The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 8 Shunchang Rebellion and Chaos in the Scholars' Quarter

After returning to the Li family's villa.

Li Qi has completely adjusted his mindset. People shouldn't have psychological burdens because of things they can't do; that will only lead to pointless internal friction.

If he can't do it, he'll train his son; if his son can't change it, he'll train his grandson. The Li family will continue indefinitely, and one day a figure like Zhang Juzheng will emerge, who will become regent, seize power, and rule the world!
Today, he tested his skills and, with just a few words, directly brought down a high-ranking official.

Looking back on today's events, there weren't many conspiracies or schemes involved. In fact, it was quite simple: Yang Jing was handling the case in a conventional manner and acting in accordance with the law.

Li Qi, however, gets straight to the point; the law is the embodiment of the will of the ruling class.

In the Hongwu reign, a time of absolute monarchy and imperial supremacy, the law was the will of Zhu Yuanzhang. The Yang Ye Wang case was not a case in itself, and the key issue was not who was right or wrong, but a political one. If Yang Jing had approached it with the mindset of an investigative detective, he would have been doomed.

Does it matter whether the Yang family and Ru Niang have a marriage agreement in this matter?
unimportant!
What matters is how the world views the imperial court and the emperor.

Li Qi seized upon this point and thus killed Yang Jing!

He stopped thinking about these things and first checked Li Fang and Li Mao's studies. Although they were not among the direct descendants of the system, in reality, they were Li Qi's eldest and second sons, so he was very concerned about their education, at least so that they wouldn't hold his own sons back in the future.

Li Qi is a typical strict father figure. As soon as he appears, Li Fang and Li Mao immediately fall silent and naturally dare not not study hard.

After checking Li Fang and Li Mao's homework, Li Qi returned to his study to assess the situation ahead.

Although the events that occurred during today's audience with the Emperor were coincidental, killing Yang Jing was one of Li Qi's original purposes for entering the palace.

The goal has been achieved even more smoothly than expected. Next, we can meet with Yang Jing and investigate who else was behind the downfall of the Duke's mansion.

Of course, the most important thing was the question-and-answer session with Zhu Yuanzhang that followed; that was the real big deal.

Whether driven by a sense of national responsibility or a desire to gain more achievement points, Li Qi constantly strives to accomplish great things and influence the course of history as much as possible.

He hoped to take advantage of Zhu Yuanzhang's growing anxiety about the succession of the Ming Dynasty in his later years to launch a "new Confucian reform movement with Ming characteristics" in the Ming Dynasty.

The beginning of this ideological transformation was to eliminate the bad customs of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, but the real purpose was to eliminate dissidents!

Therefore, Yang Jing will definitely die in the case of Wang Wu and Yang Ye fighting over a wife.

This is a divine sword forged by Li Qi specifically for the old literati; Yang Jing was merely the first person to die by this sword.

Li Qi picked up his brush and wrote several large characters on the snow-white Xuan paper—

"Old customs of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty" and "Scholarly circles".

After Shihlin, he drew a new line, wrote the word "clan," and heavily marked it with an "X" using blood-red ink.

The fact that imperial power did not extend to the countryside, or rather, that central power did not extend to the countryside, was a problem of the feudal era. Clan was an obstacle, and no matter how many fifty or one hundred years had passed, it would always be settled.

Li Qi stared at these words and wrote down eight more characters: "civilian government" and "family transformation," then marked them as important.

"Zhu Yuanzhang is exceptionally intelligent. He will surely realize the importance of the Mongol Yuan customs I mentioned today. After dealing with Yang Jing, he will probably summon me to the palace. Since Yang Jing is about to die, I need to change my approach and increase my chances of success."

Li Qizai carefully recalled what happened in Fengtian Hall today, and after confirming that his performance was without any problems, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely suspicious and capricious, so one had to be very careful with one's words and actions when talking to him.

……

The Li family's villa remained quiet as usual, but the Ministry of Justice's residence was in turmoil.

No sooner had Yang Jing returned to his residence than the Imperial Guards broke down the threshold. With the imperial edict being proclaimed, the courtyard was filled with weeping women, and he collapsed to the ground.

There was no struggle.

I didn't complain about being wronged.

The current emperor is quite decisive in killing people. He has killed a large number of founding heroes without hesitation, so why would he kill himself?

He knew that Li Qi must have said something in the palace.

He somewhat regretted his initial choice.

But he hates himself even more for not eliminating the root of the problem and for hesitating, which led to this great disaster.

He closed his eyes and let the Imperial Guards put shackles on him, while the servants and family members in the mansion were carried away like a flowing stream.

The last rays of the setting sun shone on his face, and he heard the cacophony of women and children crying.

A catastrophe struck in an instant.

Yang Jing suddenly remembered that the same thing had happened to the more than seventy people in the Duke of Han's mansion that day.

He then thought of those who had conspired with him in the past.

In the darkness, a wild beast bared its sharp fangs, while its prey remained oblivious.

Ah……

The winners are honored, the losers perish!

As for commoners like Wang Wu, Ru Niang, and Yang Ye, their fates were already decided without them knowing anything. Wang Wu and Ru Niang naturally shouted that the emperor was wise, while Yang Ye continued to farm in the garrison, without a wife or children, and that was how his life would be.

……

The next day.

Li Qi and Princess Lin'an were summoned to the palace again by imperial decree.

When the carriage passed by the Yang residence, a peek through the curtain revealed that the vermilion gate was already sealed off, its dark and somber atmosphere exuding a sinister aura.

The couple followed the palace attendants into the hall, bowing respectfully, while the head of the household sat in the Fengtian Hall.

Before long, the emperor and the crown prince entered the hall, and Li Qi could feel Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao scrutinizing his gaze.

Both father and son are exceptional individuals. After Li Qi left the palace yesterday, the two talked until very late and finally came to the same conclusion—the time had come to rectify the scholars of the world.

Whether Li Qi can truly shoulder this heavy responsibility depends on the outcome of today's test.

"Li Qi, we have summoned you to the palace today because we have an important matter to instruct you on. You can probably guess what it is."

Li Qi's mind raced, and the four words "Treat the Lord with Sincerity" that he had written flashed through his mind. This must be a test to see if Li Qi was being insincere or sincere.

"Your Majesty, I have presumptuously speculated about Your Majesty, and I am truly guilty."

After Li Qi returned to the capital, he did not regain his title of Imperial Son-in-Law Commandant, which was a first-rank official. However, he still held a minor official rank of the ninth rank, which was still enough for him to refer to himself as a subject.

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Just say it. Lin'an is here watching. Do you think we'd punish you?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's meaning was clear: "You, Li, were suspected of treason before, but I spared you because of Princess Lin'an. What more can I do now?"

Li Qi then respectfully said, "Your subject suspects it involves matters related to the old customs of the Mongol Yuan dynasty."

Zhu Yuanzhang exclaimed with some excitement, "That's right!"
For twenty-four years since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, we have tried so hard to educate the people, but they remain stubborn and unrepentant, with some still committing evil deeds, preventing the good people from living in peace.

Especially among scholars, despite our vigorous promotion of Zhu Xi's philosophy and advocacy for virtuous and capable individuals, they still fall into corruption one after another.

We wield the butcher's knife, yet we can never kill them all. We don't understand why the officials of the Ming Dynasty are so incorrigible and incapable of being reformed.

Until yesterday, your words woke me up from my dream, and I suddenly realized that it was all because the Mongol Yuan dynasty had polluted China too much!

Li Qi, you've done a great job!

My years of killing have been justified!
Although Zhu Yuanzhang didn't say it that way, Li Qi knew that these were the words Zhu Yuanzhang most wanted to say.

Born into the Yuan Dynasty, an era known for its bizarre tolerance of officials, Zhu Yuanzhang harbored an instinctive malice towards them. Coupled with the absence of a mediating prime minister system, the Ming Dynasty was the only dynasty in history where the emperor directly confronted his ministers, making it the era with the most tense relationship between the emperor and his subjects.

There was no mutual trust between the ruler and his ministers; they always regarded each other as enemies.

Zhu Yuanzhang, with his prestige as the founder of the dynasty and his political skills at the pinnacle of human history, naturally treated scholars like pigs and dogs, killing them at will.

But even with his ruthless methods, he could not change the fundamental nature of the scholars. He killed one batch and another came up, and the same thing happened. In fact, it made the scholars more united in their resistance against the Ming imperial power!
No matter how legitimate Zhu Yuanzhang's reasons were for killing those scholars, the fact that politics had deteriorated to the point of internal strife and the country's development had stagnated already proved that Zhu Yuanzhang's methods were wrong.

But Zhu Yuanzhang was wise and infallible, so he naturally wouldn't think he was wrong.

At this moment, Li Qi appeared and gave him an excellent reason.

It's not that Your Majesty is wrong, but that the scholars of today are all old scholars who came from the Mongol Yuan era. Although they have studied Zhu Xi's teachings, they have been influenced by the customs of the Mongol Yuan and are "unclean" people who need to cleanse their souls.

Yang Jing was such a villain!

Li Qi's answer was exactly what Zhu Yuanzhang was thinking.

Therefore, he couldn't wait to summon Li Qi to the palace.

This "exceptionally talented son-in-law who might be useful in the future" has become a "son-in-law who can shoulder great responsibilities and poses no threat to the imperial power"!
From this moment on, Li Qi was no longer a pawn to be discarded at will, but an important piece in the puzzle of the Ming Dynasty's eternal prosperity.

As for whether the current state of the Ming Dynasty is truly due to pollution from the Mongol Yuan Dynasty...

Just like the Wang Wu and Yang Ye dispute over a wife, it's an unimportant truth.

For Zhu Yuanzhang, this was about establishing the legitimacy of his rule.

For Li Qi, this was a war for control of the discourse on Confucianism!
In academic debates, those who follow the trend prosper while those who oppose it perish—that's just how it is!
Although it was called a question-and-answer session before the emperor, it was actually more like Li Qi giving an academic report to Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao in the Fengtian Hall.

Li Qi immediately raised a question that Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao were most interested in: "Why is it that even with a sage emperor in power, the Ming Dynasty could not create a prosperous era like the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing, or the reign of Emperor Zhenguan?"

Li Qi spoke eloquently: "When I was studying the classics of the sages, I also carefully reviewed the teachings of my father, and I discovered that the problem of the Ming Dynasty is that it has a wise ruler but no virtuous ministers."

Since receiving the mandate of heaven, the emperor has hoped to govern the country well with virtuous and capable officials and enable the people to live a good life. However, the civil officials, despite studying the classics of the sages, are still corrupt.

Then look at the generals of the Ming Dynasty. They are all arrogant and domineering, disregarding the laws of the court and even persecuting soldiers at the bottom. The emperor tried his best to teach them and couldn't bear to abandon them, but they still did what they wanted. Even harsh punishments and cruel laws could not change them.

Even some ordinary people didn't understand the Emperor's good intentions and believed the rumors.

In conclusion, the problems of the Ming Dynasty were: 1. The civil officials of the Hongwu era were incompetent; 2. The military officers of the Hongwu era were incompetent; 3. Public opinion in the Hongwu era was controlled by the scholars, while the common people were deceived!

The root of these three reasons lies in the fact that the Mongols ruled for a hundred years, causing severe pollution. People today still have the characteristics of the nomadic people. Solving this problem is not something that can be done overnight; it requires persistent education and correction in order to revitalize the Holy Dynasty and usher in a golden age.

These words struck a chord with Zhu Yuanzhang. Li Qi stayed in the palace for a whole day, only leaving in the evening.

As Li Qi stepped out of the majestic palace gates, he suddenly realized that after traveling for so long, other time travelers might have already shocked Zhu Yuanzhang and saved Zhu Biao time and time again.

And I'm only just getting started.

"but……"

Li Qi looked at the imperial edict in his hand.

"Li Qi is hereby appointed as the Grand Inspector of Customs and Traditions, to thoroughly investigate the files of the Three Departments, and to examine the Hanlin Academy, the Imperial Academy, and the Office of Transmission, to investigate the spread of Mongol and Yuan customs among officials in the court, and to make his presence felt as if he were personally present wherever he goes."

The Commissioner of Customs and Traditions was a temporary official position, a unique feature of the Ming Dynasty. Despite his low rank, he held great power and had free access to the three judicial departments: the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, the Censorate, the Hanlin Academy, the Imperial Academy, and the Ministry of Justice. He was also surrounded by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and censors.

"From this day forward, the Li family has completely escaped its fate of decline. The next step is to fulfill the pledge I made before the Emperor."

What Zhu Yuanzhang wanted was to further consolidate imperial power.

What Li Qi wanted was to gain prestige and a prominent position in the academic community from this investigation.

After realizing that he could not reach the pinnacle of his official career, Li Qi chose the academic path for himself, aiming to become like Confucius, Mencius, Cheng Yi, and Zhu Xi.

The hardest part of this path is the beginning, because the Shihlin community has now formed its own system and will never accept him.

That's why he took the initiative to approach the emperor. Only by relying on Zhu Yuanzhang's extremely powerful imperial authority could he dismantle the current scholar-official class into pieces.

Only then could he establish his own school of thought and unify his own system!
For most time travelers, the term "Shilin" is a highly reactionary one, and the vast majority of people scoff at it, considering it nothing more than a bunch of good-for-nothings who only know how to talk big.

But if that were the case, then emperors and powerful ministers throughout history would not have paid so much attention to the opinions of scholars.

This brings us to something that defies common sense—

In most people's minds, officials in the Ming and Qing dynasties all came from the imperial examination system, and it was very difficult for even a successful candidate to become an official.

But actually?
Officials who were Jinshi graduates were an absolute minority.

Throughout the 276 years of the Ming Dynasty, only 24,000 people passed the imperial examinations in total across the three examinations. During the Hongwu reign alone, only 867 people passed the imperial examinations. And how many civil officials did the Ming Dynasty have?
A more reasonable figure is 24,000 people, all of whom were officials with official ranks, not clerks.

This only includes civil officials, not the much larger number of military officials.

Where did the 23,000 officials, in addition to the 800 successful candidates in the imperial examinations, come from?

There is only one answer: they are all scholars in the literati!
This is not just a simple comparison of numbers; it represents a difference in strength!

One person's curses are nothing, but what about a thousand people, ten thousand people, or a hundred thousand people?
All these people hate you, what will happen to you?

It doesn't matter when you're in power, but what if you lose power? What if you die? What will happen to your family and your descendants?

"A new emperor brings a new court." Whether in ancient or modern times, the moment the leader of a family dies, the entire family's social class will fall uncontrollably.

The Zhang family during Zhang Juzheng's lifetime and the Zhang family after his death were worlds apart.

During the Kangxi era, the Cao family could do whatever they wanted without consequence, but the Yongzheng Emperor immediately confiscated their property. There are far too many examples of this.

This explains why, in ancient times—

Why did the students of the Imperial College have a strong tendency to discuss politics?

Why do all officials care so much about the evaluation of Shihlin?
Why is passing the imperial examination and becoming a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) referred to as "ascending the dragon gate"?
Why were those high-ranking officials in the imperial court so polite and respectful to the newly appointed scholars?

Why do officials often refrain from going to extremes?

Because those in the scholarly circles who might become officials in the future, are already officials, or have served as officials in the past form the backbone of the entire Ming Empire.

They will transform into dragons when they encounter favorable winds and clouds!
The emperor's favor is temporary, but the prestige and power of the literati are eternal!
The Shilin, a behemoth born from the imperial examination system, even frightened the emperor.

Zhu Yuanzhang initially chose to suppress the rebellion, but the final result was that not only did he fail to suppress it, but he also aroused the rebellious mentality of the scholars. By the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu's reign, there were very few scholars in the Ming Dynasty who were loyal to the emperor. Instead, there were many people who regarded the emperor as an enemy.

Zhu Yuanzhang was naturally aware of this matter, but he had no way back and could only let the next emperor "Jianwen".

The sudden emergence of Li Qi gave him new hope. Li Qi was a person who posed no threat to the imperial power, but he possessed the power to disrupt the entire scholarly community.

The once-unbreakable Shilin was first struck down by the heavy blows of imperial power, and then Li Qi penetrated deep into its ranks to sabotage it. The last threat to imperial power was thus eliminated!

What a wonderful new world! The Ming Dynasty will last for thousands of years and prosper for all eternity.

Li Qi stroked the imperial edict in his hand. Zhu Yuanzhang was using him, and he was also using Zhu Yuanzhang.

After all, without the emperor's support, how could he dare to declare war on the bigwigs in the scholar-official class?
Without the emperor's support and without a high position or noble title, how could those scholars who wanted to change their allegiance possibly pledge allegiance to him?

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Since the Mongol invasion of the Central Plains, backward nomadic customs have surged in. In order to defend traditional values, the extremely conservative Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism arose in the late Southern Song Dynasty and occupied a dominant ideological position in the early Ming Dynasty, resulting in a dull academic atmosphere and a stagnant intellectual world, which can be described as "a silence of all voices".

Until the twenty-fourth year of the Hongwu reign (1389), Li Qi emerged like a brilliant sun, bursting forth from nowhere. — *A History of Thought*

(End of this chapter)