Ming Dynasty: Traveling through the harem, Zhu Yuanzhang was dumbfounded

Chapter 106 Who is a friend and who is an enemy?
Yang Chen decided to say these two sentences after careful consideration.

He is well aware that in this day and age, once such content appears.

It will inevitably become a thorn in the eyes and flesh of some people.

Even the rest of your life will be restless.

But since he has decided to stand on Zhu Biao's side, someone has to do some things.

There was a sentence that was deeply engraved in his heart, and it was this sentence that supported him in making this decision.

'Don't miss me all the time, and don't expect me to come back. After I leave, you will be me. Long live the people!'

"I wonder how you understand these two sentences just now?"

Yang Chen asked the question to everyone, and even Zhu Chong, who had originally not cared about this course and was not curious about it, relied on his willpower to sit up straight.

His sunken eyes were lost in thought.

Not long after, he was the first to answer.

"Mr. Yang, according to your words.

As far as I can see, the current enemies of the Ming Dynasty are naturally the Northern Yuan Dynasty and all the surrounding forces that do not submit to the Ming Dynasty.

For example, the U-Tsang tribes bordering the western part of the Ming Dynasty, as well as the Eastern Chagatai, Ava in the south, Siam, and South Vietnam were all people with evil intentions.

When they saw that the Ming Dynasty was strong, they did not dare to show hostility, but once they saw that the Ming Dynasty was weak, they would show their fangs.

These are our enemies, and as for our friends, it is naturally vice versa.”

As a prince, Zhu Chong has indeed been somewhat slack in recent years, but as far as it can be seen now, Yang Chen has discovered that there is no difference in the genes between Zhu and Empress Ma after all.

"This guy is not completely bad. If he can turn over a new leaf, maybe the Ming Dynasty will have another emperor who is no less powerful than the 'Emperor Yongle'."

Yang Chen nodded in affirmation of Zhu Chong's words, and at the same time changed his opinion of Zhu Chong in his heart.

Many times, some people are not bad by nature, they are just influenced by evil spirits.

For example, many people were good people before they started working, but after being influenced by certain people in the same environment for a long time, they were eventually assimilated unconsciously.

Maybe it won’t be too extreme, but your personality will definitely show negative changes such as anxiety and irritability.

"What do you think, Xiongying?"

Yang Chen shifted his gaze to the audience closest to him.

Not only him, Zhu Bo was also thinking about it.

Children think much more simply.

For them, those who make them happy are friends, and those who make them unhappy are enemies.

“Just now I heard Zhu Bo say, you want to know how to govern the country?

Do you know that the two sentences I just said are many times better than those messy ways of governing the country from "The Analects of Confucius", "Han Feizi", "The Book of Lord Shang", etc.

In my eyes, what you said is nothing compared to what I am about to say. "

Yang Chen was not praising or criticizing one another.

But the examples given by the three people just now can only be said to be applicable to emperors who understand things.

For those who have average talent and no political ability at all, it is completely incomprehensible.

Some of the viewpoints in particular made Yang Chen feel that imperial studies was indeed something that could change a person.

Just like Zhu Xiongying who was influenced by Lao Zhu.

A child actually thinks that governing a country is about controlling ministers. If an emperor focuses all his attention on how to control his ministers.

So is he still a qualified emperor?
Is he the emperor of his subjects, or the emperor of the world?
Fortunately, Zhu Xiongying is smart. Yang Chen can find out by observing his words and actions that Zhu Xiongying will not buy it.

With a little guidance, one can get rid of such ideological poison.

There is also the "Book of Shang Yang" mentioned by Zhu Chong.

This is a series of ruling strategies proposed by Shang Yang's Reform, aimed at strengthening the monarch's ruling power.

Among them, the Five Arts of Governing the People were regarded as classics by kings of many dynasties.

Especially those who start to become lazy and degenerate.

To fool the people, unify their thoughts, and make them ignorant.

Shang Yang believed that by restricting people's thoughts, he would make the people ignorant.

In this way, it will be difficult for the people to form a powerful force to oppose the country and the monarch, and they will be more likely to obey the manipulation of the ruling class.

This strategy is essentially thought control, which maintains the monarch's authority by limiting the knowledge and vision of the people.

A weak people makes a strong country, and a weak people makes a strong country. The way to govern a country is to weaken the power of the people.

If a country wants to be prosperous and strong, it must weaken the power of its people so that the country can become stronger.

He advocated using various means to make the people weak and unable to pose a threat to the country.

Tire the people out, create trouble for the people, and make them run around in a hurry.

The rulers take the initiative to assign tasks to the people, keeping them busy with their livelihood and work, leaving them with no time and energy to think or rebel.

In this way, the people will serve the rulers wholeheartedly and will have no time to care about other things.

The tactic of exhausting the people is a strategy that aims to achieve the goal of ruling by consuming the people's physical strength and energy.

Driven by his curiosity about history, Yang Chen once conducted an investigation and found that the rulers of each dynasty seemed to be good to the people.

But in fact, he is very skilled in using the five techniques to control the people.

The most classic one is the thirty-three taels of silver from the Qing Dynasty.

During the Qing Dynasty, mathematics was already very developed, so some people calculated and estimated that the annual income of ordinary people was roughly around 33 taels of silver.

The actual expenditure of most people was thirty-six taels of silver.

As long as various policies are issued to put the people in a state of economic tension and force them to struggle for their livelihood, they will have no time for anything else.

They didn't even think it was the Qing Dynasty's problem, but only thought it was their own fault.

This is the highest strategy of "tiring out the people" among the five techniques of controlling the people.

In addition to the first three, the last two are equally cruel.

Insulting the people will, firstly, make them lose their self-respect and self-confidence, and secondly, instigate them to report on each other and live in an atmosphere of fear all day long.

By humiliating the people and depriving them of their dignity and self-confidence, they can be made more obedient to rule.

At the same time, by encouraging people to report on each other, the solidarity and trust among them can be broken.

This causes them to live in fear all day long and makes it impossible for them to form an effective resistance force.

If history does not change in the future, Zhu Chong will take this step.

He knew that what he did would definitely make his father angry, so he did it to prevent the matter from being exposed.

So he promulgated a rule in Shaanxi that anyone who reported someone who wanted to go to the capital to denounce him would not only receive a generous financial reward, but could also become a local official in the vassal state.

For this reason, there are always people who betray the collective for their own interests.

This is what Yang Chen called a labor scab.

As for the poor people at the end, they are similar to the tired people. They both try to control the people by squeezing the money out of their pockets.

Yang Chen planned to enlighten everyone himself, and he had to let them know that these methods were just superficial.

A dynasty can never be completely cured by superficial methods.

Otherwise, why are there so few dynasties in the Central Plains that could last more than three hundred years over the past thousand years?

In the next corner, Lao Zhu not only did not agree with what Yang Chen said, but instead sneered and said disdainfully:

"Sister, this guy is talking nonsense again. Although I am not well educated, I know what both Xiongying and Xiaoshier said just now.

But I found them all from the books of saints.

It was you who asked me to read these books and learn how to be a good emperor.

I didn't expect that this kid not only looked down on these things, but also said that these things were bad?

If this matter were known to those great scholars outside, I'm afraid that everyone would be able to drown him with a mouthful of spit."

Old Zhu walked down the wall slowly with a smile on his face.

However, Queen Ma did not obey the other party's wishes. Instead, her expression was full of curiosity.

"That's not necessarily true. Who says that what a saint says is always right?

Don't forget that the world Yang Chen comes from is different from ours.

Perhaps, during these six hundred years, a saint who was comparable to all the saints in ancient and modern times appeared?

Even surpass these saints and stand above everyone else?"

Hearing this, Lao Zhu had to take back what he had just said.

"Yeah sister, you're right."

While the two were talking, Yang Chen's voice was heard again from next door.

“Gentlemen, in your view, governing a country means using your own strength to suppress all those who do not obey your will.

It seems like he is governing the country, but in fact he is damaging the fortune of the dynasty.

There is one thing I want to tell you: the existence of history is to tell people today that people never learn lessons from history.

A hundred years ago, someone caused the demise of a dynasty because of brutality, and a hundred years later, someone will cause the demise of a dynasty because of brutality. It is not only brutality, but also stupidity, tyranny, and stupidity.

A dynasty of a hundred years, a family of a thousand years, tell me, am I right?"

Under the podium, Zhu Xiongying and Zhu Bo, who originally wanted to play around, were already looking at him intently.

Although I didn't quite understand it, I vaguely felt that what he said made sense.

Even Zhu Di, who didn't like attending lectures, felt his scalp itchy, as if he was about to grow a brain?

The two of them also changed from standing aside to finding a seat and sitting down.

The number of three students instantly increased to five.

"Brother Yang's words are really concise and to the point. It is the first time for us to see the words of the saints from different perspectives."

Zhu Biao echoed Yang Chen, which made him feel relieved that at least his energy was not wasted in vain.

"Your Majesty, thank you for your praise. I will continue my speech.

According to what I just said, we must learn to distinguish who are our enemies and who are our friends.

This issue is the main issue of governing the country and revolution. All the revolutionary struggles in China in the past have achieved little results.

The basic reason is that we cannot unite our true friends to attack our true enemies.”

Yang Chen directly expressed the essence of this passage.

As long as you understand the meaning of this sentence, no matter what you are doing, even starting a business or going to work.

In the process of striving for what you want, it will definitely provide great help.

Learning to distinguish between friend and foe may seem simple, but it is actually very difficult to put it into practice.

Zhu Biao frowned, concentrating intently, and looking extremely serious.

He understood what Yang Chen said.

Especially the word 'revolution', most people have no idea of ​​the profound meaning of these two words.

The word "revolution" first appeared in the ancient Chinese book "I Ching".

The specific expression is "Tang and Wu's revolution was in accordance with the will of Heaven and the people."

This sentence describes the changes in which King Tang of Shang overthrew King Jie of Xia and King Wu of Zhou overthrew King Zhou of Shang.

The "revolution" here refers to the major change of dynasty.

Yang Chen did not use other words to replace the word because he knew that everyone could understand the meaning of revolution.

“This is the process of governing a country. We must learn to distinguish who is the enemy and who is the friend.
Whatever you do, you need to understand that you need to unite more and more friends and reduce your enemies.

Then attack the enemy to achieve your goal.

Do you think that enemies and friends will never change?"

Soon, someone raised his hand to answer.

The person who spoke this time was unexpectedly Zhu Di.

"Of course that is impossible. Enemies and friends are never fixed forever. The world is bustling with people because of profit. The world is bustling with people because of profit.

Friends won't betray you because the stakes for betrayal are not high enough.

The reason your enemy doesn't become your friend is because the chips you give them are not enough.

When Emperor Taizong of Tang first ascended the throne, both the Western Barbarians and the Turks were quite powerful.

Li Shimin wanted to make friends with Bang State, but was looked down upon by the other side. Li Shimin then ordered his generals to defeat it.

These formerly arrogant Tuque barbarians were instantly willing to become affiliates of the Tang Dynasty.

In order to express their loyalty, many leaders took the initiative to go to the capital of the Tang Dynasty to present a song. "

Not only him, but even Zhu Xiongying spoke in his baby voice.

"Fourth uncle is right, Grandfather Emperor once said the same thing to Xiongying.

It’s just that my grandfather replaced Emperor Taizong of Tang with himself, and Tuyuhun with the Northern Yuan Dynasty. He told me that the Northern Yuan Dynasty was too scary for him.”

These words immediately caused laughter in the classroom.

He likes to brag to his grandchildren, as if it is something every grandfather would do.

On the contrary, Old Zhu, who was eavesdropping next door, felt so embarrassed that his face turned red in the face of the laughter. He was really ashamed and angry, but he didn't dare to confront them face to face.

"Oh my! How come this grandson blurted out all this?"

Old Zhu clenched his hands tightly, his expression full of pampering.

"If you don't agree, why don't we just go inside?"

Queen Ma was laughing secretly in the background and tried to persuade Zhu Yuanzhang to see what would happen. The outcome was as expected.

This guy refused to go and shook his head frantically to indicate that he would not go.

“Yongle is right, and Xiongying is also right.

Enemies and friends will not remain unchanged forever, but will change over time.

Then the people who change these are "us". If we want to do anything, we need to learn to unite all the friends we can.

Maybe you won't understand if I say it this way, so I'll explain it in your majesty's words so it's easier to understand."

When he heard that Yang Chen wanted to use him as an example in front of Zhu Xiongying, his expression changed again and again.

In Lao Zhu's eyes, once something is mentioned by Yang Chen, it is generally not a good thing.

But he had no choice, because it was not his fault that he was unwilling to go with them.

“At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the Central Plains was in turmoil, and Your Majesty successfully captured Jinling as a base.

You know, Jinling is a rare treasure land. It is a vital city both in connecting the north and the south.

Not only are there many people, but there is also plenty of food and a lot of arable land.

The most important thing is that the occupation of Nanjing successfully provided the army led by Your Majesty with a stable rear.

The Queen and the princes no longer have to live a life of displacement.

From this day on, the power of the Yuan Dynasty gradually became very weak, and the day when it would be pushed out of the Central Plains was just around the corner.

Then when the Yuan army leaves, the Central Plains will be plunged into a war for hegemony over the Central Plains.

Therefore, Your Majesty began to recruit talented people and store troops and grain to prepare for the future.

It was precisely because he was able to unite his friends that he was able to achieve the strategic goal of "building high walls, storing up food, and slowly becoming king."

This laid a solid foundation for him to become the emperor in the future.

Besides these friends, who are His Majesty's other 'friends'?

Naturally, it was the enemy of my enemy, that is, the warlords who controlled a certain area at that time, such as Chen Youliang, who also made his fortune through a peasant army uprising.

There was also Zhang Shicheng, who was a salt merchant and led an uprising in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas.

These two were the main forces in the fight against the Yuan Dynasty. If Your Majesty had not obtained the Nine-Character Policy by uniting his friends, I am afraid that it might not be his turn to be the emperor. "

On the other side of the wall, Lao Zhu was instantly furious when he heard this, and he wanted to rush over and grab Yang Chen and slap him twice.

In fact, he was already prepared to do so, but was stopped by Queen Ma.

"Girl! What are you doing? Don't stop us.

This guy actually said bad things about me behind my back! This is outrageous! I must let him know how I conquered the world!"

As Old Zhu spoke, he pretended to push Empress Ma away, but was stopped by a single word.

"Alright, alright! Isn't what he said true? When you captured Nanjing, you wanted to take advantage of the boost in morale and march north to fight. But if your generals hadn't dissuaded you in time.

If you were asked to consider the future war to seize the throne, I'm afraid you would have fought hard to kill the Yuan people.

The defeat of the Northern Yuan Dynasty was already an inevitable outcome at that time. Even if you did not take action, Zhang Shicheng and Chen Youliang would, or at worst Fang Guozhen and Chen Youding would be able to do it.

If you really act recklessly and lead all your belongings to the north, you will find that the Northern Yuan Dynasty has already retreated and disappeared. You will inevitably be attacked by these people on your way back.

What you said, by then, will it be your turn to be the emperor of the Central Plains?"

Old Zhu also took this to heart.

The fact is just as Empress Ma said, Zhu Yuanzhang was young and energetic at the time, and since he had never been to school and had won many battles along the way, he became a little arrogant.

If his men hadn't tried their best to stop him, he would have led everyone to charge into battle.

It is possible that in the end both people and money will be lost.

While the two were arguing, Yang Chen's voice was heard from behind the wall again.

Everyone below thought that what Yang Chen said was right.

Even if someone has doubts in their heart, they will not raise them for a while.

"You all know what happened after that. Bei Yuan knew that the situation was hopeless.

After leaving the Central Plains, forces from all over the country began to compete for unification.

No one was willing to submit to the other, and after several years of struggle, it was finally Your Majesty who unified the Central Plains, established the Ming Dynasty, and restored the glory of the Han people.

So from the Hongwu year to now, or even later, do you think it is still necessary for the Ming Dynasty to unite friends and attack enemies?
At the beginning, the King of Qin mentioned external enemies, so I want to know, where do you think the internal enemies are?

How should we distinguish them?

(End of this chapter)