Those things in the Ming Dynasty (full) Those Things in the Ming Dynasty Part 2 Ten Thousand Kingdoms Come to the Dynasty _ Chapter 3 The Emperor's Choice
Those Things in the Ming Dynasty Part 2 Ten Thousand Kingdoms Come to the Dynasty _ Chapter 3 The Emperor's Choice
Another far-reaching thing that Zhu Di did was to move the capital, and moving the capital was a big deal in any dynasty. Zhu Di's move this time was undoubtedly the greatest impact on future generations. Today, Beijing has tens of millions.
The population, countless tall buildings, is the capital of our country and one of the most prosperous cities in the world. The starting point of all this comes from a decision by Zhu Di.
In March of the first year of Yongle (1403), the Mongolian army attacked Liaodong and looted. The local commander Shen Yong was an incompetent person. He could not resist and did not report to the leaders in time. Zhu Di was very annoyed when he heard about this.
, killed Shen Yong immediately, and summoned the ministers to inquire about the reasons for the deterioration of the military situation in the north.
Zhu Di asked his ministers that the defense in the north was so weak that the Mongolian army was actually in a state of no one. What could it take for this? Who should be responsible for this?
However, to Zhu Di's surprise, although the ministers did not speak, they were not timid, but instead looked at him blankly. Zhu Di's heart was filled with an unknown fire and was about to get angry when he suddenly thought about it.
Retracted back again.
Why?
Because he finally understood why these ministers had been staring at him, and it was him who should be responsible for this matter!
In the defense system of the Ming Dynasty, the main responsible persons for the defense of the north were King Yan Zhu Di and King Ning Zhu Quan. However, during the Jingnan Battle, Zhu Quan was kidnapped by him, and he also ran to Nanjing to become the emperor. The northern border was missing two of them.
Individuals are basically unprepared areas, so why can you blame others?
Nanjing is a very good place and is also suitable for building a capital, because the terrain here is dangerous, the feng shui is good, and it is the main grain production area. Since China's economic center had moved south at that time, building a capital here is very conducive to maintaining the rule of the Ming Dynasty.
of.
But the problem is that the accommodation in the Ming Empire was not a single courtyard. There were several unfriendly neighbors in the north of the Empire. These neighbors often went into the house without permission to take away their favorite things without their owner's permission, and never wrote an IOU
.It's fine if it's once or twice, but what can happen if it lasts?
There is no effect in sending troops to attack, because these neighbors are basically guerrillas, using the policy of you going forward and I retreat, and I come back again. They belong to nomadic peoples and do not farm. Their daily work is to ride horses.
Running around, I am idle, and I am idle. If I don’t rob you, who will I take?
The attack cannot be done, no matter how bad it is, this is really a difficult problem.
Although the military and political situation was the main reason for the later movement of the capital, there are still some reasons that cannot be ignored. This is Zhu Di’s own characteristics.
Does Zhu Di have something to do with moving the capital?
The answer is yes. If you still remember, we mentioned before that although Zhu Di was born in Nanjing and had a Nanjing household registration, he went to Peking at the age of 21 and lived there for twenty years, although he did not transfer his household registration (
It was not difficult to enter Peking back then), but his living habits had become completely northern.
According to historical records, Zhu Di prefers northern food and likes Korean kimchi very much. At that time, the King of North Korea Li Fangyuan sent a North Korean chef (fireman) to serve Zhu Di, and he also accepted it happily. I think Zhu Di, who likes northern flavors, would not be too touched by southern dishes.
Interest. Although the north is full of wind and sand, far less than the beautiful mountains and rivers in the south, Zhu Di has always lived in such an environment. For him, the familiar one is the best.
Of course, the main reason for Zhu Di's move to the capital was political needs. Since he had made up his mind, let's move.
Let’s wait! This is not to say that you can move with others. Moving the capital is not moving, it is definitely not just a good burden, just call the moving company. The biggest problem is that Zhu Di did not move to Peking alone. If so, then
It's easier to do it.
Not only did he move Zhu Di, but he also moved his wife, princes, ministers, soldiers and people. These people also wanted to find a place to live and build houses. The wars had been fought in Peking for many years, and the streets were on the streets.
The palaces must be rebuilt and the city layout must be re-arranged. Moreover, those who went to Peking with him were not ordinary people, and they needed a large amount of funds to resettle these people. The difficulty was absolutely no less than rebuilding the capital.
Although these problems are difficult to solve, they can still be solved after all. There is another bigger problem facing Zhu Di. If this problem is not solved, moving the capital will be a waste of time.
We know that the main reason for Zhu Di to move the capital was to control the northern borders and ensure national security. In theory, the capital could solve this problem by moving the capital, but have you ever thought about it, there is another thing that is necessary.
That is food.
The vicinity of Peking is not a grain-producing area, but there will inevitably be a lot of people moving into the capital (Chinese people have always been the habit of running to big cities). These people need to consume a lot of food and control the borders, so they must raise a large number of soldiers.
The Ming Dynasty realized military garrisons (soldiers farmed in daily life and fought in wars), which could solve the food problems of some troops, but the elite troops in the capital (such as the three camps) did not farm. What do so many people eat?
Drink the northwest wind.
The more serious problem is that it is not enough to ensure that the food of the soldiers and the people of Peking is not enough, because the Ming government may often go out to comfort those unfriendly neighbors in the future and give them a little lesson. The so-called "before the troops move, the food and grass will go first."
If you send 100,000 people to fight, you have to prepare 100,000 people for food, and the grain output near Peking is absolutely not enough to guarantee these actions.
Some people may say, what a problem is this? Isn’t it enough to transport grain from the southern grain-producing area to the north?
If you think so, then congratulations, you have finally found the difficulty of this problem.
The reason why the food problem became the biggest obstacle to moving the capital was the difficulty in transportation. In that era, there were neither trains, cars nor planes, and people could only rely on manpower to transport food. Today, we also need to take modern transportation from Nanjing to Beijing.
It took a lot of time, but it took more than a month for people to go there. And don’t ignore one problem, that is, those who transport food also have to eat. No matter how loyal they are, you should have a clear mind.
Knowing: They will never starve to death until they eat all the food they transported.
So if you find someone to transport food from land, you must prepare the transporter's rations and ask him to push two grain trucks on the road, transport one, eat one, wait until he reaches the destination and hand over the food that has not been eaten yet
Even if you have handed over that part, the extra part of the ration you may prepare may be more than the food he has transported.
If any government is willing to transport materials in this way for a long time, then there is only one fate waiting for this government - bankruptcy.
Therefore, the only option left by the Ming government was the Heyun (also known as the Heyun).
Yes, the problem seems to have been solved. The answer is very simple. Can’t using a boat to transport grain complete the transportation task quickly and more? Then why do you have to build such a big circle?
I can guarantee that there is absolutely no intention to tease everyone. Regarding this question, I can answer it in two words:
Not working.
At that time, the river channel from the main grain-producing areas in the south to the north was not smooth. The canal was obstructed and the river diverted caused great inconvenience to the river transportation at that time. Unless the Ming Dynasty ships were only used for land use, I would like to have a smooth journey.
It is absolutely impossible. Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, suffered a great loss. He thought that when he was fighting, he needed to mobilize military rations from the south to Liaodong and Beiping, but the river transportation was not open. In desperation, he had to take the sea route and pass through the Bohai Sea.
Not only does it take a long way to transport, but it is also because the wind and waves are too strong and it is very unsafe. It is already thankful that ten kilograms of military rations can be delivered halfway.
However, repairing the river channel is definitely not something that can be proposed casually. Everyone should remember that the fuse of the demise of the Yuan Dynasty was to manage the river channel. Water conservancy projects were definitely a key project invested by the state in any era. They required a lot of money and a lot of labor.
.And if you spend too much money and shake the country's roots, the problem will be serious (the Grand Canal of Emperor Yang of Sui is an example), so this matter is the same as writing a book. If it is not a strong country in a prosperous era, you don't even think about it.
Zhu Di's era was a prosperous era.
After a long-term recovery during the Hongwu period and Zhu Di's correct strategy for governing the country, the Ming Dynasty at that time had already had enough economic strength to complete things that were unimaginable before. The "Yongle Encyclopedia" was also compiled, so it is natural to do some water conservancy.
.
In the ninth year of Yongle (1411), Zhu Di ordered Song Li, the Minister of Works, to manage Huitong River to ensure the smooth flow of the river. Song Li was a very capable water conservancy expert. He completed the task. After that, Chen Xuan, the Governor of the Grain Transport, further cleared the river.
From then on, the grain transportation between the north and the south was unobstructed. The so-called "the mouth of the Antarctic River, the bridge reached the north, and the transportation route was more than 3,000 miles." The grain problem was finally solved.
Other work on moving the capital has been underway. The office units of various central departments have been repaired as early as the seventh year of Yongle (1409), and the construction of the capital has been carried out for more than 30 years since the fifteenth year of Yongle.
The year is just over.
Seeing that the opportunity was ripe, Zhu Di officially ordered the capital to be moved in the 19th year of Yongle (1431).
The original capital was renamed Nanjing, and Beijing was confirmed as the new capital of the Ming Empire. Since then, the city of Beijing has officially become the capital of the Ming Dynasty and has lasted for more than 200 years, but its history has not followed the Ming Dynasty.
Destruction ends, on the contrary, it has always existed and developed vibrantly, and eventually became one of the most influential cities in the world.
When we wander in Beijing, a modern city, looking at the prosperous scene of tall buildings and bustling traffic, we should not forget that it was a man named Zhu Di who laid the foundation for all this more than 500 years ago.
It should be noted that Zhu Di had a considerable modern consciousness when building Beijing. He paid great attention to the overall planning of the city, built several main lines and branch lines respectively, planned the urban area of Beijing into neatly shaped blocks, and formulated the
Strict regulations prohibit randomly building covers and laying complete sewer systems.
The Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven that we see now are the foundation laid by the Zhu Di era (after which the Qing Dynasty renovated). It is particularly worth mentioning that the Forbidden City, which covers an area of 170,000 square meters and requisitions countless labor.
It took twenty years to complete it. It was originally just a place for the emperor to live, and the people would never have the chance to buy tickets to visit, but this did not affect its status in history. Now the Forbidden City has become the Chinese nation.
The treasure of history has become the pride of every Chinese.
It is undeniable that this is Zhu Di's achievements and cannot be erased.
It is worth mentioning that the capital was moved by no means smooth sailing and everyone responded. In fact, few people agreed with Zhu Di's decision.
The reason is very simple. Except for those people brought by Zhu Di Jingnan, most of the ministers of the court lived in the south for a long time, their wives and children were in Nanjing, and their friends and social relations were also here. Who would like to follow Zhu Di to the north to have a blow
?
It happened that shortly after the capital was moved, a fire broke out in the palace, and natural disasters occurred in many parts of the country. At that time, people called it "natural disasters". The ministers naturally attributed these things to the trouble of the capital moving.
Although Zhu Di was cruel and ruthless, he was not well-educated in natural science theory knowledge, so he was a little panicked and sought opinions from his ministers in order to make up for his mistakes.
But what he did not expect was that the ministers took this opportunity to launch a fierce attack on him.
Many ministers wrote letters to explain the harm of moving the capital, and said that the reason for the natural disaster was caused by moving the capital. Among them, Xiao Yi, the chief minister, said the most intense words, and historical records recorded that "Yi's words are particularly harsh". As for what he said and
It was not listed, but probably scolded Zhu Di. As we all know, Zhu Di has never been a person who swallowed his anger, and his response was very straightforward and he killed Xiao Yi directly.
Now I have stabbed a hornet's nest. You must know that scholars are not easy to mess with. I have listened to the words of sages since I was a child and regarded myself as a disciple of the emperor. So what about the emperor? I am afraid that you will not succeed?
So many ministers wrote letters, and spoke in a tide. They were still discussing publicly at the rally outside the Meridian Gate, saying it was a debate meeting, but the opinions at the meeting were completely one-sided. In fact, it was a rally against Zhu Di. If a normal emperor had changed, he would have seen so many.
His subordinates opposed him and would probably be shaken, but Zhu Di was not an ordinary emperor. He insisted on his own view and strengthened his determination to move the capital.
"Don't say anything else. Moving is my decision. I must move. I have the final say and I will do it!"
Zhu Di needed courage to do this. When he was the majority of opponents, he dared to stick to his point of view and never gave in. In fact, the opinions put forward by many ministers were very pertinent, such as moving the capital to waste money and causing corruption, etc.
It is an objective fact. But history will prove that Zhu Di’s choice was correct.
In history, some very skilled figures often appear. They can foresee the future development of things before the situation is unclear. For example, Zhuge Liang can figure out that the world will be divided into three parts in the future, but Zhuge Liang's
This kind of thinking does not require any cost. Even if he thinks wrongly, no one will cause trouble for him.
The choice that is prone to trouble is a choice, that is, you must sacrifice some immediate interests in exchange for longer-term interests in the future. This choice is often extremely painful because the immediate interests are something that everyone can see, and the long-term interests are
But it can't be seen. It's like you ask everyone to throw away the money they already have and follow you to dig gold mines. Gold mines are tempting, but if they really have one, they really have to make a big question mark. If you say there is one, there is one?
Why?
More than a hundred years later, the great reformer Zhang Juzheng fell into this choice because the ministers would rather die with the little possessions in their hands than follow him on that unknown path.
Zhu Di is such a very skilled leader and a leader who dares to make a decision. He knew that moving is a big project, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive, but he accurately judged that the biggest factor affecting the long-term stability of the Ming Empire was Mongolia in the north.
, If you want to live a peaceful life in the future, you must give up your immediate interests and move the capital to Beijing. Otherwise, the Ming Dynasty would be unable to escape the misfortune of the Southern Song Dynasty.
Compared with Zhang Juzheng, Zhu Di has an advantage - he is an emperor, and an iron-fisted emperor, an emperor who dares to be criticized and do whatever he wants, so he can always stick to his beliefs, so he finally completed the difficult task of moving the capital.
Zhu Di's move to the capital attracted opposition from everyone at that time, and many people also asserted that this move was impossible, but Yu Qian, who stood at the head of Beijing and looked into the distance in the distance of the city nineteen years later, should not think so.
History is the ultimate judge of the development of things. In the near future, it will undoubtedly tell everyone: Zhu Di’s choice is correct.