Daming: I am the Crown Prince

When there are benefits and power, naturally many people will flock to it, wanting to take control of that power and get more benefits. This is completely understandable.

However, it is true that we have such good expectations, but whether they can be realized is another matter.

The morning court of a new day began again, and Ru Hong and others could not wait to start working hard for the regime.

"Your Highness, I think what the Minister of Personnel said is wrong."

"Your Highness, during the Tang Dynasty, the Shiboshi was established in Guangzhou to manage maritime diplomatic relations and foreign trade, and a special official was appointed to this position. The Shiboshi collected tariffs from ships that came to trade, purchased a certain amount of imported goods on behalf of the court, managed the items that merchants paid tribute to the emperor, and supervised and managed the Shibo trade and took a cut."

"Your Highness, during the Song Dynasty, the Maritime Customs Office was first jointly led by the local chief executive and the transport commissioner who was responsible for local finances, and the specific affairs were managed by people sent by the court. After that, the official system was changed. Local officials no longer held concurrent positions, and the transport commissioner was directly responsible for the affairs of the Maritime Customs Office. Later, a special official was appointed."

"Your Highness, we have searched the history books and found that the revenue from the maritime trade in the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty reached about 420,000 strings of cash. In the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty, the annual income was 10 million strings of cash, and the revenue from the maritime trade reached 1.5 million strings of cash."

"Even during the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, there was a Maritime Customs Office, which was also under the control of the Quanzhou Prefecture Office. A public certificate was required to go out to sea, and when going out to sea, it was necessary to check whether there were any contraband items. When the ship was returning to the port, people were sent to seal the cargo and escort it back to the port. After arriving at the shore, officials were sent to supervise the movement of all the cargo into the warehouse to prevent private smuggling of cargo."

"The cargo would also be divided into different categories, with different taxes depending on the cargo. Later, it was changed to 20% for fine cargo and 20% for coarse cargo. In addition, a ship tax of 10% was levied. After that, the cargo was returned to the ship merchants to sell on their own. The revenue of the Maritime Customs Office was very high. In the 26th year of the Yuan Dynasty alone, 400 kilograms of pearls and 3,400 taels of gold were handed over to the Yuan court."

Ru Rong and others were a little anxious because some censors seemed to have put in a lot of effort and done some investigations.

It's not that Ru Rong and the others didn't understand some truths, nor did they know what the censors said. It's just that they chose to ignore them in the past, naturally hoping to take the initiative.

Now, some colleagues have made things clear and direct, and this is also the 'old system'.

Direct management by the central court and the royal family, the Maritime Customs is in charge of trade and collects a lot of taxes, etc. There are examples of these in previous dynasties, and this is not something that the Ming Dynasty alone might do.

So at this time, don't say anything about competing with the people for profit, or about following the old system, etc., because these reasons are simply untenable.

You mentioned the early years of the Ming Dynasty, or even things before the founding of the country, so I will mention things that happened even further back. You mentioned the old system, so I will mention the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, all of which are even older than your "old system", etc.

Many people have been thrown off balance by these censors, who are already muddying the waters!

Looking at Ru Rong and the others, Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "So, the Maritime Customs Office has existed since ancient times, and the official system, powers, etc. have changed and improved over the years. Minister Ru, what do you think is the reason?"

Ru Yan stepped forward and said respectfully, "Your Highness, I think that the management and control of the past dynasties have changed a lot, and they are more based on local conditions."

Zhu Yunhuan nodded slightly and said with a smile, "I think that's true. Not only should we adapt to local conditions, but we should also make some changes. The current situation is different, so we shouldn't just follow the rules. Minister Ru, do you think this is the case?"

Although Ru Heng didn't quite agree in her heart, she could only bow her head at this moment and said, "Your Highness is wise, I admire you!"

Zhu Yunhuan laughed, not because of Ru Rong's affirmation, but because he just listened to her nice words. If he really took them seriously, it would be a joke. He should not take other people's politeness seriously, and he should not be flattered by them.

Now it’s just that the situation is stronger than people, which forces Ru Hong and others to bow their heads, that’s all!

Many civil servants seemed determined to seize the Maritime Customs, but unfortunately some things slightly disrupted their plans.

In addition to some censors mentioning that the official system of the Maritime Customs was constantly changing, it was also because the profits earned by the Maritime Customs were very huge, which made many people pay more and more attention to it. The taxes and other taxes brought by the Maritime Customs were really unexpected by some people.

Overseas countries are not really all barbaric and desolate. There are also many good things overseas that can bring enough gold and silver to the court, and even bring back some imported goods that the Central Plains dynasty has never seen before.

What made the civil servants depressed was not only the internal "splits". Some people seemed to be speaking for the imperial power and did not want the Maritime Customs Office to be completely controlled by the Ministry of Revenue and the Provincial Administration Commissioner's Office.

It was also because the Five Military Commanders' Office was so shameless that they reported military achievements and made a big fuss about the navy's many gains and spoils of war last year.

What does this mean? It means that the court wants to reward merits, which means that some good things that may be obtained from trade have become military merits, etc. If they really think that the Maritime Customs can handle these things, the nobles of the Five Military Commands may jump up and down.

This Crown Prince is completely unreasonable, muddying the waters and complicating things that seemed simple at first!
Zhu Yunhuan ended the morning court session with a smile and returned to Wenhua Hall in a good mood. It seemed that he had regained the initiative in some things. Now he had more confidence to compete for power with some civil servants.

As soon as he returned to Wenhua Hall, Zhu Yunhuan said, "Master, remember to stop those Shangshu. They must be getting anxious."

Daoyan knew what was going on, as some things were arranged by him. He also knew that some of the arrangements that were unreasonable and against the rules could indeed catch some civil servants off guard.

However, it is not realistic to ask those civil service groups to completely let go. After all, the power and benefits are too great, which naturally means that as long as there are still some opportunities, many people will not give up easily.

Daoyan replied, "Don't worry, Your Highness. If Minister Ru and others come, you can summon the Duke to deal with it."

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and agreed, "When a scholar meets a soldier, it's really hard to explain. But this is not good for my second uncle's reputation. How can I let him do these seemingly unreasonable things all the time?"

Daoyan felt that Zhu Yunhuan's complaints were just for listening and not to be taken seriously, otherwise it would become a joke.

Because anyone with a discerning eye could see that the person who arranged some things for the founding duke was this crown prince.

On the one hand, they asked the founding duke to do things that seemed easy to offend people, and on the other hand, they asked the founding duke to do things that seemed difficult. At that time, they did not consider the founding duke's reputation at all.

Now, they are actually trying to turn the tables, as if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had no choice but to let the Duke of Founding take some responsibility. This is really hard to understand.

Whether it is to cross the river and burn the bridge, or to take advantage and still be ungrateful, this is a matter of opinion. Zhu Yunhuan doesn't care about it very much. As long as some things are done well, it is enough for him. Other things can be put aside for a while, and some things are done in a down-to-earth manner. This is the most worth being happy about.

I have started working at my desk. There are still many memorials that need to be approved quickly.

After careful consideration for a moment, Zhu Yunhuan said, "Go and call Chen Xuan back to Beijing, and tell Yu Xin not to just worry about the revenue of the Maritime Customs. The summer tax should be dealt with as soon as possible. The Ministry of Works should allocate some funds for dredging the canal as soon as possible."

Daoyan immediately wrote down these things. He believed that a capable minister like Yu Xin must have been well prepared. After all, this was also a work priority, and he had been working hard on this matter before.

As for fighting for some control over the Maritime Customs, that is also the responsibility of Yu Xin, the Minister of Revenue, and it will not really add much pressure. Fighting for it is just a side job and will not affect the main business.

Since there is no delay in important matters, we should seize the time to get things done. This is obviously extremely important.

After all, the Crown Prince is a little anxious now. He cares extremely about the dredging of the canal and the water conservancy projects that are related to the people's livelihood in the Ming Dynasty. These things really need to be accelerated.

In particular, the dredging of the canal and the development of water transport are related to some long-term strategies of the court. This is no longer just a simple issue of people's livelihood, so naturally it requires more attention and care.

Zhang Fusheng heard a report from a young eunuch and hurriedly reported, "Your Highness, His Majesty has ordered a lot of things to be moved out of Kunning Palace."

Zhu Yunhuan immediately frowned and asked, "Where did your majesty move the things?"

Zhang Fusheng quickly replied, "Your Highness, they moved to the West Palace."

The so-called West Palace is different from the West Six Palaces. The West Six Palaces, like the East Six Palaces, are the residences of the emperor's concubines. They are located on the west side of the central axis of the imperial palace, opposite to the East Six Palaces. Originally referring to the palace where the empress lived, it gradually evolved into a general term for the empress and concubines.

The West Palace was where the emperor lived when he retired from court. In history, Zhu Yuanzhang also died in the West Palace.

Zhu Yunxun couldn't help but frown and complain, "Why is he in such a hurry? If I move to the West Palace now, what will become of me!"

Everyone else was trembling with fear at this time and didn't dare to say anything more. This was because the matter was a little sensitive. If they were not careful, they would alienate the family ties and even get into bigger trouble.

Therefore, one needs to be more cautious in what one says and does on this matter, or even keep silent if possible. This matter can only be discussed between the Emperor and the Crown Prince, and no one else can say anything more on this matter.

Zhu Yunhuan immediately said to Zhang Fusheng, "Go back to the East Palace first, explain the matter to the Crown Princess, and ask her to go to the Qianqing Palace."

Although Zhu Yuanzhang had previously mentioned that he was planning to move out of the Qianqing Palace and had asked Xu Miaojin to move into the Kunning Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang made no secret of his intention to make way for Zhu Yunhuan, so that his future ascension to the throne would be more legitimate and in accordance with etiquette.

But he is in a hurry to do these things now, which is simply putting Zhu Yunhun on the fire. If he is not careful, he will make Zhu Yunhun unfaithful and unfilial. I really don't know what to say.

But thinking about Zhu's character, Zhu Yunhuan didn't seem to think there was anything strange about it. This was what Zhu could do. Sometimes the so-called etiquette and so on had little restraint on Zhu.

Zhu Yunhuan was a little annoyed, but he knew that this matter was bound to happen sooner or later, so he was mentally prepared. At most, Zhu Yunhuan's impatience had disrupted his plan.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Daoyan and asked, "How do you think this matter should be handled?"

Daoyan was more cautious, but still asked, "Your Highness, can you rebuild a palace?"

It seems normal to do so. If Zhu Yuanzhang abdicates, building a palace for him is a way for Zhu Yunhuan to express filial piety. And this is also a hidden thought. It seems to let the emperor leave the power center and just enjoy his old age in the new palace.

There seems to be no harm in doing so. For example, the last founding emperor who became the emperor emeritus was Li Yuan.

After Li Yuan became the emperor, he still lived in Taiji Palace, one of the three palaces, but he no longer heard about state affairs. But he soon moved out of Taiji Palace and moved to Da'an Palace, and he almost never left Da'an Palace afterwards.

Zhu Yunhuan glared at Daoyan and asked, "How do you want history books to record this?"

If a palace is really built for Zhu, it will probably be a mess. The matter of succession is already quite sensitive. If something like this happens, some conspiracy theorists might start to spread rumors.

Daoyan also felt a little embarrassed, but this matter was really too sensitive.

It's not that there were no retired emperors in history, but they were basically reluctant to do so. It's almost impossible for them to still control the government or abdicate without major changes.

So some things were indeed a little sensitive, and if not handled well, it put Zhu Yunhuan in an awkward position.

Daoyan was extremely cautious and suggested, "Your Highness, this matter should be decided by His Majesty."

It is better to throw the blame to Lao Zhu. Once Lao Zhu really makes some decisions, it is basically difficult for others to change their minds, especially when it comes to such sensitive matters, only Lao Zhu can make the decision.

Others can only give some suggestions at most, and naturally don't think too much about the rest. The most important thing is that these things arranged by Lao Zhu himself must be suppressed directly in the court to avoid subsequent troubles.

Zhu Yunhuan naturally understood this truth. These matters indeed needed to be arranged by Zhu Yunhuan. It was obviously most appropriate for Zhu Yunhuan to come forward to resolve these matters.

Others can only watch helplessly on some things, but Zhu Yunhuan needs to choose not to get involved and just sit back and enjoy the results.

It is better to "keep a low profile" and wait to reap the biggest fruits of victory. Zhu Yunhuan chooses to have it all! (End of this chapter)