Chapter 106 The Time to Teach Zhu Yuanzhang
Seeing everyone's reactions, Zhu Wenzheng showed joy, while Zhu Yuanzhang looked disgusted.
Chen Biao looked at Zhu Wenzhen thoughtfully.
My cousin always complains about his dad, acting like an ungrateful nephew. But he actually cares about his dad a lot, right?
"Biao'er, what nonsense are you talking about?" Zhu Yuanzhang said with disgust.
Chen Biao smiled and said, "Dad and I are also father and son. So Brother Zheng and I are like brothers, right, Brother Zheng?"
Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang's disdain, Zhu Wenzheng instinctively wanted to retort, but after hearing Chen Biao's words, he immediately said, "For Biao'er, I will reluctantly become your father and son."
Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and slapped Zhu Wenzheng on the head: "Reluctantly? Are you still dissatisfied?"
Ma Xiuying led a group of people to bring tea and mosquito incense burners, saying, "Alright, you two, stop interrupting me. Aren't we talking about business?"
Chen Biao pulled Ma Xiuying and said, "Mom, come and listen too."
Ma Xiuying smiled and said, "As a woman, I don't need to listen to such things."
Ma Xiuying is very smart. In order to gain power, she has to act as if she is unwilling to be contaminated by power.
Chen Biao saw the look in Ma Xiuying's eyes and understood what she meant.
What my mother meant was that she would give her private lessons when she was free tomorrow.
Chen Biao said, "Then mother should go to bed early. There is no need to watch over us."
Ma Xiuying nodded: "Mom is not sleepy, I will go and coax your brothers to sleep, and then come to see you."
After saying that, Ma Xiuying and everyone else said goodbye and left, while Chen Biao and others continued to get back to business.
Seeing that his father knew nothing about the changes in the official system, Chen Biao briefly introduced the changes in the official system starting from the Tang Dynasty in order to help his father understand the traps contained in the three official systems written by Zhang Chang.
Song Lian, who knew the classics best, nodded frequently at first, then his face grew paler as he listened, and he even broke out in a cold sweat.
Song Lian said, "Biao'er, stop!"
Chen Biao was talking excitedly when he saw Song Lian stop and asked in confusion, "Mr. Song, what's wrong?"
Song Lian wiped the cold sweat from his forehead: "You, you..."
What about the contradictions between the imperial power and the power of the prime minister, the contradictions between the central government and local governments, the contradictions between the court and the powerful, the contradictions between the king and the generals... Can you talk about these things so casually?
Only Chen Biao could say this! Because he is the crown prince and the future emperor!
But Biao'er didn't know that he was the prince, but he could say these words without fear, which surprised Song Lian.
Is it because Biao'er is a fairy boy that he has no respect for worldly power?
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at Song Lian, who seemed to be hesitant to speak. After a moment of deep thought, he suddenly smiled and said, "Biao'er, you frightened Mr. Song. When you say this, don't you have the slightest fear of the emperor?"
Chen Biao was puzzled: "Shouldn't we all be fearless? We are all rebels, why should we be afraid of the emperor?"
Zhu Yuanzhang slapped his thigh and laughed: "Hahahahaha, Biaoer, you are so right!"
Zhu Wenzheng glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "Of course I'm not afraid of the emperor above us now. I even want to chop off his head with my own hands."
Zhu Yuanzhang's smile suddenly stopped and he glared at Zhu Wenzhen.
Although he knew that Zhu Wenzhen was talking about the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, why was this bastard looking at him?
The others who were frightened by Chen Biao were stunned for a while, and then they all showed helpless smiles.
No one had ever realized how much Chen Biao liked to throw bombs, and Kang Maocai, who was the most frightened, was no exception.
Chen Biao was right, they were all considered rebels now.
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Biao'er, come here."
Chen Biao jumped to Zhu Yuanzhang's side, pushed Zhu Yuanzhang away with his butt, sat next to Zhu Yuanzhang, tilted his head and said: "Why, Dad, what I said is wrong?"
Zhu Yuanzhang put his arm around Chen Biao's shoulders and said, "Biao'er is right. We are rebels and the least afraid of the emperor. But now the Marshal has become the Ming King and will become the emperor of the Ming Dynasty in the future. We are not afraid of the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, but we are afraid of the emperor of the Ming Dynasty."
After hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's overly direct words, everyone else gave him an indescribable look.
Kang Maocai covered his pounding heart and was frightened by his lord's split personality.
Chen Biao said, "Dad, you actually said such a thing. It's really unlike you. Dad, aren't you the one who trusts the lord the most?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Trust is one thing, but reality is another."
Chen Biao smiled and said, "The reality is that our Lord is not yet the Emperor, so we should tell him the problems these emperors will face. In all dynasties, even if the first emperor cannot solve the problem, the foundation for solving the problem must be laid so that the second and third emperors can do so. If the second and third emperors cannot do so, then the dynasty will be in a state of dire straits that will be difficult to recover from."
Isn’t that what the Song Dynasty was like?
Although Chen Biao also ridiculed Song Taizu for seizing the throne from an orphan and a widow, saying it was an illegitimate claim, if the Song Dynasty had done well, this would not even be considered a stain.
The only criterion for evaluating an emperor is how good he was as an emperor; everything else is meaningless. Even if he killed his parents, brothers, wife, and children, and his personal morality was completely unrecyclable, as long as he was a good emperor, he would be remembered by history books and future generations.
Zhao Kuangyin himself was well aware of this, so he worked hard to govern the country, fought wars in the south and the north, and tried to complete Chai Rong's unfinished feat of unifying the country.
Zhao Kuangyin himself was a very powerful military commander. If he had lived another ten years, the Song Dynasty would probably have been completely different.
Unfortunately, he died suddenly; unfortunately, his successor was the Gaoliang River Car God, who was the first person to remotely command the battle in the front from the rear with a sand table formation map.
The frightened Zhao Guangyi knew that he was very shameful and worried that the military generals would not obey him, so he established the basic policy of the Song Dynasty to emphasize culture and suppress military power. After that, emperors of every generation struggled with the "family rules of their ancestors."
Everyone criticizes the Song Dynasty, not because they dislike it, but because they like its literary talent and elegance too much. Therefore, they hate it for not striving for it and feel sorry for the great literary and military prosperity that the Song Dynasty could have created.
Subsequent dynasties despised the Song Dynasty, but they were all the Song Dynasty.
The problems that plagued the Yuan Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty, and the Qing Dynasty, and every dynasty thereafter, were all root causes left over from the very beginning of the dynasty.
Chen Biao hoped that the Ming Dynasty would not be too similar to the Song Dynasty, and that some problems could be solved from the beginning so that the people could live a good life for several more generations.
Even if troubled times are bound to come, there will be a glorious and prosperous era in the memory of civilization, so that people will not say that the Ming Dynasty has left behind only a dark and lingering state for hundreds of years.
Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang must understand these contradictions that must be controlled when founding the country. Otherwise, the first and second generations of emperors will either be killed by these contradictions or spend all their energy on resolving them.
If the dynasty lacked two generations of emperors to rest and recuperate, the people would have to suffer for decades more.
Chen Biao used the Song and Yuan dynasties as examples and said, "Your Majesty is not yet an emperor, so we need to teach him how to be one and what the major challenges of being one are. Once you become emperor, it will be too late to talk about this."
Chen Biao gave a wry smile and said, "Now that my lord has become the emperor, who would dare to discuss the conflicts between the emperor and his ministers as a subject except a saint who is not afraid of death?"
Zhu Yuanzhang raised his hand, rubbed Chen Biao's hair vigorously, and said, "Biao'er is right."
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Chen Biao with extremely gentle eyes.
He thought that if it weren't for Biao'er, no one would dare to teach him the issues that an emperor should pay attention to.
Even if someone thought of this, they would only offer suggestions in a tactful way. I haven't read much, so I don't understand the intricacies of it at all. How much can I figure out on my own?
But Zhu Yuanzhang did not blame the people around him.
He said from Chen Guorui's perspective, "Biao'er, don't blame us for being timid. Only when we are alive can we consider other things. For example, I admire the lord, but I have my wife, you, your brother, Wenzheng, Wenzhong, and Wenying. I can't bear to leave any of them. So, if there is something dangerous, I will think twice before acting."
Chen Biao leaned against Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "It's good that you have this idea, Dad. I'm worried that you are too loyal to the lord and forget the safety of our family. Humph."
Zhu Yuanzhang chuckled: "Don't worry, it's impossible."
There was shock hidden in the eyes of the others, but also a hint of imperceptible warmth.
Kang Maocai was lost in thought. He began to understand the significance of "Chen Guorui's" existence.
Chen Biao snorted twice more, shamelessly flirting with his father for a while before continuing , "Now that the Lord has asked us to discuss the official system, this is a good time to explain the twists and turns of the official system to the Lord in detail. Our frankness will surely make the Lord very happy and touched, and only then will the period of 'no suspicion between the monarch and his subjects' be prolonged."
Seeing that they seemed to be convinced by his persuasion, Chen Biao continued, "Put yourself in his shoes. The lord trusts us so much. If we conceal such an important matter from him, when he realizes it, will he think he trusted the wrong person? Will he feel betrayed? Will he feel hurt and sad?"
Chen Biao placed his hand on his heart and said, "My lord is also a human being. He will be hurt, disappointed, and even despair. What if he is disappointed and never trusts ? That would be our real danger."
Everyone's backs straightened immediately.
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and patted Chen Biao's head: "Okay, Biao'er, don't scare your uncles."
Chen Biao muttered: "I'm not threatening."
Li Shanchang took a deep breath, suppressing the trembling in his voice, and said, "Biao'er is right. Now is the time for us to speak openly and honestly with our lord, and discuss things that we will not be able to discuss after he becomes emperor."
Zhu Wenzheng bent his index finger, rubbed the bottom of his nose, and said, "We are rebels, and the lord is also a rebel now. Rebels talking to rebels, of course they can ignore the majesty of the emperor."
Chen Biao gave Zhu Wenzheng a thumbs up: "Cousin, you are absolutely right! Cousin, you are so awesome!"
Zhu Wenzheng was proud: "That's right."
Chen Biao asked, "After reviewing these three official system proposals, do you have anything to say to the Lord?"
Zhu Wenzheng spread his hands: "No. I don't understand it at all!"
Zhu Yuanzhang had been nodding with satisfaction, thinking that his nephew was a man of great wisdom but now, with one hand covering his face, he wanted to spank his nephew again.
Everyone else couldn't help laughing, and their fear was greatly dissipated by Zhu Wenzhen's antics.
They looked at Chen Biao with very gentle eyes and agreed with what Chen Biao said.
"Biao'er is right. If I don't say it now, I won't have the chance to say it in the future."
"My lord knows nothing. If we let him figure it out on his own and cause chaos in the government, wouldn't we be putting him in an unjust position?"
"Uh, can I say I really don't understand? It's not that I don't want to tell my lord!"
“Actually, I don’t understand either.”
"Biao'er, tell me more carefully!"
"Teacher, are we reading the same history book? I've studied the official system for a long time, and I don't see so many contradictions." Yan Qian sighed, "In addition to studying things, can you also teach me how to read history books?"
Kang Maocai's voice became sharp and thin: "Teacher?!"
Hua Yun said sourly, "You didn't expect that, did you? He's Biao'er's apprentice, the kind who gave him a gift of apprenticeship."
Chen Biao blushed and shook his head vigorously: "No, no, you can't count it like that...Okay, count it, but don't call me teacher! It's so embarrassing! I'll teach you!"
Yan Qian smiled and said, "Thank you, Biao'er."
Zhu Yuanzhang pinched his chin and looked at Yan Qian with a hint of amusement. He hadn't expected this kid to be so cunning.
However, this cunning was only for the purpose of asking Biao'er for more knowledge, and Zhu Yuanzhang didn't bother to care.
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Biao'er, please continue to tell me what are the problems with these three plans."
Chen Biao said: "These three plans may seem different, but in fact they are just different official titles and structures. Their inner essence is similar, and the pits they dig are also the same."
Chen Biao was not surprised that these people could not see the trap.
Just like what he had said before about the several major contradictions that the emperor would face, after he pointed them out, Mr. Song and others might suddenly realize it, but before he mentioned it, even if Mr. Song and Mr. Ye knew the history books by heart, they might not have thought of this.
The reason is simple. People nowadays are naturally in awe of the emperor and won't think about that.
Modern people may not necessarily surpass ancient people in wisdom and scheming, but they have two points that anyone who has received orthodox education can surpass.
The first is that there is no fear of imperial power; the second is the final judgment and the broad vision.
These two points allow modern people to evaluate historical books from an "omniscient perspective".
Although Chen Biao was a science student, science students also had to take the unified examination. Most students took the "open book" exam, or simply copied the science students' papers from the arts students' papers, or copied the arts students' papers from the science students' papers.
But Chen Biao was an excellent student. Even though he studied science, he listened carefully to the liberal arts classes and prepared seriously for the exams.
However, the knowledge Chen Biao has now is very superficial, probably at the level of "keyboard politics".
If liberal arts students were asked to take the exam, the history college entrance examination questions, except for a very small number of recitation questions, would all be material analysis, and they could point out the history of the past five thousand years with their eyes closed.
Chen Biao didn't want to act like a "keyboard politics expert" in front of so many people, but his father said that he was responsible for the formulation of the official system, so Chen Biao couldn't care less.
If this group of people had not been persuaded and the flaws in the official system had not been addressed, when Zhu Yuanzhang became the Hongwu Emperor, these flaws would have gradually become apparent in the actual operation of government, and Zhu Yuanzhang would have undoubtedly discovered that he had been tricked. Wouldn't that have been the end of his father?
If it goes well, he and his father and son will be executed, and the others will be exiled; if it goes badly, the whole family will be ruined.
Furthermore, Chen Biao did not want to see Zhu Yuanzhang fall into a trap, nor did he want to see his beloved elders being threatened with confiscation of property and extermination of their ancestors because of this incident.
As Chen Biao spoke, he thought helplessly that it was not a good thing that he was concerned about more and more people in this world.
Zhu Yuanzhang asked for paper and pen and took notes while listening.
Seeing this, others also followed Zhu Yuanzhang's example and took notes.
The Chen family lit up the lanterns and brought in more lamp stands from inside the house, making the area as bright as day.
There are three main pitfalls that Zhang Chang dug in terms of regulation.
First, he strengthened the power of the Secretariat.
In order to weaken the power of nobles, prime ministers, relatives by marriage, and military generals, the Song Dynasty deliberately set up many official positions, making the powers of officials both dispersed and overlapping. Therefore, the Song Dynasty did not worry about the power of relatives by marriage, nobles, and prime ministers, but redundant officials became a heavy burden.
In his proposal, Zhang Chang elaborated in detail on the chaotic official system of the Song Dynasty, in which "dispatched officials, official ranks, casual official ranks, honorary officials, titles, and attached positions" coexisted, so drastic reforms were needed to cut positions with the same functions.
This is very correct.
However, Zhang Chang centralized all power, including the appointment of military commanders, into the Secretariat, making the prime minister practically a "vice emperor." The prime minister could handle all government affairs on his own without reporting to the emperor.
If the prime minister is cautious, he may report everything to the emperor before handling it; if the prime minister is too power-hungry, the emperor may be sidelined.
Second, he strengthened local power.
Originally, the taxes collected by the feudal dynasties had to be transported thousands of miles to the national treasury, and there would definitely be losses along the way, which would generally be passed on to the people.
If a local area was hit by a disaster, the imperial court would allocate money and grain from the national treasury and transport them thousands of miles to the disaster area, which would result in losses and time wasted along the way.
Moreover, during the transportation process, corrupt officials can easily take bribes from various levels.
Zhang Chang then suggested building warehouses on the spot, and each province could directly deposit the money into the warehouse, with only a small portion going to the national treasury. This way, if there was an emergency in any place, the warehouses could be opened immediately to help people, and the burden on the people would be lightened.
This is also correct.
But didn’t the previous dynasties know that transporting money and grain would be a waste? They didn’t do this because the surrender of money and grain from all regions was the main (or even the only) means for the court to control the local areas.
Moreover, large expenditures, such as sending troops, river management, road construction, and disaster relief, need to be borne by the court. The national treasury has no money. Do you expect to temporarily mobilize it from local areas?
Moreover, there were allegations of corruption and embezzlement during transportation, and the money and grain were simply stored in the local warehouse. Given the current state of technology, it was impossible for the court to frequently inspect the warehouse. I'm afraid the entire warehouse was simply emptied. It might have been emptied for years, and the emperor, who was far away, would not even know about it.
Third, the relationship between civil and military officials became more severed.
Military generals can only be military generals, and civil officials can only be civil officials. The two are clearly distinguished, and there is no connection at all in the path of promotion.
If a civil official wanted to participate in military affairs, he had to become a "military governor", that is, the direct superior of the military generals, the person who supervised and controlled the military generals.
This seemed to prevent civil officials and military generals from seizing their own space, and also gave Zhu Yuanzhang the means to control the military generals. However, if you think about it carefully, the civil officials and military generals are separated, and once the civil officials cooperate with the military generals, they will become "supervisors". Isn't this artificially creating conflicts between them?
Furthermore, civil officials were forbidden from fighting on the battlefield unless they were military governors. With the exception of gifted scholars who could learn on their own, wouldn't all the other military governors be mere armchair strategists? How could the army's combat effectiveness improve if military governors were to dictate to military commanders?
Chen Biao sighed, "I think his instinct is to follow the Song Dynasty's rule that scholars must suppress military commanders. Look at this: from now on, all memorials and evaluations of provincial governors will have to go through the Secretariat. Right now, Uncle Xu and Uncle Chang have higher status than the civil officials other than Uncle Li, right? But once this system is implemented, if they want to live well, they'll have to curry favor with even the smaller officials in the Secretariat."
The military generals who were disguised as civil officials present all gasped.
Unless they were very old, military commanders would definitely be sent to various places to guard the city. If all their means of communication with the emperor had to go through the Secretariat, wouldn't their lives and property be in the hands of the civil officials in the Secretariat?
The civil officials also looked unhappy. Given so much power, the Secretariat initially reported everything to Zhu Yuanzhang, perhaps oblivious to the drawbacks. However, not everyone could withstand the allure of power. Some, with their ambitions growing, would likely lead to a massive purge of the bureaucracy by an enraged Zhu Yuanzhang.
This group of old ministers who followed Zhu Yuanzhang knew how powerful Zhu Yuanzhang was, so they would never underestimate Zhu Yuanzhang and would always treat him with respect.
But Zhu Yuanzhang was not yet forty, while they were already in their fifties or sixties. When Zhu Yuanzhang was emperor, it was likely that within a few years, the prime ministers would be replaced by younger people. Those young people were well-read and talented, and they might not necessarily look down on Zhu Yuanzhang, a beggar emperor.
Zhu Yuanzhang's face had turned blue.
A brutal murderous intent now surged in his heart, and he wished he could cut Zhang Chang into pieces and skin him alive.
Zhang Chang could actually plant so many hidden dangers in an official system! If Zhang Chang were allowed to live any longer, who knows what he would do!
Zhu Wenzheng didn't know about Zhang Chang's affairs and wondered, "How could such a person be entrusted with such an important task by his adoptive father?"
Chen Biao said, "The fact that he's so good at setting traps shows that he's really talented. As long as the lord and the people around him know his problem, he can't find any tricks and can still help with the work."
Zhu Wenzheng said: "Why is it so troublesome? Wouldn't it be better to find someone who has no problems to do the work?"
Chen Biao laughed and said, "Cousin, if we only hire people we can completely trust to do the work, our uncles will be exhausted. When you were marching and fighting, did you completely trust all the soldiers under your command?"
Zhu Wenzheng shook his head: "How is that possible?"
Chen Biao said, "My lord, you command all the civil and military officials, just like you march into battle. You have so many ministers under your command, and you will have to hold imperial examinations in the future. Let alone whether they are loyal or treacherous, you don't even know their names."
Chen Biao tapped the memorials on the table with his fingers. "When you become emperor in the future, you'll have to guess your ministers' true intentions and decide what policies to adopt based on their memorials. You knew Zhang Chang was disloyal, but you still kept him. You're using him as a training ground. We must trust you."
Zhu Wenzheng glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "Foster father, you know that Zhang Chang is a spy? That's fine. Foster father will definitely be able to hold on."
Zhu Yuanzhang's murderous intent faded, and he felt a headache. "Biao'er's words make sense. But...sigh, will my lord always have to study people's hearts through these memorials from now on? Isn't that too difficult?"
Chen Biao said: "Of course it is difficult to be an emperor."
Zhu Yuanzhang held his forehead and his headache became even more painful.
Zhu Yuanzhang was not alone yet, but he had already glimpsed the pain of those who were alone.
If he were to sit on the high throne in the future, and the people standing below were all people who didn't know the difference between loyalty and treachery, he would have to chew over every memorial and ponder over their thoughts, which would be really chilling.
Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang's pained expression, Chen Biao asked in confusion, "Dad, what's wrong? Did you eat too much and your stomach feels uncomfortable?"
Zhu Yuanzhang put down his hand, hugged Chen Biao, who was sitting next to him, and held him tightly: "It's okay."
I, Zhu, am not alone, I am not afraid.
