Ming Dynasty: The Jingnan Rebellion has just been successful, and Zhu Yuanzhang has been resurrected

Chapter 130 Grandfather and Grandson, Please Call Your Majesty!
Zhu Yuanzhang moved his lips and said, "We also want the Ming Dynasty to stabilize as soon as possible."

Zhu Yunhuan nodded and said, "Yes, after the preferential treatment for gentry was promulgated, the Ming Dynasty did stabilize and achieved all your goals. Reading became popular and the lower-level officials were quickly filled, but..."

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his head and looked at Zhu Yunhuan, feeling uneasy.

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "But, Daming, you've been led astray!"

The preferential treatment of gentry has its advantages, but it also has greater harms. It can almost be said that it affected the entire Ming Dynasty. The gentry developed more and more rapidly and their influence grew, but what came with it was a gradual decline in the control of imperial power and the court.

This is not alarmist, but fact.

Let’s talk about the components of the gentry.

Strictly speaking, the gentry are divided into two parts.

One: Scholar.

2: Gentleman.

Shi: refers to people who have passed the imperial examination and obtained fame, but have not yet entered the officialdom. In other words, people who have passed the examination but have not yet become officials can be regarded as substitutes for officials.

Gentleman: refers to the official himself, or an official who has left his post.

Whether they were scholars or gentry, they all belonged to the bureaucratic group of the Ming Dynasty.

The bureaucracy is the administrator of the dynasty.

In any dynasty, its rulers can never be the weaker party. After all, if the rulers are weak, how can they still be rulers!

The preferential treatment given to the gentry is equivalent to adding more preferential treatment to the already powerful party.

The stronger side becomes even stronger.

What follows is that the weaker party will definitely become even weaker.

This thing is like a balance scale. If one side is strong, the other side will be weak.

Here, there is a more interesting thing.

Zhu Yuanzhang was wary of and distrustful of his officials, but he also issued preferential treatment for gentry and provided great convenience to his officials.

This seems to be a very complicated situation.

I give you an official position and power, but I will be wary of you and not give you money.

Isn't this definitely a test of human nature?
Since ancient times, how many people have successfully tested human nature?
Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang's failure was normal and an inevitable outcome.

The price of failure was painful. Corruption was rampant in the Ming Dynasty, and gentry were rampant and occupied every place.

In many places in the Ming Dynasty, the words of the gentry were more effective than the imperial edicts. After all, the county magistrate was not as good as the current one.

The preferential treatment given to the gentry allowed them to grow rapidly at a terrifying rate.

This is also normal.

As a member of the gentry, who wouldn't rush in to enjoy the convenience?
This is also the reason why the scholars of the Ming Dynasty gritted their teeth and persevered to take the imperial examinations. This was not just an examination to gain fame, but an examination to gain extraordinary wealth. Once they passed, the whole family would ascend to heaven.

Of course, the idea of ​​the entire clan ascending to heaven might be a bit exaggerated.

But after passing the exam, there will be no problem in becoming successful.

After all, the gentry are treated preferentially.

Once there is one, there will be two. After enjoying the preferential treatment of the gentry, who would be willing to let go?
The next step was to train his son to continue to pursue academic success.

Can’t pass the exam?
It doesn’t matter. We have regulations in the Ming Dynasty. If you fail the exam, you can continue to take it!
Anyway, the family has become one of the gentry and enjoys the preferential treatment of the Ming Dynasty.

Take the Ming Dynasty’s money and continue taking the exam.

If one fails, then two will pass. If two fail, then three, four, five!
Crazy exam!
As long as you can pass the exam, you will receive preferential treatment from the gentry and benefits.

Scholars become gentry, gentry support scholars, and there is no end to scholars, gentry, and gentry.

If things continue to develop in this way, within a few generations, they will become a very prestigious family in the local area and dominate the area.

At this point, the preferential treatment for the gentry was perfectly closed.

"Has the Ming Dynasty been led astray?" Zhu Yuanzhang's heart trembled, and he hesitated, "Is the preferential treatment of the gentry really so serious?"

Zhu Yunhuan nodded and said, "Yes, I am not exaggerating at all!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a while, then asked quietly, "Can you elaborate on this?"

He could still slightly feel some disadvantages of abolishing the prime minister, such as making him gradually become more anxious, irritable and easily angered.

However, he had really thought about the preferential treatment of the gentry for many days and never felt that there was any problem.

As a result, in Zhu Yunhuan's words, the preferential treatment of gentry was much more serious than his abolition of the prime minister, and even implicated the foundation of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Zhu Yuanzhang, a smile on his face, and said, "You still don't believe it? Well, in that case, I will explain it in detail."

Hard-spoken?

Don't believe the facts?
No problem, he has plenty of time, take your time!

Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep breath and looked up at Zhu Yunhuan.

Zhu Yunhuan smiled at Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "Next, I'll ask you questions and you'll answer them, okay?"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Okay!"

"The first question is, do gentry need preferential treatment?" Zhu Yunhuan asked.

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned and hesitated, "The purpose of granting preferential treatment to the gentry is to stimulate the reading culture in the Ming Dynasty and make up for the shortage of lower-level officials. After all, when the Yuan Dynasty was in power, the Central Plains was severely ravaged and the reading culture was severely suppressed."

Zhu Yunhuan nodded and said, "You are right. The Yuan Dynasty advocated the supremacy of military power and did not attach importance to education. This also led to the people under the Yuan Dynasty not valuing reading. But, what does this have to do with the question I asked you? Please answer my question directly. Do the gentry need to be treated preferentially?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a while, then said, "No need."

The gentry were the administrators of the Ming Dynasty. Although he wanted to refute Zhu Yunhuan, he did not have the audacity to deny it. As the gentry were already the administrators, they did not need to be treated preferentially.

"Yes, the gentry no longer need to be treated preferentially. Instead of giving them such huge rights, it is better to give them more small favors, such as increasing their salaries." Zhu Yunxun said.

The things hidden behind the preferential treatment given to the gentry are really too great.

In comparison, increasing your salary is just a matter of paying some money, which is extremely simple.

"Increase salary?"

"A small favor?"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said, "That's wrong. Do you know how many officials we have in the Ming Dynasty? Raising their salaries? You sound like it's easy, like a small favor. That's a terrifying amount, isn't it? If we have that much money, wouldn't it be better to use it to build the Ming Dynasty?"

"Haha, so, in order to avoid paying money and make officials work hard, you came up with preferential treatment for gentry?" Zhu Yunheng chuckled.

Zhu Yuanzhang remained silent. He did take this into consideration when he issued preferential treatment for the gentry.

Zhu Yunhuan asked, "Then, have you ever considered how much money the court loses every year when it is written in the preferential treatment for gentry that they do not have to pay taxes or grain?"

Zhu Yuanzhang continued to remain silent, but his brows furrowed even deeper.

Zhu Yunhuan continued, "Have you ever considered whether some people might pay the gentry some money and then transfer their own land to the gentry's name in order to avoid paying taxes and grain to the court?"

Zhu Yuanzhang stood up suddenly and shouted angrily: "If they dare, whoever does this, I will kill them!"

He paused, perhaps feeling that his words lacked force, and continued, "We will kill all three clans of these cunning and treacherous people!"

"Really? These are all ordinary people, and there are so many of them. Are you sure you want to kill all three clans?" Zhu Yunhuan said lightly.

Zhu Yuanzhang opened his mouth, but was speechless.

He had worked his way up from the bottom, and he knew exactly whether the situation Zhu Yunhuan described would happen. Zhu Yunhuan shrugged and continued, "Also, as time goes by, do you think those gentry will become greedy and think of seizing the land that the people have entrusted to them?"

"Swish!" Zhu Yuanzhang's face turned pale and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

He was an emperor who had climbed up step by step from the bottom. He understood the people at the bottom and understood those greedy officials even better.

Will someone evade taxes from the court by placing the land under the name of a gentry? Yes!

Will there be gentry who will become greedy and swallow up the land of the people that is in their own name? That is even more likely!
The consequences of these two situations are more serious than the other.

The former would gradually make it impossible for the imperial court to collect money, and the latter would even cause unrest in the Ming Dynasty.

Why did he join the rebellion in the first place? Because he couldn't fill his stomach and was about to starve to death.

He would not expect the kindness of officials.

Because he clearly understood that once those people became greedy, they would not know when to stop, and would only continue to exploit the people endlessly until they had no way out and finally gathered together to rebel.

Zhu Yunhuan stepped forward, helped Zhu Yuanzhang sit down, and said, "Don't worry, this is just one of the dangers of preferential treatment for the gentry. There are even greater ones!"

"There's something even bigger!" Zhu Yuanzhang trembled. He was suddenly a little afraid of this sentence, and a heavy shadow formed in his heart.

The court cannot collect money and the people may riot at any time. If these are not serious, then what is serious?
He couldn't imagine it and didn't dare to think about it at all.

Zhu Yunhuan patted Zhu Yuanzhang on the shoulder and said softly, "In fact, the biggest problem with the preferential treatment of gentry lies in the right of speech of the Ming Dynasty. Of course, you can also think of it as the right you care about so much."

"Rights?" Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned. He forced himself to come back to his senses and looked up at Zhu Yunhuan.

Zhu Yunhuan smiled slightly and said, "Preferential treatment of the gentry will cause the power of the emperor and the court to rapidly decline. This lost power will fall into the hands of the gentry and be firmly grasped by them."

"This is impossible. What we promulgated is the preferential treatment for the gentry. This is at most to give the gentry some convenience, but it does not give them any substantial rights. How can the rights fall into their hands?" Zhu Yuanzhang retorted.

Zhu Yunxun shook his head and said, "You are so naive and cute. Just some preferential treatment? Haha, you can't look at things that way. Some things can affect the whole body. Let me ask you, what does the 'scholar' in this gentry refer to? What does 'gentry' mean? Don't tell me you don't know."

Zhu Yuanzhang remained silent.

"Scholars are people who have passed the imperial examinations and are preparing to become officials. Gentlemen are officials themselves, or retired officials. You say they have no rights? This is a bit self-deception!" Zhu Yunhuan said.

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression changed, and he looked up and said, "Even if what you said is true, don't you know that people will get cold when they leave?"

Zhu Yunhuan nodded and said, "It's true that the tea gets cold when people leave, but the problem now is that the tea hasn't gotten cold even if people haven't left. You know that, don't you? Besides the fact that the tea gets cold when people leave, the officialdom also values ​​social etiquette. In short, you take care of my descendants, I take care of yours, and we all get along and reap the benefits together."

Zhu Yuanzhang was dejected, with his head down and no words.

How could he not know about these private affairs in the officialdom? He knew them, he had always been very clear about them, and he hated them immensely.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "How is it? Can you still hold on? Do you want me to continue?"

At this moment, his heart was filled with joy, and he felt so happy!

Did you, Old Zhu, disobey me back then? And even threw me behind the walls of Fengyang? Now that I'm back, I have to give you a thorough analysis of the situation in the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep breath, gritted his teeth and said, "Keep talking!"

"Okay, then I'll continue." Zhu Yunhuan nodded and said, "Let's continue while the guests are gone. What will the gentry do after they enjoy the benefits of the gentry preferential treatment? They will rush in like crazy, but at this time, another problem arises: the allocation of quotas!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned, his face full of confusion, and asked, "What do you mean?"

"What it means is that the right to speak in the court, or the right to speak in the Ming Dynasty, will be controlled by the gentry in the south." Zhu Yunhuan said lightly.

Zhu Yuanzhang was even more puzzled: "Why is this happening?"

Zhu Yunhuan pointed at Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "Because of you!"

"Me?" Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned and a little confused.

Zhu Yunhuan nodded and said, "Yes, it's you. You started your rebellion in Fengyang and established your capital in Yingtian Prefecture. The court is mainly composed of the Huaixi nobles and the Zhejiang eastern gentry. But have you ever considered that whether they are the Huaixi nobles or the Zhejiang eastern gentry, they all belong to the South?"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned. He had never thought about this question.

He was concerned about the balance of the court, so he supported the gentry in eastern Zhejiang to fight against the powerful nobles in western Huaihe. However, he ignored the fact that both the gentry in eastern Zhejiang and the nobles in western Huaihe were matters of the south.

"In a place full of southern officials, do you think northern officials can get in?" Zhu Yunhuan asked.

Zhu Yuanzhang remained silent.

"Officials from the south occupy the court, so they are the most direct beneficiaries of the gentry system. What do you think they will do next?" Zhu Yunhuan said.

"What will the southern officials do?" Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned, frowned and fell into deep thought.

Zhu Yunhuan waved his hand and said, "Don't even think about it. Let me tell you, they'll frantically try to get their descendants to flood into the court and firmly control the floor. Let me guess. When you issued preferential treatment for the gentry, everyone in the court, whether it was the Zhejiang gentry or the Huaixi nobles, should have applauded, right? Think about it for a moment. Why would they applaud?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's old face was extremely gloomy, and his eyes were flashing with surging anger.

He took every precaution, but he never expected that he would not be able to defend himself in the end and was directly tricked by the officials in the court. He was even complacent and thought that his operation was very good.

When he thought of the court officials mocking him mercilessly behind his back, he wanted to kill people!
Kill kill kill! ! !

"As expected, all crows are black, and there is no good official!" Zhu Yuanzhang gritted his teeth.

Zhu Yunhuan shook his head and said softly, "Isn't this your own choice?"

"What?" Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned and a little surprised.

His choice?

How could he make such a choice!
Zhu Yunhuan shrugged and said, "Why? Haven't you figured it out yet? Isn't it because you issued preferential treatment for the gentry that you accelerated the growth of officials in the south, allowing them to firmly grasp power?"

"This..." Zhu Yuanzhang choked and frowned, "Even if we don't have it."

"If you hadn't issued preferential treatment to the gentry, they would never have been able to grow up. Even if they could, their power would never be that great." Zhu Yunhuan interrupted Zhu Yuanzhang.

He paused, then continued, "Speaking of this, I have to mention your action of abolishing the Prime Minister. This is in perfect harmony with the preferential treatment of the gentry."

Zhu Yuanzhang was confused and subconsciously asked, "How is preferential treatment for gentry related to the abolition of the prime minister? These are clearly two different things."

"They are two different things, but when these two things are put together, a chemical reaction will occur, which will lead to new changes in things." Zhu Yunxun said.

"What a wonderful reaction?" Zhu Yuanzhang said.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and said slowly, "You abolished the prime minister system, which put you at odds with the ministers. You issued preferential treatment for the gentry, which strengthened the power of the court officials. This back and forth directly led to the ministers joining forces, and their enemy is you, the emperor!"

"This..." Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned.

The ministers joined forces, which completely confused him. He supported the gentry in eastern Zhejiang because he was worried that the nobles in Huaixi would become too powerful. He never expected that a series of accidents would lead to an even more terrifying situation.

If the court officials all join forces, how can the emperor sitting on the throne be in any good situation?
"What have we been going through all this trouble for?" Zhu Yuanzhang was a little overwhelmed, his face full of pain and dejected expression, he had suffered a great blow in his heart.

"Oh no, it seems like the force is a bit too strong. Old Zhu can't take it anymore!" Zhu Yunhuan was stunned and dumbfounded.

If Zhu Yuanzhang left like this, wouldn't his future be very boring?
He talked to Zhu Yuanzhang head-on and he was in a very good mood. If Zhu was gone, wouldn't he be unhappy in the future?

No, this is absolutely not possible!

Just when Zhu Yunhuan was thinking about whether to speak out to comfort Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Yuanzhang let out a long sigh, looked at him with soft eyes, and smiled: "Yunhuan, I'm lucky to have you, lucky to have you!"

He did operate well, but who can blame him for having such a great grandson?
This is life!

God bless Daming!

Thinking of this, a hint of pride gradually appeared on Zhu Yuanzhang's face.

"???"

Zhu Yunhuan was stunned for a moment, and swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue. After thinking for a moment, he said in a deep voice: "Please call me Your Majesty, Taizu!"

(End of this chapter)