met free Chapter 1058 What's the point of fighting each other in the Ming Dynasty?
Chapter 1058 What's the point of fighting each other in the Ming Dynasty?
Zhu Biao had someone bring him a map of Xinghua County, and while pondering it, he said, "I've been thinking about this for the past few days: what exactly is the difference between the people of Xinghua County and the people of Ningyang County?"
Xinghua is located in Jiangnan.
Ningyang is located in Shandong.
"The people of Xinghua have been oppressed to this extent by Master Xu, yet they still choose to endure it."
"The people of Ningyang County..."
Zhu Biao simply curled his lip: "Having a good official like my brother-in-law, I can be considered a kind-hearted commoner."
Yang Shaofeng's face immediately darkened, and he snorted coldly, "Does Your Highness mean that if the people of Ningyang County and the people of Xinghua County lived in different places, the people of Ningyang County would have long been considered troublemakers?"
Instead of answering, Zhu Biao asked, "Shouldn't he have become a bandit?"
Those who kill their way into slavery in Ningyang County wouldn't be considered troublemakers.
Look at them now, they're farming honestly, and their brother-in-law even says they're "so tough you can't get a word out of them."
In fact, they would never say a word in front of their brother-in-law.
If someone like Guo Huai were to become the magistrate of Ningyang, they would only end up becoming bandits or even rebels.
Why did Ningyang County have only about two thousand people in the first year of the Hongwu reign?
It was because too many bandits and rebels emerged, and Hu Yuan killed them one after another.
Zhu Biao thought to himself, but Yang Shaofeng snorted and said, "So what? What does this have to do with the Second Prince and the Third Prince taking up their fiefdoms?"
Zhu Biao raised his head and looked at Yang Shaofeng, saying, "What I mean is that not all people in the world can be like the people of Ningyang County."
"Similarly, not all officials can work for the benefit of the people like my brother-in-law did when he was in Ningyang County."
"Simply relying on the Censorate will ultimately not be enough to investigate all the prefectures and counties."
"Let the second and third princes take up their fiefs, and the prefectures and counties under their jurisdiction can be inspected by the royal palace. This will allow the court to allocate more manpower to inspect other prefectures and counties."
Oh, so they're planning to treat Zhu Lao Er and Zhu Lao San like cattle and horses?
While inwardly grumbling, Yang Shaofeng said, "In fact, whether a prince takes up his fiefdom or not does not play a decisive role in the governance of officials."
Zhu Biao's eyes lit up, and he looked at Yang Shaofeng expectantly, saying, "Please enlighten me, brother-in-law."
Yang Shaofeng first said he dared not, then stroked his chin and said, "The essence of the problem lies in the fact that the people have difficulty governing themselves."
"The root cause of the people's inability to govern themselves lies in the lack of education and the lack of enlightenment among the people."
"According to the plans of my father-in-law, Prime Minister Li, and Marquis Chengyi, the role of the vassal kings is more about guarding the local areas."
"Firstly, to prevent a counterattack by the Hu Yuan dynasty, and secondly, to accelerate the integration of the people's hearts and minds, so that the North and South can be united again."
"In terms of governance, it has little to do with the vassal kings."
Zhu Biao nodded thoughtfully.
According to their father's plan, the second, third, fourth, and fifth sons, and even a bunch of foolish younger brothers, would be enfeoffed in the north as much as possible, forming three lines of defense around the capital.
These three lines of defense can complement each other and check each other, which ensures that while they serve as the outer defenses of the capital, none of them will become too powerful and will not affect the stability of the throne.
Because they were meant to act as a defensive line, these foolish younger brothers' power was primarily focused on the military sphere.
For local areas, these vassal kings only had the power to inspect and guide, and could not actually interfere in local government affairs.
Just as Zhu Biao was pondering this, Yang Shaofeng continued, "More importantly, the Hu Yuan is already like a grasshopper in autumn for the Ming Dynasty, and it is difficult for them to pose any threat anymore."
"Since the vassal kings cannot interfere in officialdom, and the significance of guarding the borders has been greatly reduced, it would not be as meaningful for Your Highness to have them take up their posts as soon as possible."
"Instead of thinking about these things, we should figure out how to get the Second Prince and the Third Prince to expand the territory."
"While we're at it, let's think about how to promote education and enlighten the people."
At this point, Yang Shaofeng suddenly chuckled and said, "When I was in Ningyang County, the people there complained in private that sending their children to the village school or the county school was like losing a strong laborer in the family."
"Your Highness intends to establish numerous community schools in Xinghua County to promote education and enlighten the people, so this issue must be considered in advance."
"Ideally, we could follow the example of Ningyang County and build some workshops first, providing the people with more ways to make money and allowing them to become wealthy first."
Zhu Biao hummed in agreement and then glanced at the map of Xinghua County in front of him.
Xinghua County can be considered a typical water town in the Jiangnan region, with rivers and lakes of all sizes scattered throughout the county, and even agriculture is mainly based on paddy fields.
Paddy fields need to be plowed by water buffalo. The only result of using those old yellow oxen from Ningyang County to plow paddy fields in Xinghua County is rotten hooves.
Water buffalo... Water buffaloes are not found on the grasslands, nor are they found in Goryeo.
However, Annam and Siam should be the places where water buffaloes originated.
When the time comes, having them offer water buffalo as tribute, or purchasing some at low prices through the border markets, should be enough to meet the demand for water buffalo among the people of Jiangnan.
Ignoring Zhu Biao's wild thoughts, Yang Shaofeng smiled and said, "Although Hu Yuan didn't do many good things, he did contribute something to the Grand Canal."
Xinghua is not far from the Grand Canal.
"If it can be used properly, Jiangnan and Beiping can be connected through the Grand Canal."
"Not only will it accelerate the flow of goods between the North and the South, but the people of the counties and prefectures on both sides of the strait will also benefit immensely."
After a slight pause, Yang Shaofeng continued, "For example, the lake ducks, duck eggs, crabs, and grains from Jiangnan can be transported to the north via the Grand Canal."
Similarly, steel and livestock from the north could be transported to the south via the Grand Canal.
"In this way, the various provincial administrations can better form a situation where each is intertwined with the other, and none can do without the other."
Yang Shaofeng took another piece of paper, sketched a few lines on it, and said, "Your Highness, look, this is the Ming Dynasty, this is the Yuan Dynasty, this is Korea and Japan..."
After roughly outlining the location of the Ming Dynasty and its surrounding vassal states, Yang Shaofeng continued, "Once the people of the Ming Dynasty become prosperous and their numbers increase, we can send the Second Prince and the Third Prince to expand the territory."
Yang Shaofeng's plans, which he had been slowly laying out since the first year of the Hongwu reign, have now finally revealed only the tip of the iceberg to Zhu Biao.
What's the point of fighting each other in the Ming Dynasty?
Go and expand our territory!
There are so many territories in the world that can be explored.
If you save more money for your family, even if a spendthrift son comes along someday, you'll still be able to squander money for a few more years than others.
Yang Shaofeng pointed to Australia: "This is the Han family's Rinan Commandery, also known as Xinming Island, which was personally named by my father-in-law. Can Your Highness rest assured without arranging for a vassal king to guard it?"
“And here, this place is rich in gold,” Yang Shaofeng gestured with his finger to the Americas: “The key is that the land is fertile and has a dense network of waterways, which can support tens of millions of people to cultivate the land.”
Zhu Biao's eyes lit up. He gestured with his hand to indicate the distance between the Americas and the Ming Dynasty, and said thoughtfully, "I still need my father to have more children."