Zhu Xiong Ying started to take action and began to try to do more things, attempting to handle the coastal defense issues properly.
Many people have realized that Zhu Xiong Ying wasn't actually hoping to increase the Imperial Treasury's revenue. Even with the reopening of the Maritime Trade Office, this might not be Zhu Xiong Ying's primary concern.
In Zhu's eyes, Zhu Xiong Ying was the future successor of the Ming Dynasty. He hoped to see a successor with excellent control and decisiveness.
This time, Zhu Xiong Ying's insistence on reopening the Maritime Trade Office, his demands for tens of thousands of taels of silver, ships, or personnel, are not the most important things. In fact, the money and manpower that Old Zhu needs to spend to reopen the Maritime Trade Office will not be just tens of thousands of taels of silver; it will require a huge amount of manpower and resources.
This is to give Zhu Xiong Ying an opportunity to learn and grow. Zhu Xiong Ying doesn't necessarily have to achieve a lot; the process is very important.
Zhu Biao returned to the East Palace and asked Zhu Xiong Ying, "Ying'er, if the Maritime Trade Office is reopened, should the funds go to the Imperial Treasury?"
The Imperial Treasury consisted of ten storehouses, generally managed by eunuchs. Actually, including the Heavenly Treasury and the Supplies Treasury, there should be twelve storehouses.
This was essentially the imperial treasury, or the emperor's private savings, and it differed from the national treasury of the Ministry of Revenue. The emperor alone could decide the use and management of these private treasuries; the Ministry of Revenue could send officials to inspect and register income and expenditure, but it had no management authority.
Zhu Xiong Ying nodded and said seriously, "Yes, the royal private treasury is still better. The reopening of the Maritime Trade Office is also a major event. My current small-scale activities are not a big deal. Just consider them as my frivolous antics. Without going to court, there will naturally be less strife."
Zhu Biao nodded and then said, "That's true. It would be best if it could replenish the imperial treasury. Your imperial grandfather has assigned you a chief eunuch. Go and give him instructions if you need anything."
This Grand Eunuch, naturally, was the Grand Eunuch of the Imperial Treasury, who managed the royal private treasury.
As he spoke, Zhu Biao took out a token and a tiger tally.
"When our Great Ming Dynasty wages war, according to ancestral regulations, there are five military prefectures, and outsiders are not allowed to interfere. Only the Commander-in-Chief's office, which holds the seal, is registered there," Zhu Biao continued. "The Commander-in-Chief's office has no power to deploy troops; that power is directly controlled by the Emperor. Although the Ministry of War has the power to appoint, dismiss, promote, and train troops, it does not command troops. In times of war, the Emperor temporarily appoints a special person as the Commander-in-Chief to lead the garrison troops into battle. After the war ends, the Commander-in-Chief returns his seal, and the troops return to their garrisons."
Zhu Xiong Ying nodded repeatedly. The current military system of the Ming Dynasty is the garrison system: the emperor holds sole military power, garrisons are set up in key locations throughout the country, soldiers are hereditary, and supplies depend on military farms.
This system, which separates the power to command and deploy troops from the power to control them, and ensures that generals do not monopolize their troops and that troops do not have private generals, aims to guarantee the emperor's control over the national army.
Today's military is also divided into the capital army and local armies.
Today, they are the elite of the national guard, serving as the main force in peacetime and the capital in wartime. In the early years of the Hongwu reign, the capital's army consisted of 48 guards. Of course, the emperor's personal guards, such as the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Twelve Guards including the Golden Guard, the Feathered Forest Guard, the Tiger Guard, and the Imperial Guard, as well as the four guard battalions under the Imperial Horse Administration, such as the Left and Right Guards of Wuxiang and Tengxiang, were not included in this list.
Local forces included garrison troops, border troops, and militia. Garrison troops were deployed in major military towns in the interior and in key coastal defense locations in the southeast.
"This is the seal of the General Commander of the Four Guards of Jiangyin, but if you really want to transfer him, you must inform your father," Zhu Biao continued. "Don't use it recklessly, or your father will take back the seal."
The position of Commander-in-Chief was a temporary appointment, without rank or fixed number of personnel, and was mostly filled by dukes, marquises, earls, or governors-general. Normally, in the event of a campaign, a general would be appointed as Commander-in-Chief and mobilize the garrison troops.
Zhu Biao continued, "Zhang He once quelled the Japanese pirates in Fuzhou Guard. Zhu Shou, the commander of Heng Hai Guard and the Vice Commander-in-Chief, has been ordered by the Emperor to come to see you in a couple of days. Marquis of Jiangxia, Zhou Dexing, will also come to help you."
Zhu Xiong Ying nodded repeatedly. Although Old Zhu had now imposed a maritime ban, the Ming Dynasty's navy was still incredibly powerful.
The data shows that in the early years of the Ming Dynasty, it had a navy with 3,500 warships of various types, which carried out large-scale patrols every spring and summer.
Although it has shrunk slightly in the past two years, the navy is still large in size.
Zhu Xiong Ying was a little excited, mainly because he now held military power over the four guards, at least nominally. However, judging from the intentions of Old Zhu and Zhu Biao, Dengzhou Guard and Fuzhou Guard were also areas where Zhu Xiong Ying could interfere to some extent.
Seeing the excited Zhu Xiong Ying, Zhu Biao said, "Our Ming Dynasty has countless capable generals in the navy. Whether we can subdue him depends on your ability."
Power, especially in a feudal dynasty like this, can sometimes be so simple and brutal. Imperial power is sacred and powerful, and even though Zhu Xiong Ying was just a child, he could easily obtain military power.
Zhu Yuanzhang was truly good to his children and grandchildren. Even some of his seemingly unimportant sons were granted the title of prince, given fiefdoms, and enjoyed a life of luxury and considerable power.
The eldest son and grandson are especially pampered.
Zhu Biao is already doing some of the emperor's work, handling state affairs and interfering in military power, which Old Zhu has no objection to; on the contrary, he is happy to see it happen. Now, with his grandson Zhu Xiong Ying, Old Zhu hopes that Zhu Xiong Ying will continue to grow and first practice his skills with the navy.
Lady Lü felt a pang of jealousy, while Zhu Yunwen was filled with envy. Even Zhu Yunwen himself felt a pang of envy at this moment, but it was nothing more than envy.
They all knew very well that their eldest brother was the Crown Prince. He had been intelligent since childhood, and the Emperor and Empress doted on him. Now, the Crown Prince had begun to cultivate his power base and get involved in court affairs, something they greatly envied, though they dared not do such things themselves.
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