Jingming

Chapter 514 Harvest Season

AD 2388, the twenty-sixth year of Jiajing. In this year, the Emperor of Heaven was already forty years old.

The Longevity Ceremony was supposed to be held last year, but the war between several parties was not over yet. The emperor's intention was to hold it next year to reward the meritorious officials and establish a new order around the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, at the end of the past year, the emperor made a triumphant return from the northern expedition, leaving more than a year to end the chaos in Yunnan, Jiaozhi, and Korea, and to bring closure to Japan.

The people of the Ming Dynasty have become accustomed to the frequent good news in the past two or three years. Naturally, the people of the capital are looking forward to the Longevity Ceremony to be held this year.

I heard that this year the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty will send orders to all directions, and all surrounding countries will be without exception. The king of the country will lead his ministers to the Ming Dynasty in person.

The matter involves major construction and transportation matters.

The area around the Temple of Heaven and Earth was originally a place where nobles and nobles bought land and built homes. Now there has been a large-scale renovation.

Many of our ancestors chose to go to the Steppe Khanate, Korea, Japan, Ryukyu, and even more vassal states.

Their houses now have new uses: as embassies in the capital of the Ming Dynasty for countries that have diplomatic relations with the Ming Dynasty.

It took more than 400 years for the place to truly change, and a huge price was paid, including building roads.

There is still not a unified country there, and there are many different Dharma kings.

He had a son before he was twenty, and the emperor is still in good health. Although he was indeed raised as a prince with a clear attitude and never wavered in his status, what if the prince walked ahead of the emperor?
This situation will become more obvious as the emperor and prince get older.

There is no news yet on whether Tibet will come.

"Don't make the ceremony like all nations coming to court." Zhu Houcong looked at the notes of the grand ceremony presented by Yan Song, "The heads of the nations and their envoys are here to observe the ceremony. Since the military power of the Ming Dynasty has been demonstrated, now it is good to those countries that are friendly to them. Just be reasonable and they will listen."

Zhu Houcong had no better way to solve all this, after all, the imperial power was still there. Although he created many new systems, because of his own differences, today's imperial power is actually more stable and powerful.

Gao Gong, who had returned from the Nanyang Protectorate, bowed when he heard the words: "This Gaifa succeeded to the throne last year, and his father originally took the throne from his nephew. Now the powerful minister Kunwala Wangsa is using Burma to attack Lanna. Ji sent troops to Lanna together and took control of the power. I'm afraid Gaifa won't dare to come, otherwise the king of the country will change his throne."

Zhu Houcong smiled: "Whether he comes or not, it is true that we sent troops to Lanna and divided 800 days with Burma. Now that I have come, I should also uphold justice for my beloved concubine and let him hand over the occupied land. There are other important things. Punishment. With such a crime, how can we establish diplomatic relations with it this time? Since it is not a friendly country, there is plenty of room for follow-up."

The disposal of Burma, Jiaozhi, Babaidadian and other places is naturally an important agenda of this Longevity Ceremony and the "Conference of Heads of State".

To completely solve the problem there, Ming Dynasty still needs more accumulation to avoid the inconvenience of transportation and the back and forth due to the fight.

I think back then, when Prince Zhu Biao of the Ming Dynasty died young, Zhu Yuanzhang’s hard work was in vain. How bloody was the Ming Dynasty in the government and the public in his later years?
Everyone is thinking about that possibility, and everyone is predicting the possible bloody storms in the future.

But Zhu Houcong has already decided this and will not change it.

"Father..." Zhu Zaiyu's voice was choked with sobs.

"My nephew, it is appropriate to kneel down and congratulate him on his birthday. However, the other vassal kings do not need to ask for it. They can just offer congratulatory gifts. The main venue is the meeting place. In the hall of the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests, the seats are arranged at a round table. I will discuss with them what to do in the future. Seeking common development. In addition, I will have individual talks with each family within the Zhai Palace."

"...My son is ashamed."

After a pause at this point, Zhu Houcong sighed softly: "No matter what, you have to remember that at least on the issue of inheritance, dad has always been honest with you and has not evaded anything. This is because dad has given you I treat you as an adult, and I hope you will become stronger."

The prince, who was originally stable and stayed in the capital to wait for his succession, suddenly had to take charge of his own affairs. It's called experience, and I don't know how many possibilities there are in the future. Zhu Zaiyi is determined but also depressed, which is normal.

When the discussion arrived, Zhu Houcong thought for a while and said: "If they want to stay there, give them a formal title. I ordered both Qinggan and Sichuan to go there, and the Pope took turns to canonize. I recognize the family; there is only one Xuanwei. The division is called the Ming Dynasty Territory, and they are autonomous. Border trade exchanges are exchanged, and peace and stability are the top priority."

After Yan Song finished speaking, he couldn't help but look at the prince from the corner of his eye.

"When your eldest brother comes back, and Zai Chi joins him, I will make it clear to you." Zhu Houcong looked at him, and his tone became much softer, "After so many years, you should have an idea of ​​how much effort I have spent on the future of Ming Dynasty. Cultivate an excellent heir. Even if you go to Vietnam to practice, don’t let some thoughts in your heart swallow you up. Even if the queen has a legitimate son, can I train him to be better than you?"

Although the Ming Dynasty has made plans, it has not yet been officially announced to the outside world. The prince and the ministers who will go to North Vietnam are still making preparations in the capital, waiting for their departure after the Longevity Ceremony.

Now that Anda has been conferred, Tubo has once again retreated to the plateau, but there was indeed a move by Chen Bingqinggan before.

Patting his shoulder, Zhu Houcong said: "Although your father is a special case, he does put a lot of pressure on you. Let's go, the days of reunion are getting fewer and fewer, and we can go play ball with dad again. You also want to Exercise well and don’t let dad’s hard work go to waste in the future because of physical problems.”

Now let's treat it as a special case, at least lay the groundwork first.

"This is true for Siam, but there is no need to treat Lanna, Che, etc. harshly. They have their own national conditions. Whatever they have been in the past, there is no need to ask them anything in the future. Barren mountainous areas, tied up in trade, culture and education are slowly assimilating. The Southeast Asian countries , even more so, cooperation will benefit both sides, it would be good to help them set up more commercial ports."

In the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Zaiyu stood aside and listened to his father's emphasis on Yan Song.

After the ministers all retreated, Zhu Houcong looked at his son: "You should feel more at ease, right? Although there are not many days left to stay with dad, after you leave, you will have to exchange letters frequently. Dad will continue to teach you." .”

"I understand..."

The words were spoken very clearly and clearly.

"In front of the imperial throne, father and son, brothers, uncles and nephews... I know how many bloody stories there are in the history books, and I also know that everyone will inevitably have secret thoughts in their hearts. We must face what should be faced, but Dad teaches you In my knowledge, I always hope that you can distinguish the priorities and see the importance."

Over in Siam, it is now the Ayutthaya dynasty, and the head of the country is named Gaifa.

Zhu Houcong looked at Gao Gong and said, "Does Gaifa dare to come?"

But health and lifespan, for example, are also huge unknowns.

"The Ayutthaya of Siam..."

Yan Song was a little embarrassed: "Your Majesty, if this happens, I'm afraid they will also feel uneasy."

It is also difficult to really defeat them, the geographical advantage is too obvious.

It has not been activated yet because the document of establishment of diplomatic relations has not been signed yet.

"I understand. It's just that the problems you have to face are indeed more than those of previous princes."

The east and north sides of Ming Dynasty have been completely renewed, and there is a new situation in the south. The greatest hidden danger is actually in the west.

The pressure that the longevity emperor put on his sons and courtiers was unimaginable.

Yan Chunsheng has already led his army and will not come this time.

Even if he tries to be a virtual king, due to a sudden and huge change, not only will his son and ministers refuse to agree, but the civil servants will immediately fall into inevitable internal fighting and delay the progress of the Ming Dynasty.

Take your time, take your time...

……

After the emperor had been in power for so many years, his civil, political and military skills had reached this level, and the only thing to guide the officials and people of the Ming Dynasty on what to do was to look at the emperor's daily words and deeds.

The emperor's current hobbies are three things: inventions, miscellaneous books, and asking questions.

Needless to say about the invention, when the steam engine had a new generation of princes, people were shocked by the emperor's emphasis on scientific research, inventions and creations.

There are also clues about miscellaneous books. After all, there was imperial approval of the Three Kingdoms before, and now they are even more keen to let many academicians, including Li Shizhen, a new scholar who has just entered the medical hospital, compile various books.

These novels, astronomy and geography, medical books... all kinds of books were naturally non-mainstream miscellaneous books a few decades ago and were not popular among scholars.

As for questioning cases, it doesn't mean that the emperor likes to try cases personally, but that he starts to like to read various case files.

From major cases in the imperial court to small private cases in local prefectures and counties, everyone seems to like them all.

The person who cooperated with the emperor to satisfy his new hobby was Hai Rui from the Metropolitan Procuratorate.

The sensible ministers understood the meaning: the emperor was reminding them in this way that the constitution, party program, and laws and regulations were the most important things for the emperor in the administration of officials.

You guys can show off your talents, but I'll just keep an eye on you to see if you remember them.

Coupled with a factory guard system that is more low-key but has greater roots and strength, no one dares to underestimate the amount of information the emperor has.

The emperor was preparing to welcome his forty-year-old longevity ceremony, and the kings, crown princes, and important ministers of various vassal states set foot on the land of the Ming Dynasty one after another.

Zhu Zaiqi came back from Korea with Yan Shifan. King Zhu Xianzhen of Liao, Shen Lian, Li and others met with them and set off together.

On the other side of the grassland, the Duoyan Khanate, the Ulyanha Khanate, and the Khalkha Khanate... drove sheep and horses and brought furs to the northern border of the Ming Dynasty. Frequent fleets arrived from Guangzhou Port. The Nanyang countries had seen or heard about the Nanyang Navy's invincibility in the Burma and Cochin wars, and they were extremely anxious about heading north.

It’s time for Daming to fight enough, right?

On the Tubo side, red hats, yellow hats, and secular dignitaries all had to make choices because of Ming's attitude.

There is not much time left. Daming has made it clear that he will not interfere in the internal affairs of the plateau. If he admits it, he can legitimately suppress others.

Within the Ming Dynasty, governors from various provinces came forward to bring congratulatory gifts to the capital.

The emperor has passed the forty-year-old threshold of tomorrow's emperor, and he will really celebrate his birthday later.

The Ming Dynasty has been governed like this by the emperor. When we reach "middle age", those dramas of suspicion of sons and ministers may be staged again. Of course, we must have bottom-line thinking.

The same is true for the nobles and dignitaries: after a great battle, credit is like a torrential rain. This year, I don’t know how many more princes and princes will be rewarded for their merits. After returning to Beijing, the emperor began to pull the reins and only allowed a limited number of westward directions to continue to advance. That meant putting the hilt of the knife in the warehouse and letting the horse go to Nanshan?

Next, it is the turn of those whose achievements are hard to reward and often feel cold on their necks.

This is what Zhu Houcong realized was that it is too difficult to change his mind: there are bloody stories in the history books, and there are still too few people who firmly believe that the times are really different and that this emperor is different.

There is no way, too many people do not have the capital to believe firmly.

If anything goes wrong, there will be a lot of consequences. Who dares to make a big gamble?
Zhu Zai'an returned to the capital from Kunming earlier, accompanied by Mu Shaoxun's son Mu Chaofu, the eldest son of the Duke of Guizhou.

On the Myanmar side, Mu Shaoxun and Yang Bode continued to control the situation.

On the other side of Jiaozhi, the sons of Lingbihou and Pinghuhou also came over. They themselves were still stationed in North Vietnam and Vietnam, waiting for the Ming Dynasty to deal with it.

In the Qianqing Palace, before the Longevity Ceremony began, there was a banquet given by the clan and relatives.

Over the years, Zhu Houcong has been surrounded by children and grandchildren.

The emperor's eldest grandson was still in Kunming, but after the prince's wedding, the emperor's grandson was already born. He was born at the end of the twelfth lunar month after the emperor's triumphant expedition to the north, and was named Zhu Yitong.

It is both a weapon and a party. Zhu Zaiyi was about to go to Northern Vietnam, and another reassurance Zhu Houcong gave him was to keep his grandson in the capital for good education.

It just makes people think that if something happens to the prince, will the old story between his uncle and nephew happen again?

Don't make guesses purely based on historical events. Don't be too gloomy. The emperor said frankly to the prince, which made the prince feel embarrassed: Dad, am I already a person who would think so extreme for the sake of the throne?
Now in front of his clan relatives, Zhu Houcong was in a good mood.

"We are all members of the same family, heroes, and relatives of the country. We can say some things openly." Zhu Houcong held the battle brightly, "I have conquered the vassal state, not only for the future of the Ming Dynasty, but also to accommodate you. I am not a heartless and ungrateful person. I will let the vassals They all moved to the capital mainly for the purpose of grain storage. Although the Ming Dynasty is vast, it has few fertile fields. If we cannot concentrate our efforts, how can we accumulate strength and eradicate foreign troubles? Now, you can go to all the lands of foreign vassals. "

After saying that, he looked at Zhu Zaiqi and said, "Over in Japan, there are still a lot of shortages of people to appoint some princes to take care of some industries, right?"

"Exactly! Father, I am worried about this matter."

Zhu Houcong nodded: "From generation to generation, the clan has expanded. In the Han Dynasty, favors were extended, and in successive dynasties, vassal vassals were cut down, all because the clan became more numerous and financially difficult to support. Now I have allowed the clan a way out, and can also reuse the relatives of the country. The hereditary inheritance has been lost. Don't be downgraded, you can show your ambition. Now that the Ming Dynasty is building barriers again, China also has new relations with other countries, the clan members should set an example and show their strength. Everyone knows that my wish is for the world to be harmonious and one family, what do you think? how?"

“Your Majesty’s Holy Spirit, it’s time for you to spread your wings!”

"That's the truth. Today is a poor and remote place, but we should work hard, and it will be prosperous and prosperous in the future." Zhu Houcong looked at them one by one, "Now the power of the Ming Dynasty is unparalleled, and the people of the Ming Dynasty are still as high as the local dignitaries and common people in the vassal state. Take a look, not to mention the relatives of the Ming Dynasty clan? If you don’t say anything else, wherever you go, it’s not like you are always in fear when you stay in the Ming Dynasty, isn’t it?”

"...Your Majesty is serious."

"I always say what I say directly." Zhu Houcong shook his head, "A man is born between heaven and earth, and it is inevitable that he will not be practical if he just sits and enjoys the benefits. In the Ming Dynasty, if you do things, you are afraid of causing disaster, and if you don't do things, you will live a life of ignorance. When you reach the vassal state, you will have branches. Scattered leaves, a hundred wastes waiting to be revived, will not touch the foundation of the Ming Dynasty. Neither I nor the leader of the vassal country can be more tolerant. However, we must pay attention to the general direction. I hope that the Ming Dynasty can win the hearts of the vassal people. This is too much exploitation. With the support of the Ming Dynasty, it is not difficult to govern the vassal state into a prosperous age that their ancestors have never had before, isn't it?"

After the massive conquests, the next stage is the reconstruction and revival of the countries.

The fastest way is, of course, to inject external resources.

The best way to get the best of both worlds is to naturally allow the "private forces" with the resources of the Ming Dynasty to go to the vassal states more often, without putting too much pressure on the Ming treasury itself; by the way, the expansion of clans and kinships will also reduce the impact on the Ming Dynasty's finances. Big burden.

This is why it was planned before the war that there would be no known number of kings and dukes in this battle.

Anyway, most of them were sealed in vassal states.

The gold content seems to be half a level lower than that of Ming Dynasty itself, but what about power? After all, he was controlling the wind and rain within the vassal state.

After Zhu Houcong heard everyone's statements, he looked at Cui Yuan happily: "Maoren, there is a beginning and an end. Let's mint and print new money, silver coins, silver notes, and treasure notes. Let's discuss everything."

Cui Yuan, who is already seventy years old, can be said to be standing still and always being favored by the saints.

This sentence of beginning and end is also said to others.

Cui Yuan felt a little emotional. After all, he did not kill the donkey. The emperor was tolerant, but everyone was squeezed out.

We are already seventy, and we still have to do one last thing, which is to establish a monetary system between the Ming Dynasty and the countries that have diplomatic relations.

This large-scale visit of clan members and relatives to the vassal state to "join the vassal" was naturally accompanied by an extremely large amount of currency exchange.

Their assets in Ming Dynasty must be converted into silver notes and treasure notes. After arriving in the feudal state, they can exchange them for resources through business transactions and invest them in the assets there.

As a result, Ming Dynasty will benefit a lot.

Of course, they will not be treated badly. This part of the profit itself will be considered a big part on their heads, allowing them to exchange their assets in the Ming Dynasty for more money.

In and out, it’s a math problem. As long as it is circulating, Daming and them are not losing money after all.

In the Forbidden City, the emperor, his clan, and his ministers were discussing this matter.

Japan, North Korea, Ryukyu and other places have also recruited large-scale manpower in the capital.

Scholars are most popular, but those with special skills are also welcome.

Because of victory and conquest, a large-scale migration and assimilation began.

Zhang Juzheng is temporarily in charge of the Literary and Communications Department, personally handling the new business called "visas".

He carefully understood this kind of thing that had never been seen in history books, and a concept came to his mind: I'm afraid this is the beginning of true world unity, right?

Countries have not abolished their local languages, but what is written and practiced in the world will be Chinese, and many rules are derived from the Ming system.

In addition, the migration of hundreds of thousands of people every year brings with them the lifestyle and culture of the Ming Dynasty, and they marry and have children with the locals...

While His Majesty is still here, Ming Dynasty can control everything.

But it’s not enough, the prince and his generation, and even the next generation, are still needed to keep everything under control!
A hundred years from now, if there is another dispute, so what?

They are all from the same culture and species!
The hardest part is always getting started.

Since Qin unified the world and sent officials from counties and counties directly to the local areas, this was another truly purposeful and planned expansion.

Do the feudal lords who arrive in Beijing one after another realize this?

Tang Shu, who was in charge of the Ministry of Industry, got the writing from Cui Yuan. He was stunned and asked: "So many preparations?"

Li Mo went over to take a look, and then laughed: "Isn't that right? The family wealth of more than ten vassal kings and hundreds of lords and relatives for so many years will be bought this and that when they arrive in the vassal country. Put the news down quickly, they will make it happen If you sell it, I can collect a lot more taxes this year!"

The vast resources that the vassal state was about to need, the small-scale handicraft industry and the light and heavy industries that had begun to take shape all had a larger market.

Yan Song already knew what was going on. Now in the State Palace, he twisted his beard and smiled.

"Yong Xiu has been worrying about it for a long time and making careful calculations every day. He plants trees and I enjoy the shade!"

There was an air of joy in the State Palace, and so it was.

Autumn is coming, and it’s time for Ming Dynasty to reap the rewards of so many years of hard work.

(End of this chapter)