Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 470 The Abstract Central Government of the Yuan Dynasty

After Lu Jin forcibly included "Signs of Ruin," "Five Vermin," and "Eight Traitors" as three chapters of "Han Feizi" into the textbook, he also demanded that the summary of his earlier statement on the equal importance of Confucianism and Legalism be written as annotations and added to the text.

Afterwards, the group discussed which essays to include. Without hesitation, Lu Jin said, "There is a book called 'Guwen Guanzhi' which contains essays and parallel prose by famous writers throughout history. Every piece is a classic. We can select some from this book to include in the textbook."

Upon hearing this, the group exchanged bewildered glances. Zhu Sheng went even further, asking, "Guan Zhi of Ancient Prose? Where did Your Highness come from? I've never heard of this book before!"

"Haven't you heard of it? Maybe I'm mistaken." Lu Jin thought for a moment, and realized that the book "Guwen Guanzhi" was compiled during the Qing Dynasty. He was indeed wrong.

Song Lian also asked, "Does Your Highness still remember the list of articles included in this book?"

"I do remember some of that."

Lu Jin thought for a moment, then immediately rattled off a long list of classical Chinese texts, including: Zheng Bo Ke Duan Yu Yan, Xunzi's Exhortation to Learning, Biography of Qu Yuan, Ten Thoughts on Advising Emperor Taizong, Rhapsody on the Epang Palace, On the Six States, On the Faults of Qin, On Teachers, Reply to Sima Qian's Advice, Rhapsody on the Red Cliff, Memorial on the Expedition, The Doctrine of the Mean, The Great Learning in the Book of Rites, Memorial to the Throne, On the Love of Lotus, Preface to the Pavilion of Prince Teng, Record of Yueyang Tower, Record of the Drunken Pavilion, Memorial on Expelling Foreign Guests, and The Story of the Snake Catcher.
The long list of article titles stunned the group. Song Lian, Zhu Sheng, and others even hurriedly took out their pens to take notes. They hadn't expected Lu Jin's reading volume to be so exaggerated, and many of the articles were ones that even these great scholars had never heard of.

There's really nothing special about it, because these are all classical Chinese texts that are required to be studied in junior and senior high school. If you don't know them, it just means you didn't study hard back then. Even if you can't remember the content, you should at least have heard of the names. That's the value of compulsory education.

However, it was different for Song Lian, Zhu Sheng, and others. They were Confucian scholars at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and they studied either Confucian classics such as the Four Books and Five Classics, or the works of famous figures from more recent times, such as the Three Sus of the Song Dynasty, Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Xiu, Wang Anshi, and Sima Guang.

However, among the articles Lu Jin mentioned, there were many from the Han and Tang dynasties, and even from the Strategies of the Warring States. In ancient times, information was not readily available, and books were scarce and expensive, so it was normal that they had never heard of them. For example, they had never heard of Liu Yuxi's "Inscription of a Humble Abode" or Liu Zongyuan's "The Snake Catcher".

By the way, let me add that the term "Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song" only came into being in the mid-Ming Dynasty. By the late Yuan Dynasty, the term "Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song" didn't even exist, let alone anyone admired the works of these individuals. Even if it did, it was only popular within small circles.

After everyone finished taking notes, Song Lian asked in even greater surprise, "Who wrote this 'Ode to the Epang Palace' that Your Highness mentioned? I've never heard of it before."

“Du Mu of the Tang Dynasty,” Lu Jin immediately said.

Zhu Sheng then asked, "Does Your Highness still remember the contents of this article?"

"Let me think, it should be: 'The six kingdoms were destroyed, the world was unified, Mount Shu was leveled, the Epang Palace arose, covering more than three hundred li, blocking out the sun and sky.' Alas! It was the six kingdoms themselves that destroyed the six kingdoms, not Qin. It was Qin itself that destroyed Qin, not the world."

Lu Jin couldn't remember the whole article, but he could recite just a few passages, which greatly surprised Song Lian and the others. After all, one can know the whole leopard from a single spot.

"Such magnificent writings are something we have never seen before. We are truly ashamed. Your Highness's extensive knowledge is truly admirable. We will definitely search for these articles carefully and study them diligently." Zhu Sheng immediately cupped his hands in admiration.

Lu Jin nodded. "Yes, I don't remember all of these articles, but in general, our predecessors left us a lot of good things. We should especially look for articles from the Han and Tang dynasties, such as Jia Yi's 'On the Faults of Qin' from the Han dynasty, which discusses the successes and failures of the Qin dynasty from unifying the six kingdoms to its demise after only two generations. It is very educational for governing the country."

"If you know of any other articles, please find them, the more the better, and then select some to include in teaching materials."

"We will remember this." The men quickly rose and bowed in response.

From that day on, the newly arrived scholars no longer dared to underestimate King Lu Jin of Chu, nor did they dare to show off their knowledge in front of him.

Damn it, Lu Jin is simply a prodigy. Not only is he good at fighting and governing, but even while majoring in the Gongshu family's teachings, he has read more articles than them. He has crushed the last bit of pride these scholars had. I don't know what kind of environment could produce such a prodigy as Lu Jin. It's terrifying.

Lu Jin: Of course, I'm grateful for the country's education and nurturing.
In the following days, several major events occurred in mid-October.

On October 15th, a battle report came from the Hubei front: the vanguard division of the Fourth Army Group led by Miao Daheng had successfully captured Yiling (Yichang), completing the mission of blocking the Sichuan-Chongqing region. Now, Miao Daheng was leading the main force towards Mianyang, preparing to join forces with Liao Yong'an. Once they arrived, they could cooperate with Chang Yuchun in Jiangxi to capture Changsha in late October.

In the Central Plains, Hua Gao was also leading the Eighth Army towards Wuyang and Xiangcheng, preparing to participate in the mission of encircling Li Chahan, while Bian Yuanheng was preparing to attack Luoyang and Tongguan to block the entrance to Shaanxi.

In the Shandong direction of the northern route, the Yuan court's remaining troops and food were simply insufficient to withstand the attack of the three army groups of the Shengwu Army. With the fall of Dongchang (Liaocheng) to Feng Sheng, five important generals, including Shi Pu, the chief secretary of the Yuan Privy Council, Nasuladin, the military advisor, and his three sons, were killed in battle. Yuan Grand Commandant Yue Kuocha also fled in panic. The last main force of the Yuan court deployed along the Grand Canal was also annihilated.

Subsequently, Zhu Liangzu and Yang Jing dispatched separate forces, which swept across Shandong within half a month.

The Northern Route Army has successfully advanced to the abandoned Yellow River line. Zhu Liangzu, with the Fifth Army Group, is guarding the line alone. The entire area from Damingfu in the west to Laizhou Bay in the Bohai Sea in the east has been taken over by the Fifth Army Group. Zhu Liangzu is personally guarding Dongchang along the Grand Canal.

Yang Jing led the First Army Group to sweep across the Jiaozhou Peninsula, pacifying those cities that had not yet surrendered due to delayed information, striking down the remnants of the Yuan army who had fled and become bandits, and suppressing the Shandong landlord armed forces that refused to submit to rule.

The Sixth Army Group under Liao Yongzhong, now freed up, also received the second phase of the Lu-Jin campaign. Currently, it is advancing from Xinxiang towards Huojia, Xiuwu, Wuzhi, and Hanoi (Qinyang) along the Huaiqing Road, aiming to complete the task of blocking Li Chahan on the Bianliang Road from the north bank of the Yellow River.

Yu Tonghai's Second Army Group, stationed in eastern Zhejiang, has now set off for Xuzhou to fill the last gap in the strategic encirclement.

While the Holy Martial Army in Lu Jin was advancing triumphantly across various regions, expanding its territory, what was the Yuan court's central government in Dadu doing at this time?

A: They're getting into abstract concepts. Hmm, the Yuan court's central government is embroiled in internal strife again.
The previous political struggle stemmed from Hama's desire to oust Tokhtamysh so he could take his place, while Queen Qi also wanted to remove Tokhtamysh because he refused to name her son, Ayushiridara, as crown prince. Thus, the two formed a political alliance and together drove Tokhtamysh out. Logically, now that Tokhtamysh was gone, there should be no reason for them to continue their feud, right? No, the allure of power is intoxicating; once tasted, it only fuels the desire for more.

First, there was Empress Qi. After Hama became prime minister, he indeed fulfilled his promise and persuaded Emperor Yuan Shundi to appoint Empress Qi's son as crown prince. However, after her son became crown prince, Empress Qi was still not satisfied. She suddenly felt that Emperor Yuan Shundi was indulging in women all day long, having a group of monks partying in the palace. In addition, the Red Turban Rebellion in the south was becoming more and more intense. She suddenly felt that if the Yuan Dynasty continued like this, it would be doomed.

But strangely enough, after reaching this conclusion, her first thought was not to persuade Emperor Yuan Shundi to repent and focus on governing the country, but to depose him and make her own son the emperor.
This idea immediately resonated with Hama. Hama had already become the prime minister, second only to the emperor. But since he had already achieved this, why couldn't he go even further? "I've already come this far, why should I still be second only to the emperor?"
Of course, he didn't have the idea of ​​becoming emperor yet, but like Yan Temur and Bayan, he dreamed of being a powerful minister who could arbitrarily depose and install emperors and control the court.

Moreover, in Hama's view, what political knowledge did Queen Ki, a mere Goryeo maid, possess? She supported the young crown prince to the throne; how could he possibly rule in his own right? Wouldn't it be that whatever the prime minister said was law? This was tantamount to using the emperor to command the nobles!

Controlling an obedient young emperor is much easier than fooling Emperor Shun of Yuan, who has been ruling for over a decade. Of course, Ayushiridara is already quite old, having turned fourteen this year.

The two hit it off and formed a political alliance once again. This time, their goal was to overthrow the Little Iron Pot and put the Crown Prince on the throne!

A Goryeo palace maid wanted to emulate Empress Dowager Cixi by ruling from behind the curtain; a powerful minister who had only been in office for a year wanted to emulate Yan Timur by deposing and installing emperors.
Don't think it's outrageous; the late Yuan Dynasty in history was just that abstract.

In the original history, after Hama drove out Toqto'a, he only served as prime minister for two years. The reason was as mentioned above: he conspired with Empress Qi to depose Emperor Shun of Yuan, but was killed by Emperor Shun.
It was previously said that Emperor Yuan Shundi's "Little Iron Pot" was like Emperor Chongzhen at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and that's absolutely true. Ever since Toqto'a stepped down, the "Little Iron Pot" changed prime ministers just like Emperor Chongzhen changed cabinet ministers. They were like toilet paper, used and then thrown away. None of them could hold their positions for long.

Don't let Xiao Tieguo's womanizing ways fool you; he's quite the political strategist. Since he became emperor, his prime ministers have changed like a revolving door, from Bayan, Tuotuo, Hama, Dingzhu, Shuosijian, Taiping, Yesu, Wang Jianu, all the way to Wang Baobao. Many people wanted to harm him, but in the end, none of them could threaten his throne.

This also made Emperor Shun of Yuan the longest-reigning emperor of the Yuan Dynasty besides Kublai Khan, a fact that cannot be denied. Unfortunately, he did not use his abilities to govern the country.

Moreover, in the original history, although the political struggle between Emperor Yuan Shundi and Hama ended in the victory of Emperor Yuan Shundi, and Hama and his younger brother Xuexue were beaten to death by court flogging, the feud between Xiao Tieguo and his son Ayushiridara was formed. One wanted to depose his father and become emperor himself, while the other launched a counterattack and suppressed the rebellious son who wanted to rebel.

The political struggle between the father and son lasted almost the entire late Yuan Dynasty, until the Yuan Dynasty was destroyed—no, until they were driven to the grasslands, the father and son were still fighting amongst themselves.

The warlord conflicts at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the struggle between Li Chahan and Bolot Timur, and the Yisibashi rebellion in Fujian all had the shadows of the imperial faction and the prince's faction involved. Although they were not the main cause of the warlord conflicts, the political struggle between the father and son undoubtedly exacerbated the chaotic situation.

However, internal strife among the Mongol nobles during the Yuan Dynasty was not uncommon. Zhu Yuanzhang said that the Yuan Dynasty perished because of its leniency, which was because these Mongol nobles only cared about internal strife and did not care about the local areas. As long as the local areas paid taxes on time, they were too lazy to care about the rest. They let the locals do whatever they wanted. Even if they collected more taxes, they would turn a blind eye, which led to the emergence of a large number of local powerful figures like Guo Zixing and Zhang Shicheng.

However, to put it another way, the Yuan Dynasty itself was established amidst internal strife among the Mongol nobility. Kublai Khan led Han troops in the struggle for the Great Khan's throne—wasn't that a prime example? This dynasty truly lived and died in constant conflict.
That being said, regardless of the original history, at least the current situation in most cities hasn't reached the point of life and death. Hama and Empress Qi's conspiracy is still in the planning stage. Hama's younger brother, Xuexue, is currently setting up a second line of defense in Dezhou, Shandong, to stop the Holy Martial Army from continuing its northward advance, although it's basically useless.

Hama is currently lacking allies, and his brothers have not yet returned to Dadu, so he has not yet launched a coup.

When Emperor Yuan Shundi (nicknamed "Little Iron Pot") learned that the Shengwu Army had reached Dongchang (Liaocheng) and had also attacked Jiangxi, Huguang, and the Central Plains at the same time this year, he was terrified and wanted to flee.

Although Hama showed him Lu Jin's proclamation, repeatedly explaining that Lu Jin had no plans to launch a northern expedition against Dadu this year, and that his main forces were in the Central Plains and Jiangxi and Huguang, and that Fang Guozhen was still able to supply Dadu with grain by sea, hoping to appease Xiao Tieguo, Xiao Tieguo was still afraid.

Although he was not in a hurry to leave, he ordered Goryeo to build him a temporary palace on Jeju Island, so that he could be ready to sail to Goryeo at any time. Compared to going to the grasslands to eat sand, Emperor Yuan Shundi obviously wanted to go to Goryeo, where he had spent his childhood.

Moreover, he had his reasons for preparing to flee. Although Lu Jin had not yet reached Dadu, when he asked Hama where there were any soldiers to come to Dadu to defend the emperor, and how much military rations were available to support the army, Hama immediately gave him a blank answer.

With no soldiers and no food, they were just a piece of meat in Lu Jin's mouth, to be eaten whenever he wanted. If they didn't run away, were they supposed to stay in Dadu and wait to die?

He had heard that Lu Jin hated the Mongol nobles to the bone, killing them one by one as soon as he captured them. He also heard Lu Jin's two proclamations, vowing to fight the Tartars to the death. There was no way he could possibly win Lu Jin over; thinking about how to escape was far more realistic.
Meanwhile, on October 18th, in Jiankang, Lu Jin also came to Longwan Wharf to bid farewell to Wang Dayuan, Chen Youliang and others, as the Yuanwang was about to set sail for Java.

The route from China to Java is not considered dangerous. It's a route that Chinese maritime merchants have used extensively, having been familiar with it since the Song Dynasty. This route has been used for at least two hundred years.

There were also the crew members that Lu Jin had found, two ship captains who came from the family of Shen Wansan, the richest man in Jiangdong. One of them was named Du Rui, who was 42 years old this year. He had already sailed the Java route six times and was also proficient in stargazing and knew how to use the lookout board.

It is the same astronomical observation tool used by Zheng He during his voyages to the Western Ocean. A hole is drilled in a wooden board, a rope is tied to it to observe the stars, and the direction is calculated by measuring the angle between the celestial body and the sea level. The principle of this thing is similar to that of a sextant.

The other one is named Fan Yun, who is thirty-six years old. He has sailed the Java route five times and can read a compass and memorize nautical charts and navigation charts. Both of them are in their thirties or forties, which is the age when they are shrewd and capable. Moreover, they are the backbone of Shen's maritime trade fleet. However, Lu Jin is the imperial court, the country. With the power of the country, what kind of talent can't be found?

Besides these two, there were also sailors on board. The Yuanwang was a four-masted sailing ship, so there were four sailor squads, each with twelve men. Half of them were experienced sailors selected from Fang Guozhen's fleet, and the other half were young junior officers and meritorious soldiers selected from the Shengwu Army Navy.

In terms of command, Lu Jin appointed Wang Dayuan as an exploratory envoy, with Chen Youliang as his deputy. The captain of the Yuanwang was Zhang Chao, a battalion officer from the 1st Regiment of the Navy who had participated in the Chongming naval battle. There were also 300 students from the Jiangnan Artillery Training Class on board, as well as several officers from the Shengwu Army Navy serving as first mate, second mate, and third mate. The ship also carried dozens of craftsmen and doctors, making it well-prepared.

Watching everyone board the ship in an orderly fashion, Lu Jin then asked Wang Dayuan, "Have you brought all the supplies? Especially the charcoal. When you get to the sea, don't forget to try using that steam boiler to make distilled water and see if you can sprout beans."

“There is plenty of charcoal, Your Highness, please rest assured!” Wang Dayuan replied immediately.

(End of this chapter)