Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 243: Zhu Youtang, the King of Restoration? Hongzhi's Greatest Absurdity [Subscription Request]

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "If the Ashikaga shogunate does not cooperate with us in implementing the policy of replacing rice with mulberry in Japan, we can only follow the example of the British in later generations who used the same tactics against the Qing Dynasty and use artillery and military force to open their borders."

"We don't need to rush to destroy the Japanese imperial court. We just need to destroy the Ashikaga shogunate and then support a new shogunate that is willing to cooperate with us in implementing various policies toward Japan."

"This way, with the new shogunate taking the blame, it will be easier for us to bring Japan under our rule in the future."

Zhu Di suddenly understood and said, "This plan is indeed a good one, but it would be more effective than directly attacking Japan."

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "We have considered this matter. The Japanese people have more than 10 million people, and they are not Han Chinese. Although their culture and customs have many similarities with China, they also have many differences."

"If we directly send troops to destroy their court and occupy their territory, I am afraid that the Japanese people, led by their powerful people, will continue to resist."

"A large-scale invasion of Japan would require a huge expenditure of money and grain. If we also need a large number of troops to suppress rebellion within their borders, and it takes years to quell the rebellion, then for the Ming Dynasty, a good thing might turn into a bad thing."

"If we destroy the Ashikaga shogunate, replace it with a new one willing to be a puppet, and then use strategies like 'changing rice fields to mulberry trees' and 'immigration' to completely make the powerful and wealthy in the country lose the support of the people, then it will be much easier for us to rule Japan again."

"I understand, son." Zhu Di nodded.

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Zhu Biao first, then said to Zhu Di: "Fourth Brother, you will be responsible for supervising the implementation of the policy of 'changing rice to mulberry' and 'immigration' to Japan."

"If you can do this well, we will give you a great merit. By then, your military achievements will definitely meet the standards for commanding generals. You only need to pass the literary examination to be able to serve as a feudal lord overseas."

Zhu Di was overjoyed when he heard this and immediately clasped his fists and said, "Your son will definitely handle this matter well and live up to your father's trust!"

In fact, Zhu Di returned to Beijing this time to report on his work and was preparing to leave the Beiyang Navy and go to the Nanhai Navy to participate in many affairs of the Ming Dynasty in Southeast Asia.

But now that Zhu Yuanzhang had given him an important task, he naturally had to stay in the Beiyang Navy and no longer had to report on his work.

Seeing Zhu Di's happiness, Zhu Yuanzhang also smiled and said, "Fourth Brother, it's a rare trip for you to return to the capital. Don't you want to ask about the deeds of your descendants in the future?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Kuan and Zhu Di were speechless.

Zhu Di thought to himself: My descendants who will become emperors in the future are more weird than each other. They make me angry every time I ask them. Among them, only Emperor Chenghua was decent, but he fell in love with a woman who was seventeen years older than him.

Most of the emperors who came after him were not as good as him, and maybe they did even more infuriating things. Why should I ask?

Liu Kuan thought: Old Zhu, if you say that, Zhu Di will have no choice but to ask - if you want to hear it, just say it directly, it's not like I won't tell you.

Zhu Di also knew that Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to hear Liu Kuan talk about the later Ming Dynasty, so he would not refuse his request. He immediately said, "Please ask my third brother-in-law to talk about the deeds of the Ming emperors after Emperor Chenghua."

Liu Kuan said, "Your Highness, Prince of Yan, after Emperor Chenghua was his son, Emperor Hongzhi Zhu Youtang. I don't know much about what happened during the Hongzhi reign."

Zhu Di said, "Tell me as much as my third brother-in-law knows."

After getting the shot of prevention, Liu Kuan recalled his memories of Zhu Youtang - he did not lie just now, he really didn't know much about Zhu Youtang.

After clearing his throat, Liu Kuan said, "Last year, when I was discussing the affairs of Emperor Chenghua, I mentioned Zhu Youtang—he was the accidental child of Zhu Jianshen and the palace maid Ji."

"It is said that Ji was originally the daughter of a native official in Guangxi. In the early years of the Chenghua period, the native official in Guangxi rebelled. The Ming army suppressed the rebellion, and Ji was taken as a captive and sent to the palace as a maid."

At this point, Liu Kuan suddenly thought of a question that had been on his mind for a long time, so he changed the subject and asked, "Your Majesty, there is something I don't understand."

"What's the matter?"

Liu Kuan said: "Whether it is this Ji family or the great eunuch Zheng He in history, they are all captives who once rebelled against the Ming Dynasty."

"The Ming Dynasty sent these people into the palace as eunuchs and maids, asking them to serve. Aren't they afraid that these people will harbor resentment and take the opportunity to murder the royal family?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was a little surprised that Liu Kuan would ask such a question.

He thought for a moment before saying, "First, I must correct you on one point—there are eunuchs and maids in the palace who were born as captives, but they only make up a small minority."

"Secondly, these captives who were selected to serve as eunuchs and maids in the palace were generally children, no older than twelve years old. Even if these children harbored hatred towards the Ming imperial family, it was relatively limited."

"Finally, and most importantly, unless eunuchs and palace maids of this background are trusted and appreciated by me, they will not be given the opportunity to serve me, my concubines, or the princes and princesses."

"There are thousands of eunuchs and maids in this palace, but only a small number of them are actually responsible for our food, clothing, and daily life. Do you understand what I mean?"

"I see." Liu Kuan suddenly realized, and then he recalled the history of eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty and said, "Your Majesty, this system seems to be fine, but when the Ming Dynasty palace management is no longer as strict as it is now, these eunuchs and palace maids with questionable backgrounds will inevitably have easier access to the emperor. In other words, this matter ultimately has certain hidden dangers."

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and fell into deep thought.

Zhu Biao said, "My brother-in-law doesn't know that most of the eunuchs and maids in the palace are trained from children of minority groups. This is also because my father and mother don't want to see Han people entering the palace as slaves."

Liu Kuan nodded, "Your Majesty, the Queen is indeed kind and benevolent."

Liu Kuan's words were a bit disingenuous—the reasons Zhu Biao mentioned might exist, but they were definitely not the main reason. However, he was worried that Zhu Yuanzhang would establish the ancestral precept that the Ming Dynasty would no longer allow eunuchs and palace maids other than Han Chinese.

So he said, "Your Majesty, there is no need to worry about this matter. As far as I know, there are only three eunuchs and palace maids from minority families in the Ming Dynasty: Zheng He, Wang Zhi, and Ji Shi."

"Zheng He is a famous eunuch who left his name in history. He made seven voyages to the West and made great contributions to the Ming Dynasty. He obviously did not bear any grudge against the Ming Dynasty."

"Although Wang Zhi had his share of bad deeds, he was also a sharp weapon in the hands of Emperor Chenghua, and he did not cause any damage to the Ming Dynasty. If his merits and demerits were to be balanced, his merits would be greater."

"As for Ji, she gave birth to a prince when Zhu Jianshen was struggling to have children. Naturally, she also made a contribution to the Ming Dynasty."

"In other words, there is no record in history of eunuchs or palace maids from minority families harming the Ming Dynasty. Instead, those who harmed the Ming Dynasty were eunuchs and palace maids from Han families."

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao and Zhu Di were all surprised, and then puzzled.

Old Zhu relaxed his brows and smiled, "What you said is quite interesting - well, let's not worry about it. Go on and tell us about Zhu Youtang."

"Yes," Liu Kuan said, "It is said that Zhu Youtang inherited the appearance of his mother, a member of the Ji clan. In addition, he was born without any hair on his head. When he grew up, his appearance was very strange, and people said he had the shape of a dragon."

After hearing just a short while, Lao Zhu, his son and his two sons could not help but look at each other in bewilderment.

They had also seen the ethnic minorities in Guangxi. Their appearance was indeed slightly different from that of the Han people in the Central Plains. Generally speaking, their facial features were darker.

This is nothing special, but if you add the fact that there is no hair on the top of the head, that is, baldness, it looks strange.

They felt a little more comfortable when they thought that Ming Dynasty men had their hair tied up to cover their bald heads, and that people said Zhu Youtang had a dragon-shaped face.

"Zhu Youtang ascended the throne at the age of eighteen, and at the beginning of his reign he eliminated some of the bad policies left by Zhu Jianshen in his later years."

"For example, he demoted the eunuch Liang Fang and the relative Wan Xi; he dismissed the thousands of monks, Taoist priests, and alchemists summoned to the capital by Zhu Jianshen; and he removed more than 2,000 officials in charge of communication and administration."

"Afterwards, he recruited a large number of civil officials of Confucian origin and prioritized the most capable among them, appointing the best among them, such as Liu Jian, Xie Qian, and Li Dongyang, to the cabinet and relying on them."

"In addition, he also reduced penalties and commuted punishments, disciplined the imperial guards; rectified finances, regulated the Yellow River, and developed agriculture; organized a team to compile the 'Great Ming Code' and vigorously promoted cultural activities, etc."

"Compared to his predecessors, Zhu Youtang was quite frugal and took the initiative to cut down on palace expenses. He also issued numerous strict orders prohibiting members of the imperial family, nobles, and relatives from encroaching on the people's land."

"It is said that Zhu Youtang was born with a defect that made him weak and frail, so he died at the age of 36, having reigned for 18 years. He was posthumously named Emperor Chengchunjing and his temple name was Emperor Xiaozong."

"Alas, another short-lived descendant who died before the age of forty." Zhu Di sighed inwardly.

Zhu Biao was surprised and could not help but say, "According to what my brother-in-law said, this Emperor Xiaozong is a rare good emperor. All his actions are to eliminate corruption and revive the country. That's just not his military prowess. At least he is a qualified king who defends the city."

Zhu Yuanzhang, who had been frowning in deep thought, couldn't help but wonder, "How will future generations judge Zhu Youtang? Did he do nothing wrong or even ridiculous during his eighteen years on the throne?"

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "Your Majesty, compared to the other Ming emperors of His Royal Highness Prince of Yan's lineage, Zhu Youtang is indeed the most normal one."

"If you must say it's abnormal, he does have a story that is different from all the emperors in history."

Zhu Di was originally happy after hearing what Liu Kuan said before, and thought to himself: Finally, a normal emperor came from my lineage. It's not easy.

But when he heard Liu Kuan's next words, his heart immediately became anxious.

"Different from the deeds of all other emperors?" Old Zhu and Zhu Biao were simply curious.

Liu Kuan said, "Speaking of which, according to the evaluations of later generations, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty can be said to have placed the greatest emphasis on marital relationships among all dynasties. Some have concluded that almost every emperor of the Ming Dynasty was in love with a certain woman."

"But even so, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty throughout history, even Zhu Jianshen, who was infatuated with Wan Zhen'er, took in many concubines and even secretly had affairs with young palace maids."

Cheating on the little palace maid?
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Di all looked a little uncomfortable, but then they took it as a matter of course - food, sex, and nature are all part of human nature, and what man doesn't like women?

Liu Kuan continued, "Zhu Youtang was not only devoted to his empress, Zhang, but he also never took in any other concubines in his entire life, nor did he favor any young palace maids."

"Therefore, later generations have regarded Zhu Youtang as the most devoted emperor in history and the only Chinese feudal emperor who practiced monogamy."

"Of course, the consequence of Zhu Youtang's actions was that he had difficulty in having children - Zhang gave birth to two sons and one daughter. The second son died at the age of one, and the daughter died at the age of five. Only the eldest son, Zhu Houzhao, survived to adulthood."

After listening to Liu Kuan's story, Zhu Biao and Zhu Di were still thinking and reacting when they heard Zhu Yuanzhang's angry scolding.

"Ridiculous! Truly ridiculous!" Liu Kuan looked over and saw Old Zhu staring at Zhu Di. "Fourth Brother, every emperor in your lineage is truly ridiculous!"

Zhu Di suddenly felt extremely wronged and could not help but retort, "Father said that the emperors before Zhu Youtang were absurd, and I agree with you. But even if Zhu Youtang cannot be called the ruler of the revival, he is still a capable ruler who maintained the status quo. How can he be absurd?"

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted angrily, "How ridiculous! He only has Empress Zhang, so he has very few children but an orphan. This is the greatest absurdity for a ruler!"

　Second update
　　Thanks to [The Persistent Study Party] for the reward of 100 Qidian coins!
　　Good night~
　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)