met free Chapter 266 Zhu Biao: This script is wrong!
Chapter 266 Zhu Biao: This script is wrong!
Zhu Biao bowed to Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen once again and said, "Lord Li, Lord Liu, when I was in Ningyang County, I talked with Magistrate Yang about how the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun had been occupied by the barbarians for four hundred years, and how the Yuan dynasty had instigated conflict between the North and the South, among other problems."
Actually, this issue is not simply about whether Hu Yuan stirred up trouble or not.
Strictly speaking, the conflict between the North and the South already existed after the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun were ceded. The Jin and Yuan dynasties merely accelerated and exacerbated this problem. In addition, with the rise of maritime trade during the Southern Song Dynasty, the gentry and scholars in Jiangnan were also intentionally or unintentionally fueling the flames, and the conflict between the North and the South naturally deepened.
By the time Zhu Yuanzhang (Chu Chongba) established the Ming Dynasty, the problem had become so deeply entrenched that it was difficult to resolve. Even Zhu Yuanzhang's relocation of the capital to Beiping (Beijing) did not completely solve the problem; it only provided some relief.
Zhu Biao's claim that Hu Yuan's actions were due to instigation is merely a slight exaggeration, and also serves to save face for the Zhejiang gentry group behind Liu Bowen.
Liu Bowen certainly understood the implication in Zhu Biao's words, but after a moment's consideration, he chose to continue pretending to be ignorant.
Li Shanchang frowned, wondering what kind of trouble Magistrate Yang would cause this time.
Zhu Biao continued, "When I discussed this issue with Magistrate Yang, we both agreed that policies like the Wangtian system and tax exemptions could only allow the people of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun to recuperate and thrive, but could not truly win their hearts."
"To solve this problem, we must find another way. For example, we should build primary schools in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and raise the flag of our Great Ming in front of the schools and county government offices. In a subtle way, we can give the students in the schools and the people passing by the county government offices a concrete impression of the flag of our Great Ming."
"But in this way, our Great Ming must have a flag, a flag that can be recognized by the whole world, a flag that can be hung in places such as county government offices and academies."
Li Shanchang's previously furrowed brows immediately relaxed.
It's just a matter of getting a flag. The Secretariat, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Rites' Sacrificial Office, the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, the Imperial Observatory—so many government offices and so many officials, surely they can't come up with a flag?
The more Li Shanchang thought about it, the clearer it became, and he even began to secretly regret not having met Magistrate Yang sooner.
If I had known Yang the Madman earlier, and had been tormented by him a few times earlier, I probably would have gotten over it by now. If I had gotten over it earlier, why would I have made myself so tired?
Li Shanchang glanced briefly at Liu Bowen, whose brows were still furrowed, and then bowed to Emperor Zhu and Zhu Biao, saying, "Your Majesty, please rest assured, I will discuss with my colleagues as soon as possible and come up with a plan for several flags."
Emperor Zhu immediately smiled and replied, "Alright, then I'll trouble you, Brother Shanchang."
Li Shanchang quickly cupped his hands and said, "To share the burdens of the ruler and serve the country, I dare not accept the words 'hardship'."
Just as Li Shanchang and Emperor Zhu were putting on a show of harmonious relations, Zhu Biao, the Vice Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was already in a state of confusion.
This script is wrong.
Shouldn't Li Shanchang be crying and shouting in protest? After all, the civil and military officials in the court are busy as dogs, either helping the Southern School compile the "Hongwu Great Encyclopedia" or helping the Northern School compile the "Hongwu Great Dictionary". Now, they are suddenly assigned to build primary schools and design flags. Wouldn't those officials go crazy?
Or perhaps, during my time in Ningyang County, some extraordinary changes occurred in the imperial court?
After Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen left, Zhu Biao looked directly at Emperor Zhu and asked, "Father, what's wrong with Mr. Shanchang lately? And Mr. Qingtian, he didn't say a word today, which is not like him at all."
Emperor Zhu chuckled and said, "Li Shanchang has always been resourceful and farsighted, a smart man. It's just that he ran into Yang Dianfeng, that troublemaker, and now he's finally scared of being tormented."
"As for Liu Bowen... he couldn't let go of his scholarly airs, and he was also too entangled with some people, so he was caught in a dilemma."
"Unfortunately, Liu Bowen, who was wise all his life, made a foolish mistake at one point. He thought he could offend neither side, but in the end, he inevitably offended both sides."
"Trying to remain uninvolved?"
"There's no such thing as a free lunch!"
After briefly commenting on Li Shanchang and Hu Weiyong, Emperor Zhu continued, "By the way, how was the farm work in the fields when you returned?"
Zhu Biao sighed slightly and replied, "When I returned, the people of Ningyang County were preparing to harrow and sow seeds, and then they would plow out the land for planting sorghum, beans, and millet next year."
"Besides the farm work, it seems my brother-in-law has arranged a whole bunch of other miscellaneous things for them to do, especially at the brick kiln, where they are firing the kiln day and night. My brother-in-law said he plans to make sure that all the people in Ningyang County can live in houses with blue bricks and tiles."
"By the way, my brother-in-law also said that he wants to expand the chicken and pig farms to the surrounding counties and prefectures. It seems that he plans to let the people in the surrounding areas raise chickens and pigs and gradually get rich along with Ningyang County."
Emperor Zhu couldn't help but sigh, "The people's livelihood is not easy."
After sighing, Emperor Zhu changed the subject and said, "Let's not bring up the household registration issue again for now. We'll discuss it after we've completely wiped out the Tartars."
Zhu Biao nodded, then said to Emperor Zhu with a face full of excitement, "By the way, I brought back a lot of good things from Ningyang County this time. Let's hurry to Kunning Palace. I'll send someone to call Jin'er, Yu'er, and the second, third, fourth, and fifth brothers."
"Tsk tsk, smoked chicken, roast chicken, smoked fish, pickled fish, smoked meat, sausage, mushrooms and a whole bunch of other good stuff, my son brought them all back this time."
"By the way, I had Chang Sheng and Chang Mao load the truck. You have no idea what kind of face my brother-in-law had, hehe."
……
After leaving the Qianqing Palace, Liu Bowen first cupped his hands to Li Shanchang and said, "Brother Shanchang, farewell."
Li Shanchang grunted in agreement, gave Liu Bowen a forced smile and cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "Brother Qingtian, please wait. The matter His Highness the Crown Prince just mentioned, such as compiling some short stories and determining the flag of our Great Ming, is something I'm afraid I can't handle alone. I'll need your strong support, Brother Qingtian."
Liu Bowen sighed slightly, wanting to refuse, but in the end he cupped his hands and replied, "Brother Shanchang, please give your orders."
Li Shanchang stroked his beard, laughed heartily twice, and said, "Then thank you very much, Brother Qingtian."
Watching Liu Bowen's figure gradually disappear into the distance, Li Shanchang really wanted to point at Liu Bowen and call him an idiot.
You, Liu Bowen, are considered a smart man, so why do you lose your composure at such a crucial moment?
Can you outmaneuver Emperor Zhu, or can you outmaneuver that madman Yang?
It's obvious we can't win.
You, Liu Bowen, are neither as ruthless as Emperor Zhu, nor as troublesome as Yang the Madman. What do you have to fight against him?
The gentry of Huaixi and Zhejiang, at best, can only give you a good reputation or let you get some benefits. What else?
Are they the kind of people who would die in your place when Emperor Zhu was beheading people?
Or can I take your suffering when Yang is acting crazy and tormenting people?
both are not!
Faced with the infamous Chang Yuchun and his five thousand iron cavalry, even with all sorts of rumors flying around about abolishing preferential treatment for scholars, implementing a progressive tax system, and possibly promoting the royal land system, the gentry still obediently waited for the court's decision, not daring to utter a single word!
So, knowing that they couldn't defeat the father-in-law and son-in-law, why not join them directly and turn the tables on those greedy and cowardly gentry?
As for the claim that joining the Zhu Emperor would lead to criticism from gentry and scholars...
So what if I get scolded? Do you see that I've lost two ounces of flesh?
Not only have I not lost any weight, but because I've recently been distributing all sorts of messy official duties to various government departments, I've become more relaxed and energetic!
Well, once that little story is completely finished, I'll work for another two damn years, ask Emperor Zhu for a title, and then retire and go back to my hometown.
As long as I retire early enough, will that Emperor Zhu still have the nerve to cause me trouble?
Perhaps in the future, Li Shanchang and Zhu Chongba can leave behind a beautiful story of harmonious relations between ruler and minister. Wouldn't that be much better than you foolishly getting entangled with those gentry from eastern Zhejiang?