pdf-ebookys Chapter 1231 The art style suddenly feels off?
Chapter 1231 The art style suddenly feels off?
When the court quieted down again, Li Shanchang stood in front of the officials once more, and Liu Bowen took the lead in bowing to the black sesame dumpling sitting on the dragon throne: "Your subjects have been disrespectful before the palace, and hope that Your Highness will forgive us."
Yang Shaofeng glanced at these officials who showed no remorse and were quick to resort to violence, and curled his lip. Black Sesame Dumpling, however, calmly waved his hand and said, "There's no crime involved. After all, we're all working for the sake of the Ming Dynasty. Occasional disagreements are inevitable."
After making a few polite remarks, Heizhi Tangyuan smiled again and said, "You all have been arguing for so long, has the matter of moving the capital been resolved yet?"
Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen continued to feign death, while Wang Guangyang was the first to jump out and say, "I agree to move the capital to Beiping for three reasons!"
"Firstly, with the Hu Yuan expedition to the west, the vast grasslands urgently needed the court to take over. Moving the capital to Beiping would bring the court closer to the grasslands, and the court could respond promptly to any disturbances."
"Secondly, most of the large coal mines, iron mines, or workshops are located in the north, which is too far from the current capital and inconvenient for the court to manage."
"Thirdly, it was because of the need to develop Liaodong. As the prince consort said, although Liaodong is a cold and harsh place, it is full of mineral deposits and fertile land. Moving the capital to Beiping would allow for better development of Liaodong."
"In the final analysis, moving the capital to Beiping would encourage people in Jiangnan to migrate north, which would be entirely beneficial."
As soon as Wang Guangyang finished speaking, an official dressed in the robes of a fourth-rank official jumped out, glared at Wang Guangyang, and said, "Minister Wang speaks so lightly, but has Minister Wang ever thought about how much the population of Beiping would increase if Beiping were made the capital?"
“Beiping is far less fertile than Jiangnan. If there is not enough food, should we transport grain from Jiangnan to Beiping?”
"Even with steam locomotives and ships to reduce losses on the road, grain can't just appear out of thin air, can it? And transportation on the road can't be done without spending a penny or losing a single grain of rice, can it? How much more money will the imperial court have to spend on this?"
Then another official, dressed in a fifth-rank robe, jumped out and said, "It is true that the remnants of the Hu Yuan army marched west under the leadership of Wang Baobao, but who can guarantee that the Mongols who stayed behind will be loyal to the Ming Dynasty?"
"During the Han Dynasty, there was the act of sealing the wolf's lair and residing in the Xu state. During the Tang Dynasty, Jieli Khan was captured and brought to Chang'an to perform a dance for the Tang Emperor. And then what?"
"As Emperor Taizong of Tang said, 'Those barbarians are humble and submissive when weak, but will become bandits and thieves when strong.'"
"Now that Hu Yuan has launched a western expedition, the remaining Mongols are willing to submit to the Ming Dynasty. Once they accumulate some strength, who knows if they won't cause trouble?"
"At that time, the capital will be right next to the Great Wall. If someone takes advantage of the situation and invades, wouldn't that be..."
Li Wenzhong glanced coldly at the fifth-rank official and sneered, "What, is this Lord Liu afraid that the Grand Commander's Office can't defeat the barbarian Hu Yuan?"
As Li Wenzhong finished speaking, the fifth-rank official who had been rebuked immediately fell silent. Then, another official dressed in a fourth-rank robe jumped out and said to Li Wenzhong, "The Duke of Cao can certainly defeat Hu Yuan."
"But what if?"
"If something were to happen, could you, Duke Cao, bear the responsibility?"
"Moreover, how can you, Duke Cao, guarantee that all future Grand Commanders of the Grand Commandery will be capable and skilled in battle?"
"Have you not heard that an incompetent general can cause the deaths of thousands of soldiers?"
"Can just anyone command a war involving tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of soldiers?"
"How many troops can you, Duke Cao, command?"
"The grasslands, while seemingly a bulwark for Beiping, actually do more harm than good. It would be better to set them aside for now..."
Li Wenzhong was furious and pointed at the fourth-rank official, shouting, "How many soldiers can I command? You try and see!"
Yang Shaofeng reached out and grabbed Li Wenzhong's sleeve, pulling it back. Then he stood in front of Li Wenzhong and coldly looked at the fourth-rank official, saying, "Master Chen, you've thought things through quite far. But I'm also very curious, just because of your worries, Master Chen, is the court going to abandon the northern desert lands?"
Abandoned land – this term has become an indelible dark chapter in the history of the Ming Dynasty, and it even has its own specific name: “Xuande Abandoned Land”.
Yes, it's Zhu Laosi's good grandson, the famous "Cricket Emperor" Zhu Zhanji. This unfortunate kid abandoned Annam, moved the Nurgan Regional Military Commission, and abandoned Xinghe during his reign.
The price of abandoning the territory was that Annam never returned to the Ming Dynasty's territory, and the Ming Dynasty lost its foothold in the Indochina Peninsula; the Outer Northeast gradually slipped out of control, and the Jianyi (Kingdom of Manchuria) later rose to prominence, becoming a major threat to the Ming Dynasty in its later years; the northern border defense line was breached, and the Oirat Mongols grew stronger and stronger in the later Xuande period, culminating in the even more famous "Tumu Crisis" during the Zhengtong era.
It's hard to say how many unknown twists and turns there were in the matter of Zhu Zhanji abandoning the land, but Zhu Zhanji will definitely have to take the blame.
He was the emperor at the time; if he didn't carry it, who would?
Should we expect the officials in power at the time to bear the burden?
Don't be ridiculous—if Zhu Zhanji could really shift the blame to the officials in power at the time, he wouldn't have needed to establish an inner school in the inner court to teach young eunuchs to read and write, thus setting a precedent for using eunuchs to check and balance the outer court!
Yang Shaofeng banished these chaotic thoughts from his mind, then glared coldly at the official who dared not speak, and snorted, "Minister Chen, I am asking you a question! Answer me!"
The official, addressed as Vice Minister Chen, unconsciously took a half-step back, but still forced himself to look at Yang Shaofeng and stubbornly said, "When did I ever say that I would abandon the lands of the southern and northern deserts?"
"Isn't it a complete distortion of the truth that the Prince Consort is linking the relocation of the capital with whether or not to abandon the land?"
"Of course, Your Highness can force me to admit my mistake, but even if I do, I will only be outwardly convinced but inwardly dissatisfied!"
Yang Shaofeng glanced coldly at Minister Chen, then suddenly turned his gaze to the group of officials behind Minister Chen, and sneered, "How many of you are like him, who outwardly submit to me but inwardly resent me? Let's all step forward today!"
The black sesame dumplings suddenly became restless.
The officials were arguing and fighting just fine, but how did they suddenly start talking about whether or not to abandon the land when it came to my brother-in-law?
Suddenly, something felt off.
Also, my brother-in-law seems to be unable to accept the word "abandoned land," no matter what the reason or explanation is for abandoning land.
If that's the case...
Black Sesame Dumpling's eyes darted around, and she suddenly chuckled twice, looking at Yang Shaofeng and saying, "Um, brother-in-law..."