Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 513 Rules and Exceptions! The Survival Rules of a Tyrant Throughout History!
The Forbidden City in Nanjing was heavily guarded, making it impossible to carry out assassinations or poisoning the imperial meals.

However, once outside the palace, without this impregnable natural fortress as a natural barrier, it is impossible for everything to be the same as in the palace during an external tour.

No matter how many attendants are present, they may not be able to prevent a surprise attack that is waiting for an opportunity.

A chilling killing intent flashed in Zhu Su's eyes, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up slightly.

He knew the opportunity had come.

This may be his final blow to rebuild his dignity.

Zhu Su suppressed the surging emotions within him, bowed his head respectfully, and said, "This humble subject will obey the Great Khan's orders and will certainly not fail in his duty."

……

Sitting in the spacious and stable carriage, Zhu Yunwen looked out through the heavy glass windows at the rolling fields and tranquil countryside, feeling quite relaxed.

The straight cement road is wide and flat, and the newly planted roadside trees on both sides have sprouted branches and leaves and are growing well.

Looking out through the gaps in the branches and leaves, a little further away, there are lush green farmlands and villages scattered among them.

Although most of the houses in the village are still old-style brick and tile houses with mottled roofs and whitewashed walls, one can occasionally catch a glimpse of new-style buildings constructed with reinforced concrete, with a neat and elegant appearance and a strong sense of the new era.

Compared to the various self-built houses in rural areas in later generations, these new houses are more beautiful and elegant in terms of structural proportions, aesthetic style, and overall harmony.

The root cause is that early rural construction in later generations was mostly done by farmers themselves, aiming for the name of "high-rise buildings" but without any design concept. They imitated each other and built haphazardly, lacking overall planning and guidance, which naturally made them unattractive.

As people gradually became wealthier and their aesthetic tastes improved, they had the means to renovate and remodel. However, due to policy preferences for urban development and the need to protect farmland, regulations prohibiting arbitrary demolition and construction were established. As a result, many villages and towns could only make minor repairs to their existing layouts, making it difficult to completely renovate them.

But the Ming Dynasty today is quite different.

Although, in terms of current productivity levels, it is still incomparable to that of later generations.

However, the international environment in which the Ming Dynasty was situated was far more favorable than that of later dynasties.

At present, the Ming Dynasty has no competitors in the world.

Therefore, Zhu Yunwen was well aware that the Ming Dynasty could proceed with various construction projects in an orderly manner according to its own pace, without blindly rushing to catch up with other countries in the short term, nor was it necessary to hastily deal with external pressure and be forced to move forward in an extensive manner.

Many plans and developments have been able to skip the transition phase and proceed directly to their intended goals.

This avoids the waste of resources and the risk of instability associated with "building it up first and then tearing it down and rebuilding it later."

The reason why later nations often find themselves in a predicament of repeated adjustments is because they fear falling behind other countries, which would mean losing their advantage in global competition, triggering a series of extremely terrible chain reactions, and even shaking the foundations of the nation.

International competition is like rowing against the current; if you don't move forward, you fall behind.

Your country falls behind, allowing other countries to get ahead.

The entire international industrial landscape will be completely transformed.

Your country might even lose the opportunity to develop as a result.

Just like company competition, in critical moments it comes down to who can take the first step and who can hold out longer.

Once you occupy a niche, the situation will be completely different.

In the pursuit of "getting ahead," many things are neglected in terms of "perfection."

However, the current situation in the Ming Dynasty is completely different. The Ming Dynasty holds the initiative in development, and its various policies are naturally more composed and far-reaching.

For example, those brand-new buildings were never seen by ordinary people before. They were all built by the Ming Academy of Sciences, which drew up the design drawings and provided detailed construction plans.

Ordinary people have no idea about these profound architectural principles.

Unlike later societies, this one had a free exchange of information and established models that could be learned from and referenced.

They had no way to imitate the architectural styles of other places or countries, so they could only follow the blueprints of the design institute and carry out construction step by step.

For this reason, the construction of these houses was planned in a unified manner from beginning to end, and they were neat and exquisite. Both their appearance and structure took into account practicality and aesthetics. After completion, they were magnificent and extraordinary, far surpassing the messy self-built houses in rural areas in later generations.

Although he was the current emperor, a man of immense power and prestige, Zhu Yunwen did not order the roads to be completely closed for his exclusive use during this northern tour.

The road he took was the main thoroughfare connecting Nanjing and Beijing.

The road is wide and straight, like a jade belt running across the land.

Zhu Yunwen only ordered the guards to block one side of the carriage when it was about to pass, while the other side remained open for passage, allowing merchants, caravans, and pedestrians to come and go freely, so as not to disrupt the normal traffic order due to the imperial procession.

Of course, necessary security checks are still being carried out in an orderly manner to ensure the emperor's safety.

Overall, however, Zhu Yunwen did his best to minimize disruptions to his travels and avoid disturbing the people.

Even so, whenever the imperial carriage passes by, vehicles on the other side of the road will stop on their own.

The people in the car got off and knelt down to welcome the emperor, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.

As for the pedestrians, they did not hesitate to prostrate themselves and kowtow, creating a solemn and dignified scene.

However, these people were not civil and military officials who had received special etiquette training before attending court, so their manners were naturally uneven and their postures were somewhat restrained and awkward.

But this did not diminish their awe and excitement in the slightest.

Curiosity is an instinct that is difficult for humans to suppress.

Many people, though bowing their heads and touching the ground with their foreheads, still couldn't help but occasionally raise their heads to try and catch a glimpse of the imperial carriage out of the corner of their eyes.

With reverence and fervor, they longed to catch a glimpse of the legendary Son of Heaven.

If one is fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of the Emperor's face, then one's life will not have been in vain!
However, this was ultimately an expectation destined to fail.

The interior of the carriage was dimly lit, and the thick, solid glass used for the windows not only blocked out sound but also reduced visibility from the outside.

The stark contrast between the interior and exterior lighting, coupled with the double-layered window structure, meant that even those very close to the vehicle could not clearly see what was inside.

Zhu Yunwen, who was sitting in a relatively dark place, could see them clearly through the glass window.

This is also one of the intentionally designed security precautions.

In reality, ordinary people couldn't even tell which carriage the emperor was sitting in.

The emperor rode in a six-horse chariot, his majesty awe-inspiring.

Since Zhu Yunwen was traveling as the emperor, he naturally had to follow certain etiquette and standards, and could not be treated hastily.

The carriage he rode in was drawn by six fine horses, exuding an extraordinary aura, and was clearly the carriage of an emperor.

After all, apart from the emperor, no one else in the world dared to drive a chariot drawn by six horses.

However, in order to prevent accidents and ensure the emperor's safety, measures were taken to conceal the truth.

The procession included eight identical "Emperor's Carriages," each pulled by six horses.

These eight carriages were identical in appearance, and Zhu Yunwen would change carriages every day. Apart from a very few close guards, no one knew which carriage the emperor was riding in today.

Inside the carriage, Zhu Yunwen leaned against the soft cushions, looking languid. Xu Miaojin sat beside him, her hands never ceasing, massaging his shoulders and legs while occasionally peeking out the window, her face beaming with barely concealed excitement. Upon hearing the news that Zhu Yunwen was going on a northern tour, this young girl, who had been cooped up in the palace for so long, was immediately filled with excitement. She rushed to him, using both coquettishness and reason, relentlessly pestering him to accompany her on the northern tour.

Zhu Yuntong initially refused, smiling as he laid out dozens of harsh conditions, thinking she would back down. Unexpectedly, she agreed to them all without hesitation.

In the end, Zhu Yunwen had no choice but to agree.

Anyway, he's long been used to a life of luxury and enjoyment, and he does need someone to serve him during his northern tour.

This made Xu Miaojin so happy that she was like a bird released from its cage, her eyes practically sparkling.

At this moment, although she was still serving Zhu Yunwen, her thoughts had already flown out of the carriage, lingering in the vast mountains and rivers and the everyday life of the people, and she could not bring them back.

“Your Majesty,” Xu Miaojin said, massaging her chest while rolling her bright eyes, “Although this carriage is spacious and comfortable, it’s been rather stuffy sitting here the whole way.”

"I think it would be wise to get off the carriage and travel incognito."

"Only by going among the people and getting close to them can one understand their feelings and realities, and avoid being fooled by the bureaucrats below."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen glanced at her sideways and said indifferently, "I think you're using this incognito visit as a pretext to find an opportunity to sneak out and have some fun, aren't you?"

He snorted coldly: "I advise you to give up this idea as soon as possible."

"This northern tour is to inspect the disaster situation on the Yellow River, arrange disaster relief work, inspect key dikes and embankments, and formulate a plan for repairing and managing the Yellow River."

"This concerns the lives of countless people and the very foundation of the nation. How can you act so recklessly and arbitrarily?"

Xu Miaojin pouted, a hint of anger in her voice: "I'm not being willful or reckless. I'm doing this for Your Majesty's sake, so that Your Majesty can truly understand the people's plight. That's why...that's why...that's not for going out to play."

It would be strange if it wasn’t!
Zhu Yunwen stretched, his tone languid yet firm: "Even if we really want to go on an incognito visit, we'll have to wait until we get to the disaster area."

"The most important thing right now is to get to the Yellow River disaster area as soon as possible, since we don't know what the situation is like there yet."

Upon hearing this, Xu Miaojin's eyes lit up immediately, and she hurriedly asked, "So that means that once we arrive in the disaster area, we can leave the imperial residence and go outside for a while?"

Zhu Yunwen smiled slightly and casually replied, "Let's talk about it when we get there."

"I have no idea what the disaster area looks like now. I need to see it with my own eyes before I can make a decision."

He suddenly remembered something and said, "By the way, I heard that your brother had another fight with the Duke of Liang a few days ago. The two of them argued fiercely over some trivial matter."

As soon as he said those words, Zhu Yunwen felt a headache coming on.

As the emperor, people only see him as high above, with immense power, as if he could secure the country and the nation with just a word.

But only after experiencing the position firsthand did he realize that the life behind the word "emperor" was far from the glamorous and carefree existence he had imagined.

The center of power is not an isolated island.

In the imperial court, factions abound, interests are intertwined, and while there appears to be harmony on the surface, undercurrents are surging beneath.

Even the closest and most trusted old ministers and confidants each have their own temperaments and personalities, their own ambitions and principles, and their own calculations and stances.

Getting them to work together wholeheartedly for the court is no easy task.

For government orders to be effectively implemented, it is often necessary to navigate and reconcile numerous interests, proceeding with extreme caution and treading on thin ice.

Moreover, people's hearts can change, and so can loyalty.

The emperor, seemingly in control of all power, is actually constrained at every turn.

By now, Zhu Yunwen has long been accustomed to living under the watchful eyes of others.

Every move the emperor made was recorded.

The ministers are watching everything the emperor does.

The feeling of being stared at by countless eyes is like living under a spotlight for years, never having a moment's peace.

Every policy initiative he wanted to implement, including his personal life, would inevitably encounter dissenting voices offering advice.

This is not feasible; we must proceed with caution.

This is wrong; it's against etiquette.

Sometimes, he simply ignores it completely, letting it go in one ear and out the other.

But sometimes, one has to pretend to be humble and receptive to advice, just to go through the motions and get by.

If an emperor always acts unilaterally, it can also lead to the collapse of his power base.

Even if you disdain it in your heart, you still have to do a decent job of "putting on a good show".

Being an emperor is not about freedom!

Those unscrupulous and lawless tyrants in history only enjoyed temporary pleasures; before long, their countries fell and their families perished.

Zhu Yunwen's ideal was to be a "capable" but "incompetent ruler for all time," rather than a "incompetent ruler" who led to the downfall of the Ming Dynasty.

A lifetime is long; he wants to live happily for another eighty years.

I don't want to squander the foundation of the Ming Dynasty in a few short moments of pleasure!

Ultimately, the majesty of an emperor never comes from nothing, but is built upon a complex and rigorous set of rules and regulations.

Without rules, even the highest throne will become a dangerous building.

Many seemingly insignificant and seemingly useless "rules" are actually indispensable pillars for maintaining social stability and ensuring the smooth operation of the government.

If the emperor were to break these "rules," it would easily leave the officials without a basis for their support, demoralize the people, and undermine the authority of the court.

This led to the collapse of social order and the disintegration of the ritual system, ultimately resulting in a state of "the collapse of ritual and music".

At that time, the downfall of the dynasty became an inevitable outcome.

Of course, this does not mean that the emperor must be rigid and conservative in everything he does, without any flexibility.

As the ruler of all under heaven, the emperor does indeed have the power to act outside the established norms, and the system itself also possesses a certain degree of flexibility and inclusiveness.

Occasionally breaking one or two routines is harmless and can even stimulate new vitality.

However, such "exceptions" must be handled with care and should not be done frequently, let alone overstepped the bounds without restraint.

For those in positions of power, the key to adhering to the "rules" lies in maintaining balance rather than rigidity.

The same principle applies to managing people and affairs.

Relying solely on imperial edicts to exert pressure is far from sufficient.

The true art of rulership lies not only in the combination of kindness and severity, but also in knowing when to employ appeasement and, in a sense, in learning to "please" key ministers, especially those who are truly trusted confidants.

Only in this way can you make the other party wholeheartedly loyal to you!
……

(End of this chapter)