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

Chapter 43 Court Attitudes, Zhu Di's Example of Making an Example

Zhu Di listened to Xie Jin's deafeningly powerful voice, but instead of anger, he stared at him intently.

This time, Xie Jin's opposition was even stronger than before. He regarded the construction of Beiping and the relocation of the capital to Beiping as an act that would lead to the downfall of the country, and he seemed to think that Zhu Di was a ruler who would bring about the downfall of the country.

Zhu Di felt like laughing when he heard this.

Did he not know that the Ming Dynasty needed to recuperate and rebuild? Did he not know the difficulty of building Beiping? Did he not know that the Ming Dynasty's tax revenue was concentrated in the south?

Is he ambitious and eager for quick success? Is he betting the fate of the Ming Dynasty on this?

These people are short-sighted.

Zhu Di's gaze swept over the crowd, and just as he was about to speak, Li Zhigang, the Minister of Rites, stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, I agree with the construction of Beiping! Moreover, Jie Jin spreads heresies, curses Your Majesty, and curses our Great Ming Dynasty. He should be punished!"

Fengyang was the place where the founding emperor Taizu rose to power. Is it possible that Fengyang was built as a secondary capital as you, Xie Jin, described?

Beiping is the place where the Emperor rose to power. What is wrong with the Emperor emulating the founding emperor today?

The Emperor has made it very clear that he is only talking about building Beiping, not about moving the capital.

But you, Xie Jin, have been talking about moving the capital, which is completely fabricated. You have fabricated a pretext to deceive the emperor and maliciously harm him. You should be severely punished as a warning to others!

As soon as Li Zhigang finished speaking, Yang Shiqi and the others turned to look at him.

Even Zhu Di was somewhat surprised, clearly taken aback by Li Zhigang.

The reason for this is that Xie Jin and Li Zhigang actually had a very good personal relationship, a fact they were both well aware of.

Now Li Zhigang is targeting Xie Jin in this way, as if he intends to kill him, as if the two are mortal enemies.

On the contrary, Xie Jin was not surprised when he saw Li Zhigang make trouble. It was as if he had expected it and thought it was reasonable.

After Li Zhigang finished speaking, no one else spoke.

Hu Guang, Huang Huai, Yang Shiqi, and others unequivocally supported Zhu Gaochi, but Xie Jin also supported Zhu Gaochi. Even though Xie Jin considered himself a member of the "pure stream" and did not get along with them, these were not reasons for them to take action against Xie Jin at this time.

As for pleading for Xie Jin?

They received no hints from Zhu Gaochi, nor did they receive any indication of the situation, nor did they dare to plead for Xie Jin easily.

After all, Zhu Di seemed determined to build Beiping, and Xie Jin's opposition meant that anyone who pleaded for Xie Jin's life would be implicated.

Xia Yuanji and Jian Yi, on the other hand, were worried about the taxes and corvée labor that needed to be collected for the construction of Beiping, as well as the manpower and material resources required.

These two rarely get involved in those conflicts.

Minister of Justice Lü Zhen and Minister of Works Song Li were also quite close to Zhu Gaochi, and were among those who supported the primogeniture system. It can be said that they had a close relationship with Zhu Gaochi.

There's nothing these two can do now to plead for Xie Jin.

I don't want to get myself involved.

Did they kick Xie Jin when he was down?

The two were also worried about offending Zhu Gaochi and creating a rift between them.

The last Minister of War, Jin Zhong, was a confidant of Zhu Di.

This Jin Zhong is not the same Jin Zhong who surrendered during Zhu Di's fourth northern expedition and was given a name by the Oirat people.

Jin Zhong's original name was Yesen Tugan. He was a sixth-generation descendant of Buqa, the Grand Protector of the Yuan Dynasty, and came from a prominent family in the Yuan Dynasty.

Jin Zhong, now the Minister of War, initially served as a guard in the Prince of Yan's residence, later as a chief clerk, and was promoted to the position of registrar in the Prince of Yan's residence when Zhu Di launched the Jingnan Campaign.

After Zhu Di's successful pacification campaign, he was promoted to Vice Minister of Works. After accompanying Zhu Gaochi to the capital, he was promoted to Minister of War.

Jin Zhong was Zhu Di's absolute confidant. Although he was a civil official, he entered officialdom as a military man. He had a decent relationship with Qiu Fu and others, and also with Zhu Gaoxu.

However, when Zhu Di was considering candidates for crown prince, he resolutely stood on Zhu Gaochi's side and insisted on the system of establishing the eldest son of the legitimate wife.

However, Jin Zhong only supported the primogeniture system and was not very close to Zhu Gaochi.

Whether or not Zhu Di builds Beiping, he only listens to Zhu Di; if Zhu Di says to move, then he moves.

In fact, he preferred to move to Beiping, because the responsibilities of the Ministry of War would inevitably be greater there.

The greater the responsibility, the greater the Ministry of War's influence.

But if you agree now, you're just following and echoing Li Zhigang.

Jin Zhong was not familiar with Li Zhigang, and he was also worried that Zhu Di would think that he and Li Zhigang were in league.

Everyone had a different expression, but Xie Jin ignored it.

He gave Li Zhigang a deep look, then looked at Huang Huai, Hu Guang, Yang Shiqi and others.

Xie Jin wanted these people to follow him, which would surely stop Zhu Di.

To Xie Jin's disappointment, Yang Shiqi and the others avoided his gaze, and no one stood up to say anything.

At this moment, Xie Jin knew that none of the highest-ranking officials in the Ming Dynasty would support him anymore.

Despite his sorrow, Xie Jin did not give up and looked at Zhu Di with a resolute expression.

"Your Majesty, the construction of Beiping is completely different from the construction of Fengyang."

Emperor Taizu built Fengyang, which was not far from Yingtian, and he had no intention of moving the capital to Fengyang.

But Your Majesty is different; Your Majesty wants to move the capital to Beiping!

Although you did not say it, I know very well that once this matter is settled, Your Majesty will definitely take action.

"The relocation of the capital is a matter of great importance, concerning the very foundation of the Ming Dynasty. I urge Your Majesty to reconsider!"

Zhu Di no longer paid attention to Li Zhigang; now his attention was entirely focused on Xie Jin.

Xie Jin's repeated objections had already made him very uncomfortable.

Moreover, he wanted to use Xie Jin to see if Zhu Gaochi was really the real Zhu Gaochi, and he didn't intend to pay any more attention to these things.

"Jie Jin, I've heard that you're getting along very well with those people from Jiangnan."

Those people now have you as their leader. How many times have you gone to those night boats on the Huai River?

Your old house is quite impressive; it must have cost a lot of money to renovate.

How much bribes did your relatives in Jiangnan receive? They must have given them a lot, right?

You are wholeheartedly devoted to the country and the Ming Dynasty. I believe in you; you truly have this heart.

But you, Xie Jin, should ask yourself honestly, is your opposition to my construction of Beiping really just for these reasons?

Or do you think I'm blind and deaf, unaware of what's going on outside?

Zhu Di stared intently at Xie Jin, his expression icy.

In fact, there were quite a few people who opposed his construction of Beiping, or even the relocation of the capital to Beiping. Among the people standing here today, besides Xie Jin, there are also Xia Yuanji and Jian Yi, who are the true core of the Ming Dynasty.

But why is he so fixated on Xie Jin?

It was because Xia Yuanji and Jian Yi were both very clean and honest, and they were truly devoted to the Ming Dynasty.

As for Xie Jin, he himself was nothing special. Compared with others, Xie Jin was truly a person of integrity.

However, the people around Xie Jin were not clean, and Xie Jin was aware of all of this.

While being corrupt themselves, they also try to appear selfless and righteous, serving the country and its people, by indulging in selfish desires.

He might not care about those things normally, but at this moment, he wouldn't indulge Xie Jin.

He also needs to make an example of someone to warn those who oppose him.

Once Zhu Di made up his mind to do something, few people could persuade him to change his mind.