Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

Chapter 169 Someone Doesn't Want to Live Anymore
Another death?

Upon hearing Liu Ying's report, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly.

The Imperial Academy has now expanded again, with a total of more than 6,000 teachers and students.

Zhu Yuanzhang felt that the scale of the Imperial Academy was not large enough.

There are plans to expand the Imperial Academy once again.

With over six thousand people living together, frankly speaking, it's perfectly normal for some accidents to happen and for some people to die.

After all, the more people there are, the greater the probability of death.

But this time, the situation is clearly different.

This is the third person to die this month.

Who died?

Teaching assistant or student?

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Liu Ying and asked.

"Your Majesty, the deceased was named Liu Zhen, a student of Class Ding in the Duzhi Hall."

Liu Ying had clearly done her homework in advance.

They know quite a lot.

"What caused him to die?"

"Your Majesty, it was a suicide by jumping into the well."

"Suicide by jumping into a well? What caused this suicide?"

"One version of events we've heard so far is that Liu Zhen was made to carry manure, which made him resentful and feel humiliated."

So he jumped into the well and committed suicide.

Some say that Liu Zhen's consistently poor exam results meant that if things continued this way, he was destined to become a clerk.

I don't want to make such a fool of myself.

So, in grief and anger, he jumped into a well and committed suicide.

Some say it's because the Imperial Academy has had a heavier workload this year, leaving students with insufficient rest time.

The pressure is too great.

Many people cannot withstand it.

So Liu Zhen jumped into the well.

The specific reasons are still unclear to this subordinate...

Liu Ying's voice was a little low.

"Your Majesty, I will send more people to the Imperial Academy to intensify our investigation."

Upon hearing Liu Ying's words, Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand.

Upon seeing this, Liu Ying panicked immediately.

He worried that he had done something wrong and had angered His Majesty.

This is a situation he particularly doesn't want to see.

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard has many duties and has only been established for a little over a year."

Every area needs to be taken care of, and there will inevitably be areas that cannot be taken care of.

It's even less likely that they would attend to every single detail.

Especially regarding the Imperial Academy, we didn't specifically instruct you to send more people.

The Imperial Academy was crowded with people, and at this time, another student passed away.

It's impossible to do everything perfectly.

We didn't mean to blame you.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Liu Ying and began to explain.

He was under a lot of pressure because he was afraid that Liu Ying might misunderstand.

He values ​​Liu Ying very much.

This is a genuine, trusted confidant.

In his previous life, Liu Ying had already proven his loyalty through his actions.

Moreover, it's very easy to use.

Since he is a trusted confidant, he should naturally be treated like one.

Some things need to be explained, and some things need to be reassured.

Hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, he realized that His Majesty truly did not blame him.

His Majesty is satisfied with what he has done and understands it.

Liu Ying felt a warm feeling in her heart.

It's truly fortunate to be following His Majesty.

Our family was originally just a farming household.

Back then, his father's help to His Majesty was merely a casual gesture.

They gave up a few square feet of land to provide a burial place for His Majesty's parents.
Who could have imagined that I would receive such a reward from His Majesty!
His Majesty is decisive and ruthless in his actions, and he hates evil as if it were his enemy. He shows no mercy when punishing people.

But in many ways, it is still full of human warmth.

She knows how to be grateful.

Of course, the premise is that you don't offend His Majesty's taboos and don't misunderstand your own position.

Just like Cao Xiu, who clearly received everything from His Majesty.

His Majesty is their greatest support.

However, Cao Xiu turned out to be a traitor.

They hid things from His Majesty and tampered with them on such important matters.

He deserves to die.

"Your Majesty, I will increase our efforts and send more people to the Imperial Academy."

Liu Ying decided to learn from his mistakes and strive to find out what was going on at the Imperial Academy.

You must live up to His Majesty's expectations and deep affection for you.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand again.

"There's no rush. We can just add a few more people."

We also have a backup plan.

Don't forget, the Prince of Jin is still inside.

Not many people knew that Prince Zhu Gang of Jin had come to the Imperial Academy to study.

But Liu Ying was clearly one of them.

Zhu Yuanzhang would not hide such matters from Liu Ying.

Upon hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, Liu Ying nodded in agreement.

At the same time, there are high expectations for Prince Zhu Gang's future performance.

The Imperial Academy was different from other places.

The teachers inside were either chief instructors, academic advisors, or teaching assistants.

Or it could be a large number of students.

In addition, there were also chores such as cooking and cleaning.

These were the perfect places for him to arrange the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

The key point is that these menial tasks were performed by people of low status.

It's very difficult to actually eavesdrop on some of the secrets of high-level officials.

His Highness Prince Jin is different.

His Highness Prince Jin joined the Imperial Academy as a student.

Moreover, by this time, His Highness Prince Jin had already spent more than a year at the Imperial Academy.

Moreover, His Highness Prince Jin is no longer an ordinary student.

He became a teaching assistant at the Imperial Academy.

He was a teacher at the Imperial Academy.

As far as he knew, this teaching assistant position was not arranged by His Majesty.

Rather, it was His Highness Prince Jin who obtained it through his own abilities.

Under these circumstances, His Highness Prince Jin would certainly receive more information than those he had arranged to be sent to the Imperial Academy.

It would be good to ask His Highness Prince Jin about this.

We can get more detailed information.

At this point, Liu Ying finally realized what was happening.

His Majesty's thoughtful consideration in arranging for Prince Jin to enter the Imperial Academy.

It turns out that His Majesty had been planning this for a long time.

Knowing that things wouldn't be peaceful at the Imperial Academy in the future.

The reforms Your Majesty is implementing at the Imperial Academy will affect the interests of many people.

This attracted many people to resist and cause trouble.

Therefore, we started planning almost a year in advance.

With these arrangements in place, I can now face these situations with ease.

His Majesty is indeed His Majesty; he does things in an extraordinary way.

Think three steps ahead before taking one.

Many things were prepared in advance, even before they were done.

This time, if His Majesty hadn't made prior arrangements, Prince Jin would have been assigned to that place.

It would be very difficult for us to gain a deeper understanding of the Imperial Academy.

Liu Ying spoke a few more words to the emperor here.

Seeing that His Majesty had given no further instructions, he left the Wuying Hall and went about his own business.

After Liu Ying left, Zhu Yuanzhang revealed a cold smile.

These people finally couldn't hold back any longer!

At this point, I chose to take action!
I knew that I had incorporated physics and agriculture into my studies at the Imperial Academy.

It will inevitably cause a hornet's nest reaction.

Even though at the beginning, I was able to suppress it through some means.

It was promoted at the Imperial Academy.

Let agronomy and physics be brought to the table.

However, beneath the calm surface, undercurrents were surging.

Those people won't be able to endure it for long.

Ultimately, they'll still do some underhanded things.

To resist this.

They want to ruin their grand plan!

Of course, even without agronomy and physics being included.

Those people would also dislike the Imperial Academy.

They wanted to destroy the Imperial Academy.

Previously, there were three main ways to become an official in the Ming Dynasty.

One type is local officials who make recommendations.

One was the imperial examination.

Another option was to study at the Imperial Academy and then be appointed to an official position.

However, nowadays, he has ruined both the path to becoming an official through local recommendation and the imperial examination.

This is not to say that I do not value the officials recommended by the local authorities.

Don't take them seriously.

It's because the people recommended by local authorities these days are becoming increasingly incompetent.

They're all utterly useless.

Zhu Yuanzhang naturally knew what was going on in this situation.

This is the work of those pedantic scholars with all sorts of bad habits.

Many intellectuals are at odds with themselves. They look down on themselves.

Zhu Yuanzhang was naturally aware that his son was openly and secretly competing with himself.

People like Gao Qi are an example of this.

He not only refused to be summoned, but also refused to serve as an official.

They still whine and criticize the government from their local areas.

These kinds of behaviors are infuriating. They are the things I can't stand the most.

So they killed Gao Qi, and others who were self-important and arrogant, who refused the court's summons in order to gain fame and prestige.

They were admired by many scholars and were said to be people of integrity who would not bow down for a mere five pecks of rice, who did not covet power and wealth, and who were unwilling to contribute to the country.

We won't tolerate their bad habits on our side.

Originally, there was already a deep conflict between myself and these literati.

Then this happened.

Those intellectuals found themselves increasingly displeasing to the eye.

Faced with their own conscription, they naturally dared not say no again.

But these bastards have their ways of fooling themselves.

Their method was simple: to create momentum for nobody in the local area.

They boasted about their reputation.

To turn a piece of trash into a pillar of society.

Then, the local government will make the recommendations.

They brought it to the imperial court and asked them to grant them official positions.

In this situation, what kind of people are the so-called talented individuals recommended?

Can be imagined.

They were all worse than the last.

It is no longer possible to obtain truly talented individuals like Liu Bowen and Song Lian through promotion, as was the case before the founding of the nation.

Therefore, last year, we simply stopped the recommendation process for official appointments.

Many of these intellectuals looked down on me and didn't get along with me, not just because of my humble origins.

He was a beggar and a cowherd.

This is just a superficial reason.

Zhang Jiusi is just a salt smuggler; his background isn't much better than mine.

Back then, he was surrounded by many scholars who served him.
The most fundamental reason is not the so-called pride of scholars.

Rather, it was because many scholars dreamed of realizing the ideal of the emperor and his officials sharing the world.

Make yourself trust them in every way and give them important responsibilities.

They were elevated to a very high status.

Just like the Song Dynasty, just like Zhang Jiu Si, give them exceptionally high treatment.

I have never looked down on these things.

Should the ruler and the scholar-officials share the world?

The lessons of the Song Dynasty are right before our eyes; how can we repeat the same mistake!

I also use these literati, but I am equally wary of them.

In such circumstances, these people develop what is known as pride.

That's why they cause trouble here.

They did a series of things that made people want to kill them.

If one were to improve the treatment of scholars and spread the word that one would share the world with the literati, one would be willing to do so.

Look at these so-called proud people, they run faster than dogs.
They cried and begged, desperately trying to get themselves appointed as officials and serve the government.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't do these things myself.

Their faces are not big.

Since you don't want to become an official through recommendation, why use recommendation to disgust yourself?

Then let's just abolish the nomination process altogether.

Do they really think that without people like them, they can't govern the country?
As for the imperial examination system, he stopped it not only because many of the people selected through it were all talk and no action.

He only knows some poems and articles.

When actually used to get things done, most of them were ineffective and unusable.

In addition, there is another reason.

That is, those who were selected through the imperial examination in the past were all from the south.

There wasn't a single northerner among them.

This outcome infuriated Zhu Yuanzhang.

Efforts should be made to eliminate the barriers between the North and the South, and to reunite the long-divided Chinese nation.

It's something I've always been committed to doing.

Indeed, after years of ravages by barbarians, the North suffered greatly in terms of economy, culture, and education.

They are indeed far inferior to the people from the south.

However, it's impossible that during the imperial examinations, not even a single person from the north could be selected.

In a fit of anger, he stopped the imperial examinations.

We should vigorously promote the Imperial Academy and use it to cultivate talent.

In the present Ming Dynasty, apart from those who were granted official positions through favoritism based on their fathers' and brothers' outstanding military achievements.

The only remaining path to becoming an official was through the Imperial Academy.

His move hit many people where it hurt most.

How could these people not be anxious?
Under these circumstances, the position of the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy became increasingly important.

With such an important position, how could they not want to seize it and let Song Ne, whom many of them considered a northern bumpkin, occupy it?
In his previous life, many people regarded Song Ne and the Imperial Academy he had established as a thorn in their side.

No matter how you look at it, it doesn’t please your eyes.

They tried every possible means to destroy it.

Later, after Song Ne passed away, it became difficult for them to find a suitable candidate to serve as the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy.

The Imperial Academy was indeed gradually ruined by these people.

During Song Ne's reign, the Imperial Academy was able to cultivate many exceptionally capable officials.

After Song Ne's death, his fortunes plummeted.

Later, he also established the imperial examination system and began recruiting officials through examinations.

This fulfilled the wishes of these people...

In truth, I have actually lost this battle.

Although those who wanted to harm Song Ne and later caused the North-South Examination Scandal after the imperial examinations were reopened were all killed by him.

However, in terms of the overall situation, we have indeed lost.

They lost miserably.

Especially during the Jianwen era, they encountered a fool like Zhu Yunwen, whose brain had been kicked by a donkey.

These intellectuals launched a fierce counterattack.

Fortunately, the fourth prince succeeded in his rebellion.

The fourth son acts much like his father.

She is shrewd, assertive, and not easily swayed by intellectuals.

A large portion of intellectuals were severely punished.

That's how they managed to contain it.

However, this trend began to develop again after the fourth son passed away.

The ultimate result was that intellectuals became extremely powerful.

The military general was reduced to dust.

Later, even the Five Military Commissions became mere decorations.

Originally, the Ministry of War was only responsible for logistics, but it somehow managed to replace the Five Military Commissions.

Let many civil officials take command of the army.

Even Qi Jiguang, a famous general who fought against Japanese pirates and a national hero.

When facing civil officials, they had to be obsequious and call themselves lackeys.

How sad!

If I had the chance to do it all over again, I would never let these people succeed!
I lost once in my past life, so I'm going to win completely this time!

Zhu Yuanzhang was determined and confident in this matter.

There are also methods.

I am no longer the Zhu Yuanzhang I once was.

Having returned from studying abroad in modern times, I have learned many useful things.

It has already transformed.

Their vision was greatly broadened.

It wasn't that Zhu Qizhen, such a scoundrel, was captured and sent to the grasslands for a period of study.

He was still just as foolish after he came back.

It's time to bring the third brother back from the Imperial Academy and ask him about the situation there.

It's time to promote the third son and make him the Assistant Director of the Imperial Academy.

Now that these people have started causing trouble, it's time to start cleaning them up...

……

The Imperial Academy was located on the banks of the Qinhuai River, a place of great prosperity.

Today, it is the highest institution of learning in the Ming Dynasty.

Especially now, those who have achieved academic success at the Imperial Academy will be directly appointed to official positions.

The status of the Imperial Academy rose even higher.

Although located on the bustling banks of the Qinhuai River, the high walls keep the outside world away.

They became two different worlds.

The prosperity of Confucius Temple has continued from the Ming Dynasty to several hundred years later.

More than 600 years later, the Confucius Temple and Qinhuai Scenic Area in Nanjing is still teeming with tourists.

Even on non-holidays, the area is packed with tourists.

However, the teaching assistants at the Imperial Academy, such as Jin Wenzheng, could not appreciate this prosperity.

There was no sense of pride or joy in being in such a prosperous place.

All that remained was endless frustration and anger.

The emperor is far too stingy!

This is especially true after the expansion of enrollment.

Originally, these teaching assistants could share a dormitory room in groups of four.

As a result, it has now been turned into a six-person room.

That's bad enough, but Song Ne, the Chancellor of the Imperial Academy, went even further.

They established a series of extremely strict rules, comparable to military law.

It made them feel extremely uncomfortable to be restricted.

"Brother Deru, are you really going to send this memorial up?"

The other teaching assistants in the same dormitory looked at Jin Wenzheng and asked him questions.

The memorial, written by Kim Mun-jung himself, listed Song Ne's ten crimes.

They pointed the finger directly at Song Ne.

They want to remove Song Ne from his position as Chancellor of the Imperial Academy.

“Of course we should send it up.”

Song Ne, that northern barbarian, is cruel and ruthless. He misleads and corrupts young people.

How can we allow him to continue to bully the students like this!

These are all pillars of society.

Now, because of Song Ne's reckless behavior, they are dying one after another.

How can we, the virtuous and righteous, sit idly by and ignore this?

“Brother Deru is right!”
This is absolutely intolerable!
Let me also sign my name below, and we can submit this petition jointly!

one of them said.

After these words were spoken, the others also spoke up, each taking a pen and writing their names on it.

Jin Wenzheng took the memorial and walked out of the dormitory.

He wants to find more teaching assistants to co-sign his name and work together on important matters!

After leaving the two dormitories, he went to the third dormitory where the teaching assistants lived.

Please also sign this memorial, young teaching assistant Wu Xing…

(End of this chapter)