Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

Chapter 209... Yes, yes, Chongba, you're right about everything!

"Chongba, so you're saying that the Hongwu Encyclopedia you're planning to revise is just copied from our fourth son's homework?"

Empress Ma looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and asked him a question, her voice carrying a somewhat peculiar meaning.

When Empress Ma heard about Chongba's ideas for the Hongwu Grand Ceremony, she was amazed.

I think my son Chongba's idea is really great.

If the Hongwu Grand Ceremony could truly be completed, it would undoubtedly be an extremely brilliant cultural gem.

It will stand as a monument, unattainable and insurmountable for future generations.

I just think my son Chongba is really smart, he has so many ingenious ideas.

Who would have thought that this matter was actually copied from his own fourth son by Chongba?

Especially when he thought about how, when the fourth prince had dealt with Wu Zhen and returned to the capital, Chongba had specifically told the fourth prince about his idea for the Hongwu Grand Ceremony and asked him if it was a good thing.

Empress Ma's gaze towards Chongba changed.

She truly never expected that her Chongba would be like this!

This is just too shameless.

As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang spoke, he realized he had made a mistake and tried to make amends, but it was too late.

Especially when faced with his own sister's meaningful gaze, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little embarrassed.

"Hey girl, um... what we did, how can you call it copying? It's called learning from others!"

Besides, this brat has done such a big thing after I passed away, he even dared to rebel and become emperor. When I found out about this, I not only didn't blame him, but I also praised him highly.

So, shouldn't we learn something from him and use it?

It is only natural for a father to learn from his son!

Besides, if we don't learn from and implement such a good method, the fourth prince is destined not to become emperor in the future. Wouldn't such a good idea be lost in the long river of history?
This will be a great regret for our Chinese nation.

Zhu Yuanzhang explained to Empress Ma.

After explaining, he straightened his back and became more confident and self-assured.

"Ah...yes, yes, what you said makes a lot of sense, Chongba."

Empress Ma couldn't help but suppress a laugh as she looked at her son, Chongba.

I just found Chongba at this time to be quite amusing.

When it comes to shamelessness, few can compare to my son Chongba.

Of course, there are times when Chongba is also very thin-skinned...

"Hehe, girl, we're serious. It would be better if the Yongle Encyclopedia were renamed the Hongwu Encyclopedia."

You wouldn't believe it, but this cultural treasure was gradually lost over time.

On the one hand, it was due to the chaos of war, and on the other hand, it was simply because the Yongle Encyclopedia had too many characters.

So, in total, only two or three sets were made.

By the time it reached modern times, only a tiny fraction remained, just a few incomplete volumes.

It is heartbreaking to think about.

Let me, the father, be the one to compile the Hongwu Grand Ceremony.

Then we will try to improve printing technology and further reduce printing costs.

"Print a thousand or eight hundred copies of the compiled Hongwu Encyclopedia so that it can be passed down for generations and never be lost."

When he spoke of this, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a pang of resentment and a sense of unease as he recalled the fate of the Yongle Encyclopedia.

Empress Ma never imagined that such a precious artifact as the Yongle Encyclopedia would suffer such a tumultuous fate, and she couldn't help but feel sorry for it.

And she felt that her husband Chongba was right, and many things had changed with Chongba's rebirth.

The Yongle Encyclopedia is such a great idea, it would be better to let Emperor Chongzhen (Zhongba) do it.

Given Chongba's abilities, especially after his miraculous experience, he was able to do many things that surpassed the original history.

"In addition to the Yongle Encyclopedia, the fourth prince also organized a series of large-scale book compilation activities."

For example, he ordered his courtiers to compile maxims and virtuous deeds from ancient times that were beneficial to the Crown Prince, and to create the "Wenhua Baojian" which was then presented to Crown Prince Gao Chi.

In the seventh year of the Yongle reign, he compiled the "Shengxue Xinfa" (The Heart Method of Sacred Learning), which covers the four paths of ruler, father, son, and minister, with the path of ruler as the main focus, elaborating on the fourth prince's philosophy of governance.

In the eighth year of the Yongle reign, an imperial edict ordered the carving and printing of the Buddhist scriptures known as the Yongle Northern Canon, which is the most exquisite of the complete Buddhist canons preserved in modern times.

In the thirteenth year of the Yongle reign, the Neo-Confucian classics "Complete Collection of the Four Books and Five Classics" and "Complete Collection of Human Nature and Principle" were compiled.

He also ordered Huang Huai, Yang Shiqi and others to oversee the compilation of "Memorials and Discussions of Famous Officials Throughout History", which was completed in the fourteenth year of Yongle. The book consists of 350 volumes and collects information on the evolution of systems and institutions and the gains and losses of politics throughout history.

This book has remained a reference for historians to this day.

In the sixteenth year of the Yongle reign, the fourth emperor issued an edict to compile the "Records of Prefectures and Counties of the Empire," appointing Xia Yuanji, Yang Rong, and Jin Youzi to lead the project, in order to record the situation of the empire, the historical evolution of various regions, and their products.

In March of the seventeenth year of the Yongle reign, the book "The Secret Virtues of Doing Good Deeds" was compiled with the aim of encouraging good deeds and educating people.

The *Zhengtong Daozang*, compiled and promulgated during the reign of Emperor Zhu Qizhen (Zhengtong era), was created between the seventeenth and twentieth years of the Yongle reign.

That fourth one is really something!

Besides the Yongle Encyclopedia, he actually produced so many other books. He's definitely a book-editing maniac!
No wonder Chongba said that the fourth prince was good at both civil administration and military affairs.

Putting aside everything else, just look at how many books the fourth prince ordered to be compiled during his reign as emperor, and you'll get a glimpse of it!
"Chongba, should our Hongwu Dynasty also build these?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang chuckled and said, "You really understand me, sister!"
Of course, it's not a direct copy; some things need fixing, while others don't.

However, these things should be put on hold for now. First, we need to complete the compilation and publication of the Hongwu Dictionary, which is based on simplified characters, and then develop the Hongwu Encyclopedia. These are the most important things.

Once all of this is completed, we'll selectively do some more editing based on what the fourth brother asked us to revise.

Zhu Yuanzhang was all smiles; it felt so good to copy his own son's homework!
This feeling is absolutely wonderful.

As for whether focusing solely on fleecing the fourth brother might leave him bald,
Zhu Yuanzhang, the biological father, said that it didn't matter if they were plucked bald.

Anyway, the fourth brother won't need these things later on.

In that case, it would be better to have him, as the father, make it in advance, which would be another way of showing filial piety.

"...Our fourth son is also paying attention to the recovery and development of the social economy."

He believed that ensuring that every family is well-off and that the people are living a comfortable life is the foundation of peace and prosperity in the world.

Therefore, he vigorously developed and improved the military land reclamation system and the salt merchant opening regulations to ensure the supply of military rations and border troops.

He also dispatched Xia Yuanji to manage the waterways of Jiangnan and dredge the Wusong River.

In various parts of the Central Plains, methods such as encouraging the reclamation of abandoned and idle land, relocating people to rural areas, and supervising people's farming were implemented to promote production.

They also paid attention to measures such as tax exemption and relief to prevent people from going bankrupt and ensure the collection of taxes and corvée labor.

Through these measures, the imperial treasury amassed a considerable fortune during the Yongle reign.

Fearing that his younger sister might not have a direct understanding of the situation, Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a moment about some data he had recorded from the Yongle era of prosperity, and then said:

"In the third year of the Yongle reign, the national tax grain amounted to 31133993 shi, marking the third consecutive year that the tax revenue remained above 31 million shi."

In addition, the income from military garrison farming reached a peak of 23450000 shi (a unit of dry measure) starting from the first year of the Yongle reign.

During the twenty-second year of the Yongle reign, the total tax revenue reached 691312600 shi (a unit of dry measure), with an average annual revenue exceeding 33 million shi, and the overall trend was one of growth.

This was the peak period of the Ming Dynasty.

So many?!

Empress Ma was startled upon hearing this.

At that moment, two lines of poetry suddenly popped into her mind: "Recalling the prosperous days of the Kaiyuan era, even a small town housed ten thousand families."

Rice is so white it seems to drip with oil, millet is so white it's like snow; both public and private granaries are overflowing!
The Yongle era, which Chongba described as the golden age created by the fourth prince, is remarkably similar to the Kaiyuan era!
The Yongle Emperor's reign was truly a golden age!
It is only natural that the fourth prince was called the Yongle Emperor.

Zhu Di was no less capable than his father throughout his life. Empress Ma recalled the words of Chongba regarding the later generations' evaluation of the fourth prince and felt that they were all the more correct and reasonable.

He's the fourth child in my family, and he deserves this praise from future generations!
"It was no accident that the fourth prince was able to create the Yongle era of prosperity; he made many efforts for it."

For example, after the Jingnan Campaign, the area north of the Huai River was overgrown with weeds, severely damaging production and causing a large number of people to be displaced.

The fourth prince set about restoring people's livelihoods and exempting taxes. He ordered that people in Shandong, Beiping, and Henan who were unable to farm due to the war be exempted from taxes for three years.

Places that were not ravaged by war were also exempted from autumn and summer taxes, along with Fengyang, Huai'an, Xuzhou, Chuzhou, and Yangzhou in Zhili.
The remaining prefectures and states in Zhili, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Huguang, and Guangdong and Guangxi will each have half of their taxes exempted.

All arrears in taxes, grain, and salt levies incurred before the first day of the seventh month of the fourth year of the Jianwen reign were waived.

People who had migrated from Henan, Shandong, Beiping, and Huainan were ordered to return to their original places of residence and resume their livelihoods, and the government was instructed to provide them with the seeds and cattle they needed.

Northern schools that were abolished during the Jianwen era were reopened and not allowed to fall into disuse.

Moreover, the fourth brother repeatedly urged the people to return to the fields and tried every means to recruit displaced people to resume their livelihoods.

Upon ascending the throne, the fourth prince immediately dispatched officials to various places to encourage displaced people to resume their livelihoods and to work diligently in the fields. In November of the first year of the Yongle reign, the fourth prince told the officials of the Ministry of Revenue that the people had no choice but to leave their homes, and that local officials should provide generous compensation to those who had resumed their livelihoods and to carefully encourage those who had not. Taxes on newly reclaimed land were to be suspended.

The fourth prince even issued a special edict that no region should punish fleeing civilians.

After the refugees resumed their work, some local officials demanded that they pay back the grain and fodder that had been owed for years. Lao Si was furious when he heard this.

He then said to the Minister of Revenue, "The people had no choice but to flee. When they returned to work, the fields were barren, and they had no means of producing farming tools or seeds. The government should provide them with relief. Instead, they are being taxed again for their debts. How can such impoverished people survive?"
From now on, all the grain and fodder owed by those who have fled and returned to work will be exempted!

The fourth brother's actions enabled a large number of displaced people to quickly return to the fields, and the devastated agricultural production was rapidly restored.

Due to the impact of years of war, large areas of land have been abandoned and left uncultivated.

In areas less affected by the war, such as parts of Jiangnan and Shanxi, there was a shortage of land and a large population, with some people even having no land to cultivate.

In order to integrate the people with the land, a large amount of wasteland was developed.

The fourth brother, like us, also participated in a large-scale migration across the country…

"Fourth brother is truly outstanding! Chongba, we've raised a fine son!"

Empress Ma's eyes practically sparkled with joy; she was overjoyed.

My fourth child is truly outstanding!

What he did after becoming emperor was completely beyond her expectations!
The surprise was absolutely amazing!

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded vigorously as well: "Sister, you are right. Fourth Brother has done a good job. He truly deserves to be our son!"
Our fourth son does more than just these things.

The fourth prince had extremely strict requirements for local officials, demanding that all local officials thoroughly understand the people's conditions and report their hardships to the court at any time.

In the tenth year of the Yongle reign, the fourth emperor ordered more than 500 local officials who came to the capital to pay homage to the emperor to give their accounts of the local conditions. He also stipulated that those who did not speak would be punished, and those who spoke inappropriately would not be questioned.

Afterwards, the fourth prince issued an edict to the Ministry of Revenue, ordering that all officials in prefectures and counties, as well as imperial envoys, who witnessed the people's suffering but remained silent, should be arrested and punished.

When disasters occur in the countryside, local authorities must provide timely relief, ensuring that assistance is provided promptly in times of flood or drought, and that there are no obstructions.

"Good! Fourth brother did a good job!"
Once this child returns with his business at the Maritime Trade Office, I will definitely reward him handsomely!

Empress Ma clapped her hands in praise.

The fourth son's performance met her expectations for her sons; he truly was her dream boy!
Thinking of her own son, Chongba, and her decision to send her sons out to sea to make their way in the world, Empress Ma felt even more certain that it was the right thing to do.

Given the talents displayed by the fourth prince, it would be a waste of his talents and a great pity to confine him to the Ming Dynasty.

"Since we abolished the position of Prime Minister and the Secretariat, and instead the Emperor directly led the Six Ministries, the Emperor had to handle everything personally, no matter how small."

Most people couldn't handle this kind of thing, so during the reign of the fourth prince, the civil service system was improved.

Within the imperial court, this gradually formed the prototype of the later cabinet system.

However, the cabinet ranks were not high, and they generally had to undergo training as probationary scholars in the Hanlin Academy.

However, although the civil officials of the Yongle cabinet were only of the fifth rank and their authority was limited to serving as advisors, their opinions were consulted in the formulation and decision-making of major national policies.

The emergence of the cabinet can be said to have made up for the structural disconnect in the central government after the abolition of the Central Secretariat.

It was not abolished throughout the Ming Dynasty.

During the Zhengtong and Zhengde periods, the central decision-making power of the cabinet became increasingly consolidated, and its power began to surpass that of the Six Ministries, leading to the emergence of the Grand Secretary.

Its status and role are becoming increasingly prominent..."

A cabinet? That's a good idea!

Empress Ma immediately memorized it.

Originally, she had many worries about whether her son, Chongba, would actually get rid of Hu Weiyong and abolish the Secretariat.

It wasn't that I was afraid it would cause a major mess, but rather that I was worried that my husband, Chongba, was working too hard.

But now, after hearing what Chongba said, all his worries disappeared.

"Oh, right, our fourth son also moved the capital to Beiping."

Beiping can be said to be the place where the fourth prince rose to power. He had been ruling there for many years and his rule was relatively stable.

In addition, Beiping is located at the junction of the agricultural and pastoral areas in the north, with convenient transportation and a strategic location. It is a center of trade among various ethnic groups and a key political and military location in the north.

Establishing the capital here would not only allow for resistance against the Mongols invading from the north, but also enable further control of the Northeast region, and from the south, it would allow for the rule of the Central Plains, thus contributing to the maintenance of national unity.

Therefore, after the fourth prince ascended the throne, he immediately began preparations to move the capital…

Empress Ma was not surprised that her son, Chongba, had said this.

It's understandable that the fourth brother would do something like this.

"But... if Chongba moves the capital to Beiping, wouldn't that be too far north?"

From now on, won't the emperor be the one guarding the country's gates?
"If a single gust of wind blows, the capital can easily be besieged by the enemy."

Empress Ma appeared somewhat worried.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Sister, you're right, it's true that this kind of thing can easily happen."

However, in our opinion, there are also great advantages to doing so.

That is to keep the capital at the forefront, constantly facing external threats.

Only in this way can the emperors who come after, as well as the ministers who hold power, be mindful of potential dangers even in times of peace and not dare to be too complacent.

After all, one is born in hardship and dies in comfort.

That's why the capital of my Great Ming Dynasty wasn't lost until the day it collapsed.

Of course, in our view, the fourth prince's relocation of the capital this time has an even more important significance.

That has greatly promoted the development of the North and brought the North and South closer together.

We must further accelerate the integration of the North and the South, and do our best to bridge the huge gap between them.

My son and I put in a lot of effort here.

The fourth brother's move scored a big point.

Zhu Yuanzhang highly approved of Zhu Di's decision to move the capital to Beiping.

"Sister, we should also move the capital to Beiping in the future."

Establishing the capital there would be far better than establishing it in Yingtian.

In reality, the most deadly threats to China come from the north; there are very few major incidents in the south.

As emperor, even if we make Yingtian our capital, we need not worry about the northern grasslands.

But if we don't become emperors, and the throne is passed down to our descendants, Yingtian City will be so far from Beiping.

Surely there will be descendants who are not up to par, gradually becoming lax due to prolonged peace.

They might even abandon the North.

If we don't defend the north, we can't protect our vast land.

It is absolutely impossible to survive with only half of the country; in the end, nothing will be left.

Therefore, the capital city must be placed at the forefront.

They can't even give up the north!

After a moment's thought, Empress Ma nodded vigorously, indicating that her son, Chongba, was absolutely right.

Moving the capital to Beiping may seem dangerous, but it is actually far safer than moving it to Yingtian.

The dazzling world is irresistible, and the allure of a gentle embrace is the best way to erode a hero's spirit.

Someone like Chongba, who climbed his way up from the bottom, was naturally unafraid of such things.

But what about those emperors who were born in the deep palace and raised by women?

They may not necessarily have the same spirit and ability as Chongba.

Rather than hoping that future generations will be ambitious and won't abandon the north.

It would be better to block the retreat route altogether and move the capital to the far north.

They won't be able to back out even if they want to!

That was a brilliant move!
Even if it were to actually be implemented, there would definitely be a lot of opposition, and the resistance would be considerable...

……

“Chongba, since our fourth son has done so well in all aspects and ushered in the Yongle Prosperity.”

Why did you still beat him up?

After learning more about what her fourth son had done after becoming emperor, Empress Ma became increasingly curious about the reasons why Chongba had beaten him...

(End of this chapter)