The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 551: The Best Strategy: Killing People and Destroying Their Hearts

Wanli was teaching young Zhu Changxun how to fight against civil officials when an urgent memorial from the Nurgan Regional Command arrived, travelling eight hundred miles.

This memorial was submitted by the Northern King Zhu Changxu, and it was about the plan to encircle and suppress the Jiannu.

The Jiannu were a serious threat in history that led to the demise of the Ming Dynasty and should not be taken lightly.

Wanli had no choice but to stop teaching temporarily and deal with the memorial first.

Seeing that he had finished processing the memorial, little Zhu Changxun actually said with longing, "Father, it should be cool and suitable for weather in Nurgandusi now, right?"

Boy, what are you thinking about? You are thinking about it so excitedly.

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "Yes, Nurgandusi is the extreme north.

The temperature has a lot to do with the direction. Generally speaking, the further north you go, the lower the temperature, and the further south you go, the higher the temperature.

It's a nice cool time in Nurgandusi right now, especially at night, it's very cool."

Oh, I really want to go out and play.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhu Changxun couldn't help but say with envy, "Second brother must be grilling fish and meat every night now. I really want to try it. I haven't had grilled fish and meat in a long time."

Do you want to go to Nurgandusi for fun?

There's nothing I can do. The little guy either wants to eat or play.

This is the nature of children, and it is best not to suppress it deliberately.

He was suppressed too much when he was a child, so he is very rebellious.

Historically, he was so rebellious that he didn't attend court for decades, which was not a good thing.

He also couldn't expect a soul from the future to suddenly appear in little Zhu Changxun's mind.

If little Zhu Changxun also becomes as rebellious as he was before, it would be a big trouble.

Therefore, he basically followed the child's nature and never deliberately suppressed little Zhu Changxun's nature.

He didn't have time to take little Zhu Changxun to Nurgandusi for fun at the moment, but grilling fish and meat was no problem.

Wanli shook his head slightly and said, "Xun'er, we emperors should prioritize state affairs, and personal preferences should be ranked behind state affairs.

We are currently punishing corrupt officials. I don't know how many officials in the court will have to be replaced, and the political situation will definitely be in turmoil.

Therefore, we must stay in the capital and cannot go to Nurgandusi for fun.

If you want to eat grilled fish or meat, you can ask your uncle to grill it for you. Your uncle loves grilling the most. Just ask him to grill it for you in the evening."

It’s okay if there’s nothing to play with but food.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhu Changxun nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay, okay, let uncle grill it tonight. I want to eat grilled grass carp and grilled lamb."

It's all little things.

Let's talk business, don't just think about eating.

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "Where were we just talking about?"

Uh, this.

Little Zhu Changxun thought about it carefully for a while, then suddenly realized: "Father, you just said that we can't kill them indiscriminately. If we do, we will fall into their trap."

Well, that’s good. I didn’t slack off and listened to everything.

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "We really can't just kill them indiscriminately, otherwise we might kill the wrong people.

For example, if we believed Li Dai and thought that the Minister of Rites Lu Kun was also a corrupt official, then shouldn’t he also be arrested and interrogated?

Do you think they just made a false accusation and that's it? There is not much point in making a false accusation. They won't be so bored. There must be a follow-up to this matter.

If we fell into their trap, they would most likely continue to frame us and hide thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of taels of silver in Lu Kun's house.

Think about it, if we continue to punish him according to the law, wouldn't we be killing a loyal and honest person in vain? "

Are these guys so vicious?
Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhu Changxun couldn't help but gasp in surprise, "Will they also try to frame Lu Kun?"

This is very possible.

Wanli nodded slowly, then explained in detail: "You don't know Shen Yiguan yet.

He's an expert at chaining together schemes. Since Li Dai has implicated Lü Kun, he's most likely prepared a backup plan. If we capture Lü Kun, there's a good chance his family will inexplicably end up with thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of taels of silver.

This is just the beginning. If Lu Kun is really executed by us because of the silver, someone will definitely impeach him. The chief minister of the cabinet, Shen Li, is an accomplice of Lu Kun. If Lu Kun is corrupt, Shen Li must have been corrupt as well.

If we catch Shen Li at that time, Shen Li's family will probably have tens of thousands of taels of silver for no apparent reason.

What do you think we should do then? Should we kill Shen Li?

Shen Li is the chief minister of the cabinet. If he is killed, the power structure in the court will undergo major changes. This change will be disadvantageous to us but favorable to them.

If we don't kill, it would be a clear act of favoritism. It would be the same kind of abuse of power, but if we seize a few thousand taels of silver and then kill them, but seize tens of thousands of taels and then not kill them, this would be the utmost injustice.

They will incite the relatives and friends of the corrupt officials who have been beheaded, and even those who have not been caught, to make trouble with us.

By then, there will be chaos in the court. They just want to disrupt the government because only when the court is in chaos will they have a chance to turn things around."

These guys are really scary.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhu Changxun couldn't help but say with a hint of fear: "Father, how should we kill him then?"

This question is not that simple.

Wanli thought about it carefully, then patiently taught: "There are many ways to kill. For example, this time, there are three strategies: the best, the middle and the worst.

The best strategy is to kill them and destroy their hearts. Aren’t they trying to frame Lu Kun for corruption and abuse of power? It would be better for us to find out their crimes of corruption and abuse of power and then execute them.

In this way, they are slapping themselves in the face. Not only will they lose their lives, but they will also lose their face.

Don't underestimate face. What the civil servants in the court value most is face. If they lose their face, they basically have no face to stay in officialdom.

If we make them lose face, other officials will not stand on their side for the sake of face, and no one will form a clique under the guise of the Zhejiang Party in the future.

Therefore, killing someone and destroying their heart is the best policy, and if you can kill someone and destroy their heart, it is best to do so."

Having said this, he paused deliberately.

Because he has said enough, the little guy may not be able to understand it.

Sure enough, after Zhu Changxun carefully comprehended it for a while, he was still somewhat puzzled and asked, "Father, why has no one used the Zhejiang Party as a cover to form a clique for personal gain?"

You don't understand the importance of killing someone.

Wanli thought for a moment, then explained in detail: "People's hearts are very important. You should know what the people's hearts are thinking about, right?
If the Zhejiang Party appears to be prosperous and prestigious on the surface, and can also reap many benefits secretly, then it will win the support of the people.

Which official in the court doesn’t want to have both face and money?
In this situation, it would be of little use if we just executed Shen Yikuan and his gang on charges of false accusation or frame-up.

Because these are common means of fighting for power in official circles, and it is not a shameful thing to use them. There are winners and losers in official struggles, and even if they lose, the Zhejiang Party still has its face.

As long as the Zhejiang Party still has its reputation, some people will continue to use the party's banner to form cliques and pursue personal interests. After all, this banner is still what the people want.

It would be different if we uncovered their crimes of corruption and abuse of power, made them public, and executed them on the charge of being corrupt officials.

In this way, the Zhejiang Party will become a group of corrupt officials in the eyes of the world. Not only are they corrupt officials, they also falsely accuse others of being corrupt officials. They are like clowns.

Think about it, in this situation, if someone uses the Zhejiang Party banner to form a clique for personal gain, what will others think and how will they react?

What will others think and see?
Little Zhu Changxun thought about it carefully, still a little puzzled, "Father, are other people's opinions important?"

You still don’t understand human hearts.

Wanli nodded slightly, then patiently explained: "Other people's opinions are human nature.

If other people think that joining the Zhejiang Party can bring them glory and prestige on the surface, and can also bring them many benefits secretly, then they will definitely want to join the Zhejiang Party.

This is what people want.

If other people see that the Zhejiang Party is just a group of corrupt officials, and that they are like jumping clowns who fail to frame others and are eventually beheaded, would they still want to join the Zhejiang Party?
Even if they want to be corrupt officials, they cannot join the Zhejiang Party, because everyone knows that the Zhejiang Party is a group of corrupt officials. If they join the Zhejiang Party, it is equivalent to telling the world that they are corrupt officials. Isn't this seeking death?
What's more, the Zhejiang Party is a group of corrupt officials who are like jumping clowns. Joining the Zhejiang Party will make you lose all face and be ridiculed by others.

Who wants to be shamelessly ridiculed?

Such a person cannot survive in officialdom. He has lost face and is a joke in the eyes of others.

Therefore, the human heart is very important, and killing people to destroy their hearts is the best policy."

Oh, other people’s opinions are human nature.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhu Changxun slowly nodded and said, "I understand, Father. Then what are the middle and worst strategies?"

(End of this chapter)