Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 301: Ancestral family rules, Lao Zhu’s final plan!

Zhu Yunhuan stared at Old Zhu in a daze, not understanding what he meant.

The smile on Old Zhu's face remained unchanged.

"If you just want to be a peaceful emperor for the rest of your life, then it's very simple, and we don't have to worry so much."

"But since ancient times, it has been easy to maintain the old ways and difficult to change."

"In our original plan, as long as the descendants of the Zhu family follow our method and implement it word for word, there will be no problem."

"If nothing else, it can at least preserve the Ming Dynasty for more than 200 years."

Old Zhu was full of confidence in his words: "We took great pains to compile the Imperial Ming Ancestor Instructions for this reason."

"We have thought about everything we can and should think about."

"I work so hard, and I want my descendants to enjoy the fruits of their labor."

"But you are not a quiet person."

After hearing what Old Zhu said, Zhu Yunhuan's face couldn't help but turn slightly red.

Old Zhu looked at him and said, "I'm not blaming you. You have talent, ability, and skills, and it's normal that you don't want to be just a king who maintains the status quo."

"We, the descendants of the Zhu family, should have such ambitions."

"Grandpa Emperor is proud of you!"

"Our Imperial Ming Ancestor Instructions will only restrict you."

"When you ascend the throne, abolish it."

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Old Zhu in great surprise.

In order to compile "Imperial Ming Ancestor Instructions", Zhu Yuanzhang really put in a lot of effort.

Unexpectedly, at this time, he actually took the initiative to propose to abolish it.

Although many of the things above do not work.

It would restrict Zhu Yunhuan's actions, but he always thought that Zhu would only modify it, not abolish it.

"Grandpa Emperor, this..." Zhu Yunhuan hesitated.

"You are better at governing a country than I am! If we really want to compile the Imperial Ming Ancestor Instructions, it should be you who should do it, not us."

Old Zhu smiled heartily and said, "Under your governance, the Ming Dynasty is developing rapidly and prospering."

"They are right. Your ability to govern a country is far superior to mine."

"We believe you!"

Zhu Yunhuan pursed his lips and said, "Grandpa Emperor, if that's the case, why don't you order it to be abolished?"

If Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to abolish something that was decided by him, he would inevitably face huge resistance.

The ministers would advise him to stop doing this, and people all over the world would think this was "unfilial".

On the contrary, Lao Zhu only needed an imperial edict.

"If you want to be the greatest emperor of all time, you must have the ability and courage to reform the shortcomings of the previous dynasty."

Old Zhu Zhensheng said: "If you don't even have the ability to abolish the "Imperial Ming Ancestor Instructions", then don't even think about redistributing the land in the world and making the whole world a new place."

"Just be honest and be a law-abiding ruler."

"You want to be a promising and pioneering monarch. So, whether you want to reduce the power of the feudal lords or abolish the Imperial Ming Ancestor Instructions, I will not issue an order."

"You have to do it yourself. If anyone stands in your way, you have to eliminate them yourself."

"Not only that, we will not leave a will to let you take the throne."

"You have to rely on your own abilities to secure the throne and eliminate the opponents."

"You are the crown prince, and it is only natural for you to inherit the throne. Besides, you have been in power for a long time."

"If you can't even achieve this, don't even think about bringing about any great changes in the world!"

"This throne is not something you can just sit on."

"It's important to have a name, but it's also important to have substance!"

After a pause, Lao Zhu's tone softened slightly and continued, "When I was a child, my family was poor and I didn't read many books."

"Later, when I led the righteous army to fight, I invited great scholars to give lectures and study."

"In my opinion, among the emperors in history, except for the founding emperors, although their descendants inherited the throne, most of them did not have full power."

"There is no need to say more about the emperors who were held hostage by powerful officials."

"Even ordinary emperors often share power with their subjects."

“So, whenever the court had more and more problems, the emperor knew clearly where the problems were, but he could not change them. He had the will but not the power.”

"In the end, we can only watch the country perish."

At this point, Old Zhu asked with a smile, "Do you know why the power of the emperors after him became less and less?"

Without waiting for his reply, Old Zhu answered himself: "It's because of the four words 'family rules passed down from ancestors'!"

"In order to restrain his descendants, almost every emperor would add new 'family rules' for future generations."

"There will be more and more family rules."

"And these family rules will be used by ministers with ulterior motives."

"It became their 'sharp sword' to persuade and control the emperor."

"As long as the emperor's actions were not to their liking, they would bring out the tablets of their ancestors and put their ancestral family rules in the forefront."

"This is to force the emperor to obey and act according to their ideas."

"It is precisely because of this that the emperors who came after him were restricted in every way and could not act according to their own ideas."

"There are many problems in the imperial court, and one can only sigh helplessly."

Zhu Yunhuan stared at Old Zhu in a daze, unable to believe that these words actually came out of Old Zhu's mouth.

After all, Zhu Yuanzhang himself formulated the "Imperial Ming Ancestor Instructions", which set a lot of rules for his descendants to restrain them.

Since Mr. Zhu has already seen this disadvantage, why does he still do this?
As if knowing what he was thinking, Old Zhu continued, "You must be wondering, since we all know all this, why do we still need to formulate the "Imperial Ming Ancestor Instructions" and set so many rules for future generations to restrain them?"

"Actually, there's nothing we can do."

"If we don't set rules for our descendants, what should we do if they act recklessly?"

"When we are conquering the world, we are naturally willing to gamble, fight and take risks."

"Because at that time, we had nothing. If we gambled and took a chance, if we lost, we would just lose our life, but if we won, we would have everything."

"But it's different now that you're on top of the world."

"Our family already owns the whole world. There is no need to gamble, and we cannot gamble."

"Our family can't afford to lose, and the people of Ming Dynasty can't afford to lose."

"How can this be a trifling task?"

"I would rather my descendants have their hands and feet tied, follow the rules, and be a good ruler who does nothing."

"Even if the Ming Dynasty eventually perished because of this, it could at least last for two or three hundred years."

"There is no dynasty that lasts forever. It is enough for the Zhu family to sit on the throne for hundreds of years."

"If you ignore them, you won't constrain future generations."

"As long as there is an unfilial descendant among them, the entire Ming Dynasty can be destroyed in one fell swoop."

"If this happens, not only will the world be devastated, but my Zhu family may not even be able to maintain its empire for a hundred years."

“The lesser of two evils.”

"Compared to not restraining future generations and not establishing ancestral family rules, and the resulting disasters, it is better for us to be more cautious!"

Zhu Yunhuan was stunned.

He understands this.

In later generations, people kept saying on the Internet that the last thing the rich second generation should do is to start a business.

If he spends his money on wine, women and entertainment, he will not be able to spend it all in his lifetime, let alone ten lifetimes. But if he has great ambitions, wants to start a business, wants to prove that he is better than his father, then he is doomed!

It may only take a year, or a few years, for all the wealth left by your parents to be wiped out, or you may even end up in debt.

Because the success rate of starting a business is too low.

For the Zhu family, the whole world belongs to them.

As long as our descendants behave themselves and do not make trouble or mess around, they can enjoy wealth and prosperity for more than two hundred years. Isn't that great?
As a time traveler, he has always felt sorry for the demise of the Ming Dynasty and the entry of the Qing Dynasty into China!
The emperors of the Ming Dynasty in later generations were trapped by their ancestors' family rules, just as Zhu Yuanzhang said.

The issues of vassal kings and tax systems are all ancestral family rules. They cannot be changed!
Later emperors were helpless and could only watch the Ming Dynasty move step by step towards the abyss of destruction.

Anyone who reads history can't help but feel regretful and hope this can be changed.

But from Lao Zhu's perspective, what he sees is completely different.

Even if we tell Zhu the true history and tell him how the Ming Dynasty would eventually perish, even if Zhu believes it and it is all true, what does it matter?
Change the current rules and give free rein to future generations?
It allows future generations to easily change the laws of their ancestors, so that at critical moments, they can boldly introduce reform measures, eliminate malpractices, and turn the tide...

This can only be said to be an overly beautiful imagination!

The real reality is that if later emperors had not been bound by the ancestral family rules established by Zhu Yuanzhang, the Ming Dynasty might not have survived more than two hundred years before it fell.

Maybe a few decades later, a prodigal emperor or a reckless emperor will emerge and destroy the Ming Dynasty!
Not only did it fail to save the Ming Dynasty, but it led to its early demise.

Historically, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were actually quite powerful.

However, they were indeed severely restricted by the family rules passed down from their ancestors.

As for whether it is good or bad to relax this kind of restraint, that depends on one's own opinion.

The most crucial problem is that Lao Zhu can't afford to gamble and can't afford to lose.

Because even after the constraints were released, nine out of ten emperors were wise rulers who could do more good for the Zhu family and the people of the Ming Dynasty.

But as long as there is a bastard who is not bound by the ancestral family rules and acts arbitrarily, the Ming Dynasty will be destroyed immediately!
For Lao Zhu, what choice to make is self-evident.

Old Zhu smiled calmly, and then said generously: "If one day, the Ming Dynasty has accumulated more and more problems and it is difficult to reverse it, but the descendants are still trapped by the family rules of their ancestors and cannot reform the ills left over from previous generations, then my Ming Dynasty deserves to perish."

"If one of my descendants really produces an extraordinary talent, no matter what kind of ancestral family rules there are, they will not be able to restrain him."

"We don't need to worry about that at all!"

Zhu Yunhuan was stunned again.

indeed.

If the descendants of the Zhu family really have great talents and strategies, how can the ancestral rules be able to trap the real dragon who has already inherited the throne?

This is actually a very simple truth.

No matter how powerful the ancestral rules are, they are still dead.

How could a hero be trapped by a dead thing?
Those who are trapped by the four words "family rules passed down from ancestors" cannot be said to be mediocre, but even if they have some abilities, they will not be too strong.

Even if Zhu Yuanzhang did not write "Huang Ming Zu Xun", later emperors would continue to set rules for their descendants, and this would form "ancestral family rules."

How did these problems come about?

It is accumulated slowly from generation to generation.

There was once a joke about a king who saw a guard standing guard in the garden.

He felt very strange because this place was not a road, not a gate, not an important place, so there was no need to set up a guard post here.

The king asked the guards, including the chief of the royal guards, but no one knew why a sentry post was set up there.

Later, historians looked through royal records and found out that it was because hundreds of years ago, an old king had a whim to play in the garden and ordered his guards to stand guard there, and the king praised him.

Since then, it has become a routine.

The chief of the guards arranged personnel to stand guard here day and night for hundreds of years.

After this matter was spread, it became a matter of laughter and confusion for everyone.

This is a true story.

It also explains well the source of the country's accumulated problems.

Once unreasonable things become a habit, people will get used to their existence and they will continue to exist.

At this time, if anyone finds that this matter is unreasonable and wants to change it, he will be opposed by many people.

Their objection is that it has always been this way, and has always been this way, so why would you change it?
These are decades or even hundreds of years old rules. Why do you think they are not good?
If an interested group benefits from this matter, then it is an iron rule and will never be allowed to change.

Over time, it gradually forms a blockage.

Small problems accumulate and become increasingly serious until they become irreversible.

Finally brought down the huge dynasty!

Only a true leader can break through numerous obstacles and carry out drastic reforms.

But on the other hand, although ancestral family rules may lead to accumulated problems, they also set rules for future generations.

It put constraints on the supreme imperial power and prevented future emperors from acting arbitrarily and causing the country to collapse overnight.

All I can say is that everything has its pros and cons.

Old Zhu looked at Zhu Yunhuan and said, "You can abolish our "Huang Ming Zuxun", but remember, you must compile new ancestral precepts and family rules for future generations to restrain them. Do you understand?"

Zhu Yunhuan cupped his hands and said, "Grandfather Emperor, I will remember this."

Old Zhu nodded and said, "There is another reason why I won't give you the will, and that is that from today on, I will seal myself in the deep palace."

"Announce to the world that I am dead."

"Then, let some people know that I am actually living in the deep palace and you have imprisoned me!"

There was a thunder explosion in Zhu Yunxun's mind.

The smile on Old Zhu's face remained unchanged:

"Now that we are old, it might be a good thing for us to stay in the palace and enjoy our retirement."

"To do extraordinary things, you must take extraordinary measures."

"No matter how gentle and silent the process of what you are going to do is, in the end, it will still wet the millions of landlords and gentry in the world!"

“They will definitely object.”

“Don’t think that if your reforms make everyone live a good life, they will support you.”

“You must know that since ancient times, the noble is based on the humble, and the high is based on the low.”

"You must divide the land and wealth of the world so that the lives of the noble and the humble are almost the same."

"Those landlords and gentry who were once high and mighty will hate you to death."

"They will gather together and oppose you."

"The Ming Dynasty will also be faced with a bloody storm."

"The enemy you are facing is not one or two powerful ministers, nor is it some arrogant general who is proud of his achievements."

"You have to face the millions of wealthy landlords and the overwhelming pressure from the government and the people."

"Their combined power is far more powerful and terrifying than any powerful official."

"When we moved Mencius' tablet, it caused a huge stir. The impact of what you are about to do will be ten thousand times greater than this!"

"The Ming Dynasty cannot take such a big risk. We must keep the Ming Dynasty stable."

"Seal yourself in the deep palace, that's the idea we came up with."

"The old emperor is imprisoned in the deep palace by you. This is the best bait."

"If those people knew, they would definitely try every means to bring back the old emperor."

"I will use my status as the old emperor to regain power and force you to abdicate."

"If you can control everything and suppress them, then that's fine. We can just stay in the deep palace and slowly wait for death. That's fine too."

"If things change and they come to welcome us back to our position, we'll give them a surprise."

"This is the last thing I can do for you!"

……

(End of this chapter)