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

Chapter 509: Can't Relax
"As for the other memorials, I will handle some of them myself, but you also know that I hate reading the memorials from ministers the most, so you can let the Imperial Household Department and the cabinet ministers handle some of them when the time comes," Zhu Houzhao said in an indifferent tone.

Zhu Houxuan became a little angry when he saw Zhu Houzhao like this. This was too much of a joke.

"The most important thing is to let you have a good rest and take care of your body. Although I have traveled tens of thousands of miles in the past ten years, and it seems extremely hard in the eyes of others, I always know that no matter how hard it is, it is not as hard as you, my brother. You have worked really hard in the past ten years. You are only thirty years old, but you have so many white hairs on your head." Zhu Houzhao looked at Zhu Houxuan with a distressed look, and his tone was very sincere.

This made Zhu Houxuan helpless. It was true that Zhu Houzhao took this matter too lightly, but it was also true that he cared and loved him.
Zhu Houxuan thought for a moment and said, "My brother has led the army to travel tens of thousands of miles, sleeping in the open air all day long. In the eyes of others, it is very hard, but do you feel that it is very hard?"

"It's not hard!" Zhu Houzhao said immediately, "Not only is it not hard, it's also a great joy in life. Leading this loyal and brave army to destroy the enemy, watching the enemy flee in all directions and beg for mercy, there is nothing happier than this."

"Then why does my royal brother think that it is a hard thing for me to handle state affairs, see the national treasury become more and more full, and the people live and work in peace and happiness?" Zhu Houxuan asked immediately.

Zhu Houzhao's expression suddenly became a little embarrassed. "I know that you don't find it hard to handle state affairs, but being busy with paperwork will affect your health."

"Just now my Royal Brother said that the Ming Dynasty is already invincible in the world. But do you know how fragile this so-called invincible country is now?" Zhu Houxuan took a deep breath and said from a different angle.

"What do you mean?" Zhu Houzhao was immediately interested and asked quickly.

"The Western Regions still require continuous investment every year. It costs a lot to immigrate to the Western Regions every year, not to mention that there are 50,000 troops stationed in the Western Regions, which need to transport supplies from the mainland. These 50,000 troops also need to be rotated every year. All of these add up to a huge amount of money needed every year. As long as this money is cut off for a few years, the Western Regions will be in chaos, and the area west of the Guanmen will soon no longer belong to our Ming Dynasty." Zhu Houxuan said bluntly.

"This..." Zhu Houzhao was stunned. He stared at Zhu Houxun blankly, and soon reacted, "With my younger brother here, how could the money be cut off? My younger brother is so good at business, this money is just a small amount for him."

"Because I went to recuperate and have a good rest, instead of running a business to make money." Zhu Houxuan said with a smile.

Zhu Houzhao was speechless, and suddenly felt that he had been a little careless today. However, he still did not bow his head completely, and defended himself: "Isn't my brother still running the Royal Group? Aren't the most profitable businesses the Royal Group?"

"The Royal Group is very profitable, but have you ever thought about why the Royal Group is so profitable?" Zhu Houxuan asked again.

Zhu Houzhao shook his head vigorously. "That's because I control the Royal Group with one hand and the power of the regent with the other. One leg is the economy and the other leg is politics. The two legs walk, supporting each other and complementing each other. The Royal Bank, the most profitable in the Royal Group, is like this. Without political support, how can the silver yuan coupons of the Royal Bank be circulated so widely? And today, my brother did not let me handle the memorials, and asked the eunuchs in charge of the Imperial Household Department and the cabinet ministers to handle the memorials. How do they know how to use politics to promote the economy? How can I continue my previous economic policies? These are all problems." Zhu Houzhao said endlessly.

"By doing this, my royal brother, isn't that like breaking one of my legs? If I have to walk on one leg, my ability to run a business and make money will be greatly reduced. And my royal brother has so many places where he needs to spend money, how can I come up with the money?" Zhu Houxuan said with a smile.

Zhu Houzhao was speechless after being told this. After a while, he said, "You are right. I did not think this through. My brother is a man of great talent. All the ministers in the cabinet combined are not as talented as my brother. In case, it is better for my brother to handle state affairs in the future."

Zhu Houzhao listened to the advice very much and did not insist on his own point of view.
Zhu Houxuan was amused by what Zhu Houzhao said, but soon he said seriously: "My brother has achieved an extremely brilliant victory and made an unprecedented contribution. It is normal to want to relax a little, but I think it is not time for both of us to relax yet."

Zhu Houzhao's expression immediately became serious. He sat upright and looked at Zhu Houxun solemnly and said, "Brother, please speak!"

"I don't know if my royal brother has noticed that the military and economy of the Ming Dynasty are now very dependent on two people." Zhu Houxuan also said seriously.

"They are very dependent on you in terms of military affairs, and very dependent on me in terms of economy and politics," Zhu Houxuan said bluntly, "Your Majesty, can you imagine that if the Imperial Guards lose your leadership, can they still maintain their current invincible combat effectiveness?"

Zhu Houzhao shook his head thoughtfully and said, "No!"

"By the same token, if the Ming Dynasty's economy and politics lose my leadership, will it regress to the level before the eleventh year of Zhengde?" Zhu Houxuan continued.

Zhu Houzhao nodded silently
"That's the problem. With the two of us here, the Ming Dynasty can remain invincible for ten years. But what about twenty years later, thirty years later, or a hundred years later? By then, both of us will be gone. Will the Ming Dynasty still be invincible?"

Zhu Houzhao's face was filled with shock. He had never considered this issue from this perspective. Zhu Houxuan's sudden mention of this point really shocked him.
"That's why we can't relax yet, because it's really not the time to relax. We have heavy tasks to do in the coming period. Your task is to design an excellent system for the Ming army. Rather than leaving a powerful army to future generations, it is better to leave a system that can continuously produce a powerful army. And my mission is to reform the economic and political system of the Ming Dynasty so that the political and economic work of the Ming Dynasty can maintain stable growth even after I leave charge," Zhu Houxuan said seriously.

Zhu Houzhao paced excitedly and said, "Brother, you are absolutely right. The Ming Dynasty lacks such a system. The establishment of such a system must be done with great caution, but it is urgent. This reminds me of the Wei Suo system established by Taizu. The Wei Suo system is actually not bad, but it was ruined by the hereditary official system."

(End of this chapter)