Zhu Yuanzhang can see my dreams

Chapter 378 The Paradox of Being a Crown Prince
Zhu Di obeyed Zhu Yuanzhang's every word.

After all, his father is the one who calls the shots now, and he has to do whatever his father says.

If he wanted to rise, Zhu Di had to wait until his father passed away before he had a chance.

Xu Miaoyun felt a little sad, mainly because she took what Wang Buli had just said more seriously.

It can be said that these sons were all born to her, but they ended up killing each other for the throne!

Even though her husband had seized the throne from his nephew through a military coup, Xu Miaoyun could accept it.

But Xu Miaoyun couldn't accept it when this happened to her own flesh and blood.

After all, it is always normal for people to have double standards.

Wang Buli thought Zhu Di was a stubborn man, and his father Zhu Yuanzhang was an even more stubborn man.

As an emperor, it is difficult to sit in the position of the common people.

"About the taxation." Zhu Yuanzhang sighed and said, "Buli, how much do you think should be collected?"

Wang Buli drank an iced cola and said, "Your Majesty, do you know Prime Minister Zhuge?"

"Of course, we know that."

"He governed Sichuan and restored the troops lost by Liu Bei. He also fought against the Northern Expedition for many years. With only one state, he was able to do so without the people rebelling. Your Majesty, do you know why?"

"Of course he is honest in his administration."

Listening to Zhu Yuanzhang's reply, Wang Buli waved his hand:

"This is only one aspect. The most important thing is that Prime Minister Zhuge is good at expanding the pie.

In the past, the people harvested only 30% of the grain, but after listening to the prime minister, they harvested 50% of the grain. He took from the extra grain as military rations for the war.

Otherwise, we wouldn’t have retreated so many times because of food problems!”

Zhu Di had not heard Wang Buli's speech before, so he nodded naturally. This is the truth.

It is obviously impossible to rely solely on Zhuge Liang's clean and honest governance to prevent the people from rebelling.

He must have brought certain benefits to the people, so much so that the people of Sichuan are still commemorating him after so many years.

Zhu Yuanzhang also sent people to inquire, and it turns out that the current management method of Dujiangyan in Sichuan was still passed down by Zhuge Liang.

“How do you make the plate bigger?”

Zhu Di was very interested in this and wanted to make some moves in the north.

"I'm not Zhuge Liang, so how can I understand his governance methods? You should ask those experienced farmers how to increase production. Besides, I remember they made a wooden ox to replace the oxen last time, right?"

Wang Buli was really not good at farming. He didn't know how to use chemical fertilizers. Even the dung tyrants were better at making artificial manure than he was, so there was no need for him to do anything.

"Oh." Zhu Di nodded.

Xu Miaoyun admired Wang Buli even more, as he never spoke out on topics he was not good at.

Although they occasionally got together in recent years, Wang Buli mostly talked about food, drink, entertainment, and various health topics, and rarely touched on state affairs.

Even the two of them didn't have the chance to fight the Japanese pirates they had always talked about. The Japanese pirates disappeared again, as if they would never come again.

Representatives of Emperor Yongle arrived in Beijing with the edict of succession.

Zhu Gaochi immediately summoned his confidants to discuss the matter, and then strengthened the security of the capital and sent a eunuch to Nanjing to garrison there.

The next day, he released the former Minister of Revenue Xia Yuanji. Twelve days later, he officially ascended the throne, issued an amnesty, and designated the following year as the first year of Hongxi.

On the same day, he adopted Xia Yuanji's suggestion, canceled Zheng He's scheduled sea voyages, cancelled the tea and horse trade on the border, and stopped sending missions to Yunnan and Jiaozhi (Annan) to purchase gold and pearls.

He reappointed Xia Yuanji and another demoted official, Wu Zhong, as Minister of Revenue and Minister of Works respectively.

With these actions, Emperor Hongxi began to undo or adjust his father's administrative policies.

Many of his new appointees had already served him when he was regent in Nanjing or Beijing, and some had supported him when he had disagreements with the Yongle Emperor and had been punished for this.

"Oh, the descendants of our Ming Dynasty are indeed very good!"

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Not only did his own successors change his policies, but Zhu Di's successors did the same.

Zhu Yuanzhang discovered that all of these heirs to the throne who were well versed in Confucianism had the same character: the first thing they did when they took office was to promote civil officials.

"This rebellious son!" Zhu Di could not help but point at Zhu Gaochi on the giant screen and said to Xu: "He changed our policy before our bodies are even cold."

Wang Buli looked at Zhu Gaochi's behavior and also commented:
"The fact that Big Fatty was the emperor was actually to provide a backup for the Fourth Prince. He went to become the great general who conquered the north, as he had always dreamed of. Didn't he leave all the government affairs to the Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi?
It can be said that many of the administrative work done by the Fourth Brother was done by you, his son.

He is a good manager, but not as good as him in governing. What are you scolding? He is just trying to set things right!"

"Hey."

Zhu Di was still indignant. Even though Wang Buli had just ridiculed him, Zhu Di did not think that he was incapable of governing.

How can war not cost money and food?
When we figure out how to make the plate bigger, we won’t need your money or food!

"Yes, Not Bad."

Zhu Yuanzhang also agreed, saying that since his eldest grandson Gao Chi did not disappoint him, he must have certain abilities in governing.

The fourth brother also took advantage of it, and he has a reliable prince just like us.

Zhu Di just shut up decisively.

In order to make the Ming Dynasty's bureaucratic machine more efficient, Emperor Hongxi made some changes to the civil service examination system.

He believed that this system favored southerners, so he set quotas to ensure that northerners accounted for 40% of all Jinshi, and his descendants fully implemented this policy.

When appointing officials, the emperor attached particular importance to Confucian ethics and personal character.

During Zhu Gaochi's reign, he twice pardoned the families of officials such as Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng, issued pardon orders to free their families from slavery, and returned the confiscated property.

The judicial authorities are further admonished to render sentences in accordance with the law and to review the charges against the prisoners before sentencing them, especially before sentencing them to death.

In addition, he prohibited the abuse of corporal punishment on prisoners and the punishment of prisoners' relatives (except for serious treason).

He asserted that these practices seriously violated the Confucian principles of benevolence and filial piety.

"How dare he do that?"

Zhu Di was extremely unhappy because he knew how he had treated the old ministers who had participated in the Jingnan Rebellion, but his son actually overturned the verdict for them.

"Humph, he is still too kind."

Zhu Yuanzhang curled his lips, very dissatisfied with his grandson's behavior. If the criminal law does not teach the criminals under his command a lesson, how can it educate people in the world not to break the law?

In order to reverse the large number of refugees that appeared in the late Yongle period, Zhu Gaochi issued a special decree requiring the fugitives to return to their hometowns and promised to exempt them from the taxes they owed. After they registered in their place of residence, they would also be exempted from the same taxes and labor for another two years.

"Old Four, look at your five expeditions to Mobei. In the end, it was your eldest son who had to clean up your mess."

Wang Buli snorted and laughed: "A large number of people have become refugees because they cannot afford the taxes. Not only will the court's income be reduced, but the lower classes of the Ming Dynasty will also become more unstable. Don't forget that your majesty was also a refugee, and he knows the price of being a refugee best."

Zhu Yuanzhang just thought that Zhu Di was even more ruthless than him, but he never thought that the disastrous consequences would be reflected here.

"Forehead."

Zhu Di had nothing to say at this time. He was very fond of the five expeditions to Mobei, but he was unwilling to accept the fact that the last three expeditions ended in failure.

Now looking at so many people on the screen, all of them have become refugees. If someone with intentions starts to cause trouble, it would be extremely embarrassing.

Then Zhu Gaochi specifically cited the example of Tang Sai'er's uprising during the Yongle period, under the guise of the Ming Cult. In short, there was also the influence of Liu Futong's Red Turban Army. In short, Zhu Di treated her with double standards.

After his successful Jingnan Rebellion, he granted special privileges to some places in order to compensate the north, but Shandong was not among them.

At that time, people in Shandong were living in poverty and many hungry people needed disaster relief, but there was not even a grain of rice in the granaries. In addition, due to successive years of floods and droughts, farmers had to eat tree bark and grass roots, sell their wives and children, and the old and young had to migrate, with no means of survival.

As soon as Tang Sai'er started the rebellion, many people joined her. In short, if she captured the county town, she could still survive.

Although Zhu Di killed a group of Shandong officials, he provided disaster relief to Shandong and abolished taxes the following year. It has to be said that he still had to stir up trouble.

When Zhu Di heard that his son was still exposing his shortcomings after becoming emperor, he kept calling him a rebellious son.

But Zhu Yuanzhang felt very comfortable at this time. He had no chance to say anything about his rebellious son before. He could only say that he was old and his eyes were blurry and he did not choose the right heir.

Now listening to the fourth brother's complaints, he couldn't help feeling a little happy.

Zhu Gaochi was very concerned about the livelihood of the people. During the famine in the area, he angrily refuted the proposal of the officials of the Ministry of Revenue to only lend grain to the people instead of distributing it for free. Not only did he want to distribute it for free, but he also wanted to reduce taxes.

When Zhu Di became emperor, he only wanted to be the General of the Northern Expedition. However, the money and grain were all managed by his son Zhu Gaochi and his people. He asked for money every day, so of course he didn't know how expensive firewood, rice, oil and salt were.

This is the high price paid for a large degree of external expansion.

Zhu Di frowned and glanced at Wang Buli: "You don't care at all?"

"Why should I care?" Wang Buli said leisurely, "At that time, everyone present here was dead. Do you still want to stay alive and let your successor implement your policies?"

"Hey."

Zhu Di also sighed. He really didn't know how to refute Wang Buli.

The scene of his death just now flashed by, and Zhu Gaochi did not inform his mother, which meant that the person who loved him had passed away before him.

"You're right, I'm still a little greedy."

Finally, one month before Zhu Gaochi's death, Emperor Hongxi took the most drastic measure yet to reverse his father's policies: moving the capital back to Nanjing.

The move was strongly urged by Xia Yuanji and other senior court officials as part of a strategy to divert resources away from the northern border.

Emperor Hongxi had obviously intended this since he ascended the throne. He had set up a garrison in Nanjing and sent generals and eunuchs he trusted to command it.

Emperor Hongxi was not interested in the previous emperor's northern expedition, nor did he like Beijing; in addition, he had served as regent in Nanjing and was familiar with the situation in Nanjing and felt more comfortable there.

He was also concerned about the cost of maintaining the north as the capital, which not only greatly increased the burden on southeastern China, but also made it difficult for various government departments to cope.

"Hey, that's not right." Xu Miaoyun said immediately, "Gao Chi only took the throne not long ago, how come he died a month ago?"

Zhu Di also realized that his son's reign was too short.

"Obesity can affect a person's lifespan and easily induce various diseases." Wang Buli explained to Xu Miaoyun: "What's more, governing a huge country requires more energy, which will exhaust one's energy and vitality."

In May of the first year of Hongxi, Zhu Gaochi died of illness.

Zhu Yuanzhang counted on his hands and found that it had not even been a year since his eldest grandson Gao Chi inherited the throne.

Zhu Di had never thought that his eldest son would not even live to be fifty years old, and it was a little difficult to accept it for a while.

He completely forgot that he had just been scolding his son for being a disobedient son.

"So, people must not be too fat?"

"Of course." Wang Buli looked at Xu Miaoyun:
"You saw Gao Chi's figure just now. He is two and a half times wider than your mother. Your internal organs are burdened with such heavy loads. Even if the doctor says something after diagnosing your pulse, it won't be good for your health."

Xu Miaoyun nodded slightly. It seemed that she would have to pay attention to Gao Chi's diet in the future and not let him get too fat.

"What you just said about governing a country is exhausting?"

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at Wang Buli and suddenly realized what was happening, because Zhu Gaochi, as the crown prince, was no different from his son Zhu Biao.

In comparison, Zhu Biao was even more tired than Zhu Gaochi.

Zhu Yuanzhang wondered if his son also died of overwork.
But he himself was not idle either, he just handed over some less difficult government affairs to the prince to handle.

He lived into his seventies and still insisted on handling government affairs!

So Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't understand why his son couldn't bear it first when he was obviously more tired than his son?
How come the life span of the Ming Emperor was not long at all!

"Does it mean that this kind of health preservation must start from childhood?"

Wang Buli did not answer Zhu Yuanzhang's question.

After all, considering Zhu's wild background, he must have been in pretty good health to have survived the situation at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.

Zhu Biao was not a flower grown in a greenhouse, but his vitality was definitely not as strong as that of Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Buli, say something!"

"Is that so?" Wang Buli pretended to reassure Zhu Yuanzhang: "Health preservation is only a supplementary role, the most important thing is not to be too tired."

He believed that neither Zhu Yuanzhang nor Zhu Biao would stop to rest.

In order to rule the hard-earned dynasty, each of them would exhaust their own energy and spirit.

So Wang Buli just talked about it and did not strongly recommend it.

Because it is not in their interest.

Therefore, Wang Buli was not worried at all that Zhu Biao would die early and Zhu Di would not be able to ascend to the throne.

The only thing he needed to worry about was whether Zhu Xiongying could survive this illness.

When Zhu Di heard this, he was shocked.

If his elder brother hadn't died, how would he have had the chance to take the throne?
So he looked at Wang Buli standing beside him, and seeing that there was still no emotion on his face, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

A person's life span is determined by God. How can it be changed by some health-preserving methods?
If this were really possible, there would have been a lot of long-lived people in history.

If this were the case, it would become a common occurrence, so how could it be recorded in history books or county annals?

Zhu Yuanzhang was thinking about the prince and did not say what was in his mind.

At this time, the father and son of the Zhu family had their own thoughts in their minds. Xu was thinking about her son's physical condition.

Wang Buli looked like he was watching a show.

Zhu Di coughed and restored the atmosphere: "Brother-in-law, you see, you were wrong just now!"

"What did I say wrong?"

Hearing Wang Buli's question, Zhu Di chuckled: "Just now you said that my sons might kill each other, but Gao Chi has collapsed and nothing has happened yet. Aren't you wrong?"

"Oh, that's right." Wang Buli nodded slightly, agreeing with Zhu Di's words.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly when he heard this. Although Wang Buli had a great affinity with immortality, what he said might not be correct.

I almost got stuck in a dead end!

Hearing this, Xu Miaoyun also breathed a sigh of relief. Just now she had been worried that her offspring would kill each other.

Emperor Hongxi's successor, Emperor Xuande, did not participate in the plan to move the capital because he was closer to Emperor Yongle and was less averse to the policy of leaning toward the north.

Beijing remained the capital, and Nanjing became an auxiliary capital.

Zhu Di really didn't expect that he would be like his father and would appreciate his grandson even more!
Zhu Zhanji was the eldest son and had learned martial arts since childhood, and also studied Confucianism under the guidance of Hanlin scholars.

Although he had his father's talent for studying classics and literature, as a youth he was better at military affairs.

His precocity attracted the attention of Emperor Yongle.

The Yongle Emperor was a martial artist and often took Zhu Zhanji away from the capital and his family to go hunting and conduct military inspections.

It can be said that Zhu Di found the feeling of "son like father" in his grandson Zhu Zhanji.

As an emperor, he always has a very demanding idea, which is that he hopes his sons will be like him, so that he can better lead his dynasty to continue.

Unfortunately, such cases of sons being like their fathers are very rare, especially when it comes to the issue of succession to the throne.

Zhu Zhanji's father suffered from poor health, but Zhu Zhanji grew up strong and vigorous.

When he was fifteen years old, he was taken by Emperor Yongle to participate in the second expedition against Mongolia.

In addition to having a close relationship with his grandfather, he often protected his father from attacks by his two uncles, Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui.

Seeing this, Zhu Di was suddenly shocked.

His two sons actually teamed up to bully his eldest son, who was also the crown prince!
It is totally unacceptable that there was no connivance on my part in this.

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Wang Buli and began to waver again.

Wang Buli can judge the development of some things just by some examples, so it is unrealistic to ask Crown Prince Zhu Biao not to be too busy with government affairs!

If an emperor is not diligent in government affairs, even if he just eats, drinks and has fun and lives to be a hundred years old, what use will it be to the court?

Zhu Yuanzhang knew very well that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, lived too long, and some of the things he did affected his reputation as an emperor.

"It's normal for brothers to have some minor frictions." Zhu Di smiled again, "At least there was no fighting or killing!"

(End of this chapter)