Great Ming: I, Zhu Di, Declare My Intentions to Seize the Throne from the Start!

It was early November in the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu.

Because he was traveling on a merchant ship powered by a mixture of animal power and sails, it took Fang Xiaoru more than 20 days to arrive in Beijing.

The news that Zhu Di was coming back soon spread in Jinling.

It aroused great discussion and expectations among the people.

"Have you heard? My grandson is getting married and King Yan is coming back."

"I knew it earlier. It spread throughout Jinling."

"I still remember the grand occasion when King Yan sailed into the Qinhuai River with 300 warships and fired thousands of cannons. I don't know what kind of shock King Yan will bring to us this time."

…

"Didn't I say at the beginning that when rural communities were fully built, everyone's life would be easier? But look at it now, I feel like life is even harder than before."

"What nonsense are you talking about? I have relatives in the village outside Jinling City. Since the establishment of the local village community, I can still have a full meal even if I am not working. I will tell you a secret quietly. In these years, I have directly communicated with you through this relative. We buy homespun cloth, eggs, rice, flour, grain and oil from their village. If the rent in Jinling hadn’t been getting more and more expensive, life would have been better than before.”

"Yes, yes, I also have relatives who are farming in the village. Although the money they get is still not much, in recent years, even if they eat Wowotou, they can still eat a full meal of pure grain. Let me tell you, we in the city Life is getting harder and harder just because we didn’t implement the employment share system.”

…

A rumor smearing the local village community and targeting Zhu Di loomed in the lively discussions among the people.

Hu Mansion.

Today, the Hu Mansion has become the base camp of the Anti-Yan Alliance, a secret political and economic organization hidden underwater.

study.

Hu Weiyong and Lu Ben looked through a thick stack of rosters.

At some point.

Lu Ben put down a roster in his hand, patted it, and said with a smile: "Hu Xiang, over the years, you have used Hu's business as a cover to develop this anti-Yan alliance that has achieved great results! In addition to Fujian and Mongolia north of the Great Wall, In the Han Demonstration Area, a needle cannot penetrate and water cannot penetrate. In other places, there are core members and peripheral members of our anti-Yan alliance. In just a few years, the core members have grown to a thousand people..."

Among them are officials from the local government.

There are also local merchants who are extremely wealthy and powerful.

For example, that Shen family son-in-law Gu Xuewen!

In the future, they will also pull all the Shen family's first and second houses who stayed in the Central Plains on board their ship in an orderly manner.

If we can use the first and second rooms of the Shen family to drag down the third room of the Shen family who followed Zhu Silang to the sea, it will be like planting a thunder around Zhu Silang!

Especially valuable are the military generals.

When Hu Weiyong was prime minister, he had a good relationship with Huaixi Wuxun.

As for the Wuxun Group, it was precisely because of Zhu Silang's sudden rise that it suffered the most.

Ever since Zhu Silang's classic battle across the grassland.

The entire Wuxun Group no longer dared to bargain with Emperor Zhu.

In addition to the rural village community proposed by Zhu Silang, with Emperor Zhu's support, Emperor Zhu's prestige in the hearts of the people was immediately unshakable.

Emperor Zhu cleverly seized this opportunity.

Divide the military power controlled by Wu Xun.

The peak period is these few years.

On the one hand, the troops and horses that Wu Xun had been in charge of were assigned to the vassal king.

On the other hand, by reorganizing the new army, the millions of elites of the Ming Dynasty were reorganized into an orderly and chaotic organization.

Coupled with the military rank system, the hidden dangers of small groups such as nepotism, rural parties, and hilltops in the military have been effectively combated.

Many people were frustrated and felt that Emperor Zhu established the Ming Dynasty and gave Huaixi martial arts honors that were missing when he was knighted, and therefore hated Zhu Silang deeply.

First he did business with Hu Weiyong, and was gradually drawn into the anti-Yan alliance.

During the army reorganization.

Under the guidance of him and Hu Weiyong, they actively studied the new military drills. Some people became models because of their outstanding performance and were praised by the prince.

Thus he was promoted to the new army in the Beijing camp.

Not much though.

However, among the new troops in the Beijing camp, there are hidden members of the anti-Yan alliance who lead a new army in the town.

Such a result is very great!

"In addition to the core members, there will be even more peripheral members. Give us a few more years, and the final program goal of our entire Falling Yan Alliance will definitely be achieved!"

Hu Weiyong glanced at the excited Lu Ben.

The final purpose of the program?

Did he strangle Zhu Silang?

Or support Zhu Yunwen to aspire to the supreme position?

Hu Weiyong smiled, and then said with emotion: "This time our effect in smearing Zhu Silang is not obvious, and we dare not make too big a move, lest Emperor Zhu discover the clues..."

In order to deal with Jin Yiwei.

They have also developed a very strict organizational system.

After all, Emperor Zhu's eagle dog is really powerful.

The smile on Lu Ben's face disappeared...

snort!

He hummed: "They are all a bunch of stupid people! If you want to change the blind worship of these stupid people, I'm afraid it will take some time."

After Fang Xiaoru brought back the news that Zhu Silang would be back.

The people of Jinling showed great expectations and excitement.

Therefore, they made a fuss about the fact that the lives of the people in the city have become increasingly difficult in recent years.

I want to attribute this problem to the rural community.

Throw dirty water on rural communities.

If it can be done, Zhu Silang's prestige in the Central Plains will definitely be lost overnight.

However, if the ignorant people believe in one person, it will be difficult to change this concept.

Their covert actions to throw dirty water.

There wasn't any waves.

But that’s okay.

When the life of the people in the city became more difficult, he would not believe it, and the stupid people would still blindly believe in Zhu Silang.

At that time, with a little guidance, Zhu Silang may be able to pull Zhu Silang down from the altar in the hearts of ignorant people!

…

In Jinling, and even in the entire Ming Dynasty, there was a lot of disturbance because Zhu Di was going to return to the court at the time of Zhu Xiongying's wedding.

Zhu Di is also preparing to return to the DPRK.

royal palace.

Political Hall.

Zhu Di is holding a meeting of the three classes of sea, land, civil and military affairs.

There is a long table eight meters long and four meters wide. Zhu Di is facing the door of the assembly hall, sitting north and south.

The civil and military groups sat on both sides of the long table.

The Minister of Finance, Jiang Jinzhong, was reporting on the various incomes and expenses of the Yan Fan this year. "Except for the capital Yanjing, this year, the total savings generated by the industry, agriculture, fishery, animal husbandry, merchants and other ministries were negative one million taels..."

…

"The total savings generated by all walks of life in Yanjing, the capital, are two million taels, and the total savings for the whole year are one million taels."

After Jiang Jinzhong finished his summary, he looked away from the folding paper in front of him and looked up.

Yu Jing couldn't help but ask: "Chiang, have you made a mistake? Although our maritime trade with the Ming Dynasty has been decreasing year by year in recent years because of obstacles set up by people within the Ming Dynasty, our maritime trade ships in Yanjing Bay are comparable to those in the previous few years. In 2018, there were more than several times more, but the savings were actually 500,000 taels less than last year!"

The Admiralty Department is still thinking of crying out for poverty and raising some funds when paying New Year greetings to the prince this year.

Not to mention purchasing a few more warships.

Build at least a few more logistics transport ships.

This savings only left one million taels, how could he speak?

"Old Chiang, are you civil servants spending money lavishly and wasting all your money?"

"Yes, Jiang, have you checked to see if the people below have been corrupted?"

…

After Yu Jing took the lead, the generals from the Navy Department and the Army Department who attended the year-end summary meeting one month in advance issued questions one after another.

Zhu Di didn't stop him and watched with a smile.

He is not seeking a confrontation between civil and military forces, but a balance.

Instead, he guided his subordinates to become familiar with the process of questioning and answering.

Everything in Yanfan is new.

A group of people who came from the Central Plains and accepted the traditional civil and military culture needed someone to guide them if they wanted to become familiar with, adapt to, and accept this new political system.

"Yu Tongzhi, Tan Tongzhi." Ye Mao said with a smile, "To explain this issue, we must start from the overall situation. I assist the prince and take charge of the civil service departments, and have a more comprehensive understanding of where the money is spent..."

Tan Yuan and others gradually became quiet and looked at Ye Mao.

Ye Mao is equivalent to the prime minister, but he is not the prime minister.

The same grade as the officials of various ministries.

Daily governance and dealing with the decisions handed down from below cannot be decided by one person. Meetings must be held with various ministries, and the minority must obey the majority to vote.

After making opinions on how to deal with the issues submitted by local papers, submit them to the prince, and at the same time mark everyone's opinions.

For ordinary small matters, the prince will pass directly.

In the voting, although the minority obeys the majority, but there is not much difference between support and opposition, the prince will handle it seriously and sometimes agree with the handling opinions of the civil servants.

Sometimes it will be vetoed.

In short, it is to grasp the big and let go of the small.

Ye Mao is a minister who does not serve as a minister with real power in various ministries.

Not so much the prime minister.

It's better to say, assist the prince and coordinate various ministries.

The power is there.

But it is definitely not as big as the prime minister of the Ming Dynasty.

As for the Ministry of War.

Yan Fan does not exist among them.

The armed forces of Yan Fan are the Navy Department, Army Department, Logistics Department, and Training Department.

The Logistics Department mainly coordinates logistics and foster care with various civil service departments.

The training department conducts preliminary training for new recruits of the navy and army.

In times of peace, the four departments are not subordinate to each other.

In the event of war, generals and staff will be immediately transferred from the four departments to form a joint logistics command headquarters for coordinating operations.

This kind of joint logistics department formation training has been conducted countless times over the years, and everyone is already familiar with it.

Anyway, based on the feeling of being in it over the years.

It seems that this arrangement is better and smoother than the imperial court setting up the Ministry of War and the Governor's Office of the Five Armies.

In peacetime, everyone has clear responsibilities, and there is no shirk.

During wartime, the four departments were mobilized under the unified Joint Logistics Department.

At the end of every year, they must budget for their military expenses.

This money covers the soldiers' military pay, armament maintenance, exercises, training, etc...

After the budget is made, this money will be locked up by the Ministry of Finance, and this money cannot be used for anything that has nothing to do with the military.

If the four military departments want to use it, they have to apply.

Use is subject to joint supervision by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Supervision.

This kind of expenditure budget belongs to the peace budget. Once there is a war, according to Yan Fan's rules, there is no budget, and everything is based on winning the war.

Ye Mao looked at the four military officers who were staring at him eagerly, smiled, and unfolded the story, "First of all, this year is the last year for the Navy to pay the final payment for one hundred and fifty updated warships. Throughout the year, the Navy will pay the final payment of 80 Wanliang!"

…

Ye Mao started from the navy and summarized them one by one.

At the end, he closed the fold and said with a smile: "Actually, we will have a lot of income this year, but because of the new naval construction, the new Century Bridge, farmland water conservancy, and the permanent roads that run through Luzon and Dongpan, all of them have arrived. The factory has a deadline to pay the final payment, so the savings this year are less than last year.”

"In the past few years, we have carried out large-scale construction, and all the financial burdens caused by it have been paid off this year. With the completion of this large-scale construction, starting next year, our rural grain output under Yanfan will be higher, and with the new Industrial products such as carriages, bicycles, and clocks will begin to be sold to the outside world next year. It can be predicted that our Yan Fan will usher in an explosive period next year. We estimate that our Yan Fan’s financial savings next year will be at least three million!"

The military generals headed by Yu Jing and Tan Yuan suddenly beamed.

This is amazing!

How much savings did the Ming Dynasty make over the years?

It seems to be five to six million.

But the Ming Dynasty had tens of millions of people!

On the other hand, what about Yan Fan?

There are only over three million people!

This is all due to the good development of Yan Fan's industry.

"My lord, I didn't expect this industry to be so profitable."

"I used to think that engaging in industry would make our Yan Fan's weapons better and better. I didn't expect that we could still make so much money!"

"No, let's not talk about anything else. Just say that two mules or donkeys can pull an animal-powered harvester to harvest crops. In the Central Plains, if one person can take care of ten acres of land, it is as high as the sky. But look at our Yan Fan , in each rural village community, now only 30% of the labor force is working on the crops, and the rest are working in the village workshops."

…

New 𝗑.𝖼𝗈𝗆

Zhu Di allowed everyone to discuss for a while.

He also presided over next year's full-year budget.

Big goals for governance and construction next year.

Wait until everything is decided.

It's already afternoon.

In the meantime, everyone just made do, discussing things and eating something casually.

Zhu Di looked at the sky outside and it was getting dark.

He concluded: "Next year, in the military, a group of old brothers who have been with us for several years, are already old, and have no hope of promotion will retire. The Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Training, and the Ministry of Finance must make plans and prepare in advance. The land provided to the old brothers and retirement subsidies must be in place. If someone does not want to go back to farming and wants to engage in industry and commerce, you must also help check and provide certain support..."

Over the years, military education has continued uninterrupted.

All the soldiers studied engineering and agricultural courses.

Some old brothers may want to engage in industry and commerce based on the knowledge they learned in the military.

"Relocate these old brothers as much as possible to villages where Luzon locals gather. Our old brothers who have received military education are all valuable talents. Now under our rule, the villages where Luzon locals gather , rural village communities are still very underdeveloped and need someone to take the lead and set an example."

…

The civil and military classes nodded unanimously.

There are many reasons why rural communities in Luzon, where locals gather, are underdeveloped.

First of all, these Luzon locals have bad traditional habits and are the kind of people who have no motivation when they are full.

Secondly, the degree of enlightenment cannot be compared with that of the people of the Ming Dynasty.

Neither his vision nor his skills in serving crops are sufficient.

"Our development is gratifying, but we must also pay attention to the hidden dangers, especially in our Yanfan, if the development of rural communities is unbalanced, especially if the rural communities with mostly migrant residents develop rapidly, while The development of villages where people from Luzon are concentrated lags behind, eventually forming a serious imbalance, which will definitely bring a lot of disadvantages and troubles to our business in the future."

"I went out for a walk this year and discovered a phenomenon. The locals in Luzon are not born lazy. It's not that they don't want to live a better life. They just don't know how to live a better life. At the same time, they don't have a role model to learn from. Before we came here, they never had any See better, and no one teaches them how to become better.”

"In some villages where immigrants and Luzon locals live together, the people of Luzon have been infected by the simplicity and kindness of our people after observing our immigrants. They have worked hard and hard over the years."

…

"Why should I ask our old brothers in the army to go to the village where Luzon people gather?"

"First of all, over the years, we have occasionally pulled our military brothers out to go into villages to build village roads and carry out construction. After the initial fear of our soldiers, the local people in Luzon have now developed trust and admiration for our soldiers. As long as the old brothers in the army are assigned to these villages where Luzon locals gather, I believe they will be easily accepted by these people."

At first, the soldiers were pulled out to build roads and carry out construction in the villages.

It's not just for construction.

In fact, it’s just to prepare for today.

"Secondly, our brothers in the military are all knowledgeable and skilled soldiers. Over the years, they have received our military education and not only mastered skills and knowledge. I believe that their moral character has been cultivated by our melting pot. It can also stand the test. In the future, in our military, when they reach the age and have no chance of promotion, they will all retire. Let them go home to marry and have children. At the same time, what they learned in the military will be brought to the civilian population, whether they are engaged in industry or commerce. , or go to the villages to farm, I have reason to believe that they can have a positive impact on our civil society in Yanfan."

He is very confident about this.

A soldier of the imperial court may become a ruffian after he ceases to be a soldier.

But in these years, the new Yanfan army, which has been educated with the people's view of history, at least the vast majority, will not become ruffians who bully good and fear evil, and bring harm to their neighbors.

In a foreign land, I want to rule a group of foreign people.

And assimilate them into Chinese people.

It’s not just about giving some benefits.

The military must also establish a civilized and righteous atmosphere in addition to deterrence.

"Okay, that's all I've said. Does any of you have anything to add?"

Wow!

The two classes of cultural relics stood up together, and the military stood at attention and turned around, raising their hands to salute Zhu Di.

The civil servants were not as neat as the military, so they turned around and bowed, "I obey my orders!"

Zhu Di stood up and said with a smile: "It's getting late. In a few days, I will go back to Ming Dynasty with the princess. Today I am in the palace and inviting everyone to dinner. Just think that this year's New Year's Eve dinner has been brought forward. You go home and pack up first." Come to the palace with your family soon."

"yes!"

"As you command!"

…

Zhu Di came out from the main entrance of the Yizheng Hall surrounded by everyone.

"Dad..."

Just after coming out, when the civil and military teams were about to return home to prepare, Qihua's excited voice came.

Zhu Di and the civil and military squads looked at the sound.

Qihua came in a hurry on a bicycle, carrying Jin Douzi. After approaching Zhu Di, Jin Douzi couldn't wait to be the first to say: "Dad, the steam engine..."

Before he finished speaking, his ears were grabbed by Qihua.

Zhu Di glared at Qihua with a smile, then asked happily: "Has the Industrial Research Department developed a steam engine?"

Jin Douzi didn't dare to take the initiative this time and looked up at Qihua.

Qihua nodded and rubbed Jindouzi's ears, "Dad, brother, senior brother Dongxu, they are all looking at that big iron guy."

Zhu Di happily said to Ye Mao and others: "Let's go and have a look. Send someone home to inform the family members to enter the palace during dinner."

Steam engine!

Unexpectedly, those craftsmen finally made it.

Not to mention the steam engine’s contribution to industry and commerce.

The steam engine gave wings to human migration.

Zhu Di led a group of people out of the palace, took a carriage, and drove straight from the Century Iron Bridge to the Industrial Research Department on the south bank of Yanjing Bay.

The Research Division is located in the industrial area of ​​South Bank.

It is to allow the master craftsmen inside to easily get help from various factories in the entire industrial zone.

Temporarily creating parts and so on can be completed as quickly as possible.

The Industrial Department is in the center of the industrial zone, in a large courtyard with red brick walls.

When Zhu Di and his party entered in a carriage, they startled the craftsmen and children who were watching.

Everyone turned around, and after Zhu Di got off the carriage, they immediately bowed and saluted: "Meet the prince!"

Ta-ta-ta...

Zhu Di heard a rhythmic and regular roar.

He immediately looked past the crowd and looked back.

"No gift!"

He waved his hand and walked straight towards the direction of the sound.

Everyone made way for a passage, and Zhu Di finally got a glimpse of the whole picture.

There was an upright boiler, one person high, with charcoal fire burning brightly underneath, and an iron pipe connected to the top.

The curved iron pipe extends to the left and enters a large, square iron box. The other end of the iron box is connected to a reciprocating shaft, which uses a connecting rod to drive a wheel to rotate rapidly.

The civil and military teams followed Zhu Di and circled around the large roaring machine several times.

Up and down, look at everything carefully.

"Master Yang." Zhu Dichong waved to the master craftsman standing nearby.

Yang Liuliu, this is a craftsman who followed Zhu Di to sea.

He is not the kind of craftsman who cannot read a word.

The family has an ancestral craft, is literate, and knows how to draw.

During the Ming Dynasty, they mainly built houses for wealthy families and made some exquisite furniture such as dressing tables.

The mortise and tenon structure is just a basic skill for people.

I have thought about it myself and built various furniture such as dressing tables with hidden compartments and structure, which are very impressive.

Fujianese.

Yang Liuliu came to Zhu Di with a smile and said, "Your Majesty."

Take a look.

Even the prince calls him Master Yang.

In the Ming Dynasty, one would not even dare to think of this.

He has built houses for many wealthy families in Fujian and furnished them with furniture that the ladies and gentlemen rave about.

But people always only praise the furniture.

Never gave him a shred of respect.

Zhu Di pointed at the boiler, "Why is this boiler not the rivet structure I saw last time I came here?"

"Your Majesty, the rivet structure is not good. If the air is held inside too much, air leakage will occur or even burst. We finally asked the iron factory to design the mold first, and then poured the boiler with molten steel. In addition to the gas guide The joints of the iron pipes and the entire boiler are a whole, which does not leak and does not crack. After repeated tests, we also set up a shrapnel air valve on it, using steel shrapnel and sinking. This watch factory makes the kind of clockwork steel sheets..."

Zhu Di looked at Yang Liuliu and the position of his fingers.

"Your Majesty, this is the structure we designed using a reciprocating bellows. There are two connecting rods connecting the wheels. The upper thick connecting rod provides power to the wheels. The lower connecting rod is connected to the box. The valve mechanism includes a valve mechanism. When the gas flows into the left side and pushes the cylinder piston to the right, the wheel drives the thin connecting rod, which blocks the left air inlet. Steam flows into the cylinder from the right air inlet. Push the piston to the left, and so on, and the wheel will rotate..."

Others may not understand.

But Zhu Di understood everything.

He walked closer to the big iron box and noticed that it was not a whole, but two symmetrical halves.

Fastened together using mortise and tenon structure.

The gap between the two halves is pressed by a circle of black rubber, which is obviously to ensure air tightness.

This is certainly not an optimal design.

But it's already pretty good.

"My lord, this thing can turn the wheel, and it's so fast, it must be able to turn the turntable of our warship, right?" Yu Jing couldn't wait to ask.

"Master, there is also the rotary steel-making furnace we are designing." Wang Jinmi said excitedly: "Master Yang said that by redesigning the connecting rod mechanism, the furnace can be made to rock back and forth, left and right, and the rotary steel-making furnace we are currently studying , we lack such motivation now.”

…

Immediately, everyone proposed various ways of luck.

For example, can irrigation trucks that rely on wind power and water conservancy be driven by steam engines? In this case, they only need to use enough coal.

Some people also asked, since it can drive wheels, can we add another wheel to run.

Whether it can be achieved.

It is not yet known how many difficulties must be overcome to achieve this.

But looking at this big guy, everyone couldn't help but imagine countless possibilities for it.

These are all daily difficulties.

There is an urgent need for a more stable power to solve the problem.

The steam engine is undoubtedly a more trouble-free and more stable power.

As long as there is coal and water to burn the boiler, it will be fine.

It has great advantages over unstable wind power, water power, and livestock power that is prone to disease and troublesome to raise.

Zhu Di raised his hand and everyone fell silent.

Zhu Di looked at Yang Liuliu and said, "Master Yang, have you heard everyone's high hopes for this steam engine? I hope you will continue to work hard. Everyone who participates in the research will be rewarded according to our reward regulations. This steam engine is yours." From now on, as long as no one improves the steam engine you designed and copies it, it will be called the Sixty-Sixth Steam Engine."

Master Yang grinned, too excited to speak.

After a while, he shyly said: "Your Majesty, the Sixty-sixth Steam Engine is too vulgar. Without Your Majesty, I would not have been able to develop the steam engine. Moreover, Martha, who was still in the iron smelting plant, also inspired me a lot. I feel that in the future, I will not be able to develop the steam engine." It would be better to name the prince..."

Zhu Di smiled and waved his hand, "Sixty-sixth steam engine sounds very nice. Sixty-sixth is a great success! It means that we will become more and more smooth in the future. What a good meaning."

He doesn't need to compete with the people below for the naming rights of inventions.

It's not necessary.

Zhu Di pointed at the steam engine, "I want to take this steam engine back to the court and give it to the hero as a congratulatory gift. Does Master Yang have any objections?"

"No, it would be an honor for me to be able to make a gift for my grandson!"

…

Two days later.

After Zhu Di settled everything.

Prepare to return to the DPRK.

Bicycles, new-style horse-drawn carriages, clocks as tall as a person, and steam engines wrapped in red silk were loaded onto the ship from the Navy Pier...

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