Daming: I am the Crown Prince

The entire court of civil and military officials had gathered together, not to mention the six ministers, the left and right assistant ministers of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue were also present, as well as the five great dukes, Lan Yu, Chang Sheng, Xu Huizu, Li Jinglong, and Fu Youde.

This is a big deal, and dredging the canal is naturally extremely important, so these things must be treated with caution.

The reason why more officials were not involved was that it was not appropriate to bring some matters to the court at this stage. Otherwise, it would inevitably lead to various discussions, which would delay things.

As Zhu Yunhuan's money bag, Xia Yuanji nodded slightly towards Yu Xin. Everyone knew some things.

Chang Sheng and the others looked as if they had nothing to do with the matter. They understood the matter to some extent. However, as the person in charge of the Five Military Commandery, they also needed to contribute a little.

But they were more or less unsure about how to do it. At this time, they just needed to come and support the scene. The noble group still needed to have some presence and could not just think about fighting.

Old Zhu came over with the gait of a dragon and a tiger, holding a fat baby in his arms, the baby's hands were shaking and he was babbling.

Xu Huizu's eyes brightened up a bit. He loved this nephew to the extreme, but it was a pity that he had too few opportunities to see him.

Zhu Wenyao was a courageous person, and even though he saw a lot of people, he didn't feel uncomfortable at all. Instead, he looked at everyone with great curiosity and even tried to talk to them.

"Let's come and listen." After Zhu Yunhuan stood up, Old Zhu naturally sat in the main seat, "Go and get some fun things, otherwise Wen Yao won't be able to sit still."

It’s no wonder that Old Zhu carries Zhu Wenyao with him wherever he goes, but the child cannot leave Old Zhu, so it’s natural for him to be taken wherever he goes, which seems more appropriate.

Zhu Wenyao was very generous and handed the golden turtle in his hand to Zhu Yunhuan, "Yeah."

Zhu Yunhuan took it and looked at it, and couldn't help complaining, "Grandfather, you want to give this to Wen Yao? I think this is an official seal from the previous dynasty, right?"

"What seal does Wen Yao not deserve? Can you tell me?" Old Zhu said very unhappily, "If you are really capable, you can find the imperial seal for Wen Yao, but you still can't get it back after conquering Dadu and destroying the Northern Yuan Dynasty!"

The imperial seal can be said to be a huge regret for Zhu Yuanzhang. When he conquered the Yuan capital or won the great victory at Buir Lake, he captured a lot of prisoners and also found many official seals from past dynasties.

However, when the Southern Song Dynasty fell, the Mongolian Prime Minister Bayan ground down all the seals of various countries that had been confiscated by the Mongols and distributed them to princes and ministers to make private seals.

But to be honest, there is controversy over whether the imperial seal of the Northern Song Dynasty is real or fake. Many people think that the imperial seal disappeared when Li Congke, the last emperor of the Later Tang Dynasty, and his entire family burned themselves to death in the Xuanwu Tower.

Lan Yu was very embarrassed. When he led the troops to destroy the small Northern Yuan Dynasty, the emperor had repeatedly instructed him to bring back all the seals and other items. Unfortunately, there was still no sign of the imperial seal.

Zhu Wenyao's chubby little hand was deeply rooted, obviously intending to take the turtle-shaped seal back. This was his dearest and one of his favorite toys now.

"Wen Yao is worthy of any seal. My seal is not suitable for him." Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "But isn't it a bit bad to spoil the child like this?"

Old Zhu glanced at Zhu Yunhuan and said, "Your seal is not suitable for our Wen Yao. We will give the seal left by your father to Wen Yao in a few years. This child is good. He can control the country and be a ruler like Yao and Shun of the Ming Dynasty."

These important officials were a little confused. They didn't know whether the emperor and the crown prince were singing the same tune or whether this was just the emperor's "unintentional words". They shouldn't think too much about these things.

Old Zhu looked at Chen Xuan and asked, "Our court is preparing to dredge the canal. Do you have any ideas in your mind?"

Chen Xuan immediately replied, "Your Majesty, I am stupid."

Old Zhu interrupted impatiently, "Just tell me what you think. If it's appropriate, do it. If it's not appropriate, we can discuss it. I don't have time to talk to you. Do you have any ideas?"

Chen Xuan stopped being modest and said, "Your Majesty, I do have some ideas in my mind, but I don't know if they are appropriate."

Old Zhu was basically satisfied with this answer. "It's good that you have an idea in your mind. You are the commander-in-chief of the canal transport. If you don't have a solution in your mind, it will be difficult to do this."

Old Zhu continued, "Your father was also a soldier, and you have led troops in battle. To us, supervising the grain transport and fighting in wars are similar. You know what to do and what difficulties there are, so you can make arrangements."

Chen Xuan was indeed the son of a military general, and he himself had once been a retainer of Lan Yu. Many people thought that this general, who was both civil and military, became the commander-in-chief of the grain transport system not only because he had previously participated in the repair of the Dujiangyan project.

This was more because of his background. He was originally considered a part of the Huaixi nobles and was an authentic descendant of the Chang lineage. Naturally, he was worthy of being entrusted with important tasks.

Zhu Yunhuan took the initiative to speak at this time, "Grandfather, there are some disagreements between Minister Yan and General Chen. What they said has its own reasons. It is really difficult to decide. I hope Grandfather will make the decision."

Old Zhu looked at Zhu Yunhuan. This grandson was really abominable sometimes. He would never do anything to offend others. Even if he had an idea in his mind, he would still pretend to be nice.

But as long as you get used to these things, there is nothing to complain about. It's because that's how Mr. Zhu arranged it before, and now everyone has developed a habit.

Lao Zhu asked, "Tell me, what do you think now?"

Zhu Yunhuan took the initiative to say, "My dear grandfather, the Grand Canal has been built in every dynasty. I think it is not appropriate to start a war again. We can just build and dredge the canal based on the foundation laid by the previous dynasty."

There is nothing wrong with this statement. The Grand Canal was not built overnight, and even Emperor Yang of Sui did not create it all at once.

If we really want to say, it is no problem that the construction of the Grand Canal began in the Spring and Autumn Period. King Fuchai of Wu ordered people to dig the Hang Canal, and King Hui of Wei dug the Hong Canal. These were the initial stages of the Grand Canal.

Zhu Yunhuan continued, "Nowadays, the imperial court can transport grain northward by bypassing Luoyang. Now it seems that the Grand Canal can be divided into seven sections."

The Tonghui River runs from Peking to Tongzhou, which is about 80 kilometers long; the North Canal runs from Tongzhou District to Tianjin, which is 190 kilometers long; the South Canal runs from Tianjin to Linqing, which is 400 kilometers long.

The Luyun Canal from Linqing to Taierzhuang is about 500 kilometers long. The Zhongyun Canal from Pizhou to Huai'an is 190 kilometers long. The Liyun Canal from Huai'an to Guazhou is 180 kilometers long. The Jiangnan Canal from Zhenjiang to Hangzhou is about 330 kilometers long.

Zhu Yunhuan spoke again, "The issue that the civil and military officials in the court are discussing now is nothing more than where to dredge first. Some people think that the northern section should be repaired, some people think that the southern section should be repaired, and some people think that the silted-up Shandong section should be repaired." Old Zhu naturally understood that since the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the Shandong section of the Grand Canal has been completely silted up. Although dredging is easier than excavating, it is also a big project.

What's more, even the sections of the Grand Canal are not completely connected, and there will inevitably be a section that needs to be transported by land to reverse the river dam, which naturally also causes huge losses.

Old Zhu nodded slightly, then looked at Chen Xuan, "Do you mean to plan to repair the northern section first?"

Chen Xuan nodded immediately and said, "Your Majesty, although the northern section is also silted up, when the Mongols established their capital in Beiping, water transport was a major issue."

There is nothing wrong with this statement. Peking had a special status during the Yuan Dynasty, so the condition of the river section near Peking was relatively better. Even if there was siltation, it would not be blocked by ships.

It is obviously a more reasonable approach to dredge and build the simple ones first, and then tackle the more difficult areas. There are naturally not many major problems with this approach.

Moreover, considering Chen Xuan's background, he had been a general. First, the section from Tianjin to Beiping should be dredged, so that the grain shipped by sea could be directly transported to Beiping, and the northern defense line could be more stable.

Tianjin is the top priority today. It is a huge base and a logistics base leading to Liaodong, Beiping, Kaiping and other places. Naturally, it needs to be given great attention.

Needless to say, Beiping is no longer the Yuan Dynasty's capital, but its prominent status remains unchanged. It is still an important military town of the Ming Dynasty.

Old Zhu nodded slightly, thinking that what Chen Xuan said made some sense, but it was obviously not enough to impress Old Zhu. He would not just listen to one person's opinion, but also see if there were any better plans.

As a pragmatist, Lao Zhu certainly hopes to get the biggest return at the lowest cost. It is definitely not a bad thing to listen and watch more.

Old Zhu then looked at Yan Zhenzhi and said, "So you think it's time to build the South Grand Canal? Why, do you think building a canal is not a good idea?"

Yan Zhenzhi quickly replied, "Your Majesty, I think the North Grand Canal should be renovated naturally, but the court has limited manpower and labor. I think that although the North Grand Canal is of great use, it is not as cost-effective as the South Grand Canal."

This made Zhu Yuanzhang very interested. Since the Grand Canal was being built, it was natural to connect the north and the south. This was the most appropriate thing, and it was also what the court wanted to do.

Whether it is the southern section or the northern section, it must be repaired. I guess no one will raise any objection to this, because it is a strategic matter and will not do any harm to the court.

Yan Zhenzhi continued, "Your Majesty, even if the northern section is dredged now, if the canal in Shandong is not dredged, the canal cannot go directly to the north, and it still needs to be transported by sea."

Old Zhu naturally understood this principle. If the northern section is to be repaired now, basically the section from Tianjin to Beijing can be transported by water. This naturally seems to be relatively simple, but of course it can also be a thankless task.

If this section in Shandong is not dredged, the Grand Canal will not be able to be unobstructed. To transport grain from the south to the north, it is naturally necessary to rely mainly on sea transportation, and land transportation can only be supplementary.

Seeing that Chen Xuan was about to refute, Zhu Yunhuan spoke up, "Wait a moment. When Minister Yan finishes speaking, you will have time to speak. Now we are talking back and forth, I am afraid we will start a quarrel."

Chen Xuan naturally understood this truth and said hurriedly, "I dare not."

Zhu Yunhuan just smiled. Now that it was brought up, he naturally said "I dare not". If he hadn't been reminded, he would have done it. He would apologize later.

Zhu Yunhuan is now quite familiar with some of the ministers' tricks. Sometimes he really wants to complain, but of course there is no need to take some harmless things too seriously.

Yan Zhenzhi continued, "Your Majesty, I think it is best to dredge the southern river first. The southern canal has very little siltation, so dredging it is not difficult."

Both the South Grand Canal and the North Grand Canal are actually blocked, but not that seriously. The only serious blockages are in the middle sections, which are also a major project.

Old Zhu said, "You mean to repair it to Yangzhou first, right? The prince mentioned this to me before, but I want to ask you, after we get to Yangzhou, don't we still have to transfer to sea transportation?"

If this is the case, it would be better to start sea transportation directly from Hangzhou and other places, so as to avoid transiting through Yangzhou, which seems to be a bit unnecessary.

Old Zhu continued, "We all know that Yangzhou is not as prosperous as it was in the Tang and Song dynasties. But if the canal transportation is blocked, Yangzhou will no longer be an important place. You should understand this principle."

Yan Zhenzhi and others certainly understood this truth. Yangzhou was extremely prosperous during the Tang and Song dynasties, and a large part of the reason was that Yangzhou was a transportation hub connecting the north and the south, so its status was naturally extraordinary.

Although there are many merchants in Yangzhou today, its level of prosperity and other aspects are indeed far inferior to those of some dynasties in history.

Not only was Yan Zhenzhi aware of this, the nobles present could also see it. This was mainly because the situations were too obvious and anyone could tell what was going on with a little attention.

Zhu Yunhuan spoke up to defend Yan Zhenzhi and said, "Grandfather, Minister Yan probably meant to lay a solid foundation first, with Yangzhou as the base. Some merchants have gathered in Yangzhou in recent years, and I'm afraid there will be more in the future."

Old Zhu said jokingly, "Now that you mention it, I remember that Yangzhou and Taicang are not too far away. It's time for more merchants to go there."

The others looked at Zhu Yunhuan, who was thick-skinned and said, "Grandfather, Taicang and Yangzhou are still far away. We are discussing the canal now, not the Maritime Customs."

Others don't think so. Taicang is now regarded as one of the naval bases by many people. Many ships are now gathering there, and some merchants naturally rush there when they smell the scent.

Zhu Yunhuan became even more shameless and clapped his hands, "Wen Yao, daddy will hug you."

Zhu Wenyao didn't give him face and turned around and fell into Old Zhu's arms. Although he could "share" some toys now, he still didn't allow Zhu Yunhuan to hold him.

Old Zhu was a little angry, "Wen Yao was having fun, but you had to tease him. Let's talk business, stop playing tricks on me."

Zhu Yunhuan was not embarrassed, let alone afraid, after being warned. As for the civil and military officials, they would not be surprised, as the grandson had many ways to deal with the emperor.

Not only are there a lot of them, but it seems that no matter what means they use, they can definitely get the emperor! (End of this chapter)