Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 142 The alternation between the old and the new

The two spy chiefs, Song Zhong and Jiang Li, were called to the Wenhua Palace and received orders to monitor the Prince of Qin's Mansion.

They are quite adept at handling these matters. Every prince who is now a vassal of the Ming Dynasty actually has people from the imperial court in his palace, and most of these princes are aware of this.

Not only did he have an idea in his mind, sometimes even if he guessed which people were from the imperial court, he would not do anything about it.

The reason is very simple, it is simply to prove that they are upright and have nothing to fear. These high and mighty princes are not fools, and they dare not think that a "clean" palace is the safest.

As long as the factory guards who monitor them don't interfere too much, everyone tacitly abides by certain rules.

After being busy with these things, Zhu Yunhuan summoned the heads of the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, and the Imperial Household Department.

Looking at Yan Zhenzhi, Zhu Yunhuan said, "It is said that food is the most important thing for the people. I see that the Ministry of Works is now short of some great craftsmen. The Ministry of Works now has four subordinate departments: the General Department, the Department of Resources, the Department of Water Resources, and the Department of Tuntian. This is not enough."

Zhu Yunhuan said directly, "There is also the Imperial Household Department, which is now in charge of horse affairs. But you must not just think that raising imperial horses is enough. I think horse affairs and farming can also be related together."

In fact, there was no Grand Minister of Agriculture in the Ming Dynasty, and all the nine ministers, including the Minister of the Treasury, were abolished. Some streamlining did not affect a series of work. Some things could be assigned to the Ministry of Works or the Ministry of Revenue. There was no need to set up a separate government office.

Yan Zhenzhi immediately admitted his mistake, "It was our negligence, I hope Your Highness will forgive us."

"Let's not talk about the matter of forgiveness for now. I have visited various government offices in the past two years." Zhu Yunhuan said with some dissatisfaction, "Logically speaking, these government offices are enough now. Think about it carefully, are there any government offices that teach people how to farm and how to raise seeds and seedlings?"

Zhu Yunhuan knocked on the table and said, "It is recorded in the Book of Songs that among the agricultural officials appointed by King Cheng of Zhou, the Zaishi and Lushi were all responsible for encouraging farming. In the Song and Yuan dynasties, there were still local officials who were responsible for encouraging farming. The same should be true for our Ming Dynasty."

Pointing at Yu Xin and then Yan Zhenzhi, Zhu Yunhuan criticized, "The Ministry of Revenue is responsible for agricultural policies and household registration, and the two departments of water conservancy and military farming under the Ministry of Works are responsible for water conservancy and irrigation and military farming respectively. The government offices of various prefectures and cities also have the function of encouraging farmers. This is good, but you only encourage the people to reclaim more good land. How to increase yields and breed crops, what can you do?"

Yu Xin and Yan Zhenzhi knelt down quickly, not knowing how to answer at this time.

Because according to their understanding, many things are just "conventional", and the experience accumulated by predecessors is enough.

There may be updates or improvements to production tools. Just like Huang Dao Po mentioned earlier, it depends more on her own learning and improvement, and the court basically does not manage or guide her.

This can also be regarded as the fact that the imperial examination system mainly requires talents to have a knowledge structure of literature, and does not attach importance to specific technical knowledge. It can even be said that most of the ruling class knows little about agricultural production, and officials are responsible for agricultural production.

Zhu Yunxun said earnestly, "It is said that we should encourage people to cultivate the land. You who are in high positions should not talk without thinking. How to let the people cultivate the land well and how to let them save time and effort to take care of more fields should also be done well!"

After being taught a lesson by the Crown Prince, Yan Zhenzhi and others left Wenhua Palace. Now they also had to think about countermeasures.

Your Highness attaches great importance to agriculture and takes agriculture as the basis, which is of course a very good thing. However, regarding the matters mentioned by the Crown Prince, neither Yu Xin nor Yan Zhenzhi know how to better deal with them now.

In the final analysis, it is about emphasizing literature over science. Some of the things Zhu Yunhuan required are also inconsistent with some common perceptions today.

Fu Youde asked for a meeting right after meeting with the Shangshu.

After seeing Zhu Yunhuan, Fu Youde took the initiative to say, "Your Highness, I will be in charge of the Martial Garden. These days, I have been busy selecting a site, teachers, and subjects. I am really too old to do this, and I am afraid that I will delay the work of the Governor's Office. Please forgive me for my duties in the Governor's Office, so that I can concentrate on the Martial Garden."

Zhu Yunhuan hurriedly said insincerely, "Why does the Duke of Ying say that? The Duke is the pillar of the country and the pillar of the court. Now the court still needs the Duke to take charge. How can you be exempted from the duties of the Governor's Office at this time!"

Fu Youde knelt down, almost crying, "Your Highness, it's not that I don't want to try my best. It's just that I'm old and can't take care of the affairs of the Governor's Office. Now the affairs of the Martial Garden are too important, I dare not slack off."

In fact, Fu Youde also realized that if he was to be in charge of Wuyuan's affairs, it would be difficult for him to take care of the affairs of the Five Military Commandery.

Even though the Crown Prince had said before that the Emperor himself would be the Chief Priest of Wuyuan, that was just a figurehead, and matters still needed to be managed by him, the Duke of Ying.

In charge of the training and education of senior military officers of the Ming Dynasty, and also taking care of the military governor's office, this is really too much power. This is not a good thing. Fu Youde thinks that he is not as trusted by the emperor as the King of Zhongshan and the King of Qiyang.

He even thought that when the prince went to the Yingguo Mansion and transferred Fu Zhong to the Five Military Commandery, he might have had this idea at that time and was just trying to create a way out.

It is easier to talk to smart people, but you still have to be nice. Zhu Yunhuan doesn't want to be known as a 'killer'. So he said directly, "You don't need to say more, Duke. Wuyuan is indeed a big deal, but the affairs of the Governor's Office cannot be separated from you. Okay, you don't need to say anything more. If there is nothing else, leave!"

Fu Youde spoke earnestly, "Your Highness, please understand, I am really old!"

"Okay, I told you to leave!" Zhu Yunxun said loudly and impatiently, "Just focus on the work of Wuyuan, and also take on the work of the Governor's Office!"

Fu Youde had no choice but to leave, but he was determined to "resign" and would not believe the words of the crown prince.

If nothing else, think about the fate of Li Shanchang who was obsessed with power. Think about the previous Duke of Song Feng Sheng, who was suspected of having made great contributions and was only used to do unimportant things in the past two years.

Even though Duke Xin Tang He was so trusted by His Majesty, wasn't His Majesty arranging for him to return to his hometown to retire before he fell ill?
So when it is time to decisively give up some of the power in your hands, you must be decisive.

Many people knew what kind of character the emperor had, especially people like Fu Youde, who had experienced too many things and naturally understood what he should do now.

This is not just what the emperor does when he ascends the throne, but also what ministers need to do when they are appointed. Even if you are anxious to take the throne, you still have to do enough superficial work.

Zhu Yunxun returned to Wuying Palace after a busy day. "Fu Youde resigned today and is preparing to resign from the Dudu Mansion."

"This man is thoughtful and knows how to judge the situation." Old Zhu praised him with a smile, "I guess he will resign at the morning court tomorrow, and then he will pretend to resign."

Seeing Zhu Yunhuan nod, Old Zhu asked, "Do you have any idea about who will replace Fu Youde when the time comes?"

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "I think Huaiyuan Marquis Cao Xing is not bad. He used to be in charge of Shanxi military affairs. The only bad thing is that he is too involved with the Duke of Liang."

Old Zhu said directly, "Cao Xing is not suitable. It's not about Lan Yu. He used to be the prime minister of Jin and had a good relationship with your uncle."

"Then it's Jingchuan Marquis Cao Zhen. I think he's okay." Zhu Yunhuan said, "Let's not talk about his previous achievements. I think he's quite good at managing Sichuan's military affairs, and his planning of the garrisons in various places is also very detailed."

This person actually had a good relationship with Lan Yu, but he couldn't be considered a "regular friend" in the true sense.

Old Zhu sighed and said, "The Five Military Commandery of our Ming Dynasty has now been reduced to the point where a marquis is in charge!"

In fact, there are basically no left and right governors or associate governors in the current Five Military Commandery, and most of them are deputy governors. And those who are in charge are basically dukes.

And now one has to sigh that the number of dukes is not enough, and the next Governor's Office will inevitably have some old or retired middle-level military generals appointed as deputy governors, and a group of descendants of meritorious officials and noble relatives will be specially appointed as governors of the Governor's Office.

Old Zhu looked at Zhu Yunhuan with a smile and asked, "Can you take care of the affairs of the Five Military Commandery now?"

"You are asking even though you already know the answer!" Zhu Yunhuan said with some pride, "Fu Youde came to me first to resign. Although he knew what was going on, this behavior can explain a lot. People outside think that I, the crown prince, am in charge of all matters of the Five Military Commands Office, but I am still lacking in the skills of the court."

Old Zhu was even happier and praised him, "This is some progress. I thought someone like Fu Youde would come to me to ask for resignation. I didn't expect him to go to you first. So it's a good thing. Our grandson is now completely obedient to the nobles."

Zhu Yunhuan instantly became even more proud, "It seems to be true. Fu Youde must have been tossing and turning for a long time, not daring to offend me, let alone offend my grandfather."

This is exactly what Zhu Yuanzhang said. In fact, it was really difficult for many ministers to know who to report certain things to.

I should report it to the emperor first, for fear of upsetting the crown prince who is now in power. But if I go to the crown prince first, the emperor may also have objections.

This was a real dilemma, but Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yunhuan obviously would not care much about the difficulties of their ministers.

The grandfather and grandson were talking and laughing. Fu Youde took the initiative to give up his job as the head of the Five Military Commandery, which was part of the transition from the old to the new.

The fact that he reported these things to Zhu Yunhuan first also shows that the alternation of power was continuing.

This seems to be quite normal, but for many people, there is something else going on here. The fact that the Crown Prince holds the power is not just a casual remark. The transfer of power is faster than expected and more obvious.

(End of this chapter)