Chapter 155 The Good Emperor is Constantly Busy with Household Matters
The Zhang family hated the Liu family.
For the Ming court officials, whether Zhang Shicheng and his wife died tragically or heroically was not important or relevant. They needed to calmly assess the impact of this incident on the Ming court.
Of course, none of them thought that Zhang Shixin did not deserve to die. When Zhang Shixin died, many Ming generals drank a large jar of wine to celebrate secretly.
Who would want to work with that disgusting guy Zhang Shixin?!
However, Zhang Shixin was indeed the first meritorious official in capturing Pingjiang City (thinking of this, the Ming generals felt even more disgusted and believed that Zhang Shixin deserved to die). Although Liu was pleased to kill Zhang Shixin, they could only stand on the right side in the court and could not take revenge.
However, they also did not want to humiliate this strong-willed woman who had helped them eliminate a disgusting colleague, as the Zhang family wished. So they compromised and suggested that Liu be buried separately.
But who is Zhu Yuanzhang?
Chen Biao said before that he knew what was the right thing to do, but does one have to do things in the right way?
Zhu Yuanzhang is Chen Biao's father. In terms of his willfulness, he is definitely the big Chen Biao.
Although it was wrong for Liu to kill the meritorious official of the Ming Dynasty, I felt very happy about it, so I wanted to fulfill Liu's wish and let her be buried with Zhang Shicheng.
As for what Zhang Shicheng thinks, can he really crawl out of his grave to settle accounts with me?
I am not even afraid of the living Zhang Shicheng, so why would I be afraid of the corpse of Zhang Shicheng who was forced to commit suicide by me?
Zhu Yuanzhang then issued an edict. Zhang Shicheng had intended to entrust Liu and their young son to Zhang Shixin, but Zhang Shixin, while discussing with Liu, attempted to harm Liu. In her resistance, Liu accidentally killed Zhang Shixin, having already paid the price with her own life. One life for another, enough was enough.
Zhang Shicheng and Liu were a loving couple and should be buried together; the matter between Zhang Shixin and Liu was Zhang Shicheng's family affair, which was difficult for an honest official to judge, and even for a good emperor, so he ignored it and let Zhang Shicheng handle it himself.
Zhang Shicheng, Zhang Shixin, and Liu had all gone to the underworld, and they must be reunited now. Zhang Shicheng would surely be able to handle his family affairs well, so the Ming court need not worry.
Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang posthumously conferred the title of Duke of Wu on Zhang Shicheng and the title of Lady Liu as the Lady of Wu, while Zhang Shixin still held the title of Earl of Guiyi. Zhang Shicheng and Liu were buried together in the main tomb, while Zhang Shixin was buried beside it, not just in a separate mausoleum.
Zhu Yuanzhang pretended to sob and said, "The three of us are buried together. We will surely meet again in the afterlife soon. Let Zhang Shicheng choose between his brother or his wife."
As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang issued the imperial decree, there were only two words in everyone's mind: "Outrageous"!
Chen Biao was also stunned: "The emperor, the emperor..."
Liu Ji said: "Absurd!"
Li Shanchang said, "I have a headache."
Ji Renshou sighed: "What a mess."
Zhu Sheng closed his eyes and didn't want to talk.
Song Lian said, "The Emperor should discuss with us and polish the imperial edict."
Wang Xi shrugged. "You'll get used to it. I actually think it's quite satisfying."
Ye Chen held his forehead with his hand: "Your Majesty always likes to make things more difficult for the historians."
Only Ye Zheng sighed and smiled without saying anything.
After careful consideration, Chen Biao said, "It's actually nothing. Now that the world is peaceful, there will be no more surrendering generals. The emperor is pleased, it's just a small matter, so let him be. Besides, Liu can be buried with Zhang Shicheng, which will appease Zhang Shicheng's former generals. Who knows, the emperor's temporary satisfaction may be the most beneficial choice."
Everyone was even more speechless.
Well, the prince actually thinks so too? Profits... well, that's fine.
Actually, they had to do it. Zhu Yuanzhang had already issued an imperial decree, so what else could they do?
Song Lian sighed: "My lord has become the emperor, but he still puts profit first in everything. This is not good."
Chen Biao shook his head. "Precisely because you're the emperor, you should prioritize your own interests in everything. Given your personality, your interests are the interests of the Ming Dynasty, and the interests of the Ming Dynasty are the interests of the people. For the benefit of the Ming Dynasty and its people, you can't be a gentleman with perfect morals. A sage monarch can't govern a country well."
Not to mention Song Lian, even other literati frowned.
If they didn't believe in Chen Biao's character, they would have been cursing him now.
Chen Biao knew they couldn't understand. He wanted to fool them by laughing, but Zhu Yuanzhang pushed the door open.
"Biao'er, what do you mean by that?" Zhu Yuanzhang immediately squeezed in and sat next to Chen Biao.
Chen Ying dragged a chair over with an expressionless face and asked the emperor to sit elsewhere. Zhu Yuanzhang refused to even glance at his loyal adopted son, wanting to squeeze him out.
Chen Biao said, "Go away, there are so many chairs, why are you squeezing me? Dad, why are you eavesdropping again?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said confidently: "I am going back to my own home, how can you call it eavesdropping? Speak quickly, don't interrupt. You see, the gentlemen are also very curious."
Chen Biao first asked Chen Ying, who was standing behind Zhu Yuanzhang as a guard, to sit down before saying, "The emperor's only goal is to govern the country well. However, a country is not a person, but a group of people, and everyone has different interests. In the process of resource allocation, it is inevitable that the interests of some people will be harmed. If morality is the only thing to do, then this country will be impossible to govern."
Chen Biao began to give examples: "For example, the Western Han Dynasty relocated the powerful people of the six kingdoms to guard the mausoleum. This was certainly good for the country and the people, but what about the powerful people of the six kingdoms? The powerful people were not necessarily all bad people. There might be moral gentlemen who were kind and generous. Is it moral for the emperor to relocate them from their hometowns?"
Seeing everyone deep in thought, Chen Biao added, "For example, throughout history, there have been reforms. The emperor has used capable ministers to carry out reforms, and then, to appease public resentment, he has executed or demoted these innocent ministers, but the system that had already been changed remains unchanged. This is certainly immoral, but can you think of a more moral way to avoid national losses?"
Zhu Yuanzhang frowned.
Chen Biao was silent for a long time, then continued, "And... Dad, you know that land annexation was a serious problem at the end of the dynasty. In fact, the people lost their land. In addition to land annexation, there was another big problem, which was that the population was too large during the prosperous era."
Zhu Yuanzhang asked: "In a prosperous era, a large population is a good thing!"
Chen Biao smiled bitterly. "Good? How is it good? There's only so much land, and the land can only produce so much. How are we going to feed the extra population? Even if all the wise rulers in history gathered together, they couldn't solve this natural law!"
This truth is very simple, but no one has ever thought about it until someone points it out.
It's like the simplest mathematical law: even an elementary school student can prove it once they know how to derive it. But figuring out this simple proof only takes a flash of genius.
After Chen Biao raised this issue, it was as if a ray of light broke through the fog in front of everyone's eyes, and their horizons were suddenly broadened.
Ye Zheng stood up suddenly and paced back and forth: "That's it, so that's it! Everything that goes up must come down, so that's it, that's it!"
Dynasties always rise and fall. Is it a tyrant ruler? A treacherous minister? Is it the dynasty's declining fortunes?
Both.
But the most fundamental reason is that the people cannot survive.
The nobles will have more and more children, and the common people will also have more and more children; the nobles will rob the common people of their land, and the common people will rise up in rebellion when they can no longer survive, and then a group of people will die, and the power dynamics will be reshuffled.
Everything that rises must decline, and everything that comes together must separate.
I can’t support so many people.
Is there a solution? Yes. But that solution would require a dynasty with extremely high charisma and execution capabilities, which a feudal dynasty could not achieve.
So how did the feudal dynasty solve this problem?
Zhu Yuanzhang gritted his teeth, making a creaking sound. "Fight! Conquer more territory!"
Everyone's heart trembled.
The only solution they could think of was war, which would not only allow them to gain more land but also kill a large number of soldiers, thus reducing population pressure.
When they think about the revival in history books, they find that it basically occurred after a major war.
"Is this moral? It's immoral." Chen Biao's tone was very cold, as if he were a condescending bystander.
Zhu Yuanzhang lowered his head and frowned tightly.
Chen Biao stretched out his finger and tapped Zhu Yuanzhang's brow: "Oh, Dad, are you scared?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said awkwardly, "I'm scared, I'm scared. Biao'er, how can you still laugh? The chaos has just ended!"
Chen Biao shrugged. "It's precisely because the chaotic times have just ended. It will take at least a hundred years before the population increases and a wise, powerful, and immoral emperor emerges to consider the population explosion and land annexation. What does this have to do with us? For now, we should just recuperate, encourage land reclamation and childbirth. Each generation will do its own thing."
Zhu Yuanzhang: “…”
Everyone: “…”
Then why are you suddenly scaring us!
Chen Biao laughed and said, "Are you scared? Are you scared? If you are scared, then stop asking the Lord to be a morally perfect person. Which wise ruler in history was a morally perfect person? As long as the Lord cares about the people, he is qualified to be a wise ruler."
Zhu Yuanzhang exclaimed: "Well said!"
Everyone, including Zhu Yuanzhang's most loyal adopted son Chen Ying, looked at Zhu Yuanzhang speechlessly.
Well, Biaoer, what you said hit the nail on the head. Are you happy?
"If you can pay attention, then pay attention. If it involves the interests of the Ming Dynasty and the people, then don't worry about it." The morally perfect Song Lian was the first to speak. "For the sake of the people, some moral blemishes are worth it."
Zhu Sheng stroked his white beard and sighed deeply. "That's right. But I hope you'll consult with us before doing anything immoral. You should still do your best to maintain your image as a sage king. Let us play the bad guys."
Zhu Yuanzhang was surprised: "Really? There is such a good thing? ... Well, I mean, that's so embarrassing."
Loyal ministers: "..."
Chen Biao covered his ears and said, "Dad, why are you yelling so loudly? Go away, go away. You are squeezing me and yelling in my ears. You are deliberately torturing me. I want to complain to Mom."
Zhu Yuanzhang rubbed Chen Biao's head vigorously before he stood up and said, "I have something else to do. I'll go first. You guys can chat slowly."
After he finished speaking, he pulled Li Shanchang's sleeve with his left hand and Wang Xi's sleeve with his right hand, and dragged the two people away with reluctant expressions.
It’s great that others are serving tea and drinking tea, and we are not the ones busy.
"Is Zhang Yi asking to stay in Fujian because he knows he can't leave once he returns?" Liu Ji asked. "If he comes back, I'm afraid he'll be the one left behind in the Secretariat."
Because Zhang Yi was the most mature and steady, and not good at arguing with others, he was very suitable to be recommended (or framed) to the Secretariat.
After discussing serious matters, they started talking about interesting things about other colleagues. They laughed at their colleagues unscrupulously and immorally, and told Chen Biao about the situation in the court through their ridicule.
Can the ridicule of the immorality of a morally perfect person be called immoral? That is called idle talk.
Because Chen Biao went off topic, not only did Zhu Yuanzhang have more peace of mind, but this group of core civil officials also stopped making trouble about the joint burial of Zhang Shicheng and his wife.
Bury him, bury him. Biaoer is right. Compared with those false reputations, the most important thing is to make Zhang Shicheng's old subordinates return to their hearts.
Although Zhang Shicheng's former subordinates did not want Zhang Shixin to be buried with their former master, this was already the greatest concession made by the Ming Dynasty. They were filled with gratitude and were glad that Zhu Yuanzhang had finally returned to his loyalty.
After that, when Zhang Shicheng's former subordinates went to pay tribute to Zhang Shicheng and his wife, they would spit on Zhang Shicheng's tombstone. This was quite unhygienic and deserved condemnation. This is a later story.
Seeing that the dust had settled, the Zhang family had no other family member holding a high-ranking official position in Yingtian, so they had no choice but to leave in disgrace and return to their ancestral home.
Their dispute with Zhang Shicheng's former subordinates over this matter also completely lost their friendship. Zhu Yuanzhang no longer had to worry about Zhang Shicheng's former subordinates becoming disloyal.
As for Zhang Shicheng's two young sons, when they grew up, most of Zhang Shicheng's old subordinates had died of old age. Their descendants were children of Ming Dynasty officials and would not rebel against the Ming Dynasty for the sake of two orphans.
The core civil officials in the court sighed that it was just as the prince said, the emperor's "momentary anger" actually brought him the greatest benefit.
However, what Chen Biao said about the "future of the dynasty" still weighed heavily on their hearts, and was difficult to relieve, even though Chen Biao also said that "each generation should do its own thing."
This group of scholars and officials who followed Zhu Yuanzhang to fight in the early Ming Dynasty had experienced the ideological changes between the Song and Yuan Dynasties, which was a time when their thoughts were most active.
The old officials of the Yuan Dynasty have not yet entered the court to serve as officials, and the gentry and powerful people who want to keep the Chinese land corrupt have just begun to embroider the dragon flag of the Ming Dynasty. Now they are the only people with lofty ambitions and clear thoughts in the court.
They had just ended the chaotic times, and their attention was already turning to the irreversible chaos that might occur a hundred years later.
At this time, they remembered Chen Biao's memorial and realized something.
Biaoer always says that each generation should do its own thing, but has he really not left any room for future generations?
Chen Biao had no idea that his little thoughts were about to be exposed.
He stayed in Yingtian until late autumn and returned to Peking before the canal froze.
He couldn't let his younger brothers spend the New Year alone in Peking.
Ma Xiuying watched the big ship Chen Biao was on heading north with a very painful expression.
She is now the queen and has to host palace banquets, so she cannot reunite with her son.
Zhu Yuanzhang took Ma Xiuying into his arms and promised, "It's only this year. Next year, I will definitely settle the affairs of the two capitals, and we will spend the New Year with Biao'er and the others."
Ma Xiuying wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and smiled gently: "Well, I believe you, you can definitely do what you say."
Zhu Yuanzhang was flattered by Ma Xiuying: "Of course!"
On the boat, Chen Biao looked at the two children beside Chang Yuchun's legs and the two children behind him, his jaw dropping. "Uncle Chang, can you introduce them again? Who are these four people?!"
Chang Yuchun's black face had turned gray.
He lost color because he was too depressed.
Seeing that Chang Yuchun didn't want to talk, Chen Ying kindly repeated it for Chen Biao.
"The two children holding Marshal Chang's legs are the youngest sons of Zhang Shicheng, Duke of Wu. Their nicknames are Zhang Yizhang and Zhang Er."
The two children looked up timidly, and then continued to hide their heads behind Chang Yuchun's thick thighs.
"The tall boy is Chen Li, Chen Youliang's youngest son."
Chen Li, who is sixteen years old this year, shrank his shoulders awkwardly.
"I'm Mingsheng."
Another eleven-year-old boy pulled Chang Yuchun's sleeve and said with his head held high.
Chen Biao: “…”
It's great that I don't have to take care of the child, but why did the Emperor let Uncle Chang take care of the child? Doesn't the imperial physician know how to treat brain diseases?
