Volume 1: Birth! Seven time travelers Chapter 133 State Affairs Are Family Affairs
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you, Grandfather."
"Get up, get up. We are all family. Let's not talk about those red tapes."
On December 21, 1608, Zhu Youdong and his party returned to Beijing. It took only ten days from the departure on the 11th to the arrival in Beijing.
Such speed is certainly not something that the Grand Canal, which is often "congested", can provide. He took the sea route from Chongmingsha to Tianjinwei.
In the 17th century, when shipbuilding and navigation technology was already relatively advanced, the Ming Dynasty actually had the technical support to change the canal transportation to sea transportation. However, after more than 200 years of canal transportation, there were probably no less than one million people who made a living by the Grand Canal. Therefore, Zhu Youdong had no intention of changing the transportation of materials from Jiangnan to sea transportation.
However, he really couldn't stand the slow speed of the canal transportation, so he returned north and naturally chose the sea route.
After completing the official etiquette in front of everyone, the grandfather and grandson quickly found a secret room and began their conversation.
"Grandpa Royal, this time my grandson came back by sea, which is much faster, and the cargo capacity of the sea vessels is not comparable to that of the canal transport. Well, this time my grandson came back with a total of 2.3 million taels of silver, as well as some new products produced in Fangshan, as a New Year's greeting to you, Grandpa Royal."
"Hahaha, good, good, good! My dear grandson. After this money is deposited into the treasury, grandpa will be able to have a prosperous new year."
"Huh? What's up? Is Grandpa short of money lately?"
"Hey, Dong'er, you are a filial child. Grandpa should also be filial to his mother. This year, on the Buddha's birthday and the three birthdays of Guanyin Bodhisattva, the Queen Mother donated one million taels of silver to various temples in Northern Zhili. Grandpa is under a lot of pressure here."
"Uh...Grandpa, you've worked hard."
"That's fine, that's fine. The Queen Mother is very frugal except for worshipping Buddha. As a child, that's the way it should be. Well, speaking of which, you've done a good job in the south this year! The group of birds in Donglin Academy that only knew how to make noises all day long have finally stopped."
"Haha, Grandpa, you can't win a war of words with these guys who only know how to make noise. I just used some tricks to force them to do something, and then I won easily."
"Well, has Donglin Academy been disbanded now?"
"Not yet. Brother Gu Xiancheng and several other gentlemen have all run away. Gao Panlong, on the other hand, has stayed and is still teaching, although he has only a few students left."
"Well, it seems that there are still a few true gentlemen in Donglin. Let's end this matter here, Dong'er. As a monarch, when it comes to the factional disputes among your subjects, you must never kill them all. You must leave seeds for the weaker party in case of emergency."
"Yes, grandson thanks Grandpa Huang for his teachings."
"Hmm..." Pulling his sparse beard with satisfaction, Wanli said, "Now the public opinion in Jiangnan is in your hands. What are you going to do next? Reorganize the army?"
"Grandpa, you are wise and wise. I now have an elite navy. The oldest students in Fangshan School are fifteen or sixteen years old. My plan is to reorganize the Five Military Governor's Office in Nanjing next year and clean up the garrisons around Nanjing. Then I will use this as a foundation to form a new army."
"Hmm..." Wanli stood up, holding his huge belly, and limped back and forth for a while on his two legs of different lengths. Then he turned around and said very carefully: "Dong'er, since ancient times, China has had a great catastrophe every 300 years. My Ming Dynasty has been around for 240 years since Taizu founded the country. Every time grandpa thinks of this and looks at the current state affairs of the Ming Dynasty, he can't help but tremble with fear. If you want to get out of this cycle of order and chaos, you have to do extraordinary things. So, just do it boldly. If anything goes wrong, grandpa will cover it for you."
"Yes, I thank you for your trust. Please rest assured, I am doing everything for the sake of the Ming Dynasty."
"Well, as a descendant of the Zhu family and the crown prince, this country will be handed over to you sooner or later. Grandpa has nothing to worry about, but you have to form a new army, so Grandpa will give you a reminder."
"Please give me your instructions, Grandpa."
"You relied too much on the Liaodong Li family in military affairs. Although you later gained the support of Liu Jing's adopted son and Li Dan and other overseas subjects, the Li family still has too much influence!"
"My grandson has indeed thought about this problem. My grandson's Fangshan School..."
Wanli waved his hand and said, "The results of Fangshan School will not be seen until at least two or three years later. You are going to set up a new army now. What if the Li family takes this opportunity to control the new army? Do you really believe that your fifteen or sixteen-year-old children can control those big soldiers for you if they join the army? Although I have almost never been involved in military affairs, I also know that in the barracks, fists are the only thing that matters. Your children are not fully grown, how can you convince those soldiers?"
In fact, Zhu Youdong was assured of the loyalty of the students at Fangshan School. After all, in addition to pulling them back from the brink of death, Zhu Youdong also brainwashed them day after day. All the lectures at Fangshan School repeatedly emphasized that the favor of the crown prince was higher than the mountains and deeper than the sea.
In addition to loyalty, these children are also capable. They are involved in literature, history, philosophy, science, engineering, agriculture, and medicine, and they undergo military training every day. However, as Wanli said, these children are still too young at this time.
Then, can he slow down his pace and wait for three to five years? Haha, if he was the only traverser in this plane, of course he could, but what a pity...
"I am indeed mistaken about this matter. I hope Grandpa Emperor can correct me."
"Yeah." Wanli finally felt a sense of accomplishment in front of this gifted grandson who had accomplished many things he wanted to do but couldn't do. He said happily, "This is a simple matter. Since the children of civil officials from all over the country can travel thousands of miles to study at Donglin Academy, then the children of military generals can also go to your Fangshan Academy to study."
"Uh... Grandson thanks Grandpa for his trust. But it's better to do this quietly."
"Of course. Grandpa's ears have finally been quiet for a while. He doesn't want to be disturbed by these birds every day again so soon."
After the grandfather and grandson smiled at each other, Wanli said, "Grandpa heard that Yuan Keli took the initiative to run to you?"
"Uh... yes."
It's a bit embarrassing. After all, Yuan Keli not only criticized Wanli several times, but also refused Wanli's several calls for him to return to office. As a result, Yuan Keli came eagerly after receiving a letter from Zhu Youdong. Doesn't that mean that in Yuan Keli's heart, Zhu Youdong is much better than Wanli?
"Hmph, don't underestimate your grandfather's heart." Wanli patted his belly and said, "Look, my grandfather's belly can do more than just hold a boat."
"Hehe, Grandpa Huang is the Son of Heaven, and his belly is filled with hundreds of millions of people of our Ming Dynasty."
"Hmph." After a proud snort, Wanli said, "Yuan Keli is indeed a talented person, but his temper is really abominable! I have decided that as long as I am still alive, he will never be an official in the court!"
This is to imitate Li Shimin's demoting Li Ji so that his successor Li Zhi could show favor. However, there is still Zhu Changluo in front of me. However, no matter what, this grandfather really has nothing to say about himself.
"Yes, Grandpa Huang is so thoughtful, and I am deeply moved."
"Hey, we are a family, there is no need to say these things." Wanli waved his hand casually and said, "Zhu Shaoqin (Zhu Geng) is not lucky, and Li Tingji, grandpa wants to use him, but the inner court and the outer court are all against it. Ye Xianggao is indeed a bit hard in the cabinet alone, forget it, let's give Li Sancai a chance."
"Haha, Grandfather Emperor, Li Sancai is a treacherous villain , but such a person can still play a lot of roles if he enters the cabinet."
"Well, this will also make it easier for you to win people's hearts in Jiangnan, right?"
"Yes, but Li Sancai has been the governor of the grain transport for too long. My grandson wants to reorganize the grain transport after the army is reorganized in Nanjing. How can we not transfer him away?" - As a doctor in his previous life, Zhu Youdong was very sensitive and concerned about the patency of blood vessels. Now this artery of the Ming Dynasty (the Grand Canal) is often blocked, which he cannot tolerate. It is really because he does not have enough power now, otherwise he would have taken action long ago.
"Okay, then let Li Sancai join the cabinet next year, and let Li Tingji retire at the same time. Otherwise, it would be ridiculous for the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty to spend all day and night in a dilapidated temple writing resignations! Hmm~~ But if Li Sancai really joins the cabinet, those guys in Donglin will immediately change their stance, from praising Li Sancai to attacking him. Hehe, that will be a very interesting scene then."
"Haha, gentlemen are generally like this."
"Hahahaha~~~" After the grandfather and grandson laughed together again, Wanli nodded Zhu Youdong's head and said, "Grandpa will be honest with you first. Grandpa will protect Mu Rui's life. After all, he is the descendant of the Duke of Qian, so it's okay to depose him from the position of the crown prince."
Huh? How come this news is running faster than me? It seems that the Duke of Qian is also trying hard. I don't know how many fast horses died in the post stations along the way.
"Yes, grandson has no objection. Everything will be done according to Grandpa Huang's wishes."
"Hey, you're a little hasty about this. Grandpa should sentence him to death and then you should come to save him."
Well, I really don't think so. Among the nobles of the Ming Dynasty, there are still a few who are useful, but most of them are just parasites. When I take the throne in the future, I will definitely clean them up.
But at this moment, Zhu Youdong just smiled and said nothing else.
Seeing that Zhu Youdong was not angry, Wanli was relieved: his grandfather really didn't handle this matter properly. So he quickly changed the subject: "Dong'er, don't mention it, the thing you asked Wei Zhongxian to send to the palace a few days ago, oh, nitroglycerin lozenges are really good. After using this, the feeling of chest tightness has improved a lot."
"Grandpa, you must not rely on this medicine. It can cure diseases, but it can also be fatal if taken too much."
"Grandpa knows that when Wei Zhongxian brought the medicine in, he repeatedly told Grandpa to read the precautions you wrote carefully. Grandpa took the medicine exactly as you said. In this regard, you did the right thing. You are the crown prince, and you must not let anyone else know that you brought medicine to Grandpa. Otherwise, if there is any problem with my health, those shameless officials will put the blame on you."
"Yes, grandson understands. Thank you for your teachings, Grandpa Emperor."
"Okay, we've almost finished talking about the important things, you should hurry to Ciqing Palace. Your father, hey, if only he were half as good as you are!"
