Whether Zhu Xiong Ying can be considered to have established his own government and military headquarters is a murky matter and difficult to say.
After all, according to normal understanding, it was some civil and military officials who, upon the emperor's order, set up their own offices, raised their flags, and handled the military and political affairs under their jurisdiction.
Zhu Xiong Ying sat upright in the main seat, dressed in casual clothes, and looked somewhat like a member of the imperial family.
Zhu Xiong Ying smiled and looked at Zhuo Jing, saying, "Wei Gong, I've heard that you are well-versed in astronomy, geography, law, calendar, military and legal matters. You were the second-place scholar in the imperial examination, yet you have to come with me to this bitter and cold place. Do you have any complaints?"
Zhuo Jing immediately stood up, "Your subject dares not."
Zhu Xiong Ying brought quite a few people to Beiping this time. In addition to 100,000 artisans, as well as nobles and wealthy merchants who had arrived earlier, he also brought many of the Jinshi graduates from last year's Wuchen imperial examination. It was clear that this was to train new people for Zhu Xiong Ying.
In fact, besides the Wuchen year imperial examination, there were also quite a few Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examination) from the Yichou year four years ago.
Zhu Xiong Ying looked at Zhuo Jing and asked, "I've heard that you are upright, unafraid of those in power, and value propriety. Do you have any suggestions?"
Zhuo Jing immediately knelt down and said excitedly, "Your Highness, I have a memorial to present!"
Zhu Xiong Ying stopped chatting and glanced at Wang Cheng En.
Wang Chengen immediately shouted, "Granted—"
Zhuo Jing immediately said, "The capital serves as a model for the entire country. If Your Majesty does not promptly distinguish the ranks and authority of the princes, but instead makes their attire the same as the Crown Prince's, thus creating confusion between legitimate and illegitimate heirs and disrupting the order of rank, how can you command the people?!"
Zhu Xiong Ying immediately smiled. What Zhuo Jing said made a lot of sense, and it was something he had considered before. However, there were some things that, as a grandson of the emperor, Zhu Xiong Ying was not comfortable saying.
What Zhuo Jing was saying was that the Ming Dynasty's current system was not perfect. The most obvious example was that the princes' clothing and carriages imitated the crown prince's, even to the point of being identical, which was somewhat unreasonable.
Zhu Xiong Ying smiled and said, “That makes sense. Our Ming Dynasty has been established for more than 20 years, and its system of rites and laws should be improved. Wei Gong, you should go back and submit your memorial. This matter should indeed be taken seriously.”
Seeing Zhuo Jing make an appearance, many of his colleagues were filled with envy. Gaining exposure before the Crown Prince was no easy feat; many were eagerly awaiting their chance to shine.
As if remembering something, Zhu Xiong Ying said, "Liang Yu, Tianjin is the gateway to Beiping and the center of our grain transport. You will go to Tianjin with Duke Cao. Remember this well: Tianjin will no longer be the center of grain transport or a military stronghold. If we build a city here, it will be a city!"
Li Jinglong and Ru Chang immediately stepped forward, knelt down, and accepted the order, saying, "Your subject obeys the decree."
Zhu Xiong Ying then looked at a handsome young man and said, "Zi Xing, you should go too."
Huang Zicheng, the third-place scholar in the imperial examination of the year Yichou, made Zhu Xiong Ying feel that he was "very famous". Even though he only had a superficial understanding of the history of the Ming Dynasty, he still believed that Huang Zicheng was definitely a good helper for Zhu Yunwen and helped his fourth uncle Zhu Di seize the world.
In fact, he saw many familiar names among the team Zhu Xiong Ying brought, and felt a bit of pressure.
Leaving aside Huang Zicheng, there's Ren Hengtai, Ding Zhifang, and Qi De, who was given the name Qi Tai by Zhu De. Add to that his future father-in-law, Lian Zining, and others—these are all considered 'familiar'.
Many of them were future confidants of Zhu Yunwen, or former officials of Jianwen who were slaughtered by his fourth uncle.
Zhu Xiong Ying initially had an instinctive aversion to Huang Zi Cheng. Especially after spending time with him recently, Zhu Xiong Ying felt that Huang Zi Cheng was somewhat naive, a bit too idealistic, and also a little petty.
However, no matter what, Zhu Xiong Ying wouldn't blame the people in the present for 'future matters'. Perhaps Huang Zi Cheng wasn't up to much use, but sometimes it was just easier to use such a 'loyal minister'.
This is probably also Zhu Xiong Ying's "degeneration". Those in power cannot really only focus on appointing people based on merit. Sometimes they need some loyal ministers and close advisors, and sometimes they need such people to complete some special tasks.
After finishing his instructions regarding Tianjin, Zhu Xiong Ying looked at Chen Xuan and said, "Yan Chun, you will accompany Duke Zheng to dredge the Grand Canal. The Grand Canal began to silt up during the Yuan Dynasty, and the situation is even more serious in Shandong. You must dredge the canal as soon as possible."
Land transport was too expensive, and sea transport carried certain risks, so river transport was naturally the safer option in this era.
Chen Xuan naturally dared not be careless and quickly accepted the order, "Yes, sir!"
There are countless things to do. Zhu Xiong Ying has a lot to do now. Building Tianjin and dredging the Grand Canal are things that Zhu Xiong Ying must do well, and these are not things that can be accomplished overnight.
In fact, since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Tianjin has been a transit hub for grain transport, and the Grand Canal has been continuously dredged, although the scale was not large in the past, and could even be described as small-scale.
But things are different now. With Beiping set to become the capital, the status of Tianjin and the Grand Canal will rise dramatically, something Zhu Xiong Ying must take seriously.
Zhu Xiong Ying, after arriving in Beiping, didn't seem to go out much. He basically stayed in his "temporary palace" all day long, with endless things to deal with.
Of course, Zhu Xiong Ying is new here, and what he can do now is basically just some general direction-related matters. He can't yet implement specific details because the things he needs to do are all very important, so he can't be careless.
Zhu Xiong Ying has a lot to do now. He seems to understand the real reason why his grandfather is so busy every day: there are just too many things to do.
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