The fierce grandson of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 94 Old Zhu: We've got it!

Inside the warm pavilion.

Upon having this thought, Zhu Xiong Ying hurriedly accepted the secret report with both hands, bowed, and said, "Grandson thanks Your Majesty!"

Upon opening it and taking a look, one has to admit the professionalism of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!

The details described therein are extremely detailed.

This includes Luo Guanzhong's birthplace, his early travels in Jiangnan, his experience of joining Zhang Shicheng's staff at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and his recent life in seclusion in Fujian and other places after Zhang Shicheng's defeat and death, where he devoted himself to writing books.

Furthermore, there are detailed records of what time he got up each day, how many words he wrote, and which local scholars he associated with!

But then the good grandson dropped the secret report.

Zhu Yuanzhang leaned back on the dragon throne, stroking his beard, and deliberately asked, "My great grandson, have you looked closely? This man was once under Zhang Shicheng's command, and we were mortal enemies!"

"Now that our eldest grandson has brought this man here, do we still dare to employ him?"

When Old Zhu tested and instructed him, Zhu Xiong Ying understood perfectly.

His expression was frank and he said without hesitation, "Grandfather, you are wise. In the chaotic end of the Yuan Dynasty, everyone was serving their own master and trying to make a living. In my opinion, this is not a mistake!"

"Just like back then, when my grandfather couldn't go on living, didn't he become a monk?"

"Even Mr. Luo, by joining Zhang Shicheng's staff, was doing so out of loyalty to the emperor!"

"But today, with the Emperor's wisdom and might, he has established his rule over the world—and Mr. Luo, who has lived in seclusion in the countryside for over a decade, has not committed any rebellious acts. Therefore, fundamentally speaking, he cannot be considered a traitor!"

"Furthermore, there's something my grandson takes a liking to—just as others say, he has the ability to write about the rise and fall of dynasties and the changing hearts of the people with a single stroke of his pen!"

As one of the Four Great Classical Novels of later generations, the literary achievements of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" are beyond doubt!

However, at present, the books written by Lao Luo, such as "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", are not widely circulated!

It was only circulated within a small circle!

Therefore, the earliest printed edition that can be found in later generations is from the Jiajing period.

Bringing Lao Luo here was already quite risky!

He was also prepared to be tortured by Lao Zhu!

A short while later, they awaited Zhu Xiong Ying's next words.

Zhu Yuanzhang understood the intentions of his good grandson and was filled with thought.

Even so, deep down, the eldest grandson still harbors a kind and benevolent heart!

He did not investigate further.

He also did not ask his grandson where he learned about Robben that day.

After all, as Da Sun said, in chaotic times, as long as one can survive, one should not be too concerned about past actions as long as they have not offended anyone!

However, given the emperor's suspicious nature, he did not let his guard down!

After a pause, Old Zhu chuckled and said, "We understand what my grandson is thinking!"

"As long as you do your job well and don't do anything disobedient, we won't care about what happened in the past!"

"But as our eldest grandson said last time, if we want to spread our deeds of punishing corruption among the people through storytelling and other means, one Luo Ben alone probably won't be enough, will it?"

That's exactly what we were waiting for Old Zhu to say.

Zhu Xiong Ying said, "Grandfather is absolutely right! Your grandson wishes to gather some extraordinary people from the common folk in your name to jointly complete this work—"

"During this period, some vernacular novels, after being reviewed by officials such as the Hanlin Academy, were published as comic books to make them easier for the public to understand and to help them learn to read!"

"In addition to these, we can also establish privately-run newspapers managed by the government —"

"Newspaper office?"

This was the first time Zhu Yuanzhang had ever heard this name.

He instantly thought of the official gazette and suddenly understood.

Then, through the explanation of the good sage, we can understand its uses and significance.

It does bear some resemblance to the public notice booths found in various places today!

The so-called "Shenming Pavilion" was a pavilion used in local areas to post notices and publicize educational messages.

As early as the fifth year of the Hongwu reign, Emperor Zhu issued an edict throughout the country, establishing such institutions in prefectures, counties, and villages to publicize cases of good and evil and to mediate disputes.

But the last few sentences of the good saint's grandson.

This sent a chill down Zhu Yuanzhang's spine, revealing the hidden truth.

"Grandfather, I know that you set up the Shenming Pavilion back then. Your original intention was to clarify the law, punish evil and promote good, so that the people would know the rules of the court and your intention to protect the people. This was a good thing!"

"But this also brought problems. The first was that the notices at the shrine were in the hands of the local officials. What to post, what not to post, when to post them, and for how long—it all depended on the county magistrate's word! They thought that since the emperor was far away, they couldn't just make decisions arbitrarily. How could they let the emperor's words reach the countryside smoothly?"

"Secondly, when my grandson went to the outskirts of the city, he also saw that all the notices there were written in classical Chinese, full of archaic phrases, which many people might not be able to understand."

"Speaking of last year, when you wrote the Great Proclamation, you used vernacular Chinese because you were afraid that the common people wouldn't understand it. But with the Shenming Pavilion, we've gone back to the old ways; it's as good as not posting it at all."

"Thirdly, the Shenming Pavilion is a fixed structure, located in places like village markets, making it inconvenient to circulate and read."

"And the new regulations are only updated every six months or a year, but cases of corrupt officials occur every day and every month. The imperial decrees are updated in real time. By the time they are posted and reach remote areas, they have become outdated, perhaps even a year or two later."

At this point in the conversation, Old Zhu frowned.

Zhu Xiong Ying, however, was no longer in a hurry. She picked up the teapot and poured a cup for him.

He then calmly added, "And the newspaper my grandson just mentioned happens to be a perfect complement to Shenmingting's shortcomings!"

"First, the content must be determined, entirely by Your Majesty. The Ministry of Justice will be in charge of compiling it, and a single newspaper can be divided into several sections, with the content written in vernacular Chinese!"

"Furthermore, the supplies should be distributed from the capital to various regions to prevent local authorities from altering them, and the Imperial Guards should monitor them."

"Finally, just like reciting the Great Proclamation, we should have someone read it aloud every so often!"

"In this way, along with vernacular novels, plays, and newspapers—we can more promptly unify the thoughts of the grassroots, so that we can all work together for our great Ming Dynasty!"

"As long as the local area is stable, the officials above won't be able to cause any trouble!"

In fact, China has been in a period of turmoil for the past few centuries.

After Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty and rebuilt China, his main goal was to unify thought.

The imperial examinations began in the third year of the Hongwu reign, when an edict was issued to establish the civil service examinations, setting the content as the Four Books and Five Classics and using the Neo-Confucianism of Zhu Xi and Cheng Yi as the official standard, striving to speak on behalf of the sages.

However, at present, the remnants of the Yuan dynasty have not been destroyed, and the coastal areas are not peaceful!

In addition, after the Hu Weiyong case and the Guo Huan case, the ideology of the government and the public became somewhat chaotic, making people restless!

Zhu Yuanzhang, who commanded the Embroidered Uniform Guard, was clearly aware of all this!

That's why the Great Proclamation was formulated last year!

But in Zhu Xiong Ying's view, this was not enough!

That's how we got to where we are today, using Lao Luo's case as an example to propose new concepts like newspapers.

The location of the imperial desk.

Zhu Yuanzhang remained stroking his beard, saying little.

After a long silence, he slammed his hand on the table and exclaimed, "I understand what Da Sun is saying! There is definitely something beneficial in it!"

"Since you have this idea, why don't you draft a plan in the next few days and let us take a look!"

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