Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 365 Public outrage, the target of their anger!
At that time, it was still early, and the east was just beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

A faint ray of rosy light stretched across the sky, covering the eastern horizon where heaven and earth meet.

From this vantage point, towering chimneys can be faintly seen outside the city.

Amidst the uniform, authentic, and rustic architecture, a touch of modern industrial style shines through.

The civil and military officials who came to court all arrived very early.

They gathered in twos and threes outside the palace.

Vendors pushed their carts and delivered breakfast.

Upon seeing this, the officials swarmed forward, rushing to buy steamed buns and other food to temporarily fill their hungry stomachs.

During this break, everyone was trying to find out information from each other.

This is precisely the key reason why they arrived so early.

Back when Zhu Yuanzhang was in power, the morning court session was set very early, and he had to attend court every day.

However, after Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne, he not only changed the morning court session to once every ten days, but also moved the time four hours back from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m.

In this way, officials could sleep longer in bed before attending the morning court session, instead of getting up at the crack of dawn to prepare and rush to court.

But today's court assembly is not an ordinary one; it was temporarily set up by His Majesty's decree yesterday. The officials all wanted to find out the details beforehand, which is why they gathered outside the palace early.

"His Majesty has suddenly summoned all officials for the morning court session. Have you heard any rumors?" an official asked his friend in a low voice.

"Isn't it all because of that blood-written plea for help? Yesterday, His Majesty issued an imperial edict, severely reprimanding Minister of State Affairs and Left Censor-in-Chief Yang. This matter has caused quite a stir in the city. How could you not know about it?" an official replied.

"I have heard something about this. It's just a few common people who were trafficked and are in trouble overseas. Why is His Majesty so furious that he even convened a grand court assembly for it?"

Some officials found this deeply puzzling.

In his view, it was nothing more than ordinary people being deceived, not a serious matter.

There has been a saying since ancient times: "If the people do not complain, the officials will not investigate."

Those ordinary people were deceived by their own carelessness, so they have no one to blame but themselves.

The imperial court didn't even need to get involved.

"Perhaps after receiving the blood-written plea for help, the Censorate did not report it to the court immediately, but instead concealed the news. His Majesty only learned of this through the intelligence bureau, rather than through his subjects' initiative to report it, which is why he is so furious?"

Some officials speculated in this way.

Since ancient times, deceiving the emperor has been a heinous crime.

As a monarch, what one fears most is a subject deliberately concealing something from the court.

“I think this matter will affect His Majesty’s planned voyage,” an official said. “Imagine if a large number of people encounter misfortune overseas, everyone’s enthusiasm for going to sea will definitely be greatly dampened.”

Going overseas has now become almost the top national policy of the Ming Dynasty, and officials naturally tend to associate it with this.

At this moment, another official interjected, "I have heard that not all the people imprisoned overseas were tricked into going there. Some were ambushed by villains and kidnapped or coerced."

“That’s right, I’ve heard about it too. Those villains took advantage of the court’s lifting of the sea ban to buy large ships for sailing, kidnapping people everywhere, locking them in the lower decks, and selling them overseas like pigs and sheep, making huge profits from it,” an official continued.

"If this is truly true, it is truly appalling. In the bright and clear sky of our Great Ming Dynasty, how dare such a villain commit such an evil deed? If he is not severely punished, wouldn't everyone live in fear?" an official said indignantly.

Everyone was talking at once.

"Our Great Ming has declared war on all the countries in the world. However, those who went to sea before were all princes, members of the royal family, nobles, and wealthy merchants. In my opinion, Your Majesty must be planning to take this opportunity to officially send troops to sea."

An official's eyes were bright, and his tone was somewhat confident.

“That makes a lot of sense,” another official nodded slightly, responding thoughtfully.

"It seems that our Great Ming Dynasty will soon be starting a new war." Another person sighed softly, his eyes filled with both anticipation and a hint of worry.

"Speaking of which, the war against the three Jurchen tribes has just ended, and Your Majesty is already so impatient to open up a new battlefield. If this continues, will our Great Ming Dynasty really be plagued by endless wars?" An official said with a deep frown and concern.

"What does it matter? Since His Majesty reformed the military system, the Ming army of our Great Ming has been invincible. Moreover, fighting wars not only do not deplete the national treasury, but can also generate profits, and the casualties are not great. There is really no reason not to support it!" A military officer shouted loudly, his face flushed, his emotions extremely agitated.

"Hahaha, you are absolutely right! In the past, the reason why our Great Ming was unwilling to expand outwards was twofold: firstly, war is dangerous and fraught with peril, and once defeated, the situation would be uncontrollable; secondly, there was no profit to be made, and while there was the reputation of territorial expansion, it did not benefit the country or the people. Now, His Majesty has successfully solved both of these problems, and the Great Ming's conquest of the world is truly timely, with the right conditions and favorable circumstances!" An official stroked his beard and analyzed, shaking his head.

"No matter what, the people of our Great Ming Dynasty must not be imprisoned and humiliated by foreign barbarians. Such behavior seriously damages the dignity of our great nation. The court should immediately send troops to rescue them!" another person said indignantly.

The ministers who participated in the discussion were all in high spirits, shouting for war and killing, and not one of them opposed sending troops.

One reason for this was the brilliant achievements of the Ming army in its successive battles against foreign enemies, which solidified everyone's belief.

They firmly believed that the Ming Dynasty's overseas expeditions were a natural progression and posed no significant risks.

Secondly, everyone knows perfectly well that going to sea is a national policy personally approved by His Majesty. It is an inevitable trend, and by following the trend, at least they won't say anything wrong.

After all, which official who can enter the court and participate in court assemblies doesn't have an extremely keen political sense? How could they say anything carelessly?

Since His Majesty is furious about this matter, he is probably determined to send troops, and the officials will naturally not disobey His Majesty on this matter.

However, even so, some people still hold different opinions.

However, these people stood silently to the side, listening quietly, and no one dared to voice their objections.

Just as the officials were discussing the matter enthusiastically, one of them suddenly spoke up: "You are all focused on the blood letter pleading for help. Doesn't anyone care about Lan Yu's implementation of the new policies in the three Jurchen tribes? The Ming Daily has been reporting on this extensively, and many scholars have written to various departments of the court, urging the implementation of the new tax system within the territory of our Ming Dynasty."

Upon hearing this, the previously noisy discussions instantly ceased.

The entire room seemed to be frozen in place, suddenly falling into an eerie silence.

The story of the scholar writing letters to the emperor had already spread widely among the people.

Many of the Ming Dynasty officials present had seen such letters.

Everyone knew perfectly well what was going on, yet no one presented those letters to His Majesty.

At this moment, when someone suddenly brought up the matter, everyone involuntarily fell silent.

"Hmph, it's nothing but scholars causing trouble in the country. How can the affairs of our Great Ming Dynasty be governed by the nonsense of those ignorant scholars!" An official said with a face full of disdain and a tone full of contempt.

These words were like igniting a barrel of gunpowder, instantly setting the entire scene ablaze.

The officials all chimed in with their own opinions.

"That makes sense! The idea that taxes should be paid according to the amount of land owned, and that the more land owned, the more taxes should be paid, is utterly absurd!" An official glared angrily and slammed his fist on the table.

“That’s right! Why should those with more land and wealth pay more taxes? There’s no such logic in this world!” Another official, his face flushed, echoed excitedly.

"Those people are even advocating that all gentry should not enjoy tax exemption privileges, it's simply outrageous!" An official with a white beard glared and trembled with anger. "That's not all! Some of them even praised the land distribution policy implemented by the Duke of Liang in the three Jurchen tribes, and even wanted our Great Ming to follow suit. This is clearly a deliberate attempt to disrupt the world!" Another person waved his hands and shouted indignantly.

"The measures taken by the three Jurchen tribes are merely emergency measures during wartime. How can they be promoted in the Ming Dynasty? It's utterly absurd!" An official shook his head repeatedly, his tone full of disdain.

“In my opinion, there has always been a hierarchy among the nobles. It is wrong to distribute the land of the Jurchen nobles to slaves and commoners. Even in times of war, this is not the way to do things. The Duke of Liang is clearly abusing his power of wartime control to act recklessly!” An official frowned and sighed with deep sorrow.

“That’s right! But he’s won the battle, so we can’t impeach him for this. After all, the court still wants to celebrate his victory.” An official helplessly spread his hands, his tone revealing resentment.

"I don't care how the Duke of Liang behaves with the Jurchens, but the Ming Dynasty must never implement such a policy!" A young and impetuous official suddenly stood up and said resolutely.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Our Great Ming must never implement such a policy!" The officials echoed, their emotions growing increasingly agitated, their voices growing louder and louder.

At first, they were just whispering among themselves, but as their emotions rose, their voices gradually became louder.

As the saying goes, "Many hands make light work."

Officials who are usually very cautious in their speech and rarely express their opinions have no more scruples today, seeing that everyone agrees.

After all, it's hard to defy public anger. As long as everyone works together, even the emperor will have to have some reservations.

"If those scholars are just writing letters and talking, that's fine. But I'm afraid that someone might use the scholars' petitions to mislead His Majesty into implementing new policies in our Great Ming!" An official said with concern, expressing his worries.

In fact, this is what many officials are most worried about.

Everyone knows that the current emperor is ambitious and hardworking, and is determined to achieve great things.

Will the Ming Dynasty implement land redistribution and tax reform?

No one can tell!
Some astute officials vaguely guessed that there must be someone else secretly guiding Lan Yu behind the scenes.

After all, Lan Yu was just a military man; although he was good at fighting, he knew nothing about politics.

If they really wanted to govern, they would probably just copy the existing policies of the Ming Dynasty. How could they come up with so many novel ideas?

However, they were unable to determine who this person was at the moment.

"Yes, what if His Majesty is misled by those people's slander?" An official said with a worried and solemn expression.

"If it really comes to that, we will have no choice but to offer our advice even at the cost of our lives!" An official stood tall, his gaze resolute, looking as if he were ready to die for his cause.

"Alas, those scholars, influenced by Fang Xiaoru's new learning, dare to talk about the way of the sages and the common good of the world. It's utter nonsense!" an official said with a face full of disdain.

"The ruler should act as a ruler, the minister as a minister, the father as a father, and the son as a son. There should be a distinction between the noble and the lowly, and an order between the elder and the younger. This is the way of the sage. If the distinction between elder and younger, noble and lowly, is not made, then the rites and music will collapse. How could a sage advocate such a thing?" A well-read official shook his head and quoted classical texts as he spoke.

At this moment, Ge Song arrived in front of the palace and overheard the officials' discussions, secretly delighted.

Judging from this situation, could it be that Lord Zhan has already secretly exerted his influence?
The crowd was filled with righteous indignation, and now they felt that their petition might actually have a chance of success.

"What about those ministers of state? As close advisors to the emperor, handling state affairs on behalf of His Majesty, shouldn't they stand up and lead the court officials to advise His Majesty in case of such a situation, just in case?" someone in the crowd questioned loudly.

"Yes, the Minister of State cannot stand idly by!" someone immediately responded loudly.

"As a minister of state, at this critical moment, I should lead the court officials to advise His Majesty to prevent him from being misled by treacherous people!"

"It all depends on whether they are loyal ministers of the Ming Dynasty who dare to offer advice, or treacherous ministers who only know how to flatter and fawn!"

"How history should be recorded depends on their choices!"

The crowd's words grew increasingly heated.

At this moment, someone whispered, "Yang Shiqi, Yao Guangxiao, Xia Yuanji, and Yang Rong are all people personally promoted by His Majesty. They would never go against His Majesty's wishes."

He kept his voice very low, as it would be extremely impolite to address a minister of state by his first name.

If his enemies overheard this, it would be enough to accuse him of "disrespecting etiquette".

One official chimed in, "Why bother with them? Their seniority and reputation aren't enough to lead the officials, and those veteran ministers won't submit to them. Aren't there still Lord Zhan and Lord Wang?"

Yang Shiqi and others were promoted too quickly, and although they held high positions, their foundation in the court was still shallow.

“That’s absolutely right. Lord Zhan served as the Left Censor-in-Chief for many years. The duty of the Left Censor-in-Chief is to speak frankly and offer advice. He is a respected leader of the upright officials. Now he is also a Minister of State Affairs, managing state affairs on behalf of the Emperor. Shouldn’t he step forward now?” An official immediately steered the conversation toward Zhan Hui.

"Has he forgotten his duty and responsibility after being promoted to Minister of State Affairs by His Majesty?"

"Is he going to become a treacherous official?"

"Hmph, if that's really the case, I'll sever all ties with him!" a hot-tempered official said angrily.

"It's not that bad, Lord Zhan isn't that kind of person!" Some officials also defended Zhan Hui.

"Whether he does or not depends on his own decision. After court today, we will go together to pay our respects to him."

As everyone was talking, someone shouted, "Stop talking, Lord Zhan is here!"

Everyone looked over and saw a sedan chair slowly approaching from not far away.

The sedan chair had special markings, making it immediately clear that it belonged to Minister Zhan Hui.

Upon seeing this, the officials immediately swarmed forward.

"Lord Zhan, at today's court assembly, has His Majesty made up his mind to send troops?"

"Lord Zhan, the Duke of Liang is implementing new policies in the three Jurchen tribes, and arrogant scholars are writing letters to the court. You must stand up and advise His Majesty not to do such things."

"Lord Zhan, you are not only a minister of state affairs and a leader of the upright officials, but also the head of all the officials in the court. At this moment, you must stand with everyone."

"Lord Zhan, we trust your character, please don't let us down!"

Zhan Hui looked around, raised his hand to signal the officials to be quiet, smiled slightly, and said, "I understand everyone's intentions."

"I know exactly what to do."

"I am deeply grateful for the country's favor, and I will certainly repay the court with my life and be a loyal subject of the Ming Dynasty."

"I have no regrets before Heaven and Earth, nor before the classics I have read throughout my life."

He changed the subject and continued, "The court session is about to begin. If there's anything, we can discuss it together at my residence after the session."

Upon hearing this, the officials felt reassured.

Since this "highly respected" elder is taking charge, there shouldn't be any problems.

Just then, the palace gates slowly opened. A eunuch strode out and shouted at the top of his lungs, "The morning court session is here!"

……

(End of this chapter)