Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 401 There are hundreds of thousands of outstanding people in the Ming Dynasty!

"We feel that it is not enough to just erect a monument for the generals."

"We plan to build several large monuments in Hongdu, Poyang Lake and other places, and engrave the names of all the generals and soldiers who participated in the war on them, so that their achievements can be admired and worshipped by the world forever."

"Han and Tang had only 28 generals and 24 heroes, but we in the Ming Dynasty have hundreds of thousands of heroes!"

"We must tell the world that we will never forget the people who followed us. We will let their names be passed down with our Ming Dynasty, so that the world can always admire their achievements and know how much they have contributed to the world."

"This is an idea I just came up with. Please give us your comments on it. What do you think of it?"

Zhu Yuanzhang lowered his eyes and looked at the officials below.

The whole place was solemn.

Even people like Lan Yu and Chang Mao, who were devoted to the banquet, raised their heads. They didn't care much about those trivial matters, but if the court really planned to erect a monument for the generals, their names would inevitably be on it. Who doesn't want to be remembered and praised by others?
Feng Sheng and Fu Youde were both surprised.

They understand His Majesty.

His Majesty doesn't seem like the type to come up with such an idea. It's even impossible for His Majesty to think of such things. After all, His Majesty was very hesitant when conferring titles and official positions. How could he be so happy to carve a monument and write a biography for these military officers? The two looked at each other and simultaneously turned their gazes to the Crown Prince who was bowing his head and keeping silent.

Only Zhu Biao could have such foresight.

Especially when they thought about the news from the palace some time ago that His Majesty and His Highness had a big conflict and had been in a cold war for a long time, which even made His Majesty furious, this deepened their views.

But regardless of whether it was proposed by His Highness or not, this kind of thing is a good thing for them.

And it's a good thing.

Compared to young generals like Lan Yu and Chang Mao, these old generals have been fighting for decades and have made outstanding contributions. If they really want to erect monuments, these old generals would have not just one but many. Even though they are no longer affected by ordinary rewards, they still feel uneasy when they think about it.

But the two of them are no longer the same as they were before, and they have long learned to keep their composure.

Fu Youde and Feng Sheng looked at each other, and both held back in silence, allowing young people like Lan Yu and Xu Huizu to come forward.

Lan Yu is an impatient person.

Hearing that there was such a good thing, he stood up and clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, are you serious? Your Majesty really wants to erect monuments for us military officers at major battle sites across the country? And also write down our heroic deeds in charging into battle?"

Lan Yu was a little bit unbelievable.

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered and said, "I am the emperor, and I don't joke."

"Can what we say be false?"

"It was not easy to establish the Ming Dynasty. In order to conquer the world, many people died and were injured. These people were brothers who followed us through life and death, and they all fought for us. Now that we have conquered the world, we should erect a monument for these brothers and pass on a book to let the world know about their heroic deeds."

"Those literati have been advocating for years that good men should not join the military."

"We must tell them clearly that only good men of our Ming Dynasty can serve as soldiers, are qualified to serve as soldiers, and are worthy of being soldiers. All the soldiers of our Ming Dynasty are real men who stand tall and proud."

"We must not only tell those civil officials, but also the people of the world that we are not a weak Song Dynasty and we do not value civil officials over military officials."

"Not only should we not emphasize civil officials over military officials, we should also raise the status of military officials again." "Military officials shed blood and sacrificed their lives for our Ming Dynasty. They deserve all the things we do for them. We should not only do this now, but also continue to do so in the future. What we want is for the people of the Ming Dynasty to remember that our Ming Dynasty was not given to us by the Yuan people, but was fought for by us with swords and guns."

"We want you to remember this, too."

"We will not treat unfairly any general who has made contributions to our Ming Dynasty. We will make their names go down in history!"

Lan Yu quickly clasped his fists and said excitedly, "Your Majesty is wise."

Xu Huizu, Chang Mao and others also stood up excitedly and shouted that Your Majesty is wise.

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled slightly, and was also quite proud, but this smile did not last too long, Zhu Yuanzhang's face turned cold, he said: "You are all too happy too early, I will never forget your contributions to our Ming Dynasty, but the people are not blind or deaf, those things you did in private, even if we don't know, how can the people below not know?"

"We would like to see it now, when the monument is really erected in the future."

"How many of our Ming generals will be recognized by the people, and how many will be reviled by the people?"

The hall fell silent for a moment.

The expressions of many generals changed suddenly.

Zhu Yuanzhang saw all these changes, and his eyes grew colder.

He didn't even need to investigate it himself, as these military officers would be exposed. They could deceive him but not the people they bullied. Once the stone tablet was really erected, the people's attitudes towards them, whether good or bad, would be clear to see, and he wouldn't need to investigate at all.

Seeing so many generals avoiding his gaze, Zhu Yuanzhang felt helpless.

In fact, he didn't quite believe that the military discipline of the Ming Dynasty would be weakened so quickly before, but now, he had to believe it. If it was just Lan Yu, it would be fine. After all, he already knew what kind of character Lan Yu was, so it was not surprising at all. But now, even Wang Bi, Zhu Shou and others didn't dare to raise their heads, which meant that there was something wrong with them.

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Not only will we erect a monument, we will also issue an imperial decree throughout the country to call the old soldiers who followed us to fight in the past. We will also let them witness with their own eyes that their names are engraved on the stone monument. It is meaningful for them to follow us."

“We haven’t forgotten them.”

"I won't forget it either."

"We want you to remember that the reason you can sit here today and eat meat and drink wine is because of the hard work of these people. People should not forget their roots, and they should not forget where they came from. Don't think that just because you sit in the court, you are from a different world from these old brothers."

"We in the Ming Dynasty do not favor ungrateful people."

After hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, many generals became even more panicked.

Zhu Yuanzhang simply ignored it.

He said coldly: "Let me be frank. What was the style and reputation of our army before the Ming Dynasty among the people? We hope that it can remain the same in the future. We don't want to be cursed by the people when we return to Hongdu or Poyang Lake in the future."

"Criticize us for allowing our soldiers to plunder and harass the people!"

"No matter what method you use, I will tell you that before the local stone tablet is erected, you must clean up all the bad things you did in private and raise the military discipline. I hope that when I take you there, you can all stand up straight and walk with dignity."

"Remember?!"

(End of this chapter)