Chapter 121 I Just Speak a Little Loud
Chen Zuren, a native of Bianliang, was born in the first year of Yanyou (1314 AD). In the second year of Zhizheng (1342 AD), he won the top spot in the imperial examination and was appointed as a Hanlin editor. He later served as a councilor of the Secretariat.
He appeared in the previous article and was a colleague and close friend of Zhang Chang.
Although Zhang Chang was the Minister of Revenue, he frequently traveled to various rebel forces in the south. Chen Zuren, in the imperial court, served as Zhang Chang's ally. The decision to send spies south often rested with the two of them.
Their approach was very simple. It was nothing more than letting a group of literati sing praises to that group of illiterate ruffians, teach them how to enjoy themselves, and lead them to lose the support of the people.
Because the world now respects scholars, this method, although crude and simple, was actually always effective in battle. It only went wrong with Zhu Yuanzhang, which prompted Zhang Chang to take the risk and take action personally.
When the two parted, they shed tears at the pavilion.
They knew that after this separation, they would probably never see each other again.
If the Yuan Dynasty fell, Zhang Chang would be executed by Zhu Yuanzhang, and Chen Zuren would probably stay in Dadu and be buried with the emperor.
According to the original course of history, they did die as they expected.
When the Yuan Dynasty emperor fled north, Chen Zuren stayed alone to guard the Taimiao and was hacked to death by the rebel army; Zhang Chang wrote in front of Zhu Yuanzhang "I am in the south of the Yangtze River, but my heart is in the north of the Great Wall", and was executed by Zhu Yuanzhang.
The way the two men died was quite consistent with what the world considered a heroic death.
Unfortunately, even after the Ming Dynasty fell into such a state of disrepair, the people still had no lingering nostalgia for the Yuan Dynasty. Thanks to the boasting of the literati, they were never treated as loyal ministers. Later generations, when promoting celebrity hometown tourism, made a fuss and boasted about the Yuan Dynasty's loyal ministers in the media, but no one paid any attention.
If no one supports your heroic act of dying, it would not seem very generous.
Chen Zuren was already miserable enough, but in this time and space he could be even more miserable.
He was fifty-one years old, considered quite old for that era. Yuan Dadu was plagued by repeated natural disasters, and the emperor and the crown prince engaged in numerous internal conflicts. Farmland was practically abandoned, and the city relied entirely on grain relief from Zhang Shicheng and others. Yet, over ten thousand people still starved to death each year.
Of course, the Yuan Dynasty nobles would not starve to death.
Later generations claimed that the Yuan Dynasty explicitly divided the people into four classes, but this was actually a fabrication by a scholar in the late Qing Dynasty. In fact, the Yuan Dynasty did not issue any explicit regulations, but the social status of the Mongols was slightly higher than that of the Han people.
After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, official scholars wrote articles criticizing the Mongols' superiority during the dark reign of the Yuan Dynasty, often involving Mongol nobles oppressing Han civilians. In one instance, a Mongol civilian attempted to imitate the Mongol nobles' practice of beating Han civilians, only to be expelled from the country by local officials.
The literati in the late Qing Dynasty only processed it a little bit and turned the social phenomenon into explicit regulations.
I'm not saying the Yuan was any good here. The Yuan's ethnic policy, like the Qing, didn't outwardly stipulate who was superior to whom, but it certainly implemented policies in various areas to maintain Mongol rule.
I just want to explain here that the so-called discrimination and suffering suffered by the Han people have nothing to do with the Han officials and nobles.
Did Mongolian officials have higher salaries than Han officials? However, few Mongolian officials understood politics, while Han officials held real power and colluded with local tyrants. They made a fortune under the Yuan Dynasty's tax farming system and lived better than most Mongolian nobles.
After the Yuan Dynasty took control of the Central Plains, the Mongol commoners did not benefit. They were considered private property and a vital source of soldiers by the Mongol nobles. Their personal freedom was strictly controlled. They were forbidden from farming to avoid assimilation, and were forbidden from freely entering the Central Plains to avoid escape. Local Han officials also treated them like cattle and horses.
Therefore, the officials of the Yuan Dynasty probably really didn’t know why the people wanted to rebel against the Yuan Dynasty and restore China.
The Yuan emperor did a great job, didn't he? Where was the inequality? Where was the discrimination?
As a high-ranking official of the Yuan Dynasty, Chen Zuren was of course provided with beef and mutton every day.
However, Yuan Dadu's farmland had been abandoned in recent years, leaving a shortage of fresh vegetables and fruits. His diet resembled that of the Mongol nobility, yet he lacked their love of horseback riding and archery. Although he looked frail, he actually had a few highs.
The three highs are more dangerous for thin people than for fat people. Just now, Chen Biao yelled so loudly that he caused an elderly man to have a cerebral hemorrhage.
Chen Biao hid his little paws in his sleeves, dumbfounded, and wanted to slap himself twice.
Chen Biao! Why are you yelling so loudly? Don’t you know that there are many cases where the elderly initiate arguments with others and then collapse in the process?
Now this important Yuan Dynasty captive has died in front of you. How are you going to explain to your lord!
Chen Biao was in a trance.
According to today's values, Chen Zuren cannot be killed, at least he cannot die at the hands of Chen Biao.
Chen Zuren has too many halos. Although later generations do not recognize the loyal ministers of the Yuan Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty had not yet been established, and most scholars still recognized the rule of the Yuan Dynasty. Therefore, Chen Zuren, who was arrested in place of the emperor, can be called a moral role model.
Furthermore, Chen Zuren was a top scholar in the Imperial Academy, a renowned scholar of his time. He had even persuaded the emperor not to renovate the damaged Xanadu, citing the waste of resources and labor, earning him a reputation for integrity and uprightness.
Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty had a very bad reputation among scholars.
This wasn't just a matter of foot-binding jarring the literati's hidden sexual quirks. More importantly, Zhu Yuanzhang was winning victory after victory, poised to unify the country. The literati were already preparing for Zhu Yuanzhang's offer of a way out, but Zhu Yuanzhang refused to do so and went so far as to teach the soldiers in the military camp how to read.
This is what really slapped them in the face.
Zhu Yuanzhang showed no respect for the virtuous and humble, and was extremely arrogant. Talented scholars are often arrogant and conceited, so who could tolerate such arrogance?
After Chen Biao learned about the little thoughts of these literati from several great masters in Yingtian, he came to Dadu this time to organize people to copy and deliver books, just to give the literati a way out.
The lord must do something that benefits the literati of the world, so that the literati will change their flags and sing praises for their lord.
But Chen Zuren is dead.
Chen Zuren, a great Confucian scholar and loyal minister of the Yuan Dynasty, died in front of him while trying to scam people.
The great Yuan loyalist used his life to stop Chen Biao's plan. The old man was still the wisest, and this time he was more skilled than Chen Biao, and Chen Biao was about to cry.
Chen Biao's mind was blank. He kept his head down and looked at the old man who had died suddenly in front of him with an expressionless face.
Deng Yu and Zhao Desheng, believing they had captured the Yuan emperor, were overjoyed. When they brought the captive back, they made a point of publicizing the event. So, when Zhu Wenzheng carried Chen Biao to watch the Yuan emperor, many generals and the civil servants assigned to assist Chen Biao also came to watch with great interest.
Some of the military commanders thought they were well hidden and were peeking in from the doors and windows, some pretended to be guards and came to watch openly; some of the civil officials pretended to be servants and stood nearby, pretending to be waiting for orders, and some took out paper and pen to act as record clerks.
There are many people not only on the Ming army side.
Deng Yu and Zhao Desheng, believing they had returned with a successful expedition, certainly wouldn't simply withdraw their forces after capturing the "Yuan emperor." They captured numerous Yuan officials and members of the imperial clan. Only the Yuan emperor, empress, and princes, escorted by Bolo Temur, fled hastily back to Shangdu on a dozen horsemen.
These people were all handcuffed and forced to kneel on the ground by Ming soldiers. Chen Zuren stood because he was the "Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty" and Deng Yu and Zhao Desheng gave him a little respect.
Now Chen Biao was taught a lesson with his life by Chen Zuren in front of many colleagues and prisoners, and he could not find any excuse to escape punishment.
The wonderful little drama in Chen Biao's mind has already begun, and he has no idea what to do to get out of this crisis.
He couldn't possibly ask for a military stick and then recite a self-criticism like Deng Yu and Zhao Desheng did, could he? Repenting was irrelevant. With his small physique, even if the person carrying out the military stick showed mercy, he wouldn't be able to withstand more than ten strokes.
Zhu Yuanzhang was not yet the Hongwu Emperor, and I, Chen Xiaobiao, was going to die here?
When a snowstorm was blowing in Chen Biao's mind, from the perspective of outsiders, it seemed that Chen Biao had cursed the great scholar to death, and was silently mourning for this once world-famous great scholar with a sad and disdainful expression.
In this world where "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" does not exist, the story of Zhuge Liang scolding Wang Lang to death has not yet appeared.
According to official history, Wang Lang died early due to illness and never fought against Zhuge Liang. There is no precedent in official history for a scholar directly engaging in verbal battles and cursing someone's death.
However, there are indeed many verbal battles among literati, and "debate with many people" is the highlight moment that many literati dream of.
When two scholars debated with each other, they could curse their opponents to death, which was almost the same as the "duel of honor" boasted by Western aristocrats.
If the literati had not had such a "dream of verbal battle", "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" would not have included the passage in which Zhuge Liang scolded Wang Lang to death; and this "verbal battle" would have been even less likely to become a classic in later generations, causing many people to mistakenly believe that it was official history.
Because it was not recorded in history and the people present had never seen it around them, and because "the world is around us", they thought it was a miracle that had never happened before.
They didn't understand the concept of sudden death from cardiovascular disease or cerebral hemorrhage. They only knew that Chen Zuren had been energetic just a moment ago, having eaten a large bowl of meat from the Ming army before coming here, and that he was even more energetic when he scolded Chen Biao. As a result, Chen Biao's rebuttals defeated Chen Zuren and he was almost killed by his scolding.
Curse...to death?
They looked at Chen Biao in a daze.
Chen Biao looked at Chen Zuren in a daze.
Chen Zuren stared blankly at the beams in the room with his eyes wide open.
They just looked at each other, and he looked at the roof with empty eyes for a long time.
It was not until Zhao Desheng's stomach made a loud "gurgling" sound that the quiet yet terrifying atmosphere was destroyed.
Zhao Desheng's grip loosened, and the knife fell to the ground with a clang. He clutched his stomach tightly, overcome with shame and anger.
Chen Biao calmed down from his panic only after hearing the sound of the knife falling to the ground.
He feigned composure and said, "Uncle Zhao, you've had a long journey. Go eat quickly. Come, gather Chen Zuren's remains. Post a notice inviting his relatives to claim his body for burial. If no one comes after the first seven days, find a spot on the outskirts of the city with green mountains and clear water facing upwards to bury him. This will serve as a token of his lifelong blind loyalty to the tyrant Yuan emperor."
Since he had been scammed, Chen Biao believed that he could only pretend to be confident and not lose his composure, lest he show weakness and be criticized.
If you are a scholar, you must be proud. If you are a scholar who is proud enough, you will not be scolded too much even if you do something that violates etiquette.
Chen Biao is no longer a military commander or military advisor. He is the most talented scholar of the younger generation under Zhu Yuanzhang. In his youthful arrogance, he quarreled with an old scholar and cursed him to death.
Chen Biao was pounding his fists on the ground. I didn't curse at all! I didn't even say a single dirty word! Can seeking truth from facts be considered cursing?
I feel wronged!
Chen Biao glanced calmly at the captives kneeling on the ground. The captives all shrank back, as if they were worried that Chen Biao would come and scold someone to death again.
"Untie them and separate them. Do not mistreat the prisoners. Once the lord learns you've captured the Yuan emperor, he'll surely march north quickly. We'll make a final decision once he arrives in Dadu." Chen Biao's tone was flat, his heart grieved. "Although it wasn't my intention, killing with words is still killing. Killing prisoners violates military orders. I will resign from my position and be confined for reflection."
"Biao'er! You don't have to be like this. His death has nothing to do with you!" Zhu Wenzheng glared at the people around him and said defensively, "You didn't even scold him. What does it have to do with you if he died of shame?"
Chen Biao's colleagues finally came to their senses and spoke up to defend him.
Even if they were frightened by the military advisor's move, they would never let the military advisor be charged with the crime of disobeying military orders.
The military advisor has relieved himself of his responsibilities. Who will be responsible for all these things?!
Besides, how can cursing a prisoner to death be called killing a prisoner? There has never been such a term from ancient times to the present!
However, Chen Biao was determined to leave . He immediately posted a notice, recited a self-criticism, and then added the word "acting" in front of his official title, waiting for Zhu Yuanzhang to issue an order to dismiss him.
Chen Biao thought he was being very humble, but his actions were spread as a rumor, and it became as if he was not satisfied with cursing a loyal minister of the Yuan Dynasty to death, and was deliberately being sarcastic to all the loyal ministers of the Yuan Dynasty in the world.
Apologize? Chen Biao explained that he did not curse, but just told the truth. At most, his voice was a little loud and scared the elderly. Is this an apology?
If this isn't yin and yang, then what is yin and yang?!
Zhu Yuanzhang has recently experienced both joy and sorrow.
First, he was almost frightened to death when he learned that Chen Biao had gone to the front line;
Then, he learned that Chen Biao had led the vanguard army to conquer Haijin Town, Tongzhou, and Yuan Dadu without losing a single soldier, and he almost died of joy;
Immediately afterwards, messengers Deng Yu and Zhao Desheng arrived with the good news that the Yuan Emperor had been captured. Zhu Yuanzhang was so happy that he was at a loss as to what to do. But half an hour later, the second letter arrived, saying that the two fools had caught the wrong person, and both the Yuan Emperor and Bolo Temur had escaped.
Zhu Yuanzhang's mood was so up and down that he almost suffocated for a short time.
While he was drinking the bitter medicine to calm his mind and cursing, the third letter arrived and Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned.
He foolishly summoned his great scholars and counselors and said, "I heard in storytelling that you scholars love to argue. It turns out that arguments can really kill people."
The five people, the "Four Masters of Eastern Zhejiang" and the "Two Confucian Scholars of Eastern Zhejiang", all shook their heads.
“Unheard of!”
“It has never been recorded in history books!”
"Is there really such a strange story in the world?!"
“Why can’t I see it with my own eyes!!”
"My lord, I will leave for Dadu today to help Biao'er." Liu Ji said, "Biao'er must be terrified."
The other four people said in unison, "Yes, yes, let's go too! Biao'er must be terrified!"
Zhu Yuanzhang cursed, "Get lost! You just want to watch the fun. I'm going back, and you guys stay here and continue to guard Wang Baobao! Didn't you say that counselors should give advice at this time? Why did you have to follow me to Gansu?"
Wang Xi smiled and said, "We're just at war now, so we don't need so many counselors. How about drawing lots? We'll keep two of them here to assist Generals Hu Dahai and Geng Zaicheng, and the rest will follow the lord to Dadu."
Liu Ji shook his head. "We can draw lots, but it's best if you don't go. You can't let your stand-in appease the people of Dadu and receive captured Yuan officials. And Biao'er is a hero of the Northern Expedition. Can you go to Dadu and not drink and talk with Biao'er?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said with a stern face, "Biao'er doesn't drink. He has a very low alcohol tolerance. If he drinks even a little, he'll have a headache the next day."
Liu Ji squinted his eyes and glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhu Yuanzhang coughed dryly and returned to his composure, "Biao'er is young and has made great contributions to the Northern Expedition. He should go back and rest. He is now being criticized by Chen's disciples, so it's a good time for him to go back and avoid the limelight."
Li Shanchang, who had been silent for a long time, rubbed his chest and finally calmed down.
The news that Biao'er was the first to capture the Yuan capital did not scare him, nor did the news that he captured the Yuan emperor but the wrong person. The news that Biao'er scolded the Yuan old scholar to death almost scared him to death.
He rubbed his pounding chest and said weakly, "Biao'er must not answer the sky. Biao'er's act of cursing someone to death may be condemned by thousands of people, but it may also make him famous. My lord must stand firmly on Biao'er's side and affirm that Biao'er is right. Even if Biao'er wants to retreat, my lord cannot let him retreat!"
After Li Shanchang, a not-so-orthodox scholar, spoke, several orthodox scholars frowned and thought for a while, then nodded.
Song Lian said, "My lord, a war of words is like a battle of warriors. If you retreat one step, you will retreat all the way. This incident of Biao'er has never happened before, so don't take it lightly."
Wang Xi spread his hands and said, "An old man started to scold Biao'er, and then died of shame after being refuted by Biao'er. Can it be Biao'er's fault? If Biao'er is wrong, the ministers under my lord will have a hard time in the future."
After hearing what Wang Xi said, Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to roll his eyes.
You know you guys curse every time you discuss things! I thought you had no self-awareness!
Ye Chen smiled and said, "If it weren't for Marshal Chang needing you, it would be most appropriate to let you help Biao'er with this matter. You are very good at this. I have learned a few tricks from you. My lord, can you let me go to Dadu?"
Everyone looked at him with disdain. Your previous few words of nonsense were just to compete for going to Dadu.
Zhang Yi tried to smooth things over, saying, "Indeed, Biao'er should not be punished for this matter. In fact, the lord should reward Biao'er."
Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a moment and said, "Change Dadu to Beiping Prefecture and let Biao'er be the prefect. After Dadu is taken, I should ascend the throne in Yingtian in the first month of next year. Biao'er cannot be in Yingtian when I ascend the throne."
With Chen Biao's current status and merits, if he were in Yingtian, he would be qualified to accompany Zhu Yuanzhang and watch him ascend the throne.
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't possibly have a replacement go with him when he ascended the throne, could he? Even if he didn't mind, the replacement would probably have committed suicide rather than go.
Li Shanchang continued, "My lord must go to Dadu, but you can send Biao'er away first. My lord will ascend the throne next year. How about Biao'er take charge of your seal and go home to worship your ancestors on your behalf?"
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said, "Mr. Li, this is a good idea! He is my son, and he should go to worship the ancestors on my behalf."
Whether it was to expand the results of the Northern Expedition or to prepare for the enthronement in Yingtian, Zhu Yuanzhang had no time to return home. As the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty and the future crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, Chen Biao should of course go to worship the ancestors on Zhu Yuanzhang's behalf.
However, when the emperor himself was not available, had no offspring or his offspring were too young, he would send clan members or trusted ministers to offer sacrifices to his ancestors.
Zhu Yuanzhang now announced that all his relatives had died, so he could only send his trusted ministers. If Chen Biao was sent by Zhu Yuanzhang to pay homage to his ancestors, it would not only temporarily avoid Zhu Yuanzhang's return to Yuan Dadu, but also let the outside world know that Zhu Yuanzhang not only did not ignore Chen Biao for his curse, but also appreciated and valued him even more.
"It's a pity that Biao'er's plan to arrange for people to copy books and help me gain fame among scholars has failed." Zhu Yuanzhang sighed, "I don't mind it, but Biao'er must be unhappy."
Liu Ji, who had been silent for a while, suddenly burst into laughter.
Zhu Yuanzhang said depressedly: "I sigh, why are you laughing?"
Liu Ji smiled and said, "I've figured it out. Biao'er's actions may seem like they're being condemned by the world, but in fact, they're a perfect opportunity for you, my lord, to break the impasse! Why don't you announce it to the world, letting those who support the Yuan Dynasty and those who oppose it engage in a verbal battle? With Biao'er's example of scolding someone to death, I'm afraid many scholars will be eager to become the next one to do it."
Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked.
Liu Bowen, are you serious? Are all the scholars in the world supposed to be boiling with passion over my family's curses instead of being filled with righteous indignation? Are they even considering trying to curse someone to death themselves?
You're kidding me!
Zhu Yuanzhang thought Liu Ji's suggestion was a bit frivolous. He probably just wanted to curse someone to death for fun, and deliberately said that others wanted to do the same.
Zhu Yuanzhang originally wanted to mock Liu Ji in this way, but he saw that the literati in front of him all showed overly bright smiles, even Li Shanchang was stroking his beard.
Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked again.
I’m afraid all the literati in my family have that big problem!
