NOVEL NEXT Chapter 6
06: Zhu Gaoxun: The seventeenth year of Chongzhen? In the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, the Ming Dynasty fell, and Zhu Youjian hanged himself on Coal Hill.
During the narration, Zhu Youjian burst into tears, and after he kowtowed, his eyes were already red, which made people feel distressed.
Zhu Yuanzhang temporarily forgot that Zhu Di had taken the throne from his nephew, walked forward slowly, helped Zhu Youjian up, and sighed:”We are all members of our Zhu family, is there anything that cannot be solved?”
“Although the Hongwu Dynasty is in ruins after years of war, the people’s livelihood is stable…….Not to mention that we have generals like Xu Tiande under our command. In our opinion, all the issues concerning your Chongzhen reign are easy to resolve.”
“You kowtowed so hard, I’m sure you must be very anxious, speak slowly and explain the situation clearly, we will help you analyze it.”
After speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang glared at Zhu Di calmly. He heard clearly what Zhu Youjian said about Chengzu just now. This kid is really bold!
They are all emperors, so Zhu Di naturally understands the meaning of the words. Zhu Di felt that he was wronged. I obviously didn’t call myself Chengzu. Who is so bold as to dare to do such a thing!?
After receiving the eye hint, Zhu Di immediately followed Zhu Yuanzhang’s pace and said,”If you have any difficulties, just tell me! If I am not wrong, the situation in your place should be serious land annexation, and officials are playing around in the inherent interests and are unwilling to make changes, right?”
“”Kid, please explain the situation first, and we will help you with some advice. Only in this way can we target the problem. Otherwise, we will be confused.””
Land annexation?
Zhu Youjian was stunned when he heard this, and did not speak immediately.
He really did not think too much about this aspect.
In his opinion, Chongzhen’s reign was full of frequent disasters and poor harvests. The civil officials in the court attacked each other and shirked their responsibilities, which led to the further deterioration of the situation….
But now is obviously not the time to think about these things, it is more important to explain everything to the three ancestors.
“The unworthy descendant Zhu Youjian told the three ancestors……”
As he spoke, Zhu Youjian’s knees softened again, and he knelt down in front of Zhu Gaolin and the other two, saying sadly:”Since I ascended the throne, I have worked diligently and diligently to try to save the Ming Dynasty from decline and realize the great cause of rejuvenation…….”
“At the same time, I also set an example by being diligent in government affairs and reducing the expenses of the palace…….However, the court was in a fierce struggle for power and the ministers had no intention of serving the country.”
“In the first year of Chongzhen, the two kings revolted; in the second year of Chongzhen, there was a civil uprising in Shaanxi; in the fifth year of Chongzhen, the uprising began to spread……By now, in the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, the rebel Li Zicheng had already captured Taiyuan Prefecture, which was only 500 kilometers away from Shuntian Prefecture. The capital was in danger.”
Zhu Youjian’s words were truly sincere, and his look of regret and remorse was absolutely not fake.
What he said also made Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di tremble with fear and frown.
Natural disasters and man-made disasters continued, uprisings were everywhere, and the ministers in the court were only concerned with fighting for power and profit……..In Liaodong, there were even Tartars eyeing them covetously. It was really a situation of internal and external troubles, and it was on the verge of life and death.
But in the same way, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di also discovered Zhu Youjian’s problem.
Although this junior understood that civil officials were not good people, he didn’t know how to solve the problem at all.
Listening to his explanation, it was just scratching the surface…….The strategy of governing a country cannot be micromanaged in vain. Only by going to the Chongzhen Dynasty can we clearly know how to solve these problems.
Seeing that the three ancestors were silent, Zhu Youjian kowtowed again, knocking on the floor.”In the current Chongzhen Ming Dynasty, there are severe droughts in the north and frequent floods in the south! Along with these, there are locust plagues, plagues, and great famines…….Some time ago, an epidemic broke out in the capital, and countless people died.”
“This situation has lasted for the past ten years and has not improved…….Even in a rich place like Jiangxi, floods occur every year. I, your grandson, have issued a self-criticism edict almost every year, but the situation has not improved at all…….”
“”Hehe~”
Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di were listening intently, when suddenly they heard a burst of laughter, which attracted their attention.
Upon looking, they found that it was Zhu Gaoxun who couldn’t help laughing.
The two knew that with Zhu Gaoxun’s ability, there was absolutely no intention of sneering, and this laughter must have a deep meaning.
Zhu Di got a signal from Zhu Yuanzhang’s eyes, and immediately asked Zhu Gaoxun:”Gaoxun, why are you laughing?”
“Grandfather, father……”Zhu Gaoxun restrained his expression, bowed to the two and said:”As the leader of the group, I also know something about the past dynasties of the Ming Dynasty and even the events of later generations.”
“Most of the disasters mentioned by the prosecutor were actually caused by the arrival of the Little Ice Age, but more of them were actually man-made disasters!……”
“Even what?”
“It’s even a lie!” Zhu Gaoxun smiled coldly and asked Zhu Youjian:”Is Jiangxi suffering from disasters every year and unable to collect taxes?”
“How do you know?”
Zhu Gaoxun ignored Zhu Youjian’s question and said coldly:”As far as I know, during the reign of Chongzhen, there may have been floods in Jiangxi and other places, but it was definitely not the case every year!”
“That is……”
Zhu Youjian was about to ask, but Zhu Yuanzhang took over the conversation coldly, directly reducing the pressure in the hall to the lowest level,”What else could it be? It’s nothing more than those corrupt scholars colluding with the gentry and profiteers, deceiving the superiors and the subordinates! These people even dare to act like local emperors!”
If anyone present knew the officials, gentry, and even profiteers the best, it would be Zhu Yuanzhang.
As an emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang naturally did a lot of research on the changes of dynasties.
After research, Zhu Yuanzhang found that the causes of the changes of dynasties were mostly initiated from the bottom, but most of the profiteers were the gentry.
Only he was truly from a commoner to the current position of the emperor.
It was precisely because he understood that Zhu Yuanzhang was harsh on civil officials. After all, he inherited the officialdom left over from the old court of the Yuan Dynasty.
The root of it was rotten. If it was not restrained, I am afraid that those corrupt scholars would have been lawless long ago.
Zhu Yuanzhang was not surprised at all by what Zhu Youjian said, and even thought it was normal.
Because this involves human nature – people always pursue greater interests.
When interests solidify, classes are stable, and corruption is pervasive, the dynasty will eventually come to an end.
It is precisely because of this understanding that Zhu Yuanzhang showed a small peasant mentality and believed that it was okay to let his descendants enjoy hundreds of years of blessings.
Zhu Yuanzhang’s thoughts were like lightning, but Zhu Youjian was stunned on the spot, as if he was hit on the head.
If you think about it carefully, it seems that everything is just as Taizu said!
In fact, this is not Zhu Youjian’s fault. He was not the successor to the emperor and had not received any imperial education. He was fooled by the people below for a long time, so he developed a suspicious temperament.
Now hearing Zhu Yuanzhang’s words, Zhu Youjian just woke up from a dream. The Ming Dynasty he saw seemed to be very different from the real Ming Dynasty!
Zhu Youjian’s confused look fell into Zhu Gao’s eyes, and the latter couldn’t help but sigh in his heart.
In Zhu Gao’s view, Zhu Youjian is still good, and it is okay to be a master of the status quo.
But if Zhu Youjian wanted to revive the Ming Dynasty, his ability was far from enough.
Zhu Gaoxun had never thought that Zhu Youjian was in the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, the year when the Ming Dynasty fell…….
After sighing for a while, Zhu Gaoxun said in a deep voice:”The Ming Dynasty lasted for 276 years and ended in the 17th year of Chongzhen…….”
Zhu Gaoxun looked at Zhu Youjian and said faintly,”You will hang yourself on the crooked tree on Coal Hill on March 19th.”
Hearing Zhu Gaoxun’s sigh, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di felt their scalps explode, and said in unison,”How could it be like this!?”
When Zhu Youjian heard Zhu Gaoxun’s sigh, he was even more stunned on the spot, stunned, and his mind echoed with Zhu Gaoxun’s words: The Ming Dynasty fell in the seventeenth year of Chongzhen! Isn’t this exactly the year I am in! ?
And the time and space I am in is already the ninth day of the second month of the seventeenth year of Chongzhen, and it has only been more than a month since the sentence of hanging myself on Coal Hill!
Even if I have joined the artifact such as the Ming Emperor Chat Group, can I not save the Ming Dynasty?