Ming Dynasty: What's wrong with being a leisurely crown prince?

Chapter 7 Should the capital be moved?

Inside the main hall, Zhu Gaochi frowned, his expression bitter.

Zhu Gaochi was now questioning himself, wondering if he had been too unrestrained in his nature.

Thinking about his past and present lives, he had always restrained himself in every way, but just now, he had a completely different and unique feeling.

Not suppressing one's nature seems to be another kind of enjoyment, and also an attitude of living life freely.

There's no need to live such a repressed life.

Meanwhile, Zhu Di, standing to the side, looked at Zhu Gaochi with a very comfortable and contented smile.

"Boss, what were you thinking? I've fought my whole life, do you think you can outrun me?"

Zhu Di had a playful look on his face. Zhu Gaochi hadn't even managed to run out of the palace before he was caught by him.

Even if they had actually caught him, they couldn't bear to whip Zhu Gaochi.

After all, he was his son, or the crown prince; they couldn't let Zhu Gaochi lose too much face.

More importantly, he was completely certain that Zhu Gaochi had truly changed.

Although he didn't know the specific reason, it was at least a good thing. He really couldn't like the previous Zhu Gaochi.

The current Zhu Gaochi is more frank, which makes him feel closer to him.

Zhu Gaochi looked at Zhu Di, his gaze momentarily filled with resentment.

"Dad, how can you be so shameless? You're a grown man, and all I did was say one thing to you and you got angry. Is it really necessary to hit me?"

If you're going to beat me up, at least have a reason. What did I do wrong?

You often read the Analects, so you should know that if names are not correct, then words will not be in accordance with the truth of things; if words are not in accordance with the truth of things, then affairs will not be in accordance with the truth of things…”

"Boss, if you say that again, believe me, I'll beat you up again!"

Zhu Di curled his lips and looked at Zhu Gaochi with unbridled arrogance.

He pretty much figured it out: this person couldn't be reasoned with; you had to resort to violence.

Only by taking action against Zhu Gaochi and using words against Zhu Gaoxu can these two be kept in check.

Zhu Gaochi's lips twitched. Sure enough, the emperor was just that unreasonable.

At this moment, Zhu Di's voice came again.

"What reason do I need to beat my son? It's a matter of course."

Zhu Di, seeing that Zhu Gaochi remained silent, approached him.

At this moment, Zhu Di had a serious expression on his face.

"You ask me why I'm angry, I can tell you."

Today I proposed the construction of Beiping, and Xie Jin and the others opposed me with different reasons.

Tell me, did you secretly instruct them to do this?

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gaochi suddenly realized that it was because of this matter.

The thought that Zhu Di had done nothing wrong, yet he had been angered by those people and ended up being the scapegoat, made Zhu Gaochi feel terrible.

This was Zhu Di taking his anger out on those people because he couldn't win an argument with them.

"Father, if I could give those people instructions, wouldn't you know?"

If Father insists that I instructed him to do so, then please provide evidence.

Zhu Gaochi knew that Zhu Di was monitoring them; otherwise, he wouldn't have known about his activities in the Eastern Palace in the first place.

In the end, he still took the blame for the original owner of this body.

The original Zhu Gaochi had become too close to those people.

Those people were originally court officials who were deeply trusted by Zhu Di and supported him as the crown prince. It would be strange if Zhu Di did not keep his distance after he became the crown prince.

He already knew from his memories that the original owner was worried that Zhu Di would consider deposing him. After all, he often said "You should work harder" to Zhu Gaochi, which is why he maintained close relationships with those who were not from the Crown Prince's family.

The original owner understood very well that his position of establishing the eldest son as heir and emphasizing civil over military affairs was what garnered his support and thus made him appear eager.

But Zhu Di was above him. What was Zhu Di supposed to think?

He had no idea how to gracefully retreat from the limelight, nor could he grasp the key points; he was somewhat impressed by the original owner of this body.

Now, he has no way to prove his innocence. Once he starts to prove his innocence, he will fall into a vicious cycle and can only ask Zhu Di to produce evidence.

Zhu Di looked at Zhu Gaochi and remained silent for a long time.

"Haha, boss, you've really impressed me."

"Then let me ask you, I not only want to build up Beiping, I also want to move the capital, what are your thoughts?"

Zhu Di did not pursue the matter further, which was actually unrelated to his lack of evidence.

He just wanted to see Zhu Gaochi's attitude; he wasn't there to pressure Zhu Gaochi.

Otherwise, he could bring up the fact that Zhu Gaochi had close ties with Xie Jin and others, but doing so would require suppressing Zhu Gaochi, which would be pointless.

He has now seen the change in Zhu Gaochi, and his anger has subsided.

He was even more satisfied with the changed Zhu Gaochi than before, so why should he push things to that point?

Zhu Gaochi also breathed a sigh of relief. He was actually quite worried that Zhu Di would continue to press the matter.

If Zhu Di were to press the matter, in order not to take the blame unjustly, he would inevitably have a major disagreement with Zhu Di, which would contradict his original intention.

After a moment's thought, Zhu Gaochi slowly spoke.

"I agree with the relocation of the capital. This is not only because Beiping is the place where Father rose to power and his stronghold, but also because it can further consolidate imperial power."

Moving the capital to Beiping would allow for better defense against the Tatars and Oirats, while also expanding the Ming Dynasty's influence to the east and west.

But I think the most important thing is that there are fewer people in the north nowadays, and the majority of them are scholars and officials from the south.

Moving the capital to Beiping (Beijing) would be a good solution to this problem.

There are too many officials in the South, and the balance between the North and the South has been completely disrupted.

Although my grandfather...Emperor Taizu moved people north, it is still not enough to fill the gap, and the focus remains in the south.

The North has been separated for too long, and the main threats come from the North, while the South is mostly plagued by internal strife.

Moving the capital to Beiping would not only solve these problems, but also shift the political, economic, military, cultural, and population center of gravity northward.

Zhu Gaochi paused for a moment at this point.

In fact, he was in favor of moving the capital, as the current location was perfectly adequate for a separatist regime in the south.

However, when viewed from the perspective of the entire Ming Dynasty, there are significant shortcomings.

In fact, there will be shortcomings wherever the capital is moved, but the most important thing, in Zhu Gaochi’s view, is to be able to solve the problems that must be solved at the moment.

The issue of relocating the capital has never been about the relocation itself, but rather everything that it brings about, and everything should be geared towards benefit.

The Ming Dynasty today has many problems.

Zhu Di listened quietly to what Zhu Gaochi had to say, his heart filled with satisfaction.

His decision to move the capital was not merely a spur-of-the-moment decision, but rather the result of careful consideration.

What Zhu Gaochi said now was even more comprehensive than he had imagined.

Conflicts still exist between the South and the North today. The North-South examination scandal during the Hongwu era was merely a manifestation of these conflicts and did not mean that the problem had truly been completely resolved.

His launching of the Jingnan Campaign dealt another blow to the northern regions, which had barely begun to recover, and destroyed much of the achievements made by Zhu Yuanzhang.

More importantly, there was imperial power.

In the south, the restrictions are too great.

At this moment, Zhu Di truly began to value Zhu Gaochi, whose abilities were somewhat beyond his imagination.

This also allowed Zhu Di to find someone who truly understood him.

The officials, whether they agreed or disagreed, were all arguing for their own interests.

What Zhu Gaochi said now only strengthened Zhu Di's resolve.

"Boss, why didn't you tell me about this idea sooner?"