With the emperor diligent in his duties, the civil and military officials naturally had to follow suit. Rest days and holidays were a luxury for the officials of the Ming Dynasty. This was especially true after the diligent reign of the Hongwu Emperor, followed by the equally diligent reign of the Yingshi Emperor, which speaks volumes.
It seems that throughout the Ming Dynasty, all officials, both civil and military, had to become more diligent. This wasn't just true for officials in the capital; local officials were essentially the same.
The first two emperors after the founding of the dynasty set the tone, and future generations who do not want to be labeled as 'tyrants' or similar figures will have to be diligent.
Yu Xin, the Minister of Revenue, resigned himself to his fate and said, “Your Majesty, I believe that the implementation of the land tax reform should be carried out gradually. Measuring the land must be done meticulously, and verifying the land grade is time-consuming and labor-intensive. If it is implemented nationwide rashly, there may be many injustices or acts of favoritism and corruption.”
At this moment, Ru Chang also said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the Minister of Revenue's words are reasonable. Since the founding of our dynasty, new land has been continuously reclaimed. If we were to verify the land acreage according to the previous method, I fear there would be much cover-up and corruption."
Zhu Yunying smiled and nodded, saying, "What you two ministers say makes sense. It is indeed not appropriate to implement the land tax reform immediately across the country."
Zhu Yunying was quite familiar with pilot programs. For example, with banks, pilot programs were first rolled out on a small scale, and only after more experience was accumulated could they be rolled out across the country. There was no need to rush these things.
Furthermore, even hundreds of years later, many policies still require pilot programs before being rolled out.
For example, the household responsibility system or special economic zones require accumulating experience on a small scale before they can be widely promoted.
At this point, Zhu Yunying said, "We will first conduct pilot projects in the northern and southern Zhili regions and Zhejiang. We will survey the land and fields in these three areas and determine the land grade."
Now the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty finally understood that the land tax reform was unstoppable and an inevitable trend!
When Zhu Yunying went to court, the ceremonial procession at the Five Dragon Bridge was already prepared, which could be considered a simple and unpretentious affair. The ceremonial processions of emperors, crown princes, or empresses were not displayed all at once.
Supporting Old Zhu, Little Zhu shouted at Shuangquan, "We don't want to ride in the Crown Prince's carriage, take it all away!"
Old Zhu laughed and agreed, then said to Shuangquan, "You blind fool, the Crown Prince is with us, how can we leave him all alone?!"
Shuangquan could only sheepishly apologize. Of course, he knew that the Crown Prince would definitely be with the Emperor Emeritus. But if he had prepared the Crown Prince's entourage, he would at most get a scolding; if he hadn't, there could be serious problems.
Old Zhu was in a good mood and said to Xu Miaoqing, "My granddaughter-in-law is pregnant, so you just need to take care of yourself. You don't need to help us. We have the Crown Prince; he's our crutch. We take the Crown Prince with us everywhere; how could we possibly fall down?!"
"That's right!" Little Zhu said confidently and righteously, "I'm a little man now, I can protect my family!"
Xu Miaoqing simply smiled. Although she, as his granddaughter-in-law, was favored by Old Zhu, everyone knew that the Emperor Emeritus's kindness towards Xu Miaoqing was merely a matter of affection for her and his children, and a way of giving face to Little Zhu and his grandson. If Old Zhu really wanted to find fault, he could find something to criticize at any time.
With the help of palace maids, Xu Miaoqing boarded the carriage, and then the procession slowly began.
Outside the residence of Princess Ningguo, Princess Ningguo and Princess Anqing, the two legitimate daughters of Emperor Zhu Yunying, waited with their families at the gate. Half a step behind them were Zhu Yunying's two younger sisters.
As for the imperial sons-in-law, such as Mei Yin, Liu Zhi, and Feng Cheng, they could only obediently stand further back. Even though they were all from noble families, as imperial sons-in-law, they were naturally 'subjects'.
Fortunately, in the Ming Dynasty, imperial sons-in-law could still hold official positions in the court. In the Song Dynasty, however, becoming an imperial son-in-law would essentially end one's career in government.
Upon seeing Old Zhu's bicycle frame, they all immediately knelt down.
"Get up, everyone," Old Zhu said cheerfully as he climbed out of the car. "We're all family, no need for formalities."
Little Zhu popped out too, glanced around, and said, "We knew Second Uncle wouldn't come. He's out playing again!"
"Your Majesty, I have met the Empress and the Crown Prince."
Regardless of whether they are elders, peers, or juniors, all are subjects when facing the Empress and the Crown Prince. This distinction between ruler and subject must be taken seriously.
"Great-aunt, little-aunt, great-aunt, little-aunt." Little Zhu said excitedly, helping Old Zhu down from the carriage. "Great-great-uncle, great-great-uncle, little-great-aunt's husband."
Old Zhu was very satisfied with Little Zhu no matter how he looked at him, and said with great pride, "Look, look, how sensible our Yin'er is! When he was supposed to be the crown prince, he was the crown prince; when he was supposed to be our great-grandson, he was our great-grandson. He is better than any of you."
Faced with this blatant double standard and undisguised favoritism, no one else dared to say much. Even Old Zhu's two legitimate daughters didn't dare to say anything; even if they were united, they didn't carry as much weight as Little Zhu, and they both knew that very well.
The same applies to Zhu Yunying's younger sisters. They were only slightly more favored than other princesses because their father was the Great Zhu, and their elder brother was the current Emperor Ying Shi, who was sitting on the dragon throne.
Old Zhu coughed, somewhat displeased. "Mei Shunchang, you are the most senior member of our family's maternal relatives, and Mu Qi, you are the Emperor's eldest nephew. Don't you even know how to greet the Crown Prince?"
Besides his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, they all hurriedly greeted Little Zhu. They were all Little Zhu's cousins, and also his study companions and playmates. But in Old Zhu's eyes, they were not only relatives, but also Little Zhu's future subjects.
"What's going on with Yunhu?" Old Zhu asked casually as he had Xu Miaoqing lead Zhu Wengeng over.
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