Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

The word "Enzhang" in Zhu Di's dictionary is used to refer to one person in particular, that is, Zhang Xin, the current Marquis of Longping and Governor of Water Transport.

The reason why Zhang Xin needs to be touched is not because Zhu Di doesn't miss his old relationship. In fact, although Zhu Di is a bit petty, he usually only treats the "enemies" he considers, and he is very protective of the "own people" he considers. Yes, as long as you don't do anything rebellious, the worst result is to be left idle.

In fact, Zhu Di only mentioned this matter at this time, and he was already taking care of Zhang Xin's face.

Last year's salt tax case of the Lianghuai Salt Envoy was so violent that both the Procuratorate and the Jinyi Guards were involved. Xie Jin, as the imperial envoy, was also slashed twice, but in the end, the Chief Envoy of the Huanghuai and Huaihe Rivers was eliminated. His deputies and the entire Huai'an government were involved, so weren't the Huanghuai Chief Envoy and the Governor of Water Transport implicated behind this?

It's definitely impossible.

The reason why we did not pursue the case was, on the one hand, because it was difficult to expand the salt tax matter. If it were expanded, it would involve too much and would make the entire salt tax system unable to operate, so it was limited to Huanghuai; on the other hand, it was because Zhu Di missed his old friendship and Zhang Xin's contribution, and didn't want to embarrass Zhang Xin too much.

Zhang Xin himself is from Fengyang, a descendant of Hongwu's founding military official. He inherited his father's command of the Yongning Guard. Later, Zhang Xin followed Gu Cheng to fight in Guizhou, and his combat performance was quite brave. In addition to these factors, the most important thing is that without Zhang Xin The entire history of the Jingnan Campaign and even Zhu Di's life trajectory will be completely rewritten.

With this kind of merit on his back, as long as Zhang Xin does not seek death, he, a member of the Longping Marquis lineage, is destined to die with the country.

But the matter was so big that although Zhu Di didn't openly touch Zhang Xin and wanted to get rid of him, he still had some thoughts.

It just so happened that since Jiang Xinghuo planned to clean up the illegal properties of powerful people, Zhu Di planned to take this opportunity to remove Zhang Xin from the position of governor of water transportation. In this way, outsiders would see it as two different things, and it was reasonable.

The most important thing is that Zhu Di himself went to the Northern Expedition. If he was not in Nanjing, he could put aside this face.

The reason why Jiang Xinghuo was asked to handle this important matter was because neither Yao Guangxiao nor Zhu Gaochi could do anything to Zhang Xin. Zhang Xin's kindness was to almost all of them, except that he had no friendship with Zhang Xin. And Jiang Xinghuo, who has never been in love, is not affected.

"How far can we go to clean up the illegal properties of powerful people?"

The communication between Jiang Xinghuo and Zhu Di had always been straightforward, so Jiang Xinghuo asked directly.

"Everything, including the Imperial Mansion."

Jiang Xinghuo nodded. In this case, if the tasks of clearing out illegal property and strengthening all aspects of taxation can be completed this year, then the tax guards will be sent to the countryside, which will be basically completed.

There is no doubt that this matter is the top priority in the second half of the second year of Yongle. Once the control over the countryside is strengthened and taxes can be effectively collected, the reform will thoroughly penetrate into the lower classes, because this not only means that taxes can be effectively collected, but also that taxes can be effectively collected. Any decree from the imperial court will be promulgated and implemented.

In this way, the reform will be completely opened up from top to middle and then to bottom.

From now on, it will only be necessary to slowly cultivate new groups, which will be enough for the reform to continue.

"but."

Zhu Di still urged: "I don't want to stop you, I just feel that you can't be anxious. The more anxious you are, the more it will be self-defeating, and it will ruin the big thing. This matter needs to be discussed more, but you can't stop. As long as you keep squeezing, you can To force the honorable nobles to clear out the illegally occupied land, and to force the subordinate officials and servants not to embezzle taxes, and to force the honorable nobles to hand over the illegally occupied land, as long as they are willing to hand it over, greater losses can be avoided. I am still here In the past few days in Nanjing, I will find an opportunity to talk about these things clearly to those who do not understand me."

Jiang Xinghuo nodded slightly.

Zhu Di asked again: "By the way, how are our new steel plants and concrete plants doing?"

These two things are what Zhu Di is most concerned about. What other perfumes are in a mess, how they were made, and how much they sold for, Zhu Di just listens to them. However, the output of steel and concrete is directly related to the overall military of the Ming Dynasty. Of strength.

Steel can make weapons, armor, guns and cannons, and concrete can build strong bastions. These are all urgently needed by the Ming Dynasty.

Jiang Xinghuo said unhurriedly: "The new drawings just arrived two days ago. I'm very satisfied after seeing them in the outer suburbs. The factory is currently under construction and is expected to be in mass production before the end of this year. ”

"That's great."

Zhu Di raised his feet and walked towards the entrance of the palace. As he walked, he continued: "The money from the dismantling of the household department must be collected quickly. It will be used for this year's expenses first, and then we will think of a way. As for those account books, we will use new ones this year." Every ministry and temple should keep an eye on the four-legged account to prevent anyone from getting into trouble."

After communicating these few things, Zhu Di had nothing to worry about.

"How many drinks?"

Jiang Xinghuo was startled. You won't let me get off work after we finish talking, right?

However, Zhu Di was obviously worried today, and Jiang Xinghuo didn't have anything too important, so he naturally had no reason to refuse.

The two entered the main hall. Zhu Di took off his armor with the help of the eunuch, and his own maid served wine and food.

After drinking for three rounds, Zhu Di suddenly put down his wine cup, sighed and said, "These days, I always dream about Emperor Taizu Gao."

Jiang Xinghuo was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said: "Your Majesty, you miss Taizu Emperor Gao too much!"

It is true that he was dreaming. In the history of Jiang Xinghuo's previous life, there are indeed many unofficial notes from the Yongle period that mentioned that Zhu Di had such dreams many times, but I don't know why Zhu Di suddenly mentioned Zhu Yuanzhang again now.

Moreover, whether it is longing or fear, or both, is also something that cannot be explained clearly.

Zhu Di was silent for a moment and then said: "In my dream, at this location, I always felt that Emperor Taizu Gao had something to say to me, but I could never hear it clearly. But sometimes I suddenly realized that Emperor Taizu Gao had something to say to me. The emperor has been dead for six years... At that time, I felt that the figure in the dream was not very real, and as soon as I got closer, the dream disappeared like a mirror, a flower in the water, and a moon in the water."

"But I really want to hear what Taizu Emperor Gao said."

Jiang Xinghuo's hand holding the wine cup hung in the air, carefully studying Zhu Di's expression.

In this environment, the two of them sat and drank together, without many tangible and intangible constraints.

Zhu Di's words did not reveal any sadness, but this sadness was clearly revealed in the corners of his eyebrows and eyes.

After all, giant blood suckers are people too.

Perhaps he was not afraid of what the Confucian scholars would say about him, and he was not even that afraid of the iron-clad historical writing. However, Zhu Di was unusually stubborn about how Zhu Yuanzhang would view him.

He was very concerned about his father's evaluation, so he wanted to hear what his father who no longer existed in this world would say to him.

Are you scolding him for being such a traitor, or are you pleased to say that he is doing a fairly competent job?

But Zhu Di wanted to hear it, but he didn't dare to.

He was afraid that he would be disappointed. He was afraid that his father would pull out his belt and beat him to the ground just like he did before his death.

In front of Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Di will always be a child.

That's why Zhu Di subconsciously wanted to know the answer, but also resisted the answer he didn't want to get.

Jiang Xinghuo frowned slightly when he heard this. Of course he knew how to comfort Zhu Di at this time, but what was the use of feeding him chicken soup? It's just a temporary reprieve.

So Jiang Xinghuo drank all the wine in the glass, thought for a while, and then said: "Since Emperor Taizu Gao has passed away so many years ago, the knot in your Majesty's heart is probably not about fame and righteousness, but the burden on your shoulders." Responsibility, what your Majesty wants to know is whether your ambition can be realized. If your Majesty can make achievements that surpass Taizu Gao Emperor, then this problem will be easily solved."

But to Jiang Xinghuo's surprise, Zhu Di nodded first, and then shook his head.

"Actually, I heard that before the death of Emperor Taizu Gao, there was a real edict, not the published one."

Jiang Xinghuo was stunned for a moment. Zhu Di wouldn't say next, that the imperial edict was to let King Yan succeed to the throne, right? Just say this to the outside world, but don’t believe it yourself.

After all, according to the patriarchal system, although Zhu Di was the eldest prince alive at the time, even if Zhu Yunwen and his brothers were excluded, it should still be the turn of the second generation Qin King Zhu Shangbing. In order, it was the Qin King, the Jin King and the Jin King. King, and then King Yan.

But Zhu Di was obviously not so confused. He just said: "The edict has long been gone, and all the palace officials he met at the beginning were all killed by Jianwen. The only one that can be found is that Emperor Taizu Gao asked Jianwen to do it no matter what. You cannot cut down the feudal vassal."

The expression in Jiang Xinghuo's eyes suddenly changed: "What does your Majesty mean?"

Zhu Di is obviously not someone who cares about cutting down vassal vassals. The difference between him and Zhu Yunwen is that Zhu Di will not kill the vassal kings, but will raise them all. But when it comes to cutting down vassals to protect his own throne, Zhu Di does a better job than Zhu Yunwen. Much more ruthless.

"What happened to the third child inspired me."

Zhu Di sighed: "No matter who becomes the prince in three years, I will let him go overseas to establish a vassal state. If nothing happens in the future, don't come back. It is better to be an independent king than to end up in Hunan in the future. The king ended up like that.”

"The rest will become princes and emperors in the future, and they won't have to worry about me. When I wake up in the middle of the night, I don't have to worry about me asking him for an explanation."

"Your Majesty, are you willing to do so?"

Zhu Di snorted and said: "Master, do you think I am a fool like Emperor Taizong of the Han Dynasty? I understand the temptation of the throne too well. If one day I really die, my sons There will inevitably be dissatisfaction. Not only that, it is also common for roommates to fight and fight with blood. At first, I thought that Emperor Taizu Gao thought too much, but now I understand. Not only was he not confused, but he had calculated all of this accurately. , it’s just that I got the destiny, Jianwen didn’t get the destiny.”

The theory of destiny, of course, does not refer to any real arrangement by God. After watching the torsion scale experiment, Zhu Di, who did not believe in these statements at first, did not believe it anymore.

The destiny Zhu Di mentioned here is his luck and the most correct choice he made in several key decisions.

Yan Fan's family background was too thin. To be able to overwhelm millions of Confederate troops in a corner and then counterattack and proclaim himself emperor was a key element of luck. For Zhu Di, sometimes one wrong move could lead to a disaster. Needless to say, every step was wrong, but there was simply no next step.

Because of this, Zhu Di felt deeply that it was not easy to gain the throne. If we could establish the rules while everything is still under control, then not only there would be no conflicts between the same clan in the future, but even if they were, the vassal king would be transferred overseas. , and there will never be another peace battle.

Zhu Di stood up. He drank too much wine and staggered slightly for a while.

He stroked the objects in the palace, feeling a little nostalgic but also a little relieved: "In a few days, I won't have to have these dreams."

Speaking of this, Zhu Di showed a complicated expression on his face.

From the bottom of my heart, although Zhu Di spent his entire boyhood in Nanjing, he didn't like it here. He preferred his own fiefdom.

The wind from the north was cold enough to heal the scars in his heart.

Moreover, Zhu Di was not happy during the three years he stayed in Nanjing.

Zhu Di is the embodiment of imperial power and a great blood-sucker, but he is also an emotional person.

Zhu Di likes to gallop on the battlefield wearing a strong suit, rather than wearing a dragon robe and being trapped in a huge palace every day, playing trade-offs with ministers.

In addition to these, in this place where his father Zhu Yuanzhang once ruled the Ming Empire for more than 30 years, Zhu Di always felt that he could not fully control it, as if Zhu Yuanzhang's figure was always hanging over Nanjing, watching his every move.

Therefore, Zhu Di wanted to leave here.

He wants to be his true self.

The famous general Zhu Di, not the emperor Zhu Di.

"After I leave Nanjing, these matters, including the reform, will be handed over to the National Master. By then, we will calculate the time and find that Cao Guogong is almost back. Let him temporarily take over Cheng Guogong's responsibilities in the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion. Duke Cheng will go north with me, but Duke Qi will still stay at the military academy."

Zhu Di picked up the wine bottle, took another sip, and started humming to himself.

"If you fight with him~ If you put on a few more pieces of armor and a few layers of robes, you will have millions of troops, but you can't stop him from chasing the wind for thousands of miles; you will have a thousand generals, but you can't dodge Yan Yue San Zhi. knife.

There is no Lintong meeting with Qin Mugong, and there is no Hongmen meeting with the overlord of Chu. If there is no such thing as a banquet full of people lined up as vanguard generals, it will be as small as a million soldiers assassinating Yan Liang. "

This is a small part of the Yuan Dynasty song "King Guan Goes Alone to the Single Sword Club". Li Jinglong also sang it in Japan back then, but he sang "Zhu Ma Ting" in it.

As one of Guan Hanqing's masterpieces, this Yuan song was widely praised by military commanders in the early Ming Dynasty because of its concise and heroic diction. Many military commanders could sing their favorite passages in it, and Zhu Di was no exception.

Jiang Xinghuo was also infected by Zhu Di's emotions and stood up with a wine glass in hand.

Although Zhu Di usually doesn't hide his emotions too much, as an emperor, maintaining majesty and mystery is also a required course.

Therefore, Zhu Di is usually happy and angry, but he only expresses his attitude through his emotions and does not lose his composure.

Today's situation, to use an inappropriate metaphor, is that the candidates who were forced to squat in the Confucius Temple examination room for ten days are finally leaving that small room, and it is inevitable to be happy.

"The mortal world destroys people's body and mind, Mr. Jiang."

Zhu Di held up the wine bottle and clinked glasses with Jiang Xinghuo.

Hearing this long-lost title, Jiang Xinghuo touched his cheek and smiled bitterly.

you do not say.

"Immortals are so high up there that they don't have to endure the sufferings of this world, but this world also has its benefits."

"for example?"

"For example, traveling through mountains and rivers, seeing all kinds of living things, and doing things that are meaningful to you and can change the world."

"Then Mr. Jiang thinks what he is doing now is really meaningful?" Zhu Di suddenly asked.

Jiang Xinghuo answered affirmatively.

"It's meaningful. Doing something has its own meaning."

I don't know if he was drunk, but Zhu Di's question became more and more pointed: "What if the reform that put so much effort into was overturned?"

"My little disciple has a poem."

Jiang Xinghuo laughed and said, "It's called "The Song of Lime"."

"Just like lime, it will always leave traces. Even if it is really broken into pieces and blown away by the wind, it will always remain in people's hearts."

Jiang Xinghuo chanted without waiting for Zhu Di to ask.

"Thousands of hammers have been made to carve out the deep mountains, and the fire will burn them as if it were nothing. I am not afraid of being shattered into pieces. I want to leave my innocence in the world!"

Zhu Di was stunned for a moment, and the small figure of Yu Qian appeared in his mind.

This poem seems like something he could do.

"You have a good apprentice."

"That is."

Seeing Jiang Xinghuo looking quite proud, Zhu Di not only laughed dumbly, but said: "I have completely joined the world."

"There is so much suffering in this world, so let's just take it all for granted."

Zhu Di leaned on the pillar, looked at Jiang Xinghuo, and suddenly said: "You know? You look like a human being at this time."

Of course, Zhu Di's words were not scolding Jiang Xinghuo, but he was speaking out of emotion. In the three years since he and Jiang Xinghuo had known each other, perhaps Jiang Xinghuo didn't realize it, but Zhu Di had seen with his own eyes the changes in Jiang Xinghuo.

This change cannot be said to be good or bad, but there is no doubt that Jiang Xinghuo now has a lot more earthly fireworks than before.

"Didn't you look like a human before?"

Zhu Di nodded.

In fact, sometimes, Zhu Di felt that Jiang Xinghuo was too perfect.

If there really is a so-called "Wenquxing", it must be Jiang Xinghuo.

But this kind of excessive perfection is not real enough.

Jiang Xinghuo smiled and said nothing, but stretched out the empty wine glass, and Zhu Di filled it for him.

"cheers."

"cheers."

Zhu Di drank the wine, smacked the taste, and said to Jiang Xinghuo sincerely, "I hope you and I can start and end."

"Guan Yiwu was raised by the soldiers, Sun Shu'ao was raised by the sea, Baili Xi was raised by the city. I, Jiang Xinghuo, was raised by the prisoner. Together they should become a good story."

Jiang Xinghuo took a deep look at Zhu Di.

Jiang Xinghuo also has complicated feelings about this emperor who has a complicated personality, sometimes frightening many people, and sometimes making people find him a bit interesting.

Although Zhu Di was taking advantage of him, the two had been together for several years, and there was still some friendship mixed in with them.

The imperial power represented by Zhu Di is also Jiang Xinghuo's last test.

But thankfully, Jiang Xinghuo doesn't need to think about these issues now, he just needs to drink.

It was night, the moon and stars were sparse, and the two of them were drunk and confused.