Corruption is unavoidable even now when we are facing a formidable enemy, demons are rampant, and humanity is facing a critical juncture of survival and in dire straits!
Both Lu Kaisheng and Guan Minghao were aware of the situation in this regard.
Although they have been in the Demon-Suppressing City for a long time, they still have some understanding of various aspects of China.
Hearing Su Che's strange question, they did not answer the question with a question. Instead, they asked Su Che why he asked this question and started thinking.
After a while, they also gave their answers.
Guan Minghao believes that greed is human nature. Where desires arise, corruption is inevitable. Whether it is taking shortcuts, helping future generations, or relying on the privileges of warriors, there are many people who do this.
It’s only because there are powerful enemies like demons at hand that the internal conflicts among humanity have never erupted.
If one day, humans finally defeat demons, then human society will inevitably become more and more distorted, and classes will become more and more solidified. At that time, the enemy will not be outside, but will arise within.
Of course, this is a matter for the future, and what will happen in the future is still unknown.
As for how to eliminate corruption in ancient times, his answer was that it was absolutely impossible!
Ancient dynasty.
If they were in their heyday.
Then they don't have a powerful enemy.
It is impossible to unite.
But if they are in the terminal stage.
It would be even more impossible to unite.
Everyone makes their own plans.
If you want to completely eradicate corruption, you have to eliminate greed, but this goes against human nature and is simply impossible to do.
However, Lu Kaisheng was not as pessimistic as Guan Minghao. He suggested that Su Che could start from other aspects, such as setting up various corruption investigation agencies and giving them sufficient power to intimidate officials and make corruption impossible.
However……
This method.
The ancients had thought about this.
In the Ming Dynasty, the Jinyiwei, the East Factory, and even the later West Factory, had such duties. Their appearance caused unrest in the officialdom and made the scholars hate them to the core. They all became lackeys with extremely bad reputations.
Their appearance severely troubled the bureaucratic class.
But it is undeniable that that period was the most comfortable time for the people.
But this method ultimately failed...
The desires that power breeds are endless.
Zhu Yuanzhang established the Jinyiwei to be responsible for military and political espionage and was under the jurisdiction of the emperor alone. However, he also realized the problems of the Jinyiwei and later abolished the Jinyiwei system.
During the reign of Zhu Di, he established the Jinyiwei.
But when the Jinyiwei became more and more powerful, it became less and less useful.
Zhu Di established the East Factory.
They were composed of eunuchs, who, in Zhu Di's view, were very close and reliable.
After all, eunuchs have no descendants and no power to inherit, so they can only be loyal to their master, that is, His Majesty the Emperor.
To some extent, this is indeed the truth.
But when the idea was implemented, distortion was inevitable.
As the power of the East Factory continued to grow, many eunuchs, because of their excessive power and lack of control, began to compete with ministers for power, which seriously affected the emperor's use of power.
In order to strengthen central authority and control the power of eunuchs, Ming Xianzong Zhu Jianshen established the Western Factory. To put it bluntly, the Western Factory was established to restrain the Eastern Factory.
However, in order to restrain the East Factory, it is inevitable to give the West Factory greater power, otherwise they will not be able to fulfill their role.
Just once more rights are given.
This is tantamount to drinking poison to quench thirst, forming a vicious cycle.
As the power of eunuchs continued to expand, many systems inevitably became distorted.
In fact, long before the establishment of the Western Factory, during the reign of Emperor Yingzong Zhu Qizhen of the Ming Dynasty, the chief eunuch Wang Zhen had publicly removed Zhu's iron plate that said "eunuchs are not allowed to interfere in government affairs", thus ushering in China's third era of eunuch dictatorship and national chaos.
Power is a poison that corrupts people's hearts. Even the most perfect system will eventually become corrupt as it continues.
Power never disappears, it just shifts.
The teacher and Professor Lu's ideas did not solve Su Che's problem.
In other words, this is an unsolvable problem in itself.
Su Che had previously asked this question to his heroes, hoping to get some inspiration from them, but this difficult question also stumped them.
Zhu Yuanzhang in history did well enough.
He established the Jinyiwei, issued a great edict, and killed hundreds of thousands of officials.
But even so, he still couldn't help but sigh, he could never kill them all, he could never kill them all!
The problem that Zhu Yuanzhang could not solve naturally could not be solved by other heroes.
This question.
In the end, Su Che was the only one who solved the problem.
…
In the blink of an eye, some days passed.
With continuous practice.
Su Che continued to grow stronger, gradually reaching the late stage of the seventh stage, and was only one step away from the perfection of the seventh stage.
Such a speed is terrifying.
From another perspective, this is normal.
After all, the Tiancang Realm is for people of the eighth level to practice, and it would be more effective for him who is at the seventh level. Besides, Su Che is also blessed with countless natural treasures.
It is understandable that he has cultivated so quickly.
This day.
Su Che looked at his Spirit Contract Book again.
After practicing for such a long time, Su Che was thinking about how to break the impasse from time to time, and finally he came up with some ideas.
Regardless, this problem must be faced eventually.
You can't just keep avoiding and not facing something just because it's too difficult.
If Zhu Yuanzhang saw that he kept evading and took back this opportunity, it would be too late for him to regret it.
so.
Su Che decided to simulate it once.
No matter what, difficulties must be faced eventually!
After opening the Book of Contracting Spirits, Su Che came to the Contracting Spirits Space.
There is still only one simulation option in the book.
Su Che didn't think much and made his choice directly.
As he made his choice, the words on the book slowly disappeared.
A line of text appears.
"If you cure it in the morning, you will be punished in the evening; if you cure it in the evening, you will be punished in the morning as well; if the body is not moved, people come to you one after another; if you cure it severely, you will be punished more often."
In a trance, Su Che could see this scene: the elderly Zhu Yuanzhang, sitting on the throne, facing such a cruel reality, his eyes filled with endless confusion.
Throughout his life, he killed countless people and ordered the killing of many more people than many people had ever seen in their lives. He always believed that as long as he killed enough people, he would be able to deter the villains, but the facts proved that too many people would not risk their lives for money!
The corpse has not been moved yet but people are coming one after another.
The more severe the cure, the more relapses there will be.
All the killing seemed meaningless.
This made Zhu Yuanzhang fall into confusion. He was like the setting sun, and the road was so long that even if he went against the tide, he could not reach his destination. He was even more desperate than Wu Zixu in the Spring and Autumn Period.
Su Che couldn't help but fall silent.
soon.
The picture slowly fades away.
The text appears in the book.
[You were born on a farm in Fengyang. ]
[Your father had eight children, but only six survived. You are the youngest, so your father named you Chongba according to your ranking.]
【This year, there was a severe drought throughout the country. 】
【This year, the plague was rampant. 】
【On April 6, your father died.】
【On April 9, your brother died.】
【On April 10th, your mother died.】
【Later, your family members died one after another in this plague and drought.】
[Not long after, your last relative, your second brother, also died.]
[The whole family is dead, and you are the only one left. 】
[You are so poor at this time that you don’t even have money to bury your parents. ]
[Your whole family is tenant farmers of the landlord, with no land of their own. You have worked so hard for so many years, but you are still so poor. Not only do you have no money, you also don’t have land to bury your parents.]
[You begged the landlord Liu De, hoping that he would give you a piece of land for burial, considering that your father had been farming for him all his life.]
[However, how could the landlord give his land to the tenants so easily? If you set a precedent, more and more people will ask for land for burial in the future! So the landlord Liu De rejected you without hesitation. ]
[In despair, you covered your parents' bodies with a torn straw mat and dragged them around with a door panel.]
[The land beneath your feet is everywhere, but none of it belongs to you, and none of it is a place to bury your parents.]
[Perhaps you were too miserable, and a kind-hearted person in the same village generously donated a piece of land, so that your parents could have a place to be buried.]
[After burying your parents, you start thinking about how to survive.]
[You have never thought about dying. It seems that there is a pair of hands in the dark, constantly pushing you forward...]
[In order to survive, you went to the temple and became a monk. ]
[As the famine gets worse, even the temples can no longer sustain themselves, and you have no choice but to go down the mountain to beg for alms and survive.]
[You have witnessed the cruelty of this chaotic world with your own eyes. Human life is worth less than grass. ]
Su Che watched the words on the Book of Spirit Contract continue to evolve.
He could see those scenes one after another in front of his eyes.
It was a chaotic era with natural disasters and plagues rampant.
Zhu Yuanzhang's start and starting point can be said to be the lowest among all the emperors in history, without a doubt.
The writing has not stopped, it is still evolving.
These words continue to tell the story of Zhu Yuanzhang's life.
There was no choice or opportunity for Su Che to interfere.
This simulation is obviously different from the previous ones.
Su Che watched carefully.
[Because of the pressure of life, you travel everywhere and see a lot. 】
[Nanyang and Huainan are the centers of activity for the two major factions within the White Lotus Sect.]
[You came into contact with the White Lotus Sect...]
When Su Che saw this, he couldn't help but frown.
The White Lotus Sect, a religion whose main mission is rebellion, is truly impressive.
During the Yuan Dynasty they shouted for the restoration of Song.
During the Ming Dynasty, people began to call for an anti-Ming and restoration of the Yuan Dynasty.
After the Ming Dynasty fell, they began to call for an overthrow of the Qing Dynasty and the restoration of the Ming Dynasty.
The first recorded rebellion of the White Lotus Sect took place during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, when Wu Yi and Dong Yi used "Muni" as their banner and raised an army to rebel in Chenzhou.
Later, during the Yuan Dynasty, the ruling Mongolians did not know the glorious history of the White Lotus Sect, so they did not suppress it much.
This gave the White Lotus Sect, which had been suppressed, an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
Towards the end of the Yuan Dynasty, natural disasters occurred frequently, plagues were rampant, the people were living in dire straits, and the government did nothing. The long-dormant White Lotus Sect once again raised the banner of rebellion and launched a large-scale uprising.
At that time, the saying "The Ming King was born to save all living beings" had been circulating among the people for many years. At that time, many leaders of the rebel army were leaders or believers of the Ming Cult, such as Han Shantong, Liu Futong, Peng Yingyu, etc.
The Ming Cult is most likely a branch of the White Lotus Cult.
If we say that the "Ming Dynasty" has nothing to do with the Ming Cult, that is naturally impossible.
but.
After the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang issued an order to ban all cult activities, such as the White Lotus Society, Maitreya Sect and Mingjiao.
These thoughts flashed through Su Che's mind, and the words in the book continued to evolve.
[After coming into contact with the White Lotus Sect, you realized that there is still a way to rebel in this world...]
[After returning home from your trip, you joined Guo Zixing's Red Turban Army and initially served as a foot soldier. Because of your bravery in battle and your extraordinary intelligence, you were soon accepted as Guo Zixing's confidant.]
[After Guo Zixing dies, you will firmly control this righteous army in your own hands.]
[You survived in the cracks between the many rebel forces and the imperial court. You adopted the advice of the counselor Zhu Sheng to "build high walls, store up food, and delay claiming the throne" and established your own power. ]
【……】
[Time flies, and when you look around again, you no longer have any rivals among the heroes, and have become a rare and powerful force in the world. ]
[Your power is gradually growing, and you are a force that cannot be ignored in the world. Naturally, you have become a thorn in Chen Youliang's side. ]
[He wants to get rid of you as soon as possible, pull out this annoying nail of yours, and swallow up everything you have. ]
[Your power is totally incomparable to Chen Youliang. He came up with all his assets and attacked confidently! ]
[That year, the Battle of Poyang Lake. ]
[Chen Youliang has deployed more than 600,000 soldiers and hundreds of warships, and has taken the initiative to attack you in an attempt to destroy you in one fell swoop.]
[And you, with only 200,000 men under your command, are all small boats.]
[You went to the front line in person, supervised the battle in person, remained fearless in the face of danger, and finally won the victory after several battles and fights.]
[You have fought countless battles in your life, and the Battle of Poyang Lake is your most proud masterpiece. ]
[In that 13-year-long war of unification, you repeatedly defeated powerful enemies, eliminated countless separatist forces, and finally marched north, completing the only feat in ancient times of attacking the north from the south.]
[After that, you established your capital in Nanjing, and named it the Great Ming Empire. From a cowherd boy, you rose to the throne, setting an unprecedented precedent! ]
[In the beginning, you had little education, but during the ten years of the rebellion, you fought and studied at the same time, and you have become well-educated and well-versed in ancient and modern times. You will no longer be deceived and fooled by those scholars.]
[You know one thing very well: conquering the world is difficult, but defending the world is even more difficult! ]
[At that time, the country was in ruins, the land was devastated, people’s livelihood was in decline, there were starving people everywhere, and tax sources were exhausted...]
[Due to years of war, famine and epidemics, nine out of ten houses were deserted. In addition, most of the northern areas were plundered by the Yuan army, leaving empty cities and barren lands, and no taxes were collected over the years.]
[You are diligent in government affairs, rest and recuperate with the people, restore their strength, and the world will gradually recover. ]
[However, as the country recovered and developed, both the veteran generals who had followed you in the battles and created your country, as well as the new nobles from the central government to the local governments, began to take bribes, pervert the law, and plunder. ]
[The administration in the early years of Hongwu was not much better than that in the late Yuan Dynasty. The government was still extravagant and corrupt, and corruption was rampant.]
[You have witnessed with your own eyes the civil uprising caused by the corruption of the bureaucracy at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. You know very well that you must eradicate all of this, otherwise the country will no longer be a country and will soon repeat the same mistakes! ]
[Next, your choice is...]
1. Enforce clear laws and support education.
Second, strengthen supervision.
3. Education of benevolence.
4. Intervene personally.