Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 119 Are you willing to bear the infamy for eternity for the sake of the people of the world?
After the beginning of winter, the weather becomes colder day by day.

The wind blades were raging everywhere in Jinling City.

Pedestrians changed into thick clothes one after another.

Those who can afford it have already started burning charcoal fires.

Fang Xiaoru was in the house, organizing his collection of books and taking notes.

It didn't take long from the time he was summoned by the Emperor to serve as an official to the time he resigned from his office.

However, he seemed to have experienced the longest journey of his life.

Looking back on the experiences during this period, it seems like a flash in the pan, as if it was all a big dream.

The court gathers the best talents in the world, and the political situation is like a fog and a sea, with unpredictable changes.

When you are in it, you feel that you have the power but nowhere to use it.

I originally thought that with my knowledge and talent, I would be able to look down upon everyone, but I never expected that there are many hidden dragons and crouching tigers in this world, and that there are people who can stand proudly even in the midst of stormy waves.

He couldn't see clearly or understand what was happening in the court.

Only then did Fang Xiaoru realize that he was not cut out to be an official and that court struggles were not his forte.

It is wise to quit early, concentrate on academic research, write books, and interpret the scriptures.

"brush!"

Suddenly, the door was pushed open from the outside and the cold wind whistled in.

A handsome young man in brocade clothes came in and said with a smile, "Your room is really cold."

He closed the door casually.

Fang Xiaoru held two books in his hands and looked at the young man in front of him with suspicion.

"What, are you surprised?"

The young man was none other than the current regent of the Ming Dynasty, Prince of Wu Zhu Yunhu.

"You don't even show respect when you see me?"

Fang Xiaoru bowed and said, "I am Fang Xiaoru, a humble servant, and I am honored to meet His Majesty the King of Wu."

"Forget it!" Zhu Yunheng waved his hand and sat down on the chair in the room rudely.

Fang Xiaoru's expression changed slightly: "I wonder what the King of Wu is here for?"

Zhu Yunxun said with a smile: "I have nothing to do, so I come to your house? Don't you welcome me at all?"

He pointed to the chair next to him and said, "You can sit down too. I have something to say to you."

Fang Xiaoru glanced at the chair, then looked at Zhu Yunhuan, bowed and sat down.

"If Your Highness the King of Wu wants me to work for you, then please don't ask."

"It is true that His Royal Highness the King of Wu has amazing poetic talent, but I cannot agree with your style of doing things and your philosophy of governing the country."

"As the saying goes, 'If you don't share the same ideals, you can't work together.' When Fang does something, he only wants to have a clear conscience."

"I will not casually denigrate His Royal Highness the King of Wu, but I will not flatter him in order to gain wealth and glory."

"If your Highness the King of Wu thinks that I will work for you just because I appreciate your poetic talent, then I'm afraid you are wrong."

"Since I have already resigned from my post, I will never serve as your Highness' disciple again."

Zhu Yunhuan pointed at him and laughed: "Although you have read a few books, with your inflexible temper, even if you want to become an official under me, I will never accept you."

"You are not fit to be an official at all."

His hands dropped.

At this time, a servant came to serve tea.

However, they were not from Fang Xiaoru's house, but servants brought by Zhu Yunhuan himself.

He picked up the teacup and drank the tea slowly.

It’s cold in winter, and a cup of hot tea is just the right thing to keep the chill away.

Fang Xiaoru sat there for a long while, looking at Zhu Yunhuan, and said, "If that's the case, I wonder why the King of Wu came here?"

Zhu Yunhuan smiled, raised his eyebrows slightly, and smiled slightly.

He slowly put down the teacup in his hand and said, "You can't be an official, but you can help me do something."

"However, not only will you not be rewarded for this, but it may also ruin your reputation and make you the target of public criticism."

Fang Xiaoru was stunned, with a trace of suspicion on his face: "Why should I help Your Highness?"

"You have helped me twice, so what's the harm in helping me again?" Zhu Yunhuan joked.

Fang Xiaoru's face was slightly solemn: "Sorry, I can't obey your order."

The first time I helped Zhu Yunhuan was to stand up for the words of the sage.

The second time was when I witnessed his amazing poetic talent with my own eyes and spoke the truth.

If he was asked to help Zhu Yunhuan for no reason, he would be totally unwilling to do so.

What's more, Zhu Yunhuan had clearly said that the incident would ruin his reputation.

"Don't rush to refuse." Zhu Yunxun said, "You can listen to what it is about first, and then it won't be too late to make a decision."

Fang Xiaoru said coldly: "No matter what it is, the King of Wu and I are not on the same side, I will not help Your Highness."

Zhu Yunhuan looked at him with his bright eyes, then turned to look at the guards outside and said, "Clean up the surroundings. No strangers are allowed to approach."

"The conversation between me and Mr. Fang today must not be overheard by any third person."

The square house is different from a royal palace. It has spacious squares, lakes, gardens, etc.

Fang's house is very small, and there is no suitable place to talk outside.

When you talk about things in the house, it is easy for walls to eavesdrop.

Therefore, Zhu Yunhuan first ordered the guards to clean up the surroundings of the hut, and then surrounded it to prevent outsiders from approaching.

To ensure that what you say cannot be overheard by others.

The guard saluted and said, "Please rest assured, Your Highness. I have already cleared the area. Not to mention people, even a mosquito, don't even think of getting close."

Zhu Yunxi nodded.

The look of doubt on Fang Xiaoru's face became even more intense.

What could the King of Wu have done that would require him to keep it so carefully secret?

Or maybe he had some bad idea and was deliberately trying to trick me.

Although this person is young, he is extremely intelligent and must be guarded against.

But as soon as this thought came to his mind, he suddenly remembered that he was now a commoner and had been deeply misunderstood by King Xian. It was difficult to explain it clearly, and he would not be able to do anything for King Xian in the future.

It seemed unnecessary for the King of Wu to come all the way to trap a useless person like him.

"What does Your Highness have to say?" Fang Xiaoru asked.

"I have come to ask Mr. Fang to help me." Zhu Yunhuan said slowly: "This move will also help Mr. Fang himself, so that Mr. Fang can realize his lifelong ambition."

Fang Xiaoru frowned: "I have already said that I will not accept your invitation."

Zhu Yunhuan shook his head: "I have said before that I will not ask Mr. Fang to help me. You are not suitable to be an official."

"But there is one thing that is very suitable for Mr. Fang to do." A person can play different roles in different positions.

Fang Xiaoru was not a good official and his strategies were a complete mess.

However, he had read a lot of books and had a very high reputation among scholars all over the world, so naturally his knowledge would not be useless.

The key is how to use it!
Fang Xiaoru looked at him without saying anything.

Zhu Yunxun said calmly, "I have read Mr. Fang's collection of essays. Mr. Fang believes that the world should be shared by all and advocates the restoration of the well-field system before the Spring and Autumn Period?"

Fang Xiaoru's eyes flickered: "The worst evil in the world is injustice."

“The greatest injustice in the world is land annexation.”

"The rich have fields stretching across the fields, while the poor have no place to live."

"The poor may be forced to sell their land due to illness, disaster, or the need to support the elderly and children, which exhausts their energy."

"The Ming Dynasty has just experienced decades of chaos and countless deaths, but there are still fields to cultivate, so this matter is not serious."

"But it won't take many years, as peace lasts longer and the population grows, and the chronic problems of past dynasties will resurface."

“The poor get poorer, and the rich get richer.”

"In the end, the poor have nothing left and can no longer survive, so they can only rise up in rebellion."

"Just imagine, if Emperor Hongwu still had dozens of acres of good farmland at home, would he have joined the rebel army and established the Ming Dynasty today?"

As soon as his political views were mentioned, Fang Xiaoru immediately started talking.

Zhu Yunhuan laughed out loud.

"You said that Grandpa Huang started a rebellion because he couldn't survive and had nowhere else to go?"

"Didn't Grandpa Emperor risk his life to save the people of the world from disaster, disregarding his own safety and honor, and resisting the tyranny of the former Yuan Dynasty?"

"You are slandering the reputation of His Majesty when you say this."

"I am willing to arrest you and put you in jail immediately, or even chop off your head."

Fang Xiaoru's face changed slightly. He realized that he had spoken out of turn in the heat of the moment and should not have used the current emperor as an example.

Just when I was feeling uneasy, I heard Zhu Yunhuan suddenly change the subject: "But, what you said is also right."

"If he hadn't survived, if Grandpa Huang had a hundred acres of good farmland at home, it would have been enough to support the family."

"Let alone starting a rebellion, even if anyone dared to rebel against the former Yuan Dynasty, he would be the first to stand up and oppose it."

"There are good days to live, who doesn't want to live a peaceful and stable life?"

"Why would I risk my life and death to start an uprising against the Yuan Dynasty?"

"Isn't it because they couldn't survive anymore that they decided to rebel?"

As for the saying that they rose up in rebellion without caring about their own life and death for the sake of the people of the world and to save the millions of poor people living in dire straits, that is of course just nice words to flatter themselves and to build a good reputation for themselves.

In fact, I just can't survive, and there's no way out, so I might as well rebel!

Fang Xiaoru's expression softened a lot.

The King of Wu has admitted it honestly, and there is no third party here, so there will be no problem.

He continued in a resounding voice: "Only if the poor have a livelihood to maintain can the country be stable and the world will not fall into war."

"The only way is to restore the Zhou ritual system and the well-field system."

"Make it so that all land in the world cannot be bought or sold, and both the rich and the poor will have permanent property."

“This is the only way to solve this problem once and for all.”

"The most worrying thing in the world is not the scarcity of things but the injustice."

"If every household had the same land, the world would be a harmonious place."

"The poor people will no longer be without a place to live, and no one will rebel, and the world will be forever peaceful."

This is the beginning of communist thought!
Zhu Yunhuan sighed inwardly.

He was not surprised by this.

The idea of "all under heaven as one family" has a long history in Chinese history.

Although the specific manifestations are different, they are generally not much different.

At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, the peasant uprising led by Li Shun clearly shouted the slogan of "equal treatment of the noble and the humble, and equal treatment of the rich and the poor", which received responses from countless people.

This is enough to show that the people have had such thoughts in their hearts for a long time.

Fang Xiaoru was a staunch supporter of the well-field system, which means, in plain terms, that he supported achieving equality between the rich and the poor to a large extent.

But what’s the point of going through the same path that Wang Mang took again?

Zhu Yunhuan bowed and said, "Sir, you have such great ambitions, which is admirable."

"But, sir, do you think this can really be achieved?"

"Difficult!" Fang Xiaoru replied immediately after he finished speaking.

"But everything in the world depends on human effort."

"Only by implementing the well-field system can we achieve world peace!"

"I have been reading the books of sages since I was young. I have inherited their aspirations and should work for the common people of the world to achieve eternal peace. How can I not do it because of difficulties?"

“Even if I have to devote my entire life to this, and even die in pieces, I will still do this!”

"If I can't do it, there are still future generations!"

Although Fang Xiaoru was pedantic, he was actually extremely intelligent, otherwise he would not have become such a well-educated person.

Since ancient times, "there is no second in martial arts and no first in literature." Not everyone can read enough books to be recognized by all the scholars in the world for his high level of learning and profound knowledge!
Fang Xiaoru was not good at strategy, but when it came to studying, it was no exaggeration to say that he was a talent among millions!

Zhu Yunhuan shook his head and said with a smile: "The well-field system is not feasible, but I have a better way. It can make the poor people in the world have a livelihood and prevent the rich people in the world from annexing the land."

Fang Xiaoru's eyes flashed with brilliance: "Please enlighten me, Your Highness, the King of Wu!"

Zhu Yunhuan stood up suddenly, walked to the window and pushed it open.

There is no sun in winter, and the sky is covered with dark clouds. Although it is not raining, there are gusts of cold wind that attack people like knives and swords.

"What I say here today, once it leaves my mouth and enters your ears, no third person will hear it."

"If you mention this to others in the future, I will never admit it."

"I will only charge you with slandering the prince and punish you severely!"

When Fang Xiaoru heard this, his face became solemn.

The person in front of him is the Regent of the Ming Dynasty, the most powerful person in the world except for His Majesty the Emperor.

Now that His Majesty the Emperor is not taking care of state affairs, he is the number one person in the world!
What can't he say?

Is there anything so serious that even he is unwilling and dare not admit it?
Amidst the doubts, Zhu Yunhuan's voice was heard faintly.

"Fang Xiaoru, you just said that you want to carry on the aspirations of the saints and seek eternal peace for the people of the world, even if it means your death."

"I ask you, are you willing to bear the infamy for the sake of the people of the world for thousands of years?"

……

(End of this chapter)