Chongzhen's domineering

Chapter 300: The Subordinate State's Imperial Guards Launch an Attack (Part 2)

The next morning around 9 a.m., Zhu Jue had just finished processing the memorials when he ordered his men to summon Wei Zhongxian, Yuan You, Tian Hongyu, and others. They boarded a large carriage and headed towards the southern outer city.

This time he did not get out of the car to inspect the area.

He treated it like a sightseeing tour, ordering people to drive horse-drawn carriages to every place he could go.

He simply held up his binoculars and scanned the surroundings without saying a word.

Everyone was completely baffled.

They've been spinning around for almost half an hour now, and His Majesty hasn't uttered a sound. What on earth is he trying to do?

While they were pondering this, Zhu Jue finally spoke up, waving his hand and saying, "Alright, let's go back to the palace."

This left everyone completely stunned.

They just rode around in the carriage and did nothing. Wasn't it the same as not coming at all?

After Zhu Jue led everyone back to the main hall of Yu Xi Palace, he ordered Wang Chengen to bring a map of the capital and spread it out on the table before solemnly saying, "The southern outer city is in too much chaos; we must rebuild it."

Oh, so it's about rebuilding the southern outer city.

The southern outer city is indeed a bit chaotic, mainly because it was only built during the Jiajing reign. Due to lack of funds, the roads were not yet completed, and there were still many places without roads. In addition, there were some low mountains interspersed throughout the area, making the houses and streets a real mess.

It can be said that the southern outer city is a flaw in the capital, and it would be a shame not to rebuild it in the face of the current prosperity of the capital.

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded slightly in agreement.

Seeing this, Zhu Jue pointed directly at the map and said, "Zhongxian, you should first take over the entire area from the left and right sides of Zhengyangmen Street all the way to Chongwenmen Street and Xuanwumen Street, and from the south all the way to Shanchuantan and Tiantan."

We will build the Palace of All Nations in this area, a palace for all nations to pay tribute. As for the residents of this area, we will take all the fields west of the Altar of Mountains and Rivers, build streets and houses there, and relocate them there.”

And now another job has come up.

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian asked with great interest, "Your Majesty, how many days do you think would be appropriate to finish harvesting this area?"

How do you say this?

Zhu Jue stared at the map and pondered, "It's freezing cold right now. If we haven't arranged accommodations, we definitely can't just kick people out. The problem is, the streets and houses west of Shanchuantan can't be built anytime soon."

We can only set up tents first and let the residents in this area move into the tents temporarily. Then we will quickly build the streets and houses west of Shanchuantan and let them move there after they are built.

With the Lunar New Year approaching and the weather getting colder, it's definitely not feasible to have them move into tents. This month, you should first count the residents and measure the houses. Pay them the money for the land first so they can have a good New Year. Then, on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month next year, you can let them move into tents.

You've already spoken to them; once they're inside the tents, you'll pay them. It'll be the same old routine: they'll be responsible for boiling water and cooking, and everyone—men, women, young, and old—will be paid.

That means there's still more than a month to go.

That couldn't be simpler.

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian quickly clapped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is wise. Now they can truly have a joyous New Year."

You bootlicker.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "Grandfather Yuan, what are the artisans in the capital region doing now, and how many artisans can you spare?"

Yuan You thought for a moment, then explained in detail: "Your Majesty, of the more than 800,000 artisans originally gathered in the capital region, about 100,000 worked in the steel mills and foundries in Jizhou, another 100,000 worked in the Haihe Shipyard, and 50,000 households migrated to the Americas. Now, there are roughly 500,000 households left. They were originally engaged in mining, but the mining work has gradually been replaced by young and strong farmers from various places."

In the second half of this year, they mainly focused on laying tracks, building bridges, and also on constructing the Jiulong Mountain Summer Resort.

However, the railway from the capital to Liaodong has already been laid, and the Jiulong Mountain Summer Resort is almost finished. If needed, it wouldn't be a problem to transfer 500,000 artisans and able-bodied men to work in the southern outer city.

Now at least there are artisans to do the work, but we can't just assign tasks to more than 500,000 artisan households haphazardly.

Zhu Jue thought for a moment, then asked, "What kind of artisans are these 500,000 households?"

There are many different types of artisans.

Yuan You thought about it carefully before cautiously saying, "Your Majesty, originally, the artisan households were mainly composed of carpenters and blacksmiths, who made up almost half of the artisan households."

However, at this time, most carpenters worked in shipyards, and most blacksmiths worked in steel mills and foundries. The remaining craftsmen were more diverse, mainly including bricklayers, stonemasons, goldsmiths, silversmiths, coppersmiths, papermakers, mounters, printers, dyers, tailors, and cooks.

These craftsmen need to be properly divided up; they can't all be thrown together and made to do things they're not good at, which would be a waste of talent.

Zhu Jue nodded slightly, then asked, "Which craftsmen were mainly used to build the palaces and houses?"

How do you say this?

Yuan You thought about it carefully before cautiously saying, "Your Majesty, if we are building ordinary houses for commoners, then bricklayers will be enough. But if we are building palaces, then we will need bricklayers, carpenters, stonemasons, goldsmiths, silversmiths, coppersmiths, mounters, and so on."

Zhu Jue nodded slowly, then decisively said, "Then take a good look at the remaining craftsmen and divide them into two groups. One group will be responsible for building palaces, houses, cities, bridges, roads, ports and docks, while the other group will be assigned to the jobs they are good at."

For example, we can build workshops for tailors to specialize in making clothes. This industry is actually similar to shoemaking, and it has a promising future. You should know how the shoemaking industry developed, so just follow that approach.

Let's leave that aside for now. What we need now are specialized buildings for palaces, houses, cities, bridges, roads, and ports. How many do you estimate we could build?"

Yuan You estimated, "The construction of palaces, houses, cities, bridges, roads, and ports accounts for most of the remaining craftsmen. I estimate that at least 300,000 households can be mobilized."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Jue pointed to the map and explained in detail: "Then you should first mobilize 300,000 artisans and able-bodied men to the capital to set up tents."

The tents were set up in an open area north of the Temple of Heaven and the Altar of Mountains and Rivers. All the tents needed heating; besides those for the residents, tents for the civilians who needed to be relocated also needed to be set up before the Lunar New Year.

As they were discussing, Fang Zhenghua suddenly strode in, carrying a memorial, and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, Lord Yang has sent an urgent report from eight hundred li away."

Lord Yang?
Yang Sichang hadn't even set off for Southeast Asia yet, so Lord Yang must be Yang He.

Could something have happened in the Central Plains?

Zhu Jue took the memorial and saw that it really was Yang He.

Yang He reported that Gao Yingxiang had blocked all roads, large and small, from the Central Plains to Shanxi, so Pan Yunteng had no way of finding out the situation in Shanxi. They just wanted to ask if they could find a way to send someone from the direction of the capital to spy on the situation.

Gao Yingxiang, is he really capable of pulling this kind of stunt?
This must have been taught by the three powerful clans and eight imperial merchants of Puzhou. After all, Gao Yingxiang wasn't from Shanxi, and he wasn't familiar with the roads and trade routes from the Central Plains to Shanxi.

The saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle." If Pan Yunteng rushes over there without even knowing what the situation is in Shanxi, he is likely to suffer a great loss. To put it bluntly, even if they just dig a big pit on the road, it could kill many of them.

It seems like it's time to send secret guards to Shanxi. Anyway, the secret guards will have to go sooner or later, so it's good to send a group of secret guards to Shanxi to scout things out first.

He thought about it carefully, and then decisively said, "Zhenghua, send someone to summon Wenwei to come and pay his respects."

(End of this chapter)