"Ying'er, you like the Ministry of Works and those skilled craftsmen." Old Zhu said to Zhu Xiong Ying with a smile, "This time, we'll give you some craftsmen. When you go to Beiping this time, remember to repair the city walls and build the imperial city properly. As for the style, we're thinking of following the imperial city of Yingtian Prefecture."

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded, then smiled and said, "Grandfather, our Ming Dynasty has experience in building the imperial city. I won't cause any trouble. The people from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Rites will come with me. I'll just keep an eye on things. They will take care of the construction."

With the imperial city of Yingtian Prefecture, plus the half-built imperial city in their hometown of Zhongdu, the Ming Dynasty had truly become accustomed to building imperial palaces.

Old Zhu glared at Zhu Xiong Ying and then said, "Don't trust your subordinates too much. These civil and military officials, don't let them all be on the same page. If they all act in unison, we'll be in trouble."

This is probably a common feeling among emperors throughout history: they didn't want their civil and military officials to fight too fiercely, leading to factional strife or the like. However, these emperors also absolutely didn't want to see their civil and military officials living in too much harmony.

Old Zhu then said to Zhu Xiong Ying, "Your uncles aren't exactly easy to deal with either. When you go to Beiping, have your eldest uncle take charge of dredging the canal. Water transport isn't just about sea transport; it also includes river transport. Beiping's population is bound to surge, and grain will need to be transported there. What name do you think we should change Haijin Town to?"

Haijin Town, which will later become Tianjin, was originally an important military town and a center for the transshipment of grain. If nothing unexpected happens, it will soon become a vital transportation hub and the gateway to the capital region.

I originally wanted to say 'Tianjin,' but Zhu Xiong Ying wasn't the emperor, so he naturally wasn't qualified to call it 'Tianjin.' Let's just call it 'Jinmen.' After all, 'Haijin' was the name used during the Yuan Dynasty. Now that Jinmen's status has been elevated, it can no longer be called the name from the Yuan Dynasty.

Zhu Xiong Ying naturally knew all this; Tianjin's status would continue to rise, and its importance would grow ever greater.

It seems that Zhu Xiong Ying not only intends to build a city and construct an imperial city in Beiping, but also to transform Tianjin into a city under his rule. After all, Tianjin at present is merely a garrison town, not a true city.

Just thinking about it makes me a little excited. It turns out that this famous municipality will be developed under my leadership.

The sense of accomplishment from making history is quite exciting and exhilarating. Zhu Xiong Ying is very much looking forward to the future, when a famous city will be built under his leadership and shine with brilliant splendor!

Old Zhu then said, "Take this Yan Zhenzhi with you. He's doing a good job as our grain manager."

The term "grain chief" was a semi-official position at the grassroots level in the Ming Dynasty responsible for collecting and transporting grain. In one area, a region was designated as a district for collecting about 10,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain. The chief was a wealthy household who was appointed as the grain chief to collect and transport the grain.

Old Zhu then continued, "There are now more than 200,000 craftsmen in Yingtian Prefecture. You will take 100,000 of them to Beiping."

While reviewing memorials, Zhu said, "In a few days, Yan Zhenzhi should be appointed as the Vice Minister of Works. Ru Chang is currently the Vice Minister of Works. Let him gain experience in this position; he can be of great use in the future. Chen Xuan, the Deputy Commander of the Right Guard of Chengdu, once repaired the Dujiangyan Irrigation System. You can let him and your uncle manage the canal transport."

Zhu Xiong Ying felt that the people he was taking with him were mainly from the Ministry of Works, but the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of War also needed some people. However, among the six ministries, the Ministry of Works was still the most important, since Zhu Xiong Ying was going to build the city and dredge the canal.

Zhu Xiong Ying smiled happily and listened attentively to the explanations from Old Zhu and Big Zhu. These were things she needed to hear more about.

Looking at Zhu Xiong Ying, Old Zhu said with great emotion, "Ying'er, I remember you were five or six years old when you were listening to government affairs in front of us, right?"

“Five years old.” Da Zhu laughed and said, “If Father doesn’t attend court, he likes to stay in the Wuying Hall and Qianqing Palace. He’s been listening to government affairs for ten years and reading memorials for over ten years, but he just doesn’t like to talk.”

Zhu Xiong Ying bluntly stated, "Grandfather and Father should handle state affairs; I don't want to get involved."

Old Zhu laughed and scolded, "We're so busy and tired these days. If you care about your imperial grandfather and your father, you should help us review some memorials. You might not be good at big things, but you can handle small things!"

This is all Old Zhu's fault. After deposing the prime minister, this workaholic basically took charge of everything, which naturally led to a lot more work.

Advising him to delegate some power would only invite criticism, as Zhu Yuanzhang always maintained a certain degree of suspicion towards his ministers. Therefore, in many matters, Zhu Yuanzhang held onto power tightly, distrusting no one except himself, the crown prince, and his grandson—not even his other sons.

For example, when Zhu Xiong Ying was five or six years old, he could read memorials without any problems. Zhu Xiong Ying's silence pleased the old Zhu, because his grandson was sensible and knew how to conduct himself, and did not become arrogant because of his favor.

As for the other princes, let alone five or six years old. Even if they were fifty or sixty, it wouldn't be acceptable, because official documents are not for ordinary people to read.

After finishing their business, Old Zhu suddenly remembered something, "Hey you, bring us our armor!"

Zhu Xiong Ying's eyes lit up, and she asked excitedly, "Grandpa Emperor, is this the armor you wore when you conquered the world?"

"Want some?" Old Zhu was a little surprised, then said, "No way! Back when we were fighting, we wore armor that we stole. It didn't fit properly, and it wasn't good enough. This time, we made several sets of armor for our grandson!"

Zhu Xiong Ying disagreed, saying, "Grandpa, I'm going to Beiping, not to drive out the remnants of the Yuan. Fine armor is useless; what we want is the heroic spirit of Grandpa when he conquered the world, not just a show of face!"

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