I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 259 Holy King
Cao Tingyun stared at the railway outside. This railway not only made the flow of materials smoother, but also allowed the people of Daming to move around.
Not only would no local government dare to set up tax checkpoints on the railways bearing the name of the Royal Group, no local government would also dare to check travel passes on them.

The various policies restricting mobility formulated by Zhu Yuanzhang more than a hundred years ago are becoming ineffective as the royal group continues to work hard to wield hoes.

Not long after, a group of horses stopped and the station staff came to inform them that they could get on the train.
Cao Tingyun and Grandpa Guan quickly started studying Marxism-Leninism under the guidance of the staff.

The train that the staff found was not a freight train. At least the carriage was not open-top but completely enclosed, which made the passengers much more comfortable during their winter journey.

After getting on the bus, Grandpa Guan found that there were already several old men and scholars on the bus. When he asked, he found out that they were from Henan and were also going to Beijing to submit the Book of All People to the court. This made him very happy.
Along the way, there are people to chat with and relieve boredom.

"In my entire life, I have only been to Shunde City when I took part in the provincial examination. The farthest place I have been to is Shunde City. I thought that this was the end of my life, but I didn't expect that I would still have the opportunity to go to the capital when my hair is white!" sighed Grandpa Guan. He had the title of scholar, but had never passed the imperial examination to become a juren.

The other old men also nodded with great emotion. The range of activities for most people in this era from birth to death is extremely small, and going on a long journey is an extremely rare experience.

They received warm hospitality from the Royal Group along the way and arrived in the capital in two days.

The villagers who got off the bus were shocked by the bustling streets of Beijing and the towering Chongwenmen.
"We've reached the capital already?" Grandpa Guan said in shock, "It took me two or three days to get from the county to the capital."

Then Cao Tingyun said goodbye to the village elders and went to report to the Propaganda Department.

He never revealed his identity, but he felt that Mr. Guan had guessed it, but it didn't matter anymore.

Several village elders were picked up by the Royal Group and stayed in a hotel...

……

Leopard room.

Zhu Houxuan came to the Leopard Room again, where he could see news from various places sent back by the New Army.

"Brother, I heard from the Jinyiwei that you have brought many village elders to the capital recently? What do you want to do?" Zhu Houzhao asked Zhu Houxun puzzledly.

"The salt industry drama is about to end, I just want to end it the way I want..." Zhu Houxuan said lightly.

"I don't understand what you are saying..." Zhu Houzhao said bluntly.

"What I have to do is very simple. I will completely consolidate your reputation among the people... and by the way, compete with the gentry for control of public opinion..." Zhu Houxuan continued.

"Huh? Hasn't my reputation been reversed? Is it still a negative asset of the Royal Group?" Zhu Houzhao joked.

"It's not enough to just turn it around. This is just the beginning. We have to constantly improve your reputation... We have to make your reputation a positive asset for the group!" Zhu Houxuan also joked. "Continuously improve?" Zhu Houzhao said in surprise, "Are you going to make me a saintly ruler?"

"That's not impossible..." Zhu Houxuan said seriously.

The Royal Group’s most valuable asset now is Zhu Houzhao himself, and improving his reputation would be a huge win for the Royal Group.

After noticing Zhu Houxun's attitude, Zhu Houzhao was even more surprised, "But I want to be a famous general!"

Zhu Houxuan couldn't help but roll his eyes. Zhu Houzhao was usually quite smart, but sometimes he was always a little bit
"I'm just asking you if you want to become a sage king?" Zhu Houxuan asked bluntly.

"I do!" Zhu Houzhao said immediately.

"That's it! Just do as I say. Besides, this doesn't conflict with your goal of becoming a famous general." Zhu Houxuan said with a smile.

Zhu Houzhao thought about it and realized that it was true. He couldn't help but sighed, "Before, I had no choice, no available people, and the people below me always did bad things. Now it's different. With you, my brother, helping me, I found that I can choose both, hahaha!"

Zhu Houxuan couldn't help but laugh too.

In fact, Zhu Houxuan's main purpose in asking the Propaganda Department to encourage so many village elders to come to Beijing was to compete with the civil officials and gentry for control of public opinion.

In this era, no one attaches more importance to public opinion than him, and no one understands the importance of public opinion better than him.

Now the public opinion in the Ming Dynasty is basically controlled by civil officials and gentry. Even though the people are shouting "Your Majesty has paid for us" and Zhu Houzhao's reputation has improved, the public opinion at the court level is still that the royal group is destroying the salt law, etc.
The gentry control most of the educational and cultural resources, and they have a natural advantage in controlling public opinion.

Zhu Houxuan knew that if he did not seize control of public opinion, Zhu Houzhao's improved reputation would deteriorate again under the continued stigmatization of the gentry.
Since Zhu Houzhao ascended the throne, public opinion controlled by the gentry has not been very friendly to Zhu Houzhao.
In fact, Zhu Houzhao also knew how to make the public opinion controlled by the gentry become friendly to him.

That is to give the gentry enough benefits in exchange, rule the country with ease, do not prevent the gentry from land annexation, and give them more preferential treatment, then the gentry will naturally praise him as a sage king.

But in this case, the entire country will be hollowed out by the gentry, and the good reputation gained in this way will be completely false and meaningless.

Zhu Houxuan was also very clear about the path he would take next. While making the pie bigger and promoting development, he also began to try various methods to adjust the distribution of Ming Dynasty's wealth and resources.

To put it bluntly, it means giving concessions to the lower classes of the Ming Dynasty and allocating more wealth, resources and living space to them, so as to expand the domestic demand market of the Ming Dynasty.
In ancient China, these lower-class common people had no voice. They had the largest number, but they had no voice. The only way they could make their voices heard was through various tragic peasant uprisings.
Zhu Houxuan's plan was to give the lower classes a chance to speak out, because he kept giving benefits to the lower classes, and these benefited people would stand on his side.
He wanted the common people to speak out loudly, to challenge the gentry's control over public opinion, to help him seize control of public opinion, and to prevent the gentry from controlling public opinion in the Ming Dynasty.
As for Zhu Houzhao's reputation, it was just a side issue.

When Zhu Houxuan gradually gains control over public opinion in the Ming Dynasty, he will be able to play a greater role.
(End of this chapter)