My father Zhu Gaoxu

Chapter 197 The Proposal to Move the Capital

As Zhu Di's favorite minister, Lu Zhen knew that if he wanted to secure his seat, he had to follow His Majesty's will, so he naturally also firmly supported the move of the capital.

Of course Xia Yuanji knew what Lu Zhen was thinking, and was about to refute, but was interrupted by Zhu Di sternly: "Okay, I asked you to come here to discuss matters, not to quarrel!"

"The minister is disrespectful!"

Seeing Zhu Di's anger, Xia Yuanji and Lu Zhen hurriedly admitted their mistake in fright.

At this time, the field has become three to two, and now only Jin Zhong, the last vote, remains.

Although the cabinet did not have the post of chief assistant, Jin Zhong's qualifications and prestige were above all others, so he was implicitly the head of the cabinet, and he had the greatest influence on Zhu Di. It can be said that Jin Zhong's vote was very important.

So everyone present also looked at Jin Zhong, hoping that he could vote for the decision to move the capital.

Jin Zhong finally took a step forward, and solemnly said to Zhu Di: "Your Majesty, I would like to ask, why do you have to move the capital?"

Facing Jin Zhong's question, Zhu Di didn't make any detours, and replied directly: "I have already considered the pros and cons of moving the capital, and the Emperor Taizu had already seen that Jinling was not suitable to be the capital of the Ming Dynasty. It's a pity. The Emperor Taizu passed away without realizing his wish to move the capital, and as a son of man, I naturally have to inherit my father's wishes!"

What Zhu Di said is true. When Zhu Yuanzhang was in power, he wanted to move the capital many times, and even sent his prince Zhu Biao to inspect Xi'an to see if it was suitable for the capital?

Unexpectedly, Zhu Biao went to Xi'an for a tour, and died of illness when he came back, which completely disrupted Zhu Yuanzhang's plan, causing him to be busy with the heir to the throne in his later years, and he had no time to think about moving the capital.

Hearing Zhu Di's answer, Jin Zhong thought about it again for a moment, and then said seriously: "I believe in the vision of Emperor Taizu and His Majesty, so I also support the move of the capital!"

As soon as Jin Zhong's words came out, Xia Yuanji and Jian Yi also showed signs of depression.

In contrast, Zhu Di nodded in satisfaction. Jin Zhong, an old subordinate and old friend, never let him down.

"Very well, the matter of moving the capital is settled. As for the objections of the ministers in the court, I will deal with it myself. If someone is ignorant of flattery, don't blame me for being rude!"

Zhu Di emphasized again that when it came to the end, there was a bit of cold murderous look on his face. As an emperor who was killed on the battlefield, the word "benevolence" has never had anything to do with him.

Facing the tough Zhu Di, Xia Yuanji and Jian Yi didn't dare to object anymore, so they could only bow their heads and agree, which also meant that the cabinet had reached an agreement on moving the capital.

With the result of the discussion, Jin Zhong and others also left, but Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanhe did not leave.

"What do you two think about moving the capital?"

Zhu Di then asked Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Zhanhe.

"Grandpa Huang is wise, moving the capital to Beijing is definitely a wonderful move. Not only will it be convenient to command the war in the north, but it will also keep my Ming emperors vigilant and dare not slack off!"

Zhu Zhanhe immediately expressed his opinion.

He was very much in favor of moving the capital, and even if Zhu Di didn't move the capital again, I'm afraid he would take the initiative to suggest it.

"Well... Father, the weather in Beijing is not good, and the palace has not been fully built, so moving the capital now is not a bit hasty?"

Although Zhu Gaochi did not object explicitly, he still implicitly expressed his opinion.

"Hmph, as an emperor, he puts state affairs first, how can he be blindly seeking pleasure?"

Zhu Di glared at Zhu Gaochi and said angrily.

This is also what Zhu Di is most dissatisfied with Zhu Gaochi, because in many cases, the father and son have completely different political views. In contrast, Zhu Zhanhe's political views are closer to him.

"Yes, I know my mistake!"

Zhu Gaochi didn't dare to talk back to Zhu Di, and immediately admitted his mistake.

But this is just a verbal admission. As for what he thinks in his heart, I am afraid that only he knows.

"Grandfather, there is something I don't understand, and I want to ask you for advice!"

Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Zhu Zhanhe hurriedly changed the subject.

"what's up?"

Zhu Di had a pleasant expression towards Zhu Zhanhe.

"Just now when Xia Shangshu and Lu Shangshu talked about transporting grain from the south, they both mentioned water transportation, but why didn't they use sea transportation?"

Zhu Zhanhe asked puzzledly, compared with water transportation, sea transportation has a larger transportation volume and lower cost.

Moreover, there were many problems in water transportation in history, which became a major problem in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and even forced the Qing Dynasty to finally restart sea transportation. Coupled with the rise of railways, water transportation was completely swept into the garbage dump of history.

Hearing Zhu Zhanhe mentioned sea transportation, Zhu Di couldn't help laughing and said: "I think you think too much about going to the west, and you want to ship everything by sea. In fact, you used to transport grain from the south to the north by sea. This is how the title of Marquis of Navigation came about, but last year, I personally decreed to stop shipping."

Last year, Song Li, Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, dredged the canal and wrote a letter asking to stop the sea transportation. After considering many aspects, Zhu Di finally agreed. This matter did not attract too many people's attention, and Zhu Zhanhe had never heard of it.

"Why?"

Zhu Zhanhe was very puzzled.

"There are two reasons. The first is that the canal has been dredged. The second is that shipping is too risky. Sometimes a storm may cause several ships to capsize. In contrast, the risk on the canal is much smaller. "

Zhu Di explained very patiently.

"However, the cost of sea transportation is low, and the transportation volume is also greater. As for the risks at sea, as long as we understand the sea conditions and improve shipbuilding technology, they can also be avoided!"

Zhu Zhanhe still insisted on his own opinion. After all, in the eyes of his descendants, sea transportation is the future development trend. As for river transportation, there are too many restrictions.

"Who told you that the cost of shipping by sea is low?"

Zhu Di asked back.

"Isn't it? A ship can transport thousands of shi of grain by sea, but I'm afraid it can only transport a few hundred shi by river."

Zhu Zhanhe argued unconvinced.

"Of course not. The boats transported by the river are indeed relatively small, but they also require less manpower. For example, a boat transporting two hundred stones only needs ten people. If a sea boat is used, a boat may transport two thousand stones, but it needs hundreds of people. So Is it more cost-effective than river transportation!"

Zhu Di explained patiently.

"That's right, and I heard that the cost of a sea-going ship is very high. A sea-going ship of [-] shi is more expensive than ten riverboats of [-] shi. In addition to the risks at sea, the ship will be damaged faster, so Father will stop the shipping."

Zhu Gaochi also interrupted with a smile at this time.

"That's not right! That's not how the calculation is done. Even if the ship is more expensive and requires more people to operate it, it's still more cost-effective to ship it by sea!"

After hearing this, Zhu Zhanhe shook his head firmly again and said, he finally knew where the problem was.

(End of this chapter)