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

Chapter 33 Zhu Gaoxu: I'm only here because I'm sick.

Inside the pavilion, Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaoxu sat facing each other, drinking tea, and for a moment they looked like such loving and respectful brothers.

"Boss, I have something to do, so I'll be leaving now."

Zhu Gaoxu stood up, preparing to leave.

He came to the Eastern Palace to see if Zhu Gaochi was really reading and to ascertain Zhu Gaochi's thoughts.

Now that he has learned all this, he has absolutely no desire to continue talking to Zhu Gaochi.

Seeing this, Zhu Gaochi laughed and said, "Second son, are you preparing to go to the palace to see the old master?"

"Hmph, no comment."

Zhu Gaoxu felt extremely uncomfortable looking at Zhu Gaochi's smiling face.

Is it so easy to guess what he's going to do? How did this person know he was going to enter the palace?

Zhu Gaochi's expression immediately turned sour upon seeing Zhu Gaoxu's, and he shook his head, laughing even more broadly.

"Second brother, don't rush. The old man is currently troubled by something. If you go over there like this, he will definitely ask you, 'Aren't you going to prepare?'"

Zhu Gaoxu looked very unwilling, but he just couldn't take a step.

"Boss, let me tell you, I sat down only because I was thirsty. Please pour me another cup of tea to quench my thirst."

"Second brother, you're really ordering me around now. I'll pour you a drink since you want it, okay?"

Seeing Zhu Gaoxu sit back down without batting an eye, and hearing the words he uttered, Zhu Gaochi couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Zhu Gaochi seems to have come to understand Zhu Gaoxu in a different light now, which is quite interesting.

After pouring the tea, Zhu Gaochi stopped smiling and said softly, "You should know what it means for the old man to want to build Beiping."

However, the construction of Beiping was of great importance, requiring a large amount of money, food and supplies, and even more so, the levying of a large number of laborers.

The court has only been at peace for a few years, and the country's strength has not yet recovered. Although the old man has implemented benevolent policies and reduced taxes in the provinces, and even exempted some areas severely damaged during the Jingnan Rebellion from taxes for three years, people's livelihoods are still difficult, and the court's revenue is not much.

In addition, the old man established the Hami Guard in the northwest, increased the number of troops and manpower, and carried out a large-scale operation in Nurgan. Now, there are eighty-seven guard posts in Nurgan, which also require money and food expenditures.

In Liaodong, Jianzhou has already established a Jurchen garrison, and more garrisons will be established later, which will require financial and food expenditures.

It goes without saying that we need to guard against the Tatars and Oirats in the north.

In the southwest, according to reports from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Annam is making great efforts to strengthen its defenses, with Do Bang City as the center, connecting various key waterways to enhance its defenses, and is also making great efforts to reorganize its military.

Previously, Annam occupied many places in Luzhou of our Great Ming Dynasty. Although they were returned, you, a veteran of many battles, should understand what Annam's actions mean now.

Under these circumstances, if the old man wants to build up Beiping and officially rename Beiping Prefecture as Shuntian Prefecture, how do you think the money, grain, materials, and corvée labor needed should be resolved?

I'm here reading medical books now. The old man is under a lot of pressure handling national affairs all by himself. It's a good thing that you want to help him share the burden.

And if you want to share the burden with the old man, then he will definitely ask you how to handle these problems. Don't you think about what to do beforehand?

Zhu Gaochi spoke calmly, but he knew that these were just the immediate issues that needed to be addressed.

He didn't mention many of the core issues facing the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, if Zhu Di had inherited the throne in the right of succession, the Ming Dynasty would not have gone through the Jingnan Campaign in a few years. With the foundation left by Zhu Yuanzhang, it would have been able to withstand the turmoil and do these things without any problem.

But it was precisely during the Jingnan Rebellion that things got a bit too chaotic over those few years.

Li Shimin also came to power through a military coup, but he was able to quickly make the country prosperous and strong. In addition to systems such as the Fubing system, it was also because the Xuanwu Gate Incident did not affect any other places.

Even if local rebellions broke out later, the most affected were only people like Luo Yi, but Li Shimin handled them very well.

Zhu Di's Jingnan Campaign caused considerable destruction.

The wealth left by Zhu Yuanzhang was almost entirely depleted by Zhu Yunwen, who used it all to deal with Zhu Di.

The reason he received support from civil officials was that from the Hongwu reign to the Yongle reign, the Ming Dynasty had been at war quite a bit, and with frequent battles, Wu Xun gained power. The civil officials supported him, a man who valued civil affairs, in order to take back power from Wu Xun.

In reality, from the Hongwu to the Yongle reigns, apart from the few years of civil war during the Jingnan Rebellion, all other battles were inevitable.

Zhu Gaochi greatly admired Zhu Yuanzhang, who truly managed to develop the Ming Dynasty while fighting wars, and even managed to accumulate a considerable fortune for his successors to squander.

Even Zhu Di and Zhu Gaochi admired him, for while fighting wars everywhere and the Ming Dynasty constantly expanding outwards, he was still able to create the Yongle Prosperity.

Even so, he could not ignore the existing problems.

Now, all he can really do is offer suggestions.

Even the so-called most powerful crown prince has not yet reached that level.

That saying only came about after the Yongle Emperor; now, he has no real power.

As for those who say that the Ming Dynasty's taxes were heavier than those of any previous dynasty, can we really find out if the policies implemented by the Ming Dynasty were really like that?

Many policies, though well-intentioned, have been escalated by "some people" at every turn.

Many scholars, officials, and gentry of the Ming Dynasty, in particular, deeply missed the former Yuan Dynasty. After all, they had become accustomed to the good life and their habits were hard to change.

It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality

As Zhu Gaochi listened to his words, Zhu Gaoxu's expression gradually became heavy.

At first, he could understand, but after listening to the whole thing, Zhu Gaoxu felt it was very complicated.

At this moment, Zhu Gaochi was completely immersed in the situation, because in his view, if he went to Zhu Di after Zhu Gaochi caused this trouble, Zhu Di would definitely be willing to let him help.

Therefore, these are also problems that he will inevitably have to face.

Upon closer reflection, Zhu Gaoxu found himself at a loss for what to do about these issues.

In Zhu Gaoxu's view, the solution was either to open up the source or to reduce the source.

Open source means increasing the government's revenue, while reducing source means decreasing the government's expenditure.

However, Zhu Gaochi instinctively abandoned the idea of ​​reducing expenditures. From a military perspective, those expenditures were not to be cut. If it were him, he might have spent even more money on military matters.

As for open source, Zhu Gaoxu had a headache. How could this thing be open source?

"Boss, what exactly do you want to say? Just say it directly. What's the point of hiding it?"

After thinking for a while without finding a solution, and with a headache from all the thinking, Zhu Gaoxu simply gave up and asked Zhu Gaochi directly.

At this moment, Zhu Gaoxu not only had a headache, but was also extremely upset.

So, does being in that position really require so much thought? So many things to solve? Shouldn't these be the responsibility of the cabinet and the various ministries?

In Zhu Gaoxu's view, those people who receive salaries and have such high status should be the ones to solve these problems; otherwise, what's the point of having them?

But now, he couldn't figure it out and could only ask Zhu Gaochi.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gaochi gently shook his head.

"Second brother, you need to think about which position you want."

You might think of letting your subordinates come up with a solution, but have you ever considered what to do if they can't come up with one either?

Or perhaps you'll come up with a method that sounds good to you but is actually harmful?

Or perhaps they'll directly advise you to give up on these things?

After all, if we just give up, these problems will be solved.

If you don't have your own thoughts, how can you know whether what they say is good or bad?

"I made you read a lot of books back then, and I know you're intelligent. Why don't you calm down and think it over carefully? Can't you even come up with a single solution?"