Spoiler History: Starting from the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 699 Bridging the North and South
Zhu Biao saw his father open a notebook.

And on the title page, one can vaguely see the words "Supplement to the Record of Ancestral Instructions".

Some painful memories suddenly surfaced in his mind, and looking at his mother's unsurprised expression, Zhu Biao also had a vague guess:

"Dad, this is..."

The Queen shook her head, her face full of disapproval:
"I want to record all the evils of the Ming Dynasty so that future generations can learn from them and not make the same mistakes again, thus prolonging the Ming Dynasty's prosperity."

As expected, Zhu Biao suddenly felt heavy in his heart, as if he would never be happy again. Even the magical light curtain in front of him could not move him at all.

The conversation with his mother was also heard clearly by his other brothers, so Zhu Di grimaced, Zhu Zhen's face was full of pain, and Zhu Su, who was writing down his thoughts in a small notebook, also trembled.

But no one dared to say anything. After all, Dad was famous for his stubbornness. Especially at this critical moment, saying one more word might lead to punishment. If they wanted to express their dissatisfaction, they could only...

"Zhongba, this family has numerous problems, and if it lasts for a hundred years, the problems will surely be eliminated and new ones will emerge. How can thousands of words be enough?"

"My sons are still here..."

Zhu Yuanzhang curled his lips slightly, but then he said as if he was boasting:
"But later generations also said that among the emperors of our Ming Dynasty, very few drank alcohol, and the only case of being drunk was almost a crime in the Imperial Ancestral Temple."

"Isn't it because of what we wrote in our ancestral precepts: 'Drink less wine, eat on time, and don't eat too much in the afternoon'?"

"If the problem continues to reappear, let's add one more thing, which is to actually eliminate it."

So Empress Ma stopped talking for a while, and Zhu Biao simply said:

"But Dad, have you ever thought that the descendants of the Ming Dynasty might not listen..."

"you dare?!"

Zhu Biao stiffened his neck, but he was clearly losing by three points in momentum.

So Emperor Ming turned his head again to the other side and looked at the other sons:
"Or do you dare?"

As a result, several people also kept silent and lowered their heads.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded with satisfaction:

"You all obeyed, and your descendants saw that you all obeyed, so they would not dare to disobey."

"Besides, both our achievements and Biao'er's are the pillars of our Ming Dynasty. Who dares to disobey?"

But Zhu Biao still felt something was wrong:

"But if we could really follow what Dad said, then our Ming Dynasty would definitely not have perished in just a few hundred years."

Zhu Yuanzhang continued writing without even looking up:
"Didn't your mother say that? That's because the disease can be cured by new methods, just like the elixir."

"But as long as we can know the problems a thousand years from now through the light curtain and write them down, then won't our Ming Dynasty be safe for a thousand years?"

"The Ming Dynasty perished because our ancestral teachings were recorded with too little content!"

Empress Ma held her forehead with her hand and said: Well, I have made up my mind. Now no one can say anything.

[It is no exaggeration to say that the fact that Ogedei drank himself to death still has an impact on us today.

The most direct impact is of course the issue of subsequent rule in the Ross region.

Although the second Western Expedition of the eldest son achieved rich results in looting, the army withdrew early due to the death of Ogedei. Therefore, the Mongol Khanate only established a strong position here, but did not directly establish a ruling-level advantage.

Later, the third and final Mongol expedition to the west did not focus on this. Therefore, the method adopted by the Golden Horde, which ruled here, was basically to try to instigate hatred among the Slavs in the Russian region, so as to establish its own dominant position.

But as time passed, the aftermath of the turmoil caused by the Mongol Khanate's succession issue continued to spread here, and the Golden Horde inevitably and rapidly declined. Poland and the Duchy of Lithuania took the opportunity to rise and began to confront the Golden Horde.

There is a view in history that the Mongol westward expedition and the development of navigation led to cultural and technological exchanges between the East and the West, which greatly accelerated the pace at which the world as a whole entered modern times.

The world is rapidly becoming a highly interactive entity, and as a result, nationalism and national identity are becoming increasingly difficult to form.

This argument holds that the past 600 years have been the last window of opportunity for nationalism and national identity. If we seize the opportunity, we can create a unified nation and gain more living space for ethnic groups. Otherwise, the country is likely to split and disintegrate, such as the Ottoman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Tsarist Russia, and so on.

Judging from this argument, the Golden Horde, which lasted for more than two hundred years, was subtly stuck in this window period.

The Slavs, who were originally descendants of the Rurik dynasty, split into various countries that fought against each other after the dynasty collapsed. If the normal process had been followed, the mutual conquests between the countries would have led to the fusion of the East Slavic tribes into a new nation.

And if Mongolia could conquer all the Eastern Slavs, then the Slavs would have the opportunity to unite under the rule of the Golden Horde because of a common enemy, and eventually establish a new country on the ruins of the Golden Horde.

However, due to the sudden death of Ogedei, his eldest son's westward expedition came to an abrupt halt, and the half-conquered Eastern Slavs were awkwardly stuck here.

The rising Poland and Lithuania did not have the strength to destroy the Golden Horde. As a result, they continued to attack each other. Taking advantage of this window of opportunity, the Slavs quickly formed nationalism among the three regimes.

Although Tsarist Russia later reunified Eastern Europe and tried to reunite the Eastern Slavs into a single entity, this attempt did not achieve any results in the face of the huge differences in living habits and cultural cognition among the three parties.

The former Mongolian rule over the Slavs has penetrated into their bones, and the hatred and hostility brought about by this rule have also been engraved in their blood.

To this day, there is a popular proverb in Europe:
Cut open a Russian and you'll find a Tartar inside.

This short sentence vividly demonstrates the cultural conflicts within the Slavs today.

As the saying goes, all history is contemporary history. The experience of the Slavs is certainly not an isolated case. It should be said that this situation is widely present in the areas ruled by Mongolia.

But there are only a few countries and nations that can truly reconcile their contradictions.

This is why one of the achievements of Emperor Hongwu is to reconcile the north and the south.

It is difficult to describe its brilliant achievements throughout the ages in just four words. 】

Zhu Yuanzhang, who was adding to the Ancestor's Instructions, stopped writing and sighed again:

"This junior understands how difficult it is for us."

I still remember that last time this junior briefly mentioned the relationship between the Hu Yuan Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty, and described it as thorny, which was absolutely appropriate.
The Han Chinese Zhang Tiangang served as an official in the Jin Dynasty. After the fall of the Jin Dynasty, he wanted to die for the Jin people and ridiculed the Southern Song Dynasty.

Similar situations were everywhere when the Ming Dynasty was first established, which is why he felt the problem was so complicated.

From the Anshi Rebellion to the end of the Hu Yuan's escape to the north, there was chaos for 600 years, and Hebei and the south had long been in a state of "no knowledge of each other".

On this basis, when the Ming Dynasty was first established, there were quite a number of northern scholars who, grateful for the kindness shown to the Yuan Dynasty, either refused to become officials and retired, or simply fled north to serve the remnant Yuan Dynasty.

In this case, it is even more difficult to simply define Hu Yuan as a rebel. After all, what he wanted was for the north and the south to unite as one and return to China, rather than representing the southern Han people in conquering the northern Han people.

An emperor must treat everyone equally, otherwise how is he different from the Hu Yuan who divided the people under his rule?
However, we only need to wait a few more years until the scholars in the north who have been influenced by the Ming Dynasty culture grow up, participate in the imperial examinations, and gradually enter the Ming Dynasty court.

As for the old people in the north who worship the Hu Yuan, they have forgotten themselves in the world.

He is also excited by the recognition of his achievements by later generations:
This day is not far away.

(End of this chapter)