Ming Dynasty: What's wrong with being a leisurely crown prince?

Chapter 28: The King of Han is martial; once he ascends the throne, the Ming Dynasty may perish afte

Zhu Gaochi looked at Yang Pu, eager to see his answer.

In fact, he already had an idea about this, and history has already provided the answer.

However, sometimes he needs to know more people's opinions, and he needs to give his subordinates opportunities to demonstrate their abilities.

If you decide everything yourself, what's the point of having people under your command?

It will also make subordinates dissatisfied. After all, they are all talented people. If they are not allowed to use their talents, over time, they will naturally feel that their talents are not being recognized, and they will be labeled as stubborn and self-willed.

Besides, what I think is not necessarily correct all the time.

Zhu Gaochi valued the principle that "listening to both sides leads to clarity of mind."

For him, it means knowing everyone's thoughts; for others, it means expressing their own ideas, and even if they are not adopted, at least they know where they went wrong and can improve in the future.

Throughout the so-called prosperous dynasties, this has always been the case: wise rulers and virtuous ministers.

A one-man show, with its own biased views, isn't necessarily bad, but it also doesn't mean the person in charge will never make mistakes, and conflicts are bound to arise, making it unsustainable.

The larger the entity, the more difficult the situation will become due to its one-man rule, and the fewer people will be able to break the deadlock.

Especially after that first thing, countless people without the ability followed suit.

This is also something Zhu Gaochi values. He can analyze the pros and cons of what others suggest, and choose whether to listen or not, or to listen to part of it, but the premise is that the person has to say it.

Upon hearing this, Yang Pu's expression turned bitter.

"Your Highness, it would be extremely difficult to change this situation."

After Xie Jin helped the emperor handle the memorials from the previous dynasty, he was deeply favored by the emperor and rose through the ranks. Later, he presided over the revision of the "Veritable Records of Emperor Taizu" and then presided over the compilation of the "Complete Collection of Documents", a book on the myriad phenomena of the heavens and earth, which the emperor called the "Great Compendium of Documents".

Although this displeased the emperor, Yao Shaoshi was appointed as the supervisor, and a larger team was assembled to compile the work.

Since the Yongle Emperor, Xie Jin's official career has been too smooth, and His Highness is also aware of Xie Jin's temperament.

"Persuading Jin is extremely difficult; I truly have no other way."

Yang Pu spoke with great helplessness, saying that Zhu Di could not be persuaded to compromise and accommodate Xie Jin; only Xie Jin could make concessions.

However, Xie Jin was currently in a moment of madness, and given his personality, Yang Pu really didn't know how to persuade him to back down.

Although Xie Jin was also a member of the Crown Prince's faction and supported Zhu Gaochi, in reality, these people were different from Xie Jin, and to be precise, their relationship was not very good.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gaochi smiled faintly and continued to ponder.

The "Wenxian Dacheng" was actually the predecessor of the "Yongle Encyclopedia," but to be precise, it was a defective product.

With Yao Guangxiao overseeing the revisions and with increased manpower, the final draft will not be completed until next year, and the entire project will not be fully completed until the year after.

The four characters for "Yongle Encyclopedia" were only finalized the following year, and Zhu Di was satisfied with them before bestowing the name upon it.

In other words, the Yongle Encyclopedia did not exist before the fifth year of the Yongle reign.

Zhu Gaochi wasn't thinking about that; he already knew all of this from his memories. What he was thinking at the moment was that this matter was actually quite amusing.

He himself had thought about it; ever since Zhu Di mentioned Xie Jin to him, he had taken it to heart.

Clearly, this matter had displeased Zhu Di.

But it's not fast at all; it's still a long way from the time when Xie Jin was killed.

But unfortunately, Xie Jin kept courting disaster.

Originally, this man was not valued during the Hongwu era and went into seclusion for eight years. Now he has become a favored minister and a favorite of Zhu Di. However, Xie Jin's mentality has become somewhat problematic.

"There is no need to do anything about this. Since the Yongle Emperor established his dynasty, things have indeed gone smoothly for him. It's good for him to suffer some setbacks sometimes."

As for the construction of Beiping, do you have any ideas?

It wasn't the right time for Zhu Gaochi to get involved in Xie Jin's affairs, and he didn't want to get involved right now.

Some people can't see reality until they've been hit hard.

This person is indeed capable, but often, ability alone is not enough.

Yang Pu listened to Zhu Gaochi's question with a solemn expression.

"Your Highness, the Emperor wants to build Beiping. In fact, I know that this is because the Emperor wants to move the capital."

Yingtian is not suitable to be the capital of the Ming Dynasty, and it is indeed necessary to find another place.

I believe that going to Beiping is a bit too risky.

Beiping is too close to the Tatars and Oirats. If a major event occurs, steppe cavalry can reach the capital in just a few days.

Furthermore, moving the capital to Beiping would inevitably concentrate military forces to deal with border troubles, and the Prince of Han was highly respected in the army and was skilled in battle, which would be advantageous to him.

In addition, moving the capital to Beiping will inevitably weaken the number of officials in the south, and His Highness's supporters may suffer losses.

From this perspective, I do not agree with moving the capital to Beiping.

However, the emperor has always harbored ambitions to conquer the Tatars and Oirats. If the capital is moved, the emperor will inevitably concentrate his efforts on conquering the grasslands, and given his temperament, the possibility of him personally leading the expedition is extremely high.

With the Emperor personally leading the campaign, Your Highness will inevitably oversee the country, which will be advantageous to Your Highness.

From this perspective, I agree with moving the capital to Beiping.

In truth, Your Highness is not afraid of incurring your wrath. We are more concerned that Your Highness will succeed, for only Your Highness can ensure the complete restoration of the Ming Dynasty.

The Emperor is martial, and the world has just experienced a great war and needs to recuperate.

If continuous warfare continues, it may damage the foundation of the Ming Dynasty.

The Prince of Han is also martial; if he ascends to the throne, the Ming Dynasty may perish after only four generations.

The dynasty lasted four generations, starting with Zhu Yuanzhang, then Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Di. Once Zhu Gaoxu ascended the throne, the dynasty ended with him.

After saying this, Yang Pu stood up, bowed to Zhu Gaochi, and waited for Zhu Gaochi's response or punishment.

He was well aware of how outrageous his words would be if they were to be spoken.

If Zhu Di had found out, imprisonment would have been the least of his worries; he would most likely have been beheaded.

This was exactly the effect Yang Pu wanted.

By expressing his opinion on moving the capital, he was also putting a handle on himself in Zhu Gaochi's hands.

No one can be too perfect. This is what Zhu Gaochi taught him, and it is also one of his understandings of Zhu Gaochi today.

Zhu Gaochi was somewhat surprised when he heard Yang Pu's words.

In fact, he always thought that these people supported him as the crown prince and his ascension to the throne only because of his original body, Chongwen.

Now it seems that these people are not as simple as they appear on the surface.

In fact, the situation in the Ming Dynasty was not so good.

The Yongle era was indeed a golden age, but its prosperity was primarily reflected in its military achievements.

In terms of people's livelihood, Zhu Di did indeed implement many policies that benefited the people, relieving them from their suffering, which is a fact.

But how did the people suffer so much during the Yongle era?

It was also because of Zhu Di.

The Jingnan Campaign dealt another blow to the north, which had barely recovered during the Hongwu era, and even the south suffered varying degrees of damage.

It can be said that the four-year Jingnan Campaign caused great harm to the people.

Natural disasters, man-made calamities, wars, plagues, and so on have caused immense damage to the livelihoods of the people of the Ming Dynasty in recent years.

In addition, the Yongle period saw exceptionally frequent foreign wars, coupled with the construction of Shuntian and the dredging of the Grand Canal.

The true canal transport system was established during the Yongle period and was used thereafter.

In other words, Zhu Di implemented benevolent governance while simultaneously launching military campaigns, though these campaigns were continuous, there were always intervals, which led to the Yongle Prosperity.

Emperor Wu of Han established the prestige of the Han people, but he did not govern with benevolence and continued to wage war, which was nothing short of militarism.

Emperor Yongle restored the Han people's prestige after hundreds of years of decline, but he implemented benevolent policies and knew to halt military operations midway to allow the country to recuperate, which led to the Yongle Prosperity.

However, if Zhu Gaochi were to ascend to the throne, Yang Pu's concerns would not be unfounded in Zhu Gaochi's view.

Yang Pu's views on moving the capital also surprised Zhu Gaochi.

Looking at Yang Pu, Zhu Gaochi smiled sincerely.