Daming: I am the Crown Prince

Chapter 375: Overthinking
After five days of rest, it is natural to return to normal and start preparing for the new year's political affairs.

After entering the palace, all officials began to report on state affairs in order. This was just a regular court session. For Zhu Yunhuan, there was not much to worry about, and many things were not delayed because of the five-day holiday.

Zhu Yunhuan listened to some reports patiently. Some things needed to be decided immediately, and such things were actually not particularly difficult to deal with.

Even though he held great power and the imperial authority was highly concentrated, it did not mean that Zhu Yunhuan did everything. Some things were directly handed over to officials of the Six Ministries and the Five Military Commanderies for handling, which was also necessary for their existence.

After the court session, Zhu Yunhuan did not hesitate to call the Minister of Punishments Bao Zhao, the Minister of Revenue Yu Xin and the Minister of Works Yan Zhen to the Wuying Palace. It was obvious that something big was about to happen.

At the same time, Ying Duke Fu Youde also came along. He seemed a little out of place, but it was still very necessary.

Zhu Yunhuan asked directly, "The canal dredging is about to begin. How are the money, food, troops, and laborers prepared now?"

Yu Xin quickly said, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue has already allocated 100,000 taels of silver, and all the necessary materials and supplies have been prepared. The dredging work will not be delayed."

This is the attitude of the Ministry of Revenue. The Ministry of Revenue has already made preparations for this matter. They also know the emperor's intention, so there will be no delay at all.

This is also because the Ming Dynasty still has a small surplus in its treasury. When Emperor Chengkang was reluctant to spend more money on the coronation ceremony, the pressure on the Ministry of Revenue was naturally reduced a lot.

Bao Zhao replied without hesitation, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Justice has ordered all prefectures to escort the prisoners to the canal section and hand them over to the local officials and guards for custody."

It is normal for the Ministry of Justice to arrange these things. Even if Zhu Yunhuan ascended the throne and issued a general amnesty, it does not mean that all criminals can be released directly from prison, and these criminals will not just be left in prison to wait for death.

This is also an important labor force, especially some more dangerous jobs, which are actually done by serious criminals.

This is not a matter of humanity or inhumanity. Given the limited level of productivity, a lot of work requires manpower to do.

Zhu Yunhuan nodded in satisfaction and said with a smile, "That's good. Dredging the canal is a heavy task. We must prepare enough food, materials, and manpower."

People carry materials on their backs or on horses, this is the main way of dredging work. Obviously, there is no need to think too much about other things, and there are no advanced tools at all. This is a long-term project.

Yan Zhenzhi also spoke up at this time, "Your Majesty, 30,000 laborers have been sent to Governor Chen."

The laborers are the main force of the dredging project. These 30,000 people, plus some criminals from the north, are all managed by Chen Xuan, who is responsible for dredging the northern section of the canal.

Yan Zhenzhi continued, "There are still 30,000 laborers working from Hangzhou to Zhenjiang, and 30,000 laborers working in Huai'an to dredge and dig the Li Canal."

A total of 100,000 laborers were conscripted, which sounds like a very large number, but it was nothing at all.

When the imperial city and city walls of Yingtian Prefecture were built, more than 200,000 laborers and soldiers were mobilized. Now, these tens of thousands of people seem insignificant.

Of course, it is another matter to talk about the armies of hundreds of thousands or even hundreds of thousands that are organized at any time. After all, conscripts are not soldiers, and there are some essential differences between them.

Moreover, these 90,000 people are the laborers who can work on the canal for a relatively long time. They are also the first batch of people. After this batch of people finish their labor service, another 90,000 people will replace them.

It will not affect the livelihoods of these laborers too much, but it will not delay the court's key project of dredging the canal.

Zhu Yunhuan then looked at Fu Youde and said seriously, "Dredging the canal is beneficial to the country and the people, but we are also worried about corrupt officials and those who are plotting evil. The Duke of Ying should also understand the seriousness of this."

Fu Youde naturally understood the seriousness of the matter. The excavation of the Grand Canal in the Sui Dynasty led to a peasant uprising, which led to the demise of the second emperor of the Sui Dynasty, which seemed to be in its heyday.

Needless to say, at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Han Shantong, Liu Futong and others dug out the one-eyed stone man when the Jialu River was opened, and the vigorous Red Turban Army uprising at the end of the Yuan Dynasty was in full swing.

It is said that Han Shantong, Liu Futong and others originally started the uprising in Yingzhou. Fu Youde was Li Er who joined in response to Han Shantong and others. He was also an early participant in the Red Turban Army and had more seniority than Zhu Yuanzhang.

In the past, the so-called tyrannical Qin Dynasty also had heavy corvee labor, which led to the Dazexiang Uprising. The Sui Dynasty opened the Grand Canal and the Yuan Dynasty controlled the Yellow River, but they both lost their empires.

Zhu Yunhuan said solemnly, "Duke Ying is highly respected. You must keep a close eye on the garrisons in various places and not abuse the laborers. The garrisons in various places will also send soldiers to dredge and guard. You go and take care of it."

Fu Youde had no objection, "I obey your order."

Although Fu Youde can no longer fight in the war, not only because of his great contributions but also because of his old age, there are obviously still many places where he can make use of his remaining energy.

Isn't this just finding another job for the Duke of Ying? He can command an army of 100,000 men, and he doesn't have to worry too much about 100,000 laborers. After all, there are government offices at all levels to help manage it.

The work of dredging the Grand Canal was urgent. These important ministers could also see the emperor's attitude. He was not busy with other things just after ascending the throne. The first thing he cared about was dredging the canal and improving people's livelihood.

It can also be said that he was strengthening communication between the north and the south. Emperor Chengkang always attached great importance to the people's hearts in the north, and used various methods to continuously strengthen management and win over the hearts of the people.

This is definitely a good thing. As important officials of the Ming Dynasty, Yu Xin and others can naturally see the uneven development between the north and the south, and they also understand that the people in the north have not yet fully won over.

Therefore, even though sometimes some southerners felt that the emperor favored northerners and harmed their interests, as the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, it was very important for him to reunite the people's hearts in the north and the south.

At the very least, we need to make people in the north recognize their Han identity, rather than thinking that the Han people in the south are southerners and not of the same ethnicity as them.

The Ming Dynasty was founded thirty years ago, and this year is the thirty-first year. For Zhu Yunhuan, there is still a long way to go and many areas that need to be further improved.

When Yu Xin and others left Wuying Palace, Mei Yin was summoned.

"Previously, we arranged for Chen Xuan and others to dredge the Beidi Canal. You must keep a close eye on this matter." Zhu Yunhuan made the arrangements directly. "The deployment of laborers will be arranged by the court. You must keep a close eye on the replacement of the nationality of the military farms along the way."

Mei Yin knew this well. He asked some soldiers from the Tuntian Guards to participate in dredging the canal in the northern section. It was not only because of the lack of manpower, but also to directly convert some people into civilians. At that time, it would enrich the number of people in the north, especially those near Beiping. These people from the Tuntian Guards obviously have a higher recognition of the Ming Dynasty than the northerners.

Mei Yin also spoke up, "Your Majesty, I will obey your command."

"These are big things, I don't trust others to do it." Zhu Yunhuan sighed, "Dredging the canal has always been a hard job, and it is also easy to cause some unrest. You should be aware of this."

Mei Yin thought about it and finally spoke, "Your Majesty, I will be the inspector and prevent cruel officials from abusing the laborers. Please order your Majesty to investigate the factory guards and help me handle this matter."

Although Mei Yin arrived in Peking and had some officials under him, it was obvious that some jobs were not suitable for those officials and runners. The spies from the Jinyiwei and the Northern Pacification Office were more adept at them.

Zhu Yunhuan did not hesitate and said with a smile, "Okay, uncle is still thoughtful. I will give the order to let Jiang Li hand over some people to you later."

Mei Yin did not have much of a burden for this, as he was Zhu's favorite son-in-law, and had strong attributes of a relative and a noble. Now that he was put into the civil service system, it was very likely that His Majesty was trying to sabotage him.

As a provincial governor and the second-in-command of the Peking Provincial Administration, his status would be even more special.

There is no doubt at all that the emperor asked Mei Yin to go there because he must have arranged some special mission for him. Many people knew this but they just didn't want to say it out loud.

After Mei Yin left Wuying Palace, Jiang Lin came to Wuying Palace and said, "Arrange some people to obey the orders of the Prince Consort and make sure to keep a close eye on the dredging of the canal. If there are any corrupt officials who do evil, report it to me immediately."

Jiang Li was a little excited and knelt down quickly, "I obey your order."

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The reason why Jiang Li was excited was simple. For such a large project, there would definitely be some corrupt officials, some cruel officials, or some people who wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to do something.

This gave the Jinyiwei an opportunity. What Jiang Lin had always been obsessed with was the glory of the Jinyiwei at the beginning of the founding of the country. They were the emperor's lackeys. Not to mention the civil servants, even the nobles were very wary of the Jinyiwei.

"Not only in Beiping, but also in Hangzhou." Zhu Yunhuan continued to make arrangements, "The Jinyiwei can investigate, but they cannot judge. Do you understand?"

Facing the emperor's sharp eyes, Jiang Lin shuddered in his heart, "I obey your order!"

The Jinyiwei were the best henchmen and the eyes and ears of the emperor. Zhu Yunhuan never thought of abolishing the Jinyiwei, even though many people thought that this was something only a tyrant would do.

However, supervising all officials and supervising the world is also something that must be done. How simple and kind-hearted an emperor must be to choose to disable his own ears and eyes?
At that time, the emperor might not even know what was happening outside the imperial city. If he relied entirely on reports from officials, then he would be further and further away from the truth. He might not even know when the rebels had reached the outskirts of Yingtian Prefecture.

However, the Jinyiwei also need to be strictly controlled, because they are vicious dogs. If the rope is loosened a little, they will pounce and bite people, even randomly.

Jiang Lin obviously knew what he should do. Those people from the Northern Pacification Office were just waiting for the Jinyiwei to make a mistake. Now the Jinyiwei was not the only dominant spy agency in the Ming Dynasty.

Even though there are more people in the Jinyiwei, even though they have a deeper foundation, and even some people in the Northern Pacification Office once served in the Jinyiwei, Jiang Lin dare not be too careless.

Once he loses the emperor's trust, it will be difficult for a lackey like him to have a good ending. He knows this better than anyone else.

Since Jiang Li knew what to do, Zhu Yunhuan would not say much. A loud drum does not need a heavy hammer. In recent years, he has been quite satisfied with Jiang Li and has no plans to change the commander of the Jinyiwei for the time being.

Jiang Li was indeed a veteran, having first followed Mao Xiang. He was highly valued under Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao, and his position in the Jinyiwei was still stable under Zhu Yunhuan.

There is really no need to rush to replace such a good guard dog. This is what Zhu Yunhuan thinks.

After Jiang Li left, Zhu Zhong was called over, "I pay my respects to Your Majesty."

Zhu Yunhuan made the arrangements directly, saying, "You should also keep an eye on the dredging of the canal and assign some personnel to take care of it. Don't delay the work of gathering intelligence and supervising the officials."

Although the Jinyiwei and the Northern Pacification Division seem to have some overlapping functions and seem to be wary of each other, their jobs are still slightly different.

Although both of them have the purpose of supervising all officials and checking each other, the intelligence collection of Jinyiwei is more targeted at the outside of the Ming Dynasty, while that of Beizhenfusi is focused on the Ming Dynasty. Jinyiwei monitors all officials, while Beizhenfusi focuses on the royal family.

So even if it seems that there is some waste of resources, etc., it is not an absolute thing. There are checks and balances among them. Just focus on your own work.

Zhu Zhong is a smart man. He is the descendant of a meritorious official. He was given an important position because of Zhu Yunhuan and is now on equal footing with his former boss Jiang Lin.

So he knows better than anyone what to do, and he also knows what he needs to do to maintain his current position.

After all these things were arranged, Zhu Yunhuan felt very tired. It was just a matter of dredging the canal, but there were so many tasks to be arranged. Being an emperor was indeed not easy.

There is nothing he can do about it. Who made him want to do things as well as possible? It would be easy if he could be an irresponsible emperor who ruled the country without doing anything, but that was not what he pursued.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Daoyan and Xia Yuanji and asked, "You are also following up on the dredging of the canal. Are there any shortcomings in my arrangements?"

Daoyan immediately said, "Your Majesty, the King of Yan and the King of Zhou can be sent as envoys to the north, and His Royal Highness the King of Wu can be sent as envoys to the south to inspect various places. This will firstly demonstrate the grace of the royal family, and secondly, it will intimidate the officials."

Not giving real power, but allowing some royal family princes to inspect, or even just have a nominal position, etc., this can indeed be considered killing two birds with one stone.

There is no need to worry about the increasing prestige of these princes. The princes who have no real power are just working for the emperor.

In order to win over the hearts of the people and intimidate some restless people, it seems necessary to let the princes of the royal family take on some responsibilities.

After all, there have always been some princes who have taken on various important tasks. Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, there has never been a case where the princes of the royal family have been completely idle. There are many things they can do.

(End of this chapter)