My father is Jiajing

"After listening to what you said, I realized that Nanjing is so important to me."

Zhu Zaigui sighed, as if he really realized the importance of Nanjing for the first time.

Xu Jie, Li Chunfang, Yuan Wei, Yan Ne and others looked at Zhu Zaigui's emotional expression and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems like this level has been passed.

But soon, Zhu Zaigui let them know what a surprise is!
Zhu Zaigui continued, "The Ming Dynasty has two capitals and thirteen provinces, seven in the north and six in the south. With the help of the Northern Construction Bank, the seven northern provinces are gradually gaining a new look."

"Besides, the capital is also in the north. Although I have never traveled outside the capital, I have been in the north and have a deep understanding of northern affairs. Today, you gentlemen mentioned the importance of Nanjing."

"I think that since Nanjing is such an important place, the court should devote more efforts to strengthening Nanjing's important position as one of the two capitals of the Ming Dynasty, as well as Nanjing's influence and control over the Jiangnan region and the six southern provinces."

Xu Jie and others listened to Zhu Zaigui's words, and they felt in their hearts that Zhu Zaigui's sudden mention of Nanjing was not just a curious question. He must have new ideas about Nanjing.

But Nanjing is different from other places. It is the core of the south and an important political and cultural center of Jiangnan.

If you want to do something there, regardless of whether it can be done or not, just the impact alone will likely attract the attention and concern of all parties.

By then, so many eyes, suggestions and criticisms will be focused on Nanjing. What should we do if something goes wrong?

You must know that although Jiangnan is somewhat disobedient, it has always been an important tax collection area for the imperial court in the two hundred years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

If chaos were to break out there, the imperial court would not be able to receive taxes from Jiangnan on time, nor would the grain transported to the capital from Nanjing via the canal be delivered on time. Wouldn't the world be plunged into turmoil?

Therefore, both Xu Jie and others were extremely cautious regarding the affairs in Nanjing.

Zhu Zaigui looked at their changing expressions and smiled slightly in his heart. These shrewd people were indeed extremely smart. He had laid such a good foundation, but still failed to trick them.

But at this point, Zhu Zaigui certainly couldn't give up halfway.

He knew very well that if the Nanjing issue was not resolved at this stage, he might not be able to continue to have influence in the Ming Dynasty after ten or twenty years.

If Zhang Juzheng, Feng Bao and Hai Rui want to accomplish anything by themselves, they will most likely have to pull history, which has finally undergone new changes, back to its original track.

If this were true, then even if Zhu Zaigui died, he would have died unwillingly.

So, since things have come to this point, Zhu Zaigui simply laid it out directly.

Zhu Zaigui said: "Nanjing is as important as the capital. Nanjing is located in the most prosperous Jiangnan region in the world. If the court cannot effectively and more restrictively control it."

"Once a catastrophe strikes someday in the future, Nanjing and Jiangnan will think they are in a foreign land and are not in danger. The imperial court is unable to restrain them and make them contribute their due strength. Then Nanjing, Jiangnan and the six southern provinces may be nothing to the Ming Dynasty."

"So, I am talking to you gentlemen about Nanjing today because I want to be prepared for danger in times of peace. I want to provide a stronger guarantee for the court and the future, so that Nanjing can truly play the role of a capital city that is equally important as the capital."

When Xu Jie, Li Chunfang, Yuan Wei and Yan Ne heard that Zhu Zaigui had such a plan, they were all shocked.

You must know that since Emperor Xuanzong, successive Ming emperors have never truly understood Nanjing, and it can even be said that they have never been to Nanjing.

Of course, it would not be accurate to say that I have never been there.

Forty or fifty years ago, when Emperor Wuzong was still on the throne, he once visited Nanjing in order to personally quell the rebellion of Prince Ning.

But that time, Emperor Wuzong also went there alone.

Because when he was halfway there, Wang Yangming had already put down the Ning Wang Rebellion.

Although Emperor Wuzong was furious and asked Wang Yangming to release Prince Ning, he arrested him again.

But how can military and national affairs be treated so lightly?

Therefore, even if Emperor Wuzong wanted to make some trouble and have some fun, it ultimately did not affect the outcome of the Ning Wang Rebellion.

Therefore, the bored Emperor Wuzong held a ceremony to worship his ancestors and heaven in Nanjing and then returned home.

And it was precisely because of this trip south that he had the misfortune to fall into a river, choked on the water and nearly drowned, which caused him to have serious health problems. Finally, within less than a year, he died without an heir.

Zhu Houcong, who was still a free and easy prince in Anlu, took advantage of the situation and came to the capital to ascend the throne as Emperor Jiajing.

So, apart from Emperor Wuzong's incongruous, anticlimactic trip to the south, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty never really visited Nanjing again and contributed to the development and construction of Nanjing.

Now a prince who has never been to Nanjing wants to "interfere in Nanjing's affairs", which really makes Xu Jie and others find it a bit difficult to understand.

Xu Jie quickly stood up and bowed, saying, "Your Highness is right, but Nanjing is so important that we cannot move it lightly. If we make a mistake by mistake, it will affect the court's future tax collection and the court's control over the Jiangnan region and the six southern provinces."

"So I suggest that Your Majesty put the Nanjing issue on hold. Once I have collected enough reports from Nanjing and Jiangnan, as well as the local customs and people, we can discuss the Nanjing issue with the officials."

What Xu Jie said seemed to make sense.

But if you really believe this, it would be equivalent to giving up control over Nanjing.

You have to know that the reason why important events in history have been accomplished is that, to put it bluntly, more than 90% of them were achieved through small-scale decision-making by one or a few people.

If this matter is really put on hold, and a lot of fanfare is made to collect information for a period of time, and then all officials are summoned together to discuss it, it is highly likely that no results will be reached.

Because the more people there are, the more opinions there will be, and the more opinions there are, the more opposing opinions there will be.

In such a messy situation, if you still want to stick to your own opinion and get things done, not to mention whether you can make a final decision, it is impossible to succeed given the resistance at the time and afterwards.

Therefore, Zhu Zaigui simply waved his hand and said, "Lord Xu's words are about being mature and planning for the country, but how do you know that I don't know much about Nanjing and Jiangnan? I not only know the famous places and historical sites in Nanjing and Jiangnan, but also some legendary and elegant people, and I also know how the common people in Nanjing and Jiangnan live."

"Governing the country is a heavy burden for me, but it is also an important responsibility that I have to fulfill. Otherwise, how can I repay your majesty's trust in me?"

"I already have a general idea about Nanjing. I summoned you gentlemen here today because I want to work with you to find out the gaps and make my idea perfect and put it into practice."

"And this is also my responsibility to Nanjing, Jiangnan, and the hundreds of millions of people in the six southern provinces. I hope you can understand me and lend me a helping hand to open a new chapter for Nanjing, Jiangnan, the six southern provinces, and the Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Zaigui had said so much, Xu Jie, Li Chunfang, Yuan Wei, Yan Ne and others naturally could not oppose without listening to Zhu Zaigui's ideas.

Moreover, the four of them are not a monolithic group that can stand together. Sometimes they can stand together and jointly maintain the authority of the cabinet.

However, once some things are laid out, their minds will become complicated.

In this complicated mind, in addition to the instinctive resistance and opposition, more thoughts are about how to gain more benefits from these new things and new problems, or how to clear oneself more innocently.

So, this is how complicated human hearts are.

Although there are things that can be achieved with unity of purpose, they are really rare.

Moreover, in these few things where everyone works together, there will be a variety of ideas and thoughts, and they are not really uniform.

Otherwise, how can we compare which one is better or worse in the end?

Li Chunfang was the first to realize that his identity and situation were different from those of Xu Jie, Yuan Wei, and Yan Ne.

Although Yuan Wei and Yan Ne also rose to prominence thanks to their ability to write beautiful poems and were appreciated by Emperor Jiajing and promoted to the cabinet.

But speaking of his identity, Li Chunfang can be considered a legitimate disciple of Prince Yu.

Moreover, now that Zhu Zaigui has pushed the issue away to this point, if he still doesn't comply, Gao Gong will be promoted from the position of Minister of Rites to the cabinet.

By then, let alone succeeding Xu Jie as the Prime Minister, it would be hard to say whether he could even hold on to the position of Second Prime Minister.

So Li Chunfang immediately rushed to pay his respects and said, "Your Majesty is right! I also think that Nanjing should have changed a bit."

Hearing Li Chunfang's words, Xu Jie was slightly stunned, and Yuan Wei and Yan Ne immediately followed suit and bowed, "The same is true for you."

Zhu Zaigui smiled slightly and looked at Xu Jie again, "What do you think, Lord Xu?"

Xu Jie looked up at Zhu Zaigui, and at this moment he could only sigh inwardly and lower his head.

Although he is the Prime Minister, he is powerless to interfere much when the other cabinet members have the same opinion.

If the interference fails in the end, not only will his own authority and status be damaged, but it will also affect the emperor's view of him, making him think that he is unable to control the officials.

If this is true, it would be more serious than being directly deposed by the emperor.

After all, when people reach this point, face is sometimes more important than appearance.

Therefore, in order not to affect his own status and authority as the chief minister of the cabinet, Xu Jie also bowed and said, "This old minister feels the same way."

Zhu Zaigui chuckled, "Since you gentlemen agree with me, I will express my thoughts first, and you gentlemen will listen first."

After hearing these words, Xu Jie and others also listened respectfully.

Zhu Zaigui picked up the teacup in front of him and took another sip. The tea was no longer hot at this time, and the temperature was just right. It was very smooth and sweet.

Zhu Zaigui placed the teacup on the table in a relaxed mood, then cleared his throat and said, "I think Nanjing, as one of the two capitals of the Ming Dynasty, seems to be accurately positioned, but it is actually very vague."

"Take the six ministries in Nanjing and other government offices equivalent to those in the capital. They almost all act independently in Nanjing, unlike the capital, which has a cabinet as its leader and His Majesty's divine judgment."

"Although this did not affect the overall situation in Nanjing, the Nanjing Garrison Office did not fulfill its real responsibilities. When the Japanese pirates were rampant, Nanjing, as an important place in the two capitals, not only did it not play a key role, but it also allowed 53 Japanese pirates to swagger to the city of Nanjing, and Nanjing had no countermeasures."

"If I hadn't pleaded with Your Majesty at that time, the officials in Nanjing and the head of the Nanjing Garrison would have been killed and I would not be able to explain to the world!"

"Now, the threat of Japanese pirates has been temporarily eliminated on land. So I think it's time to sort out the problem of Nanjing. Otherwise, if fifty-three Japanese pirates rush all the way to the city of Nanjing again, I, as the prince regent, should commit suicide to apologize."

Zhu Zaigui's words are extremely serious.

This also frightened Xu Jie and others.

If Zhu Zaigui was going to commit suicide to apologize, then wouldn't they all have to be tortured to death?

Therefore, Xu Jie and others immediately knelt on the ground, "It is our incompetence that caused such a thing to happen in Nanjing, bringing shame to your majesty and the prince."

Zhu Zaigui waved his hands and said, "Alright, alright, get up first. If you really want to punish me for this, you should have done it then. I'm telling you about this now to let you know that it's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep have been lost."

Xu Jie and the others bowed again and said, "Your Majesty is wise, and we will definitely understand that it is never too late to mend the fence after the sheep have been lost."

Zhu Zaigui hummed, "The ancients said: 'In times of peace, be prepared for danger', which is actually what they meant. Now that the southeast has turned from danger to safety, Nanjing has also returned to its former leisure, but I really can't let this trend continue, and I can't let the officials in Nanjing and the officials in the Jiangnan region fail to learn a lesson."

"So, I have to put some pressure on them and make some changes. I think so. I will set up a governor of Nanzhili in Nanjing and make him the highest person in charge of Nanjing and Jiangnan, just like the cabinet of the capital restrains the six ministries and hundreds of officials."

"Let these Nanjing officials think carefully about whether they plan to continue to live a lazy life in Nanjing for retirement, or make good use of their remaining energy to protect Nanjing and the six southern provinces for the court."

When Xu Jie and others heard this, they were shocked, but their minds also became active.

If the post of Governor-General of Southern Zhili was really to be set up in Nanjing and given the title of Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, it would be simply heaven's will.

For a position like this, you must fight for it! Even if you don't want to go, you must recommend an ally to go!

In this way, he would not only have influence in the capital, but also have corresponding influence in Nanjing.

With such influence, even if he is not the prime minister, he is better than the prime minister.

Therefore, we have to fight for this position and not let others get it easily.

Xu Jie, Li Chunfang, Yuan Wei, Yan Ne and others couldn't help but their eyes lit up at this moment.

As the Prime Minister, Xu Jie no longer hesitated at this moment. He was the first to bow and said, "Your Highness's idea is extremely brilliant! This will not only give Nanjing's affairs a specific person in charge, but will also greatly stabilize and increase the court's control over Nanjing. I agree with your idea."

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