Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 359 Old Zhu: Tong'er is about to kick a hornet's nest!
After leaving the Censorate, Yang Shiqi boarded the carriage and instructed the driver to hurry towards the Office of Government Affairs.

Zhu Yunwen has already issued an imperial edict that a grand court assembly will be held tomorrow to specifically discuss the matter of the blood-written petition for help.

Before that, the Administrative Office must formulate a feasible set of regulations.

Otherwise, if these ministers, who bear heavy responsibilities, are at a loss and do not know how to deal with His Majesty's problems tomorrow, then they will be truly derelict in their duties and have failed His Majesty's trust and expectations.

Yang Shiqi sat in the carriage, leaning against the side wall, and slowly closed his eyes.

In his mind, it was as if a silent film was playing, meticulously reviewing the many events that had occurred in recent days.

This was a habit he had developed many years ago.

As the sage once said, "I examine myself three times a day."

Every day, Yang Shiqi would review his words and actions in his mind, examine whether he had made any mistakes, and silently remind himself not to repeat them.

It is precisely because he has always maintained such a habit of strict self-discipline and diligent reflection that he has been able to act so steadily and wisely at such a young age, demonstrating a maturity and competence far beyond his peers.

The verbal altercation I had with that censor today was indeed impulsive and a mistake I shouldn't have made.

In the future, we must be even more cautious in such verbal exchanges.

These days, the political situation in the imperial court has been quite turbulent.

In the war against the three Jurchen tribes, the Ming army won a great victory.

After this battle, Lan Yu swiftly implemented land and tax reforms in the three Jurchen tribes.

When the news reached the Ming Dynasty, it instantly caused a huge uproar throughout the court and the country.

His Majesty was overjoyed upon hearing the news of the victory and immediately issued an edict to hold a grand celebration in Jinling City to welcome the triumphant return of the expeditionary soldiers.

Previously, Generals Zhang Fu and Zhu Neng led their troops on a distant expedition to the grasslands, advancing with unstoppable momentum and annihilating the Northern Yuan royal court in one fell swoop.

He then remained stationed on the grasslands, and later accompanied Lan Yu on a campaign against the Jurchens.

Now, the grasslands have been pacified, and the three Jurchen tribes have been conquered.

The imperial court took advantage of the situation and established a province in the area.

The affairs of the three tribes of the grasslands and the Jurchens, which were originally managed by the expeditionary force, are gradually being handed over to officials dispatched by the imperial court.

The soldiers who went to war should now return to the capital.

However, Yang Shiqi understood that His Majesty's decree to hold a celebration at this time was not simply to welcome the soldiers back to the capital.

More importantly, His Majesty intended to use the momentum of this great victory to bolster the courage and support of Lan Yu and others.

This deterred those who were dissatisfied with Lan Yu's reforms from taking any action.

This also buys more time for the land and tax reforms implemented in the three Jurchen tribes to be consolidated and advanced.

It must be said that His Majesty's move was truly brilliant and highly effective.

Many officials in the court privately criticized Lan Yu's reforms in the three Jurchen tribes.

But at this critical juncture, no one dared to stand up and openly oppose it.

No one dared to submit a memorial impeaching Lan Yu.

After all, as the commander-in-chief of this expedition against the three Jurchen tribes, Lan Yu was inevitably overshadowed by the glory of the Jurchen victory.

Even if some people knew that this war was actually meticulously planned by Zhu Yunwen.

The Ming Dynasty's intelligence bureau played a truly crucial role.

It was through bribery and a strategy of divide and conquer that the three Jurchen tribes were subdued.

But as the head coach, Lan Yu's "picked-up" credit is real and no one can take it away.

Moreover, the reforms he is currently implementing in the three Jurchen tribes are also aimed at stabilizing the local situation.

In a sense, it can also be considered a kind of "military support" measure.

At this crucial moment when the imperial court is making grand preparations for the celebration, who would dare to be so out of touch with reality as to impeach Lan Yu, who has just made outstanding military achievements?
Even if those people were filled with resentment, they could only swallow their anger helplessly at this moment.

However, while these people dared not touch Lan Yu, they showed no mercy to the scholars who submitted memorials.

Despite the strong calls for reform both inside and outside the court, and the endless stream of scholars submitting petitions, the situation remains challenging.

However, as long as the officials of the court collude and work together to suppress these scholars, it will be an easy task.

Thinking of this, Yang Shiqi took out the letter from the scholar that he had previously hidden in his bosom, unfolded it again and read it carefully. He then looked at another letter pleading for help written in blood, and his expression immediately became uncertain.

After a long silence, he whispered, "The situation in the world, whether domestic or international, is like chess pieces on a chessboard, all interconnected, and a single move can affect the whole situation."

"His Majesty must have already anticipated that they would target the scholars who submitted memorials, and he is now making a big fuss about this blood-written plea for help."

"What we need to do next is..."

His voice slowly faded away, and he gently closed his eyes, falling into deep thought. Gradually, some ideas began to form in his mind.

……

Harem.

The courtyard was quiet.

Old Zhu was lying comfortably in a rattan chair, his eyes slightly closed, resting and relaxing.

Beside him, two palace maids held palm-leaf fans and gently waved them to drive away the summer heat.

Time flies like an arrow.

In the blink of an eye, more than half a year has passed.

As time goes by, the weather has gradually changed from cold to warm, and now it's slowly getting hotter.

Since the incident where Shang Xingyu impersonated Empress Ma, Old Zhu's appearance has aged considerably.

The marks of time are more clearly etched on his face.

However, to everyone's relief, Old Zhu's health did not collapse as a result.

On the contrary, during this period, it gradually became much stronger and more robust.

All of this was mainly due to Zhu Yunwen's introduction of science into the Ming Dynasty and the establishment of professional medical journals and related academic magazines.

This enabled the medical technology of the Ming Dynasty to advance by leaps and bounds, which in turn allowed Old Zhu's body to receive effective treatment and conditioning.

In many people's minds, the Imperial Medical Academy, as the highest medical institution of ancient dynasties, must have been a place where medical skills reached their pinnacle.

A large number of renowned doctors gathered here, like a constellation of stars.

However, the true history is not like that.

In the Ming Dynasty capital, there was a popular saying: "The Hanlin Academy's articles, the Wukusi's weapons, the Guanglu Temple's tea, and the Taiyi Hospital's prescriptions."

They were known as the "Four Great Jokes" by their contemporaries.

Also known as the "Four Unreliable Things"!
The scholars of the Hanlin Academy were all well-read, but when they wrote articles, they preferred to pile up ornate language, making their writing obscure and difficult to understand.

An article can be several thousand or even tens of thousands of words long.

Perhaps only a hundred or two words truly get to the heart of the matter and explain the substantive content.

The rest is all nonsense and empty talk, completely useless, and therefore it is criticized and ridiculed.

Let's take a look at the weapons and armor of the Armory.

This is because ancient smelting technology was limited, and there was no advanced stainless steel technology in later generations.

Even though the knives and guns were stored in the warehouse and some simple rust prevention treatments were carried out, they still could not be prevented from rusting over time.

Those rusty and severely damaged knives and guns were practically useless scrap metal.

How could the officials of the Arsenal dare to report to the court the truth that the swords and spears in the warehouse had been rendered unusable?
Who can bear such a responsibility?
The court officials were aware of this situation, but due to the lack of effective rust prevention technology, they could not simply scrap perfectly good swords and spears, otherwise, the accounts would be difficult to clarify.

So they could only turn a blind eye and let it go.

When the time actually came to use them, they opened the warehouse and found no weapons, just a pile of scrap metal!
As a result, the weapons and armor of the Armory became a laughing stock.

Of course, now that the Ming Dynasty had just been established, and Emperor Zhu was extremely strict, the Imperial Arsenal was not yet in such a state.

Their situation deteriorated rapidly afterward. They had a vast stockpile of weapons, but no one diligently maintained them daily, leading to their current state. As for the tea served at the Guanglu Temple, this refers to the fact that the tea offered by the Guanglu Temple was expensive but tasted terrible, making it difficult to swallow.

The prescriptions from the Imperial Medical Academy also had a special reason behind them.

When imperial physicians treated the emperor and his relatives, they always tried their best to adhere to the principle of moderation and balance in order to avoid making mistakes and bringing disaster upon themselves.

As the saying goes, every medicine is poisonous.

Every drug inevitably comes with certain side effects.

However, the prescriptions issued by the Imperial Medical Academy were as mild as everyday meals.

For them, whether the medicine has any actual therapeutic effect is not important.

The key is that this medicine must not produce any side effects or cause any problems after being taken.

This is because the imperial physicians all adhered to the principle of self-preservation when treating patients.

If the illness cannot be cured, it can be attributed to the inevitability of fate.

However, if the medication is too strong and causes even the slightest problem to the patient, it is a heinous crime that could result in beheading, confiscation of property, or even extermination of the entire clan.

To be precise, after the death of an emperor or an important member of the imperial family, the court would carefully review the prescriptions they had taken during their treatment.

If a prescription contains even one potent ingredient, it is highly likely that the patient's death is related to the administration of that medication.

The imperial physician who prescribed this medicine is likely to lose his head.

Conversely, if the prescriptions are all "not obviously effective, but will definitely not produce any adverse effects".

Therefore, no matter how much a follow-up examination is conducted afterward, the responsibility cannot be attributed to the imperial physician who prescribed the medicine.

In this way, a seemingly "perfect" closed loop is formed.

Over time, the prescriptions written by the imperial physicians became almost entirely ineffective, serving primarily as tonics.

Whether the disease can be cured depends entirely on the patient's own physical condition.

Old Zhu's body has long suffered from illness.

The imperial physicians, out of fear, dared not prescribe the right medicine or use strong drugs, and instead only adopted mild tonifying methods.

This is undoubtedly a crucial factor contributing to the difficulty in effectively improving Lao Zhu's condition.

However, the emergence of Zhu Yunwen, the introduction of scientific methods, and the establishment of medical journals completely changed this situation.

Academic articles published in medical journals have provided in-depth arguments on the treatment methods for various diseases.

In the past, it was often unclear which medications were appropriate for treating many illnesses.

Each doctor spoke their own mind, and each could come up with something reasonable.

Now, with scientific evidence, it has become clear and explicit.

In this way, the imperial physicians could no longer shirk their responsibilities or do perfunctory work.

On the other hand, with solid scientific evidence, the responsibility for prescribing medication no longer rested solely with the imperial physicians who prescribed it.

If the results of the investigation show that this drug is indeed the appropriate treatment, then there is no need to bear any responsibility.

Furthermore, through academic journals, many reclusive renowned doctors were introduced to the Ming Dynasty Academy of Sciences, the Imperial Medical Academy, and the Imperial University of Peking.

With the addition of these highly skilled physicians, the treatment plans are naturally more sophisticated and effective than before.

As a result, Old Zhu's health gradually improved day by day.

At this moment, Yoshigaki stood respectfully to the side, softly reading the intelligence reports that the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Inspector had just presented that day.

"Yang Shiqi suffered a setback at the Censorate?" Upon hearing Ji Yuan's report, Old Zhu suddenly opened his eyes, a meaningful smile appearing on his lips.

Back then, the young man who dared to make a move and play chess with Zhu Yuanzhang on his first meeting with the emperor left an indelible impression on Zhu Yuanzhang.

"After all, he is young and ambitious, and in a high position, so it's inevitable that he will become a bit arrogant. It's not a bad thing to let him accumulate more experience."

Old Zhu squinted slightly, as if recalling something, his tone tinged with emotion.

Yoshigaki bowed slightly, not daring to speak rashly.

He knew very well that he must not interrupt or speak out of turn regarding the old emperor's evaluation of the court officials.

Old Zhu then added, "Lan Yu's actions of dividing land and reforming the tax system in the Jurchen region must have been Tong'er's idea."

"He really dares to think and act!"

"His actions will cause many people sleepless nights."

His words were filled with deep emotion.

"This is all thanks to His Majesty's wisdom."

"I have heard that the Jurchen people are all grateful to Your Majesty."

"Many families have set up memorial tablets for His Majesty, burning incense and kneeling in worship every morning and evening, revering him as the Supreme Emperor."

"This is truly a great merit accumulated by His Majesty."

"I'm sure the Jurchens will eventually submit to our Great Ming and be completely loyal to us."

Yoshigaki quickly responded, his face full of flattery.

He knew perfectly well that as long as it involved Zhu Yunwen, it was always right to say a few nice words to please the old man.

However, upon hearing this, Old Zhu slowly shook his head, the smile on his face gradually fading, replaced by a solemn expression.

"How can this be so easy? Aren't those officials already preparing to take action against the scholars who submitted memorials to the emperor?"

Old Zhu slowly sat up from the rattan chair, gently raised his hand, and the palace maid serving beside him immediately understood and hurriedly handed him a cup of refreshing herbal tea.

Old Zhu took the teacup, took a few sips, and put it down before saying, "The matter of the blood letter pleading for help has come at just the right time."

"Tong'er is indeed a clever child; she knows how to make a big deal out of this."

"At present, the Ming Dynasty is making every effort to promote its voyages to the sea, so naturally it is necessary to rescue those people who have been trafficked or kidnapped."

"Only in this way can we avoid affecting the imperial court's national policy of going to sea, and prevent it from being affected by this matter."

Old Zhu changed the subject slightly at this point.

"But those people may not cooperate."

"They will still request that the scholars' petition be addressed, and resolutely oppose rescuing the people overseas."

"Teng'er is oversimplifying things."

"He thought that since he was now the emperor and saw that the officials were all respectful to him on the surface, no one would dare to stand up and oppose him."

"But in reality, when it really comes down to it, those people will unite."

"Tong'er is still holding back, not taking the initiative, and I'm afraid he's going to run into a brick wall in this matter."

Upon hearing this, Yoshigaki was startled and quickly asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, should we remind His Majesty?"

After Zhu Yunwen faked his death and hid in the inner palace, Yoshigaki began to refer to him as the Retired Emperor in order to distinguish him from Zhu Yunwen.

After all, Zhu Yunwen often mentioned Zhu Yunwen, and when Yoshigaki responded, he could only address Zhu Yunwen as "Your Majesty," so he could no longer address Zhu Yunwen as "Your Majesty" as before.

"No need!"

Old Zhu waved his hand.

“Every failure is a learning experience.”

"Teng'er's journey has been too smooth, which inevitably breeds pride."

“It’s not a bad thing for him to experience some setbacks.”

"Moreover, these people are not yet enough to threaten the stability of Tong'er's position and the security of the Ming Dynasty."

"If Tong'er wants to achieve great things, she will have to face this hurdle sooner or later."

……

(End of this chapter)