Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 229: Fierce debate! Lao Zhu's murderous intention!
Shencheng.

The prosperity remains.

As busy as before.

Cities are different from rural areas.

There is no distinction between busy and slack farming seasons.

It is like a huge machine that never gets tired, running day and night.

The construction of Shanghai is still accelerating.

The face of the city changes every day.

Changes with each passing day.

The size of cities is also expanding.

After the autumn harvest, many people who were previously tied up in farm work at home and unable to get away also had time to come to Shanghai to find work.

This added fuel to the already prosperous Shanghai.

Lao Zhu's economic research is still ongoing.

Since receiving the letter from Zhu Sun, he was greatly inspired and added new methods to his research, making it more scientific and his analysis more in-depth and detailed.

"Just like banks collect silver, we should store all the grain in the newly built granaries, thereby reducing the loss of grain caused by rats, insects, ants, moisture and mildew. This measure can reduce the grain loss of the Ming Dynasty by about one-fifth."

"The large amount of grain stored by wealthy households would reduce the actual grain supply after the harvest by one-fifth. Now that the grain is stored in the food agency's warehouse, it can be fully utilized."

"With these two points, there will be no problem with the food supply of the Ming Dynasty from this year to next year, only more and no less."

"What's even more amazing is that the Food Agency divides food into five grades: new food, second-new food, old food, second-old food, and very old food, and different prices are given to different grades of food."

"The grain stored will be depreciated according to the prescribed period. If the depreciation period has not been reached, new grain will be stored and new grain will be taken out."

"This will reassure those who store grain, so they won't put in new grain and take out old grain."

"There are also clear standards for officials in charge of granaries to prevent them from taking advantage of the price difference between new and old grains to make arbitrage."

"Wonderful! Wonderful!"

"And there are these detailed rules one by one..."

Old Zhu carefully read the management regulations issued by the Food Agency and felt that they were extremely detailed and comprehensive, which made him applaud.

"That man named 'Zhu Sun' is truly an extraordinary person with unparalleled talent. He was able to come up with such a brilliant idea."

Now, Old Zhu has communicated with "Zhu Sun" several times.

I increasingly feel that this "pen pal" has extraordinary insights, extensive knowledge, and his remarks are always insightful. He is truly a rare person I have ever seen in my life.

Beside him, Yoshigaki said with a smile: "No matter how powerful he is, he still relies on the inspiration given by Your Majesty to come up with those methods, right?"

"After all, your majesty is wise."

Old Zhu was slightly stunned.

When you think about it carefully, it seems to be true.

Every time I would first raise a question and put forward an opinion, and then the other party would complete the answer, give a thorough argument, and propose a solution.

In this way, it really is oneself who is "leading" the other person.

I am even smarter than him!
Thinking of this, Lao Zhu couldn't help but reach out and touch his beard, feeling very proud.

He waved his hands again and again, and said modestly, "You can't compare us like that. I have been governing the country for so many years, and I know everything about the court. I have also gained experience in governing the country. He is still a small editor. It's not fair to compare him like that! Hahahaha!"

He stood up, put his hands behind his back and took two steps: "We must train him well, give him more experience, and let him think deeper and further, so that he can become a great man in the future."

"After all, we are worried about that useless 'rebel grandson' and want to leave some people for him to use."

Yoshigaki was helping Lao Zhu pack up things in the room.

The service at Shencheng Restaurant is very considerate, and as a rule, waiters come in to clean the rooms every day.

But Lao Zhu and his group are not ordinary people after all, so how could they allow the waiters outside to come in?

As soon as I settled in, I refused directly.

The accompanying guards were clumsy and not very good at serving people, so Eunuch Ji had to do it himself.

"Speaking of which, that 'Zhu Sun' is quite strange. How did His Royal Highness the Crown Prince adopt all the suggestions he made?"

Yoshigaki asked curiously while arranging the things on the table.

"Smart people always have a way." Old Zhu said with a smile: "Our 'rebel grandson' has set up a think tank to consult on political affairs."

"The people in the think tank have no rank or position, and they are not appointed officials in the court."

"They are editors of Science magazine, technical experts from the Manufacturing Bureau, teachers from the Imperial College, and people who study economics at the Ming Bank, etc."

"Let these people write articles on governing the country, compile them into a book, and then submit them to the 'Ni Sun' for reference."

"The specific people are notified on short notice. After receiving the notification, they write and submit within a deadline."

“There are three benefits to doing this.”

"First, we should gather ideas from all sides and learn from the best of all schools of thought. Since they are not officials, their views on government affairs will be different."

"Second, in the past, when court officials wrote memorials to offer suggestions and advice, they often had their own vested interests at stake. On the surface, they spoke in high-sounding terms, but in fact they were hiding secrets in their hearts."

"Officials would even secretly discuss what to include in the memorial and what not to include, and everyone would work together to deceive their superiors and hide the truth from their subordinates."

"Now, if we listen to the advice of these non-official people, we can put an end to this kind of thing."

"Third, if there are any military or national affairs, they will only consult the Grand Secretary and the ministers close to them. Over time, they will control the power of the court."

"After all, they are the ones who actually formulate the country's major policies."

"But it is not feasible for a monarch to govern a country by himself. He must have someone to assist him and provide advice."

"This method of randomly selecting people is indeed very good. It can prevent the Grand Secretary from taking power and undermining the monarch."

"According to Zhu Sun's letter, he is a member of the think tank and has received secret orders many times to write articles to offer advice to the crown prince."

"This is how he presented his political strategies to our 'rebel grandson'."

“Most of them have been adopted.”

Yoshigaki smiled and said, "Your Highness is really smart. He actually came up with such a wonderful idea."

Seeing that the Emperor looked unhappy, he quickly added, "Of course, this is all due to your teaching. Your Highness the Crown Prince inherited your dragon seed, which is why he has such an amazing ability."

Old Zhu snorted coldly but did not refute.

Yoshigaki continued the conversation, saying, "This person's suggestion for writing an article was accepted, so why hasn't he been promoted?"

"Wherever there are people in this world, there will be struggles!"

Old Zhu's expression gradually became serious: "Although our 'rebel's' method is good, but who should write the article should still be chosen by the people below, right?"

"The articles that Zhu Sun wrote to Ni Sun were all written in the name of the editorial department of Science."

"Although these were his own ideas, once they were submitted to the higher-ups, the credit went to the officials in charge of the editorial department, not to him as a small editor."

"The people above gave him some small benefits and then forced him to continue writing."

"Just like that, everything he wrote became someone else's property. 'Ni Sun' didn't even know there was a talent like him, so naturally he wouldn't be promoted or used."

"Now, the editorial department of Science has been changed to the Daming Academy of Sciences, and the original editorial department has become a branch of the Academy of Sciences."

"Because of the expansion, many people in the editorial department have been promoted, but he is still a junior editor."

At this point, Lao Zhu said fiercely: "Corrupt officials are everywhere."

"Some people are greedy for money, some are greedy for fame."

"The officials in their editorial department took what he wrote and claimed it as their own, just because they were greedy for fame and gain."

"When we return to Jinling, we will go directly to the Daming Academy of Sciences and kill all those corrupt officials."

Yoshigaki smiled and said, "This is God's will. He was suppressed by the officials above, but he got to know Your Majesty."

"If he had not been a junior editor, he would have been promoted long ago. He would not have personally read readers' submissions every day and would not have known Your Majesty."

"This is what they call 'a blessing in disguise'."

Old Zhu laughed and said, "You're right when you put it that way."

After the two of them talked for a while, Lao Zhu left the restaurant's guest room and went out for a stroll as usual.

In order to prevent their identities from being exposed and to experience different places, although they had not left Shencheng during this period, they still changed several restaurants where they stayed.

"'The way of the sage is to make the world fair'. Do you think this is really the way of the sage?"

"Of course he did. Mr. Fang Xiaoru was a disciple of the late famous scholar Mr. Song Lian, and one of the most learned people of his time. If the saint hadn't said this, could he have just made it up?"

"But I've only heard scholars talk about 'rulers are rulers, ministers are ministers, fathers are fathers, sons are sons' and 'elders are in order, the noble and the humble are distinguished'. I've never heard of 'the world is one community'. If this is really what the saints said, how could it be like this?" In a tea shop next to the dock, a group of porters who were taking a break were arguing with each other.

"Come on! You are not a scholar. Do you really think that just because you went to school for half a year when you were a child, learned a few 'zhihuzheya' and recognized a few characters, you can be considered a scholar? You haven't even learned all the Four Books and Five Classics, how can you be considered a scholar! Isn't it normal that you have never heard of it?"

"That's true. Although we can recognize a few words and are not blind, we are not well-educated. Otherwise, we wouldn't be working hard here. We should find a learned scholar to ask about this matter."

"What is there to ask? Mr. Fang Xiaoru is such a learned man that even the top scholar would praise him for his knowledge. How could he be worse than a scholar?"

"That's not what you said!"

"Stop arguing, Mr. Jia is here, let's go ask him something."

……

Speaking of which, porters at the dock start working as soon as the ship docks, and after unloading the cargo, they can take a break in the interval.

After all, cargo is not unloaded at the dock all the time.

After unloading the cargo, it often takes time to load new cargo onto the ship.

At this time, the laborers would gather in groups of three or five, in the teahouse nearby or on the roadside, to rest, lie down or sit, chat and brag.

Today, they started arguing about this.

At this time, a man named "Jia Xiucai" came over, and the laborers invited him to come and give a talk to everyone.

Unlike the laborers at the dock, most of whom only knew a few words, Jia Xiucai was a serious scholar.

He entered a private school at a young age and was taught by a teacher. He studied for more than ten years and later passed the examination to become a scholar.

However, after that he took part in several provincial examinations in succession but failed to pass the examination. He became disheartened and went to work as an accountant in a wealthy family.

This family came to the newly developed Shencheng to do business, and Scholar Jia also came with them, still in charge of the accounts.

The laborers still called him "scholar".

Knowledge was very valuable in this era, and the salary of an accountant was very high, 20 to 30 times that of an ordinary laborer.

Mr. Jia sat down at the table and the laborers hurriedly poured him a cup of tea.

Jia Xiucai picked up the teacup, took two sips, moistened his throat, looked around at the laborers around him, and said, "You all let me talk, then I will say a few words."

The scene suddenly became quiet.

After all, among everyone, Jia Xiucai is the most knowledgeable, so of course everyone is willing to listen to him.

Old Zhu was also listening curiously.

"In my opinion, Fang Xiaoru is a liar who deceives the world and steals fame. He even arbitrarily changed the words of the saints, confused people and misled people. He deserves death."

As soon as Mr. Jia opened his mouth, the laborers around him were suddenly in an uproar.

"Where do you start talking about this?"

"Mr. Jia, didn't the saint say that? Did he make it up himself?"

"I read in the Ming Daily that the saint really said that!"

"There was also an article in the Da Ming Daily saying that Fang Xiaoru's interpretation was incorrect."

"Does Jia Xiucai think that his knowledge is higher than Fang Xiaoru's?"

"Didn't you want to hear what Mr. Jia had to say? Why are you dissatisfied now that he has said it?"

"Stop arguing and listen to what Mr. Jia has to say next."

"Yes, let's be clear first. Did the saint ever propose 'the great public of the world'?"

……

The bustling crowd took half a day to quiet down.

Scholar Jia opened his folding fan with a swish, and while waving it, he shook his head and looked very stylish.

When everyone around him stopped arguing, he picked up the teacup again, took another sip of tea, and then said, "You must ask whether the saints ever proposed 'the great public of the world'. Then I tell you, the saints did mention it."

"According to the Book of Rites, Li Yun, when the great way is practiced, the world is for all. The people are chosen with ability, and trustworthiness is emphasized to cultivate harmony. Therefore, people do not love only their own relatives, nor do they love only their own children."

"The old shall have a place to live, the strong shall have a place to work, the young shall have a place to grow, the widows, the orphans, the disabled and the sick shall all be taken care of. Men shall have their share, and women shall have their home. Goods shall not be left lying around, so they shall not be stored for themselves; and strength shall not be used, so they shall not be used for themselves. Therefore, plots shall not arise, thefts and robberies shall not occur. Therefore, the outer doors shall not be closed, and this is called great harmony."

Mr. Jia shook his head and recited chapters from the Book of Rites.

For a scholar, memorizing the Four Books and Five Classics is just the most basic skill.

Although Mr. Jia had decided not to pursue the imperial examination anymore, he was once a genuine scholar after all, so he could naturally recite these classic contents by heart.

The author of "Book of Rites" is actually Dai Cijun of the Western Han Dynasty, who was later revered as "Dai Sheng", so "Book of Rites" is also called "Xiao Dai Rites".

However, since "Book of Rites" can be regarded as one of the Five Classics of Confucianism, its authority is generally recognized by Confucian disciples.

According to legend, the Five Classics were all edited or revised by saints themselves, and later generations merely interpreted them, sorted them out, compiled them and published them.

It can be said that the concepts in the Five Classics are all concepts recognized by sages.

"Pah!" A laborer slapped his thigh and said, "I told you that Mr. Fang, as a great scholar of the time, could not have fabricated the words of the sage. Did you hear me... Did you hear me? The sage did say 'the world is a public good'. Mr. Fang did not lie!"

"Hahaha, if Mr. Fang was really a fraud and tampered with the words of the saints, the scholars in the world would have torn him into pieces long ago. Is there any need for us to discuss this?"

"That's true. If he can give a lecture publicly, then he can't just make it up."

"Don't jump to conclusions. Didn't you hear what Mr. Jia said? Fang Xiaoru disturbed the public and misled the people. Should he be executed?"

……

The crowd became lively again.

Everyone was talking at the same time, saying their own thing and arguing non-stop.

After all, Mr. Jia is a scholar and has quite some self-cultivation.

Whenever the laborers started arguing, he would stop talking, fan himself, shake his head, and drink his tea.

When the sound gradually died down, Jia Xiucai suddenly stood up, put his palm on the table, raised his voice and shouted:
"The sage did say 'the world belongs to all', but this was just the sage's yearning for universal peace. The sage also said many other things, and the sage did not ask him to single out this sentence and interpret it at random."

"Fang Xiaoru actually said that the world is a public society, so all people, regardless of their status, should pay taxes and serve the court. Is there still a distinction between the high and the low?"

"Fang Xiaoru also said that the world is for the public good, so the rich should pay more taxes to the court, and the poor should pay less or even no taxes."

"Fang Xiaoru also said that rich people should take out their money and give most of it to the poor."

Scholar Jia became more and more excited as he spoke, no longer as graceful as before. He suddenly shook his head wildly, shouted loudly, danced with his hands, and said in a stern voice: "Listen, listen to what Fang Xiaoru said, what nonsense is this?"

"Did a saint ever say such a thing? No!"

The surroundings fell silent, and everyone looked at Jia Xiucai in surprise.

It was a bit confusing as to why this scholar, who was usually very gentlemanly and polite, would suddenly get so angry and speak so excitedly.

In his sight, Mr. Jia suddenly stood up on a chair, with one foot on the table, looking down at the people below from above.

At the same time, he put away the fan in his hand, held the fan in one hand, and clapped the palm of the other hand very quickly, looking around and said: "Think about it, why are the poor poor? Why are the rich rich?"

"Of course it's because the rich are kind-hearted, do a lot of good deeds, and accumulate virtue, so they are blessed."

"Poor people are poor because they committed sins and did bad things in their previous life, and they are suffering retribution in this life. That's why they are poor."

"Those who are reborn into a wealthy family must have done good deeds in their previous life."

"So, the rich should enjoy happiness, and the poor should suffer."

"This is what we call 'retribution comes as punishment'."

"If the rich were to give all their silver to the poor, that would be giving all the silver to bad people, to evil people, and that would be called 'sin'!"

There was still total silence and stillness below.

None of the laborers responded.

No one discussed it anymore.

Everyone stared at Mr. Jia who was becoming more and more excited as he spoke.

Scholar Jia stretched out his hand and tugged at the clothes on his chest, patting his chest and saying, "I am just a little scholar, but I know the truth behind this."

He pointed to the horizon and said loudly, "Fang Xiaoru has been following the famous scholar Song Lian since he was young. He is respected as Song Lian's most outstanding disciple. He has been extremely intelligent since he was young and is known as 'rich in learning and talented'. His knowledge is well-known throughout the world. How could he not know such a simple 'truth'?"

"But he chose to change the words of the saints and said some theories that mislead the people, making the poor unwilling to be poor, and the rich worried all day long, afraid that the poor would take their property."

"If this continues, people's hearts will change. What will happen then?"

"Do you think he is trying to deceive people?"

"Should such a person be killed?"

……

(End of this chapter)