Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 423: The Battle for the Capital (Continued)

Seeing that everyone was still in deep thought, Lu Jin continued.

"I, Gongshu, have traveled around the world and found that all the powerful countries in the world are located in temperate zones with frequent natural disasters and alternating hot and cold weather. Why is that?
"In places that are too cold, no food can be grown and it is not suitable for survival. In places that are too warm, such as Annan, rice can be harvested three times a year, and in Champa, rice can be harvested seven times in two years. If it is too comfortable, the people will not know hunger, and the court will have no sense of crisis, and naturally no ambition to make progress. If there is no external enemy, the country will become a muddle-headed one, just eating and waiting to die.

“It is said that loving mothers often spoil their children, and this is also true for this country. If you allow everything to go your way without tempering them, you will naturally not be able to raise a child with a strong will. This is also the meaning of the saying that a country will prosper through adversity!

"Jiangnan is this loving mother, a land of gentleness. Living here for a long time will only corrode and wear away one's will, and eventually lead to death in comfort."

Wang Guangyang also asked, "Even if you don't want to establish your capital in Jiangnan, you can go to the Central Plains. Bianliang or Luoyang are both good choices. They are in the center of the world and can control all directions. Why do you want to go to Dadu in Hebei?"

Lu Jin glanced at him and said, "As I said just now, one is to bridge the north and south and prevent the country from splitting, and the other is to keep an eye on the Northeast and prevent the rise of another great threat like Liao, Jin, or Mongolia.

"Third, there is no strategic location to defend the Central Plains. The Central Plains is actually connected to the North China Plain. The entire North China Plain is flat and there are no mountains blocking it. Yanyun is the barrier of the Central Plains. Once Yanyun is lost, the powerful enemies in the northeast can sweep across the Central Plains. Isn't that how the former Song Dynasty was destroyed?

“Although the Yellow River is also a big river, it freezes in winter. The enemy troops in the north can walk on the ice to cross the river, so it is not a natural barrier. Although there are mountains in the Central Plains, they are different from the continuous mountain ranges such as Taihang, Qinling, Dabie and Yanshan. They cannot serve as a geographical barrier. Once the enemy troops in the north enter the North China Plain, they can always find a way to attack the Central Plains if they want to.

"Hebei is different. It faces the sea to the east, Taihang Mountains to the west, and Yanshan Mountains to the north. It occupies a natural barrier and is safe. The south is directly connected to the Central Plains, which allows it to control Kyushu and monitor the south, north, and northeast of the desert.

“In addition, the four kingdoms of Yan, Liao, Jin, and Yuan had already established their capitals here, and it had long been the political and military center of the north. It would be easier for the people to accept building a capital here.

"Therefore, if you are prepared to live in seclusion in a corner, you can make Jiankang your capital. Even if you can take back Yanyun now, as long as you make Jiankang your capital for a long time, you will lose the land north of Yanshan Mountain sooner or later and lose the control of the Central Plains. Sooner or later, a powerful country like Liao, Jin, or Yuan will rise here, and the Central Plains will be in danger of extinction again."

Seeing that Lu Jin had come up with so many reasons, Wang Guangyang could not directly oppose it, so he could only change his thinking and persuade him, "But now Hebei's people's livelihood is in decline, the population is sparse, and there is a lot of work to be done. Not to mention all kinds of supplies, even food needs to be supplied from Jiangnan. It is simply not self-sufficient. If the capital is set in Hebei, it will definitely need to be transported and supplied from Jiangnan.

"And 'extremely poor in the south, rich in the north' is an important reason for the various rebel armies to attack the Yuan court. The people in the south have long been complaining about this. If this continues, I am afraid it will lose the support of the people."

Lu Jin immediately said, "That's why I said, let's build a school here first."

"Well, what does the lord mean?" Wang Guangyang was stunned. He didn't realize what Lu Jin's plan to build a school had to do with establishing the capital in Hebei.

"What I mean is that we can implement a dual capital system, or one capital with a few direct-controlled prefectures. We can choose strategic locations throughout the country to set up direct-controlled prefectures. Direct-controlled prefectures are half a level lower than provinces and half a level higher than ordinary prefectures. They are not under the jurisdiction of provinces and are directly responsible to the central government of the imperial court. These are two options. You can choose one or run both in parallel." Lu Jin explained immediately.

Upon hearing this, Li Shanchang immediately asked in confusion, "We understand what the lord is talking about, the two capitals system, but what does this Zhili Prefecture mean, and how is it different from the two capitals system?"

Lu Jin then explained again, "China's territory is vast, spanning tens of thousands of miles from the North Sea to Annan, and tens of thousands of miles from east to west. With such a vast territory, with the current means of transportation and communication technology, it is actually difficult to take into account all aspects no matter where the capital is located.

"Especially because China is not only vast in area, but also has different folk customs in different places, which makes it difficult to take into account all of them. For example, people in the grassland live by nomadism, people in the Han area live by farming, and people in the Northeast mainly live by fishing and hunting. The same system cannot be used to govern all of them.

“Therefore, it is necessary to set up several capitals in different regions, or just one capital, and set up a prefecture directly under the central government in key places. And I am not without basis for this.

"Let's talk about the dual capital system first. The dual capital system has existed since ancient times. Although there were no clear dual capitals during the Han Dynasty, the capital of the Western Han Dynasty was in Chang'an, and the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty was in Luoyang. The same was true during the Tang Dynasty. Not to mention that the Song Dynasty failed to unify the country, the Mongols came from outside the Great Wall. In order to take into account both the Han area and the northern desert, they also implemented the dual capital system, setting up Dadu in Yanjing and Shangdu in the grassland, and traveling back and forth between the two capitals every year.

"The Liao and Jin countries are actually more suitable as our reference targets.

"The Liao Kingdom originated in the northeast, but its territory was the first to include the fishing and hunting of the northeast, the nomadic life of the grasslands, and the farming of the Han area. How to govern these different regions became a problem that the Liao monarchs and ministers needed to solve.

"Their method is to rule according to local customs, with two courts, the Northern and Southern, which can also be called one country, two systems. The Northern Court implements grassland law, which is mainly used to manage nomadic tribes, while the Southern Court implements the county system, registers all people and follows Han traditions.

"In terms of capitals, the Liao Dynasty directly established five capitals. Shangjing Linhuangfu was located in the grassland (Inner Mongolia), Xijing Datongfu was in Shanxi, Nanjing Xijinfu was in today's Dadu (Beijing), Zhongjing Dadingfu was located near today's Shangdu (Chifeng), and Dongjing Liaoyangfu was located in Liaodong. The five capitals covered nomadism, fishing and hunting, and farming.

"But if they do this, there will be too many capitals. They can just set up one or two capitals, and the remaining three will become direct-controlled prefectures directly under the central government."

After listening to Lu Jin's explanation of the five capitals system of the Liao Dynasty, everyone immediately understood the role of Zhili Prefecture. To put it bluntly, it was to strengthen control over a region.

Lu Jin continued, "The Jin Dynasty inherited its territory from the Liao Dynasty, and then destroyed the Northern Song Dynasty. In order to take into account the nomadic life in the grasslands, the fishing and hunting in the northeast, and the farming in the Central Plains, the Jin Dynasty also imitated the Liao Dynasty and established three capitals: Shangjing Huining Prefecture (Harbin), Zhongdu Daxing Prefecture (Beijing), and Nanjing Kaifeng Prefecture."

After introducing these, Lu Jin turned around and spoke to everyone.

“We can certainly emulate this system of multiple capitals, but there is no need to have as many capitals as the Liao and Jin dynasties did.

"From a purely geographical perspective, the only place that can effectively govern farming, nomadic life, and fishing and hunting is the junction of these three areas, which is of course Yanjing in Hebei. This is why the Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties all chose to build their capitals here.

"However, the concerns raised by Chaozong just now are also correct. After the harm caused by the Yuan court, Yanjing no longer has the conditions to continue to be the capital. The population is sparse, food is insufficient, and it cannot be self-sufficient. If we continue to use grain for supply, it will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among the people in the south, making it more difficult to reconcile the north and the south." "So what I thought was, it would be better to establish the capital here in Jiankang first. After pacifying the world, we will first set up Yanjing as a direct-controlled prefecture and put it under the direct jurisdiction of the central government. Then we can continue to migrate the population there, which can be regarded as immigration to the border. We will encourage the reclamation of land in the north and the construction of more military farms so that the north can be self-sufficient.

“Twenty or thirty years later, when the population around Yanjing is sufficient, it will not be too late to upgrade it to Beijing. At that time, we can move the capital from Jiankang to here, and change this place to Nanjing, or make it a Zhili Prefecture and continue to be directly governed by the central government.

"In addition to the two capitals in the north and south, we can also set up a direct-controlled prefecture in the grassland and Liaodong in the future. These will be directly governed by the central government to control the nomadic people in the north and the fishing and hunting people in the northeast. There will no longer be a capital. In the south, we can also set up one or two direct-controlled prefectures according to the situation, such as in Yunnan Province, to control the local barbarians."

When Lu Jin proposed this plan, even Wang Guangyang was speechless. He had just said that Hebei Yanjing was not suitable for building the capital now. There were no people and no food. Would they starve together if they moved there?
Lu Jin admitted that the current Yanjing is indeed not suitable for building a capital. In the original history, the Ming Dynasty was able to move its capital to Beijing, but it was only after the entire Hongwu Dynasty and the 14 years of continuous construction and restoration before Zhu Di's Yongle Dynasty that the conditions for building a capital were met.

To insist on building the capital in Beijing now is to disregard objective conditions and is pure nonsense.

Moreover, Lu Jin himself had some clear requirements for where to build the capital. First of all, he wanted to develop navigation. This directly ruled out Henan and Shaanxi, which were too inland. There was no point in developing navigation if they were not near the sea. Therefore, Nanjing and Beijing got one point first.

Then if he wants to develop industry, he must first have a large coal and iron consortium. Steel is the most basic material for industry. Without coal and iron, there is no point. In this regard, Ma'anshan in Nanjing and Tangshan in Hebei both meet the requirements. The north and the south are in a tie, and each gets one more point.

In the initial basic industries, wood was also an important basic material. In this regard, Nanjing could harvest wood from Dabie Mountains, Tianmu Mountain in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and Huangshan Mountain in Anhui.

If it really doesn't work, timber can be harvested on both sides of the Yangtze River. Anyway, Nanjing is close to the Yangtze River waterway, so Nanjing can use all the resources on both sides of the Yangtze River, and Beijing can use timber from the northeast nearby, so the north and the south are on a draw.

Of course, leaving aside these basic resources, the most important thing for developing industry is to have a large non-agricultural population and a large amount of food to feed these industrial populations. This directly eliminates the current Beijing. There are no people in Dadu now, and food needs to be supplied by the grain from the south of the Yangtze River. From this respect, Beijing is completely defeated.

At this time, Nanjing was undoubtedly the most suitable place for industry and navigation. It was surrounded by rich resources, a large population, and sufficient food. It could not only meet the food needs of the local population, but also export commercial grain.

If we want to establish the same industrial conditions in Beijing, it will take at least a generation of hard work, mainly due to the population and food self-sufficiency rate. Only when these conditions are met can we truly move there.

If the railway between the two capitals was built directly before that, the subsequent relocation of the capital would be more logical. This would make it more convenient to transfer industry to the north or to migrate the population, and officials would be less resistant. After all, Lu Jin was a time traveler, and he knew best how much speed and convenient transportation could change people's perceptions of geographical distance.

Not to mention the speed of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway, if you work in Beijing, you can go back to your hometown in Nanjing every weekend, so you won’t feel that the distance between the two Beijings is far. So just move the capital.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they understood that Lu Jin was not going to establish the capital in Yanjing immediately, but was planning to move the capital there later. By moving the capital in thirty years, some of them would probably have retired or died of old age. Since it had nothing to do with them, there was no need to object.

Li Shanchang asked again, "Since the lord wants to establish the capital in Jiankang first, then just build a palace. What does the lord mean by this school palace?"

"Of course it's for the sake of frugality," Lu Jin explained.

"Building a palace for the sake of one's own selfishness is already criticized by people. Building a palace costs a lot and takes a long time, perhaps more than ten years. By the time the palace is finally built, the capital will be moved. Wouldn't it be necessary to build another palace in Beijing? The palace in Nanjing would be wasted. Who would live in it?

“But if we build the capital in Jiankang, it would be inappropriate without a palace. The court would not even have a proper place to work. Therefore, in order to save money, it is better to build a school here in Jiankang. It does not have to strictly follow the palace form, nor does it have to be so luxurious. Once it is built, it can be used as the center of the court and the Imperial College.

"After the capital is moved in the future, the academy here will not be wasted. Take away the valuables and documents, and replace the empty house with a plaque and change it to Nanjing University of Science and Technology. It can also be used for students to study. It is better than leaving it there idle and having people to look after it and clean it. What do you think?"

Everyone looked at each other in surprise when they heard this. Lu Jin's proposal was indeed frugal. The palace hasn't been built yet, but he thought that it shouldn't be wasted when they move in the future, so they could use it for other purposes as a school. Many people immediately admired their lord, who was truly a model of a benevolent monarch and a man who knew how to live.

Li Shanchang stroked his beard and said.

"This is indeed economical and can make the best use of everything, but how can we make it compatible with the palace and the Imperial College? If it is built as a palace, wouldn't it be too big to be converted into an Imperial College in the future? Wouldn't it be excessive to have several large halls for the teachers and students of the Imperial College to use? If it is built as an Imperial College, wouldn't the palace be too small? These two forms are difficult to reconcile."

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin said, "It's not that particular. I only have one request. The land area should be large enough to accommodate tens of thousands of teachers and students for living, study and work. The main buildings should be brick buildings, with more bricks and tiles and less large wood to save money.

"As for whether it exceeds the regulations or not, why don't you just not build it as a main hall from the beginning? I already have some ideas about the specific design. Anyway, the construction will not start this year because we don't have the money. We can wait until this year's war is over. But you can design the blueprints first and see how to build it."

"That's fine, as long as the lord knows it." Li Shanchang said immediately. He was really afraid that Lu Jin would start construction this year. This year, there were wars on three fronts, and the scale was much larger than last year. How much military expenditure would be needed? There was really no money to build a palace this year.

Of course Lu Jin knew this. In fact, he had the idea of ​​building a university as a palace a long time ago. To be honest, the architectural layout of a university is quite similar to that of a palace.

The three main halls can be seen as an auditorium, a library, and a school administrative building. The Wenhua Hall, where the cabinet offices are located, can be used as a liberal arts teaching building. The Wuying Hall of the Privy Council can be used as a science teaching building. The East Palace was converted into faculty and staff dormitories and a canteen.

The military barracks and parade grounds of the imperial palace were directly converted into gymnasiums and playgrounds, and the harem was directly turned into student cafeterias and dormitories. You see, the main buildings of this university do not correspond perfectly one to one with the palace.

As for the architectural style, Lu Jin had already had a goal in mind. He went to Harbin Institute of Technology for college, which uses Russian-style architecture, so there was no need for him to learn it. However, the Harbin Military Engineering School next door to him uses new Chinese-style architecture, with a large Chinese-style roof on top of the tube-shaped building. It is both practical and beautiful, so he could just copy it directly.

(End of this chapter)