the Left Chief Envoy.

In February of that year, Yang's mother passed away, and Yang Wenbin had to live in poverty for three years.

For Yang Wenbin, missing the opportunity for promotion is not a big deal.

But this was a big event for the Ming Dynasty.

Because Li Ziyu, who was promoted to Gansu Right Chief Minister based on his qualifications, was a mediocre person. Not only did he achieve nothing during his one year in office, he was even bold enough to embezzle funds earmarked for road construction.

Although Li Ziyu and the officials involved were later executed by Zhu Gaoxu, they delayed the construction of the Gansu-Shaanxi Straight Road and had an extremely bad impact on Gansu officialdom.

If Yang Wenbin had been betrayed by Zhu Gaoxu and resurrected, there would have been no Li Ziyu corruption case later.

Four years ago, Yang Wenbin, who had not long been reinstated as an official, was preparing to make some political achievements after taking office. His father Yang Bangji passed away.

So Yang Wenbin was worried again.

With the lessons learned from the past, during the period of Yang Wenbin and Ding You, Gansu's left and right chief envoys were vacant. After a public meeting, the Ministry of Personnel recommended Liu Yingqi, the left-wing political envoy from Guizhou, to take up the post of right chief envoy in Gansu.

Zhu Gaoxu knew something about Liu Yingqi and knew that this middle-aged official who was born in Guangxi was a practical person, so he approved the request of the Ministry of Personnel.

However, after Liu Yingqi took office, he only worked for three months. Due to the large climate difference between the north and the south, acclimatization, and homesickness, which caused spleen and stomach disorders, he began to eat poorly, sleep poorly, and his physical condition declined day by day. I got seriously ill early in the summer.

If the imperial court had not started recruiting scholars by subject since the early Yongle years, building government-run hospitals in various prefectures and counties, and cultivating highly skilled medical scholars in a mentor-apprentice model, I am afraid that Liu Yingqi, who lived in Gansu, would have been taken away by that serious illness. life.

Due to Liu Yingqi's illness, although the government affairs of Gansu's yamen at all levels can still operate normally, the chief envoy's yamen has lost the leader who can intimidate Xiaoxiao and stabilize the hearts of the officialdom.

As a result, several subordinate officials such as Shenzhen and Shenzhen under the Chief Envoy's Yamen began to scheming. Their struggle for power seriously disrupted the atmosphere of Gansu's officialdom.

Liu Yingqi did not want to live up to Emperor Qianxi's expectations of him, so he went to work despite being sick while recuperating. After more than a year of persistence, he unfortunately died of illness in office.

In order to commend Liu Yingqi for his loyalty to the emperor and his country, Zhu Gaoxu decreed that Liu Yingqi be posthumously awarded the title of Doctor Guanglu and be buried in his hometown of Guilin, Guangxi Province.

After Liu Yingqi's death, Zhu Gaoxu transferred Shaanxi right political envoy Peng Xuan, who was a censor, to Gansu as the right chief envoy.

After Peng Xuan took office, he encountered two fires in less than three months. Fortunately, he was a censor, and he had seen a lot of people's troubles and was on guard against Gansu officialdom.

After Zhu Gaoxu learned of this, he sent the censor Xie Zhenliang as an imperial envoy to monitor Gansu.

Half a year later, when Xie Zhenliang and Peng Xuan found out everything, they found out that the masterminds behind the secret arson and the plan to burn Peng Xuan to death were actually several political participants from the Gansu Chief Envoy Yamen!

The reason why they dared to commit corruption and bribery was because they felt that Li Ziyu's actions were not secretive enough. They thought they were smarter than Li Ziyu.

"If Yang Wenbin was still in Gansu back then, how could he let people like Li Ziyu gain power?"

Zhu Gaoxu said at the end, slightly annoyed.

Zhu Di sighed: "In ten years, Yang Wenbin encountered Ding You twice, and how many six years does a person have in his life?"

He paused, looked at Zhu Gaoxu and asked, "Do you want to abolish Ding You's system?"

"Dad has misunderstood. My son has no intention of abolishing the Dingyou system."

Zhu Gaoxu explained: "I just think that the period of Ding You is too long. It can be shortened to three months, and the matter is urgent. Civil servants in border provinces and overseas provinces can be the same as military attachés when encountering bereavements, and there is no need for Ding You."

"In addition, candidates and students are allowed to participate in the imperial examination during Dingyou period."

The difference between the current Dingyou system of Ming Dynasty and that of previous generations is mainly reflected in two aspects.

First, in terms of objects, Ding You only applies to civil servants, civil servants, and officials.

Ding You officials must leave their jobs and go home to mourn. After the mourning is over, they can return to serve as officials. Resurrection requires special permission.

Those who are the parents of Ding You must return to their place of origin. They are not allowed to take the imperial examination during the period of Ding You.

Second, in terms of service system and period of service, the civil servant Ding You will be retired for three years, excluding leap months, a total of 27 months.

"Now that you've thought about it, just go ahead and do it."

Zhu Di patted the back of Zhu Gaoxu's hand and said: "I don't have much time left. I just want to see the desert where my ancestors galloped through in the last few days of my life. Please accompany me on this last journey!"

"Yes."

Zhu Gaoxu nodded heavily.

Two lines of tears slipped quietly from the corners of his eyes.

On August 21, the special train arrived in Jiuyuan City.

At this point, Zhu Di did not want to continue westward to Heishui City. He wanted to change his route and go north, passing through Junjiwei to Longcheng.

Dragon City was a sacred place for the Huns to worship heaven during the Han Dynasty. It was the political center of the Huns and the capital of the later Mongolian and Yuan Empires.

Zhu Di's plan did not surprise Zhu Gaoxu.

However, the railway track from Jiuyuan to Junjiwei is still under construction. If Zhu Di wants to go north, he must take a carriage instead.

As for Zhu Di's physical condition, apart from himself, only Zhu Gaoxu, who spent time with him day and night, knew clearly in the world.

Zhu Gaoxu understands Zhu Di's character and knows that no one can persuade him to do what Zhu Di has decided.

So, he agreed.

On the afternoon of August 26, Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu rode in an eight-wheeled shock-absorbing carriage and successfully arrived at the boundary of Longcheng Wei.

Today is the 14th year of Qianxi. Longcheng, the capital of Yanran, was completed as early as the fourth year of Qianxi. After ten years of development, it has become the largest permanent population, the most prosperous business, and the largest factory among the five capitals in the desert. The place.

In August of the second year of Qianxi, Zhu Gaoxu led hundreds of thousands of troops to personally conquer Mobei and annihilated the desert in one fell swoop. Then he established six actual tudu divisions to directly manage the desert.

Since the jurisdiction of the Yanran Capital Division covers most of the most elite areas in Mobei, the guard office within the Capital Division was established according to full specifications when it was first established.

After the Shuofang Dusi was transformed into a province, only five of the six desert capitals were left: Jinzhou, Yanran, Yunzhong, Anbei, and Jiankun. Among them, the Yanran Dusi received the most attention from the imperial court.

According to the population ranking list of cities in Yanran released by the Ming Dynasty in October last year, as of April of the 13th year of Qianxi, there were more than 20 permanent residents under Longcheng.

Among them, there are more than [-] permanent residents in the main urban area, scattered in various neighborhoods, and the remaining more than [-] people live in various neighborhoods in the suburbs.

Twelve years ago, in the second year of Qianxi's reign, the combined population of all the Oara, Tatar and other tribes in Mobei was only over 12.

Currently, there are more than [-] people in Dragon City alone, and up to [-]% of these [-] people are former guardsmen and immigrants from the hinterland of the Ming Dynasty.

In other words, Longcheng alone could suppress the entire Mobei, so that the few original residents who later surrendered to the Ming Dynasty and gradually became sinicized became "good at singing and dancing" and could no longer "make trouble".

Zhu Di was very satisfied with this change.

Although forced sinicization is suspected of "violent governance", in the long run, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.

After all, no matter how much a unified Chinese dynasty struggles, internal conflicts within a large family are definitely better than being invaded by foreign tribes and creating a cultural rift!
The sun sets in the west gate of Longcheng.

Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu stood side by side, looking at the mountains in the west.

Zhang Fu, Zhu Neng, Yang Hong and other honorable ministers and generals led their elite troops to guard not far away.

"Tell me, where is the mountain that blocks the sun?"

Zhu Di raised his hand and pointed at the sunset.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "It should be in the west of Taixi. As for which mountain it is, I'm not sure."

Zhu Di asked again: "Did the sun just rise on the other side of the earth?"

"Yes."

Zhu Gaoxu continued: "The sunset on Shenzhou is the beginning of the sun on Wozhou."

"In this way, isn't the Ming Dynasty of our old Zhu family an empire on which the sun never sets?"

Zhu Di pretended to be amazed.

"Of course."

Zhu Gaoxu said proudly.

The father and son looked at each other and smiled.

"Wouldn't it make people nostalgic for such a country?"

Zhu Di looked at the golden sunset over the ridge and sighed.

Half an hour later, Zhu Di, accompanied by Zhu Gaoxu, took a carriage and walked along Dusi Yamen Street, and finally moved into the Zhenqing Palace of Zhenwu Temple under the attention of thousands of people.

That night, Zhu Di probably felt that his time was coming and he was about to pass away, so he asked Zhu Gaoxu to wait beside him tonight.

That night, Zhu Di did not sleep well, and the same was true for Zhu Gaoxu.

The father and son talked about the currency and imperial examination reforms 40 years ago and the railway trains more than ten years ago.

During this period, Zhu Di asked Zhu Gaoxu to agree to many things in a fatal tone.

For example, Zhu Gaoxu was required to treat the clan and meritorious ministers favorably, and to try to adopt a parallel system of restraints and subsidy for overseas areas beyond the reach of the military.

For example, if Mu Sheng pacifies Luchuan, then Zhu Gaoxu must fulfill Zhu Di's promise to his ministers and generals during the Yongle period, move the Mu family to Luchuan, establish a country according to the standards of the same province, and the dukedom of the country will be hereditary from the Mu family. Replacement, resting with the country, and no longer being demoted to the next level.

Zhu Di also asked Zhu Gaoxu that if there are other heroes who make immortal contributions in the future, they can guard a place for generations according to the story of the Mu family, or they can enfeoff and grant a place.

Early the next morning, Zhu Gaoxu, who was lying beside the bed, opened his bloodshot eyes and found that Zhu Di was still sleeping, with a satisfied smile on his face.

But when he grabbed Zhu Di's left hand, he found that Zhu Di's hand had become extremely cold.

Obviously, Zhu Di fell into a permanent sleep.

(End of this chapter)