Zhu Yunwen, this little brother, is quite reliable. He knows how to act cute and playful, and he knows how to use his status to take care of his elder brother as much as possible.

After all, the Emperor has not yet returned from his inspection tour, and all the affairs of the court have fallen on the shoulders of the Emperor.

There were wars, reforms to the bureaucracy, the promotion of banks, the ever-expanding fleet, and the development of new territories—all these things continued. Moreover, there were frequent power struggles among officials in the imperial court.

The matter was so complex and multifaceted that Zhu Yunwen felt a headache coming on just thinking about it, and even considered running away. However, these were matters that his elder brother, the Emperor, could not ignore; they were all things that absolutely needed to be done.

It would be better for Zhu Yunwen to simply be a wealthy and noble prince, which was also his ambition.

“Brother, this trip is much better than the trip to the north a few years ago,” Zhu Yunwen said with great interest. “Back then in Yangzhou, it seemed prosperous, but its foundation was still poor.”

Zhu Yunying nodded and said, "At that time, our Ming Dynasty had been established for less than twenty years, and Yangzhou was considered prosperous. It was only after the tyrannical Yuan Dynasty and the warlord era that Yangzhou became a haven for many people."

"That year, we traveled all the way to Qingzhou, and what we saw along the way was the desolation of the people. We saw a lot along the way, and the people of the north really don't recognize Han people," Zhu Yunwen continued to complain. "When we went to Beiping, what was the difference between many Han people and barbarians?"

Zhu Yunying said with a smile, "So you don't understand why we moved the capital to Beiping?"

Zhu Yunwen didn't mince words and said, "Yes, we don't understand. Even if Chang'an is no good and Kaifeng is no good, can't we find another place? It just so happens to be Beiping. We didn't want to go to Beiping back then."

“You don’t want to go to Beiping now. In a few years, when we move the capital to Beiping, you can stay in Yingtian Prefecture,” Zhu Yunying said irritably. “When we’re not around, you’re like a wild horse. It’s your second sister who doesn’t want to go either, so we’re a little more at ease.”

Zhu Yunying had no choice; he was the one who took good care of his younger siblings. But when it came to his younger siblings, none of them wanted to go to Beiping.

It seems that when Zhu Yunying established the capital, he shouldn't have cared about the princesses' and princes' residences near the imperial city; he should have focused solely on whether there were any crooked trees on Coal Hill. Now, it seems the completed princes' and princesses' residences are 'useless,' as everyone is thinking of staying in the bustling Yingtian Prefecture.

Zhu Yunying continued, “We know that Beiping has many inconveniences, but there’s nothing we can do about it. There are only a few places in the world suitable for establishing a capital, and what we’re thinking about is winning back the hearts of the people. The Han people in the north have been under the rule of foreign tribes for hundreds of years, and even though our Great Ming has been around for thirty years, we still can’t change that.”

This was unavoidable; even though Beiping had been established as a city and the process of relocating the capital had begun, many people north of the Yellow River, let alone Beiping, still didn't fundamentally care about their Han Chinese ancestry.

Wearing hair loose and fastening the robe on the left is the norm for many Han Chinese in the north. The Han Chinese dress code is right for life and left for death, and hair should be tied up. They don't care about or understand this at all, because many people feel that they have always looked this way since childhood, and even their ancestors have always looked this way.

Zhu Yunwen nodded repeatedly and said, "I've heard that in this imperial examination, there seem to be very few talented people on the northern list. It's not good that all the officials are from the south; the literary style in the north is indeed not very strong."

If it weren't for the separate examinations for the North and South, it would have been incredibly difficult for Northern students to achieve top honors. While this might seem unfair to Southern students, it was unavoidable, given the existence of regional protectionism even in the future. Emperor Zhu Yunying, too, needed to consider the entire realm, not just appoint only Southerners to official positions.

Zhu Yunwen chuckled and said, "On our journey, we've seen quite a few caravans heading to the north, and we've also met quite a few people from the north. To be honest, it's much better than when we went to Beiping last time; at least we know they're all citizens of our Great Ming."

Zhu Yunying smiled and said proudly, "After all, they are from the same generation now. It's time for them to know that they are subjects of our Great Ming Dynasty."

This could be a reason for Zhu Yunying's pride; the Ming Dynasty, after more than thirty years of existence, had achieved certain results. Even if it didn't win the hearts of all the people, at least such a stable regime and a peaceful environment still captivated the older generation who had experienced war. And the young people who had grown up were beginning to show more vitality.

Zhu Yunwen continued, "On this trip, we saw quite a few wealthy young ladies going on outings to the suburbs. We noticed that some of them didn't have bound feet. Even back in Yangzhou, there are still some pretentious pedants in brothels who bind their feet."

Zhu Yunying was speechless and said irritably, "You went out and all you did was stare at women's feet? You went to brothels and entertainment venues?"

“Listen to music, listen to music, let’s go over there and listen to music.” Zhu Yunwen said hurriedly, “We, we’ve experienced everything, we look down on vulgar women. Your Majesty, I’m telling you, you should also do something about it. We’ve seen too many military officers running to brothels, and now many civil officials are going too.”

Officials engaging in prostitution was absolutely forbidden in the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, there were no strict prohibitions against officials visiting prostitutes. Therefore, many officials did frequently frequent brothels and pleasure houses. The allure of pleasure is a graveyard for heroes; the prevalence of prostitution in officialdom was not a sign of a prosperous era, but rather a reflection of the increasingly lax governance and the extravagance and corruption of officials.

After a moment of surprise, Zhu Yunying said, "I understand. It seems that it is only right for us to rectify official corruption."

It hasn't been that long, and the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty is already rife with bad practices. The strict laws of the Hongwu era once made some officials tremble with fear, but this still did not stop some officials from embezzling, breaking the law, and indulging in extravagance and debauchery.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!