Look, Old Zhu is still so biased that he's fearless. Little Zhu is right no matter what he says, and Old Zhu will never object.
Old Zhu also instructed Young Zhu, saying, "We're not in Beijing these days, do you remember what you're supposed to be doing?"
"We have always kept the matter of spring plowing in mind," Zhu Yunying replied without hesitation. "Our Great Ming Dynasty is meant to be an agricultural society. Even if we like things from the outside world, we know that if the Ming Dynasty has no food, the people's hearts will fall apart."
Old Zhu was naturally extremely satisfied with this answer. He was actually quite worried about the future of the Ming Dynasty; if it were to become like the Song Dynasty, that would be no good thing. Although the Song Dynasty was incredibly wealthy, its military was too weak, and it was constantly being beaten on all sides—that was not a good thing.
Zhu Yunying, with a serious expression, continued, "Besides spring plowing, we also need to keep an eye on the land tax reform. Taxation is the foundation of the country, especially since we are now looking to collect more taxes, so we naturally need to keep an eye on these matters as well."
Old Zhu nodded with a smile, but still criticized, "The 'equalization of land tax and poll tax' policy may increase tax revenue, but we don't necessarily want to collect more taxes. Otherwise, we could just levy exorbitant taxes. It's a good thing that the 'equalization of land tax and poll tax' policy increases tax revenue, but we should also be considerate of the people."
This can be considered a characteristic of Zhu Yunying. Zhu Yunying also believed that when Zhu Yunying said this, it was absolutely from the bottom of his heart, and there was no doubt about it.
Zhu Yuanzhang was absolutely ruthless towards officials and powerful families. However, he was relatively kind to ordinary people, probably because he came from a poor background.
"We still need to keep an eye on the bank, since it's something we've been working on," Zhu Yunying continued. "It just so happens that there's a military operation in Liaodong right now, so those people from Southeast Asia can come in handy. Acquiring more land will also help appease the Jurchens."
Speaking of the Jurchens, they weren't just part of the Jin Dynasty. These ethnic groups have always been developing, and you could say they've always existed.
In fact, the Jurchens today are divided into three major groups: Jianzhou Jurchens, Haixi Jurchens, and Donghai Jurchens. There are quite a few Jurchens in Liaodong.
The Haidong Jurchens, who lived mainly in this area, were also known as the "Wild Jurchens." They had little contact with the Ming Dynasty, lived by hunting, and resided in thatched huts along the coast, relying on fishing for food.
It is certainly important that people from Southeast Asia are now cultivating land in Liaodong. Zhu Yunying also hopes to use this as an example to appease the Jurchens and others who live in extremely difficult circumstances, so that they can honestly cultivate the land and farm.
Zhu Yunying's statement was naturally met with neither affirmation nor denial by the old Zhu. He had even dealt with the Mongols who had swept across the land, so he certainly didn't care much for those almost uncivilized 'savages'.
There are some things that are not appropriate to say in front of Xiao Zhu. Although Xiao Zhu has grown up quite a bit and has some thoughts of his own, he is still a child at heart, and it is not appropriate to say them in front of him.
Although young Zhu is the crown prince, he will inevitably have to deal with some rather cruel things sooner or later. However, at this stage, it is best not to mention the people brought back from Southeast Asia, or the Jurchen savages, etc., in front of him.
“Since we’re not in the capital, you can keep an eye on the nobles,” Old Zhu said to Zhu Yunying. “Although we dealt with them quite a bit in the past, some of them have probably forgotten how powerful they are, and they’ve started to act arrogantly.”
Zhu Yunying basically agreed with Old Zhu's statement, because Old Zhu was simply stating some simple facts.
Nobles were a privileged class, and many military officers came from poor families or were local bullies or bandits. Family traditions and education were a luxury for them.
Killing meritorious officials is sometimes unavoidable, as some military leaders are indeed too arrogant and disregard the laws of the country.
Old Zhu (Emperor Zhu De) could not tolerate such a thing, nor could Young Zhu (Emperor Zhu De). It is believed that the vast majority of rulers would also find it intolerable.
It's fine for nobles to be wealthy and powerful, but they cannot violate the laws of the imperial court; that's the bottom line!
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