Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 309 The Emperor is a Cat, You Have to Pet Him with Gentle Fur.
Everyone frowned at Bi Ziyan's words. He was, after all, a former Grand Secretary, yet his words sounded as if he hadn't said anything at all. Couldn't he have been more decisive?!
"Ahem, so Jing Zeng, your opinion is against moving south?!" Zhu Xieyuan had to interrupt Bi Ziyan when he saw that Bi Ziyan was about to keep talking and turn the meeting into a venting session.

"Do I really have to express my support or opposition? Can I just abstain?!" Bi Ziyan said with a mournful face.

"Okay." Zhu Xieyuan nodded. "Next!"

The Minister of Personnel, Revenue, Rites, War, Justice, and Works—Lai Zongdao—rose voluntarily. He was even more humble than the Minister of Personnel, and less so than the Ministers of Justice and Works. The Emperor, with his unpredictable personality, was not one to respect etiquette. However, he wasn't as assertive as Lai Zongdao; a rogue has his own rules for survival.

He then said, “Nanjing was originally the secondary capital. Your Majesty’s wish to move back to Nanjing is entirely feasible from the perspective of etiquette. The only problem is that the ancestral temples of the thirteen emperors are all in the capital. The ancestral tablets cannot be moved lightly, and the ancestral temples cannot be far away. The decision is up to Your Majesty, but I am afraid it will inevitably attract criticism.”

Feng Jiahui, the Minister of Justice, was from Hejian Prefecture in Beizhili. He was a staunch opponent of moving the capital. Upon hearing the words "moving the capital," he couldn't help but think of present-day northern Shaanxi; he certainly didn't want his hometown to be abandoned by the emperor!

"Since the Minister of Works is absent, His Majesty has appointed Zixian to temporarily lead the Ministry of Works. So, let Zixian speak first. Now, the heads of each ministry will speak first. The rest of you, please be patient. If you have anything to say, you can bring it up later," Zhu Xieyuan said, looking around the room.

"My ancestral home is in Shanghai County, Songjiang Prefecture. Years ago, I served as an Assistant Minister of Works in Nanjing for three years. Now, all I see are the towering city walls, but the palaces are desolate. Only the Wuying and Fengxian Halls remain, still old structures. Within the Forbidden City, only the two main halls, the main kitchen for sacrificial offerings and meals, the Chengyun Treasury for storing money and grain, and the Donghua Gate and Dong'an Gate remain."

The Ministry of Works in Nanjing estimated that restoring the Forbidden City in Nanjing to its original state would cost a staggering 30 to 40 million taels of silver, require the labor of a million people, and the large timber needed would be extremely difficult to find, either to be felled from the deep forests of Yunnan and Guizhou or purchased from various vassal states in Southeast Asia.

"Expenses of tens of millions of taels would be an unbearable burden within a year or two, but it's not much if it takes ten years to accomplish. I just don't know if Your Majesty can wait that long. Personally, I naturally prefer the capital to be moved south, as that would greatly increase the value of my family's land," Xu Guangqi joked.

But his jokes were so bad that no one laughed; even the nobles were almost in tears. Everyone knew the saying, "It's not easy to live in the capital," and everyone understood it.

The north has been plagued by natural disasters in recent years, and land prices have been falling steadily. If the capital were to disappear, the land would likely become worthless, and nobody wants their wealth to shrink drastically.

With tens of millions involved and millions of people forced into labor, although Xu Guangqi ultimately said he supported the southward relocation, his words did not seem like a gesture of support.

The six ministries, excluding the Ministry of War under Zhu Xieyuan's jurisdiction, had all spoken, and not a single one explicitly supported moving the capital. In truth, at this point, there was little need for further discussion, but to see things through to the end, Zhu Xieyuan continued the meeting.

The Left Censor-in-Chief, Gao Hongtu, was from Jiaozhou, Shandong. He said that even under the difficult circumstances of the Tumu Crisis, the capital was not moved. He couldn't understand why the capital was necessary now that the court was in such a good situation. Isn't it common for the harvest to be bad? Not every year in hundreds of years has been blessed with good weather. Can't we just endure it?

This has been going on for centuries, and not every year has been blessed with favorable weather. Besides, has Nanjing ever been free from natural disasters? Floods and typhoons are things we also have to face! In addition, the situation of overpopulation and limited land in Southern Zhili is already very serious. How would we settle a large group of people if we moved them there?
Seeing the somber atmosphere, Tian Zhen, the Commissioner of the Court of State Ceremonies, joked, "If we move south, won't I be unemployed?!" He was also against moving south.

"Yuan Ye, what do you think?!" Zhu Xieyuan hadn't forgotten that they had a younger brother in their cabinet. Li Guoyu was from Baoding Prefecture in Zhili, but he was too eager for advancement, so, in a very "politically correct" way, he didn't say anything. As a cabinet minister, he did whatever His Majesty said.

Everyone looked at him with disdain, and the other cabinet ministers also looked rather unpleasant. His words sounded sarcastic, implying that only he was loyal to the emperor, and everyone else was a traitor?! But he hadn't even given a proper explanation regarding the relocation of the capital!

Zhu Xieyuan then looked at Yuan Keli. Yuan Keli clearly had something to say, but he shook his head, indicating that the nobles should speak first. The nobles were particularly united in their opinions. Although the Duke of Ying's lineage had always been a loyal supporter of the Ming Emperor, they were not immune to the prevailing sentiments when their own interests were at stake.

Zhang Weixian said that there was no need to waste time asking each person in detail. They had already discussed this matter before they came. Most of the nobles wanted to maintain the status quo and did not support moving the capital.

"Well, does anyone else have anything to say?" Zhu Xieyuan asked.

"Let me say a few words."

Yuan Keli finally stepped forward. Ever since he stepped down from his position as the Liaodong military commissioner, he had been listless all day long. Apart from saying a few words about Liaodong affairs, he would doze off most of the time when attending court. The emperor even specially prepared a small stool for him so that he could sit and attend court.

The official in charge of ceremonies impeached him, but the emperor instead advised the official to be understanding of the old man. But this time, the old man acted like a sick tiger opening its eyes, and even those present, who were not ordinary people, were somewhat frightened.

Yuan Keli said quietly, "Aren't you all mistaken about something? You all say you don't want to move south, but if His Majesty insists on leaving, can you really stop him?! Or will you lead the officials to force the emperor to abdicate like Sun Zhisheng?! You threaten to resign and go into seclusion at the slightest dissatisfaction. Is this what a subject should do?!"

The crowd stood there, stunned. They didn't care about the principles of being a subject; the problem was that Yuan Keli had raised a very real issue. The emperor had said he would let everyone discuss it, but he hadn't said he would necessarily listen! To put it bluntly, "The emperor is the one with the strongest army and the most powerful horses," but who was stronger than the emperor now?! The crowd's expressions became somewhat bewildered.

At this moment, Zhu Xieyuan stood up and said, "I understand what you all mean. As for His Majesty, we, as his subjects, can only try our best to persuade him, but there is one thing I need to remind you of:
His Majesty is still in the prime of his life, so please speak calmly and don't try to force him to back down. He's the type who responds better to gentle persuasion than force. Tomorrow at court, you may each express your opinions, but don't rush to refute others; if you're going to argue, finish it now!

As for my personal opinion, I believe that moving the capital south would actually be beneficial to the border affairs: Beijing is a high city, and if it were not for protecting the emperor, only 20,000 troops would be sufficient for its defense. The remaining 100,000 troops could be sent to the front lines, either to eliminate remaining rebels or to defend the border.

Zhu Xieyuan's statement was clearly not convincing enough, and he did not seem to be keen on persuading others. His support for the southward relocation seemed more like a way to appease the emperor than a genuine desire to fight for the emperor's cause. No one knew his true thoughts.

After he finished, he instructed the clerk to delete the part where he suggested that the ministers appease the emperor, leaving only the part where he supported moving south. Although everyone witnessed this, no one exposed him.

(End of this chapter)