Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 411: Killing Thoughts!
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Biao and smiled with satisfaction.

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "I think so too, but I think Xia Zhibai hasn't thought enough."

Zhu Biao frowned: "Not enough? What else is not enough?"

He didn't quite understand what this sentence meant.

Zhu Yuanzhang took the long paper from Zhu Biao, pointed at the names on it, and said, "Do you see the names on it?"

Zhu Biao nodded.

Of course he saw these names.

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "They are all Hanlin Academy scholars, and some are Imperial College students. Xia Zhibai wrote in his memorial that he plans to let the Hanlin Academy and the Imperial College jointly compile, and then organize and print the contents on a chosen day. However, I think it is not enough. I used to think that these people from the Hanlin Academy and the Imperial College were worth using, but recently I feel more and more that many of them are not worthy of the title."

"These people have indeed read a lot of books, and they can quote classics and make sense when they talk about principles, but when it comes to actually doing something, they are all caught in a dilemma or are stretched to their limits. We look down on such people."

"We will follow what Xia Zhibai said and let the people from the Hanlin Academy and the Imperial College write it."

"But later we will have to set up another government office to receive opinions from the public, so that scholars and literati can express their own opinions on the articles written by the Hanlin Academy and the Imperial College. We need not only a downward channel, but also an upward channel."

"We want the people to hear the voice of the court, and we also want ourselves to hear the voice of the people."

"I have actually been worried before. I am worried that the descendants of the Zhu family, who have been staying in the palace for a long time, don't understand the sufferings of the people and don't care about the difficulties of the people. But from this newspaper, I have seen a solution. Since this newspaper can tell the policies of the court to the local areas without the help of local officials, it can also collect and organize the voices of the local areas and present them to us. Without the layers of government in the middle, we can hear a lot of truth."

Zhu Biao was stunned.

Then he felt deeply that his father was wise.

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered, "Not only that, I actually don't like these scholars in my heart. They think they are always right because they have read a lot of books. Moreover, these scholars are very likely to form cliques and collude privately. I am not afraid of them, but I am worried that my descendants will not have the ability to distinguish."

"If we believe everything these scholars say, then we will become a puppet emperor."

"We will never allow it."

"Moreover, the policies of our Ming Dynasty, as proposed by Xia Zhibai, are basically full of problems. But when we first established the country, when these policies were proposed, how many people in the court opposed it? How many people expressed different opinions?"

"So I think Xia Zhibai's idea is good."

"The good thing is that it allows more people to express their opinions. With so many people speaking, the truth will always become clearer. And we have added a layer of insurance, allowing local scholars to submit petitions to the court. Then we can see the pros and cons of these policies more clearly."

"Don't worry about being deceived by these people!"

Zhu Yuanzhang grinned, his eyes full of pride.

Xia Zhibai has good ideas, but he doesn’t think enough and they are not comprehensive enough.

Since we want to open up information channels, we must be thorough. We cannot just focus on going downwards without ignoring going upwards. This does not make sense.

Since we need to cut off local officials' "false transmission" and "false communication" of the court's decrees, we should also reduce their obstruction of the real "public opinion" and "public sentiment" so that the court can have the opportunity to hear the real voices from the grassroots.

Zhu Biao was thoughtful.

Then, Zhu Biao hesitated and said, "I understand your father's idea, but I feel that it is not feasible. First, even if local scholars and literati want to write to the court, it is very difficult to send these letters to the court." "Second, these newspapers can only be distributed in the capital at present, and they are not very supportive if they are a little further away."

"And I am also worried that these letters will be intercepted by someone!"

Zhu Biao's worries were not unfounded.

The local officials relied on the information gap to have absolute power in the local area. How could they be willing to let the local scholars ruin things? Naturally, they would intercept these letters.

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled coldly, as if he had expected it.

As someone who had worked his way up from the local level, Zhu Yuanzhang knew very well what local officials were capable of. Those corrupt officials would resort to any means necessary to keep their positions and would not allow anyone to submit a petition to the court, even if it was just sent to the newspapers of the Hanlin Academy and the Imperial College.

Zhu Yuanzhang put down the newspaper in his hand and said, "Biao'er, do you remember what Xia Zhibai said before he went to the north, besides saying that he wanted to open a salt factory in the north?"

Zhu Biao frowned, thought about it carefully, and his eyes lit up.

"Xia Zhibai also mentioned splitting up the post station."

"Part of it is for official use, and part of it is for civilian use."

"This system has been gradually implemented in the north, and the effect is quite good. Although there are not many people traveling and doing business in the north now, the court still receives a considerable amount of money by collecting this 'road tax'."

"Father, do you want to promote this method to the whole world?"

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head indifferently and said, "This is not my idea, this is clearly Xia Zhibai's idea, otherwise he wouldn't have mentioned it in his memorial. How could I not see through his little trick?"

"The post stations are not managed by local officials, but are managed by the official offices under the Ministry of Revenue."

"Directly managed by the imperial court."

“It does not pass through the local area, nor is it controlled by the local area.”

"In this way, even if someone in the local area writes a letter or something, it will be difficult for the local officials to find out, and they have no power to investigate. This Xia Zhibai is very cunning. On the one hand, he clamors to delegate power to local officials, while on the other hand, he is secretly taking power from local officials and constantly increasing the "control" of the court."

"We all realized his ideas afterward."

Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes, deep fear flashing in his eyes. He actually didn't take many of the things Xia Zhibai mentioned before to heart, nor did he take them seriously, because at first glance, they didn't make much sense. But after two years, Xia Zhibai's various ideas gradually came together.

He even felt that everything was in Xia Zhibai's plan.

Everything is progressing in an orderly manner.

This made Zhu Yuanzhang feel inexplicably frightened and uneasy.

He hated things that were out of his control.

Especially these things, which were controlled by others rather than by himself, made Zhu Yuanzhang feel extremely taboo. He once felt like he was being led by the nose. Before Zhu Biao came, he had actually already had the intention to kill him.

He wants to kill Xia Zhibai!!!

(End of this chapter)