Chapter 575 The Importance of the Capital


After talking about the simplest and clearest place of Hu Zongxian, the next step is the real highlight.

Zhu Zaiyan's eyes swept over Xu Jie, Li Chunfang, Yuan Wei, Yan Ne and others again. These four cabinet members sometimes looked very easy to talk to.

But as long as the matter of principle is involved, they will still argue with Zhu Zai-chan based on their respective interests or other considerations. Otherwise, how could they become the cabinet masters that all officials expect?

You should know that if an official can only cater to others without character and persistence, he will be ridiculed by the people of the world.

So, sometimes they would rather offend the emperor than make their reputation as cherished as life worthless.

After all, for these officials, their greatest reliance is not the power and official positions given by the emperor, but the hope of the scholars all over the world.

With these expectations, they can become "respected", become "shilin leaders", and accomplish things.

Otherwise, let alone being an official, it is different whether you can sit down firmly or whether you can safely land.

Zhu Zaiyan of course also knew that Nanjing’s problems were not temporary, nor was it just to find someone to build a new system and institution to rest assured.

You should know that Jiangnan has been prosperous since ancient times. Not only are there good economic levels, but there are also scholars and romantic scholars.

If people like this look at the surface, they seem to be their romantic and spiritual outlook, which is the essence of an era.

But if you want to do something in such a place that may affect their freedom and interests, they will become a mountain that is difficult to move.

For example, in the original history, the court also wanted to measure the fields in the Jiangnan region and implement the one-whip method to restore the problems of financial and local governance of the Ming Dynasty.

But what is the result?

Even if there were tough reformists like Zhang Juzheng in the court and strong executors like Hai Rui in Nanjing, they were ultimately forced to be under the pressure of reality and slander and opposition from Youyou's mouth.

Zhang Juzheng could not ignore these oppositions and forcibly implement the whip method in the Jiangnan region. Even if Hai Rui burned all the fire on Xu Jie's head, he might not be able to directly shock everyone and implement the national policy formulated by the court in the Jiangnan region.

So the final result is that Hai Rui was hidden, Zhang Juzheng bowed to reality, and the Jiangnan area was still like the same as "singing and dancing".

The Ming Dynasty was overwhelmed and died in a state of destruction. The Qing Dynasty raised its steel knife and let them experience for themselves whether it was a hard knife or a hard neck. Only then did they honestly pay taxes and money according to other people's rules.

Obviously, Zhu Zaiji didn't want to see such a thing, but he was unwilling to let it go, allowing the south to be like an independent kingdom, and they were still able to live their own lives on their own.

If this is the case, what is the significance of Jiangnan to the court? What is the significance of Jiangnan to the world?

They cannot occupy the benefits of the court and protect them from the northern region, and think that everything is worthy.

Therefore, Zhu Zaiji must change some of the atmosphere in Jiangnan, so that the great families and the scholars who claim to be romantic will truly fulfill what Gu Yanwu said decades later, "Every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the world"!

Otherwise, you will only be able to say beautiful words and only pick problems, but you cannot make real contributions and solve problems.

So such Jiangnan is not as important as a guard stationed in the grassland in the northern border town.

At least these guards stationed in the frontier can also play a role in resisting foreign enemies and warning the mainland at critical moments.

Zhu Zaiji picked up the tea that Meng Chong had just brought over, opened the lid and blew it slightly, then pecked it gently, moistened his lips, and finally put down the teacup on the table in front of him.

Zhu Zaiji looked at Xu Jie and the other four and said, "What do you think of Nanjing and the Six Ministry of Nanjing?"

Xu Jie and others heard that Zhu Zaiji suddenly changed the topic to Nanjing and the Six Ministry of Nanjing, and they couldn't help but show a confused expression, but soon they put away this confused expression.

Xu Jie, Li Chunfang, Yuan Wei, and Yan Ne are like old monks sitting down at this moment. No one is the first to look up and answer the question, but are all using their light to pay attention to the front and back of themselves and see who will be the first to speak.

It seems that if anyone starts first, they will know what to say later.

It seems extremely cautious and thief!

Of course, Zhu Zaiji, who was sitting on a high place, could also see their attitudes and appearances.

But Zhu Zai Di did not feel angry about this. After all, how could officials be careless?

What's more, he is a high-ranking official who is a cabinet master.

Their cautious attitude is even more amazing.

So, Zhu Zaiji also named him first.

Zhu Zaiyu looked at Xu Jie and said, "Mr. Xu, you are from Songjiang Prefecture. You have grown up in the Jiangnan region since childhood. I believe you have a certain understanding and understanding of Jiangnan. Nanjing is also one of the two capitals of the Ming Dynasty and is in the Jiangnan region. I believe that Mr. Gao should have his own opinions on Nanjing and the six ministries of Nanjing."

"Today, I want to chat about Nanjing. Master Gao just talks freely. Even if something is wrong, I will not blame him."

Zhu Zaiyu set the tone first, as if he mentioned Nanjing as a whim.

But who can sit in this hall is not a human spirit?

How could they think that Zhu Zaiji was just on a whim and wanted to chat about Nanjing?

So, at this moment, whether it was Xu Jie who was named or Li Chunfang, Yuan Wei, Yan Ne and others who were not named, their brains couldn't help but start to run wildly, recalling whether there were important things about Nanjing that they ignored during this period.

After calling Xu Jie, Zhu Zaiji waited quietly, without rushing to urge Xu Jie again.

Xu Jie was trying hard to recall and think, while slowly reminiscing about Zhu Zai Di's words.

Xu Jie said: "The prince is wise and wise. I was born in Songjiang since I was a child and have a certain understanding of the Jiangnan region. Jiangnan has been prosperous since ancient times and has been prosperous for thousands of years. As one of the two capitals of the Ming Dynasty, Nanjing has also had many dynasties since the Jin Dynasty. It has also created Nanjing's unique political status."

"Also, Emperor Taizu founded Nanjing, the capital of the Ming Dynasty, making Nanjing the world at that time. Eighteen years later, Emperor Chengzu moved the capital to the capital. Nanjing, as the capital of Liu, was no longer an important position as Taizu."

"But in the past 150 or 60 years, Nanjing was still an important place for the imperial court to manage the six southern provinces. For example, when the former Hu Zongxian wiped out Japanese pirates in the southeast, Nanjing was the command center of the imperial court in the southeast region, and the Ministry of War was still a member of the Nanjing Ministry of War. Books also played an important role in helping Hu Zongxian eliminate the Japanese pirates. "

"So, the prince asked his ministers what his views were on Nanjing and the six ministries of Nanjing. I believe that whether it was Emperor Taizu Gao, who established his capital in Nanjing, or Emperor Chengzuwen, who later moved the capital to the capital, their disposal of Nanjing was very appropriate."

Zhu Zai looked at Xu Jie, and he just smiled slightly, and did not express his agreement or disagree with Xu Jie's meaning.

Because Xu Jie's words were so smooth that it could almost be said to avoid the important things.

Zhu Zaiji asked him about his views on the six ministries in Nanjing and Nanjing, but he put forward the original decisions of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Laosi, and emphasized the role of the Nanjing Ministry of War in the fight against Japanese despots during the southeast.

To be honest, it is difficult for Zhu Zai to be satisfied with this answer.

The Nanjing Ministry of War made efforts when Hu Zongxian fought against the Japanese, but it was definitely not as big as Xu Jie said.

At that time, the Nanjing Ministry of War only set up a nominal command center in the south. Those who were actually responsible for the war in the southeast to suppress the Japanese were Hu Zongxian, as well as generals such as Qi Jiguang and Yu Dayou.

The most important thing that Nanjing Ministry of War did was to summarize the war reports in the southeast and hand them over to the court. Then, as the center, convey the court's attitude and demands towards the southeast suppression of Japanese troops. Therefore, to say how much role the Nanjing Ministry of War played during Hu Zongxian's anti-Japanese war and suppression of the Japanese was an insult to Hu Zongxian, Qi Jiguang, Yu Dayou and others.

After Xu Jie finished speaking, Zhu Zai Di did not express his attitude immediately, but just smiled slightly.

This expression naturally fell into the eyes of Li Chunfang, Yuan Wei and Yan Ne.

Although the three of them couldn't guess what the answer Zhu Zai Di really wanted, what they could be sure of was Xu Jie's answer, which did not satisfy Zhu Zai Di.

And judging from Zhu Zai's reaction, he seemed to be even more puzzling than the Emperor Jiajing who had once hidden in the Xiyuan Monastery to cultivate immortals and see no one.

But is Zhu Zai Di difficult to figure out?

Zhu Zaiji is actually not difficult to figure out at all!

As a young man, he naturally has ambitions that are different from those of the elderly.

Their psychology, as long as they are willing to contact more, they will naturally understand that what these young people want to do is nothing more than a new thing that is different from the past.

For example, the young and energetic Han Chess Saint wanted to reduce the vassal states, the young and energetic Han Wu wanted to centralize power, the young and energetic Emperor Yang of Sui wanted to conquer Goguryeo, and the young and energetic Jianwen little cutie wanted to kill his uncle.

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These examples all prove that young people just like to mess around!

Trouble becomes their role models for wise rulers, and if they are bad, they are foolish rulers.

But as old ministers who are much more stable than the emperor, they are unwilling to make trouble. Even if they know that some problems are a dead end, as long as they are not played to death in their own hands.

They will still not change the status quo, and they will even rack their brains to patch it in order to find that this dead end that would not have been dead and can go a little slower.

Therefore, the reason why many dynasties collapse cannot be thrown out by simply saying "land annexation".

Their collapse is mostly due to self-confidence and conservatism, which leads to problems that can be solved, and eventually becomes a taboo that cannot be touched.

So, in a sense, the collapse of the dynasty is almost self-inflicted, and it has little to do with the so-called objective problems.

But some things cannot be cured even if you know the root cause of the disease.

The biggest problem and reason is that these diseases are fundamentally the key to solving the root cause.

This is like the immune cells in the human body. When they discover some small viruses and small problems, they can quickly react and kill them to solve the problem.

But if these immune cells kill crazy when solving this small problem and regardless of the host's own ability to bear it, they will become the problem itself. In the end, not only will the problem not be solved, but even the host's life must be taken into account.

So, hoping that officials themselves can reform and change the current problems is almost the same as using uncontrolled immune cells to kill problems.

They will kill and solve some problems, but while they rattle, they may become wild horses that have run away from their reins. Everyone thinks it is abnormal, and everyone wants to give it two blows.

The cells and bacteria that are about to be killed will naturally not sit still and wait for death.

Therefore, when both of them are fighting together, let alone solving problems, curing diseases and saving lives, it is thankful that the host will not be tortured to death.

Li Chunfang hesitated for a moment, and also stood up and bowed slightly. He said to Zhu Zaiji: "I think Nanjing has an irreplaceable importance to the capital. Since ancient times, any saint dynasty has unified it, and it must take Nanjing to determine the south."

" Therefore, for a long time, Nanjing has an irrestrained importance to the court, the world, and the south. Especially today's Jiangnan area is an important place for the court to pay taxes."

"Forty years ago, nearly 80% of the grain in the capital had to be transported through the canal, which can ensure that the grain in the south of the capital could be safely resisted the capital on time and not be abandoned in the wild. This is all due to Nanjing's important role in Jiangnan area."

Zhu Zaiji finally nodded slightly when he heard this. Li Chunfang said these words well.

Forty years ago, nearly 80% of the grain in the capital had to pass through the canal to be guaranteed, otherwise the capital would inevitably worry about food shortage.

Although Zhu Zaiji took a series of measures around the capital over the years, the grain and other side food around the capital have been sufficiently replenished, and he no longer relies on food from the south as before.

But half of the food still needs to be replenished by the canal, otherwise the capital's huge population would not be able to eat enough.

Imagine that as the leader of the world, even the capital cannot guarantee food. What's so?

And in the long-term historical development, the Han and Tang dynasties had long exposed this problem.

After a hundred or two hundred years of expansion in the Han Dynasty, the population of Chang'an was not enough to eat. So when Liu Xiu re-created the Han Dynasty, the capital of the country changed from Chang'an to Luoyang to obtain more support for food and resources.

Later, in the Tang Dynasty, they also set the capital in Chang'an, but in the past few decades, Chang'an's carrying capacity reached its limit, so that later Li Zhi and Wu Zetian often went to Luoyang to eat.

Although the Tang Dynasty later left the capital in Chang'an, the fundamental problem of Chang'an's shortage of food always existed, the emperors of Chang'an were unable to rely on Chang'an to help them support a powerful army that could protect the capital and sweep the world after experiencing the Anshi Rebellion.

So in the nearly two hundred years from the Middle Tang to the Late Tang, the problems faced by Chang'an were not just political chaos, but more because Chang'an's lack of resources, which was not enough to support Chang'an's emperors and officials to have the strength to admire the world!

So after the Tang Dynasty, Chang'an completely lost its status as the capital. Later dynasties would not establish their capital as Chang'an as long as they had no problem with their brains.

Because they are all afraid that once the country faces great troubles and is about to get out of control, the barren Chang'an will not only not be able to react quickly, but also do not have enough food and resources to survive the crisis, so the country is likely to collapse directly.

So after the Tang Dynasty, except for the Liao, Jin and Yuan dynasties established by foreign races that established capitals in the north that were close to their basic foundation, the Han regime would choose to be in the Central Plains areas with relatively abundant food and resources, such as Kaifeng and Bianjing.

You should know that this place was one of the places where Lao Zhu was moved to move the capital back then.

And during the Republic of China, there was a period of time when the central government had to be relocated to Kaifeng.

This shows the importance of resources to the capital!

Although the Ming Dynasty did not choose Kaifeng when it finally moved its capital, but chose the capital with more resources and a more northerly location, this does not mean that the Ming Dynasty's capital strategy is a problem.

You should know that the capital of the Ming Dynasty directly borders the northern grasslands. Although the resources here are not abundant, the capital can quickly mobilize the troops and the prevention and control of the entire northern region, and can arrange and deal with emergency issues nearby.

So, the capital of the Ming Dynasty would choose to be in the north with more scarce resources, which was actually due to the consideration of the overall strategic policy of national security.

It was not because Zhu Laosi thought this was his base camp that he tried his best to move the capital here.

This is all a choice with big strategic features! (This chapter ends)

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