Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 202: Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy!

Zhu Yuanzhang remained silent.

He was tempted.

The main reason why he did not levy commercial taxes in the past was that he could not collect them.

Since he could collect it, he was happy to do so.

You can never have too much money.

Moreover, what Xia Zhibai said was very much to his liking. As a monarch, one must reach out to the gentry. The status of scholars nowadays was too high. They always looked arrogant and felt that the world could not do without them. He had always wanted to suppress them in the past, but had never succeeded.

Plus he'll be looking north.

If successful, the imperial court could obtain a large amount of commercial taxes and suppress the powerful people who might threaten the imperial court.

That's the most important thing.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked uncertain, and said with his hands behind his back: "You are right, there are some things we still have to do. I don't care about it myself, but I can't leave the problem to future generations. I will give you another chance."

"See if your big economy can be successful."

"Go ahead."

"What do you want?"

"As long as it's not excessive, we will satisfy you."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Xia Zhibai and showed a rare magnanimity.

Xia Zhibai's eyes lit up with joy.

He pondered for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "I am not planning to take up an official position at the moment. I just want the officials of the Hanlin Academy to help me do something."

"What's the matter?" Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and asked curiously.

Xia Zhibai said with a serious expression, "Simplify the text!"

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows.

He looked at Xia Zhibai suspiciously, not understanding what the development of the north had to do with "simplified characters".

Xia Zhibai explained: "To correct a wrong, one must go too far."

"There are already huge problems with the education system in the world today."

"It's flashy and empty."

Xia Zhibai said: "From ancient times to the present, the world has practiced two sets of education systems. One is for the upper class, called internal knowledge, and the other is for the lower class, called external knowledge. As for what the internal knowledge teaches, I don't understand, and I don't have the heart to understand."

Zhu Yuanzhang closed his eyes slightly.

He looked at Xia Zhibai deeply, with a flickering light in his eyes.

Naturally, he didn't believe what Xia Zhibai said.

If you don't understand, how can you say this?

Xia Zhibai's face looked normal. He generally knew the so-called knowledge within the sect, which was nothing more than schemes and tactics, which were also what Yao Guangxiao had learned. It was precisely because of this that when Zhu Yuanzhang found out about it later and saw that Yao Guangxiao had passed on these things to Zhu Di, Zhu Yuanzhang was furious and ordered the execution of Yao Guangxiao.

This set of knowledge has been increasingly concentrated in the upper classes since the Qin and Han Dynasties.

Eventually it gradually evolved into the art of emperorship.

Xia Zhibai scoffed at this part. Many emperors learned too much and ended up learning something inappropriate. The art of being an emperor should at least train the emperor to be a shepherd who knows how to educate the people, rather than train him to be an emperor who only knows how to exploit and oppress the world.

Xia Zhibai said: "The art outside the sect teaches benevolence, righteousness, morality, loyalty, filial piety and etiquette."

"This part of the world has been taught for too long."

"In the past, there was no paper in the world, and people could only acquire knowledge through bamboo slips. In addition, the cost of learning was very high, and it was already very difficult to master 'benevolence, righteousness, morality, loyalty, filial piety, and etiquette'. But now the cost of learning in the world is very low, and continuing to only learn these is undoubtedly a dead end."

"I want to break the barriers of scholars."

"We need to get these scholars out of their current comfort zones."

"Keep your eyes down, on the work."

“Let the rest of their energy be spent on applying what they have learned.”

"It's just that today's scholars won't take the initiative to change. So if you want them to follow, you have to train a group of workers and farmers who have mastered certain 'benevolence, righteousness, morality, loyalty, filial piety and etiquette'. And this group of people also have strong hands-on and operational abilities. Only in this way can the scholars be forced to change."

“Otherwise, you are destined to be replaced by workers and peasants.”

"However, most workers and farmers are not well-off. Given the current learning situation in the world, every extra stroke of a character, even if it is just a horizontal or vertical stroke, a left or right stroke, will put a great economic pressure on the lower-class people. Therefore, simplification is imperative."

"Simplifying Chinese characters is not just a whim of mine."

"From ancient times to the present, simplified characters have always been in use."

"For example, the character '于' in Wang Xizhi's 'Lanting Xu' is in simplified Chinese. Such examples can be found everywhere in poetry and songs. My idea is to have the scholars of the Hanlin Academy sort it out and come up with a more concise and clear 'simplified character'."

"To educate the world."

"It can also help Your Majesty make the Great Edict more popular among the people."

"No matter how many times officials read it, it is not as good as the people reading it themselves. We can even include the Great Edict in compulsory textbooks, alongside the Four Books and Five Classics. We can start from a young age and make changes from the root, and then the customs of the Ming Dynasty will truly change for the better."

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered.

He didn't believe Xia Zhibai's words.

He said that he was helping to promote "The Great Edict", but it was obvious that he just wanted to expand the scope of education in the world.

but.

That’s not a bad idea.

But expanding the world's access to education is a double-edged sword.

From ancient times to the present, every dynasty has known that if there are too many scholars, problems will easily arise. Lowering the threshold of knowledge further will indeed hit the local gentry, but it will also bring new problems to the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang stroked his beard and thought coldly.

finally.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

Compared to dealing with some emerging intellectuals.

Eradicating the old scholar class is the top priority of the Ming Dynasty.

Otherwise, the gentry would always stay in the local areas, eating away at the tax base of the Ming Dynasty. Sooner or later, they would eat away the tax base of the Ming Dynasty completely. Moreover, he was extremely interested in what Xia Zhibai said about "gentry paying taxes together", and he even had the urge to directly issue a decree.

But I held myself back later.

The "Guo Huan Case" just broke out in the Ming Dynasty, and the turbulence in the world has just subsided, but now another one has come. I am afraid that the world situation that has just stabilized will become turbulent again. When the time comes, the scholars of the world will join forces to impeach him, and he will become very passive.

It would be best to let Xia Zhibai take the lead.

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "We didn't grant you an official position in the past."

"We'll give you one this time."

"Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy, fifth rank official, and concurrently Secretary of the Wenyuan Pavilion."

Zhu Yuanzhang was indeed very generous this time. The Hongwu Dynasty did not establish the position of "Grand Secretary", which set a precedent for Xia Zhibai. However, Xia Zhibai knew that this was to facilitate his work in the Hanlin Academy, and the most critical position was the Wenyuan Pavilion Secretary.

Wenyuan Pavilion is not a small institution.

This agency is able to participate in discussions of state secrets.

It has been considered as half a step into the political center.

Xia Zhibai was also a little surprised. He didn't expect Zhu Yuanzhang to be so generous this time.

But he also vaguely guessed Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts. Zhu Yuanzhang wanted him to test the reaction of the officials below. If the officials did not react much, he might violently implement the "gentry paying taxes together" in the future. If the officials below were overwhelmed, he might end up like "Wu Yong".

But Xia Zhibai didn't care. This was the case with all reforms in every dynasty.

He would not allow himself to follow the course of history easily. The reforms in other dynasties were all carried out by small-time people who tried to shake the world, and basically ended up with personal death and the end of the politics. But he was different because he was very young and he could cultivate a large number of vested interests.

These people will eventually stand on your side.

He is just a guide.

Xia Zhibai said: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "After you go down, write a detailed memorial and we will see what you are going to do."

Xia Zhibai smiled and nodded.

He bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang, took his leave and left.

The purpose of his trip has been achieved.

Zhu Yuanzhang was finally persuaded. Of course, it would be more accurate to say that he was attracted by the "commercial taxes" and "reducing the power of the feudal lords". The Ming Dynasty's finances were seriously insufficient, and even Zhu Yuanzhang was secretly troubled by it. His initiative to offer the method of collecting "commercial taxes" could be regarded as catering to Zhu Yuanzhang's wishes.

As for reducing the power of the feudal lords.

This is what Zhu Yuanzhang paid more attention to.

Zhu Yuanzhang regarded bridging the north and the south as his life's achievement.

But the Jiangnan region obviously did not buy it. Whether it was the imperial examinations or the officials of the court, they were all full of arrogance and contempt, and they all put the south first. This was understandable. The foundation of the Ming Dynasty's regime was the south. Both politics and economy were based on the south.

In particular, most of the officials of the Ming Dynasty were born in Jiangnan, which was the economic base of the Ming Dynasty. It was normal for the civil and military officials in the court to pay more attention to the local interests of the south.

However, for the supreme ruler, one should not attach too much importance to it and should base it on the entire dynasty politics.

Zhu Yuanzhang gave Xia Zhibai the title of Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy.

He wanted more to help Xia Zhibai simplify characters and thereby improve the foundation of Confucian classics in the north.

As long as there are enough literate people, it is possible that some talented people will emerge.

This is to achieve the purpose of balancing the court.

However, in Xia Zhibai's opinion, the reason why Zhu Yuanzhang was finally persuaded was more importantly that he realized one thing: he was the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty. If there were some things he did not do, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty in later generations would basically not be able to do them.

He wanted to clear more obstacles for Zhu Biao and subsequent emperors of the Ming Dynasty.

This is a game.

There is no winner or loser.

Xia Zhibai got the answer he wanted.

Zhu Yuanzhang also achieved his goal and put everything in the world under control.

Not long after.

Zhu Biao arrived at the Fengtian Hall.

Zhu Biao looked around and did not see Xia Zhibai, so he bowed and said, "Your Highness, I pay my respects to you, Father."

Zhu Biao looked obviously nervous.

He then asked, "How was the conversation between Father and Xia Zhibai?"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Biao with a complicated expression.

To Zhu Biao.

He put a lot of effort into it.

But Zhu Biao is indeed different from himself to a certain extent.

Among all his sons, the one who was most like him and whom he loved the most in the past was Prince Jin.

However, he knew deeply that the heir should not act rashly, so he always trusted Zhu Biao alone. However, Zhu Biao lacked dominance when he was about to take over. Zhu Biao did have a sense of ruthlessness, but it was not enough. These arrogant soldiers and generals of the Ming Dynasty, as well as these domineering civil servants, could not be subdued without dominance.

Zhu Yuanzhang said with a profound look: "We agree."

Zhu Biao was stunned for a moment, then his face lit up with joy.

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand, signaling Zhu Biao to come closer, and Zhu Biao hurried forward.

Zhu Yuanzhang took Zhu Biao's hand and said in a deep voice: "I know all of Xia Zhibai's ideas, and I agree with many of them. Do you know why I don't use them?"

Zhu Biao shook his head.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked closely at Zhu Biao and said in a serious tone, "Because I am old."

"At my age, according to the books, I'm almost at the age of hearing and understanding. I don't know how long I can live. I dare not make trouble. I am not afraid of trouble myself. I have been through it all myself. But if I don't deal with these troubles before I die, it will be a huge burden for you."

"We don't want to do that."

"What Xia Zhibai is doing will never succeed!"

Zhu Biao was stunned.

He looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and asked in confusion: "Then why did the emperor agree?"

Zhu Yuanzhang closed his eyes slightly, a sharp look flashed in his eyes, and he sneered: "Xia Zhibai thinks he has a clear view of the world, but I have seen everything. I know the world better than him. He thinks that by changing the concept of the world to a more biting view of righteousness and profit, he can restore order to the world."

“What really influences the world is never righteousness or profit.”

"It's human nature!"

“We have made many attempts over the years.”

"Without exception, they all failed, because it is impossible to change human nature."

"In the past sixty years, I have seen with my own eyes, not to mention what I have heard, that is, 'its rise is rapid' and 'its fall is sudden'."

"We've seen everything."

"When I started my army, my brothers were very focused and dedicated. I have pondered over the years why my brothers have changed so much. Is it really because I became the emperor?"

"We don't think so."

"We believe that it was a difficult and arduous time, and only by dying a thousand times can we find a way to survive."

"But later on, we conquered a lot of territory, and the generals in our army relaxed their spirits one by one. Some of them could not resist the temptation, and some of them were naturally lazy. This situation accumulated from small things and eventually became a disaster. Although we have tried hard to reverse it, it is impossible to remedy it."

"My thoughts have changed."

"We just want to protect the great country we have conquered."

"As for the rest, I don't have any extravagant hopes or requests. It's just that the world is governed and governed, but there are more and more problems and corrupt officials. Sometimes I really want to pick up a knife and chop all these bastards off."

Zhu Yuanzhang was filled with murderous intent.

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly and said, "I am not interested in what Xia Zhibai said. I just want to use him to give some gentry in the world a good beating, let them know that we have plenty of ways to discipline them, and train some talents for the north."

"We should remove more hidden dangers for you while we are still confused."

"Xia Zhibai is right about one thing."

"We in the Ming Dynasty must collect money, especially from the gentry."

"This time, we seized more than 2,400 shi from these people by investigating corruption. But as Xia Zhibai said, only we can do this kind of thundering method. We need to borrow Xia Zhibai to help you and the future emperors of our Ming Dynasty think of more ways to collect money from these gentry."

"Whether it's customs, state-owned enterprises, or collecting taxes from the land, these are all ways."

"Let's let Xia Zhibai try."

"From now on, Xia Zhibai's affairs will be handed over to you."

　I don’t know if it’s because of the virus or I caught a cold these days, but I’ve been feeling groggy and lacking energy. I’ve already taken some medicine and will start updating tomorrow.

　
(End of this chapter)