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

Chapter 3 You don't believe it? If you don't believe it, let's calculate it

The Ming Dynasty lasted for 276 years and was ruled by 16 emperors. It can be said that it was a bumpy period.

All kinds of weird emperors appeared.

However, the people of the Ming Dynasty were able to truly live a good life for only a few decades, one of which was the Hongwu period.

As the founding emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang was once a commoner, so he always treated common people with privileges.

There was once a commoner who walked for a year from his county to the capital to file a complaint with the emperor because his wife was forced to be taken away by the local county magistrate due to the old custom of levirate marriage.

Levirate marriage was a custom of the Tartars. The Ming Dynasty had already conquered the Mongols, and all customs were carried out in accordance with Han laws.

As a result, local officials actually used Tartar laws to govern the people. Zhu Yuanzhang was immediately furious because a commoner was killed from beginning to end.

Even an official position like the Minister of Justice would be punished.

There were countless similar examples during the Hongwu period.

It is also because of this that many people say that in the Ming Dynasty, they would rather be a commoner than an official.

Not only was his salary low, but his life was also in danger. No one knew what inexplicable incident had implicated him, leading to his death being sentenced to being skinned alive by daylilies.

The power of the Ming Dynasty is obvious to all, otherwise Zhu Yuanzhang would not have been able to become one of the leading founding emperors of all dynasties by relying on the Ming Dynasty.

In addition, the national strength of the Ming Dynasty was even stronger. After many small local countries learned about the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, they sent envoys to pay homage.

The purpose is to leave a good impression in front of the Ming Dynasty.

However, Yang Chen said that the objective reason for the demise of the Ming Dynasty was actually the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang.

This made Zhu Di feel his blood flowing backwards and he was very angry.

No one can stand others talking about their father.

Zhu Di regarded Zhu Yuanzhang as his idol since he was a child, so he was quite afraid of his father most of the time.

Now some people said that the objective factor for the demise of the Ming Dynasty was actually his own father, and Zhu Di immediately stood up to speak for his father.

"How dare you! How dare you say that the fall of the Ming Dynasty was caused by my father! Do you know what crime you will be charged with if this gets out?"

"It's nothing more than beheading or lingchi, but what I said is the truth, and you can't change it, even if you kill me."

Yang Chen said indifferently.

Zhu Di's attitude when speaking was really unpleasant.

No wonder some people say that Zhu Di was a military man. It seems there is indeed some reason for this.

In comparison, Zhu Biao seemed much calmer.

He had already discovered that although what Yang Chen said did not make them happy, there was some truth in what he said.

Take the issue of the Ming Dynasty’s national destiny as an example.

Among all the centralized and unified dynasties in history, there were almost no dynasties that lasted more than three hundred years.

All the examples he gave about the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties were refuted by the other party with solid evidence, which instantly made him cautious about Yang Chen's words.

On the stage, Queen Ma had bright and gentle eyes, and looked at Yang Chen with curiosity.

She was also interested in the statement that the Ming Dynasty was destroyed by Zhu Yuanzhang.

So he gave Zhu Di some advice.

"Okay, Di'er, since Yang Chen said that the Ming Dynasty was destroyed by your father, then we might as well listen to it. If it is true, it may extend the life of the Ming Dynasty for a few decades, which is also a good thing."

After hearing what his mother said, the young and energetic Zhu Di realized that he was indeed a little impulsive, so he raised his hand to show that he understood.

"My son, I know."

"Okay, Yang Chen, you said that the Ming Dynasty fell because of Your Majesty. You also saw it. The three of us are very interested in this. I wonder if you can tell me in detail why there is such a saying in later generations." Yang Chen was impressed by Queen Ma's reaction.

No wonder she is called one of the four great wise queens.

This ability to control emotions is indeed very strong. If Zhu Yuanzhang were here, he would have been furious and angry, and would have talked about killing all the time.

The reason why Zhu Biao could be called the most perfect prince was largely because he inherited the excellent genes of Empress Ma.

On the contrary, Zhu Di seemed very energetic, perhaps because of his age and experience.

After all, they rode horses to fight in the war and charged into battle to kill the enemy when they were in their teens. Anyone who sat in this position would be a little arrogant.

Yang Chen raised his hand to signal.

"Well, since the Queen wants to know the reason, then I won't waste words. I want to ask, in the current national policy of the Ming Dynasty, is there a rule personally formulated by Your Majesty regarding the support of the prince?

This is not only the national policy of the Ming Dynasty, but also the most important one in "Imperial Ming Ancestor Instructions".

Your Majesty originally wanted to make the ancestral precepts the foundation for his descendants to consolidate the imperial power.

But he didn't expect that the Ming Dynasty's national fortune would decline rapidly just by relying on the ancestral precept of supporting the prince.

Even the people that the Empress cared about lived in misery with starvation and widespread suffering.

Tell me, is supporting the prince a policy that will lead to the destruction of the country? "

At this moment, when Queen Ma heard the other party say that supporting the prince was a strategy that would lead to the country's destruction, her gentle eyes could not help but fall into deep thought.

This ancestral precept was originally proposed by Zhu Yuanzhang, and a group of ministers also discussed it together.

Everyone felt pretty good.

In addition, Zhu Yuanzhang had a hard life since childhood, and he didn't want his descendants to live a hard life.

Now that he is the emperor and has power in his hands, he naturally hopes that the court will protect his descendants. As long as the relationship is not unfamiliar, they can all gain some benefits from it.

She couldn't understand why the other party would say that this ancestral precept would lead to the country's demise.

At the time, Queen Ma was also involved, and there was almost no objection to this.

Zhu Di looked at Yang Chen with some resentment. He suspected that the other party was seeking revenge for personal gain.

I spoke a little loudly just now, and now he said that supporting the prince was a strategy that would lead to the country's demise. It was obvious that in his eyes, Yang Chen was coming for him.

Zhu Biao, on the other hand, seemed much calmer. He glanced at his mother's reaction and knew that she was also very curious, so he said to Yang Chen:

"The ancestral precepts were jointly formulated by my father, mother, and a group of ministers. How come in your mouth, it has become a strategy for the destruction of the country?"

Hearing how strict the ancestral precepts seemed to Zhu Biao, Yang Chen couldn't help but laugh.

"Why are you laughing?"

Zhu Biao was obviously irritated by Yang Chen's disdainful laughter.

It's just that his temper is not that bad.

Yang Chen waved his hand and said:
“Don’t blame me, Prince. If you want to know the reason today, I will tell you directly without any further ado. I will talk about the ancestral precepts later.

I would like to ask the Crown Prince, according to the ancestral precepts, how much can a prince take from the imperial treasury every year? "

Faced with the question, Zhu Biao frowned and thought deeply, then glanced at his mother.

Empress Ma nodded, and only after getting permission did Zhu Biao reveal this seemingly secret.

"According to the ancestral precepts established by my father, a prince can receive 50,000 taels of silver worth of grain from the national treasury each year.

In addition, there are additional items such as silks, satins, salt, tea, cotton, etc. "

(End of this chapter)