Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 52: Untying the old shackles, today I know who I am!
The fireworks in the sky had long since burned out, and the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder. In the smoke-filled Donghua Gate, the atmosphere was incomparably solemn.

There is no relief at all.

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyes and glanced at Zhu Biao.

He was very satisfied with his eldest son and firmly believed that Zhu Biao would become a qualified emperor in the future.

But he really didn't dare to believe in the later emperors of the Zhu family. He hated Mencius very much because many of Mencius's views made him feel unhappy.

Among them there is a sentence: The grace of a gentleman will decline after three generations and will be cut off after five generations.

He was very scared to see such a scene.

Therefore, what they have been seeking over the years is the stability of the Ming Dynasty.

He doesn't ask for much.

I just want my descendants to be emperors in peace and contentment.

He never thought about how much contributions his descendants would make for the world, or even how successful they would be. As long as they could honestly guard the foundation they had laid, that was enough.

But Xia Zhibai told him again and again, opposed him, and reminded him that everything he did was just deceiving himself.

It's simply not possible.

He was very angry and extremely annoyed.

However, Xia Zhibai was different from other officials who gave advice. He did not just say it, but used various "reasonable and well-founded" things to verify his words.

Although many things sounded unreasonable, absurd, and even nonsense to him, he had to pay attention to them.

Because this matter concerns the Zhu family's empire.

What will happen to the Ming Dynasty in the future?
Will the world really go as you expect?

Even if the Ming Dynasty can go as he wishes, what about the outside world? Will those foreigners really be so obedient?
He has read a lot of books.

We know that there have been foreign threats in every dynasty.

Never stopped.

What lies before him now is the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

The Northern Yuan Dynasty was still a group of refugees from the Yuan Dynasty who fled north. They had the possibility of counterattacking the Ming Dynasty at any time and never gave up this ambition and idea.

Two years ago, the Ming Dynasty organized the Second Northern Expedition, but it ended in failure.

In addition, there were other vassal states around the Ming Dynasty who were equally ambitious, and Japanese pirates also invaded from time to time.

Can the Ming Dynasty really remain stable by just defending itself and relying on the solutions it came up with?

For the first time, Zhu Yuanzhang began to waver.

Non-my family, its heart must be different!
Xia Zhibai saw that Zhu Yuanzhang was wavering, but he did not try to strike while the iron was hot. Instead, he went back to the ox cart and took out another book.

See this.

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyelids.

He was also quite speechless and annoyed. He was considered a knowledgeable person in the world, but in front of Xia Zhibai, he seemed like an unread person who kept sending him books.

Do you really think he is still that common man?!

Xia Zhibai patted the cannon fodder on the book, handed the book to Zhu Yuanzhang, and said, "Your Majesty can also read this book when you have time."

"Romance of the Three Kingdoms!" Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at the book cover.

Xia Zhibai said: "This book was written by Luo Guanzhong, a student of Shi Naian. Compared with other titles, I prefer to use "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"."

“Farmers all over the world have their own choices.”

"The literati and scholars of the world have their own pursuits, and these pursuits can be summed up in the eight words in this book."

"Dedicate yourself to the end of your life and die!"

“When a person reaches a certain height, he is no longer just a person. The rest of his life is left to these eight words.”

"Through these two books, I think I have clearly expressed the pursuits and visions of farmers and scholars around the world."

"As for the rest, your majesty will decide." Xia Zhibai stood up straight, and then bowed respectfully to Zhu Yuanzhang. However, this bow was very important in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes.

It seemed to carry all the farmers and scholars in the world, as well as the hopes and aspirations of the world, which made him feel a little unbearable for a moment.

"Are you threatening us?" Zhu Yuanzhang took a half step back, his face cold and his eyes extremely cold.

Xia Zhibai shook his head.

He raised his head, his eyes bright as stars, and said, "In the past, Your Majesty always let the subjects of the world make choices, but this time, Xia Zhibai wants to let Your Majesty make a choice on behalf of the subjects of the world."

"What if we don't choose?" Zhu Yuanzhang stared at Xia Zhibai. He hated the feeling of being out of control.

How can a king be bound by the people?
Xia Zhibai smiled and said, "Then your majesty has already made his choice."

Zhu Yuanzhang's face darkened.

Xia Zhibai bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang again and said slowly: "A gentleman should have the changes of dragons and snakes."

“When a snake is formed, it crouches in the grass, waits for the right time to strike, and does not complain when it fails.”

"When he became a dragon, he soared thousands of miles and traveled through the sky. He was proud but not irritable. A gentleman stands in the world and can bend and stretch, doing what he should and not doing what he shouldn't."

"I, Xia Zhibai, understand the truth behind this, so I dare to stand before Your Majesty and say these words."

"Because I don't want to be a reptile lurking in the dark forever. A real man should be born into the world and stand tall and proud, traveling across the nine states."

"If this world is full of corruption and decay, wouldn't it be a waste of time for me to read all these sage books? Then all those books I read would become just a pile of waste paper."

"I have already passed on what I have said to Your Majesty on behalf of the people, and I will also tell Your Majesty in the future. I have read it and pointed it out, so I will not bother Your Majesty anymore."

"The common people resign."

Xia Zhibai bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang, then bowed to Zhu Biao, and then strode out of the palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face turned pale and he stared at Xia Zhibai's departing figure with anger in his eyes. He wanted to order Xia Zhibai to be killed immediately.

Just as he opened his mouth, the book in his hand fell. Zhu Yuanzhang looked down and saw a sentence in it.

He was stunned.

Zhu Yuanzhang stood there in a daze, staring at these words, and then he staggered. Finally, Zhu Biao quickly caught him.

Zhu Yuanzhang ignored Zhu Biao and leaned over to search on the ground, hoping to see those words again, but he couldn't find them.

Zhu Yuanzhang flipped through the book over and over again, but he never read it. He only read the words of Lu Zhishen when he passed away.

But that’s not what he saw.

What he saw were clearly other sentences: "I look at Avalokitesvara and see the self-sufficiency of the Buddha."

"When I see the real martial arts, I see the real me."

"Untie the old shackles of the past."

"Today you know who I am."

He had heard these words before, in Huangjue Temple, on the night he left Huangjue Temple. He remembered it very clearly.

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly raised his head and looked in the direction of leaving Donghuamen, but he could no longer see Xia Zhibai.

"Father?" Zhu Biao asked worriedly.

Zhu Yuanzhang picked up the book on the ground and held it tightly in his hand, but the solemn Sanskrit sound kept echoing in his mind.

It made him feel uneasy.

Zhu Yuanzhang's body was a little hunched. He broke free from Zhu Biao's support, took the two books and a rice seedling given by Xia Zhibai, and walked towards the Taimiao.

The next day.

The Ming Dynasty suspended court.

The palace examination was announced to be postponed.

(End of this chapter)