The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 153 This picture is wrong
Chen Jingke quickly sat down and said, "Mother, please tell me."

Queen Ma waved her hand to ask the waiter to move away, and then said:

"There are some words that it is not convenient for Your Majesty to say, but with your intelligence you should be able to figure out what they mean."

"Your Majesty has shown sincerity, and I hope you will not forget what you said that day."

She was talking about the conversation Chen Jingke had with Zhu Yuanzhang in the Qianqing Palace on the day he just returned to Beijing.

The Zhu family kept him safe and prosperous, and he served the Ming Dynasty.

Of course Chen Jingke knew this, so he immediately pointed his right hand to the sky and said:

"Chen Jingke will never forget what he said on that day. If he violates it, he will die without a burial place."

The ancients valued oaths very much. Seeing that he swore a poisonous oath without hesitation, Queen Ma was very pleased:
"Okay, Your Majesty did not misjudge you."

"One more thing, although the princess is married, the royal family still needs to retain some dignity."

"With Fuqing, you can no longer take concubines."

When Chen Jingke was about to say something, Empress Ma took the lead and said:

"Your Majesty also knows that the three generations of your Chen family are single generations, and you attach great importance to your heirs."

"And there is only one woman in Fuqing by your side, so it will be very inconvenient."

"When she gets married, she will bring two maids with her. Your Majesty allows you to bring them into the room."

"But it cannot be made public, do you agree?"

Chen Jingke smiled bitterly and said: "Actually, my mind is not on the matter of men and women. It is enough to have a princess."

Queen Ma didn't believe this, she just thought he was showing his loyalty. How could a man not want to have three wives and four concubines?

But she was very satisfied with Chen Jingke's performance.

Whether it’s to show loyalty or whether you really think so.

With this attitude, it would be good if you were willing to agree to this matter.

"Then there's one last thing left. Do you want to schedule your wedding this year or wait until next year?"

Chen Jingke paused for a moment. Queen Ma acted decisively and without delay.

Since we have opened up about the matter, we should deal with it directly without leaving any room for regrets.

"Um...but it's up to the queen to make the decision."

Empress Ma smiled and said: "Fuqing will be 15 years old next year and will be getting married, so it's settled."

Chen Jingke naturally would not postpone it, nor could he postpone it.

The law stipulates that women must get married when they are 16 years old and have hairpins, otherwise they will have to pay double the head tax, and if they do not get married, their parents will be punished.

If you get older and still don't get married, the official media will force you into a match, and the consequences will be even worse.

Unless a close relative in the family dies and needs to observe filial piety, they will not be punished.

Of course, this is only for ordinary people. The official media will not dare to come to anyone who has some connections in the family.

As a royal, there are some things you need to set an example for.

Princesses of the Ming Dynasty usually get married at the age of 15.

If Chen Jingke proposed to postpone, he would be misunderstood as being insincere.

Getting married next year?Chen Jingke's consciousness was in a trance.

It was really sudden, there was no warning before, and just a few days after returning to Yingcai, a lifelong event was confirmed.

"My Lady, what should I do next? Do you want to find a matchmaker to propose marriage?"

"Haha..." Queen Ma laughed so hard that tears almost came out:
"You usually seem quite smart, but when it comes to your life-long event, why are you so confused?"

Chen Jingke scratched his head. It had nothing to do with whether Cong was smart or not. The main thing was that he had never married a princess.

"Don't we need three matchmakers and six certificates to get engaged?"

Empress Ma smiled and said: "Although royal weddings are generally the same as private weddings, the details are still different."

"The matter of engagement is different from that among the people. As long as His Majesty speaks in public, the matter will be considered completed."

"The formal decree of marriage will not be promulgated until the eve of your wedding."

Chen Jingke said awkwardly: "That's good, that's good..."

People require three mediators and six certificates to exchange marriage certificates because they are afraid that some people will act rogue and refuse to acknowledge it.

The emperor's golden words meant that if he said this in public, there was no way he could not deny it.

The marriage between Zhu Biao and Concubine Chang was verbally agreed upon by Lao Zhu and Chang Yuchun.

There were many similar things in the previous dynasty, such as Li Shimin's promise to marry Princess Xincheng to Wei Zheng's son Wei Shuyu.

It's just a verbal commitment.

Although she later regretted the marriage, she didn't act like a rogue and didn't admit it.

Because of this, he was criticized a lot.

As long as Zhu Yuanzhang reveals his marriage to Princess Fuqing in public, the matter will be settled.

There was so much embarrassment today that Chen Jingke no longer wanted to talk about it and changed the subject:
"I wonder how your Majesty is preparing for the relocation of the capital and the diversion of the Yellow River?"

Queen Ma said: "Your Majesty is discussing this matter with the ministers..."

An enlarged meeting is being held in Jinshen Hall.

Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang and Prince Zhu Biao presided over it, and more than [-] important civil and military officials attended. At this time, everyone was discussing whether the capital should be moved.

Moving the capital has always been a major event, with some supporting it and others opposing it.

And it’s not just southerners who oppose it, and not all northerners who support it.

The reasons for their opposition are also very good. The capital of Ming Dynasty has been placed in Yingtian for 17 years, and facts have proved that there are no problems.

Moreover, the north was barren, so the capital was placed in Luoyang, and grain and grass supplies needed to be transported from the south.

Moving the capital is a waste of money and people, and it makes no sense.

It was discovered that there were more opponents than expected, which strengthened Zhu Yuanzhang's determination to move the capital.

It has only been 17 years since the founding of the country, but these people are already accustomed to the capital being in Yingtian. In a few years, the resistance will only be greater.

Fortunately, Li Shanchang and other founding heroes were still relatively sober and supported moving the capital.

With their support, they can still suppress the conservatives.

At the end of the crowd, Bai Ying looked at the officials who were having a heated discussion like an outsider.

In fact, he was an outsider in this matter.

The topic of discussion at the beginning was the diversion of the Yellow River. I thought it would be difficult to convince the officials.

To this end, he prepared a lot of things and memorized various materials backwards and forwards.

However, the development of things was completely beyond his expectation.

When he proposed that the Yellow River should be diverted, no one objected.

He also thought that the ministers were more cautious and did not want to speak easily.

I still sighed in my heart, indeed he was worthy of being a central boss, he was just stable.

Once the specific diversion plan was put forward, I thought there would be some objections, right?
Someone did raise an opinion and asked him what to do if the rerouting fails?Are there any corresponding remedies?

He thought he was being questioned, so he came up with his own remedy.

He just gave a general outline, but before he could go into details, the ministers unanimously expressed:
The plan is complete, feasible, approved, and that’s it.

This time he was completely confused.

What's the meaning?What about doubts?What about the dissenting voices?
Shouldn't such a big matter be finalized after rounds of intense discussions?

Why did everyone pass after just asking a few questions?
I co-authored so many materials, all of them were prepared in vain?
The point is, is this too childish?
What made him even more unbelievable was that the emperor was planning to make him the director of the Ministry of Water, responsible for diversion of the Yellow River.

This is the important position of the sixth rank of Zhengerbajing. From a white body, he is directly promoted to the sixth rank.

He didn't even know how many levels he had been upgraded in a row.

I thought the ministers would object.

There is indeed some opposition, but it is not that the official position is too high, but that it is too low.

How could a director of the Ministry of Water Resources handle such a big matter as changing the course of the Yellow River?

At least it should be given to a Yuanwailang.

This is a high-ranking official from the fifth rank.

Although one is at the sixth level and the other is at the fifth level, they seem to be one level behind.

In fact the two are worlds apart.

The sixth grade is still among the low-level officials, while the fifth grade has entered the ranks of mid-to-high-level officials.

What seems like a small step is actually a huge threshold.Most officials have been blocked from this threshold their entire lives.

Now this group of big guys actually took the initiative to break the rules and wanted him to rise to the top and become a high-ranking official of the fifth rank.

He also had to leave such a big matter as changing the course of the Yellow River to him.

Is this too childish?

Is this how these big guys usually decide national affairs?

He soon discovered that it was not.

Aren't these people arguing over whether the capital should be moved?

This is the picture in his imagination.

But why was such a big thing as changing the course of the Yellow River passed so easily?
Or do you mean that they don't pay attention to this matter at all?

But this is impossible. Controlling Huang has always been the top priority of the imperial court.

If he didn't take it seriously, how could he appear here, and how could he suddenly become a fifth-grade water doctor?
After waking up from the shock, he finally figured everything out.

In fact, everyone has already agreed on the diversion of the Yellow River. It just needs one person to stand up and take charge of the matter.

He happened to stand up and come up with a specific implementation plan.

The key is that his presence here means that the emperor has agreed.

Then why should they be the evil people?

Go with the flow and throw this dirty work that no one dares to touch on his head.

If he failed, the responsibility would be his, Bai Ying's.

If it works, the credit will be shared by everyone.

After thinking about all this, he couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart.

Sure enough, none of the big bosses at the center are simple.

Only I, the intruder, was still confused.

But... so what, isn't this exactly what I want?

Even if it falls into hell, we must let the Yellow River return to its original course and change Shandong's predicament.

In the main hall, the debate over whether to move the capital has reached a fever pitch.

Zhu Biao, who had been watching, finally stood up when he saw that the reality was similar.

"You say that the Central Plains is barren... but you forget that during the Qin, Han, Sui and Tang dynasties, tens of millions of people were fed by the products of the Central Plains."

"I know you want to say that today is different from the past, and the Central Plains is indeed not as good as it used to be."

“But don’t forget that when the Yellow River returns to its original course, southern Henan, most of Shandong, and southern Peiping (including southern Hebei today) will become prosperous again.”

"The situation in the Huaihe River Basin will also be improved. Not only will there be no need for relief from the court, but a large amount of taxes will also be provided."

"In this way, the demand for food and grass from the south can be reduced, thereby alleviating the pressure on the people in the south."

"Besides, after the Yellow River returns to its original course, it will become more convenient for sailing."

"It is also very convenient for water transport vessels to enter the Yellow River through the Grand Canal and then transfer to Yiluo River directly to Luoyang."

"Under this circumstance, placing the new capital in Luoyang will not increase the pressure on water transportation much."

"As for the benefits of placing the new capital here, you have already made it very clear just now, so I won't go into details."

"What I want to add is the current actual situation in Luoyang."

Then, he took out the detailed data around Luoyang one by one.

From land to population to economy to transportation...

This is all obtained from his on-the-spot investigation, which can be said to be very detailed.

He did not mention the restoration of the Sui-Tang Canal, but mentioning it now would only increase the worries of the ministers.

Once the capital move was completed, it became inevitable to modify the canal route.

"Luoyang is the ancient capital of the Thirteen Dynasties... In every aspect, it is more suitable to be the capital of the Ming Dynasty than Yingtian."

"Relocating the capital seems to be a waste of time and money."

"But in the long run, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages."

"You are all important ministers in the court, and you should take a long-term view to plan for the future and your descendants."

"Don't be fooled by the petty gains in front of you. In the end, you will lose a lot because of the small gains."

His words were the final word and set the tone for moving the capital.

Even if there are still people who are unwilling to accept it, they dare not say anything.

It is only the 17th year of Hongwu's reign, and Lao Zhu's power is at its peak, and all matters big and small can be decided with a single word.

Regarding the matter of moving the capital, even Zhu Di could ignore the ministers and decide on his own, let alone him.

The reason why everyone is called here for discussion is just to unify our thoughts.

After all, this is no small matter, and building a new city requires cooperation from all aspects.

Only when we unify our thoughts can we do things easily.

When Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao did not speak, everyone could still discuss and express their own opinions.

Now that Zhu Biao personally stood up and expressed his position, and also gave a detailed explanation, it meant that the discussion was over.

Moving the capital is a foregone conclusion.

The next topic became who would build the new city.

No one dares to express opinions easily.

Especially Li Shanchang, that's embarrassing.

In the second year of Hongwu, the imperial court decided to place the capital in Fengyang.

The person in charge of the construction of the new capital was Li Shanchang.

Then under his management, the construction of Fengyang New Capital turned into a complete mess.

Under the guise of building the imperial city, he harmed the people, embezzled the country's money and food, and squeezed the craftsmen...

After six years of construction, Fengyang Imperial City was not completed.

In the eighth year of Hongwu's reign, the unsatisfied craftsmen began to go on strike, and Zhu Yuanzhang realized that things had reached this point.

Feeling that nothing could be done, he ordered the construction of Fengyang Imperial City to be stopped.

Let's just say that Lao Zhu only considered Li Shanchang's contribution and did not hold him accountable.

Otherwise, there is no need to wait for him to be involved in the Hu Weiyong case. Based on this one incident, even ten of his heads are not enough to cut off.

It doesn't matter whether he is greedy or not. If the whole project is ruined like this, he, the person in charge, cannot escape his involvement.

With this lesson learned, who would dare to take over this job?

In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang was not confident in leaving such a big matter to them.

In addition to the lesson learned last time, there is another fundamental reason.

This time to build the new capital, he planned to use military households.

Most of these people have received military training, and if they are given a weapon, they become an army.

Only people who are particularly trusted can hold this position.

Is there anyone he trusts more than Prince Zhu Biao?

No more.

The construction work of Fengyang Imperial City was handed over to Li Shanchang because the prince was still young.

Zhu Biao is now old enough and his ability is beyond doubt.

It would be most appropriate to leave it to him.

When the time comes, we will be in charge of Yingtian, and Biao'er will be in charge of Luoyang, so we can guarantee that nothing will happen to the south and the north.

Moreover, Biao'er will have the throne sooner or later, so it is of special significance for him to build a new capital for himself.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately announced: "The construction of the new capital of Luoyang will be presided over by Biao'er himself."

"We have decided to mobilize 20 military households to participate in the construction of the new city."

After hearing the first half of the sentence, all the ministers felt relieved.

The prince is responsible. If something goes wrong, it's not my fault.

But when they heard the second half of the sentence, everyone was shocked.

"Your Majesty, it is absolutely impossible."

(End of this chapter)