Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 56 Uncle, wait for Baoer!
into the night.

Zhu Yuanzhang and his companions rested on the ox cart.

Zhu Yuanzhang opened his eyes wide, looking at the bright moon in the sky, his heart was in turmoil.

He knew that no matter how much he asked, he would not get any practical answers.

the reason is simple.

Because he didn't like to hear it, the people didn't dare to speak.

When the Great Edict was promulgated that year, he wrote that the people were not allowed to discuss the monarch arbitrarily, and if they were found doing so, the people around should report it to the authorities in time.

In this situation, even if the people are dissatisfied, how can they dare to speak out? In the end, after asking around, they can only pick out the good things to say.

Zhu Biao stood respectfully aside, not daring to breathe too much. He could naturally see that his father was not in a good mood.

He also knows why.

I just don't know what to say.

The current situation in the Ming Dynasty court is somewhat similar to what Xia Zhibai said. The emperor is only willing to hear what he wants to hear. As for those things that he doesn't like, he directly orders all officials not to mention them.

Whoever dares to speak will be punished.

Over time, are there any officials in the world who dare to tell the truth?

Even the censors now only dare to impeach for trivial matters, and some of them cannot even be called impeachments, but more like Emperor Kuafu in disguise.

In the original plan, my father was going to ask the farmers for their opinions, and then go to Yingtian Prefecture to listen to the scholars. But now I don’t know whether my father will continue.

He didn't dare to ask.

a long time.

Zhu Yuanzhang retracted his gaze, looked at Zhu Biao, and asked seriously: "Boss, do you think we really did something wrong?"

"Back then, your mother said something about me, Bao'er said something about me, and even my brother-in-law said something about me. They are all my family members, my relatives. If I did nothing wrong, why would they all say something about me?"

"But where did we go wrong?"

Zhu Biao cupped his hands, gave a wry smile, and said respectfully, "Father, I don't know."

"Let us tell you." Zhu Yuanzhang glared.

Zhu Biao pursed his lips and said, "From my perspective, I don't know what my mother and the others are thinking, but I think that my father has good intentions and is really thinking about the people."

"The fixed tax system promulgated by the emperor is, in the eyes of this son, a great thing that benefits the people."

"Under the fixed tax system, there will be no additional tax revenue for further land reclamation. In this way, the amount of arable land in Ming Dynasty will only increase in the future. As the population grows, the tax revenue will not increase accordingly."

"This is undoubtedly a great benefit to the people."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

This was also the original intention of the fixed tax system.

The land tax collected by the court is fixed, and the land and population of the Ming Dynasty will only increase. In this way, the land tax distributed to the people will become less and less, and the people will become richer and richer.

If the court is short of money at that time, it can just collect some extra taxes from the people, which will basically not affect the normal life of the people.

This is also the Ming Dynasty's long-term strategy for maintaining peace among the people.

Zhu Biao added: "Father is very strict in cracking down on official corruption. Whenever the people find an official who is corrupt, they can arrest the corrupt official without any formalities and tie him up and bring him to the capital to be punished."

"This is the reason why the Ming Dynasty has clean and honest governance."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

That was indeed what he thought.

It had only been implemented for a few years, but it had no effect. At least in all these years, he had never seen any people actually tie up officials and bring them to the capital.

In the past, he thought that the government was clean and honest.

but now.

He no longer has that idea.

Even if relevant laws have been issued, officials are officials and people are people. How dare the people really sue the officials?
Zhu Biao glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang stealthily, and seeing that his father was not angry, he continued, "Father's original intention and starting point were all good."

“It just doesn’t work.”

"The situation in the world is not static. Some time ago, Shouzhou Prefecture was hit by a flood, causing many deaths and injuries. The national treasury was empty, and it could only allocate less than 100,000 taels, which would not provide relief for long."

"I asked the Ministry of Revenue if they could allocate more disaster relief funds. The Ministry of Revenue only showed me the amount of money and grain that the Ming Dynasty could collect every year."

"Only over thirty million taels."

"Many things have been planned and arranged. There is no way to transfer more money and grain. If we want to give more silver, we can only collect more miscellaneous taxes from the people."

Zhu Yuanzhang's face darkened and he looked a little displeased.

Zhu Biao lowered his head, pretending not to see it, and continued: "Father is sometimes too impatient. He always wants to arrange all the affairs of the world by himself and leave a peaceful and prosperous world for us and our descendants."

"But the world will not always run according to what Father wants. The Ming Dynasty is now a little rigid and too inflexible."

"Do you also think we are wrong?" Zhu Yuanzhang stared at Zhu Biao coldly, with a hint of annoyance on his face.

Zhu Biao bowed his head and said nothing. Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly and said dissatisfiedly: "I won't say anything more. You just say things I don't like to hear."

There were no words for a moment.

A cold wind blew and it was a bit cold.

Zhu Biao moved towards Zhu Yuanzhang. Although Zhu Yuanzhang looked unhappy, he also leaned towards Zhu Biao and blocked the wind for him.

Zhu Biao leaned on Zhu Yuanzhang's arm and said softly, "Father, I missed Brother Wen Zhong today."

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression froze and he sighed.

Zhu Biao said slowly, "Back then, my father was busy leading troops to fight, and it was my eldest brother who led me. Later, my eldest brother was valued by my father and began to lead troops to fight."

"I was still young at the time, and when I heard local people say that the army was a righteous army, I asked my elder brother, what is a righteous army? I also asked my elder brother, do your soldiers allow looting?"

"My elder brother only replied to me with a few words back then, and I still remember them clearly: Anyone who enters a private residence without permission will be put to death!"

"Brother, you have always adhered to this point since you started leading troops to fight. The reason why our Ming army has become a mighty and powerful army is also due to this."

"The Ming Dynasty loves its people!"

"I didn't understand why my elder brother cared so much about the people before, but he told me later that it was because he also lived that kind of life before he surrendered to our father."

“He’s experienced it!”

Just a few simple words express the endless bitterness and suffering of the lower class.

When Zhu Yuanzhang listened, his face, which was originally full of relief, suddenly froze and turned into frost.

His old, wrinkled face gradually showed a mixture of sadness, sympathy, self-blame and bitterness, all kinds of emotions intertwined together.

Yes.

Why was he able to conquer the world?

Because he had experienced the kind of life where one's future was in danger, where one was displaced, where one was worse than an animal, he had been frightened countless times, cried to the sky countless times, and been on the verge of death countless times.

He has experienced all of this.

So I don’t want my family to experience it again.

But Baoer is different from many people. He always sticks to his conscience.

This is inherited from his father Li Zhen.

Kindness.

Zhu Yuanzhang said softly: "Bao'er has a kind heart."

"Back then, we specifically asked Bao'er to learn how to fight from Chang Yuchun. Chang Yuchun likes to charge into battle and has a fiery personality."

"But he also loves bloodshed."

"We just want to temper Baoer's temper."

"At that time, every time Chang Yuchun fought a battle, he would think of killing prisoners. Baoer tried to persuade him, saying that these people were innocent and had been captured, so they should not be killed."

"But he was eventually taught a lesson by Chang Yuchun."

Speaking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang grinned, as if recalling some past events.

He laughed and said, "At that time, Chang Yuchun told Baoer that it was okay to love the people, but fighting against the Yuan Dynasty was not just about fighting one battle. There would be five, ten, or even a hundred battles to come."

"Of course he killed the prisoners."

"But the sooner the war ends, the fewer people will die."

"I still remember the grievance and helplessness in Baoer's eyes when he came to see me."

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed out loud, but soon his eyes dimmed again, and he said: "But Baoer didn't change in the end. Let's let him lead the troops alone in the future."

"When he saw the pleading and helpless eyes of the people on the road, and the corpses of people who died of hunger and cold on the roadside, he still felt compassion."

"I remember when we attacked Fujian, we had just pacified Jianzhou, Yanzhou, and Tingzhou. Baoer saw that the city was in a state of desolation, so he took the initiative to open the granaries and release the grain."

"He even used his own private property to help the people in the city, and asked his officers to adopt abandoned babies in the city. It is because of this that we were able to pacify Fujian and Jiangnan so quickly."

"Bao'er made great contributions to the establishment of the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Yuanzhang became increasingly depressed and lost. He once asked Baoer what his ambition was. Baoer smiled and replied that he wanted to bring peace to the people of the world.

The world is at peace now.

Where is Baoer?
Zhu Yuanzhang shrank his body, looking lonely and helpless, and also feeling a bit of self-blame and regret.

Neither the father nor the son said anything else.

The atmosphere was somewhat sad.

Just as the father and son were silent, a gust of wind suddenly blew by.

A boy, about 17 or 18 years old, was running like the wind not far from them. Behind him, a child who had just lost his front teeth was shouting in a baby voice, "Uncle, wait for Baoer, wait for Baoer."

Seeing the scene before his eyes, Zhu Yuanzhang looked a little dazed, and the past scenes kept emerging in his mind. He could no longer hold back his tears, which flowed from the corners of his eyes...

(End of this chapter)