Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 338 Zhu Biao’s complaint!
The cold wind howled.

The wind blew so hard that there was a whimpering sound outside the temple.

The hall was dead silent, without even the slightest sound.

Zhu Biao's body was trembling slightly, but unlike before, he did not avoid Zhu Yuanzhang's captivating eyes. Instead, he stared into his gaze. Although he was very frightened, he did not retreat.

He doesn't want to retreat.

He actually didn't know where he got the courage from.

Perhaps it is the desire for life, or the strong confidence in one's own political views, or the catharsis of long-term repression.

He just stared at Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes were slightly closed. Although he didn't say a word, he could already feel the thunderous momentum. After a long while, Zhu Yuanzhang sneered and said, "This is what Xia Zhibai taught you again."

Zhu Yuanzhang's voice was cold, but full of strong confidence.

It was as if he had made up his mind.

Zhu Biao's lips trembled, his eyes became more and more evasive, and he even subconsciously wanted to nod, but then he thought of something and shook his head vigorously, his voice already a little tearful, and said: "Father, this is what I really think."

"Father controls me too strictly."

"I can't stand it anymore!"

"I now wake up before dawn every day and follow my father to deal with the mountains of memorials. I know that this is my father's way of cultivating my ability to handle government affairs. But of course, my father has made me read so many books and learn so much knowledge, and I have always kept it in mind."

"There is a good saying from Confucianism."

"Learning without thinking will lead to failure; thinking without learning will lead to peril."

"I don't have time to think every day. I just do everything you ask me to do. When I finish, it's almost midnight. I take a short nap and then go to bed. I'm so tired that I can't even open my eyes. I feel like a puppet, mechanically processing memorials every day. If you ask me why I do this, I can answer you fluently and satisfy you, but this answer is not mine."

"It's yours, Father!"

"You, my father, have been instilling this in me!"

"I don't have my own ideas, and I didn't dare to have them in the past. If I had any ideas, my father would immediately beat me with a stick, and would also teach me all kinds of painful lessons. As a son, I dare not go against my father's wishes, but after so many years, I gradually lost myself."

"I am no longer Zhu Biao."

"Just a puppet."

"Father, I'm afraid you really want to know what Xia Zhibai said to me. In fact, Xia Zhibai didn't say anything to me. He just told me one thing."

"My son is going to die!!!"

Zhu Biao had a grim look on his face and forced a smile that looked extremely sick.

Zhu Yuanzhang, who had a frosty face and eyes full of anger before, suddenly changed his expression when he heard Zhu Biao's last words. His originally sharp eyes suddenly became panic-stricken, and his whole body was in a panic, as if Zhu Biao's words disturbed the emperor's calm mind.

Zhu Yuanzhang said in dismay, "Boss, please don't scare me."

"At my age, I can't stand your scaring. How old are you? Why are you talking about life and death? I don't allow you to say that. I didn't ask you to die, so who would dare to ask you to die? Biao'er, I know if you are not feeling well recently, otherwise why would you come here."

"Aren't you too tired?" "We'll let you rest. You can rest as long as you want. We'll let you rest until you feel better."

Zhu Yuanzhang stretched out his hand and grabbed Zhu Biao forcefully.

His eyes looked a little flustered and uneasy.

Zhu Biao shook his head, tears in the corners of his eyes no longer able to be concealed, he said sadly: "Father, you are too demanding of me. I am trembling with fear every day, fearing that if I don't do something well, I will be scolded by you and cause your dissatisfaction. The psychological pressure on me is too great."

"My head has been hurting more and more recently."

"And I am becoming more and more afraid of my father."

"Since my mother passed away, you have changed. You have become more and more violent, and people are afraid to approach you. I dare not tell you what I think. I don't even dare to stay with you."

"Father, I am becoming more and more unfamiliar with you."

"You, my father, have gotten into your comfort zone now. You don't listen to the ministers' suggestions, and you don't allow them to object. You regard all the ministers' suggestions as a challenge to your authority. You have the final say in the court and act arbitrarily. But after these few years, you should have noticed this."

"The world has not changed as you think, Father."

"The guard system is collapsing."

"My Ming Dynasty's meritorious family is corrupt."

"The officials of the Ming Dynasty are becoming more and more withdrawn and dare not speak out. They can only be submissive and try to please the emperor. The emperor has killed many corrupt officials, but the corruption in the world has not decreased. The emperor has issued many rectification measures, but in the end, the local people are complaining."

"Now the South only has the salt tax, but they dare to make all kinds of plans, and many meritorious sons are involved."

"The south is the main source of tax revenue for the Ming Dynasty, but can the imperial court really control these tax revenue sources? The Ming Dynasty has very little commercial tax, and it has also severely suppressed commerce. Everything has to be produced and sold according to the quotas stipulated by the imperial court. However, with such control, it has become a loophole for local gentry to exploit the people."

"I don't understand."

"Father, you clearly know everything, but you just don't want to change. You always firmly believe that your ideas are correct, and you are only willing to patch up on that basis. It's just like Xia Zhibai said, governing a country requires money."

"During the nearly 100 years of the Yuan Dynasty, natural and man-made disasters continued."

"Shouldn't the Ming Dynasty be on guard? But when Xia Zhibai sent the high-yield potatoes, what did the emperor do? He just regarded them as 'thunder and rain, all are the emperor's grace', and only allowed them to be planted in a small area and not allowed to flow out. But how big is the area that the royal family can see, and how much can the yield be?"

"In order to reduce the burden on the people, my father promoted small government throughout the country. He said that he saw that the government in the Song Dynasty was bloated and did not want the Ming Dynasty to repeat the same mistake."

"Of course I understand."

"But once the government is small, the court officials will have too much to do. The court itself has to deal with political affairs from all over the world. With only a hundred officials in the court, how can they handle it? In the end, they can only pick out some important things to solve. In the long run, won't the Ming Dynasty have more and more problems behind the scenes?"

“Where is the burden reduction in this?”

“And return local governance to local areas.”

"Isn't this condoning the landlords and gentry to control the local area? Father is extremely jealous of the landlords and gentry, so he should be aware of the harm of these people controlling the local area, but Father still does what he wants. Isn't this putting the cart before the horse?"

"The burden has not been reduced, but the burden on the people has become heavier."

"The imperial court can't even handle government affairs right now, so how can it take care of supervision?"

(End of this chapter)