Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 184: Still coming? Is Xia Zhibai done yet? (The third update)
"Now that the direction is determined, the use of people is the decisive factor." Zhu Yuanzhang shook his body slightly and closed the memorial in his hand. He slowly stood up, put his hands behind his back, took heavy steps, and walked down the stairs.

"Father." Zhu Biao's eyes were full of worry.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not look back and said calmly: "We are fine."

"I've been sitting for so long, I'm tired."

Zhu Biao put the candle in his hand aside and reached out to support Zhu Yuanzhang.

The father and son walked side by side.

Walking on the open road under the moonlight.

Zhu Biao hesitated for a moment and asked, "Father, what did Xia Zhibai say in his memorial? Why did it make you so uneasy?"

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said in a deep voice: "Xia Zhibai's ambition is written on it."

"He wants to rule the world!!!"

Zhu Biao's face changed in shock.

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Zhu Biao coldly and said dissatisfiedly: "We are still here, what is there to panic about?"

"Everyone in the world underestimates Xia Zhibai."

"Same for us."

"He has a deeper understanding of the world than we do, and he understands it more thoroughly. He is also more dangerous than traitors like Hu Weiyong, because he knows in depth how to stir up chaos in the world and how to win people's hearts."

"For the past six months, the people in the Salt Transport Bureau have been scheming in various ways. The court and even the local authorities all thought that Xia Zhibai would be distracted by these things, but Xia Zhibai was not distracted at all. His mind was focused on traveling to the local authorities."

"We don't know exactly what Xia Zhibai did."

“But it’s obvious.”

"He had a deep understanding of the officials, scholars, farmers, tenants, various hired workers, merchants, craftsmen, etc. of our Ming Dynasty, otherwise he would not have been able to write this memorial."

"He is telling us that if we want to preserve the Ming Dynasty, we must win over the petty bourgeoisie, get close to the semi-proletariat and the proletariat, and at the same time suppress the middle class and strike at the landlord class, so that the land in the hands of the people can always remain in the hands of the people."

"He is teaching us how to do things."

Zhu Biao was stunned.

He smiled bitterly and could only sigh.

He had indeed not read the memorial, but just the opening was enough to make his scalp tingle. Such a "great article" could only be judged after his father had read it, and no one else was qualified to read it.

He can't either.

Because this concerns the political correctness of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang stood with his hands behind his back, his back slightly hunched, looking at the bright moon hanging high in the sky, and muttered: "Although I am very angry about this memorial, I have to admit that Xia Zhibai's analysis of the world is very insightful and thought-provoking. The concept of righteousness and profit in the world has really changed."

"The world described in the book can no longer be reproduced."

"Why does my father say that?" Zhu Biao looked puzzled, his eyes full of surprise and suspicion.

Zhu Yuanzhang said in a deep voice: "In ancient times, Confucianism was on the right and merchants were on the left. In our Ming Dynasty, merchants are on the right and Confucianism is on the left."

"We can still suppress them if we are still here, but given time, I am afraid that the weak ones will not be strong enough to be merchants, so they will leave and become Confucian scholars, while the strong ones will not be talented enough to be Confucian scholars, so they will become merchants instead. This is the general situation."

Zhu Biao looked shocked.

He said in a serious tone: "Father, this is absolutely impossible."

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered and said, "You think too highly of these scholars. These people are sycophants and have long been obsessed with money. They become officials just to make money. Who would really take governing the country seriously?"

“We’ve actually seen it clearly a long time ago.”

"It's just that I never figured it out, but today, Xia Zhibai explained it to me."

"Since the Song Dynasty, there have been too many scholars in the world, allowing too many local landlords to seize power. These people only have their own interests in mind, not public spirit, so the Song Dynasty was so weak. They even always prevented the court from becoming stronger, and even actively sold out the country for fame."

"It's the same with our Ming officials."

Zhu Yuanzhang closed his eyes slightly, with a cold light flashing in his eyes.

He was indeed feeling heavy-hearted.

There are concerns about the future of the Ming Dynasty, as well as thoughts about its future.

After this brief adjustment, he understood why Xia Zhibai said, "Once the direction is determined, the use of people is the decisive factor." It was because his past ideas on governing the country were wrong, and therefore no matter how many people he killed, it would be of no avail, because the people who were replaced had not changed, they were just a group of the same people.

Unless you change your mindset!

Replace past governance concepts.

Re-select a group of people from all over the world who are compliant with the new ideas.

in this way.

Only then will the world see real change.

Zhu Yuanzhang walked forward steadily with his hands behind his back.

Countless thoughts flashed through my mind.

Zhu Biao followed closely without saying a word. He had not seen his father so focused and serious for a long time.

This is enough to prove how great an impact Xia Zhibai's memorial had on his father.

The concept of righteousness and profit!
In the end, righteousness will be abandoned, leaving only profit!

Everything is profit-oriented.

Reorder the world.

If there were no scholars in the world and only officials were considered landlords, what impact would this have on the world? Zhu Yuanzhang kept thinking in his mind. The first thing he thought of was money. Landlords were also people. They had to pay taxes and serve in the army.

But as soon as this idea came into mind, Zhu Yuanzhang rejected it.

This is impossible.

If he really did this, it would be tantamount to cutting himself off from the "scholar" class. The Ming Dynasty was not very popular among scholars. If he directly cancelled the preferential treatment for scholars, he would be criticized throughout the country. He was not afraid of scholars, but as Xia Zhibai said, the local people could not withstand the instigation of scholars.

Who knows what kind of chaos the place will be in by then. At the same time, if the "scholars" are denied, who will serve the Ming Dynasty?
Rely on those military commanders? Or rely on the children of the Zhu family? I'm afraid neither can be relied on.

The only advantage is that it makes killing people more convenient. If these officials really go too far, they can be killed directly to appease the public anger without any scruples. The land occupied by these officials can also be redistributed to win over the hearts of the local people.

But he doesn't need to.

He didn't need a reason to kill these officials.

reason?

Just pick any one.

Zhu Yuanzhang thought a lot, and many ideas came to his mind, but in the end he rejected them one by one.

His mind is completely confused now.

On the one hand, he agreed with Xia Zhibai's point of view, but on the other hand, he didn't know how to deal with it and had no idea how the world should be governed under such circumstances.

be terribly upset.

a long time.

Zhu Yuanzhang stopped.

He looked at Zhu Biao, his face showing some fatigue, and said tiredly: "Boss, do you think the world can really change as Xia Zhibai said? Can the world really withstand such a big change? Is he really the only smart person in the world?"

Zhu Biao smiled bitterly.

How could he give an answer?

He didn't even know what Xia Zhibai wrote.

He could only stammer, "I am stupid and can't think of a solution."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Biao, sighed, and prepared to return to Fengtian Hall. However, on the way back, he couldn't help but think of what Xia Zhibai had said before.

Waste scholar.

Improve industry, agriculture and commerce.

Zhu Yuanzhang's gaze narrowed slightly, with a hint of suspicion flashing across his eyes.

He felt that Xia Zhibai seemed to have been doing that all the time and had been moving forward with it.

Just as Zhu Yuanzhang was lost in thought, Pu Gou'er suddenly trotted over. He bowed respectfully to Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao and said, "Your Majesty, a memorial has been sent over from the post station."

"Post station?" Zhu Yuanzhang frowned, then his eyes turned cold: "Something happened in the northern border?"

"bring here!"

A cruel look suddenly appeared on Zhu Yuanzhang's face.

Pu Gou'er respectfully handed over a memorial, lowered his head, and said tremblingly: "Your Highness, this is not from the Northern Frontier. It was just sent by Xia Zhibai."

As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang received the memorial, a hint of disgust appeared in his eyes, but he still reached out to take it.

He raised his eyes and glanced.

His face became darker.

"This Xia Zhibai, he really thinks we dare not kill him, right?"

"This is really unreasonable!"

"Did I give him face, and he still asks about me?"

"Who is he?!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was furious. He held the new memorial tightly in his hand and crumpled it into a ball. The anger in his eyes almost turned into substance. It was the first time that someone had treated him so badly. Even Chen Youliang had never made him so angry.

He was really pissed off by Xia Zhibai.

He had just finished reading a memorial, which made him feel very upset, and then another one was sent to him.

This opening is simpler and clearer.

Ten questions about Hongwu!

He was the great Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the Supreme Ruler. Was it Xia Zhibai's turn to point fingers at him? He was still criticizing him. Did he really think that after traveling to the northern border and experiencing the people's sentiments firsthand, he could speak so arrogantly in front of him?

Park Gouer was so scared that he fell to his knees.

A face full of grievance.

How could he know all this? He only knew that it was sent by Xia Zhibai. Seeing that His Majesty attached so much importance to it, he dared not be negligent in the slightest. As soon as he heard that a new memorial had been sent, he hurriedly took the memorial into the palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry that he kicked Pu Gou'er away and cursed: "In the future, there is no need to rush to send Xia Zhibai's memorials to me. If I read his memorials every day, I don't know how many years I will lose."

"You have two eyes so big, but you are not troublesome at all?"

Zhu Biao advised: "Father, Eunuch Pu was just anxious at the moment, and he has no ill intentions."

"I don't care much about it. I think that all of them are waiting to laugh at me." Zhu Yuanzhang sneered, the anger in his eyes did not diminish at all.

Zhu Biao walked forward a few steps, blocking Pu Gou'er's figure, and gestured to Pu Gou'er with his back to him, asking him to leave quickly. He knew that his father was very angry and might kill someone to vent his anger.

Pu Gou'er followed the emperor for many years. Even if he had no merits, he had worked hard. It was really unfair for him to die unjustly.

Moreover, other eunuchs may not be easy for the emperor to use.

One to two to go.

But I don’t know how much killing will result.

When Pu Gouer saw Zhu Biao's gesture, a look of gratitude appeared in his eyes. He kowtowed respectfully to the ground and crawled away.

Zhu Yuanzhang glared at Zhu Biao but didn't say much.

Zhu Yuanzhang walked back to the Fengtian Hall holding the ball of "memorials".

(End of this chapter)