Chapter 93 Dream
In the summer of the fifth year of Yuanguang, all the people who went to sea for the first time finally returned to Beijing. Zhu Yuhuan ordered the palace to hold a banquet to reward the members of the fleet, and specially ordered Zhou Shou to go to the harem to pay a visit to his sister Zhou Yingying and report that they were safe.
As the leader of the fleet, Zhang Zhong met with the emperor alone and reported the situation in Malacca's outer prefecture in detail.
The things were originally built when Zheng He sailed to the West. The fleet sent by Zhu Yuhuan now only needed some simple repairs, so not too many resources were spent on this matter.
During this period, Zhang Zhong organized the crew to observe the local climate and products, and regularly patrolled and monitored the fleets traveling on the sea to check whether there were any foreign populations entering the waters controlled by the Ming Dynasty.
But there have been no unexpected gains over the past year.
Zhu Yuhuan took the map surveyed and mapped by Zhang Zhong in his hand and couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
She had certainly considered waiting for the European group to come, but according to the reports from the two fleets, it was unclear where those bird people were hiding. Time was running out, so it seemed that she had to find a solution.
Seeing that Zhu Yuhuan had been silent for a long time, Zhang Zhong did not dare to say anything for a while. Unexpectedly, within a moment, Zhu Yuhuan showed a surprised expression, which made Zhang Zhong even more confused.
Zhu Yuhuan stood up and walked to the desk, asked the palace servants to spread paper and grind ink for him, and with four or five strokes he sketched the outline of the map presented by Zhang Zhong on the paper. Then Zhu Yuhuan added a few more strokes below the map and quickly drew the shapes of several land masses on the paper.
"You come."
Zhang Zhong saw Zhu Yuhuan waving at him and walked forward cautiously.
Zhu Yuhuan then pointed at the picture and said to him, "I had a dream in the middle of the night. I dreamed that my ancestors were working in the fields and sowing seeds. I think they were trying to tell me that I must revitalize agriculture. I wanted to work with them, but they actually led me into a house where the shrine of Bixia Yuanjun, the Goddess of Mount Tai, was enshrined. When I was young, I built a temple for the Goddess of Mount Tai. It was fate that led me to join our ancestors in worshipping the Goddess. I never expected that the Goddess would appear."
Song Cuilian, who was standing next to her, pinched her palms to avoid being disrespectful.
Zhang Zhong actually knew Zhu Yuhuan's personality very well. She would never easily believe in any gods. These were just the words Zhu Yuhuan wanted to say through the mouth of the gods.
As expected, Zhu Yuhuan continued, "The Empress showed me a picture, and part of it happened to overlap with this picture."
Zhang Zhong stared at the map intently for a long time before asking, "Your Majesty, what are these plots of land below...?"
He estimated with his own eyes that the area of the two pieces of land below was obviously larger than the territory of the Ming Dynasty, which was completely different from a small country like Malacca. If such a land really existed, there might be a country like the Ming Dynasty on it. Its strength should not be underestimated and it is not comparable to these small countries around the Ming Dynasty.
What's more troublesome is that the distance between Ming Dynasty and these places is even greater than that between Ming Dynasty and neighboring countries. There is no experience left by previous explorations. The road ahead is unknown. Not only does the fleet face huge tests, but Zhu Yuhuan, the main developer of the plan, is also under pressure.
Zhu Yuhuan naturally sensed Zhang Zhong's concern, but he didn't explain. He simply continued, "As your Majesty has said, China has relied on agriculture for survival since ancient times. While the nation is now prosperous and the people strong, land is limited. The crops that China has traditionally possessed can no longer meet its needs. Therefore, we must explore unexplored lands in search of new crops. Only in this way can we ensure that the people of the Ming Dynasty have enough food and clothing."
Zhang Zhong now understood that Zhu Yuhuan meant that she hoped the Ming fleet could go to farther places, even to places that the Ming had never been to before, to find the new crops she mentioned.
He originally thought Zhu Yuhuan was using the immortal's mouth to achieve his own goals, but Zhu Yuhuan was able to issue tasks so accurately. Given her personality of not taking action without certainty, she would definitely not act without a purpose...
Could it be that a god really came forward to give guidance?
Seeing Zhang Zhong's expression change slightly, Zhu Yuhuan couldn't help but sigh inwardly, then said, "You've finally returned home. Go back to see your parents and wife." After that, she instructed the palace servant beside her, "Go and inform Zhang Mao and Zhang Jie to accompany you back to the Zhang family."
"yes."
Zhang Zhong saluted and said, "Your Majesty's orders are all in my mind."
Zhu Yuhuan just waved his hand, signaling him to leave.
Zhang Zhong hesitated for a moment, then spoke, "I earnestly request Your Majesty to allow me to return to the academy for further study. I will certainly live up to Your Majesty's trust and will return to sea with the talents trained by the Nanyang Academy to fulfill Your Majesty's wish."
Zhu Yuhuan was slightly stunned, and he already understood what Zhang Zhong meant.
He wanted to complete this important task single-handedly as Zhu Yuhuan had said.
After Zhang Zhong left, Song Cuilian walked over to Zhu Yuhuan and asked, "Is Your Majesty really so sure?"
She had been with Zhu Yuhuan for three years, so she naturally knew very well that this emperor, who had a close relationship with Taoism, did not believe in the so-called gods and ghosts. The words he had just said to Zhang Zhong were all deliberately fabricated by the emperor, who simply wanted to have a legitimate reason, just like when the emperor went to the ancestral temple to pray for divination.
According to the scale on the map, to go to such a distant place and cross a large ocean, the manpower and material resources consumed would probably be comparable to the construction of Annan. The Ming Dynasty has already experienced "losses" in this regard, so I am afraid that this trick may not be useful at this moment.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuhuan jokingly asked, "Don't you believe in my dream, too?"
Song Cuilian hurriedly said, "I dare not."
Zhu Yuhuan raised his hand to signal her to stand up, then he muttered to himself, "I did have such a dream. The world in the dream was just like the real world. In that world, there really was such a land, and on that land, there were crops that we don't have. If we can bring them back to our country, the number of starving people will decrease."
In fact, under the current cultivation of Wunong Temple, the per-acre yield of crops such as rice, wheat, and sorghum has increased significantly compared with before, but breeding still requires a certain amount of time, not to mention nationwide promotion.
Moreover, Zhu Yuhuan was deeply impressed by the saying that the Ming Dynasty encountered a small ice age. The snow disaster that the capital suffered in the previous winter also vaguely confirmed this statement. However, the population could not be reduced because of this. It was not easy to feed so many people. The only way to temporarily ease the conflict was through immigration and new crops.
Zhu Yuhuan doesn't care whether the current Ming Dynasty will last longer or shorter than in history, but she cares very much about the lives of these people.
Regardless of whether the Ming Dynasty died "dignifiedly", she did not hope that there would be no "survivors", and she did not want more innocent people to suffer on this basis.
Zhu Yuhuan sighed and said, "Just like the Crown Prince's matter, let's take our time."
Hearing her mention the Crown Prince, Song Cuilian hesitated, but still asked, "Your Majesty...are you still going to fight for the Crown Prince?"
In fact, she knew very well that she could not win the battle against them on this matter. The rule of enthroning the eldest princess instead of the most virtuous had never included women, otherwise Zhu Yuhuan would have become emperor long ago. Now Zhu Yuhuan broke the shackles of the patriarchal system and enthroned the two eldest princesses as vassal kings, which was a signal to the ministers that women would also be included in the scope of inheritance. For this reason, the ministers strongly opposed the emperor's enthronement.
"Do you think I appointed the two eldest princesses as vassal kings in order to secure the position of crown prince?"
Song Cuilian noticed the emperor's gaze and shook her head.
If Zhu Yuhuan wanted the throne to pass to his sister, who was born to the same mother, why did he enthrone Princess Changde, who did not have the same mother as him?
Zhu Yuhuan chuckled, somewhat self-deprecatingly, and said, "It's only in recent years that women from the countryside have been working in large numbers. You're just helping me handle some simple government affairs, and the censors are still making endless complaints. Even my throne was obtained by 'accident,' and there are centuries of discipline and constraints. How could it be that simple?"
Furthermore, some ministers did consider the young age of the eldest prince, and the childless Princess Zhu Yuhuan was a suitable candidate. Even if Zhu Jianshen were adopted by her, the eldest prince would still bear the surname Zhu. The Prince of Qin was known for his gentle and benevolent nature. If he ascended to the throne, not only would he have to deal with the two Empress Dowagers, but the commoner Zhu Qizhen would still be following Yesen on the border, leading to a repeat of the fate of Emperor Jianwen.
If Zhu Qizhen was brought back from Wala at that time, it would be hard to say who would take the throne in the end. For the ministers who pursued stability, this was not a good thing. Therefore, it was the best choice to let Zhu Yuhuan, the last heir, ascend the throne and adopt the eldest son born to Concubine Zhou. This is why when Concubine Zhou made a public appearance and even proposed such an "unreasonable" request to adopt the eldest son to Zhu Yuhuan, no one in the court objected.
The empress, who originally had no right of inheritance, indirectly obtained the right of inheritance through adoption. In exchange, the eldest prince was the future emperor for sure.
Now that Zhu Yuhuan showed signs of "breaking his promise", the ministers would certainly not agree.
Zhu Yuhuan could pull strings, play tricks, and act arbitrarily, just like Zhu Qizhen, who was once the emperor. Of course, the ministers could not stop the emperor openly.
But shamelessness will have shameless consequences, and there will be no exceptions no matter who the emperor is.
Fratricide, peasant uprisings, rebellion by princes, inaction and corruption... If the emperor can do it, I can do it too.
Song Cuilian certainly understood that it was extremely difficult for Zhu Yuhuan to confront most of the ministers in the court alone. Whether they were female officials or female workers in the folk, the voices they could make in such an incident were extremely weak.
In other words, Song Cuilian couldn't think of how she could help the emperor.
For a moment, Song Cuilian felt a little sad.
It's not because of the emperor, but because of Zhu Yuhuan.
Even if Zhu Yuhuan did not become emperor, she would still have more choices. With her governing ability, it would not be difficult for her to become a "wise ruler" praised by millions of people.
What does other people’s life and death have to do with her?
Zhu Yuhuan noticed her mood and said with a smile: "Your presence is already a help to me."
Song Cuilian was stunned when she heard this.
"When facing the enemy, which is stronger, my own strength or the strength of all the people in the world?"
Song Cuilian whispered, "Of course, the power of the people is great." She then added, "But without anyone to lead them, even with immense strength, they might not be able to unleash their true power."
Zhu Yuhuan didn't care about her answer and simply said, "So what I need to do first is to have a huge army." She looked at Song Cuilian with a little more tenderness and said, "Without an emperor, the people of the world are still the people of the world. But if the emperor doesn't have the people of the world, is he still the emperor? He's just trying to stop a chariot with a mantis arm."
Song Cuilian was shocked. She never expected Zhu Yuhuan to say such a thing.
She had never thought about this. Han Guilan taught her to be loyal to the emperor and not to ask too many questions. In these years of getting along, Song Cuilian could also vaguely sense that Zhu Yuhuan's thoughts were different from the emperor she imagined.
"All I can do is temporarily protect you. You are the source of power." Zhu Yuhuan said calmly, "Without the people, there would be no food, clothing, shelter, transportation, no kings, princes, generals, and ministers. Women are also part of the people. What I want to do is to encourage more people to step forward and prove that they are an indispensable part of this country. I want to strengthen the power you should have. That way, no matter who becomes emperor in the future, or whether there is an emperor at all, no one can easily drive you back."
The position of "emperor" is a product of patriarchy. In such a family-based society, pursuing women's equality and freedom is like a castle in the air and a moon in the water.
Promote the development of national productivity, provide more employment for women, let more people come to the forefront, and let the world see their existence. Only their continued appearance can truly change all this.
By that time, it would be enough for Zhu Yuhuan if they could mention her in a joke.
Song Cuilian lowered her head and looked at the pattern on the hem of her clothes, feeling mixed emotions.
Normally, the emperor is majestic, rational, and unfathomable, but only at this moment does she exude an extraordinary power.
This power made her seem sometimes close to them and sometimes far away from them.
Song Cuilian mustered her courage and said, "Your Majesty, I have one more thing I would like to ask you." For the first time, she looked Zhu Yuhuan in the eye and asked, "Why did Your Majesty do this?"
Zhu Yuhuan stared at her for a long moment, then extended his hand and said, "If we're talking about blood, a long, long time ago, we might have been descendants of the same mother." At this point, she chuckled and said, "If we're not talking about blood, you and I are both women. Helping you is also helping myself, that's all."
Song Cui Lian looked at the hand, which had scars, calluses, and a few faint ink stains. It had enough power, not only her status, but also her heart.
She took hold of it, and squeezed it tightly with courage, wanting to pass on her own strength and determination to her.
Not as a subject, but as a woman.
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