Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 878 Good Times and Bad Times
Chu Kuan hadn't felt such a sense of defeat for a long time. And this kind of defeat was not the so-called inability to fight. After all, according to the current situation, even if Ah Liu was a good fighter, he was just one person. The imperial attendant outside did not rush in because he did not receive his order.
However, everything Zhang Shou said and did now was unexpected. In addition, Duke Zhao Zhu Jing said something to shake his mind. Even if he only had a little doubt about his desperate move, it would be the greatest success for this difficult father-in-law and son-in-law.
However, since he had already made some things clear to Zhu Jing, the Duke of Zhao, Chu Kuan certainly would not back down. Zhu Jing was a man who spoke and acted as steadily as a civil servant, so he did not have to worry about people spreading his words all over the world. If he had not forced himself to meet Zhang Shou, perhaps Zhu Jing would have considered for a long time before selectively revealing some of his words to the emperor.
But he had done it, and he would never regret anything he had done. In addition, now that all his wishes had been fulfilled, and the biggest troubles had been eradicated, he no longer had much to worry about. Since he had put life and death aside, and was guilty of treason and death, why should he hesitate?
Therefore, Chu Kuan took two steps back. Seeing that Ah Liu had also retreated in front of Zhang Shou, he said calmly, "Mr. Zhang may be right. I should indeed learn something. However, a Jiuzhang Hall is so difficult, and a public school has attracted countless attacks. Your new school initiative has caused such a huge backlash. You think that the sea of learning is endless, but the corrupt scholars in the world can drown you!"
"Legend has it that in the early years of Emperor Taizu, there were government-run pharmacies and doctors throughout the country to ensure that the poor could get medical treatment; there were countless government-run schools and charity schools throughout the country to enable poor children to study; there were also countless government-run charity halls throughout the country to ensure that there would be no more abandoned children dying of hunger and cold among the people, and any cruel parents who gave birth to impotent children, or drowned or buried their children alive would all be severely punished..."
"All of this was possible because after the Tartars were driven out, the government accumulated a large amount of unowned land and distributed it to the poor, and collected countless wealth as a reserve. Today, the world has been peaceful for a long time. Even though the throne has changed twice from outside to inside, only a group of former high-ranking officials were purged, and those gentry and landlords entrenched in various places are still getting richer and richer."
Although Zhang Shou was helped up by Ah Liu, he couldn't help but feel a little pain in his teeth when he heard Chu Kuan's words. It seemed that Chu Kuan's illness was more serious than expected. Was there no way to save him?
Just when he was about to open his mouth to refute, he heard the low voice of his father-in-law.
"Emperor Taizu drove out the Tartars and restored the people's customs. He was indeed a rare wise ruler in ancient and modern times. But how can you be sure that the so-called people living and working in peace and contentment at that time were really as you describe now? The writing style of historians has always been the same, especially when whitewashing saintly rulers, they will do everything they can!"
"Just as the Old Book of Tang at least briefly mentioned the faults of Emperor Taizong of Tang, the New Book of Tang does not even mention his evil deeds of killing his brother. This is still the Song Dynasty writing the history of the Tang Dynasty. Isn't it even more absurd for Tang people to write the history of the Tang Dynasty, or even the history of the Sui Dynasty?"
Chu Kuan had not expected that Zhu Jing, who was usually considered an admirer of Emperor Taizu, would suddenly refute him like this. After being stunned for a moment, he immediately flew into a rage: "What do you mean by whitewashing a sage monarch? Zhu Jing, how dare you be so rebellious! How can our Emperor Taizu be compared with Emperor Taizong of Tang, who boasted of his own achievements and kept saying that he had offered advice to resolve the siege of Yanmen?"
Zhu Jing did not back down at all because of Chu Kuan's anger. Instead, he smiled calmly.
"From the end of the Song Dynasty to the end of the Yuan Dynasty, there were wars all over the country for more than a hundred years. Then there were repeated civil wars under the Mongols, who exploited the local areas. Finally, there was war again at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. Do you know how many people were lost? Do you know how many people were displaced? There are so many unowned fields in the world. Do you know how much wasteland there is? In order to reclaim these wastelands, how much manpower was spent at the beginning of the country, how many people were relocated, and how many people died on the road?"
When Zhang Shou heard Zhu Jing talking about war, population, and migration, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
When many people talk about the founding of a dynasty, they always praise the vitality and high morale, as if the fighting spirit alone would lead to the subsequent prosperity and wealth. However, they completely forget that whether it was the Han and Sui dynasties or the Song and Ming dynasties, there was actually not so much singing and dancing in the early years of the founding of the country, because the world was just settled and it was not easy to have enough food. The increasing abundance of granaries was the result of the sacrifices of many people.
For example, Zhu Jing mentioned the great migration. Given the deep-seated reluctance of ordinary people to leave their homeland, how many people are willing to migrate, especially from north to south or from south to north? Such large-scale cross-regional migration is simply impossible. And if administrative compulsory migration has problems with material supply and scheduling, how many people will die on the road?
The most important thing is, what beliefs and fighting spirit did the people in the early Ming Dynasty have?
How many of them who could not read a single word were willing to sacrifice for the great policies of the imperial court? It cannot be said that Emperor Taizu learned from Zhu Yuanzhang. In the face of the situation where nine out of ten houses in the country were empty, no matter which dynasty it was, how could construction be carried out without large-scale population migration?
Once the population imbalance between the north and the south becomes drastic, the number of people who pass the imperial examinations will become continuously unbalanced. So just like the quotas for admission to universities from each province in later generations, in today's times, the quota for the provincial examinations, that is, the number of juren, is also a quota set by each province. When it comes to admissions to the final metropolitan and palace examinations, the north and the south will also be considered in a balanced manner.
After a moment, Zhang Shou realized that he was thinking too far, but he couldn't help but whispered: "When the country prospers, the people suffer; when the country perishes, the people suffer."
Zhang Shou and Zhu Jing actually sang the same tune. Chu Kuan's face inevitably turned grim: "Every man has his share of responsibility for the fate of the country. How can we slander a wise ruler just because of the complaints of fools?"
Zhu Jing ignored Chu Kuan. He didn't even give Zhang Shou a chance to interrupt again and continued talking calmly.
"As for the doctors and pharmacies you mentioned, at that time, the country had just been stabilized and everything was going well. There were few good doctors, and the custom in the medical field was to cherish what they had. Even if they were ordered to accept disciples and teach, many people would just pretend to do so. So many so-called doctors were just scholars who could read a few words and hold a medical book, pretending to feel people's pulses, but they actually couldn't treat patients at all."
"If you can't even feel the pulse, then you are just a quack doctor. As for prescribing medicine, it's just copying it. But if that's the case, at least you can get lucky and cure a few people out of dozens of people. But think about it carefully. The country has just been settled, and taxes haven't been collected yet. How can the court have the money to stockpile medicinal materials?"
"Do you know how many herbal medicine shops were ruined because of these doctors and the pharmacy system? Do you know how many kind families who once gave away rice and porridge and collected less rent were ruined because they were forced to provide medicinal materials? Aren't all the gentry in the world cannibalistic? They just escaped the war and were oppressed by some officials. Where is their way to survive?"
"Also, do you know how many schools teach the textbooks approved by Emperor Taizu instead of the same old stuff or the theories of sages? Because there aren't enough teachers in the world who can understand those textbooks! Do you know how many so-called charity halls are actually harboring filth and even buying and selling babies? A good system needs someone to enforce it!"
"Do you know how many parents who couldn't afford to raise children dug pits in their own houses and buried their children alive in order to deal with the so-called ban on having children? Do you know how many court subsidies that should have been given to families with more than five children were withheld by some corrupt officials?"
"Emperor Taizu started a massacre for this, killing many people. But it is said that people in the world fear power but not virtue. But you know, even if the punishment is severe, there are still people who are not afraid of death when there are ten or a hundred times more benefits ahead! And how many Confucian scholars who think they are right are willing to die to protect the so-called teachings of sages and fight against so-called heresy!"
"Emperor Taizu finally realized that he couldn't be too eager for quick success, so he abdicated in disgrace! Wake up, whether it was during the reign of Taizu or the era praised in history books today, they are all just flattery! There is as much darkness as there is light!"
"And if you use conspiracy and murder, and these sneaky tricks like you do, it is absolutely impossible to make an era better!"
"I don't want to say empty words like "ruling a big country is like cooking a small fish". I just want to say that from ancient times to the present, all dynasties were aggressive at the beginning of the country, but then the problems gradually deepened. When it came to the end of the dynasty, it was never a case of a tyrant emperor or treacherous ministers who controlled everything, but the gentry lived a life of drunkenness and dreams, not caring about the lives of the people."
"But it's not time yet. Watching the world, it's not just the few eunuchs in the palace who are doing it. I'm also following orders, and more people are quietly keeping an eye on it. As long as the superiors can understand the subordinates, we won't end up with such a result. And now, the emperor has appointed the third prince as the crown prince, and he is a studious but resolute prince. No matter from which point of view, you don't need to worry about it!"
"If you still want to say that the weapons blueprints in the Armory are not properly kept, and that the magic weapons are in danger of being lost, and that someone is behind this conspiracy, in order to reduce the number of wars and territorial expansion, so that the military officials can behave themselves civil officials can hold great power, then I want to say that you are overstating the role of the so-called conspiracy."
"Even if the blueprints are really gone in the Armory, there are probably drafts somewhere else. And the craftsmen who are proficient in assembly will not be really helpless just because one is missing. There will always be brave men under a big reward, just like Zhang Shou was able to make so many things with a young craftsman who had not even finished his apprenticeship, and even earned the name of a master craftsman. Isn't there more such skilled craftsmen in the world?"
"You are the emperor's confidant, but the emperor has more than just you! Just like I am a good general, but there are many generals in the world who are stronger than me. There have been in the past, and there will be more in the future. There has never been a shortage of capable people in the world!"
All the words that needed to be said were said by his father-in-law Zhu Jing. Zhang Shou felt very satisfied. Because of this moment of relaxation, he couldn't help but mutter softly: "No matter who is missing, the earth will still turn."
But just as he said this, he suddenly felt a chill in his face, but then his eyes blurred, and when he looked carefully, he saw that it was Ah Liu who was standing in front of him. The young man used his fists and feet to fight back Chu Kuan who was rushing towards him.
However, the latter did not show any sign of defeat, but laughed loudly and said, "Sure enough, Master Zhang, you also know that the earth under your feet is round. Do you dare to say that you are not born knowing it?"
"What? Emperor Taizu once said that the earth is round?" Zhang Shou had already given up. Instead of showing any fear, he smiled and said, "I have told my students that the earth is round and that the stars in the sky rotate... This is not something that is innately known. It is just a truth summarized from practical observation."
"These truths, which seem to have nothing to do with the actual situation, are the cornerstones of improving things like looms and spinning wheels. This is what we call knowing the facts and then knowing the reasons. So, Eunuch Chu, you are persistently pursuing whether there is another Emperor Taizu who is born with knowledge. This is completely unnecessary."
"Even the wise and powerful Emperor Taizu encountered setbacks in the face of reality, let alone others who are not as good as him?"
"Are you expecting me to draw you a bunch of blueprints of magic weapons? If I had the ability, wouldn't it be better for me to find a remote small country and make these things and dominate the world? Why would I bother to take care of so many students?"
Chu Kuan looked coldly at Zhang Shou, who was so close to him, but could not do anything to him because of Ah Liu. He narrowed his eyes and finally laughed: "It seems that you, Master Zhang, are the kind of person who will not reveal any flaws even when forced into a desperate situation. Although you are the teacher of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and a person that the Emperor values very much, and you may even be the Emperor's son-in-law, but..."
"Since you refuse to admit that you are a person with innate knowledge like Emperor Taizu, and you refuse to translate the letters of Emperor Taizu in the Ancient and Modern Collection, and you refuse to restore the magical weapons in the Armory that are likely to be lost forever, then, if you remain in the world, you may be as gentle and harmless as the firecrackers that Ah Liu just used, but..."
"But it could also become the greatest evil in the world, leaving endless troubles!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he shouted: "Listen to me, everyone! Fire the rockets!"
Zhu Jing's expression suddenly changed, especially when he saw Ah Liu rushing up and fighting with others almost instantly. He couldn't help but shout angrily: "You are crazy, using rockets in such a narrow place, you can't escape yourself!"
"Duke Zhao, I have told you so many things. I never thought I could survive." Although he was facing the most difficult opponent, Chu Kuan was still smiling. Although his words were intermittent, his pronunciation was still clear. "You are all people who keep their word. So if you just agreed, I can commit suicide on the spot. Unfortunately, you two are too gentlemanly in your conduct."
"You don't even bother to pretend to be nice and deceive me. If that's the case, then let's die together. I can either cut out the rotten sores or burn them with fire to make them reappear, and then I can treat them calmly. As for Mr. Zhang's sore, which I don't know whether it is good or bad, if I just let it go, it would really go against the purpose of my life."
" Since you, Duke Zhao, have defended me with all your might, I have no choice but to say sorry!"
