Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Just as Zhang Pu was setting off, Zhu Youjian received an audience with Liu Zongzhou.

After learning of the debate in the court, he was extremely dissatisfied with the emperor's blatant permission to arrest slaves.

He said to the emperor:

"Your Majesty, governing a country should be based on benevolence and righteousness."

"Governing with brutal methods will inevitably lead to future troubles."

Zhu Youjian remained silent upon hearing this, thinking of the troubles caused by the descendants of slaves in some countries in later generations.

This is morally untenable, and we will have to compensate them sooner or later.

However, given the current state of the Ming Dynasty, it would be good enough if it could just weather the crisis.

Even if there are future problems, they can only be left to future generations to solve.

He could not be bound by morality when using slavery in other countries.

That would be self-castration, and could potentially lead to defeat in this era of great strife.

Therefore, after a moment of silence, he said to Liu Zongzhou:

"I know that you are a sage."

"But governing a country is not like studying; where there is light, there is also darkness."

"Take Annam for example. Why do you think I allowed the nobles of various vassal states to capture slaves?"

Before Liu Zongzhou could answer, Zhu Youjian shouted:
"It is to completely resolve the hidden dangers in southern Xinjiang and make room for the Han people who have been relocated there to live."

"The Ming Dynasty now has a population of 200 million or even more, and the north is suffering from a continuous drought."

“If the disaster victims are not relocated, they will revolt due to their need for survival.”

"Even if I have an army of 100,000, capable of suppressing a million people, how can I suppress them when millions of people rebel due to hunger?"

"Only by relocating them and allocating them with land where they can survive can we settle them down."

"Have you considered which places around the Ming Dynasty could accommodate tens of millions of people?"

After being bombarded with criticism by the emperor, Liu Zongzhou turned pale and stammered:
"Isn't there a better way than to relocate the people?"

Zhu Youjian shook his head and said:
"I have considered many methods, but only immigration is feasible."

“The population of the Ming Dynasty is far too large now. As their ruler, I cannot simply kill people to reduce the population and prevent them from having children.”

"If the population doesn't decrease, we must increase grain production to ensure that people have enough to eat."

"I purchase grain from overseas, promote high-yield crops and fertilizers, and establish high-standard farmland, all for these purposes."

"However, what the Ming Dynasty is currently facing is a drought that has lasted for more than ten years. It is impossible to increase production, and the imperial court does not have the capacity to continuously purchase grain to provide relief to the disaster victims."

"So the only way to survive is to relocate the disaster victims."

"Of the more than 30 million people in the three provinces of Shaanxi, Shanxi and Henan, at least 10 million will have to be relocated."

"If the disaster is severe in places like Beizhili and Shandong, people will also have to migrate."

"I estimate that the final number of people to be relocated may exceed 20 million."

"This is one-tenth of the population of the Ming Dynasty. If we don't target the lands that Annam and other countries have already developed, how will we resettle them?"

Zhu Youjian took out a population distribution map and had the Embroidered Uniform Guard estimate the population of the provinces of the Ming Dynasty and the surrounding countries.

According to data from the Yongle era, Annam had a population of over five million. At that time, the Ming Dynasty only had a population of over sixty million, meaning Annam's population was close to one-tenth of the Ming Dynasty's, which is why the Ming Dynasty could not absorb it.

However, after the Jingnan Rebellion, the Ming Dynasty enjoyed more than two hundred years of peace, and its population continued to grow. Annam, on the other hand, suffered significant population losses during its rebellion against the Ming Dynasty, and later, due to internal strife within the Le Dynasty, the Mo, Trinh, and Nguyen clans fought amongst themselves, resulting in further losses.

The population is estimated to be only three to four million now, less than one-fiftieth of the Ming Dynasty's.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian dared to take action and, taking advantage of Annam's weakness, completely eliminated Annam.

He said to Liu Zongzhou:

"I once thought of reclaiming wasteland in the Northeast, believing that it could accommodate millions of people."

"But the Northeast is too cold, and it has swamps and ice jams, making development extremely difficult. At most, we can only relocate five million people."

"Where should we put the other five million immigrants? Annam is the best place."

“By relocating the local unruly barbarians, the Ming Dynasty was able to relocate five million people there.”

This was one of the reasons why Zhu Youjian launched his campaign against Annam. After realizing that the development of the Northeast was more difficult than expected, he knew that if he wanted to resettle the millions of disaster victims, he would have to find a new territory.

Annam thus came into his view. This place, which had a population of six million at the beginning of the nation, could probably accommodate ten million people if properly developed.

In later generations, the population of southern Annam alone exceeded that of the entire Siberia. Therefore, Zhu Youjian (Emperor Yongle) consistently neglected the development of the northern grasslands, entrusting it to unruly individuals like Zhang Xianzhong.

If it weren't for the threat of the Rus' eastward expansion, he wouldn't have bothered with it at all.

They valued Annam highly because it could support more people.

According to his estimate, the Ming Dynasty could absorb about one million people who could speak Chinese in Annam, and the other two to three million people could be easily assimilated and eliminated by sending them to various vassal states in Southeast Asia.

If the Ming Dynasty were to relocate millions more immigrants there, it would be able to completely control Annam.
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Hearing the emperor's blunt words, Liu Zongzhou felt as if the emperor before him was a stranger.

This is entirely about winning by force; how can it be considered the work of a wise ruler who subdues distant peoples through virtue and civility?

He was unwilling to see his ideal of making the emperor a sage ruler like Yao and Shun shattered, and pleaded with the emperor:

"Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven, and all the people under Heaven are Your Majesty's subjects."

“Annam is a tributary state of the Ming Dynasty. Your Majesty should not regard it entirely as a barbarian or treat it as a beast.”

"Your Majesty must show benevolence and righteousness!"

They knelt on the ground and kowtowed, begging the emperor to show benevolence and righteousness.

Zhu Youjian was also moved when he saw him shouting so desperately.

He stepped forward, helped him up, and said with emotion:

"Sir, you are a gentleman, so naturally you would not approve of this."

"But not all people in the world are like you, sir; there are many who are disloyal to the emperor."

"That's how the Annamese are; they outwardly submit, but inwardly they call themselves emperors."

"The late emperor was too lazy to deal with them, but I cannot completely regard them as my subjects."

"Only those who pledge allegiance to me and are willing to accept my teachings are my subjects."

"The others can only be regarded as barbarians; let them learn a lesson."

While explaining his reasons for regarding the Annamese as barbarians, Zhu Youjian made it clear that he would not regard all people as his subjects.

He considered himself a Han Chinese before a Chinese citizen, and regarded only the citizens of the Ming Dynasty as his subjects. Others who were honest were left to fend for themselves, while those who were not were directly regarded as barbarians.

Under the pressure of survival, he became incredibly pragmatic, prioritizing the allocation of resources to those who supported him.

The same applies to cultivating scholars; he aims to win over capable scholars.

He was utterly ruthless towards scholars who opposed him.

He did the same to Liu Zongzhou, saying to him:
"If you really can't bear it, you can go to Annam to carry out education."

"As long as they swear allegiance to me and pass the Chinese proficiency test, I will order them to be accepted as my subjects and no longer be regarded as barbarians."

"This way, we can both give them a way out and fulfill your benevolent heart."

They planned to send Liu Zongzhou over to take away those who criticized the matter.

If anyone insists on opposing this, send them to educate the barbarians.

Liu Zongzhou was truly a virtuous and sincere man; upon hearing the emperor's words, he immediately wanted to go there.

However, with his duties overseeing the reform of rites and music in the Ming Dynasty and the preparations underway for the Shuntian Prefecture council, how could he possibly find the time to go to Annam to civilize the barbarians? Ultimately, at the emperor's urging, he decided to take those who had advised him to go with him. After finalizing the civilizing strategy, he quickly returned to preside over the establishment of the Shuntian Prefecture council.

However, to his surprise, when he shared this idea with those who were shouting about benevolence and righteousness, no one wanted to go with him.

Those gentlemen who usually spoke eloquently and shouted about benevolence and righteousness in front of him quickly changed their attitude and thought that those who were uneducated were barbarians and could be regarded as beasts.

This made him realize immediately:
These people are hypocrites; they don't truly want to practice benevolence and righteousness.

They had no intention of educating the people; they simply pointed fingers at the emperor.

Disappointed, he stopped inviting these people.

But he still decided to go to Annam to prevent certain people from arbitrarily seizing slaves.

When he took his leave of the emperor, he said:
"Your Majesty is a wise and enlightened ruler, and you see things more clearly than I do."

"But when doing things, one must be benevolent and virtuous, and must not violate benevolence and righteousness."

"If there are any expedient measures, they can be left to the ministers."

This means that by assigning blame to ministers for such matters, the emperor remains a pure and innocent ruler.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Youjian shook his head and smiled wryly, pointing towards the Jianji Hall and saying:

"Do you know the couplet I personally wrote in the Hall of Supreme Harmony?"

"He who bears the nation's shame is called the master of the state."

"He who suffers misfortune for the country is the king of the world."

"Who else but me could take the blame for something like this?"

"Which minister in the imperial court is prepared to take the blame for the prime minister?"

This was a situation he couldn't help. Although he had delegated power to the cabinet, many Grand Secretaries hadn't changed their mindset and still considered themselves cabinet ministers who drafted proposals, refusing to take any responsibility.

When something goes wrong, only the emperor can take responsibility and bear the consequences for them.

Upon hearing this, Liu Zongzhou fell silent, recalling the Analects: "If I am guilty, it is not my fault; if the people are guilty, the fault lies with me… If the people have committed any wrongdoing, the fault lies with me alone."

As the Son of Heaven, the emperor could only bear this responsibility.

If he is unwilling to take responsibility, even things that are beneficial to the world cannot be implemented.

Having understood the emperor's helplessness, and feeling resentful, he went to Han Kuang's residence before leaving to accuse him of wielding immense power as the chief minister but being unwilling to take responsibility.

If this continues, after he returns from Annam, he will impeach the Prime Minister on the grounds of violating the "unity of rights and responsibilities" in the Convention on Etiquette and Law.

This incident caused a huge uproar and became known to many people.

Han Kuang was utterly humiliated; along with his anger, he also felt fear.

He knew that although he was the chief minister, he was not without constraints.

Not to mention Yuan Keli, the Grand Secretary, who once exercised the power of the Grand Secretary on his behalf.

Liu Zongzhou rarely spoke on court affairs, but whenever it came to revising the rites and music, he was the final decision-maker—a power granted to him by the emperor.

Many people in and out of the court supported Liu Zongzhou, believing him to be the only person who could restrain the emperor.

His reformation of ritual music was also recognized by many people.

If Liu Zongzhou leads the impeachment against him for violating etiquette and law, then his position as Grand Secretary will truly be in jeopardy.

In the past, he would have resigned out of shame and remorse, but he wouldn't have felt any regret.

However, the emperor promised him a noble title, and he made many efforts to remain in office. If he were to resign now in disgrace, he would probably be seen as a laughing stock.

In the end, he could only confess his guilt to the emperor, filled with shame and indignation.

Zhu Youjian harbored resentment towards Han Kuang for refusing to take the blame. In particular, the criticism of allowing the capture of slaves was too great, and it was likely to become a stain on his record later.

But given how things have turned out, he has no choice but to keep Han Kuang in his position. After all, apart from Han Kuang being forced to express his willingness to take the blame after being criticized, no one else has made such a statement.

Therefore, he comforted Han Kuang by saying:
"If the people have committed any wrongdoings, I alone shall bear the blame."

"It's nothing for me to bear some sins in order to expand the living space for the people of the Ming Dynasty."

"But the Grand Secretary should understand my intentions and not let my efforts be in vain."

Upon hearing these words, Han Kuang knew that the emperor was referring to the conflict between people and land.

This was the main contradiction facing the Ming Dynasty, as proposed by the emperor, which he was required to address as a priority.

The emperor is now relocating disaster victims in order to alleviate the conflict between people and land.

Therefore, measures such as relocating surplus laborers, limiting land ownership, and restricting slavery would need to be implemented by him. If he couldn't resolve the conflict between population and land, how could he be worthy of the current emperor?

Feeling ashamed yet also somewhat resolute, Han Kuang thought of another country bordering the Ming Dynasty and offered his advice:
"Your Majesty, the population of Korea is about five or six million, and they are unwilling to return the former territories of the Han and Tang dynasties."

"Should we follow the example of Annam, recover the old territory, and relocate the people of the Ming Dynasty there?"

Zhu Youjian was shocked to hear this; he hadn't expected Han Kuang to want to resolve the issue of North Korea.

He had thought about it, but ultimately chose to give up.

Unlike Annam, which had an external king and an internal emperor, Joseon did not dare to overstep its bounds after the Yuan Dynasty conquered Goryeo.

Although they made some minor moves towards the Ming Dynasty, they were generally respectful and submissive.

If Zhu Youjian were to attack such a submissive vassal state without cause, it would make all the surrounding countries feel insecure.

Moreover, the fact that the title of King Sunin of Joseon has already been conferred would affect the grand plan of granting fiefdoms and expanding territory.

So he said to Han Kuang:

"Korea has always been respectful, and he is also the Prince of Sunin, whom I appointed. I cannot act rashly."

"However, it is indeed inappropriate for them to occupy the former territory of the Han and Tang dynasties and refuse to return it."

"Draft an imperial edict for me, and have Shunren come to court to explain it to the Council of Nobles."

The decision was made to resolve this issue within the framework of the new aristocratic system.

Upon receiving this task, Han Kuang immediately began drafting the imperial edict with great enthusiasm.

Although the emperor explicitly stated it was an imperial edict, thus emphasizing his direct authority over the Court of Colonial Affairs and vassal states, Han Kuang still offered no objection.

He knew the emperor was doing it on purpose, taking advantage of his disheveled state to solidify his power.

Even if the edict was drafted by a Grand Secretary, the emperor would still call it an imperial edict.

This matter quickly spread throughout the capital.

Han Kuang's advice to the emperor to attack Joseon was ridiculed by many.

The emperor's benevolence in allowing Joseon to explain was seen as that of a virtuous ruler.

Look how good the emperor is to Korea. Even though Korea occupied the four commanderies of Han, he allowed him to explain himself.

The reason for such cruelty towards Annan is that Annan has always been disrespectful.

The newspapers also listed Annam's invasion of the Ming Dynasty and Jiaozhi's status as a former territory of the Han and Tang dynasties.

The Ming court's war against Annam received more support. Annam was seen as a negative example of a foreign vassal state, and therefore punished by the court. Joseon, on the other hand, was seen as a model foreign vassal state, and the Ming Dynasty was willing to give it a chance.

Even so, Crown Prince Yi Wang of Joseon, residing in the capital, was filled with apprehension.

He feared that his father's refusal to come to the capital for an audience would anger the Ming Dynasty and lead to the complete annihilation of Joseon. In his haste, he wrote a letter to his father explaining the importance of the matter while simultaneously requesting an audience to apologize on his father's behalf.

Regardless, he wanted to show his subservience to the Ming Dynasty.

Even if his father becomes confused, the Ming Dynasty will still give him a chance. (End of Chapter)