Nanjing's sudden transition from the capital to an ordinary city means there are actually many things to consider.
It is easy to downgrade a city in name, but it can affect many aspects, the greatest impact being house prices.
Nowadays, only farmland in Great Ming cannot be bought or sold; land designated for residential or commercial use can still be traded.
Land prices around the Capital can be completely different from those in ordinary cities. Although many officials have arrived in Beijing, they have not yet had time to settle down in the surrounding areas; even their families are still staying in Nanjing. If Nanjing were to suddenly become an ordinary city, it would be a massive blow to their family assets, they would certainly oppose it desperately.
However, Fu Qingsheng knew Zhu Ci's personality, so he only gave a slight reminder; after seeing that Zhu Ci had it under control, he said no more.
As expected, the matter of Nanjing removing its status as a secondary capital caused a massive uproar during the Grand Court Assembly.
By comparison, things like throwing the Manchus beyond the Pass to clear new lands, or making the two traitors and the Han people stay within the Pass to perform labor, did not spark much discussion.
As long as the Emperor does not order them all to be killed, then there is no problem; besides, he is merely making them work, one must know that the Central Plains generally seeks to exterminate foreign tribes to the last man.
At the grand court assembly, one voice argued, "The ancestors' rules," while another countered, "This could incite resistance from the scholars in the South."
Zhu Ci sat on the dragon throne, leaning back against the chair in a very languid manner, with one hand propping up his chin and a smile playing at the corners of his mouth, looking extremely relaxed.
Although he did not look particularly dignified, no one dared to pick on him for this right now.
When an Emperor's dignity reaches a certain level, let alone sitting in a relaxed manner, even if he were lying on the dragon throne, the court officials would turn a blind eye, not wanting to cause trouble over such trivial matters.
Zhu Ci had been listening all along, saying very little.
The ones stepping forward now were all minor officials who lacked significant influence; they were not yet seasoned enough.
After a while, some of the Six Ministers also began to step forward to offer counsel, though this, of course, did not include Zhu Ci.
Zhu Ci had grown up in Beijing and had little attachment to Nanjing; in fact, because of certain past events, he had once regarded Nanjing as a den of lions and tigers, even if he later found it difficult to get used to living there.
Zhu Ci waited for a long time before realizing that neither the Grand Secretariat nor the Censorate had moved, he felt instantly relieved.
It's a relief, a relief; the Grand Secretariat and the Censorate still have enough brains to get by.
The weight of the Six Ministers was also sufficient.
Zhu Ci waited until they had finished before asking leisurely, "I was unaware that Nanjing was actually this important; without it, it seems my kingdom would have fallen."
The room fell silent instantly. At least, everyone standing here was a fourth-rank official or higher, none of them were fools; if they failed to realize at this moment that the Emperor was already very displeased, they might as well say goodbye to their official caps.
Zhu Ci sat up straight, his smile fading as he asked, "Back then, the Six Ministries in Nanjing were already deeply plagued by corruption, yet for various reasons, they were never abolished. Some of you may understand this, some may not, some might even be feigning ignorance. I shall say this here today: anyone who intends to establish a secondary capital intends to split the Great Ming."
The officials' eyes widened instantly. Those who had just spoken wanted to defend themselves, but Fu had already taken the lead in kneeling: "Your servants do not dare."
Fu moved, the two Vice Grand Secretaries also knelt swiftly; the Censorate followed the rhythm, Zhu Ci was also very quick.
The officials who were just about to explain??
No, give us a chance to speak.
However, now was not the time to dwell on this matter; they could only kneel along with him and say, "Your servant does not dare."
Dare not? Humph, I see that you have nothing to fear." Zhu Ci leaned back against the chair and spoke leisurely, "Of those of you who oppose this, some do it for the country, some do it for yourselves; you know it in your hearts. Enough, stand up and continue.
He did not continue discussing this matter, nor did he say much more.
His attitude was already clear, he had said all the harsh words he needed to say. If he still had to engage in back-and-forth discussions with these officials, wouldn't all those years of fighting campaigns in the south and north have been in vain?
After the court session adjourned, Zhu Ci returned to the Qianqing Palace and heard a voice saying, "Long live His Majesty, long live His Majesty."
He looked up in surprise and saw a beautiful Macaw standing by the window.
He walked in and asked, "Who brought it here? Why did you bring it all the way here?"
It was already very difficult for the Macaw to survive in Nanjing, the climate in Beijing was far harsher than in Nanjing. Between the exhaustion of the journey and the change in environment, he was worried the Macaw might die.
Now the macaw's feathers were no longer bright, it looked as though it had lost quite a few, making the whole bird look as if it were going bald.
Wu Xia said while staying by her side, "Lord Fu asked for it to be brought here. Lord Fu said that since this macaw wouldn't be happy staying in Nanjing, it would be better to bring it here."
She added, "Ever since His Majesty went on his expedition, this macaw has been listless all day and has even started plucking its own feathers."
Oh, it is depressed.
No wonder it looked like it was going bald; he had thought it was just starting to lose feathers because it wasn't used to being in Beijing.
Zhu Ci nodded, feeding the macaw two pieces of apple, said, "Take good care of it. If there is anything unusual about it, tell me immediately."
Wu Xia said with a smile, "Your Majesty, please rest assured. I have already prepared a special palace chamber for it, I have also sent people to begin moving various flowers, grasses, trees into it. The temperature and humidity are both guaranteed; I will absolutely not let it be uncomfortable."
Although no one knew how to raise this macaw before, everyone has gradually figured it out over the past few years. Fortunately, the macaw is very healthy; aside from needing to avoid cold, heat, dryness, moisture, it is doing quite well.
Zhu Ci put on gloves and felt the macaw; although he couldn't feel its smooth feathers, that was the only way.
After all, even a small macaw's beak can crack open a macadamia nut, a large macaw's beak is even more powerful than a pair of pliers; piercing through a palm in a single bite would be no difficult feat.
Zhu Ci interacted with the macaw for a bit, seeing that its spirits had improved significantly, he finally turned and headed to the Imperial Study.
It must be said that the Imperial Palace in Beijing was indeed much smaller than the Imperial Palace in Nanjing, which meant even the rooms were smaller.
When he entered the Imperial Study, he immediately saw that Green Jade Wurtz Tree.
Without even thinking, one would know that Fu must have had someone bring it here.
It must be said that seeing this vibrantly colored Green Jade Wurtz Tree amidst the monotonous hues truly made one's mood much better.
The only downside was that this Green Jade Wurtz Tree looked a bit too large in the Imperial Study, appearing as if it might touch the sky and the earth.
Zhu Ci sat at the desk and picked up a memorial with a sense of resignation.
Fine, he was destined for a life of toil anyway; being an emperor wasn't meant for enjoying luxury, as the Tumet, Durbet, Khoshut, Torghut, Dzungar Mongols were all sending envoys to offer congratulations.
Zhu Ci snorted.
No one is allowed to come, absolutely no one!
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Author's Note: Zhu Ci: Seeing these people makes me think about how I still have so much territory to reclaim; it makes it easy to feel murderous! *Cat-like paws standing before a map, shaking its head in regret. jpg*
Next update at 6:00 AM~
Chapter 270
After Zhu Ci finished reviewing the memorials, the Vice Grand Secretary asked during the small morning court session, "Your Majesty, the Oirats have the intention to submit; now is the perfect time to proclaim the prestige of our nation."
“Who knows if they truly intend to submit or if they are just probing our strength? Even if they do neither, they might just be coming to take advantage of us, offering some useless beef, mutton, or furs in exchange for firearms—a massive profit for them! Why let them come? Don't you people manage the National Treasury? You don't care about the loss, do you?”
The Great Ming is not yet stable here, yet over there, they are already coming to pay tribute; the timing is simply too delicate.
However, the various Ordos tribes are currently fighting each other fiercely; previously, every single tribe had sought help from the Great Ming, hoping that the Great Ming could assist them.
At that time, Zhu Ci refused everything, using the excuse that he had enough to worry about himself.
There are no excuses left now, but if they speak up again, Zhu Ci will choose to refuse them directly.
Huang Daozhou felt somewhat ashamed after hearing this; he, too, had been blinded by recent victories. Seeing that the capital had just been established in Beijing, yet the other side was already in a rush to send envoys to pay tribute, did this not prove that the Great Ming already possessed the strength to intimidate its neighbors?
It must be said that from top to bottom, the entire Great Ming was extremely focused on the Weilaite; once the Weilaite submitted, everyone would feel happy and excited, without a thought for any other place.
On the contrary, His Majesty was excessively calm and rational, acting nothing like a young man under the age of twenty.
He Tengjiao spoke, "Your Majesty, the Khorchin have sent envoys to seek peace."
Zhu Ci pondered for a long while before asking, "Where has Chuangwang reached?"
Reporting to His Majesty, we have already had small-scale skirmishes with the Khorchin Mongols.
Oh, then drag it out for a couple of days.
Understood, His Majesty has no intention of letting the Khorchin Mongols off at all.
However, no one grumbled about this matter. On one hand, everyone deeply hated the Khorchin Mongols; on the other hand, they had become smarter—it was best not to oppose the Emperor regarding such matters, otherwise, it was easy to be dealt with.
Zhu Ci suddenly asked, "Where is the Grand Secretary?"
Fu's absence from today's small court meeting was very strange to Zhu Ci; not only him, but even the two Vice Grand Secretaries of the Grand Secretariat did not know where the Grand Secretary had gone.
Beside him, Wu Xia whispered, "Your Majesty, the Hou Mansion just sent someone to report that Grand Secretary Fu is bedridden due to illness and needs to take a few days of leave."
Bedridden with illness?
Zhu Ci's heart tightened; it must be a sudden illness, otherwise Fu would not have failed to give advance notice.
Given Fu's workaholic personality, just how sick must he be to take time off?
Zhu Ci was panicking inside, but he said calmly, "Send Physician Yan to the Hou Mansion immediately; he must cure the Grand Secretary."
After saying that, he said nonchalantly to the assembled officials, "Continue."
His Majesty's reaction.. could it be that the Grand Secretary is about to fall out of favor?
In the past, His Majesty would have shown great concern for the Grand Secretary's condition long ago, perhaps even setting aside state affairs to inquire about him.
Now, it is merely an arrangement for an imperial physician to treat the illness, which cannot be considered a great favor. To put it plainly, if any of you present were to fall ill, His Majesty would likewise dispatch an imperial physician.
Could it be that the favoritism His Majesty previously showed the Grand Secretary was merely because the overall situation had not yet been settled, he still had to rely on him?
Now that the world has been settled, the role of the Grand Secretary is indeed not as significant as it once was.
Combined with the Emperor's determination to establish the capital in Beijing, it makes even more sense; most of the Grand Secretary's power is located in the South.
Given the Emperor's temperament, as long as no laws are broken, he likely won't take a person's life, but he will certainly weaken the Grand Secretary's power bit by bit.
Thinking about it this way, the timing of the Grand Secretary's illness is quite intriguing.
Is he planning to retire gracefully at the peak of his career, or does he intend to force His Majesty to back down while the political situation is still unstable?
Many people were speculating whether a game of wits had already begun between the Emperor and the Grand Secretary.
However, it didn't take long for everyone to feel that they had overthought it.
The Emperor still favored the Grand Secretary.
Because of the upcoming small court meeting, the Emperor, who appeared calm on the surface, was clearly much more irritable; he would frown when encountering nonsense and would directly scold those who were slow-witted.
Oh, it should be said that regardless of whether they were clear-headed or not, anyone who asked a question was rebuked.
In the end, Zhu Ci could no longer stand the sluggish reactions of these people and spoke up before Zhu Yujian could, saying, "Your Majesty, there are no more important matters, so we shall take our leave."
Zhu Yujian's mouth hung open, but Zhu Ci had already cut him off; he gave Zhu Ci a bewildered look.
In the past, the Prince of Ning was very well-versed in etiquette; why did he suddenly blurt out such a thing?