Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

Chapter 136 Rebellion against Zhu Yuanzhang during the Hongwu Reign
The moment the word "rebellion" was uttered, the scene fell silent.

Many people present couldn't help but feel a sudden tremor in their hearts.

Even though they had harbored resentment towards Zhu Yuanzhang's actions before this.

Many people wish they could tear Zhu Yuanzhang to pieces.

But when they heard what Li Sanshi said, they were still stunned.

rebel?

You can't just say that!
This was a word they had never even considered before.

Too serious!

This is a rebellion!
Throughout history, rebellions have always been major events.
The government has never tolerated rebellion whatsoever.

Those who rebel have always been dealt with severely.

Of course, the Song Dynasty, which was known for its arson and murder, was an exception, as it was later granted amnesty.

Especially now that the Ming Dynasty has just been established and its military is at its peak.

The current emperor, or the founding emperor, was the biggest rebel leader back then.

When it comes to rebellion and how to deal with it, they have an absolutely unique approach.

But now, Li Sanshi says he wants to rebel.

This is practically a joke.

The thought of it is both terrifying and absurd, and completely unrealistic.

How could we rebel?
To rebel while Zhu Yuanzhang was still alive was like trying to find shit in a latrine.
"This...this Mr. Sanshi, I'm afraid...it's a bit inappropriate, isn't it?"

"If we do this, I'm afraid we won't have a good ending."

Some people couldn't help but whisper, their voices trembling slightly.

I was frightened by what Li Sanshi said.

As soon as these words were spoken, many people nodded in agreement, expressing the same sentiment.

These people harbored many grievances against Zhu Yuanzhang.

The most important reason is that Zhu Yuanzhang was inhuman and set taxes far too high.

It reached an absurdly high level, one that they were unwilling to accept.

At this moment, what they were thinking was that they wanted to have a good bargaining session with Zhu Yuanzhang.

It's to make more money.

But now, the solution Li Sanshi is offering is hardly an attempt to bargain with Zhu Yuanzhang.
They were clearly courting death.

Not only is it courting death, but it's the kind that will wipe out your entire family.

Money is important, but you need to be alive to enjoy it.

At this moment, with just a little thought, they could picture the unseeing head of Lord Yushan.

The shock it brought to them was immense.

They were afraid of following the path of Yu Shan Gong.

He was killed by Zhu Hongwu without distinguishing right from wrong or showing any martial ethics.

Yu Shan Gong was only bargaining for a bit before Zhu Yuanzhang had him executed.

If they rebel, their fate will be no better than that of Lord Yushan.

He will only be more miserable than Yu Shan Gong.

Li Sanshi took in everyone's reactions.

He smiled and said, "Gentlemen, it's not that we're going to rebel, but that we're going to get those peasants below to rebel."

We will not show ourselves; we will remain hidden behind the scenes.

Even if the emperor was dissatisfied, it was only dissatisfied with these peasants.

Even if they wanted to kill someone, they would target these peasants, not us.

Upon hearing Li Sanshi's words, many people who had been worried earlier showed a glimmer of hope in their eyes, and their concerns were greatly relieved.

Suppressing her racing heartbeat, she looked at Li Sanshi and asked, "Master Sanshi, what do you mean by this?"

The rest of the group also turned their attention to Li Sanshi, the big businessman from Hangzhou.

I want to hear what brilliant methods he has.

Li Sanshi smiled and revealed his detailed plan...

After his voice faded, the place fell silent once again.

Clearly, everyone was starting to ponder again whether Li Sanshi's words were feasible.

“Master Sanshi, this…this is good. According to Master Sanshi’s method, all of us can perfectly hide behind the scenes.”

Not to be implicated by the emperor.

However... rebellion has never been tolerated by the government.

If the emperor really becomes unreasonable on this matter and wants to slaughter everyone, what should we do?
I'm afraid...it won't be easy to handle.

Upon hearing this, many of the people present nodded slowly.

Clearly, many people share this concern.

However, compared to the initial rejection when Li Sanshi mentioned rebellion, everyone instinctively refused.

There has been a significant change in attitude.

Many of these people had actually been persuaded by the method Li Sanshi had suggested.

There's still a lingering worry.

Li Sanshi knew that it was still a little short of perfect.

He then smiled and said, "This is easy to handle; you're all overthinking it."

You're worrying too much.

Actually, we are quite safe; Zhu Yuanzhang would never dare to do anything to us.

Hearing Li Sanshi say this, everyone perked up and looked at him.

Waiting for Li Sanshi to continue.

"Don't be fooled by Zhu Hongwu's particularly assertive attitude in this matter."

They were particularly rude to us, shouting threats of violence and treating us like dirt.

They seem ready to unleash a massacre at the slightest provocation.

But all of these were illusions created by Zhu Hongwu.

This is a manifestation of its outward strength but inner weakness.

Think about it, given Zhu Hongwu's domineering personality and arrogant demeanor, how could he possibly come to meet us merchants in person?

Moreover, they knew beforehand that we were smugglers.

But Zhu Hongwu did do these things.

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation.

Zhu Hongwu's actions precisely illustrate one point.

That means that people like us held a very high position in Zhu Hongwu's eyes.

It cannot be easily replaced.

Think about it, how many industries are we involved in?
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that we control many industries in the Jiangnan region.

Zhu Hongwu's desire to establish the Maritime Trade Office was not something that could be accomplished with just a few words.

It also requires the support of many people.

It requires all sectors to work together and obey Zhu Hongwu's orders.

Without us, Zhu Hongwu couldn't have accomplished this.

So as long as we keep it well hidden and don't easily give Zhu Hongwu any concrete leverage over this matter,
Even if Zhu Hongwu knew that we were the ones who did it, he could only be angry and wouldn't dare to do anything to us.

His main goal was to make money by establishing the Maritime Trade Office.

Instead of wanting to massacre us.

This point needs to be clarified.

Once this point is clear, many things that follow become much clearer.

We are involved in many things.

Even Zhu Yuanzhang wouldn't dare to provoke us easily.

They certainly wouldn't dare to be enemies with our entire industry.

It's impossible for them to replace all of us.

If this is done, things will be in complete uproar in Jiangnan.

Back then, it was a chaotic era. You all know how much resentment Zhu Yuanzhang felt towards Zhang Shicheng after he destroyed Zhang Shicheng.

Under those circumstances, what did Zhu Hongwu do?
They didn't go on a killing spree, nor did they dare to really do anything to us.

It was simply a matter of moving some prominent figures from the Shen and Lu families, and others, from Suzhou and other places to Zhongdu to fill the city's population.

As for the rest of the people, they'll just do what they're supposed to do.

Life continued to be very comfortable.

In fact, many families actually prospered after Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty.

This is not a chaotic time.

No one wants to tear the peace he created with his own hands to shreds.

Once things settle down, it's hard to make a decision again and let things become chaotic.

These are things that even Zhu Yuanzhang (Hongwu Emperor) dared not do during times of chaos.

Now that the world is at peace, how could Zhu Hongwu possibly make up his mind to do such a thing?
Therefore, Zhu Hongwu made such a gesture at this time to intimidate us and prevent us from resisting.

Once we dared not resist, we were intimidated by Zhu Hongwu.

Then things got really bad.

Zhu Hongwu's treacherous scheme will succeed.

What we have lost is not just the immediate benefits.

And the interests of future generations.

Once we rise up and fight back, showing Zhu Hongwu our strength, especially after the prosperous Jiangnan region begins to descend into chaos.

Zhu Hongwu will definitely panic and will absolutely not dare to continue to be tough.

Jiangnan is now a major economic and cultural center.

Without the wealth of Jiangnan, Zhu Hongwu would not have been able to accomplish many things.

If we execute this well, this shot will hit Zhu Hongwu's lungs.

It made him extremely uncomfortable.

Having witnessed our strength and the intensity of the resistance, Zhu Hongwu will soon come to a realization.

They understand that we are not to be trifled with.

I understand that his approach is not going to work.

Not to mention that Zhu Hongwu should no longer establish the Maritime Trade Office.

But at the very least, it will prevent Zhu Hongwu from raising the tax rate to 60% again.

The commercial tax should be reduced back to 1/30.

At the very least, it should be one-fifteenth of the tax.

And so, the matter was considered settled.

After hearing Li Sanshi's explanation, everyone present fell silent.

They were all lost in thought.

After a while, someone slowly nodded.

“What Mr. Sanshi said is the right argument.”

Zhu Hongwu certainly didn't dare to be too forceful towards us.

Otherwise, given Zhu Yuanzhang's personality, he would have already dug out so many account books from the Wu brothers, Wu Zhen and Wu Liang.

It involves so many of us.

It's impossible to target only Yu Shan Gong and kill him alone.

And let so many of us go.

It's worth noting that during the previous "empty seal case," so many officials were killed without hesitation by Zhu Yuanzhang.

There was no politeness whatsoever.

This precisely illustrates our special status and position, and Zhu Yuanzhang's fear of us.

Some people nodded and began to agree with Li Sanshi's view.

“I also think that what San Shi Gong said is very true. If it weren’t for what San Shi Gong said, we would probably have been frightened by what that dog Zhu Hongwu did this time.”

I would agree with that bastard's excessive actions.

If that were the case, the losses would be enormous.

"It has to be Mr. Sanshi again!"

Everyone started praising Li Sanshi.

Upon hearing what everyone said and seeing the change in their attitude, Li Sanshi smiled.

Zhu Yuanzhang's actions showed that he didn't treat these people as human beings.

He was filled with intense resentment.

But he also knew that it was beyond the control of a small businessman like him.

But if everyone can work together on this matter, then we can challenge Zhu Hongwu.

And made Zhu Hongwu bow his head.

Even if he's the emperor, so what?
"Everyone, remember this well. When you get back, just do as we say."

This matter concerns all of us.

We all need to unite as one.

We absolutely cannot allow any disagreements to occur here.

This is our final blow!

If this time, that bastard Zhu Hongwu actually gets things done.

Then from now on, we and our descendants will be at the mercy of others!
Going back to the carefree days of the past is simply impossible.

Half a day later, Li Sanshi looked at everyone and gave them a serious reminder.

By now, they had discussed and agreed on many things. Everyone nodded in agreement, indicating that this would not happen.

They will definitely listen to Li Sanshi and go all out in this matter, and have a good fight with Zhu Hongwu.

As the crowd dispersed, Li Sanshi, along with his entourage, left the capital and returned to Hangzhou after seeing off the last person.

His face was full of coldness and mockery.

Zhu Yuanzhang is inhuman; let him see the power of merchants once again!
Although Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, he couldn't do whatever he wanted or have the final say in everything!
……

Inside the Wuying Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang put down the secret report he was holding.

A playful smile appeared on his face.

I knew these people wouldn't be too honest.

They'll cause some trouble next.

Now it seems that what I thought was indeed correct.

Let's see whose methods are more ingenious.

Do you really think that just because they can gather so many people, they can coerce me and make me bow down?

What a joke!
It's understandable that I didn't know how much money was made in Jiangnan or how much wealth existed overseas in my past life.

Now I know, and I've seen how merchants in Jiangnan operated more than two hundred years into the Ming Dynasty.

If he continues to let these people cause trouble here and fail to get things done, he might as well give up being emperor!
What a waste of this amazing experience.

He put the secret report back into the box and put it away. After dealing with some memorials for a while, he left the Wuying Hall.

Today, his philosophy of doing things has changed significantly.

They no longer think about holding all the power in their hands.

Instead, we focus on the big picture and let go of the small details.

When it is appropriate to delegate authority, then delegate authority appropriately.

However, those important things must be kept in hand.

After making these adjustments, he is no longer as overworked.

With the year-end approaching, the exams are drawing ever closer.

He needs to go outside for a stroll first.

Let's see how things are going.

As an emperor, one cannot simply sit in the Wuying Hall to conduct official business without going out for a walk.

Otherwise, it's easy to be misled and not know the real situation.

The reason they went to the Hanlin Academy was because it was relatively close to Zhu Yuanzhang's residence.

The matter of simplifying Chinese characters was also handled within the Hanlin Academy, primarily by Hanlin scholars.

From its inception in the Tang Dynasty, the Hanlin Academy was a very prestigious and prestigious institution.

As things continued to evolve, the scholars of the Hanlin Academy rose in status.

Although his position was not high, he was highly respected among the scholars.

They can be said to be among the highest-ranking people in the academic community.

Especially in the later period of the Ming Dynasty, with the emergence of the Grand Secretariat, the value of the Hanlin Academician title continued to rise.

Only Jinshi can enter the Hanlin Academy, and only Hanlin can enter the Cabinet.

This single sentence perfectly encapsulates the special status of the Hanlin Academy.

Few people were willing to offend a Hanlin scholar.

The Hanlin Academy scholars held a prestigious position and were close to the emperor.

Don't be fooled by the fact that many positions may not seem high-ranking; they can wield considerable power.

In particular, it is still unknown which Hanlin scholar will be able to enter the cabinet and become a cabinet minister in the future.

Then we absolutely cannot afford to offend them.

"Biao'er, let's go for a walk, just the two of us."

After processing memorials for half an hour, you should stand up and walk around to move around more.

Look into the distance.

You need to take good care of your health so that you can do more things.

There are too many official duties, and we can't always rush things.

On the way to the Hanlin Academy, Zhu Yuanzhang said this to Zhu Biao.

They talked at length about health preservation.

Zhu Biao was completely stunned by what he heard.

That special feeling came back again.

My own father, the emperor, has changed quite a bit.

How could such words come from the mouth of my father, who always worked incredibly hard?
Even this year, he has heard many similar comments.

Yet, at this moment, many strange feelings arose in my heart.

"Father, I understand."

Zhu Biao nodded earnestly in agreement.

That said, in the past year, my father has indeed not been working as hard as before.

Give yourself a break from time to time.

Moreover, every one or two months, the imperial physician would conduct an examination on the Empress Dowager, herself, and Xiong Ying, among others.

Rest when you need to, and recuperate when you need to.

After his father took the lead in relaxing, the pressure on him also lessened.

Zhu Biao clearly felt that his health had greatly improved.

In the past, I was easily sleepy or prone to minor illnesses.

But now, that feeling is gone.

……

The three cracks of the whip startled everyone at the Hanlin Academy.

Then they rushed to greet them, causing a chaotic scene.

But then they saw the emperor and the crown prince had already entered.

He hurriedly bowed and greeted them.

Many people were extremely uneasy, completely bewildered by the emperor's sudden action.

That said, what subordinates fear most is when their superiors come down to inspect.

What's even more worrying is that they come in and inspect without any prior notice.

It could kill you.

Moreover, it wasn't even a superior coming to inspect; it was the emperor himself. Naturally, he was filled with trepidation.

They knew that the current emperor did not play by the rules, and that in the past year, he liked to leave the Wuying Hall whenever he had nothing to do.

Take some time to go outside for a stroll.

However, every time they went, they went to the firearms battalion.

I haven't been anywhere else yet.

Therefore, many people did not take this matter to heart.

They didn't think the emperor would come here.

Who would have thought that the emperor would suddenly arrive with the crown prince?

This was quite a surprise.

This left everyone in the Hanlin Academy completely bewildered.

"Your Majesty, are you not busy anymore?"

After bowing to Zhu Yuanzhang, Song Lian asked a question.

Zhu Biao then came to Song Lian's side and reached out to help him up.

This pleased Song Lian greatly.

Even great scholars are not immune to many common problems.

For example, this is the case in matters of interpersonal relationships and social etiquette.

Although Song Lian could sense that in the past year, Crown Prince Zhu Biao had gradually changed in some matters.

They are no longer as kind and benevolent as before.

It seems that the influence of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang is becoming increasingly strong.

But at this moment, to be treated like this by the Crown Prince in front of so many people, especially his subordinates from the Hanlin Academy, is truly astonishing.

It would be strange if you didn't feel happy inside.

"Haha, we finished our official business and had nothing to do, so we came out to stretch our muscles."

While I was at the Hanlin Academy, I checked on how the simplified Chinese character implementation was going.

Your having nothing to do is not a big deal; it scared everyone quite a bit.

Those in the Hanlin Academy silently complained to themselves.

"Your Majesty, the matter of simplified characters is more than halfway complete."

By this time, 1,731 simplified characters had been identified.

In another two months, we can finalize the other characters as well.

When this matter was mentioned, Song Lian's voice involuntarily rose considerably.

Although he was reluctant when the simplified characters were first decided upon.

But since it was already at that point, they had already agreed to the emperor's approach.

Then Song Lian must have been conscientious and responsible in doing this.

Of course, this is mainly because the emperor has already made it clear.

The simplified Chinese characters must be completed first before the Hongwu Dictionary and the Hongwu Encyclopedia can be revised, and only then can the library be established.

Under these circumstances, all he could do was work hard.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Then let's take a look at the simplified characters first."

Oh, and by the way, could you also bring the attendance sheet from the Hanlin Academy so I can take a look?

"With the year-end approaching, let's take this opportunity to process the examination results at the Hanlin Academy."

These words caused a chill to run down the spines of countless people present.

Sure enough, Zhu Yuanzhang's visit was never a good one.

It's not as he claims, about caring about simplified characters.

I mainly came here to pass the exam!

After the performance evaluation system was implemented, those who performed well were naturally happy.

This is a great opportunity to show off in front of the emperor.

However, some people who know they are not good at taking the exam are quite anxious.

However, although these people were panicked, they weren't really that panicked.

The reason for this is that they were not at the bottom of the Hanlin Academy.

There is also a remarkable person living in Hanlin Academy.

With Zhang Shiyu around, these people won't be too bad off.

The emperor wouldn't make things too difficult for them.

This is going to be interesting!
Many people are also deeply grateful to Zhang Shiyu in their hearts.

He's really a good person!
Without this person, they would be ten times more nervous this time.

Let's see how the emperor reacts when he sees Zhang Shiyu's assessment results!

Someone went to retrieve the examination results form, and Song Lian and some people from the Hanlin Academy accompanied the emperor into the room to look at the simplified characters.

Zhu Yuanzhang examined them one by one and found that the vast majority of the simplified characters were exactly the same as those he was familiar with in later generations.

However, there are a few exceptions.

However, he didn't dwell on it too much.

Since the authority has been delegated to Song Lian and the others, it's fine as long as it doesn't go too far.

He respects their choice.

Then, I started looking at the remaining characters, the ones that hadn't been simplified.

"Your Majesty, some characters are not easy to simplify."

For example, I'm not quite sure about these few, and I don't know how to simplify them appropriately.

Some argue that we shouldn't simplify these at all.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at these words, shook his head, and said:

"It also needs to be simplified, otherwise it's too complicated."

We think it's pretty good written like this.

Zhu Yuanzhang said he was going to fetch a pen, and Song Lian quickly brought it to him himself.

Zhu Yuanzhang took it and began to write.

Soon, several familiar simplified Chinese characters appeared before Song Dian and the others.

Song Lian and others compared the traditional Chinese characters with these simplified Chinese characters.

A moment later, some people couldn't help but be moved.

The emperor picked up his brush and started writing. It seemed like he didn't think at all. The simplified characters he wrote were not just random scribblings.

It actually fits the six-character calligraphy style quite well.

It's quite vivid, and also much simpler.

This was completely unexpected!
Even they found it difficult and couldn't think of a way to simplify the characters, but the emperor could solve it instantly?

Is this... a case of the emperor being exceptionally learned, or is it that the emperor had actually been prepared for this matter and had secretly made considerable efforts?
Seeing the expressions on everyone's faces, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled to himself.

Little did they know that they possessed a set of simplified Chinese characters, carefully selected and created by future generations of elite cultural figures.

At this point, it's simply a matter of taking out and using some modern technologies.

It was at this moment that the person who was to retrieve the examination results from the Hanlin Academy came over.

When Zhu Yuanzhang looked up, many people, including Song Lian, couldn't help but feel their hearts leap into their throats...

(End of this chapter)