Zhu Yunying needed to consider a grander strategy, such as the Age of Discovery. However, he was not interested in colonizing Australia or the Americas, or directly incorporating them into the Ming Dynasty's territory; he knew that was unrealistic.
A more reliable approach would be to map those places and consider bringing something back from those places.
A person without foresight will have immediate worries. The Ming Dynasty currently seems to have enough land to support its people. However, there are some interesting things going on, such as land annexation and the continuous increase in population.
Zhu Yunying needed to consider these things, probably because he had a long-term vision and a general understanding of historical trends. He clearly understood that if he didn't do certain things, others wouldn't.
“Zhu Shou, my General Zhu.” Zhu Yunying couldn’t help but laugh and said to himself, “This is my Zhulu Marquis. It’s a pity that the Hanghai Marquis just died of illness. Otherwise, Zhang He would have been more suitable than Zhu Shou for the initial exploration.”
It's clear that Zhu Houzhao is unlikely to ascend the throne, and it's even uncertain whether there will ever be another Zhu Houzhao. The current ruler of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Shou, is the Marquis of Zhulu, and can be considered part of Zhu Yunying's inner circle, an important member of both the Chang and Lan factions.
“If I hadn’t ascended the throne, if Yunwen had become emperor, Lan Yu and the others would have died, and the Chang family would basically have been killed or demoted.” Zhu Yunying played with the jade pendant and said with some emotion, “My grandfather’s bloodthirstiness was sometimes for the sake of a smooth transition of imperial power.”
If Zhu Yunwen had ascended the throne historically, many of the noble families of Huaixi would have been suppressed, because they were all from the maternal families of Zhu Biao's eldest son. But things are different now. Unless they are extremely heinous criminals who brought this upon themselves, the noble families of the Ming Dynasty will be preserved. These people are clearly Zhu Yunying's core group.
Discovering new continents is not an easy task. Even though the Ming Dynasty seems to have a certain ability to sail the oceans, it is only relatively speaking. The Ming Dynasty's navy mainly sails to Japan and Southeast Asia.
Crossing the Pacific Ocean is no easy feat; it requires considerable effort.
The shipbuilding technology of the Ming Dynasty has improved over the past ten years.
Maritime transport was highly developed during the Song Dynasty, but after more than a century of development, many technologies have also advanced. Moreover, Zhu Yunying has been vigorously developing maritime transport, including the Ming Dynasty's continuous "oceanic warfare," which has further advanced shipbuilding techniques.
Zhu Shou, it seems it's time to start scouting ahead. Exploring the open ocean naturally requires continuous data accumulation; it's not enough to simply provide a few large ships and some fearless sailors with rewards. The vast ocean holds too many unknowns and too many risks.
Even though the Pacific Ocean is said to be the calmest of the four oceans, it is still an ocean, which naturally means that there are many risks involved.
In a good mood, Zhu Yunying leisurely arrived at the Qianqing Palace. Seeing his grandfather reviewing memorials, Zhu Yunying was at a loss for words. His grandfather's boundless energy was awe-inspiring, something that ordinary people simply couldn't match.
For Lao Zhu, fatigue was simply not an issue. He only needed an hour or two of rest before he could return to work full of energy. As for others not being able to do the same, Lao Zhu clearly didn't think so; he always held others to his own standards.
"Grandfather, I think you should take a rest. You might as well use that time to help me dredge the waterways," Zhu Yunying said to his father. "I've been scolded a lot over the years, so you should help me bear some of the blame."
Old Zhu chuckled and waved his hand, saying, "Then forget it. You take care of the good deed that brings fame. Others may not know, but those with discernment will certainly know. Our grandson loves the people like his own children and has been working on water conservancy projects all these years."
"It's just that a lot of laborers were conscripted, and much of the corvée labor was used for water conservancy projects." Zhu Yunying laughed and said to Old Zhu, "Yang Guang built a canal, and he's been criticized for hundreds of years, and he'll probably be criticized for hundreds more. But if you really want to talk about it, we people have benefited."
That's indeed the case. While the development of the Grand Canal cannot be said to be the fundamental cause of the Sui Dynasty's demise, it certainly served as a catalyst, and this is one of Yang Guang's crimes.
Old Zhu was still very proud, and said to Zhu Yunying, "Others may not know, but how could we not know? Our grandson is not ambitious, and he does many things with a long-term vision, doing them little by little. In recent years, the court has had more money, so repairing the river can also give people some money."
Zhu Yunying wasn't modest either; this was one of his proudest achievements. "Your grandson truly believes that since we are farmers, it's naturally very important to develop water conservancy. If there's an opportunity, your grandson will also modify some parts of the Yellow River in the future, so that it won't change course from time to time."
The Yellow River changing its course is a huge problem, and there have been far too many instances of it changing course throughout history. Especially during the Southern Song Dynasty, in order to resist the southward advance of the Jin army, Du Chong, the garrison commander of Tokyo, deliberately breached the Yellow River dikes in Huazhou, causing the Yellow River to divert southeast and flow into the sea via the Si River and the Ji River.
Here, the Yellow River changes its course from flowing north into the Bohai Sea to flowing south into the Yellow Sea. The main stream of the Yellow River also shifts frequently, sometimes flowing south and eventually joining the Huai River before flowing into the sea.
Controlling floods is not something that can be done overnight. In fact, with the current level of productivity, it is no easier than climbing to the heavens to completely control the Yellow River.
However, regardless of the circumstances, Zhu Yunying felt that he still had to do what he was supposed to do. Even if he couldn't completely control the Yellow River, he couldn't let this great river flow freely, as that would be bad for the Ming Dynasty and for the people living near the Yellow River.
Things that benefit the country and its people certainly need to be done, and Zhu Yunying had quite a few things to do. Water conservancy projects were naturally a key area of benefit, but it was something whose effects might not be immediately apparent.
However, Zhu Yunying will still do what needs to be done; there is no doubt about that. Indeed, Zhu Yunying still has a lot to do. For the sake of the Ming Dynasty, and to ensure that the people of the Ming Dynasty are well-fed and clothed, Zhu Yunying naturally needs to do more, and he needs to do some things even better.
Zhu Yunying was discussing some things with Zhu Yunying, who was reviewing memorials. This did make things easier for Zhu Yunying, but it didn't mean he could be idle or lazy.
The cabinet is nowhere in sight yet, and Zhu Yunying needs to handle many of the memorials. He must be a diligent and good emperor!
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