Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 245: Risk your life! Times make heroes!
"it is good!"

Zhu Yunhuan stood up, walked forward, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "From today on, you belong to me."

"You are a martial artist, and you are very familiar with the actions of bandits, robbers, and others."

"The Ministry of Justice is going to establish a robbery prevention department to oversee the arrest and suppression of robbers throughout the country. I appoint you as a doctor in the robbery prevention department."

"I want you to wipe out all the thieves in the world."

"What kind of gangs, heroes, and outlaws... In the territory of the Ming Dynasty, there are no such powerful people."

“Are you confident that you can eradicate them all?”

Xia uses force to break the ban.

In Zhu Yunhuan's view, civil order should be maintained by the government, not by so-called heroes and knights.

It's not even about the rules of the underworld or brotherhood.

As for the outlaws and bandits, let alone the robbers and robbers, they must not be allowed a place to stay.

The rulers of the Yuan Dynasty did not intervene in grassroots management for a long time, so these people had a fertile soil for survival and development. They were very active in society and greatly influenced the thinking of the common people.

The war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty further exacerbated this situation.

After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, although high pressure was adopted, it was never completely eliminated.

If the Ming Dynasty did not develop commerce and industry, and continued to maintain its previous self-sufficient society and life based on agriculture, these people would not have become much of a problem.

After all, there are local forces suppressing it.

There are very few people who roam around the world, so the impact is not great.

But Zhu Yunhuan wanted to liberalize everything and allow the Ming Dynasty's commerce and industry to take off.

At that time, Ming Dynasty will quickly start the urbanization process.

At the same time, there will also be a large number of migrant population.

If these people are not eradicated soon, and the soil and environment for their production are not eliminated, it will bring extremely serious problems.

We must plan ahead.

The Langzhong of each department was of the fifth rank, the same level as the prefect.

Those who work in the ministry are Beijing officials who hold real power, and their actual status is far above that of the prefect.

He was suddenly promoted from a commoner to a fifth-rank official. What kind of wealth is this?

For a moment, Ji Gang felt his head buzzing and his blood boiling.

Because he was so eager to climb up the ladder, he was very familiar with the official positions in the Ming Dynasty.

He also knew the importance of the Langzhong in the Anti-Theft Division.

Before this, being a county magistrate was something he could only dream of but could never achieve.

Not to mention him, even the "big boss" in the underworld he knew in the past, a big shot who was praised to the sky by countless "thugs" and "heroes", did not dare to speak loudly in front of a county magistrate.

What's more, the doctor of the Anti-Theft Division is in charge of clearing out thieves, outlaws, and gangs across the country...

There is no doubt that this is a "high-ranking official" who can make the whole world tremble with just a stomp of his feet!
From then on, she transformed from a sparrow into a phoenix and truly achieved success.

After following Zhu Gaoxu for so long, although he was arranged to work by his side, he still did not even have a formal "position", let alone an official title.

I didn't expect that today, when I met His Royal Highness the Crown Prince for the first time, he would be entrusted with an important position.

How could Ji Gang not be ecstatic?

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Ji Gang knelt down and said, "I will do my best to eradicate all the thieves in the world and make sure that there are no more gangs in the Ming Dynasty, in order to repay Your Highness for your kindness."

Zhu Yunhuan shook his head and said sternly: "I promoted you to a high position not because I want you to do your best, but because I want you to do it."

"I will allocate troops, weapons, and personnel to you... I will grant you great power and order all local police officers to fully cooperate with you. Anyone who disobeys my orders will be severely punished."

"I'll give you one year. If you fail to wipe out all the gangs and thieves, I'll hold you accountable."

Ji Gang's heart trembled, and he immediately realized that if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wanted to use him, it must be because he wanted him to accomplish something extraordinary.

Why did the court mention itself as a commoner when there were so many other officials there?

It's nothing more than making yourself do things that other officials cannot do!

If you fail to do so, what awaits you may be imprisonment, execution, or even death.

Officials who come from legitimate backgrounds try to avoid this.

But I have a miserable life to begin with, and I would fight for a future even at the risk of my life, so of course I am willing to take this gamble.

Thinking of this, Ji Gang immediately said, "I am willing to sign a military order. If I fail to wipe out all the thieves in the world within one year, I will fail the high expectations of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and I will be punished by being cut into pieces!"

Enough!

Zhu Yunhuan secretly praised him in his heart.

"Okay, I'll remember your words."

"From now on, you are no longer a commoner, and don't call yourself a commoner anymore."

"Go down and make preparations. You will officially take office starting tomorrow."

Ji Gang replied: "Yes, I obey your command!"

He kowtowed again and then retreated respectfully.

……

"Ji Gang is indeed a sharp knife. However, His Royal Highness, you should also be careful not to be hurt by this knife."

After Ji Gang left, Yao Guangxiao reminded him.

It's good to be ambitious and capable.

But if a person has no bottom line, the nature of things will change.

Scholars like Yang Shiqi, although they also pursue fame and fortune, cannot accept selling out their own dignity and moral bottom line.

If Zhu Yunhuan beat and scolded him at every turn and insulted him, Yang Shiqi would rather give up his chance to succeed and build a career than work for Zhu Yunhuan and be loyal to him.

But Ji Gang is different.

Just because Zhu Gaoxu could bring him opportunities for advancement, Ji Gang could endure no matter how Zhu Gaoxu treated him.

No one knows what he really thinks.

At least on the surface, he pretended to be extremely respectful no matter how he was beaten or scolded.

To put it in a positive way, such people can be said to "endure what ordinary people cannot endure."

To put it in a bad way, it is called "having no bottom line."

For a person who has no bottom line and can endure everything in order to climb up, his life goal will definitely not be to be a subject and be loyal to someone all his life.

Instead, I would think that one day I would be able to climb to the highest position.

Therefore, he can endure everything without any bottom line.

In short, such people are born rebellious!
On the contrary, someone who is willing to be a subordinate and serve as a counselor for life will definitely draw a bottom line and choose a "leader" who is good enough for him.

Zhu Yunhuan thought of Ji Gang in history. After being reused by Zhu Di and gaining tremendous power, he gradually became arrogant. He secretly raised assassins, stored tens of thousands of weapons and armors, plotted a rebellion, and was eventually executed by Zhu Di.

I have to say that the old monk has a very sharp eye.

At this moment, he could see Ji Gang's problem at a glance.

But Zhu Yunhuan already knew this, and said with a smile: "Master, don't worry, I know this very well. Since I use this as a sword, I will control it well."

"If one day, it is time to discard it, I will discard it."

Yao Guangxiao clasped his hands together and said, "Amitabha! I hope Your Highness understands."

Yang Shiqi also said: "He is ambitious and ruthless. His Royal Highness uses him as a knife. He is indeed a very suitable person. It would be a pity to only use him to eliminate the bandits. After he finishes this task, he can do more things."

Zhu Yunxi nodded slightly.

This is exactly my plan.

First use Ji Gang to deal with those gangsters and restore the public security of the Ming Dynasty.

Next, he will be used to cleanse the court.

However, this is all later. For now, let's take it one step at a time.

Zhu Yunhuan turned to Yang Shiqi and asked, "Qi Tai said that the number of civilian workers being conscripted now is unprecedented. Is this true?"

This was what Qi Tai said when he scolded him before, but Zhu Yunhuan wrote it down.

Since ancient times, "hearing both sides leads to enlightenment, while listening to only one side leads to confusion."

Sometimes, you have to listen to what your enemies say.

"That's not a big deal, it's true." Yang Shiqi said, "The scale and number of projects being built by the court are unprecedented."

“Building roads, levees, reservoirs, granaries, and new cities… all require countless manpower.”

"The number of migrant workers used is really huge."

"Although what we built was for the people's livelihood and for the common people of the world, it was not to build a palace for extravagance and debauchery, but it should not be excessive."

"Fortunately, food prices are low now, and the burden on the people is not heavy and can still be afforded."

"When the Yuan Dynasty built the Yellow River embankment, it caused a rebellion throughout the country. This was because the people were left with nowhere else to turn."

"The situation in our Great Ming is different now, so Your Highness doesn't need to worry too much."

At this point, his tone changed slightly, and he said, "Such a large-scale construction can only be carried out this year. If it is like this every year in the future, I am afraid that the people of the world will complain. Please remember this, Your Highness."

Zhu Yunhuan frowned slightly.

Since ancient times, compared with taxes, corvee labor has been the heaviest burden on the common people.

Corvée labor means conscripting ordinary people to work for the country for free.

Such as building the Great Wall, building palaces, building levees...

It has existed in every dynasty.

But the Yuan Dynasty was special.

After the Yuan Dynasty entered the Central Plains, it did not fully integrate into the Central Plains society.

To a large extent, they also see themselves as steppe nomads.

The Central Plains was just a conquered land.

The people in the Central Plains were just conquered lower-class slaves.

The rulers of the Yuan Dynasty did not want to deeply manage the people of the Central Plains.

As long as the payment of taxes and tributes could be completed, the Yuan Dynasty rulers did not want to care or ask about anything else.

Based on this, during the Yuan Dynasty, the rule was very loose.

As long as the tax farmers collected the taxes, the Yuan Dynasty rulers did not want to interfere even if there were murder, arson, rape and robbery.

Because of this, the burden on the people of the Yuan Dynasty was very light.

For example, since ancient times, military service has been a very heavy burden on the people.

But there was no military service in the Yuan Dynasty.

People don't trust the Han people at all, and don't need them to serve in the army.

Even corvee labor was very little.

Because the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty did not engage in national construction at all.

The levees and roads were not repaired, and the grassland people never paid much attention to city walls or anything like that.

To put it bluntly, you can do whatever you want; the government won’t intervene.

In comparison, the burden on the people has certainly become much lighter.

But this kind of "lightness" comes at a very high price.

It was not until the Yellow River burst its dike that the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty, after hesitating for a long time whether to rebuild the dike, finally chose to conscript a large number of civilian workers to rebuild the Yellow River dike.

However, the rulers of the Yuan Dynasty had never conscripted such a large number of people to perform labor service before, and they had no organizational experience.

They just drove and whipped the people who were serving to do the work, just like they were driving slaves.

The result was naturally chaos and the people suffered greatly.

In the end, there was the saying "The stone man with one eye stirs up the Yellow River and the whole world rebels."

……

In fact.

There is never a power vacuum.

If the power of the state does not intervene, someone else will.

During the decades when the Yuan Dynasty ignored the people of the Central Plains and did not govern the grassroots, the people were not without care.

Local gentry took advantage of the situation to fill the power vacuum in the country.

For example, if the state does not intervene in matters such as road construction, then the local governments will have to organize their own teams to build the roads, and the role of local gentry will be reflected.

At the same time, they are constantly expanding their power in public affairs time and time again.

They organized the construction of bridges and roads, were responsible for collecting taxes assigned by the court, maintained public order at the grassroots level, and even set up private courts to uphold "justice" for the people and continuously consolidate their own rule.

They have obtained the right to collect taxes, the right to build, the financial power, the judicial power...it is like a "country within a country".

The rulers of the Yuan Dynasty remained indifferent to this.

The impact of this is profound.

The gentry's rule over the countryside gradually became deeply rooted.

"Yuan lost the world because of his leniency." The word leniency here means not caring, not asking, and indulging!

However, after the gentry seized power, they did not relax their oppression of the lower-class people, but instead further intensified it.

It’s just that the people who oppressed them changed from the state to the local gentry.

But the country will still stick to its bottom line, but the gentry have no bottom line.

The Yuan Dynasty also became a golden age for the wealthy and powerful.

The bottom class is suffering.

The gentry were very satisfied with the Yuan Dynasty.

The gentry were not interested in overthrowing the Yuan Dynasty's rule.

The wars that broke out everywhere at the end of the Yuan Dynasty were truly uprisings of the lower classes of people.

Whether it was Han Shantong and Peng Yingyu at the beginning, or Zhang Shicheng, Chen Youliang, and even Zhu Yuanzhang later, they all came from the lower class.

Unlike other dynasties, it was not dominated by powerful people or generals from military groups.

This is extremely unique in the entire history of China.

There are two reasons for this.

First, the Yuan Dynasty's distrust of the Han people meant that the Han gentry had no military power or armed forces, and were unable to take advantage of the opportunity to reap the benefits.

On the other hand, these gentry were very satisfied with the rule of the Yuan Dynasty and were unwilling to overthrow it in their hearts.

Although the Yuan Dynasty was a foreign race, compared with class interests, ethnic conflicts were nothing!
Apart from the Yuan Dynasty, which other dynasty could ignore the grassroots and allow the gentry to rule on their own?

It can be said that the gentry supported and endorsed the Yuan Dynasty from the bottom of their hearts.

It is because of this that Zhu Yuanzhang started with a bowl and achieved the legendary throne of emperor.

A person's success is certainly inseparable from his own efforts, but it is also blessed by the historical process.

The special environment at the end of the Yuan Dynasty gave the lower classes the opportunity to stand out.

If it were another dynasty, it would most likely be the lower classes that ignited the uprising, and the powerful would reap the final fruits of victory!
Similar things have happened countless times in history.

However, although the Yuan Dynasty was overthrown, the influence and rule of the gentry over the grassroots were not eliminated.

……

(End of this chapter)