Chapter 323: National Capital

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Yelu Yanxi's provocation annoyed Jiang Hongfei, even though he knew that with Zhu Wu in charge of Yundi, Yelu Yanxi, that useless person, could do nothing.

But to be honest, Yelu Yanxi's contact with his former ministers could easily disrupt the situation in Yanyunping that had finally stabilized.

Jiang Hongfei asked Yelu Dashi, who had already transferred to a civil service position, "How should I respond when Tianzuo comes to knock on the gate?"

Yelu Dashi has been studious since childhood, good at riding and shooting, and proficient in both Chinese and Khitan, and can be called a complete talent in both civil and military affairs.

In the fifth year of Tianqing, Yelu Dashi won the first place in the palace examination, passed the imperial examination, and served in the Hanlin Academy as a Hanlin Yingfeng. Later, he was promoted to Hanlin Chengzhi. He is the only Khitan Jinshi in the Liao Dynasty recorded in the "History of Liao".

Because Hanlin is called "Lin Ya" in Khitan language, Yelu Dashi is also known as "Dashi Lin Ya" or "Lin Ya Dashi".

Around the sixth year of Tianqing, Yelu Dashi was appointed as the governor of Taizhou. At that time, the Liao-Jin war was on the rise. Because he could not stand the Liao army's repeated defeats, Yelu Dashi gave up civil service and joined the military. He was promoted to the Liao Xingjun Jiedushi and guarded Nanjing Road.

In other words, Yelu Dashi was originally a civil official.

In order to prevent this wise and talented great man who established the Western Liao Dynasty in history and made a great breakthrough in northwest China and Central Asia from becoming a future trouble and being able to be used by me, Jiang Hongfei deprived Yelu Dashi of his military position and made him the secretary of the Central Secretariat, drafting imperial edicts and participating in secrets.

In other words, Jiang Hongfei put Yelu Dashi in front of him to help him advise on how to manage those who returned to the Ming Dynasty, that is, to help him advise on how to manage the ethnic minorities in the Yanyunping area.

Yelu Dashi knew that Jiang Hongfei's question was a test for him.

Yelu Dashi was not Guo Yaoshi, and he would not make the mistake of being loyal to the new master and still caring about the old master.

Yelu Dashi immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Tianzuo used all his troops to prepare for war in Liao, so that the entire Han land of the country was occupied by the Jin people, and all of it was taken by our dynasty. Now that the country is so weak, and it is trying to fight, it must be nothing to be afraid of. Your Majesty, it is better to lead the army to attack it and eliminate the future troubles forever."

Yelu Dashi's words were concise and rich in content. He severely criticized Yelu Yanxi's wrong route of running away in the past, denied Yelu Yanxi's current risk of fighting, and put forward the correct proposal of asking Jiang Hongfei to lead the army in person.

Jiang Hongfei nodded with satisfaction.

Seeing Jiang Hongfei nod, Wang Lun, Li Chuwen and others who were eagerly waiting for Jiang Hongfei to ascend the throne became anxious.

Wang Lun quickly stepped out and said: "Tian Zuo is incompetent and stubborn, and he is seeking his own death. He will never succeed. Why does your Majesty need to lead the army in person? You can just choose a military advisor or a general to lead the troops to fight. Now is the critical moment for your Majesty to ascend the throne. How can you lose the big picture for the sake of small things?"

Li Chuwen then stepped out and echoed: "What the leader Wang said is very right. If the name is not right, the words will not flow smoothly; if the words are not flowing smoothly, things will not be accomplished, and rituals and music will not flourish; if rituals and music do not flourish, the punishments will not be appropriate; if the punishments are not appropriate, the people will not have any faults or deficiencies. Therefore, a gentleman's name must be able to be spoken, and his words must be able to be carried out. What about the emperor? The emperor's words are golden, how can he joke with the people?"

What Wang Lun and Li Chuwen said makes sense. How can you joke about things like establishing the Yuan Dynasty, changing the system, and ascending the throne to become an emperor? It is even more impossible to change the time.

Besides, no matter how urgent it is, you can't miss the time of ascending the throne.

To put it bluntly, all the complicated wedding ceremonies were completed, the bridal chamber was entered, and even the pants were taken off. The only thing left was this last step. If Jiang Hongfei pulled up his pants, and someone took advantage of it, wouldn't Jiang Hongfei die of cowardice?

Therefore, Jiang Hongfei asked those who were preparing to ascend the throne to continue, and at the same time, ordered the troops to prepare for the ascension. After he ascended the throne, he would immediately send troops to capture Yelu Yanxi.

Seeing this, Wang Lun, Li Chuwen and other people who were looking forward to Jiang Hongfei's ascension were all very happy, and hurriedly took the time to continue preparing for Jiang Hongfei's ascension ceremony.

Finally, on October 1st, Jiang Hongfei ascended the throne in the newly built Hall of Supreme Harmony.

Jiang Hongfei named his dynasty "Da Yuan", which comes from the "Tuan Ci" in the "Book of Changes": "Great is Qian Yuan, the source of all things, and the ruler of the sky. Clouds move and rain falls, and all things flow."

The "Da" in "Da Yuan" only had the meaning of a respectful title before, and Jiang Hongfei's Yuan Dynasty added the word "Da" to the official name of the country, becoming the first example.

——Previous dynasties such as Qin, Han, Tang, and Song did not add the word "Da" before the country name.

In the eyes of outsiders, Jiang Hongfei's naming of the country "Da Yuan" is not only a reflection of Jiang Hongfei's ruling philosophy and ambitions for the Yuan Dynasty, but also reflects the inheritance and innovation under the current political and cultural background of the Yuan Dynasty.

In fact, it is not that complicated for Jiang Hongfei to name the country "Da Yuan".

At the beginning, when Jiang Hongfei asked his ministers to name the country, some proposed to use "Liang", some proposed to use "Qi", and some proposed to use "Han" or "Tang" as the country name.

But "Liang", "Qi", "Han" and "Tang" have appeared in the Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. If they are used again, it is suspected of rehashing old ideas.

The key is that it is not good for the name of a unified country to overlap with other dynasties.

You see, if Jiang Hongfei's dynasty was also called "Liang", "Qi", "Han" and "Tang", when later generations mentioned these dynasties, they would definitely think of Zhu Wen, Gao Yang, Liu Bang and Li Yuan first, and then Jiang Hongfei, just like in the Han Dynasty, Liu Xiu, who was the son of destiny, had to be ranked behind Liu Bang. Therefore, it would be better to have a separate country name.

In fact, Jiang Hongfei likes "Da Ming" very much because he likes Zhu.

But whether Zhu's country name comes from "Mingjiao", "Ming Wang", or from the second half of "Great Qianyuan, the source of all things, governs the sky. Clouds move and rain falls, and all things flow." "The beginning and end of the Great Ming, six people are established at the time, and they ride six dragons to control the sky.", they have nothing to do with Jiang Hongfei, so Jiang Hongfei really doesn't need the country name "Daming".

In fact, not only Jiang Hongfei was entangled before, but Jiang Hongfei's ministers also quarreled over the country name, and almost exploded Jiang Hongfei's head.

Later, Jiang Hongfei simply stopped thinking about it and directly used the "Da Yuan" after the Song Dynasty in history.

Moreover, the Yuan Dynasty can end the Song, Jin, and Xixia, and complete the great unification, which is auspicious. It can also follow the path of the Mongols and leave the Mongols with no way to go, which is very auspicious.

If you think about it carefully, the word "Yuan" is simple and nice to hear. The Great Yuan is the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, and everything is renewed, which has a good meaning.

If we think about it carefully, if Jiang Hongfei also pushed the whole world like the Mongols, and used the names "Liang", "Qi", "Han" and "Tang" that others had used, it would always feel a little less imposing.

"Da Yuan" is different, it is much more imposing.

It is worth mentioning that in the "Tui Bei Tu" presented to Jiang Hongfei by Luo Zhenren, there is also a prophecy "Yiwu will establish himself", and "Yiwu" is the word "Yuan".

Therefore, after comprehensive consideration, Jiang Hongfei decided to use "Da Yuan" as the country's name.

The reign title is not so troublesome, Jiang Hongfei directly copied Lao Zhu's "Hongwu".

As for the capital, Jiang Hongfei decisively decided on Yanjing and renamed it - Dadu.

Why did Jiang Hongfei decide on Yanjing as the capital?

First of all, of course, Jiang Hongfei currently has no better choice.

The key is that there is an iron rule in history, that is, any dynasty that built its capital in the south, such as in cities like Nanjing and Hangzhou, was either short-lived or isolated, without exception, and the capitals of those great unified dynasties in history were all in the north.

In Jiang Hongfei's previous life, there were always people on the Internet who hypothesized that if Chongzhen had moved the capital to Nanjing at that time, could he have saved half of the Ming Dynasty?

The answer is that it is very difficult, and you can even say it directly.

Because someone did it. After Li Zicheng entered Beijing, Zhu Yousong proclaimed himself emperor in Nanjing, but he only lasted for a year. The Qing army went south to capture Nanjing, and Zhu Yousong was taken to Beijing and executed by slow slicing.

Some people may not accept it, thinking that Zhu Yousong was not justified and incompetent. During his reign, he pursued a reactionary policy of suppressing the peasant army, fantasized about negotiating peace with the Qing army that entered the pass, and reused Ma Shiying and Ruan Dacheng, excluding Shi Kefa, etc., so the political situation was turbulent, which led to this. If the legitimate Chongzhen was replaced, the result would definitely be different.

Let's not talk about the fact that Chongzhen was ambitious but incompetent, and his ability was not necessarily better than Zhu Yousong.

Let's just say that even if the legitimate Chongzhen was replaced, and Chongzhen suddenly became capable and made Nanjing the capital, it would still be difficult to defend.

You should know that there is a common sense in ancient Chinese military tactics: to defend the Yangtze River, you must defend the Huai River.

In other words, if you want to defend the Yangtze River, you must first defend the Huai River. The area between the Huai River and the Yangtze River is a buffer zone for southern countries. Without this buffer zone, the Yangtze River cannot be defended at all.

So, this is why, after the Battle of Chibi, Sun Quan still had to fight with Wei for Hefei, just to take the Huai River and keep Jiangdong.

Historically, at the beginning of the establishment of the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhao Gou actively promoted the four-way northern expedition, which was not to recover his homeland, nor to welcome back his parents, wife and daughter, brother, and clansmen, but also to take over the Huai River area. After the strategic goal was achieved, Zhao Gou didn't want to fight anymore, but Yue Fei still wanted to continue fighting, so Zhao Gou killed Yue Fei.

Three years before the fall of the Ming Dynasty, Henan was occupied by Li Zicheng's rebel army, and the Huaihe River defense line had long been wide open. Therefore, at the end of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty had no defensive force on the Huaihe River.

When the Qing army went south, it pushed to the Yangtze River in one wave.

Without the buffer zone from the Yangtze River to the Huaihe River, how could you let the Southern Ming defend?

Therefore, the Ming Dynasty moved its capital to Nanjing, and no one could defend it.

It must be said that the Ming Dynasty was actually a dynasty with national destiny, because Zhu Di moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing. Otherwise, the Ming Dynasty would never be able to defend the north of the Yangtze River, and the Mongols would have to come back sooner or later. To put it bluntly, if things went wrong, Zhu Qizhen would not have called the gate of Datong, he should have stood on the Yangtze River and called the gate of Nanjing.

Think about it, the Ming Dynasty moved its capital to Beijing, how many times did the Mongols, Tatars, Tumed, and later the Qing Dynasty come over the Great Wall?

In history, even the city of Beijing was surrounded three times.

If the capital was in Nanjing, he would come here more often, just like visiting his own backyard.

This kind of thing has little to do with whether a dynasty is strong or not, or how capable the emperor is.

——Except for those emperors who unified the two plains (Central Plains and grasslands).

In ancient times, all the resources, food, money, and troops of a dynasty must be concentrated in the hands of the emperor, so that the dynasty can be stable.

In other words, these things must be concentrated in the capital of the dynasty, because the emperor lives in the capital.

You can't say that the capital is in Nanjing, and the money, food, and military horses of the whole country are in Xi'an, then whoever is in Xi'an will rebel.

Jiang Hongfei knows better than anyone that the biggest enemy of his Yuan Dynasty in the future will definitely come from the Jin Kingdom and Mongolia on the grassland.

Even if he destroys the Jin Kingdom and unifies the grassland tribes in the future, he will have to sit in Yanjing to govern the grassland, just like the Qing Dynasty.

Let me put it this way. At the most, the Ming Dynasty deployed a million troops in the Great Wall defense line from Shanhaiguan to Jiayuguan.

If all these logistical materials had to be transferred from Nanjing and then transported to the Great Wall more than 2,000 miles away, the cost would be absolutely huge, and no dynasty could afford it.

So over time, the north of the Yangtze River would be lost.

If the capital was in Yanjing, it would be different. Yanjing was too close to the Great Wall. It was less than 200 miles away from the Great Wall. The logistics transportation line was very short, and the cost was naturally low. Even if it went to Yundi, it was much closer than from Nanjing.

Of course, being close also has its disadvantages, that is, it is too easy to be threatened by the barbarians from the north.

In order to prevent this, Jiang Hongfei ordered the reconstruction of the capital, making the city high and deep, and as solid as a rock.

Jiang Hongfei's requirement was that with this capital, even if the barbarians entered the Central Plains, they would not be able to stand.

You know, the Qing Dynasty had entered the pass five times before Li Zicheng surrendered, but because of the existence of Beijing, they didn't dare to act too wildly. They just made a fortune and went back to spend a good year.

If the capital was in Nanjing.

When the Qing Dynasty entered the pass for the first time, they could directly fight to the Yangtze River. At that time, Li Zicheng was still working at the post station.

In short, for the long term, Yanjing is the most ideal capital.

So Jiang Hongfei chose to make Yanjing the capital and built a magnificent palace here.

It doesn't take too much time to build a new city, even if it is a capital.

What is really rare is to build a palace.

After all, sometimes it takes more than ten or twenty years to build a palace.

The Nanjing Palace built by Zhu Yuanzhang took 26 years;

and the Beijing Palace built by Zhu Di took 14 years.

When Jiang Hongfei designed it, there were also 9,999 rooms.

If this palace is completed, it will take at least ten or eight years.

Jiang Hongfei couldn't wait that long to ascend the throne, right?

So, Jiang Hongfei asked people to pick a few important palaces to build first, and use them while they were being built, so that neither of them would be delayed.

Although the officials of the Ministry of Rites had made Jiang Hongfei's coronation ceremony as grand as possible, the existing conditions and time were there. No matter how the people of the Ministry of Rites dressed up, they could not hide the fact that Jiang Hongfei ascended the throne in a construction site.

In response, Jiang Hongfei smiled slightly.

There are not so many perfect things in the world?

In the choice of dragon robe, Jiang Hongfei did not follow the Song Dynasty and use a red dragon robe, but chose a yellow dragon robe.

The Song Dynasty used red dragon robes because the Song Dynasty was the fire virtue, corresponding to red.

And Jiang Hongfei's Yuan Dynasty was the gold virtue, corresponding to white.

If the dragon robe is chosen according to the five virtues, Jiang Hongfei should wear a white dragon robe.

But in traditional Chinese culture, white is often used for funerals and funerals.

Therefore, the white dragon robe is a special dragon robe that is only worn on specific occasions.

For example, in the Han and Tang dynasties, the emperor would wear a white robe when offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, while in the Song Dynasty, it was stipulated that the emperor must wear a white robe or a white dragon robe when offering sacrifices to ancestors.

With such a tradition, Jiang Hongfei could not use the white dragon robe as his regular dragon robe, so he could only accept the suggestion of the Ministry of Rites to choose either red, yellow, or black.

Jiang Hongfei compared them and found the yellow one was good, so he chose the yellow dragon robe.

Although the enthronement was a bit rough, Jiang Hongfei had all the necessary etiquette.

In short, after a grand enthronement ceremony, Jiang Hongfei officially became the emperor.

Jiang Hongfei appointed Gao Liang as the empress, Wang Lun as the prime minister, Xiao Jiasui as the junior prime minister, Xu Guanzhong as the privy councilor, Chen Ke as the co-privy councilor, Li Gang as the left chancellor, Li Chuwen as the right chancellor, Chai Jin as the envoy of the three departments, Li Ying as the deputy envoy of the three departments, Hu Rong as the salt and iron minister, Jiang Jing as the Ministry of Revenue, Chen Kangbo as the Ministry of Finance, Gongsun Sheng as the national teacher, Zhao Ding as the minister of war, Qiu Xun as the minister of revenue, Meng Kang as the minister of work, Xiao Rang as the minister of rites, Zhang Shi as the minister of personnel, Pei Xuan as the minister of punishment, Chen Gongfu as the censor, Liu Yanzong as the prefect of Yanshan, and all other civil and military officials were promoted and rewarded.

Then, Jiang Hongfei issued a special amnesty order: "Except for those who committed the ten most heinous crimes, disobeyed the emperor's orders, and treason, all other criminals, regardless of the severity of their crimes, will be pardoned."

Afterwards, Jiang Hongfei issued an order to select talented people: "Anyone with a skill, not limited to civil or military, all kinds of craftsmen, all kinds of artisans, officials of all prefectures and counties will dig out and report, and the Yuan Dynasty will use them as appropriate."

Finally, Jiang Hongfei issued an order to reward land: "For those who have no land in the territory, regardless of gender, age or status, they will be rewarded with two acres of food-producing land."

--Adding the land distributed through work-for-relief, the land of a family added together, as long as they work hard, they can definitely guarantee food and clothing for the whole family.

As soon as Jiang Hongfei issued these three orders, the whole country celebrated the ascension of the new emperor!!!

In addition, it is worth mentioning that Jiang Hongfei also specially issued a land restriction order: "No one is allowed to have more than one hundred acres of land under his name..."

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