The Ming Dynasty: A bookstore sells the history of the Ming Dynasty, leaving Emperor Chongzhen bewil

What about Zhu Yuanzhang?

Emperor Taizu?

The other party repeatedly addressed the founding emperor by his given name. If this were in the Ming Dynasty, he would probably have been arrested and beheaded.

But the Ming Dynasty has already fallen here, so what's the point of worrying about these things?

Emperor Chongzhen stopped dwelling on this and listened attentively.

Zhu Ziming said, "Back then, Zhu Yuanzhang was called Zhu Chongba. He was born into an ordinary peasant family. His father was called Zhu Wusi. Zhu Wusi's family lived on a small plot of land left by their ancestors, barely making ends meet. Although life was hard, the family was together and lived a peaceful and happy life."

"However, unforeseen events can happen at any time. One day, a natural disaster struck, and the harvest in the fields was greatly reduced. In the past, the harvest was just enough to feed the family, but now it was definitely not enough. Without food, the whole family would starve to death. What could we do?"

"Zhu Wusi faced two paths: one was to leave his hometown and become a refugee, living by begging; the other was to stay in his hometown, borrow grain from families with surplus to survive the famine. What would he choose?"

Without hesitation, Chongzhen replied, "Of course, it's about borrowing grain."

In that era, no one wanted to leave their home and become a refugee, because that would mean losing even the identity of an ordinary citizen and becoming a beggar at the very bottom of society.

Zhu Ziming continued, "Then from whom can we borrow? Who has surplus grain?"

"Landlord".

Emperor Chongzhen answered without hesitation, for the answer was equally obvious.

Zhu Ziming said, "That's right. Will the landlord Liu De lend it or not? Of course he will. However, this loan of money and grain is not without conditions. There is a high interest rate. But Zhu Wusi has no choice but to lend it because his whole family is waiting for this little bit of rice to cook."

"With the money and food they borrowed, Zhu Wusi's family managed to get through the famine, but that did not mean the disaster was over."

"The following spring, Liu De came to collect the debt. It is only right to pay back debts, but what can Zhu Wusi use to pay back? What else can he give? Only the small plot of land left by his ancestors."

"In this way, Liu De only spent a small amount of money and grain to obtain Zhu Wusi's most valuable land, while Zhu Wusi lost his only land and had to become a tenant farmer, relying on the land that originally belonged to him and rented from Liu De to survive. The whole family worked from the first day of the new year to the thirtieth day of the new year, and most of the grain produced went to the landlord Liu De, leaving Zhu Wusi's family with only enough food to eat."

Even so, Zhu Wusi's family still managed to make a living.

"However, another merciless natural disaster struck. This time, Zhu Wusi was in an even worse situation than before, having run out of food early on. Helpless, he had to borrow grain from the landlord Liu De again, but this time, Liu De refused to lend him any. Why?"

"Since Zhu Wusi had no land to mortgage, how could the landlord Liu De lend him money and grain again? Of course, Liu De would lend money and grain to those who had land to mortgage, because that way, next spring he could annex more land just like he annexed Zhu Wusi's land."

Emperor Chongzhen nodded silently.

This is a process of land consolidation. Actually, Zhu Ziming didn't need to explain it in such detail; he understood it himself.

However, Zhu Ziming was telling the story of his great-grandfather, which made Chongzhen feel quite connected to him.

Zhu Ziming continued, "In the fourth year of the Zhizheng era, the Huai River basin suffered a severe plague and drought, and Zhu Wusi's family had no land and no food. What could they do?"

"There's no other way but to starve to death."

"On the sixth day of the fourth month, Zhu Wusi starved to death; on the ninth day, Zhu Wusi's eldest son starved to death; on the twelfth day, his eldest grandson starved to death; and on the twenty-second day, his wife starved to death."

"Zhu Wusi was an honest and simple man all his life. He never stole or robbed. He worked hard every day, facing the loess soil with his back to the sky. All he wanted was for his family to have enough to eat. But in the end, his whole family starved to death."

"Even after death, there isn't even a small place to rest."

"At that time, Zhu Chongba, who was still a boy, had no choice but to cover the body of his relative with straw mats with his second brother and guard it until the body started to decompose. Fortunately, a kind person took pity on them and gave them a piece of land to bury their relative. The Zhu family was buried in a small pit."

"Zhu Wusi probably couldn't understand it until his death: he toiled on the land all his life, yet he couldn't even be properly buried after his death, while the landlord Liu De never farmed, yet he had no worries about food and clothing."

Hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen felt sorrow and empathy.

Because that was the true experience of his great-grandfather's family.

Zhu Ziming continued, "The fate of Zhu Wusi's family was not an isolated case, but a common phenomenon under the rule of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. Countless families were experiencing such tragic fates."

"What about those who survived by chance, like Zhu Chongba? Are they just waiting to starve to death like their fathers?"

"Of course not! It's better to rebel than to starve! Don't underestimate this one-eyed stone man; he can incite rebellion across the Yellow River!"

"As a result, uprisings broke out all over the Central Plains, and rebellions continued. In the end, Zhu Yuanzhang stood out from the chaos and led the rebel army to complete the great cause of driving out the Tartars and restoring China, and established the new Ming Dynasty."

"A new dynasty brings a new atmosphere. After Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, the Central Plains, which had been occupied by the Mongol Yuan Dynasty for nearly a hundred years, returned to the Han Dynasty. The poor brothers who fought alongside Zhu Yuanzhang also received land, and tenant farmers who originally had no land could also cultivate new land."

"In addition, Zhu Yuanzhang, who came from a poor background, knew how to give the people a rest. He encouraged land reclamation, immigration and settlement, water conservancy projects, the establishment of the Sino-French alliance, the veneration of Confucianism, and the revival of traditional Han culture. Under Zhu Yuanzhang's rule, production gradually recovered and developed, the people began to live and work in peace and contentment, the population increased rapidly, and the Ming Dynasty was thriving."

"Even if natural disasters occur, the imperial court has the capacity and sufficient funds to deal with them. Although it cannot guarantee that every disaster victim will receive full relief, it will prevent large-scale tragedies like Zhu Wusi from happening again."

Emperor Chongzhen nodded in deep agreement.

Emperor Taizu was his idol, and his diligence and integrity in governing were modeled after Emperor Taizu.

Throughout the entire history of the Ming Dynasty, only two emperors were able to hold morning court sessions: the founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang and Emperor Chongzhen.

Now that Zhu Ziming is praising Emperor Taizu, it naturally wins his heart.

At this moment, Zhu Ziming changed the subject, saying, "But at this moment, have you noticed anything?"

Emperor Chongzhen frowned, puzzled: "What?"

Zhu Ziming said, enunciating each word clearly, "Land annexation has been lying in wait in unseen places, waiting for an opportunity to make a comeback."