Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 307 There is something wrong with the river. It’s not the water, but the source!

It's winter now.

The weather is getting colder.

It was not snowing in Yingtian Prefecture at the moment, but the cold was getting colder day by day.

Some icicles that had just melted from snow hung under the eaves of the palace, forming a long line as sharp as swords.

Wuying Palace.

Looking at the eaves covered with icicles, Pu Gou'er felt nervous, but he did not dare to disturb Zhu Biao. He only asked the eunuchs who were preparing to knock the icicles to move aside. He did not dare to let these eunuchs disturb His Highness, let alone the emperor and his ministers in the palace.

Inside the palace.

The room was as warm as a stove, and a bronze basin with tripod legs carved with dragons and beasts was placed in the hall.

The entire hall was illuminated with a bright red color.

An old man in the hall closed his eyes slightly, leaning against the cushion at the back, wrapped in a thick animal robe. In front of the old man stood a young man, about twenty years old, with a solemn and calm look in his eyes.

"Your Majesty, do you think so?" the young man asked calmly.

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't look at Xia Zhibai. He picked up a memorial and was unwilling to pay any more attention to it.

The result was so hurtful.

There is no one who can live forever, and there is no empire that can last forever.

Everything he had carefully arranged turned into a joke in the mouth of the young man in front of him.

The young man in front of him also exposed everything one by one, even revealing it blatantly.

Have it?

No.

Zhu Yuanzhang was very sure.

He is not the first emperor in the world, nor will he be the last. There are hundreds of emperors throughout history, including Qin Shi Huang, Han Wudi, Emperor Wen of Han, Sui Wen of Tang, and so many other emperors. Didn’t they ever think of letting their own empire be passed down forever?
Must have thought about it.

But a dynasty like the Qin Dynasty only lasted for two generations.

Even a powerful country like the Han Dynasty could not maintain its succession for three generations. As for the Tang Dynasty, it collapsed halfway.

He never thought that he was inferior to the ancient emperors. He even always believed that he was stronger than them, and much stronger. However, if he wanted to keep the empire he established going for a long time, it was not something that could be achieved by one person's great achievements. There are unexpected changes in the world and people are subject to misfortunes and blessings at any time.

A hundred years later, everything will return to dust.

For a while.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little cold. He tightened his robe, but it was still not enough. He said to the outside of the hall: "It's cold. Add some more fire."

Done.

Zhu Yuanzhang closed his eyes again.

He suddenly understood what Xia Zhibai had said earlier.

He is only the executor of history, not the creator of history.

Given the level of corruption in the Yuan court, the world is destined to remain in chaos. However, the one who raises the call may not be himself, and it doesn't even matter whether it is Zhu Yuanzhang or not. The most important thing is the downfall of the Yuan Dynasty. Whoever can kill him will be "Zhu Yuanzhang."

He just took advantage of the situation and became the 'Son of Heaven'!
At this time.

Zhu Biao came in.

He held some charcoal in his hand and added them in carefully. However, this time he did not leave and continued to stand in the hall. Zhu Yuanzhang seemed not to notice Zhu Biao's stay and was still immersed in his own thoughts.

"Heroes are made by the times. Our hero is actually a puppet of God."

"Is that what you mean?!"

Xia Zhibai nodded, then shook his head and said, "Your Majesty just forgot the way you came here."

“Heroes are also common people.”

"Your Majesty's military and political skills are well known to the world." "And the system created by Your Majesty, in my opinion, is both backward and practical, and to a large extent, even if Your Majesty's descendants are a group of stupid and eccentric people, they can still sit firmly on the throne."

"But time is fair."

"With the passage of time, everything your majesty has created will eventually become riddled with holes, and will lose its ultimate control and restraint. From the perspective of the Zhu family's business, your majesty's approach is undoubtedly successful, at least it can benefit several generations, but from the perspective of China."

"Your Majesty is undoubtedly a loser."

"The Mongols are barbarians, and as a result, the world has regressed."

"Your Majesty is a Han Chinese, but if you abandon the world for the sake of your own family, it will only lead to a greater regression of the world."

"In my opinion, after more than a thousand years of development, by the Song Dynasty, the old peasant economy had loosened, the economic structure had become more open, the political functions had become more perfect, the financial system had become more rational, and the world was gradually moving in a more reasonable direction."

"It's just that Your Majesty is too attached to his family and places too much importance on his own little piece of land. He then brutally killed the progress and used Your Majesty's unique peasant mentality and unusual conservatism to lead China to an ultra-stable and ultra-inefficient society."

"Then the whole world will completely return to a small peasant society."

"China has also shifted from being outward-looking to being inward-looking."

“From openness to convergence.”

"But I never thought this was a problem for your majesty."

"Because from the beginning to the end, Your Majesty has only been the executor of history, not the creator."

"Even from the current situation, Your Majesty is doomed to fail in the battle against time, and the system Your Majesty created is also doomed to lose its control and restraint. However, in the process of the collapse of the system Your Majesty created, the world has not changed at all. This can only be explained by one reason."

"Something went wrong with the heir to the empire."

"They have been tamed and turned into obedient sheep, losing their own judgment and cognition."

"So, from the imperial court to the common people, no one in the Ming Dynasty had the slightest intention of changing their mind, because there was no room for change."

"The ministers of the Ming Dynasty know the crown prince better than he does himself."

Zhu Biao was stunned.

He stood there blankly.

His eyes were filled with confusion and bewilderment.

The ministers of the Ming Dynasty understand themselves better than themselves?
How can this be?

But when he thought about how he had been going smoothly for the past thirty years, with almost no setbacks and even few troubles from his ministers, he couldn't help but stumble. It's not that there were no troubles, but that the ministers of the Ming Dynasty chose to follow him.

All is well with the whole court.

Isn't that also seeing through yourself?

"It is very difficult to be a 'traitor' in this world. The so-called 'treason' is just to please the 'superior'."

"What the superior likes, the subordinates will follow!"

"How many of the ministers who can enter and leave the court are truly unlearned and incompetent? How many of them are truly without talent? How is it possible that an unlearned and incompetent person can please the 'emperor' with just his eloquence?"

"They just used their own words to express the thoughts of those above them."

Xia Zhibai shook his head.

"The various situations in the Ming Dynasty's court today are actually just a microcosm of your majesty."

“Killing is endless.”

"It's impossible to stop it."

"Just like rivers, a drought or flood is directly reflected by the increase or decrease of water volume, but the root cause is definitely not the river water."

“It’s at the source!!!”

"So your majesty's vain attempt to make the world clean and upright by relying on some systems and some preaching is simply wishful thinking and impossible to achieve. I also advise your majesty not to focus on these useless efforts and do more effective things, which are far more practical than these fancy things."

(End of this chapter)