Moving the capital was a major undertaking that most emperors couldn't accomplish, as the resistance involved was indeed immense. The main reason most emperors wanted to move the capital was because of the officials in the court, whose power base and interests were largely tied to Yingtian Prefecture.
Leaving aside the civil and military officials in the court, none of the powerful families would agree to move the capital.
The most obvious point is that once the capital is moved to Beiping, Yingtian Prefecture, even if it remains a secondary capital and the foundation of the Ming Dynasty in the south, will inevitably see its status decline.
The civil official group in eastern Zhejiang, the noble family group in western Huaihe River region, and the powerful clans in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces all opposed moving the capital. Their presence undoubtedly increased the difficulty of the relocation, and they would seize every opportunity to oppose it.
Even an emperor as domineering as Zhu Yuanzhang would be in a difficult position at this time. Despite his repeated purges of civil and military officials, he couldn't command everyone's obedience.
While Old Zhu and Young Zhu were busy with the relocation of the capital, an urgent report suddenly arrived from Xi'an.
Zhu was struck dumb as his second son, Prince Qin Zhu Shuang, was poisoned to death by three old women in the Prince's mansion at the young age of forty!
Although Zhu Shuang committed many evil deeds and acted recklessly, which greatly displeased Zhu Yuanzhang, he was still his second son. After his eldest son died of illness, his second son was also poisoned, which was something Zhu Yuanzhang found hard to accept.
"Min" was the posthumous title of the King of Qin. Old Zhu was still seething with anger, feeling his second son deserved to die and was morally corrupt. His grief was merely out of paternal affection. Now, having been poisoned to death by three old women, Zhu Shuang was naturally deserving of death.
Old Zhu ordered a reduction in the scale of Zhu Shuang's funeral, and it was only then that it was discovered that Princess Wang of Qin had been buried alive with him.
This made Zhu frown, as Lady Wang was actually the prototype for Zhao Min. However, what Zhu Xiong Ying cared about was not these things, but the fact that the practice of funerary sacrifice, which had been almost abolished, had been brought up again in the Ming Dynasty, which left people somewhat at a loss for words.
In the Ming Dynasty, the practice of burying concubines alive with the emperor was a system where, except for the empress and the biological mother of the succeeding emperor, or the daughters of meritorious officials, all other concubines had to be buried alive with the emperor, regardless of whether they had given birth or whether their offspring were princes.
The imperial court would reward the families of the concubines who were buried alive with the emperor, both materially and spiritually, and would also posthumously confer titles or honorary names upon the concubines.
Previously, Prince Zhu Zi and Princess Tan had committed suicide by burning themselves in the palace, which was not unusual. When Crown Prince Zhu Biao died, Lady Lü was not forced to commit suicide. However, this time, with the death of the Prince of Qin, the royal family officially established the system of funerary sacrifice for the emperor for the first time.
Some of these actions even exceeded the prescribed standards, because normally a prince's principal wife was not required to be buried alive with him. However, this time, Emperor Zhu ordered Wang's death.
Zhu Xiong Ying's expression was grim; this was undoubtedly a cruel system. As for the possibility that the survival of these women might bring some instability to the royal family, in Zhu Xiong Ying's view, it was not a major problem, and such a system should be abolished.
The practice of funerary sacrifice has been prohibited throughout history, but it has persisted. Especially after the Liao Dynasty, the practice revived. Now, the Ming Dynasty seems intent on further publicizing this practice.
The Minister of Rites, Ren Hengtai, and the Minister of Personnel, Zhan Hui, were summoned to the Eastern Palace by Zhu Xiong Ying. These matters needed to be discussed thoroughly. Zhu Xiong Ying had to abolish the practice of funerary sacrifice, and this had to be established while the old Zhu was still alive. Otherwise, it would become increasingly difficult later on, and eventually it would become a so-called 'ancestral rule'.
Zhan Hui and Ren Hengtai naturally understood Zhu Xiong Ying's meaning, and both of them were quite opposed to the practice of funerary sacrifice. They also felt that they should do something, and as for the possibility of angering His Majesty the Emperor, they couldn't worry about that for the time being.
Putting aside the fact that this would greatly enhance their reputation, the main reason they understood was that as long as the Crown Prince vouched for them, there wouldn't be any major problems. Over the years, they had also seen that the Crown Prince wasn't the type to abandon those who had helped him; he was a very responsible person and wouldn't betray his subordinates.
Zhu Xiong Ying slowly walked towards the Qianqing Palace. He still wanted to keep Old Zhu company and have a heart-to-heart talk with him.
Old Zhu, grieving the loss of his son once again, was listless and unable to sleep, resorting to work to numb himself. Constantly reviewing memorials was the only way he could forget some things, the only way he could stop thinking about them.
Shuangquan opened the door nimbly; he dared not stop the Crown Prince.
Zhu Xiong Ying entered the Qianqing Palace and immediately said with a smile, "Grandpa Emperor, aren't you going to rest?"
"We're thinking of moving the capital, but the people back home are making a fuss," Old Zhu said to Zhu Xiong Ying, quite annoyed. "Look at these people, none of them want to be too far from their hometown. If we leave our hometown, are we just going to ignore them?"
Zhu Xiong Ying laughed and said to Old Zhu, "That's why we need to move the capital, otherwise these people will only think about buying land in their hometowns."
Yingtian Prefecture was far too close to Fengyang, and many of Zhu Yuanzhang's founding officials were from the Huaixi region. These people were definitely the most opposed to moving the capital; they all hoped to hold office close to their homes so they could take care of their ancestral lands.
“Speaking of our hometown, this famous imperial hometown, most of the people are from noble families,” Zhu Xiong Ying said to Old Zhu. “Many of those who followed our grandfather in battle back then are still around today, and quite a few have been posthumously honored. We have done our duty to these people, but we have gone too far in some things.”
Old Zhu nodded and said to Zhu Xiong Ying, "That's exactly what we're thinking. We have to take them to Beiping. These people collude in private, embezzle public funds, and are arrogant and domineering. Their relatives have also been showing off and committing illegal acts in the underworld."
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