Sky Curtain: My Great Qin must have an aircraft carrier!

Zhu Yuanzhang slept until evening.

By the time he rubbed his eyes and got up, it was already quite dark.

I took a sip of tea to rinse my mouth and habitually looked up at the sky.

Upon looking at it, I almost dropped the teacup.

How can we objectively evaluate Emperor Yongle (Zhu Di), the Ming Dynasty's Chengzu Emperor?

Zhu Di? The Yongle Emperor? The Chengzu Emperor?!

Even if Biao'er is weak... even if Biao'er is frail, there are still the imperial grandsons, so no matter how you arrange it, it won't be Zhu Laosi's turn!

And that temple name—Chengzu!

If Zhu Laosi (Zhu the Fourth) has declared himself the patriarch, where does that leave his father? He's been reduced to a commoner, isn't he?

"This is outrageous! This little bastard has gone too far! We're still alive, and he dares to steal his brother's position."

"If we die, will he still want to dig us out of the Xiaoling Mausoleum?"

"Still talking about the Yongle Emperor? Still talking about the Ming Chengzu Emperor?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's face was ashen, and veins bulged on his forehead. "Someone, summon Mao Xiang!"

Before long, Mao Xiang, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, strode in and knelt on one knee: "Your subject is here."

"Go, bring Prince Yan, Zhu Di, to us."

Mao Xiang immediately noticed that Zhu Yuanzhang had said "capture," which already represented his attitude.

He dared not ask a single question, kowtowed to accept the order, and got up to leave.

"Wait!"

Zhu Yuanzhang spoke again, his tone unusually calm, "Go to the Imperial Household Department and bring back a few large wooden sticks; we need to stretch our muscles today!"

"I... obey your order."

Mao Xiang silently lit an incense stick for His Highness the Prince of Yan, and quickly acknowledged the order to leave.

Zhu Yuanzhang stood on the steps of the main hall, staring intently at the sky, his chest heaving violently.

Fourth brother, since you have the ability to seize this world, let's see how you've managed to govern the Ming Dynasty.

If we find even the slightest fault with you, we'll break your legs today!

How should we evaluate Emperor Yongle (Zhu Di)? Since this is an evaluation, we must discuss both his merits and demerits; otherwise, what kind of evaluation is it?

[Here we quote Gu Cheng's summary of Zhu Di: In history, Emperor Chengzu of Ming was a monarch with great achievements, and his accomplishments should be given sufficient recognition.]

However, we should also recognize the impact of Zhu Di's ambition and waste of manpower and resources on the national economy.

"Is he ambitious and fond of grandiose projects? Is he abusing the people's labor? Nonsense!"

During the Yongle reign, Zhu Di kicked over the table in front of him, exclaiming, "How come I'm so fond of grand achievements?"

"I personally led five expeditions to the northern deserts, striking fear into the hearts of the Mongol tribes so that they dared not graze their horses in the south. I also implemented the policy of replacing native chieftains with centrally appointed officials and establishing the Jiugang Pacification Commission, among other things."

"I dredged the Grand Canal, moved the capital to Beijing, and sent Zheng He on voyages to the Western Ocean to spread our national prestige. This is truly magnificent… cough cough…"

At this point, even Zhu Di himself felt a little guilty.

Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean were essentially driven by his own desire to make money.

But tell me, did it promote national prestige or not?

Zhu Di grew increasingly angry, turned to Zhu Gaochi, and loudly questioned, "Your Majesty, tell me, were what I did right or wrong?"

Zhu Gaochi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and nodded repeatedly: "Father Emperor is wise. Your civil and military achievements will be judged by posterity."

While saying this, Zhu Gaochi was inwardly cursing.

Dad, Tianmu is absolutely right!

The relocation of the capital to Beijing resulted in the deaths of millions of laborers, many of whom perished on the journey.

Five expeditions to the northern deserts failed to destroy the Mongols, but the national treasury was emptied.

The only profitable venture was Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean, which significantly increased the imperial treasury's revenue.

The problem is that this money was ultimately used to fill the hole left by the Northern Expedition.

Of course, Zhu Gaochi dared not say these things; he could only sigh silently in his heart.

First, let's talk about Zhu Di's main achievements, that is, the parts that had a positive impact on the country.

[He led eight hundred personal guards in a rebellion, won the Jingnan Campaign in about four years, and eliminated treacherous officials in the purest way.]

"Great, excellent!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's face was cold, and he gripped the white marble railing tightly with both hands.

It really is a rebellion!

That little brat really didn't disappoint me; he dared to stab his own family with a knife!

After his anger subsided, a strong sense of doubt welled up in Zhu Yuanzhang's mind.

With a million-strong army and various regional princes holding heavy troops, how could the fourth prince, with only eight hundred personal guards, possibly win?

Even if you gave him 80,000 men, let alone 800, it would be impossible to shake the foundation of the Ming Dynasty!

Unless, unless, Biao'er...

Zhu Yuanzhang recalled the prophecy from the heavens, and his heart pounded wildly.

The curtain of history continued to roll, and Zhu Di's list of achievements continued to grow.

[The Shenji Battalion pioneered the first large-scale unit in history composed entirely of firearms, setting a new precedent.]

[Building a new Beijing, constructing the Forbidden City, and moving the capital to Beijing]

[The six campaigns against the Northern Yuan basically resulted in the submission of many Mongol tribes to the Ming Dynasty and the surrender of several Mongol nobles.]

Sending Zheng He's fleet on one voyage to the East and six voyages to the West greatly enhanced the Ming Dynasty's influence over neighboring countries.

The compilation of the Yongle Encyclopedia was organized and was the largest encyclopedia in ancient Xia Dynasty, and also the largest encyclopedia in the world at that time.

As Zhu Di looked at the list of achievements displayed on the sky, the corners of his mouth curved upwards and upwards.

Finally, he simply jumped off the dragon throne and started dancing wildly in the Fengtian Hall.

Father, did you see that?

My son is no less capable than anyone else to be emperor!

Back then, my eldest brother Zhu Biao passed away, and my second brother, the Prince of Qin, and my third brother, the Prince of Jin, also passed away one after another.

As a result, the throne was given to Zhu Yunwen, a mere child who hadn't even grown up yet.

He endured it, intending to live a peaceful life as the Prince of Yan, guarding the northern border for the Ming Dynasty.

But that kid is utterly inhuman. He forced the Prince of Xiang to his death and imprisoned the Prince of Qi and the Prince of Dai. Why should he offer his neck for execution?

He didn't want to rebel; he had no choice but to rebel!

-

During the Hongwu era, Zhu Yuanzhang's expression gradually softened.

This kid... he's alright!

The Shenji Battalion, the Yongle Encyclopedia, and Zheng He's voyages to the Western Ocean—each and every one of these achievements is impressive and did not tarnish the reputation of the Zhu family.

If someone else had been evaluating it, Zhu Yuanzhang might have found fault with it.

But this is his son.

Even if someone rose to power through rebellion, it was just a change of personnel within the Zhu family.

To be honest, the fourth prince's achievements are more than enough to rank him among the top three in the Ming Dynasty.

But he really couldn't understand the idea of ​​moving the capital to Beijing.

Yingtian Prefecture is a place where tigers crouch and dragons coil, with Zhongshan Mountain as a screen and the Yangtze River as a natural barrier. What's wrong with that?

Going all the way to Beiping to get some fresh air? That crappy place is so cold in winter that even cows would freeze to death, and it's not that far from Mongolia.

What if the Tartars attack one day, leaving no room for maneuver? That would be ridiculous!

Just as they were muttering to themselves, footsteps came from outside the hall.

Empress Ma led two palace maids over, each carrying a steaming bowl of lotus seed soup.

"Zhongba, it's chilly at night, have a hot drink."

Zhu Yuanzhang took the bowl but didn't drink from it. He first glanced at Empress Ma and asked, "You saw everything?"

"I saw it." Empress Ma said gently, "It's okay to be angry, but don't beat the child to death."

"How old is he now? He's still just a little boy."

"Who said we were going to beat him to death?" Zhu Yuanzhang rolled his eyes. "We just said we were going to stretch his muscles, not take his life."

"So, this beating..."

"Absolutely!" Zhu Yuanzhang declared firmly. "It's only right for a father to discipline his son. Even if he becomes emperor in the future, he'll still have to be disciplined!"

Empress Ma secretly breathed a sigh of relief and gave him a reproachful glare.

Two blows are fine, at least my life is saved.

Anyway, the Zhu family kids are tough and can take it.

After finishing his lotus seed soup, Zhu Yuanzhang looked up at the sky again.

"Now that you've finished talking about your merits, let's see what your faults are."

"If I don't do it well, hmph!"