Chapter 133: The Challenges and Difficulties in the Capital of the Great Ming

The saying goes: “With food in hand, there’s no worry.”

Zhu Yunwen understood very well that, for the Great Ming, the most critical strategic resource was not muskets and cannons, nor swords and armor, but food.

Food is a fundamental necessity, and if the problem of feeding the population cannot be solved, everything else is futile.

With the implementation Single Whip method and policies to curb land consolidation, this year’s tax revenue from farmland will reach an all-time high. According to the current reports from various regions, this year seems to be a bountiful harvest.

Once the amount of taxable land increases, the issue of grain trade arises. Local merchants might lower grain prices using the excuse of surplus grain, which would harm the farmers.

Farmers have little disposable income, and the wealth is concentrated among corrupt officials and indulgent merchants. In such a scenario, major businesses would only be concentrated in the capital, the regions around the Yangtze River Delta, and the coastal areas, without benefiting the countryside.

What Zhu Yunwen wanted was prosperity across the land, not just in select regions.

“All prefectures should establish large granaries, county should establish small granaries. These granaries will be constructed with funding from the Bureau of Agricultural Taxes and will be responsible for the government’s grain purchases. Regarding grain prices, we will maintain the prices from the previous year to prevent merchants from suppressing prices. If any region faces a shortage of grain, they can report it to the prefecture. If the prefecture faces a shortage, they can report it to the Provincial Administration, which will coordinate grain allocation and storage.”

“For regions with a surplus of grain, they can either use labor to collect and send grain to the capital or raise the grain prices in the capital to attract merchants to deliver grain. Grain transportation should extend north, south, east, and west to ensure a stable grain supply for the capital and the armies in the north.”

Zhu Yunwen emphasized his point with a firm expression, speaking on the city wall battlements.

Xie Jin and Huang Zicheng nodded repeatedly. Although the grain reserves in the capital city were currently sufficient, given the large population and numerous military forces in the capital, the daily consumption of grain was enormous. Having more grain reserves was always a good thing.

Zhu Yunwen looked northward and let out a soft sigh.

Nanjing, with its strategic location and abundant grain-producing areas in its vicinity, is indeed a suitable place to establish the capital. Unless it is under siege, there should be no risk of grain shortage in Nanjing.

The primary purposes of building granaries in Nanjing are twofold: firstly, to prepare for disasters and military contingencies, and secondly, to stabilize commodity prices.

Unlike the Sui and Tang periods when the capital was Chang’an, which was surrounded by the relatively small Guanzhong Plain as the primary agricultural region, if a famine occurred, the emperor had to quickly pack his bags, take along his wives, many officials, and tens of thousands of soldiers, and then move to Luoyang for sustenance.

Sometimes, they rushed too quickly and coupled with insufficient dry rations on the road, by the time they reached Luoyang, about half of the entourage had starved to death.

Leading the way in this “chasing food to dwell” practice was the famous and well-known…

Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian.

Later, when Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty came to power, wasn’t the Sui-Tang Grand Canal also centered on Luoyang?

Strictly speaking, although Chang’an was the capital at that time, it often did not have enough to eat and was very shabby.

Zhu Yunwen didn’t need to become a “wandering emperor” in search of food. But he was deeply worried about Nanjing as the capital.

Nanjing is indeed a bountiful place, is a land of plenty with abundant resources, located along the Yangtze River, ensuring a stable water supply and food production. However this is only the economic value of Nanjing.

If we consider this from a political, military, and national perspective, the location of Nanjing is truly unsuitable.

The greatest and most powerful enemies of the Ming Dynasty were not near the city of Nanjing. Even if you run for ten days or half a month, you won’t see the enemy.

The true enemies that could destroy the Ming Dynasty and bring an end to its fortunes are the northern nomadic tribes!

Specifically, the Tatars and the Oirats!

That’s right, Nanjing is far from the Tatars and the Oirats. Even if they cause trouble and break through the Great Wall, making it to the outskirts of Beiping, Nanjing will remain safe, thanks to the protection of the Huai River and the Yangtze River. Those mounted warriors can’t possibly cross the Yangtze River.

So, from the perspective of the safety of the capital, Nanjing has a good safety rating.

However, the Ming Empire extends far beyond the capital city. The vast territories in the north are also part of the Ming Dynasty, and the people living there are Ming subjects. If the Tatars and the Oirats occupy Beiping Prefecture again, it would create a de facto divided Ming Empire, with two opposing powers.

In that scenario, the Ming Dynasty would become a regional power, much like the Southern Song, and the fate of the Southern Song is well-known in history.

Once the northern defenses are breached, the Tatars and the Oirats could reach the outskirts of Beiping in a month. When news reaches Nanjing, and the southern forces prepare and march north, it’s likely that what they’ll face is not a defensive battle but a siege.

Being too far south poses a challenge to promptly respond to northern threats. This is the biggest issue facing the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

In the history of the Ming Dynasty, there were precedents for this issue, and it wasn’t a one-time occurrence. In 1449, Oirat Chieftain’s Esen annihilated the main Ming forces at Tumu Fortress, capturing Emperor Yingzong, Zhu Qizhen. Later, on October 11th of the same year, he reached the outskirts of Beijing.

At that time, Yu Qian stepped up to defend Beijing with second and third-string “reserve troops,” using his courage and wisdom.

One hundred years later, in the 29th year of Emperor Jiajing (1550), the Mongol Tumed tribe Chieftain Altan Khan reached the outskirts of Beijing once again.

The Daoist Emperor was alarmed, fortunately, Altan Khan was uneducated and easily fooled by the Ming dynasty, and Adding that “two million people and animals were plundered” was enough, so he went home.

Otherwise, with Beijing having only tens of thousands of the old, weak, sick, and disabled, it would likely have fallen within three days.

Imagine if Beijing were an ordinary city instead of the capital of the Ming Dynasty. How could the northern territories of the Ming Dynasty be protected from invasion?

When Nanjing dispatched troops and arrived at the scene, spring flowers could have turned into autumn moon already!

From the perspective of the Ming Dynasty’s existence, politics, and military aspects, Nanjing as the capital is not suitable at all.

Zhu Yuanzhang possessed great talent and military insight; he naturally understood this. Despite the fact that the Ming Dynasty was founded in the first year of Hongwu, which is 1368, with Nanjing as the capital, during the first ten years of its existence, Nanjing wasn’t officially referred to as the capital city.

In other words, it functioned as the capital without the formal title of a capital city.

It wasn’t until the 11th year of Hongwu that Zhu Yuanzhang officially designated Nanjing as the capital, confirming Nanjing’s status as the capital city.

Zhu Yuanzhang was initially hesitant about where to establish the capital of the Ming Empire.

There were four options on the table:

The first choice was Nanjing, also known as Jinling. As the strategist Ye Dui put it, “Establishing the capital in Jinling allows for southern expansion. Expanding to the north is not favorable; we can defend the Jianghuai region.”

The second choice was Kaifeng. Many people may not know that in the early years of the Ming Dynasty, Nanjing was known as the Yingtian Prefecture, while Beijing was the Kaifeng Prefecture, not present-day Beijing.

Zhu Yuanzhang had a strong desire to make Kaifeng the capital and personally inspected it twice. However, Kaifeng was severely damaged and had problems with waterways and land transportation, making grain transportation a significant issue. This option had to be abandoned.

The third choice was Zhu Yuanzhang’s hometown, Fengyang. It was known as the “land where the dragon rises.” Zhu Yuanzhang decided to establish the capital there, and construction was in progress from the second year of Hongwu to the eighth year. However, it was abruptly halted, becoming an unfinished project.

The fourth choice was Chang’an. Zhu Yuanzhang sent his eldest son, Zhu Biao, to survey Chang’an. Unfortunately, Zhu Biao died shortly after his return, leaving Zhu Yuanzhang heartbroken and dissuaded from moving the capital.

Now, it’s Zhu Yunwen’s turn, and he must consider the issue of the capital city.

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