I really don't want to be emperor at the end of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 476 Typical double standards

Chapter 505

With the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, the influence of Confucian culture and the radiation ability of the Ming suzerainty gradually strengthened, and more and more foreign vassals were included in the vassal tribute system of the Ming Dynasty.

In addition to the ten countries that Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty, decided not to conquer, after Zhu Di, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, made seven voyages to the west, more Southeast Asian countries followed the fleet and came to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty.

This part grew or shrank flexibly with the rise and fall of the Ming Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Yongle, the national power of the Ming Dynasty reached its peak, and the number of vassal states reached more than one hundred.

Of course, the tributary system of the Ming dynasty and vassal states gradually increased or disappeared with the passage of history. After all, vassal states will change as their own circumstances change, and they may not all retire at the same time as the Ming Dynasty.

Many people don’t understand the tributary system established by the Ming Dynasty. They think that the court only gets some nice words, which are flashy, while the vassal country gets a lot of benefits. However, many people actually ignore the most important point, which is trade, that is, international trade. trading.

This trade reflects not only the economic exchanges between the two countries, but also the political changes and social dynamics between the two countries. In this kind of trade, both parties have their own needs and interests, and are also affected by their respective systems and environments.

Nowadays, most of these vassal states of the Ming Dynasty have become colonies of the Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese and Great Britain.

Cheng Shijie proposed the current policy of the Ming vassal state. He actually wanted to learn from later generations and create a federal system for the Ming Empire. The current strength and national power of the Ming Dynasty can support external expansion. But the problem is that Confucianism has a profound influence. A large country, a state of etiquette, It is necessary to pay attention to the teacher's reputation.

Sun Zhiman looked at the position of the deputy prime minister who was absent from the meeting. Yang Yuniang did not attend this meeting. It is said that she rarely showed up and even moved many affairs of the Ming Empire Bank directly into the palace. It is not known whether she will be the deputy prime minister in the future. I won't do it, but this vacant position is not something that Sun Zhilan can decide.

Sun Zhilan thought for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, this problem is easy to solve!"

"How to solve?"

Although many people think that John Bull is dead, in fact his influence is still strong. This federation has 30% of the world's population, and its comprehensive national power and strength are second in the world.

If Sun Zhili can come up with better suggestions, Cheng Shijie would also be happy to see them come to fruition.

Sun Zhiman said: "Your Majesty, please ascend to the throne. You will be crowned emperor. Other vassal states can call them vassal kings. Now you are only the regent and supervisor of the country. Do the kings of the Ming vassal states in the traditional sense want to relinquish their titles?" Is it for the sake of public service?"

Zhou Yandong made a rare speech: "I support Prime Minister Sun's suggestion. Your Majesty, please ascend the throne!"

"My minister agrees!"

"I second the proposal..."

Cheng Shijie looked at the situation in front of him with a headache: "Why are you mentioning this matter again?"

Sun Zhiyuan was naturally familiar with Cheng Shijie, and of course he did not dare to guess what Cheng Shijie meant now. At first, he thought that Cheng Shijie was planning to lead the Han Dynasty first and gradually take over the world. After wiping out Huang Taiji under the walls of Beijing, he would have Cheng Shijie should take advantage of the power of defeating the slaves and successfully ascend the throne and proclaim himself emperor.

But the problem is that Cheng Shijie did not do what he imagined. Instead, he organized land reform, and then moved a large number of people to develop Luzon, Zhanzhou and Xinming. He then sent troops everywhere to capture Telin and Lake Baikal, and then went back to take over Jiangnan and Nanming. Small court.

Sun Zhiwan thought Cheng Shijie wanted to wait for the unification of the world, but the problem is that the grass on Li Zicheng's grave is now more than three feet high, but Cheng Shijie has no intention of becoming emperor. No matter how hard he pushes, Cheng Shijie can't move like a mountain. .

Sun Zhiman said: "The sky cannot be without the sun, and the country cannot be without a king. Your Majesty..."

In fact, Sun Zhiwan didn't know what Cheng Shijie insisted on. Obviously only the emperor's daughter could be named a princess. Now Cheng Shijie's eldest daughter Cheng Jiayue was named Princess Chang'an, second daughter Cheng Jiayi was named Princess Yong'an, second son Cheng Jiale was named Prince Qi, and third son Cheng Cheng Jiayao of his family was King Zheng, and his fourth son Cheng Jiaheng was King Su.

Starting from the tenth year of Chongzhen, the Chongzhen reign name that had been used for ten years was abolished and changed to Yuan Dingxin. It can be said that Cheng Shijie has done a lot of things that an emperor can do, but he just did not ascend the throne.

If it is said that before Xiang Hui came to the Ming Dynasty, Cheng Shijie really did not want to be the emperor, not only because he was unable to let go of future generations, but more importantly, the emperor was a prison. But now Cheng Shijie's mood is completely different. First, Xiang Hui came, and Cheng Jialong also worked hard to become the emperor.

Cheng Shijie said: "Then prepare for the enthronement ceremony!"

When Sun Zhidao heard Cheng Shijie's words, he almost wanted to cry. He had been waiting for this sentence for more than four years.

"My lord, Sun Zhiman pays homage to your majesty. May your majesty be safe!"

"I pay my respects to Your Majesty!"

Cheng Shijie originally wanted to hold a political meeting on how to expand the Ming Dynasty's federal system, but it turned out to be a preparatory meeting for the enthronement. The country was still called Ming, the reign was also Dingxin, and the capital issue was the most controversial.

There is no dispute that the capital of the Ming Dynasty is in Beijing. However, the problem is that in order to protect the safety of the capital, the Ming Dynasty stationed more than 800,000 troops on the more than 3,000-mile border from Shanhaiguan to Xuanfu. This line of defense has also become a sieve.

Of course, the Ming Dynasty will not face such a problem now, but the biggest problem is that the originally dense population has been relocated almost completely. Now the entire Beili Jiuliang Prefecture has 104 counties, a total of 402 More than seventeen thousand people.

The population was declining, and it was difficult to support the operation of the capital of the Ming Dynasty economically. Secondly, the weather was cold and droughts continued for years. Beizhili had been war-torn for a long time and was already dilapidated. The population shortage was extremely serious.

No matter from a military or economic perspective, Beijing is no longer suitable as the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

Cheng Shijie looked at the crowd and asked: "Which one of the four ancient capitals, Beijing, Nanjing, Chang'an and Luoyang, should be chosen as the capital?"

Sun Zhibao said: "First of all, Chang'an should be excluded. Guanzhong has the foundation of the emperor, but there is no emperor's legacy. Now the eight hundred miles of Qinchuan in Guanzhong are almost completely deserted, and there is a large outflow of Guanzhong's population. According to last year's population statistics, the entire Chang'an There are fifteen counties and two prefectures in the prefecture, with a total population of 763,943, and the fertile land of Qinchuan in the past was very barren..."

"Nanjing should also be excluded!"

Chen Guodong expressed his opinion: "The population in Jiangnan is also outflowing now, even more than in Guanzhong..."

The population of Nanjing and surrounding areas was mainly composed of the Jiangnan gentry group. These people were either sent to Zhanzhou or Xinming. The original population was less than one in ten.

Cheng Shijie said: "So, is Luoyang the most suitable as the capital of the Ming Dynasty?"

"Your Majesty, in fact, Beijing is the most suitable capital city!" Sun Zhihuan smiled bitterly: "First of all, it is the strategic position. The most industrially developed area in Ming Dynasty is in Liaodong. Secondly, Beijing is not far from the Bohai Sea. For a strong country, the capital must be close to the sea, otherwise there will be a lot of inconveniences! The third point is that it costs less. Whether it is Nanjing, Chang'an, or Luoyang, they have all been greatly damaged. Relatively speaking, the city of Beijing is relatively well preserved, making it the capital. Beijing can save a lot of money..."

"All right!"

Cheng Shijie reluctantly said: "Let's make Beijing the capital, Chang'an, Jinzhou, Luoyang, and Nanjing all belong to the accompanying capitals, and decree to confer Xiang Hui as the queen, Yang Yuniang as the noble concubine, Zhu Weiti as the Shu concubine, and Jin Qiaoer as the virtuous concubine..."

Cheng Shijie canonized his eldest son Cheng Jialong as the Prince of the East Palace of the Ming Dynasty, his adopted son Cheng Hu as the British Duke, Cheng Shi as the German Duke, his adopted daughter Cheng Anning as the Princess of Qinghe, and Cheng Anjing as the Princess of Shunde.

The original titles of the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty remained unchanged...

Francesco Elizzo started from Shanghai and did not take a boat. Instead, he went north along the way. This was authorized by Cheng Shijie to let him see the customs and customs of the Ming Dynasty and the true strength of the Ming Dynasty.

After more than four years of development in the Dingxin Dynasty, the Huanhai Highway in Ming Dynasty has been fully opened to traffic. This is the first eight-lane cement road in Ming Dynasty. A Shire war horse dragged this carriage and RV with a load of more than four tons. Let Francesco Elizzo enjoy what high technology is.

Unlike the extremely bad roads in Europe, Daming's roads are extremely smooth, and the outer layers of the wheels are rubber, with bridge-type shock absorption, spring shock absorption, and air bag shock absorption.

The shock-absorbing effect of this kind of horse-drawn carriage is not even worse than that of later generations of cars. The key is that this kind of horse-drawn carriage is huge, with a toilet and a simple kitchen on it. You can eat and live in the horse-drawn car.

In order to prepare for Cheng Shijie's coronation ceremony, the originally half-dead city of Beijing was instantly revitalized with new vitality. Countless merchants transported large quantities of goods to Beijing. At the same time, the city of Beijing also began a comprehensive overhaul, just like when Wei Zuoqian in Dengzhou The same applies to households, whether they are common people or officials, a comprehensive inspection of the mansion must be carried out to thoroughly rectify the sanitary problems.

Just like the urine mud in the corner has been scraped away, the whole city has been completely renewed. "As expected of the capital of the Ming Empire, it is really extraordinary."

Francesco Elizzo sat back in the carriage and admired it through the opened curtain.

After meeting Catherine in Dengzhou, Catherine served as Francesco Elizzo’s guide and translator. Catherine said: “I came to Beijing two years ago, and I am always shocked by the rapid development of this city. "

However, in the past, Catherine entered the city as a tourist, but now she entered the city as an envoy from Venice. Her status was different, and her mood was naturally different. Facing the splendid city walls and palaces, she felt uneasy. If Francesco Elizzo hadn't been by her side, it might have taken her longer to muster up enough courage to enter Beijing.

In the past two years, Beijing has changed a lot. Most streets have been widened and turned into cement roads, which are clean and beautiful. The biggest change in Beijing is the construction of the urban water supply system.

Unlike Shanghai, Beijing has a serious water shortage. All the water is transported from the Miyun Reservoir, and the price paid is not small.

Just when Catherine entered Beijing, Cheng Shijie also walked into the East Palace!

"Your Majesty, do you want to inform His Highness the Crown Prince to come out to greet you?"

"No, dad wants to see his son, does he still need to communicate?"

The martial law in the palace is far from strict. If any other emperor dared to relax like this, he would have died countless times. Cheng Shijie dared to kill a large number of palace guards to save money, and he was still alive and kicking.

Along the way, the few palace guards just saluted Cheng Shijie.

Cheng Shijie was familiar with the road and found the East Palace study. Seeing that the door of the study was closed, he showed a mysterious smile and said to Xiang Hui: "Guess what our son is doing in there now?"

Xiang Hui thought of the charming face next to the Cheng family, and felt more and more uneasy: "Isn't he not here?"

Cheng Shijie sighed: "You really don't know him well... He may not be there when the study door is open. If the door is closed, he will definitely be there!"

Cheng Shijie pushed hard and pushed the door open.

Of course, Cheng Shijie opened the door and did not go in. He was also worried that he would see something he shouldn't see. After all, his son was getting older and it was not a good thing to control him too strictly.

Cheng Shijie was not disappointed. There were more than a dozen people in the entire study, and they were playing role-playing games. Of course, these role-playing games were not acting, but war games.

At this time, Cheng Jialong was wearing a piece of paper armor, shining with silver, and holding a wooden stick in his hand: "Bazooka, fire for three days, I have a lot of shells, even if I can't kill them, I will scare them to death..."

Cheng Jialong is worthy of being Cheng Shijie's son. Both father and son have the same preferences. If you are poor, you will be circuitous, and if you are rich, you will be carpet bombed. Cheng Jialong watched Cheng Shijie and Xiang Hui come in, and stood there blankly, with his neck like a rusty bearing. Turning one by one, it took a lot of effort to turn around and look at Cheng Shijie: "Father, Queen Mother, what's wrong with you?"

Cheng Shijie pointed to the surrounding East Palace officials and said, "All of you, please step back!"

Cheng Jialong is now the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty. Cheng Shijie naturally cannot scold him casually. He should preserve the dignity of the prince and retire with the officials and companions.

"Look, what did I say!"

Cheng Shijie pointed at Cheng Jialong and said: "You are now the prince of the East Palace and have put on the dragon robe. You cannot remain the same as before. You must always maintain the royal majesty!"

Cheng Jialong said disapprovingly: "My majesty is not pretended, but the real strength of the country. Among the millions of soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, even if my son is a fool, no one dares to despise me based on the strength of the Ming Dynasty now. Of course, if Daming doesn’t have the strength, even if I try to pretend, it will still be a joke!”

Cheng Shijie nodded and said, "How does it feel to be a prince?"

Xiang Hui said, "Jialong will be sixteen next year. According to the regulations of the Ming Dynasty, can he get married?"

Cheng Shijie said: "It's not a good thing to get married too early!"

Xiang Hui said: "I'm not very familiar with Daming. Do you know of any suitable partners?"

Women have very double standards. They all hope that their husbands can be devoted and affectionate, while their sons hope that they will have many wives and concubines. Xiang Hui is very disgusted with Cheng Shijie's many women, but hates that Cheng Jialong has too few women.

This is a typical double standard.

(End of this chapter)