Old Zhu is now in a dilemma, experiencing a happy kind of trouble. For example, Old Zhu knows that his great-grandson is often jealous, feeling that he is not as favored as Little Zhu in his father's eyes.
However, Zhu Yunying felt that since Zhu Yuanzhang had a great-grandson, his eyes were only on his great-grandson, and his once beloved grandson had become outdated and almost dispensable.
When the concubines in the harem vied for the emperor's favor, Emperor Zhu would sometimes feel pleased, but more often he would feel annoyed. However, when his eldest grandson and his great-grandson vied for the emperor's favor, Emperor Zhu felt comforted and happy; this was his family bliss.
These are probably the things that Lao Zhu truly enjoys; he is indeed thoroughly enjoying this kind of family bliss.
While Zhu Yuanzhang was enjoying family time, Zhu Yunying was still presiding over the morning court session in the Fengtian Hall. He hadn't had a moment's rest all year, and was still discussing various political affairs.
With spring planting season fast approaching, Zhu Yunying and his officials naturally needed to pay even closer attention to this matter. Agricultural civilizations have a deep-seated passion and dedication to the land, and food security is a matter of fundamental importance to a nation.
Therefore, it's perfectly normal for Zhu Yunying to be so serious now. All aspects of the matter do indeed need to be arranged properly; the relationship between the emperor and his ministers in the Ming Dynasty is not just a matter of words.
Leaving aside the issue of verifying land area, which requires sustained effort, the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue also need to conduct thorough statistics, including on agricultural tools, draft animals, and so on, ensuring sufficient quantities. If there are significant shortages anywhere, the imperial court must find a solution.
The issue of grain production also needs to be considered. Although the Ming Dynasty has become much wealthier in recent years, the reality is that some people in the Ming Dynasty still cannot get enough to eat. Especially after one winter, many people no longer have any stored grain at home.
During this period, most families eat only one or two meals a day. Forget about meat; even simple foods like white rice and steamed buns are scarce. They have to be frugal during this time, and perhaps only when the new grain is stored can they have a decent meal.
Clearly, at this point, the imperial court needed to provide some financial support to ensure that the people had enough food to grow.
This naturally means that during this lean season, some people have no choice but to borrow grain from wealthy households and landlords. If they are exploited or robbed at this time, or if the interest rates are extremely high, their lives will become increasingly difficult.
This actually required the Ming Dynasty government to severely crack down on such behaviors, including the possibility that some local officials might collude with them. Even activities like selling grain grown at low prices or reselling it at high prices through official grain stations established by the court for personal gain needed to be carefully monitored.
In fact, it wasn't just the Ming Dynasty; many dynasties also provided grain for people at low prices and low interest rates during the spring planting season.
The problem lies here: corrupt officials have never been lacking in any dynasty. No matter how good a policy is, they can interpret it differently, caring nothing for the country or the people, only for their own selfish interests.
Zhu Yunying understood that it was impossible to completely eradicate such things in the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the only option was to crack down severely. Even if he couldn't match the Hongwu Emperor, the Yingshi Emperor certainly wouldn't show mercy in certain matters.
This requires the spies of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot to pay close attention to gathering information. The Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Works also need to focus their attention on these matters. The three judicial departments—the Ministry of Justice, the Censorate, and the Court of Judicial Review—must crack down on such cases even more severely.
This matter concerns national affairs, so there can be no carelessness whatsoever; even the strictest measures would not be excessive. After all, the Ming Dynasty has only barely escaped widespread famine, and it is far from being truly free from worries about food and clothing.
Moreover, Zhu Yunying will continue to wage war, which means that he will need to pay more attention to food security. If anyone dares to cause him trouble, Emperor Yingshi will dare to punish the entire families of those corrupt officials, landlords, and gentry.
With such a strict emperor as Emperor Ying Shi, the courtiers naturally understood the situation and knew their own position.
Some people are actually very curious, for example, why did a large number of talented people suddenly emerge from Fengyang Prefecture, a place that did not have much presence in Chinese history, as if these people were born to help Zhu Yuanzhang conquer the world.
It's important to understand that Fengyang Prefecture wasn't a place of great culture or military prowess in the past. However, after Zhu Yuanzhang rose to power, a large number of commoners became top generals, including Xu Da, a natural-born military genius who stands out in history and was also a true commoner.
In fact, Zhu Yunying understood that this could be considered a case of "birds of a feather flock together." Old Zhu did indeed lead a large group of people to be remembered in history, and they gained more opportunities to train and improve in actual combat.
The most important thing is that Lao Zhu was very strict with himself, so his fellow villagers also needed to work hard so that they could keep up with Lao Zhu's pace and survive on the battlefield and leave their mark.
When a great ruler has ambitions, the court will naturally be filled with a large number of capable ministers and officials, each of whom seems to possess the talent to save the world.
However, once a foolish ruler sits on the dragon throne, the court will naturally be full of treacherous officials and sycophantic ministers.
During the Hongwu reign, a great number of talented individuals emerged. In addition to the capable ministers and officials who helped Zhu Yuanzhang conquer the country, many other ministers also emerged who helped him transform a chaotic world into a peaceful one. These people were all capable.
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