Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 334 Complain!

Wuying Palace.

After taking a short nap, Zhu Yuanzhang stretched his body.

Now in his sixties, he feels that time is taking its toll. His body is not as strong as before and he is becoming more and more afraid of the cold.

He covered himself with a blanket, leaned sideways, and looked disdainfully at the documents submitted by the officials. It was already late autumn, and the roads in many places were blocked by heavy snow, so the number of memorials that could be sent to him was much less than usual.

He has been too lazy to take it easy lately.

After reviewing the memorials for a while, Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to notice something unusual. He glanced suspiciously at the empty space below and asked, "Pu Gou'er, where is the prince? It's already so late, why hasn't the prince come yet?"

Pu Gou'er, who was waiting outside the palace, hurried into the palace, knelt on the ground and said, "Your Majesty, the prince has gone to the Imperial Ancestral Temple."

"Ancestral Temple?"

Park Gou'er nodded and said, "That's right. This morning, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince summoned Xia Zhibai. I don't know what they discussed. After Xia Zhibai left, His Royal Highness went directly to the Imperial Ancestral Temple and has been staying there ever since."

"It's Xia Zhibai again." Zhu Yuanzhang frowned, and then asked, "Did the prince say anything?"

Park Gouer shook his head.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned even more tightly.

He hesitated for a moment and said, "Forget it, maybe the prince misses his mother, let him stay there for a while."

"You go down."

When Pu Gou'er left the hall, a cold look suddenly flashed across Zhu Yuanzhang's cloudy eyes.

"Xia Zhibai, what are you doing?"

"I have already turned a blind eye to the clamor for mobilizing the army. Now they have forced our troops to go to the Imperial Ancestral Temple. If anything happens to our troops, our swords will not be tolerated."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly, feeling inexplicably irritated.

He was actually somewhat tempted by what Xia Zhibai said before, but if the country had been settled, a single move would affect the entire body. If not properly controlled, it might very well become a major event that destabilized the entire country. He had no choice but to be extremely cautious. However, he still agreed with Xia Zhibai's views on military affairs.

The Ming Dynasty must have a solid foundation!
The military is the best way.

Compared with the hypocrisy, affectation and greed of literati, he has always preferred the straightforwardness of military men. Therefore, when Xia Zhibai mentioned strengthening control over the army and making the army the last line of defense to protect the Ming Dynasty, he was very supportive and approved.

Moreover, he also felt that his descendants would not be able to defeat the scholars by playing tricks, so he simply gave up playing tricks and directly controlled the military force, killing anyone who could not be defeated or was bullied by the scholars.

Kill any two that show up.

It became quiet all around.

Moreover, the army is relatively easier to control than civilians.

Especially under Xia Zhibai's philosophy, officials sent by the court instilled the idea of ​​loyalty to the emperor, controlled the lifeline of the army through money and food, and also kept the army flowing through recruitment and other means to avoid a collapse of the army and ensure that the army always had a certain level of combat effectiveness.

Even if the people were really living in poverty as at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the worst that could happen was that we would overturn everything, kill all those civil servants and rebuild the country.

This is also a way to continue the Ming Dynasty.

But he also knew it.

It is difficult to achieve all these. At present, we should give priority to solving the thorny issue, which is Nahachu who is entrenched in the northeast. Only by eliminating Nahachu who is entrenched in the northeast can the Ming Dynasty free up enough time and energy to reorganize the army.

And then realize military reform step by step.

He sent Tang He to the south before, in fact, he was also intending to find out the bottom line of the southern garrisons. The situation was not optimistic. Corruption and oppression among military officers were very serious, and the seizure of land was endless. The reason why he asked Zhu Biao to think about it was that he wanted Zhu Biao to try it in the south first.

If it is really feasible, we will promote it nationwide.

By the way, take this opportunity to dampen the arrogance of the South.

He has always been worried about the South because its influence in the world is too great.

It was so big that he was a little afraid.

Zhu Yuanzhang scratched his back with a tickler, but it didn't feel good, so he stuffed the tickler back into his clothes and scratched it hard a few times. Only then did he feel comfortable on his back. At this moment, Pu Gouer's voice sounded again.

"Hanlin scholar Liu Sanwu requests to see you."

"Xuan!"

Liu Sanwu walked into the hall respectfully with small steps, knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I, Liu Sanwu, pay my respects to you."

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said, "Mr. Liu, why are you being so polite to me? Stand up. Why did you want to find me today? Did Xia Zhibai's textbook editing cause public outrage again?"

Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to see through Liu Sanwu's intention at a glance and started to tease him with a smile.

Liu Sanwu's expression froze for a moment, but then he returned to normal, not affected at all. He said seriously, "Your Majesty is very observant. I came here today to impeach Grand Secretary Xia Zhibai."

"This person is too overbearing and arbitrary. He relies on his higher rank to be arrogant."

"If you are just criticizing me, I have nothing to say."

"However, Xia Zhibai is so bold that he openly opposes the strategy set by Your Majesty, intending to use the theories of the Hundred Schools of Thought such as Mohism and Taoism to replace the 'learning of the sages' set by Your Majesty. Such people are confusing right and wrong and are confusing the rules. I am terrified and dare not neglect it in the slightest. I have come to report to Your Majesty immediately."

"This old minister implores Your Majesty to dismiss Xia Zhibai from his position as Grand Secretary."

“Abolish their right to edit books.”

"Listen with a straight face!"

Liu Sanwu spoke with great righteousness.

He looked just and righteous, as if he could never stand up to evil.

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned as he listened to Liu Sanwu's words. His smiling face suddenly darkened. He said in a cold voice, "What did you say? Xia Zhibai is dissatisfied with the 'learning of sages' that we have set? Is this true?"

Liu Sanwu said, "How dare I lie about such an important matter?"

"Everyone in the world knows that the Ming Dynasty was founded on Neo-Confucianism, but Xia Zhibai disagrees and even openly opposes it, saying that Confucianism is no longer practical and the teachings of the sages are even less likely to be a law for all eternity."

"Your Majesty, Xia Zhibai is trying to cause trouble for the ministers."

"I ask Your Majesty to punish him severely!"

"Otherwise, if this trend is allowed to spread, the 'rule of the Three Dynasties' advocated by Your Majesty, and the Confucian 'benevolence and righteousness, the foundation of governing the world', may be completely denied by Xia Zhibai. By then, the world's thoughts will be in chaos, and the Ming Dynasty may be in danger of being overthrown."

"His Majesty."

Liu Sanwu shouted at the top of his lungs, his face full of sorrow.

It seemed that Xia Zhibai's words had shaken the foundation of the country and had become the source of trouble for the world.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face turned completely gloomy.

It was he who determined that the way of the sages was the law for all ages. When he founded the country, he even publicly told the world that he founded the country based on the study of principles.

As an emperor who was well-read, he was well aware of the importance of ideology. Therefore, since the founding of the country, he has been consciously using Confucian theory to tell the people of the world the legitimacy of the daimyo regime he established, and to maintain the stability of the regime.

Confucianism is a tool for him to rule the world.

(End of this chapter)