The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 82 Imperial Conference, Half of the People Are Southerners

From Li Qi's perspective, Zhu Di overdid it.

However, from the perspective of Zhao Juren, the Left Vice Minister of State Affairs, the emperor's anger was much greater than he had imagined, and he was so frightened that he knelt down on the ground.

“Summon all the ministers of the Nine Ministers and other ministries to the palace. This is a matter of great importance that could shake the foundations of the nation, and it should be discussed thoroughly.”

Hong Bao was ordered to leave the palace, and soon officials from various departments came to the palace from their offices. The palace envoy's anxious urging made everyone feel uneasy.

Upon entering the hall and seeing the others, he became even more nervous, as the entourage was indeed quite large.

The ministers currently serving before the emperor were Jian Yi, Minister of Personnel; Xia Yuanji, Minister of Revenue; Li Gang, Minister of Rites; Zheng Ci, Minister of Justice; Liu Jun, Minister of War; Huang Fu, Minister of the Ministry of Justice; Zhao Juren, Left Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review; Chen Ying, Left Censor-in-Chief; and Chen Ying, Chief Justice of the Court of Judicial Review. These were the nine most powerful civil officials in the Ming Dynasty.

Then there were Hanlin Academician Xie Jin, Wuying Hall Grand Secretary Li Qi, and Wenyuan Pavilion Grand Secretaries Yang Rong, Yang Shiqi, and Hu Guang. These six people were the emperor's advisors, among whom Li Qi was the most special.

During the imperial council meetings, the high-ranking and powerful ministers could speak freely, and Xie Jin and Li Qi could also speak at will, but the three Grand Secretaries of the Wenyuan Pavilion could only listen in.

Zhu Di took in everyone's presence and couldn't help but frown.

The Imperial Conference consisted of fifteen people. Apart from Huang Fu, the Minister of Works, and Chen Ying, the Minister of Justice, the remaining thirteen were all from the south, which would inevitably become an obstacle to the relocation of the capital.

Zhu Di snapped out of his reverie and pointed at Xie Jin, saying, "Xie Jin, this matter was discovered by your Hanlin Academy, so you should tell the other officials what happened."

Everyone turned their attention to Xie Jin. As soon as they entered the hall, they noticed that the emperor was clearly angry and felt uneasy.

Xie Jin addressed the crowd and said in a loud voice: "Gentlemen, I have been appointed by His Majesty as the chief editor to revise the historical records. Today, I am leading a group of officials from the Hanlin Academy to sort out the history of the Yuan Dynasty and sort out historical materials. However, in the process of sorting out the historical materials, we have discovered the treasonous deeds of Song Lian, Wang Yi and others."

There are passages in the History of Yuan Dynasty that accuse the late emperor of being a traitor!

This is clear proof—

As he spoke, Xie Jin circulated the text among the crowd. In fact, even without it being circulated, everyone knew that the matter could not be false, as Xie Jin was not a madman like Chen Ying, the Left Censor-in-Chief.

The hall fell even more silent, with only the sound of the text being passed around; no one dared to speak.

Only Li Zhigang, the Minister of Rites, felt dizzy, because he was from Songjiang, and those who compiled the history of the Yuan Dynasty could also connect him with the situation.

The Ming Dynasty levied extremely heavy taxes on Songjiang Prefecture, which is why Songjiang Prefecture has the most nostalgic feelings for the Yuan Dynasty, even more so than the Dongming Academy lineage led by Fang Xiaoru.

"The reason why our Great Ming Dynasty was established was already clearly stated at the Grand Court Assembly. Now that this has happened, let's all discuss what to do."

At the grand court assembly, Li Qibo cited the foundations upon which various dynasties were founded, and ultimately established the founding principle for the Ming Dynasty: "Expel the barbarians, restore China, re-establish the orthodox tradition, and rebuild China."

In Confucianism, this is called "continuing the lost learning of past sages." With such great merit and virtue, one is thus elevated to the first rank of the righteous ruler of the nation.

The Ming Dynasty did not inherit the calendar of the Yuan Dynasty, nor the calendar of the Song Dynasty, but the calendar of the Chinese nation, creating a world-shaking achievement!

But now some people say that Emperor Taizu Gaozu was a thief...

If we don't kill until rivers of blood flow, how can we explain this to the world, and how can we uphold the orthodox tradition of the Ming Dynasty!
The emperor's voice sounded calm and indifferent, yet it sent chills down everyone's spines. With just one sentence, he set the tone for the matter, deeming it far too serious.

This is a heinous event that shakes the very foundation of the Ming Dynasty.

Li Zhigang was somewhat unwilling to give up and wanted to salvage the situation before it became too serious.

"Your Majesty, I have this memorial."

"explain."

"In the first year of Hongwu, the late emperor sent Song Lian and Wang Yi to compile the history of Yuan Dynasty in order to quickly conclude the history of Yuan Dynasty and show that our Ming Dynasty had obtained the Mandate of Heaven, while Yuan Dynasty had lost it."

The compilation of this history book was completed in a very short time, in August of that year. It was later revised for a period of time, but even in total, it only took a year.

Most of these texts are direct excerpts from Yuan Dynasty historical records. It's normal that some errors and omissions went unnoticed. I believe we shouldn't be so harsh, and I humbly request Your Majesty's understanding.

After Li Zhigang finished speaking, he kowtowed deeply to the ground, and the inner hall remained silent, a silence that made people uneasy.

He originally thought that at least a few people would agree with his statement, since it was indeed true; how could the history books be repaired in such a short time?
But how many of those who serve in the emperor's court are fools? Li Zhigang said these words because he was inextricably linked to this matter; why would anyone else get involved?

"Minister Li is mistaken."

Finally, someone spoke up. It was Li Qi. He said calmly, "Minister Li may not have compiled history before, so he doesn't know that before compiling history, there is always a chief official in charge of everything."

The chief executive officer oversees not just anything, but what should be written and what shouldn't be written. Since Sima Qian wrote the Records of the Grand Historian, every dynasty has had people compiling histories. Some histories are generally considered well-written, while others are generally considered poorly written. But there has never been a histories that referred to the founding emperor as a thief.

Don't say that my Great Ming Dynasty is a great dynasty that unites the four seas.

Even during the Sixteen Kingdoms, Northern and Southern Dynasties, and Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms periods, historians would avoid mentioning the names of their superiors, regardless of which country the historians came from.

History books can be poorly compiled, illogical, lacking in literary merit, and even contain facts that are difficult to verify—for example, the Book of Jin contains numerous supernatural tales that are clearly fabricated. But how can fundamental principles be violated?

With each word Li Qi spoke, Li Zhigang's face paled a little more, and his body swayed more and more precariously. But Li Qi had no intention of stopping. "Besides, although the Yuan Dynasty was short, it was still a hundred years. In the history books of those hundred years, the section on Emperor Taizu Gao only covers the last ten years or so."

Since the decision has already been made to compile history in a hasty manner, even without reading the original text, why bother with any effort?

All that's needed is to properly revise the section on Emperor Taizu Gao. Even if we don't revise it, simply changing the title wouldn't be difficult.

A year is certainly not enough time to properly revise history books, but did those two traitors, Song Lian and Wang Yi, actually revise them properly?

"In a year, can't you even proofread the titles of Emperor Taizu Gao?"

By the end, Li Qi's voice had become noticeably harsh, like a sharp blade cutting into Li Zhigang.

Li Zhigang had absolutely no desire to argue with Li Qi.

Li Qi was a universally recognized great Confucian scholar. In the eyes of many scholars, he was even a saint of his time. However, what made many officials most fearful of him was his art of discussing the Dao.
This was a man of eloquence no less than Mencius. To this day, no one who has debated with him has ever won or had a good ending.

So he kept his head down, lying on the ground, as if he hadn't heard Li Qi's words.

But he wanted to play the quail or the ostrich, but Zhu Di wouldn't allow it. This charade had been going on for so long, how could it just end so easily? "Li Zhigang, the truth cannot be denied. Such a matter concerning the nation cannot be ignored. Since Li Qi has asked, you should answer. I will naturally make the decision impartially."

Everyone in the hall felt a chill run down their spine upon hearing this.

Some things don't need to be said; a simple attitude is enough to show your stance.

The emperor outwardly appeared to be reasonable and objective, but his demand for Li Zhigang to respond actually indicated that he had already sided with Li Qi.

Li Zhigang was naturally terrified, but since things had come to this point, he still had to fight to the death and couldn't just give up here.

But how should we respond?
The facts are there for all to see; one can only resort to sophistry. But to sophistry in front of the emperor is like an old man hanging himself, tired of living.

"Since Minister Li is not going to speak, then I will continue."

Li Qi looked around at everyone in the hall and spoke again: "Why did such a treasonous oversight occur in the History of Yuan? Because the chief compiler was corrupt from the root."

In the early years of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong ordered his ministers to compile a history of the Sui Dynasty. From the very beginning, he made it clear that the purpose was to let everyone know the lessons of the Sui Dynasty.

Therefore, Tang Dynasty officials mostly adopted a critical attitude when compiling the history of the Sui Dynasty.

When Song Lian, Wang Yi, and others were compiling history, they did not have the right mindset. They did not compile it with the attitude of Ming Dynasty officials, but rather viewed the anti-Yuan righteous men and Emperor Taizu Gao from the perspective of Yuan Dynasty officials. Naturally, all the anti-Yuan righteous men became traitors.

Even though I haven't read the History of Yuan, I can guess that this kind of example is not just one place, and there must be many more buried between the black and white pages.

If such a history were compiled and passed down to later generations, they would probably wonder why the Yuan Dynasty fell, while a group of bandits were able to rebuild China!

As soon as Li Qi finished speaking, everyone in the hall except Li Zhigang felt a chill run down their spines. When they caught a glimpse of Li Qi out of the corner of their eyes, they quickly looked away, treating him as if he were the King of Hell.

Li Zhigang had completely collapsed to the ground. He was dizzy and vaguely saw a death star shining brightly above his head.

But Li Qi thoughtfully asked, "Why is Minister Li silent? It seems you completely agree with what I have said."

Li Zhigang tried to open his mouth to say no, but he was so nervous that he found his voice was hoarse and he couldn't make a sound.

Zhu Di watched this spectacle unfold, then looked at the ministers who stood there like statues, and asked again, "Since you entered the hall, you have not uttered a single word. How can I, the Emperor, listen to and believe only one person on such a matter of national importance?"

"Then let's begin with Xie Jin. All of you, please share your opinions and thoughts."

The ministers, whose faces had been stiff, couldn't help but break down. How could they not know the emperor's personality?
He usually acts arbitrarily and never listens to the opinions of his subordinates, yet today he actually asked for their opinions on this matter.

It's just that this matter is destined to be a bloodbath, so they want to find more people to endorse it.

However, it would be unreasonable for them to remain silent during the imperial council meeting, so they had no choice but to bite the bullet and express their opinions.

(End of this chapter)