I open a history tutorial class in Daming

Chapter 187 Reassurance

Zhang Wei didn’t think that he would be criticized by His Majesty for making suggestions.

He now has a witness. Ji Gang is listening nearby. Maybe there are still people from the Yiluansi lying on the roof. The conversation is clear and it is obvious that the suggestion to move the capital to Beiping was proposed by Song Shen and has nothing to do with him, Zhang Wei.

Given the level of trust Your Majesty has in Song Shen, once this advice is submitted, even if Your Majesty does not agree, you will not vent your anger on him. As for Song Shen, it is even less likely that anything will happen to him.

Even if he really thought of and proposed this advice himself, as Song Shen said, once these ten words "The Son of Heaven guards the national gate, the king dies for the country" came out, His Majesty would definitely not blame him given his temper, and might even applaud.

However, this is not what Zhang Wei is afraid of.

From the perspective of the Ming Dynasty, moving the capital to Beiping is naturally a good thing.

Establishing the capital in the north can bridge the hundreds of years of gap between the north and the south; having the capital in the north can benefit the poorly educated people and scholars in the north, give them better resources, and make the northerners not much different from the southerners; strategically, with your majesty's bravery, Beiping is closer to the grassland, so the strategic depth will be shortened in the event of a war, and there will be no need to worry about logistical supplies, which is even better.

But if someone benefits, someone else's interests will be harmed.

Since the Song Dynasty, Jiangnan has gone from being just ordinary wealthy to extremely wealthy. How prosperous is the literary style here? Just look at the world-famous "Four Masters of East Zhejiang" when the Ming Dynasty was founded. The great scholar Song Lian was one of them. After experiencing the Yuan Dynasty's suppression of the Han people and countless wars and disputes, there were still so many powerful literati emerging, which is enough to prove the fighting power of the literati in Jiangnan.

As the saying goes, when food is plentiful, people know etiquette. The reason why the cultural atmosphere in the south of the Yangtze River is so good is not because of feng shui or because southerners are naturally more knowledgeable and intelligent than northerners, but simply because this place is rich enough.

Nowadays, most of the court's tax revenue comes from Jiangnan, most of the officials are from the south, and 80% of the great scholars are also from Jiangnan. Would they be happy if the capital was moved to Beiping?
Wherever the capital is, that will be the center of the prosperous country.

Moving the capital to Beiping would not only force these people to leave their homes, but they would also have to personally transport taxes from the south to the north via the canal - that was the barbaric and cold land they had always looked down upon!
If they moved to Xi'an, Luoyang, Kaifeng, etc., that would be fine. Although they are all in the north, these three places have been the capital several times. They are all away from their hometowns and not in the south of the Yangtze River. Why not choose a place with a greater reputation and more dynasties, but choose Beiping?
It was once the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, but the problem is that it was the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, Yuan Dadu. Isn't that unlucky?!

Zhang Wei was certain that as long as the memorial he submitted was made public, even if it was only seen by people through the Secretariat, he would be attacked by everyone regardless of the emperor's reaction.

Isn't the method proposed by Song Shen exactly like "I treat you as a brother, but you want me to die"!

"No, Ziwei, your idea is good, but I can't bring this up!"

Zhang Wei wiped the sweat from his forehead and whispered:

"No matter which dynasty it is, moving the capital is not that simple. Just think about it. If the capital is moved to Peking, the civil and military officials in the court..."

Song Shen calmly raised his hand and interrupted him.

"Brother Congming, I understand your concerns very well."

"It's nothing more than the fact that the conflict between the north and the south is already acute, and moving the capital to the north will place a huge burden on the south of the Yangtze River, and so on."

"But you have to think clearly, are you serving the Ming Dynasty, His Majesty, or the civil and military officials in the court?"

"As a minister, you must know your position clearly."

"Our Majesty is not an ordinary emperor. What do you think is more frightening, offending the civil and military officials or offending him? I don't need to explain this, you should know it in your heart."

Zhang Wei's forehead was sweating even more.

Isn’t this nonsense!
Who is Zhu Yuanzhang? He climbed all the way from the bottom of society to the throne. It takes a lot of luck and ability to do this. In the vast history, Zhu Yuanzhang's experience is unique, and of course, his methods are even more unique.

Now that His Majesty seems determined to deal with Hu Weiyong, the Secretariat must not be relied upon, as it may be implicated at any time. But the problem is that the hundreds of officials include not only the Secretariat, but also the nobles, right?
Those who have fought with Your Majesty all the way and shared the joys and sorrows, aren’t their positions important?

Among the nobles, 99% of them were born in Fengyang and its surrounding areas in the south of the Yangtze River. Not to mention the civil servants, they would definitely not be happy about moving the capital to Beiping!

"Brother Congming."

Song Shen sensed his nervousness and silence, and said softly:
"I understand your concerns. This is just something we can talk about between the two of us in private. If you're afraid, that's fine. Everyone would be afraid."

"But what I want to tell you now is that if Your Majesty can move one person, he can move ten, a hundred, or even ten thousand others."

"He is the kind of person who would rather betray the world than be betrayed by the world. No one can stop him from making a decision. If you can understand his intentions and even be willing to make enemies with the officials for him, then you will be the next loyal minister trusted by His Majesty."

"You should weigh the pros and cons yourself. Don't be in a hurry. Just think about it slowly. There is still time."

As he spoke, Song Shen turned his head, his unfocused eyes tilted in the direction of Ji Gang:
"Ji Gang, although you are still young, since Brother Cong Ming chose to trust you and chose to put you here as a guard, then I also trust you a little bit."

"There are some things you will always hear and see if you stay by my side. Today I didn't insist on you leaving but asked you to listen because I wanted you to know that if you don't keep your mouth shut when working for me, not only will you implicate me, but you will also have a hard time surviving."

"But don't worry, Brother Congming should have told you about my identity and family background, right?"

"As long as you can be honest and do what you should do by my side, and keep what you shouldn't say, I will definitely reward you in the future. Even if I don't have that ability, it is not impossible for my grandfather Song Lian, Song Longmen, to ask His Majesty for a title for you. What do you think?"

This is not Song Shen talking nonsense.

The number of imperial examinations during the Hongwu Dynasty was very small, and many officials still relied on the recommendation system to get promoted. With Song Lian's reputation as the greatest scholar in the early Ming Dynasty, it was a piece of cake for him to recommend a young man like Ji Gang to a higher position. Even military generals who did not get along well with civil officials would give Song Lian some respect when they met him.

As for whether Song Lian would speak up for him...

Tsk, the two sons in the family are not promising, and now Song Lian's only hope is his eldest grandson. If he doesn't help him, who else can he help? Moreover, after the blindness and injury, Song Lian already felt pity and guilt for his grandson. It was just a small matter. As long as he asked, his grandfather would agree.

Ji Gang opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but swallowed it back.

Finally, he just bowed and answered sullenly:
"Little understands."

…………

at dusk.

Zhu Yuanzhang had just dealt with the pile of memorials when he heard someone coming in with a message from outside.

It’s Jiang Li.

Jiang Lin was originally just an unremarkable little figure in the Yiluansi. However, he had been squatting on the beam of Song Shen's house for so long recently. He had come to report several times and had been seen at the gate of the military camp. Therefore, apart from Mao Xiang, he was the person with the strongest presence in front of Zhu Yuanzhang in the Yiluansi.

"Jiang Li, what's the matter?" Zhu Yuanzhang put down what he was holding, stood up and stretched his muscles a few times, and asked while breaking his bones:

"Is there any news from Song Shen? Ji Gang has been arranged to go there."

Jiang Li bowed respectfully and meticulously before answering.

"Your Majesty, Ji Gang has been introduced by Zhang Wei and has been arranged to be a guard beside Song Shen. As you instructed, Zhang Wei told Song Shen that he had helped advance a whole year's salary and had taken charge of Ji Gang's family situation. Song Shen was indeed very relieved."

"However, today Song Shen made a suggestion to Zhang Wei. Zhang Wei was very worried and didn't know whether he should listen to him. Now he is in a state of panic at home. Does Your Majesty want to listen to it?"

Zhu Yuanzhang stopped jumping and stretching.

He walked up to Jiang Li with great interest and asked:

"What advice did he give?"

Jiang Li hesitated for a moment, but still said:

"Song Shen asked Zhang Wei to give you advice, suggesting that you move the capital to Beiping. He also said that if you were to use the phrase 'the emperor guards the country's gates, and the king dies for the country', you would definitely applaud."

"He analyzed the pros and cons of this matter and suggested that Zhang Wei come to you and tell you that even if he makes countless enemies, he can become your Majesty's lone minister by then."

"Song Shen knew that it was very dangerous for Zhang Wei to do this, and he might even die, but he still asked Zhang Wei to make a clear decision: whether to be a lone minister of the emperor or a minister like all the officials in the court. Obviously, he supported the former more."

Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes and said nothing for a long time.

He really didn't make a mistake in choosing the right person.

Zhang Wei was hesitant and afraid, and there was nothing wrong with that. No normal person would dare to take a risk just for a possible benefit. Of course, there were some brave gamblers who were willing to do this, but Zhang Wei was definitely not one of them.

This is a very ordinary person. He has a family, a wife, children and elder relatives. He cannot make a desperate attempt for his future. Even if he does not have this future, Zhang Wei can still feel his presence in front of him by holding on to Song Shen's thigh. There is no need to risk the world's condemnation and propose to move the capital to Beiping.

Zhu Di had already told him clearly in the tutoring class about the obstacles that would be encountered in moving the capital. Even without him saying it, Zhu Yuanzhang could have guessed it with his toes.

If someone were to be the first to speak out, being drowned in the spit of officials would be the lightest punishment. The more likely scenario is that Zhang Wei would be framed with some crime at some unknown time, and the Secretariat would deal with him directly without even the emperor's approval.

But Zhu Yuanzhang didn't care about these things. To put it bluntly, was Zhang Wei's life or death important to him? Not at all.

In his eyes, everyone in the world is a chess piece. Except for Zhu Biao and Queen Ma, if anything happened to anyone else, it would at most make Zhu Yuanzhang feel annoyed that his plan had been ruined, but it would not have a greater impact on him.

What Zhu Yuanzhang cared about was what it meant that Song Shen was willing to make this suggestion.

It is a very easy to understand truth——

Song Shen was worried about being involved in the Hu Weiyong case as in history, so he decided to stay at home and not get involved in the court affairs. However, he actually had great confidence in Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang and was 100% sure that Zhu Yuanzhang would be the winner in this struggle. Therefore, Zhang Wei was one of Song Shen's few friends, and Song Shen hoped that he would have a good future.

Proposing to move the capital would indeed offend 99% of the people in the court, but it would also definitely win the favor of Zhu Yuanzhang.

Even though he now knew that it was Song Shen who reminded him of this, Zhu Yuanzhang didn't mind. As long as Zhang Wei dared to bring it up, he had already surpassed most of the ministers and had made up his mind to follow the emperor to the end.

From this incident, we can see that Song Shen’s own ideas were also on Zhu Yuanzhang’s side, but he just did not speak out. However, Song Shen was actually the most loyal member of the imperial party in the court.

A glimpse of the leopard in the tube can be seen.

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed happily.

"good."

"We have already considered moving the capital, but I didn't expect him to bring it up earlier. Jiang Li, what do you think?"

Jiang Lin lowered his head and did not see the emperor's expression, but his ears were quite good and he heard the smile in his emperor's voice.

Although he did not expect His Majesty to ask him what he thought, Jiang Li had been in the Yiluansi for many years and knew what His Majesty wanted to hear by asking this question.

He bowed respectfully, staring straight at the tip of his shoe, and said in a steady voice:

"Your Majesty is wise and powerful. If you think it is good, then it must be right."

"I am a dull and ignorant person, so I dare not interfere in the affairs of the nation. However, what Song Shen said today about the benefits of moving the capital to Beiping is indeed reasonable. Apart from the fact that it may encounter fierce opposition from the officials in the court, there is nothing wrong with it."

"Everything still needs to be decided by your majesty."

The Yiluansi is the emperor's personal guard. They are all his henchmen, and they will attack wherever his majesty directs them.

Although they held official positions, there were actually many people in the Yiluansi who had low levels of education.

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't care how educated they were, as long as they could read and write information. The most important thing for a lackey was not ability, skill, or talent. Zhu Yuanzhang only cared about their loyalty.

All Jiang Li needed to do was express his loyalty and Zhu Yuanzhang would be satisfied.

really.

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and patted Jiang Li on the shoulder, saying:

"That's right. Moving the capital to Beiping is a good thing. It's good for the country, the people, and the war. The bad thing is that it's cutting into the flesh of those intellectuals."

"I actually think it's a good idea, but I just don't have a good reason to bring it up."

"Well, Jiang Li, go talk to Zhang Wei and see what he thinks."

"If he really wants to take the lead for us and is just worried about the safety of his family, then you can ask him to come to see us and we will give him peace of mind!"

(End of this chapter)