My father is Jiajing

Chapter 547 Nanjing! Nanjing!
The scene on the day of the book signing was quite grand! There were loud gongs and drums, firecrackers, red flags flying, and huge crowds of people. I was squeezed under the table, and the pile of books fell over.

When Zhu Zaigui saw the plan put forward by Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng, the first thing that popped into his mind was Bai Yun's lines in the classic sketch by Zhao Benshan and Song Dandan.

Zhu Zaigui looked at Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng with some surprise, "Such a big scene?"

Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng looked at each other and replied, "If Your Majesty feels that it is not grand enough, we can change it."

Zhu Zaigui said quickly: "Enough, enough."

But then Zhu Zaigui stopped talking. Whether this show was acceptable or not was not something he could decide alone.

What if Emperor Jiajing really wanted to personally attend the naming and sea trial ceremony of the Longjiang Treasure Ship at the Tianjin Wharf, wouldn't it still be up to Emperor Jiajing to make the final decision?

So even though Zhu Zaigui is now the prince regent sitting in the Wenhua Hall, he is actually a larger Yan Song, helping Emperor Jiajing balance and monitor all developments in the outer court.

Therefore, if Zhu Zaigui really thought too highly of himself, Emperor Jiajing could just issue an imperial decree to remove Zhu Zaigui's power as regent and temporarily remove him from the political center.

After Zhu Zaigui figured it out, he regained his usual composure and continued, "I have no problem with this plan. After I submit it to His Majesty for judgment, you can follow the standards of this plan."

When Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng heard Zhu Zaigui's words, they both felt relieved.

This plan was made after the two of them discussed it all night and consulted people from the Ministry of Rites on many issues.

Now that they heard Zhu Zaigui say there was no problem, they must be very happy.

Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng bowed and said, "We obey your order."

After finishing talking about this matter, Zhu Zaigui looked at Li Chunfang and asked, "How is the road construction in Nanzhili going? How is the deposit paid by those gentry and wealthy businessmen going?"

Li Chunfang said: "I have instructed the Nanjing Ministry of Works to follow up the whole process. Zou Yi, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Works who is in charge of the Transportation Department, Yan Maoqing, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Lin Liang, the deputy censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, and others have also arrived in Nanjing. They will be responsible for supervising and guiding the road construction in various parts of Nanzhili in Nanjing."

Yan Maoqing had the ability to manage finances. Since he had been obedient and honest under Zhao Wenhua, Zhu Zaigui gave him the opportunity to continue to contribute to the court, so he was transferred to the Ministry of Revenue, which was more suitable for his abilities.

Let him demonstrate his ability and loyalty in the Ministry of Revenue. If he can do a good job in the Nanjing mission, Zhu Zaigui would not mind giving him a chance for "progress" and transferring him to the position of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in Nanjing, and continue to be in charge of the follow-up matters of the road construction in Southern Zhili.

After all, Nanzhili is too far away from the capital, and some things can easily go wrong if there is no reliable person watching over them.

Moreover, this group of people often like to stir up trouble in Nanjing and Nanzhili in the name of the emperor and the court, and this is their habit that started in the Xuande Dynasty.

Even though the Emperor Xuande at the time had repeatedly ordered them not to continue collecting unnecessary silver and taxes in Nanjing in the name of paying tribute to the emperor, the officials in Nanjing were as dumb as donkeys and continued to do as they pleased.

It’s simply lawless!
But the imperial court had no better way to deal with them.

After all, the officials who can cause trouble in Nanjing, apart from the Nanjing Garrison Office, which is nominally the highest responsible agency in Nanjing, are the Nanjing Shangshu who are at the same level as the six ministries in the capital.

These Nanjing Shangshu, in a prosperous place like Nanjing, instead of enjoying their retirement and concentrating on their studies, like to use chicken feathers as a token of authority and create all kinds of weird incidents all day long.

Under the banner of the emperor and the court, they either purchased goods from merchants at low prices, or levied some inexplicable silver and miscellaneous taxes.

The key point is that the emperor and the court had never seen much of these things and silver, but in the end the bill was put on the emperor and the court.

In addition, the taxes in Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions have been much higher than in other places since the Hongwu period. As a result, the people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions have become increasingly resentful of the court and the emperor.

They always felt that they were being oppressed by the hateful emperor and the hateful court.

In addition, their place is indeed prosperous, with a thriving cultural heritage, and many talented people, and there are also many people who can read and write.

Therefore, the thinking of the common people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions was more advanced. They were not like the poor people in most of the northern regions who were filled with a natural sense of awe towards the court and the emperor.

When they were unhappy, even if they could not fight against the court and the imperial power on the surface, they had culture and knowledge.

If the martial arts master can’t beat the thigh, can the literary master still beat him?
Therefore, after the middle and late Ming Dynasty, scholars in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions became more and more bold. Not only did they dare to fabricate negative information about Taizu and Chengzu, but they also brought up great thinkers such as Li Zhi and Huang Zongxi.

Their ideas are indeed very creative and forward-looking in the eyes of later generations.

However, if you want to see the essence of anything, you still have to put it in the context of the era they were in, the social class they were in, and the social class they wanted to represent, so that you can fully understand what these people were trying to do.

And to be honest, Zhu Zaigui was not opposed to the issue of ideological emancipation.

Sometimes, Zhu Zaigui even looked forward to these ancient people doing something "deviant".

But everything has to have a limit, there is a one, two, three, right?

For example, Jiangsu and Zhejiang are economically and culturally developed, and they can indeed do some representative things to set an example for other places in the Ming Dynasty, so that other places in the Ming Dynasty can also learn from their advanced experience and get rid of poverty and become rich.

But these people keep repeating the same few sentences over and over again, just like some public intellectuals in later generations, who shout the same nonsense about equality and freedom every day, thinking that this is a panacea.

Little did people know that this panacea only worked for people who had enough food to eat. However, except for prosperous areas such as Jiangsu and Zhejiang, people in most places in the Ming Dynasty still did not have enough food to eat.

Moreover, the literacy rate of these people is shockingly low, and they have no thoughts of their own at all.

If we feed them these "magic pills", and they can't even feed themselves, they still shout about equality and freedom. Are they going to learn from a certain superpower hundreds of years later and carry out zero-dollar shopping activities and some messed-up justice in their own country?
Therefore, in Zhu Zaigui's view, it is no problem to liberate the mind. First of all, at least the basic problems of food, clothing, housing and transportation must be solved. Secondly, the basic traditional moral concepts must be consolidated.

Otherwise, if you just shout slogans out of thin air, anyone who is not a fool will like the propaganda that is beneficial to them. But who will create the social wealth and the basic materials that can support these slogan-shouting people to have enough food and clothes? Will it fall from the sky?
Therefore, if you want to do things well, you must first clarify the cause and effect of the problem.

The ancients said: When the granaries are full, people will know etiquette.

This sentence is very clear. People's kindness and politeness cannot be obtained simply through teaching. It must have a solid economic backing.

If a person does not even have the ability to support himself, but still has high aspirations and thinks he can do anything, and feels that the whole world is unfair to him.

Just think about it, when such a person really reaches the high position he has always dreamed of, can he bring fairness and justice to those who once were like him?

Therefore, if the world is to achieve the ideal state of "land to the tiller", the development of advanced productive forces is essential.

Otherwise, if you give "fields" to people who don't even know how to "plow the fields", the "fields" will only grow weeds and will not produce a good harvest of fruits.

Therefore, in order to make these worlds better, we must first let everyone have their own role and let them all have the skills or talents to make a living. This is the ultimate ideal world.

Instead of the kind of people who know nothing but talk about rights all day long and never talk about freedom.

This kind of person is either stupid or evil!
Of course, before dealing with these people, the court must set an example and do some things fairly and justly.

Therefore, Zhu Zaigui had to give those officials in Nanjing a blow of justice, so that they would feel the pain and know that it was wrong to do so. Only then could they set an example and demand others to do the same.

Otherwise, the common people will be obedient and good citizens, while the officials will be greedy scum and villain.

How can such a living environment bring hope and fairness to people?
Therefore, the rectification of Nanjing officials should also be put on the agenda.

Zhu Zaigui said, "The situation in Nanjing is quite complicated. Your Majesty and I are far away in the capital, and we have never known much about the problems in Nanjing. Even if we know something, it is only through your reports and some folk legends."

"Therefore, my attitude towards this matter is also clear. I do not distrust the officials in Nanjing, but necessary supervision is still necessary. In a while, I will petition Your Majesty to set up a special university scholar to concurrently serve as the Governor-General of Southern Zhili to directly manage the Nanjing Garrison Office and the six ministries and hundreds of officials in Nanjing. This will prevent these people from buck-passing and wrangling because of the level of their respective government offices."

When Li Chunfang and Zhang Juzheng heard that Zhu Zaigui was going to set up a special Grand Secretary in Nanjing to serve as the Governor-General of Southern Zhili to manage the Nanjing Garrison and the six ministries of Nanjing, they couldn't help but gasp.

If this official position is really set up, then the six ministries of Nanjing will not just feel inferior to the six ministries of the capital, but will be actually inferior to them.

By then, it would probably be difficult to transfer the six ministers of Nanjing to the six ministers of the capital.

Therefore, the two of them couldn't help but look at Zhu Zaigui worriedly.

Zhang Juzheng asked, "Your Highness, would you like to take a long-term view on this matter? Would you like to convene a court meeting and ask the officials for their opinions?"

Zhu Zaigui looked up at Zhang Juzheng and found that in recent years Zhang Juzheng seemed to be more and more like Xu Jie. He was so cautious in everything that people felt that he no longer had the courage to be the first in the world.

How could such a Zhang Juzheng shoulder the heavy burden of reform that history had entrusted to him?
Therefore, Zhu Zaigui no longer gave Zhang Juzheng any face.

Zhu Zaigui said: "Hold small meetings for big matters and big meetings for small matters. Don't you even understand this principle? If all major court affairs need to be handled and resolved through court discussions, do you think that with more people there will be a result that satisfies all parties?"

"And you have been the head of the Beijing Special District for several years. Do you have to discuss with your subordinates before making decisions on major issues related to the development of the Beijing Special District? The Nanjing issue has been going on for more than a hundred years since Emperor Chengzu Wen. Emperor Xuanzong once made an imperial decree on the Nanjing issue, but has Nanjing changed in the past hundred years?"

"During the reigns of Emperor Yingzong and Emperor Jingtai, the imperial court successively set up governors and provincial governors to take charge of local affairs. But in Nanjing, because the six ministries and hundreds of government offices were still in Nanjing, the governors and provincial governors were constrained by them and could not work wholeheartedly for the imperial court."

“The court does not need a Nanjing that is dispensable but affects local governance. What the court and the people need is a Nanjing in the six southern provinces that can communicate between the north and the south and strengthen the court’s management.”

"Therefore, for the long-term benefit of Nanjing, and for the court to be able to manage all parts of the country equally, I think it is very necessary for Nanjing to have a senior official who serves as a university scholar and concurrently as the governor-general of Southern Zhili to carry out unified management of all matters in Nanjing on behalf of the court."

"Moreover, the appointment and term of office of this position can also refer to the appointment of the chief of the Beijing Special District. It cannot be a dedicated person, nor can it be a dedicated position, lest it takes too long and becomes difficult to get rid of. Do you understand my intentions?"

Zhang Juzheng was also shocked by Zhu Zaigui's words. He had indeed been deeply influenced by Xu Jie over the years. He thought that he could hide his shortcomings and master his master Xu Jie's "Turtle Magic Skill" to survive until the final moment of victory.

But he overlooked one point, that is, Zhu Zaigui was too young. He was not a declining emperor like Emperor Jiajing who was getting older day by day.

No one can predict how long his future will last. If he keeps hiding his abilities in front of such a young master and waits for the right time, he may not get any chance in the end.

Moreover, Zhu Zaigui would not listen to one side of the story when employing people. His principle of employing people was to employ those who were useful, regardless of their so-called factional background.

Therefore, if Zhang Juzheng wanted to be useful in Zhu Zaigui's eyes, he had to demonstrate his own value. If he was counting on Xu Jie to help him in the future, he would be able to break through a key link and become a member of the central government.

This also seems unlikely.

Therefore, at this time Zhang Juzheng also figured it out that if he wanted to gain Zhu Zaigui's trust and reuse, he had to show some edge.

Otherwise, when the day comes when Emperor Jiajing really "ascends to heaven", and the Ming Dynasty is under the rule of Zhu Zaigui, what if Zhu Zaigui becomes dissatisfied with his teacher Xu Jie? At that time, let alone making further progress, it is hard to say whether Zhu Zaigui will keep him in the central government out of old friendship.

You must know that Hu Zongxian and Zhao Zhenji have made many contributions and achievements in the southeast in recent years, and they may be transferred back to the central government to serve at any time.

There are only a few central positions, and it can be said that there is one person for each position. Who dares to be careless?

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Asking for a monthly ticket~~
(End of this chapter)