When Mrs. Ma was pregnant with Chen Biao, Chang Yuchun had just defected to Zhu Yuanzhang and was in the observation period, serving as Zhu Yuanzhang's personal soldier and vanguard.
While on the road to war, Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed to hear that his wife was finally pregnant.
Coincidentally, Chang Yuchun said that his wife was finally pregnant with their first child. Zhu Yuanzhang said that his first child must be a son and Chang Yuchun's must be a daughter, and he would let Chang Yuchun's daughter marry his son.
Zhu Yuanzhang was really just talking nonsense and was just trying to bully Chang Yuchun.
He and Chang Yuchun had waited a long time for his wife to get pregnant, eagerly waiting for a son to come out and inherit the family line. He said that Chang Yuchun's wife's first child must be a daughter. What else could that be but bullying?
Who would have thought that his words would come true, he really had a son, and Chang Yuchun really only had a daughter.
What's even more embarrassing is that if Chang Yuchun worked very hard afterwards and became his trusted general, his status would rise steadily. This year, he was finally promoted from vanguard to marshal and could lead the army alone.
As for this joke of arranged marriage... well, it seems a bit embarrassing to pretend that nothing happened.
With Chang Yuchun's current status and position, the marriage was actually possible. After the wedding, talking about that joke again became a good story.
But his son was no ordinary man.
Zhu Yuanzhang could already imagine what expression his son would show and what words he would say when he found out about his arranged marriage.
Dad, if you are sick, take medicine. My Chen family still has money to treat your illness and buy medicine for your brain.
Oh, my son will definitely say that! The villain in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart rolled on the ground holding his head.
Chang Yuchun was sensible and did not mention it to anyone else. But Zhu Yuanzhang was so excited that he talked loudly and many people heard it.
Well, I feel a little sorry for the Chang family's daughter, but the children are still young, right? No rush, wait, wait a little longer.
Zhu Yuanzhang temporarily chose to escape.
This isn't an escape; it's just that the children are still young! It's not advisable to talk about marriage too early!
Zhu Yuanzhang called his trusted generals to his side and continued to preside over the memorial service.
This sacrifice was not only to avenge the people of Yangzhou, but also to serve as a wake-up call to the soldiers under his command.
This year, Chang Yuchun was finally able to lead troops alone. Zhu Yuanzhang had high expectations for him, hoping that he could restrain his banditry and become a good general with strict discipline like Xu Da and Tang He.
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at the expressions of Chang Yuchun and Lan Yu, and nodded in his heart. If they know how to be afraid, they can be taught.
The captured Qing soldiers filled the soil with pale faces.
After seeing Zhu Yuanzhang sacrifice human flesh to the people of Yangzhou, the devilish aura that had been in their hearts for a long time seemed to dissipate all at once, and fear crept back into their hearts.
Cowardice is also part of human nature. Looking at their terrified faces and their mouths mumbling incoherent words to exorcise ghosts that they had heard from somewhere, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes dimmed.
The reason why his eyes were dim was that he realized that this group of man-eating green soldiers were also human beings, all bullied lower-class people, and ordinary people like those in the pit of corpses.
Is it really the cause of the chaos in the world that people turn into evil spirits and demons?
Is there anything that can permanently resolve this issue? Is the "enlightenment" that Confucian scholars advocate effective?
If it worked, how could they just sit there and watch their mothers, wives, and daughters' feet become like that?
Zhu Yuanzhang used to be confused, just like Chang Yuchun now. He only cared about making a name for himself and giving himself, his eldest sister, and his children a good life.
When he saw Chang Yuchun, it was like seeing his past self, so he took extra care of Chang Yuchun.
Now that he has read a lot of books, his mind seems to be clearer, but also seems to be more confused.
He saw many problems, but after searching through history books, he could not find any solutions to them.
Could he only think of these methods himself? But he didn't even have a clue, so how could he think?
Zhu Yuanzhang squatted by the pit in a daze.
Song Lian and Ye Zheng looked at Zhu Yuanzhang, who had the temperament of a tyrant just now, and now suddenly turned into a simple middle-aged farmer who seemed to be squatting in front of the door to bask in the sun. The frightening and domineering expression on his face faded, and he actually looked a little honest. They couldn't help feeling complicated.
The two men sighed, tied the hems of their robes around their waists, tied their sleeves into knots, and also helped to bury the soil.
We can consider whether to help this tyrant later. Let the people of Yangzhou rest in peace first.
After the pit was filled, Zhu Yuanzhang took Xu Da and Chang Yuchun as laborers. The three of them carried a thick cypress tree and planted it on the grave.
Afterwards, the generals came forward one by one and planted more cypress trees on the grave.
Song Lian and Ye Zheng also planted cypress trees with their own hands.
The majestic cypress trees stood upright behind the stone tablet like guards, making the horrific sacrificial scene finally return to solemnity.
However, after Zhu Yuanzhang let the human flesh and broth used for the sacrifice cool down, he scattered them all in the cypress forest, and the solemnity returned to a terrifying state.
The corners of Song Lian and Ye Zheng's mouths twitched slightly.
Zhu Yuanzhang was a man who did things as he pleased, without any rules or regulations, and he didn't care about his reputation or the consequences. No wonder Li Shanchang, a man in his forties, burst into tears when he mentioned Zhu Yuanzhang, looking very embarrassed.
After the cypress forest was planted, Zhu Yuanzhang personally wrote a decree that the trees could not be cut down, but people could enter the forest to collect firewood.
Song Lian was puzzled. If the cemetery was to be kept dignified, all activities should be banned.
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "We've occupied such a large area of land. If we completely ban the common people from entering, all good things will turn into disasters. I believe those buried under the forest would not mind sharing some firewood and volcanic materials with the poor."
Song Lian's face turned pale. "Firewood is fine, but what about wild game?! Is there anyone hunting here?"
Seeing Song Lian like this, Zhu Yuanzhang laughed: "If a person is extremely hungry, he will steal offerings from the Buddha and catch foxes, weasels, and even rats from the graves to eat. How normal. After all, it's still a meal of meat."
Zhu Yuanzhang, who had been a monk and a beggar, had a lot of experience in this regard.
Song Lian sighed. Although his expression was still a little grim, he nodded and said, "That's true."
Zhu Yuanzhang was a little surprised to see Song Lian's reaction.
He thought Song Lian would find it difficult to accept, but he didn't expect that Mr. Song was actually a very open-minded person.
After burying the soil and planting trees together, the atmosphere between Zhu Yuanzhang, Song Lian and Ye Zheng became much better.
Chen Biao was about to arrive, so Xu Da took Chang Yuchun to live far away to prevent him from exposing Zhu Yuanzhang.
Chen Guorui's residence was arranged behind the Marshal's Mansion temporarily requisitioned in Yangzhou. There was a secret door leading first to the courtyard where Xu Da was temporarily staying, and then to the Marshal's Mansion.
There was a problem with the two gentlemen's accommodation. After consulting Zhu Yuanzhang, Xu Da arranged for the two gentlemen to live near Chang Yuchun, saying that Chang Yuchun had enough evil spirit to suppress the lingering ghost aura in Yangzhou.
Chang Yuchun hesitated to speak. In fact, he was still afraid. General Xu really thought too highly of him.
Song Lian and Ye Zheng had no objection to this arrangement. Having just joined Zhu Yuanzhang, he certainly wouldn't place them in such a position of crucial confidentiality. Having Chang Yuchun serve as their "guard" was already enough of a sign of Zhu Yuanzhang's respect for them.
That night, Zhu Yuanzhang held a banquet at the Marshal's Mansion to entertain the two great writers who had come to him on their own initiative.
It was not suitable to eat rich fish and meat after the sacrifice. However, the chefs around Zhu Yuanzhang were all trained by Chen Biao in the Chen Mansion. They could make a table of delicious dishes with only vegetables and staple foods.
It was just that the sight of Zhu Yuanzhang holding a large bowl and eating noodles was really unsightly.
"Sorry, I wanted to pretend, but we'll be working together from now on, so I can't pretend forever," Zhu Yuanzhang said sheepishly. "I haven't eaten for most of the day, and I'm starving."
Song Lian and Ye Zheng looked at Zhu Yuanzhang's honest expression and really didn't know what to say.
Just looking at Zhu Yuanzhang now, how could we have imagined that he would be a tyrant in the future?
People with foresight can see the big picture from the small details.
A person who kills people does not necessarily become a tyrant.
Even those who massacre a city do not necessarily become tyrants.
Zhu Yuanzhang's methods this time were not too cruel, but Song Lian and Ye Zheng believed that he would definitely become a tyrant.
Tyrants who kill indiscriminately will eventually be overthrown and are not to be feared. The tyrants that scholars fear most are those like the Qin Shi Huang and Han Wudi, whose "tyranny" was merely a means of achieving excellence as emperors.
Although Song Lian and Ye Zheng did not agree with Zhu Yuanzhang's use of human flesh for sacrifice, they did not think that Zhu Yuanzhang's actions were against the harmony of nature.
Calling Zhang Mingjian a beast is an insult to beasts, and he deserves to be cut into pieces. They tried to stop Zhu Yuanzhang only because doing so would harm his reputation.
They originally thought that Zhu Yuanzhang didn't know this, but after listening to Zhu Yuanzhang's words, they found that Zhu Yuanzhang was very clear about the consequences of doing so.
Zhu Yuanzhang said that he wanted to become the biggest villain that the villains feared, and the sharpest knife representing the will of the people.
This sentence shows that if Zhu Yuanzhang becomes emperor in the future, he will definitely not choose a gentle way to govern the country.
Corrupt officials? Powerful families? Sharply cut them down. Even if the court is mostly empty, what does it matter?
Song Lian and Ye Zheng were indeed very accurate in their predictions.
In history, Zhu Yuanzhang did not understand why all officials were corrupt, so he skinned the corrupt officials and stuffed them with straw, using greater "evil" to stop the evil in the hearts of those officials.
Military settlements, commercial settlements, the military household system, and the grain chief system—all of these "bad policies" criticized in the middle and late Ming Dynasty were actually good policies during the reigns of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di. Because the swords in their hands corrupted people faster than they could.
Zhu Yuanzhang, who is very clear about the reasons for his "evil deeds" every time and is calm and rational every time, is a qualified tyrant.
A qualified tyrant is also a qualified king.
However, qualified tyrants in history often end up being unqualified tyrants. They lose their minds, become blinded by killing, and their sober killing becomes a pure release of bloodlust, bringing great disasters to the country and the people.
Zhu Yuanzhang is indeed a qualified tyrant now, but what about the future? Can he control himself and not become a pure murderous evil spirit?
Song Lian and Ye Zheng were both unsure.
Zhu Yuanzhang was also quite nervous.
Although he felt that he had done nothing wrong, if he angered the great writers again, would Li Shanchang be so angry that he would go on strike?
That wouldn't do. If Li Shanchang went on strike, he would have to take over and would have no time to go out and fight. He still wanted to conquer the country for his son as soon as possible.
"Um, Mr. Song, Mr. Ye." Zhu Yuanzhang rubbed his hands together when he was nervous, a bad habit he had developed as a farmer, a monk, and a beggar. "Just say whatever you want to say."
Song Lian and Ye Zheng came back to their senses and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang's uneasy look, feeling even more helpless.
This Zhu Yuanzhang...has a very split personality.
Ye Zheng sighed and asked first, "Marshal Zhu, you said you wanted to be the sharpest knife for the people. Are you...are you going to chop off all the corrupt officials in the future?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Ah, yes!"
Song Lian and Ye Zheng: “…” Oh my god!
Song Lian and Ye Zheng were deeply troubled. This Marshal Zhu... well, a tyrant is a tyrant, but he's a bit foolish, which makes things even more troublesome.
Song Lian and Ye Zheng tried to convince Zhu Yuanzhang that even though they read the books of sages and believed that everyone could become a sage through enlightenment, they also knew the truth that "clear water has no fish." Even if they wanted to rectify the bureaucracy, it would not be as simple as just taking up the butcher's knife.
Zhu Yuanzhang scratched his head and said, "How complicated."
Song Lian and Ye Zheng: "..." If this was their student, they would have already punished him with a ruler.
Zhu Yuanzhang also found himself somewhat irritated by this. He put on a simple, perfunctory smile, saying, "If only this could be resolved once and for all. Alas, I know it's not that simple. But even when I look at the prosperous times described in history books, there are still people who go hungry and cold, there are still corrupt officials who bully people, and there are still people who are forced to rise up in rebellion..."
Zhu Yuanzhang paused and continued, "I just thought that prosperous times are like this, and I want to do better."
If he was like Emperor Gaozu of Han, representing the "mandate of heaven" that the common people at the bottom had been fighting for for thousands of years, he would not be satisfied if he could only achieve the level of prosperity described in history books.
What's more, he has a divine son.
He must and should be able to do better.
"Of course, I also know that relying solely on killing will definitely not lead to a prosperous era." Zhu Yuanzhang touched his head and smiled triumphantly, "But I have a capable son. I will help him conquer this world first, drive out the Tartars, and then kill all the corrupt officials. After that, it will definitely be much easier for my son to rule the country."
Song Lian and Ye Zheng: "Marshal, how old is your son?"
Zhu Yuanzhang raised his thumb, revealing his eight not-so-white teeth: "Five years old!"
Song Lian and Ye Zheng: "..."
You're counting on your five-year-old son now. You're...
The two great writers swallowed the curses in their hearts, as if they had swallowed a mouthful of old blood, and suffered some internal injuries.
Zhu Yuanzhang was still there, grinning: "Mr. Song, Mr. Ye, are you not leaving?"
Song Lian and Ye Zheng sighed at the same time.
"Well, I'm not leaving."
"I never planned to leave in the first place."
"But Marshal, you should change your temper. At least pretend."
"Yes, Marshal. I know you care about the people, but the country still needs scholars to govern. If your reputation among them is too bad, even if you conquer many cities, who will help you govern?"
"At least pretend. History books are full of examples, Marshal. I can explain them to you."
"Although some scholars may be pedantic, there is always a place for them to be useful. Marshal, you should understand how to make the best use of everything."
Song Lian and Ye Zheng spoke to each other and tried to persuade him earnestly.
Zhu Yuanzhang made perfunctory sounds like "ah" and "oh" and seemed to be listening attentively, but Song Lian and Ye Zheng both knew that this man absolutely ignored their words.
Marshal Zhu was not yet an emperor, but he already showed the embryonic form of a tyrant.
The two great writers sighed to each other.
"Are you leaving then?"
"No. What about you?"
"Lian practices Confucianism and Buddhism. If I don't go to hell, who will?"
"Oh."……
Zhu Yuanzhang coughed dryly: "Are they fighting?"
Guards: "It wasn't really a fight, they just kicked each other a few times."
Zhu Yuanzhang laughed: "I didn't expect these two scholars to have quite... interesting personalities in private."
The personal soldiers thought, no matter how interesting it was, it would not develop to the point where Mr. Li chased after the generals with his fists swinging and beat them up.
should.
Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and asked his guards to retreat.
He walked through Xu Da's yard and snatched the roast chicken from Xu Da who was having a midnight snack in the courtyard. He then returned to Chen Guorui's house while gnawing on the chicken leg.
You can't eat meat after the sacrifice, understand? The roasted chicken is confiscated!
Xu Da looked at Zhu Yuanzhang's back and secretly gave him two middle fingers.
Zhu Yuanzhang returned to "Chen Guorui's" house. After eating the chicken, he took a bath and changed his clothes. He put on a loose scholar's robe, lit an oil lamp, sat cross-legged on the couch, took out "Marx's Philosophy" from under the pillow and continued reading.
The table of contents of this book "Marx's Philosophy" is very confusing, and Zhu Yuanzhang suspected that Chen Biao wrote whatever he thought of.
After scribbling some confusing and incomprehensible content, Chen Biao finally began to write the "outline".
The first part is dialectical materialism.
Zhu Yuanzhang tried very hard to read, but although he could understand the words "matter, consciousness, materialism, and idealism", he had no idea what they meant when put together.
Zhu Yuanzhang frowned. It was indeed a heavenly book; reciting it was almost as hypnotic as Buddhist scriptures.
Judging from the time, no matter how long Li Zhen delays, Chen Biao should be here tomorrow.
Zhu Yuanzhang turned over the part he didn't understand, stopped struggling, and looked at the next part.
Historical materialism.
…
"A-choo." Chen Biao rubbed his nose. "What's that smell?"
Li Zhen sniffed it and said, "It smells like incense, candles, and paper money."
Chen Biao covered his nose and said, "This is too strong."
Li Zhen said, "I heard that the Marshal erected a monument in Yangzhou City yesterday to commemorate the people who died in the disaster. That's why the smell is so strong."
Chen Biao muttered, "Isn't he setting himself on fire? How will he argue when he massacres the city later?"
Li Zhen was puzzled: "Why did the Marshal massacre the city? He has never done such a thing."
Although the Red Turban Army did not have good military discipline from the beginning and had committed robberies after entering the city, Zhu Yuanzhang's subordinates had never committed massacres.
Chen Biao said, "Didn't Chang Yuchun, who was beaten up by Uncle Li, like to massacre people?"
Li Zhen was at a loss for words. "Biao'er, where did you hear that rumor? Chang Yuchun has only just taken command of the army this year, and hasn't fought many battles yet. Perhaps his men have the bad habit of killing innocent people to claim credit, but they definitely haven't massacred a city."
In this era, no matter who's army was, it was inevitable that they would plunder after breaking into a city, and even more inevitable that they would kill innocent people to gain credit. So in the eyes of the world, this was not considered a stain.
Chen Biao said, "Not now? Then maybe later. Ah, maybe I remembered it wrongly. Ouch, my nose hurts so much, A-choo, A-choo, A-choo!"
Chen Biao covered his nose and sneezed repeatedly, his eyes turning red and tearful.
Li Zhen quickly cut a piece of mosquito-proof gauze and wrapped it around Chen Biao's mouth and nose to cover up the strong smell of incense ash.
Chen Wenzhen tried to laugh at Chen Biao for being too delicate, but when Chen Biao raised his little fist, he decisively shut his mouth.
When Chen Biao is about to hit someone with his little fist, it proves that Chen Biao is really angry.
Although Chen Biao's chubby little fist couldn't hurt anyone, if Chen Biao was really angry, it meant that he couldn't expect to have any good food until Chen Biao calmed down.
In fact, Chen Wenzhen was not particularly greedy for the food, but his whole family was eating delicious food, and he was isolated and felt uncomfortable.
When Li Zhen's convoy entered the territory of Yangzhou, Zhu Yuanzhang's personal soldiers came to pick them up and led them directly to "Chen Guorui" to avoid being exposed.
Whenever Zhu Yuanzhang captured a city, people from Chenji Trading Company would immediately come to help rebuild the economic order in the city.
The arrival of Li Zhen and others did not attract the attention of other Red Turban Army generals.
They successfully entered the mansion where Chen Guorui was temporarily staying. Li Zhen dismounted and carried Chen Biao, who was lying on the hammock pretending to be dead, down from the horse.
Xu Da was already waiting at the door.
When he looked at the listless Chen Biao, he was extremely worried: "What happened to Biao'er?"
Li Zhen said, "It's the smell of incense ash."
Xu Da laughed, took Chen Biao from Li Zhen, and patted Chen Biao's chubby little butt: "Why are you so fragile?"
Chen Biao tore off the veil from his face, grabbed Xu Da's collar and wiped his nose, saying as he wiped, "I'm just so fragile. Where's my dad? Is he okay? Is he not having a seizure?"
Li Zhen took Chen Wenzheng and Li Baoer to pack up the supplies they had brought from Yingtian. Xu Da carried Chen Biao, who was frantically wiping his nose with his new silk clothes, and walked in: "What could possibly be wrong with the boss? Biao'er, what nonsense are you talking about? The boss is in there, I'll take you..."
“So that’s how it is!! So that’s how it is!!!”
Xu Da paused.
"I got it!! I got it!!!"
Xu Da began to sweat on his forehead.
Listening to the ghostly howling in the house, Chen Biao was stunned for a moment, then he tugged at Xu Da's long hair that had just been washed and was hanging in front of his chest: "Quick! Come in quickly!!"
Xu Da rushed in holding Chen Biao.
After entering the door, Zhu Yuanzhang held the "Heavenly Book" in one hand, clenched his fist with the other, stretched his hands upwards, knelt on the ground, looked up at the sky, tears streaming down his face.
Xu Da quickly put Chen Biao down and ran forward: "Boss, Boss! What's wrong with you?"
Chen Biao shouted, "Quickly take the book away from him!"
When Chen Biao roared, Xu Da acted decisively and quickly snatched the book from the excited Zhu Yuanzhang's hand.
Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned for a moment, then roared, "Give it back to me!"
"What's going on? Who's howling? Have we encountered an assassin?" Chen Wenzhen and Li Baoer heard the roar and hurried in.
Xu Da quickly threw the book at Chen Biao, and was then knocked to the ground by Zhu Yuanzhang's punch.
Zhu Yuanzhang: "My book!"
Xu Da, who was lying on the ground, pounced and hugged Zhu Yuanzhang's legs: "Run!"
Chen Biao picked up the book and put it in his arms. Xiaopang pointed his finger and said, "Hurry up and hold my dad down!"
The two sworn brothers, who were frightened by Zhu Yuanzhang's crazy behavior, finally came to their senses and rushed forward to hold Zhu Yuanzhang on the left and right.
Zhu Yuanzhang had three people hanging on his arms and legs, but he was still able to move towards Chen Biao step by step.
He pleaded, his red eyes bloodshot, tears actually falling: "Biao'er, give me the heavenly book, let me take a look, take another look..."
The three people hanging on Zhu Yuanzhang: "!!!"
My great-grandmaster/godfather has gone insane from reading the heavenly book?!
Zhu Yuanzhang: "Biao'er!"
Chen Biao stepped back step by step: "Dad, Dad, calm down, don't scare me, ouch!"
Chen Biao's short legs were tripped by the threshold behind him, and he fell backwards and rolled down the stairs.
“Biao’er?!!!”