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Chapter 333: Emperor Hong Zhao's Methods
Suning knows that he has abolished the death penalty, and many people will feel that it is inappropriate, but Suning has his own purpose, which is definitely not to show off his "benevolence and righteousness".

"Your Majesty, the magistrate of Haining County is seriously corrupt and his crimes have been verified. Since Your Majesty has abolished the death penalty, the officials of the Ministry of Justice do not know how to deal with it." Maha has now been promoted to Prime Minister of the Cabinet, and Xu Da was sent by Suning to lead the army to garrison in Beidu.

"Your Majesty, I think these corrupt officials should all be skinned alive." Zhu Yuanzhang might have been too obsessed with corrupt officials and was unable to change his way of dealing with them.

Prime Minister Maha on the side also looked at Zhu Yuanzhang in horror, feeling that this man was so reckless and murderous, and was really worried that Emperor Hong Zhao would be affected by Zhu Yuanzhang's murderous nature.

"Haha, corrupt officials are like leeks in the field. They can never be completely killed!" Suning saw Zhu Yuanzhang's angry face and couldn't help but smiled and shook his head.

"Then kill them until the day they fear!"

"Prime Minister, the Haining County Magistrate and his associates will all be demoted to slavery and assigned to the Ministry of Works as professional craftsmen. All their property will be confiscated. Unrelated family members will not be implicated. As long as they achieve research results and perform meritorious service, they may be released from slavery."

"Yes! Your Majesty!"

"Well! From now on, all crimes of corruption in our Ming Dynasty will be punished according to this example."

"Yes! Your Majesty! I understand!"

After Maha went down to do his work, Suning looked at the angry Zhu Yuanzhang with amusement. However, Suning directly asked Liu Bowen and Zou Pusheng, who had been thinking about the matter, "What do you two think of the way I handled it?"

"Your Majesty, I also agree that Zhu's way of governing is more appropriate." Zou Pusheng also came from a poor background, so he hated corrupt officials just as much.

"Your Majesty, do you attach great importance to the research and development of the Ministry of Industry?" Liu Bowen looked at Su Ning meaningfully.

"Yes! Bowen, you still understand me!" Su Ning nodded and smiled in agreement, then expressed his own opinion, "You may think I am too pedantic, but the fact is absolutely not the case!

These craftsmen in the Ministry of Works are almost all illiterate, and scholars do not like to get involved in this. The few scholars who do treat it as a hobby, it will still be described as a strange skill.

"Haha, since scholars don't like 'strange skills and tricks', then I will be a mediator and first replace these scholars who made mistakes as craftsmen."

These people have committed serious crimes punishable by confiscation of property and extermination of clans, but now they are merely being enlisted as slaves, giving them hope for survival and change. These corrupt officials will surely try their best to perform.

"Your Majesty, this plan is far-reaching!" Liu Bowen and the other two finally understood Suning's purpose and couldn't help but agree.

"It is impossible to change the Ming Dynasty by relying on a wealth of knowledge. We also need a revolution in mechanical manufacturing. Only then can the Ming Dynasty have the possibility of completely controlling the world.

My intention is to rest and recuperate for a few years, and then launch a large-scale attack in the east and west, so that we can formulate our foreign policy."

"Yes! Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty, the people of the Ming Dynasty have heard that the Empress is compiling a medical book and is planning to establish medical clinics across the country. They are spontaneously preparing to erect a longevity tablet for the Empress!"

"Haha, you guys are so thoughtful!" Suning knew that it was his ministers who deliberately spread the news, and of course Suning would accept this favor from his ministers.

"Bo Wen, Song Lian is currently handling the issue of opening schools and compiling textbooks across the country. You should keep an eye on him frequently. Don't let him create some pedantic experts on classics."

"Yes, Your Majesty! I will definitely pay attention to this matter.

However, I believe Song Lian is a man of measure and should understand your majesty's intentions."

"Humph! That's not necessarily true!

I heard that people from the Shandong Kong family have been in frequent contact with Song Lian recently?

What are they planning? Don't I know?"

"Eh? Your Majesty, the Kong family is very uncooperative regarding the land tax distribution. How should we deal with this?"

"The Kong family is demonstrating to us, forcing us to change the national policy of equalizing the land tax and continue to confer the title of Yansheng Duke on the Kong family." Su Ning could of course understand the Kong family's intentions, and then revealed a sneer, "Zhu Yizheng!"

"Chen is here!"

"I order you to go to Qufu, Shandong. I will charge the Kong family with the grave crime of colluding with the Mongols and resisting national policy. I will demote them to commoners and confiscate all their property. The Kong family will be forbidden from studying or taking the imperial examinations for generations."

"Yes! Your Majesty!"

"Ah? Your Majesty, isn't this too much?" Liu Bowen couldn't help but persuade.

"Haha, too what? Too cruel and tyrannical?" Su Ning sneered at Liu Bowen. "You have to know that the Duke of Yansheng of the Kong family was conferred the title by the Mongols. Does that mean they were wrong to collude with the Mongols?"

"Of course, I'm a reasonable person.

Zhu Yi Zheng, just tell them clearly.

If they wish to continue serving as officials and pursuing academic pursuits, they must patiently invent and create. Only if the Kong family achieves merit will the title of Duke Yansheng be returned to them, and they will continue to enjoy the wealth and status they possess.

"Yes! Your Majesty!"

Only then did Liu Bowen and others realize that Emperor Hong Zhao was waiting for the Kong family here. This was because Emperor Hong Zhao took a fancy to the Kong family's leadership position in the literary world. If the Kong family succumbed to Suning's request to create inventions, other scholars would never raise any objections.

At this time, everyone who understood Emperor Hong Zhao's intentions could not help but admire him in their hearts. It was really that Emperor Hong Zhao's methods were too brilliant, and every step he took had a clear purpose.

Emperor Hong Zhao, Suning, came to the Ministry of Works with skilled craftsmen summoned from all over the country. Some of them were engaged in carving gold and silver jewelry, there were also carving masters who made "ghost balls", and of course there were also leaders in various other handicraft industries.

When these masters were first gathered from the public, it caused quite a stir in the Ming Dynasty, because the people did not know the truth and were constantly speculating.

"Why did Emperor Hong Zhao suddenly summon so many skilled craftsmen?"

"What else could it be?
They must have thought the crown was too crude, so they asked masters from all over the country to work together to make the best one.”

"Huh? Why is what I heard different from what you heard?

I heard that Emperor Hong Zhao loved the Empress very much, and since the Empress was busy compiling medical books, Emperor Hong Zhao planned to make a rare phoenix crown for her.

"Ah? No wonder!

Our Empress is the most beautiful woman in the world, and her heart is like the reincarnation of Guanyin. She is definitely worthy of Emperor Hong Zhao's love."

"Yes! It is truly a blessing for us, the people, that we are able to be blessed and protected by the Queen.

My son had a seizure a few days ago. If it weren't for the clinic run by the Empress, he might have been beyond help."

"Hmm! It seems we need to go home immediately to set up a longevity tablet for the Queen!" "Yes! Good idea! Let's go together! Let's go together!"

Suning looked at the many skilled craftsmen in front of him and their cautious expressions, and couldn't help but smile. These were the foundation for China's future rise.

"Masters, don't be nervous. I want to show you something!" Suning explained to the nervous craftsmen, then nodded to the eunuchs accompanying him, "Bring it up!"

"Yes! Your Majesty!"

Under the curious gaze of the skilled craftsmen, the eunuchs brought out a charcoal stove and a kettle full of water. Just when everyone was puzzled, Emperor Hong Zhao simply asked the eunuchs to boil water directly.

Emperor Hong Zhao's actions left everyone confused, but no one dared to question him. They all just followed Emperor Hong Zhao and watched the stove boiling water "boringly".

Seeing that the skilled craftsman in front of him was confused, Suning just smiled silently and did not explain anything for the time being. After a while, the water in the kettle boiled, and the lid of the kettle was seen jumping around due to the steam.

Su Ning suddenly smiled and looked at everyone, "Everyone, did you all see it?"

"Ah?" Everyone was confused by Suning's question.

"Hehe, I'm asking what you saw?"

"What? We didn't see anything?" Every skilled craftsman lamented in his heart, and no one dared to say it out loud.

Seeing that these skilled craftsmen did not understand what he meant, Suning shook his head helplessly and smiled bitterly. When he was about to explain something, suddenly a low voice came from a corner.

"The steam makes the lid move!"

"Huh? Who is talking? Stand up and speak out loudly." Suning suddenly felt what a pleasant surprise.

The person speaking in the corner was the master of the "Ghost Ball" from Guangzhou. He quickly stood up and said tremblingly, "Your Majesty, the steam from the boiling water has caused the kettle lid to move."

"Yes! That's right! That's what I mean!"

"I summoned you here so that you can build a machine that is powered by steam, just like a horse pulling a carriage is powered by the horse.

In other words, I want you to use this steam instead of horses to power your cart."

"Ah?" Everyone finally understood it vaguely. Fortunately, Emperor Hong Zhao's explanation was straightforward enough, otherwise they might not even be able to vaguely understand it.

Suning also knew that it would be difficult for them to understand everything at once, so he patiently explained the principles to them directly, and finally took out the steam engine drawings that he and his queen Liu had made for several days.

"Everyone, this is the blueprint for the machine. I want you to build it according to the blueprint. I name this machine the steam engine."

"Steam engine?" Everyone then looked curiously at the detailed drawings provided by Emperor Hong Zhao.

Suning believed that Chinese craftsmen were no less capable than Western scientists, but that they were busy satisfying the extravagance and debauchery of the nobility and had no energy or attention to devote to research and creation.

The steam engine is the most suitable machine for the early Ming Dynasty. With the inspiration from me, a latecomer, skilled craftsmen will definitely be able to make a steam engine.

Looking at the busy craftsmen, Suning smiled silently, then left with his eunuch and went to another place in the Ministry of Works.

The craftsmen here are busy. They look at the delicate parts on the table and prepare to imitate them completely. These are all the parts of AK47 provided by Suning.

Although the material does not meet the standards of later generations, Suning still hopes to inspire them. If they can achieve 30% of the power of later guns, it will be the biggest progress in the early Ming Dynasty.

Emperor Hong Zhao, Suning, had been busy all day and was about to return to the harem when Liu Bowen called out to him, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened!"

"Bowen, what's wrong? What happened?" Emperor Hong Zhao looked at Liu Bowen in confusion.

"Your Majesty, Xu Shouhui and Ni Wenjun of Goryeo are fighting."

"What? They're such idiots that dog meat can't even be served at a banquet." They thought that if Xu Shouhui and Ni Wenjun had fled to Goryeo, there would be no more historical conflicts. "Bo Wen, have Hu Dahai lead 50,000 troops across the sea to defend Goryeo!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Liu Bowen was now accustomed to Emperor Hong Zhao's orders, but he still expressed his concerns, "Your Majesty, isn't 50,000 soldiers too few?"

"Haha, just for Xu Shouhui's bunch of idiots, 50,000 soldiers and officers are too many!"

"Yes! Your Majesty!"

"Also, draft an appointment document, appointing Chen Youliang as the Minister of Administration of Goryeo Province, Hu Dahai as the Commander-in-Chief of Goryeo Province, and Zhang Dingbian as the Minister of the Imperial Court."

"Ah? What if Chen Youliang and Zhang Dingbian don't accept the appointment?
After all, they still haven't acknowledged their affiliation with the Ming Dynasty."

"Haha, Chen Youliang and Zhang Dingbian are not fools. They should know that Goryeo is a desperate place. Whether they can stay in Goryeo safely depends on the mood of the Ming Dynasty."

"Hmm! What about Xu Shouhui and Ni Wenjun?"

"Haha, Bowen, do you think there's still hope for them to survive?

Believe it or not, the Korean conflict will soon be over, and Chen Youliang and Zhang Dingbian will be the biggest winners."

"Yes, Your Majesty! I will go down and take charge of this matter right away."

When he saw Xu Shouhui and the others went to Goryeo, Suning was very satisfied. As long as they were willing to work hard and stop caring about their own petty gains, Suning would not mind them being isolated overseas, and would even help them when possible. However, what disappointed Suning was that they were still so selfish and eventually started fighting each other.

That's why Suning made up his mind to deal with them. Xu Shouhui and Ni Wenjun had no other way to survive except death. If Chen Youliang did not accept the appointment of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty's army would be waiting for them. Moreover, Hu Dahai's 50,000 troops were not going there for sightseeing.

Zhang Dingbian, the most powerful general in the late Yuan Dynasty, has always been the one that Suning coveted. This time, he has an excuse to pull him over. After all, it is more appropriate to have such a powerful man under his command.

The Ming Dynasty had just been established, so it was a good time for it to recuperate for a while. There were no border conflicts with the outside world at this time, so it was a good time to accumulate strength for the next Ming Dynasty expansion plan.

Chagan Temur and Wang Baobao were eventually tamed by Suning. They were locked up in a dark room all day long. Chagan Temur and Wang Baobao felt that life was worse than death. When the Yuan Emperor gave up his title and was then canonized as the King of Mongolia by the Ming Emperor Hong Zhao, the father and son surrendered to the Ming Dynasty.

There was no discrimination against Suning, the former ministers and generals of the Yuan Dynasty. He treated all Han generals equally. However, all the soldiers were reorganized and then received unified training and education.

In the Ming Dynasty, generals were only leaders who led troops in battle, while another system in the army was responsible for logistics and training. In addition, the large number of military supervision systems in the army eliminated the possibility of generals rebelling.

Today's military supervisors have been set up at the company level, always paying attention to the ideological problems of Ming soldiers. At the same time, they insist on having their wages distributed uniformly by the Ming royal bank, thus blocking the connection between soldiers and generals to the greatest extent, and preventing generals from withholding soldiers' wages.

(End of this chapter)