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

Chapter 6 This is closely related to your Majesty's childhood

Yang Chen's straightforward words instantly made Zhu Biao feel confused.

People in later generations all know that the end of being an official in the Ming Dynasty was death.

It was even the first time he heard that someone would rather be a farmer with land than hold an official position in the Ming Dynasty.

You have to know how many scholars are trying their best to enter the official career, and as long as they can get their names on the list of successful candidates, they can bring honor to their family.

But the person in front of him was not only not interested in being an official, but also looked down on it.

Zhu Biao couldn't help but ask the reason.

"Yang Chen, why do you say that? Is being an official in the Ming Dynasty something that is shameful to talk about?

Or is it that you are unwilling to serve the Ming Dynasty, where my Zhu family is in charge of the imperial court? We are the first imperial court in a hundred years to expel the Tartars and restore China. Is there any imperial court that can be stronger than us? "

I have worked hard for so many years just to make the people of Ming Dynasty live a good life and to make a prosperous dynasty appear in this world.

Yang Chen's words did not make him angry, but made him feel confused and incomprehensible.

Even Queen Ma was confused by this.

"Biao'er is right, Yang Chen. From what you just said, it seems that being an official in Ming Dynasty would be fatal to you."

In response to the two people's questions, Yang Chen only thought for a moment before answering.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, I want to make it clear that I don't have any objections to the Ming Dynasty. In fact, the Ming Dynasty has a pretty good reputation in history.

For example, Your Majesty rose from a grassroots person to become a founding emperor of China.

Even during his reign, the Ming Dynasty's military reached unprecedented strength, which shows that the Ming Dynasty was established with the will of the people.

Otherwise, the strength between the army and the people would not be full of blood, and the fighting power would not be strong enough to drive the Mongols back to the grasslands for more than ten years. "

"According to what you said, the Ming Dynasty is indeed not bad, but why is there such a huge difference between what you said just now and what you are saying now?"

The inconsistency in Yang Chen's words made Zhu Biao even more confused.

He vaguely felt that there must be something he didn't know about, and curiosity kept scratching his heart, trying to make him find out the truth.

Looking at Zhu Biao, Yang Chen turned his head to look at Queen Ma and immediately raised his hand to signal.

"Empress, as His Majesty's first wife, you must know about His Majesty's childhood life."

Upon hearing what was said, the corners of Empress Ma's mouth slightly raised. She naturally knew everything about Zhu Yuanzhang.

In the early days of their marriage, she asked him about his past life every day. Even the two brothers Xu Da and Tang He would occasionally tease her in front of the eldest brother about some of the stupid things Zhu Yuanzhang did as a child.

Queen Ma murmured slightly and responded to Yang Chen.

"Zhongba had a very hard life when he was a child. It's not an exaggeration to say that his family was broken up. Later, he fled to Yuhuang Temple and became a young monk. After years of war, he went out to beg. He met me and then he began to rise to prominence."

Speaking of this, Queen Ma's face was full of pride.

An emperor who was decisive and ruthless had to be humble in front of her no matter what.

He didn't even dare to speak loudly to her. Even if he called out to her accidentally, Zhu Yuanzhang would immediately bow his head and admit his mistake within three breaths.

This is the charm of the founding queen. Empress Ma was the only one who could tame Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor who murdered him. "It seems that the relationship between the Queen and His Majesty is exactly the same as what was recorded by later generations. They both loved each other and had a harmonious family.

Then the Queen should know that when Your Majesty was a child, he was persecuted by corrupt officials, which led to his parents both committing suicide and he also lost contact with his family.

This incident caused a great psychological trauma to Your Majesty, so after Your Majesty ascended the throne.

He set down a series of strict requirements for all officials.

Anyone who dares to embezzle or accept bribes will have the skin of the daylily peeled off and made into a scarecrow, which will be placed in front of the yamen to serve as a warning to the next official.

Not only that, His Majesty is also stubborn and will punish any official who fails to complete his task on time, regardless of the reason.

To put it bluntly, the rules regarding officials in the Ming Dynasty were the most oppressive in all dynasties, and their treatment was also the worst.

As far as I know, the annual salary of a seventh-rank county magistrate is more than 90 dan, which is less than 8 dan per month.

Although being an official can bring honor to the family, honor cannot make a living. If an official cannot even take care of his family, then what is the point of him being an official?
Moreover, the magistrate not only supports his family, but also has many staff members in the county government who are recruited by the magistrate himself and are paid by him.

Your Majesty requires that officials be honest and incorruptible, but does not give certain benefits. It is like wanting a horse to run fast but does not give it grass to eat.

There is no such good thing in the world.

As a result, the Ming Dynasty during your Majesty's reign was a period of the most corruption and bribery, and also a period when the most officials were killed.

However, as more and more people were killed, corrupt officials kept popping up. In the end, His Majesty blamed it on the high-ranking officials and killed them as well.

In short, being an official in the Ming Dynasty meant living a precarious life, and very few people could extricate themselves from the situation perfectly.

This is true for all ranks from the first rank to the ninth rank."

After Yang Chen finished his story, Zhu Biao and Empress Ma fell silent, only Zhu Di muttered softly.

"Tsk, it's not as serious as you say. My father just wants these officials to know that being an official is to work for the people and not do bad things."

"Oh? Prince Yan doesn't seem to agree with what I said. Then I want to know, do officials in the Ming Dynasty work for the people or for the royal family?"

After these words were spoken, Zhu Di was speechless for a moment and didn't know what to say next.

Queen Ma didn't know what to say for a while, and finally spoke after a while.

"Okay, if you don't want to hold an official position in the Ming Dynasty, then I won't force you. But you stay in the palace first. If there is anything in the future and I need your help, I hope you can do your best. I won't let Chongba hurt you. How about that?"

In exchange for safety in exchange for what he knew, Yang Chen had no reason to refuse this deal.

There is no trace of the system on him at present. If there is no trace of the system in the future, he will be very dangerous indeed.

So he nodded as a sign of agreement.

Seeing that the other party agreed, Queen Ma waved her hand immediately.

"In that case, Biao'er, tell your father two things at court tomorrow morning.

The first is about the ancestral precept of supporting princes. This is a policy that will lead to the destruction of a country and cannot be left to future generations. Otherwise, it will be a huge difficulty for both the world and the people.

Second, it is about the salaries of officials. There are tens of thousands of officials below the seventh rank in the Ming Dynasty. Their salaries are indeed too low. Ask your father to increase them appropriately, so as not to disappoint those low-ranking officials who sincerely work for the Ming Dynasty."

(End of this chapter)