Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 322 The Rise of the Ming Dynasty
"Throw Xu Jie into prison, confiscate his property, and investigate and punish his associates and clan!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's casual remark sent Xu Jie, who was below, plummeting into the deepest abyss, and made Zhang Juzheng and others break out in a cold sweat.

Xu Jie's faction was actually composed of a very complex group of people. Although he was a huge corrupt official, he was no less corrupt than Yan Song.

However, Yan Song's cronies were even more greedy than Yan Song himself. In the TV series "Da Ming Dynasty 1566", Yan Maoqing obtained 530 million taels of salt during his inspection tour. He handed over 330 million taels, and he and Yan Song each received 100 million taels.

But in reality, he pocketed most of it himself.

For example, in 1560, Yan Maoqing reported 130 million taels of silver during a salt inspection, but actually collected more than 200 million taels. He embezzled the difference of more than 70 taels and did not give any of the silver to Yan Song.

When Yan Song's assets were investigated, they found more than 3 taels of gold and more than 200 million taels of silver. Including other land and treasures, the total value was about 426 million taels of silver.

Yan Maoqing's assets, as discovered, exceeded those of Yan Song, totaling 473 million taels of silver, including various types of cash, gold, land deeds, jewelry, antiques, and real estate—a staggering amount even greater than Yan Song's.

The other ministers, such as Zhao Wenhua (Minister of Works), Ouyang Bijin (Minister of Rites), He Ao (Minister of Justice), Xu Lun (Minister of War), and Wang Cai (Vice Minister of Rites), were not to be trifled with.

It can be said that Yan Song had more than 100 central party officials and more than 300 local officials who manipulated him from top to bottom, exploiting him at every level, and forming a huge organization of corrupt officials around him.

Even Yan Song wasn't the one who embezzled the most; he was merely the leader of this faction who was pushed to the forefront. The vast network of influence below was what truly shook the Ming Dynasty, and sometimes even Yan Song couldn't control them.

In comparison, Xu Jie's cronies were slightly more honest.

Or rather, it shouldn't be a faction, but rather a political group that surrounds Xu Jie and unites to confront Yan's faction.

People like Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong, and Zhao Zhenji were all Xu Jie's allies, and they themselves were not corrupt.

Therefore, from an overall perspective, those who are upright and honest are indeed more incorruptible.

But Xu Jie was, after all, the leader of the Qingliu faction. He was not only their ally but also Zhang Juzheng's teacher. It was true that he was a corrupt official, and if he implicated the entire Qingliu group, then things would be troublesome.

Therefore, the group of Qingliu below was still quite nervous.

Fortunately, Zhu De only captured Xu Jie and did not take action against the others, which eased the tension.

Xu Jie turned pale and cried out, "Emperor Taizu, they are all my family members. I had no idea!"

"Since you know they're family, doesn't that mean you already knew? How dare you deny it?"

Zhu roared in fury, "Take him to the imperial prison!"

Zhu Xixiao, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, quickly stepped forward and, together with several Embroidered Uniform Guards, pinned Xu Jie down. Then, ignoring Xu Jie's shouts, they carried him out of the Qianqing Palace.

The room fell silent for a moment.

By this time, Yan Song's faction had been largely purged, and the court was now comprised of either Xu Jie's faction of reformers, Gao Gong and other officials of Prince Yu's faction, or ministers independent of any faction.

Now that Xu Jie, the leader of the Qingliu faction, has been arrested, it remains to be seen whether Emperor Taizu will implicate many people, just as he did when he investigated the Four Great Cases, and use their heads as a sacrifice.

"Your Majesty, Hai Rui has arrived."

Just then, Huang Jin came in from outside, followed by a man in a white prison uniform. Judging from the patched pants he was wearing, the man was impoverished.

Clearly, Huang Jin had already told him what had happened along the way. As soon as Hai Rui entered the room, he glanced at the situation inside, then looked at Old Zhu above, and knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "Your subject Hai Rui greets the Emperor Taizu."

"Be flat!"

"Thank you, Taizu."

"Hai Rui".

"The minister is here."

"You are loyal, upright, and dare to speak frankly and honestly. You should be a model of an honest official."

Zhu said in a deep voice, "I will pardon you for your crime of disobeying the emperor and appoint you as the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate. From now on, I hope you will be conscientious in your duties and investigate and punish those corrupt officials."

Hai Rui kowtowed and said, "Your subject accepts the imperial decree and expresses his gratitude."

Zhu then looked down at his ministers and said, "I was also wrong."

These words drew the attention of all the officials.

He continued, "At the beginning of the founding of the nation, many bad national policies were adopted, which have become chronic problems and harmed many people. I am now clear about the problems of the vassal kings and the garrison system."

As he spoke, Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at the patch on Hai Rui's trousers and said, "Furthermore, officials' salaries are too low, to the point that many honest officials can't even support their families. Some officials who are already greedy for enjoyment are even more unscrupulous in lining their pockets, which is also one of the court's derelictions of duty. Therefore, I want to tell you today, just go for it. No matter what regulations I set in the past, all the 'Imperial Ancestral Instructions of the Ming Dynasty' will be abolished from now on. Those that are beneficial to the present can be retained as appropriate. Those that are not beneficial to the present should be abolished. In this way, we can build a strong army, a strong country, and a prosperous people!"

"His Majesty the Great Ancestor was wise!"

Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng, the two reformists, were overjoyed and immediately kowtowed and knelt down to agree and support the move.

The others also hurriedly knelt down.

With Zhu's words, they could legitimately take action against the princes who owned vast amounts of land and enjoyed wealth and luxury, and also solve the corrupt problems of the military garrisons.

"Alright, I've said everything I needed to say. With this matter settled, I don't wish to linger any longer. The task of strengthening the military and revitalizing the nation has been entrusted to Prince Yu and Zhang Juzheng. If I were to do everything myself, what would be the point of having you all?"

After saying these words, Zhu Yuanzhang casually added, "After a while, I will bring the Jiajing Emperor back to see you. There are priorities and things that should and shouldn't be done. I hope you won't disappoint me then."

"The ministers obey the order."

The crowd below spoke again.

Old Zhu looked at Zhu Zaiji and said, "Jiajing abdicates today. You will hold your own enthronement ceremony later."

Zhu Zaiji hurriedly knelt down and said, "Grandson invites Grandfather to participate in the ceremony."

If Zhu Yuanzhang had participated in the ceremony, he would have been the rightful emperor of the Ming Dynasty. With Zhu's prestige supporting him, it would have been easy for him to take action against those vassal kings.

However, Old Zhu shook his head and said, "It's better to rely on yourself than on others, and it's better to rely on yourself than to ask others for help. I've done enough for you. Don't always think about reaping the benefits without sowing. I've already helped you with some difficult things, and I've said what I needed to say. You all have to work hard on your own."

Having his thoughts exposed, Zhu Zaiji said awkwardly, "Yes, grandson understands."

"Well, let's go."

Zhu Yuanzhang stood up from the dragon throne, went down the steps, glanced at Jiajing, and said, "You will come with me to Hongwu, take good care of your health, and don't worry about things here anymore."

"Yes."

Jiajing was already dejected and obediently followed behind Zhu Yuanzhang.

Old Zhu walked forward with his head held high.

The officials quickly parted to make way, cupped their hands, and said, "Respectfully seeing off the Emperor Taizu."

After leaving the Qianqing Palace, the group boarded the plane.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not intend to stay in Jiajing for long.

He can help with many things.

For example, the Chongzhen Emperor and the Southern Ming Dynasty were no longer about reform, but rather a state of internal chaos, with uprisings, conflicts, and foreign invasions, leaving him with no choice but to resort to force.

However, at least during the Jiajing and Wanli reigns, reforms were implemented to bring about some changes, thus eliminating the need for military action.

However, he could not stay here to help them reform; otherwise, what would be the point of Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng?

So just help them solve some of the most difficult problems.

For example, Xu Jie, as the leader of the Qingliu faction, was the political enemy of Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng, and had a huge power behind him. They were not easy to deal with, so Zhu Yuanzhang helped them deal with them.

Furthermore, the regional princes were difficult to deal with, and the garrison system had long been corrupt, with the only stakeholders being the princes and garrison commanders. Now, with a single word from Zhu Yuanzhang, the problems of the princes and garrison commanders could be largely resolved.

There's no need to worry about the consequences.

The vassal kings are now practically being raised like pigs, with no possibility of rebellion. The garrison commanders are in a similar situation, relying entirely on exploiting their soldiers for pay without actually working, while the garrison soldiers are treated like slaves to their officers.

At the imperial court's command, the garrison soldiers would not follow their officers in rebellion. Even if some were tricked into joining the rebellion, they would not be able to form a fighting force.

Therefore, Zhu's few casual words were essentially like golden words of Emperor Jiajing, carrying immense weight and authority, enough to allow Zhu Zaiji, Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, and others to act freely and boldly.

Jiajing followed him into the Transport 10, looking around curiously. He was then ordered by Zhu Yuanzhang to sit properly and fasten his seatbelt.

The cabin door closed, and the plane took off with a roar.

Through the glass, he could see the people below getting smaller and smaller, and the majestic and enormous Forbidden City palace in Beijing slowly came into Jiajing's view, causing his pupils to shrink as he greedily and enjoyably watched it all.

This weightless feeling, as if he had ascended to immortality, captivated Jiajing, who couldn't help but look up at the distant sky, where soft clouds drifted by—a scene as dreamlike as a fantasy.

"Grand Ancestor, now that things are settled with Jiajing, is the next step to deal with Wanli?"

Zhu Yunfeng asked.

"Ah."

Old Zhu nodded.

"Then how about we bring the Longqing Emperor along?"

"we'll talk about it then."

“I recently saw on an online forum that someone asked you why you haven’t dealt with the Kong family.”

Zhu Yunfeng took out his phone.

The Ming Dynasty during the Hongwu era already had the internet, and with a population of over a million, the internet was exceptionally advanced.

Zhu Biao himself even registered an account and surfed the internet whenever he had free time.

Besides frequently criticizing Zhu Yunfeng, these scoundrels also engage in online political commentary, offering many useful insights that Zhu Biao has learned.

In addition, they recently learned that Zhu Yuanzhang often traveled to other parts of the Ming Dynasty, so all sorts of ingenious ideas came to them.

Some say the Jurchens should be exterminated, others say they are all part of the Chinese nation and it is the corrupt and decadent high-ranking members of the Manchus who should be purged, and still others say the Confucian family has no backbone and should be dealt with. Opinions are divided, and the internet is in complete chaos.

"I forgot about that."

Old Zhu casually remarked, "Using the internet to govern the country is not advisable; a great power should have the composure of a great power. But then again, some deep-seated problems and monsters should be eliminated, otherwise, decades or centuries later, they will become the bloodsucking scum of the dynasty."

"really."

Zhu Yunfeng nodded in agreement.

As they spoke, the plane roared towards Changsha, a distance of over a thousand kilometers that would only take two hours.

The passengers on the plane fell silent, except for the conversation between Zhu Yunfeng and Lao Zhu.

Upon returning to Prince Ji's residence, Old Zhu didn't linger and immediately led everyone away, planning to head straight to the Hongwu Dynasty once they reached the modern era.

To be honest.

Old Zhu is a little embarrassed now.

Because the stone tablet undertakes an important transportation task every day.

He had to report his whereabouts every time he came and went, and the construction of the stone tablet often had to be stopped so that he could make and receive his orders.

The shutdown on this one day resulted in an unknown amount of economic loss.

Therefore, he tried to go and return as quickly as possible, handling matters swiftly and decisively. This was also why he was too lazy to participate in Zhu Zaiji's ascension to the throne.

Upon returning to Hongwu, Jiajing looked at everything before him with even greater astonishment.

Although the Nanjing Imperial Palace of the Hongwu Emperor has largely retained its original appearance, it has undergone changes since then, much like the Forbidden City in Beijing in later years.

All kinds of renovations and modernization work have been completed. There are even tower-like buildings in the palace, from which one can stand and overlook the entire city, exuding the majesty of the Ming Dynasty imperial family.

Old Zhu then led Jiajing to pay respects to Zhu Biao and others.

After the visit, someone arranged for me to go to the hospital.

The Imperial Medical Academy has now been incorporated into the modern medical system. Traditional Chinese medicine is inherently a system of inheritance, and often relies on experience to treat diseases.

Many strange diseases cannot be detected or cured by modern medicine, but some can be treated by traditional Chinese medicine.

While modern Chinese medicine is indeed declining, ancient Chinese medicine has been preserved and passed down.

Furthermore, the traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in the Imperial Medical Academy were among the best in the country. Therefore, incorporating them into the modern medical system and conducting joint research and progress was the best way for medicine to develop.

After Jiajing was sent away, Zhu Biao began to talk to Old Zhu about recent events.

The Ming Dynasty is indeed developing very well now.

The main reason is the flourishing of industry across the country, with the emergence of various factories leading to greater economic prosperity.

Hyundai has offered discounts.

Aside from heavy industry, which was largely taken over by modern forces, light industry was supported by local Ming Dynasty merchants.

In ancient times, commerce had to be suppressed. Although merchants strengthened trade and commerce, which benefited the country and its people to some extent, excessive commercial prosperity led to a large number of people engaging in commerce and handicrafts, which in turn caused agriculture to be neglected.

Therefore, prioritizing agriculture and suppressing commerce was a primary task for all dynasties, including the Song Dynasty, which was famous for its commercial prosperity, although the policy was relatively more lenient than that of other dynasties.

The Ming Dynasty is now undertaking systematic reforms, significantly opening up commerce. However, it has also strengthened oversight to prevent excessive commercialization from causing problems for the people.

The result was that commerce developed in an orderly manner under the control of the Ming Dynasty.

There was no chaos caused by the rampant commercial growth, and there were few cases of collusion between officials and businesses. Market management was also very effective, with strict crackdowns on counterfeit and substandard products and the passing off of inferior goods as superior ones.

Heavy taxes are levied on large merchants, while very light taxes are levied on small vendors, and tax administration is very effective.

Most importantly, the Hongwu Emperor's Ming Dynasty had no enemies in the entire world.

Having no enemies means that merchants can only conduct business within their own country. Even in international trade, the Ming Dynasty can easily crack down on such activities.

Unlike some businessmen in later generations who made money through various illegal activities and then fled abroad, making them difficult to catch.

These favorable conditions have made the Ming Dynasty a fertile ground for commerce, attracting not only local Ming merchants but also many foreign merchants.

Like the camels in the Middle East now, who cooperated with the Ming Dynasty to develop oil, made a fortune, and then invested the money back into the Ming Dynasty.

Many European adventurers, upon learning of the greatness of the East, flocked there to seek their fortune.

The Ming Dynasty imposed very harsh investment conditions on these merchants, and almost all of their profits remained in the country to promote development.

It can be said that it not only maintained the domestic commercial order, but also the international commercial order under the Ming Dynasty's system.

As a result, the people obtained affordable and practical goods, agricultural development was not delayed, and the whole country was positive, prosperous, and on the verge of taking off.

(End of this chapter)