Di Ming

Chapter 439: This one word can be exchanged for a marquis!

Zhu Yin's decision to re-evaluate Hai Rui's posthumous title and exonerate Zhang Juzheng was not merely based on personal feelings, but also a far-sighted strategy for public opinion preparation.

When Zhu Yin reached this position, he would carefully consider any policy and would never act on emotion.

Before undertaking any major task, it is essential to prioritize publicity and prepare public opinion thoroughly, subtly influencing people's hearts and guiding their thoughts.

Honoring Hai Rui was a matter of great importance to governance and a preparation for future efforts to clean up official corruption.

The renaming of Hai Rui is just the beginning of his plan to be honored. His status will be gradually elevated until he is deified, worshipped in Taoist temples, and becomes a new god!
The rehabilitation of Zhang Juzheng was for the purpose of reforming major policies. Similarly, the respect and honor bestowed upon Zhang Juzheng would not be limited to rehabilitation; it would be gradually elevated, eventually positioning him as a great reformer, from being worshipped in the Temple of Confucius to being honored in the Imperial Ancestral Temple!

By honoring Zhang Juzheng and affirming his historical achievements, we can not only prepare the ideological and public opinion for future reform policies, but also criticize the Wanli Emperor, making those who sympathize with Zhang Juzheng even more disgusted with the Jin Emperor.

One link leads to another, each step is interconnected, and every move is carefully planned.

Therefore, this time, Zhu Yin's instructions on rehabilitating Zhang Juzheng were very clear and resolute. Not only should Zhang Juzheng's evaluation be completely reversed, but it should also be elevated!
Whether it was honoring Hai Rui or exonerating Zhang, both the propaganda and the Huya were working together to create a media storm that would spread from the South to the North!
His plan was that within three years, Hai Rui would become a god and Zhang Juzheng would become a sage!
After several secret discussions with Caiwei and Xu Wei, Zhu Yin became more cautious and clear-headed.

The phrase "satisfied with one's ambition and blinded by lust for power" was never in his vocabulary.

In the Southern Dynasties today, conservative forces still dominate the ideological sphere. The central government's Six Ministries, Censorate, and Hanlin Academy, as well as the local Three Commissions, prefectures, and counties, are almost all strongholds of conservative forces.

Even among members of Zhu's faction, most only supported Zhu Yin as a person and regarded him as the party leader, but not all of them would support Zhu Yin's future reform policies.

When the time truly comes for Zhu Yin to implement reforms, there will inevitably be those in his faction who now strongly support him and even turn against him.

What he wants to do is not ordinary reform, nor ordinary anti-corruption, but a disruptive upheaval.

Many vested interests will be affected. Members of the Zhu faction are, in fact, also vested interests in the current Ming Dynasty system.

They might support Zhu Yin in his campaign to reclaim the throne and support Zhu Changluo, or even support Zhu Yin in reclaiming the throne of the eldest son's family, but they might not continue to support Zhu Yin in changing the "ancestral laws"!
Faced with radical reforms, members of the Zhu Party might also join reactionary forces.

By then, wouldn't he be all alone?

Therefore, the most reliable force is not only a loyal and dependable army, but also an emerging force that supports the major reform policies.

Only when he possesses both of these qualities can he suppress the stubborn and powerful old forces and prevent their counterattack.

Otherwise, he was destined to fail, and the best outcome would be to flee overseas with his family and confidants, rendering all his years of hard work futile.

He cannot afford to make a mistake. One wrong move, and the whole game is lost. The worst thing you can do when doing great things is to be impatient and impetuous; you have to take it slow and steady.

...

When the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel received the Grand Tutor's decree, most of them turned pale.

They didn't want to exonerate Zhang Juzheng. Since they held high positions, they weren't part of Zhang Juzheng's faction back then.

Many of them were people who had been suppressed and ostracized by Zhang Juzheng back then.

However, the Regent Tutor did not consult with them, but instead domineeringly ordered the exoneration.

Now, the Grand Tutor's decree represents the Emperor's edict. How can they refute it?

Logically, the cabinet could have made a symbolic refusal, but the problem was that Zhu Yin himself was the Grand Secretary, and the other newly appointed Grand Secretary, Xu Wei, was his crony.

Zong Qin, the Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial, was also a confidant of Zhu Yin.

How to refute?

Left with no other choice, the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Personnel had to swallow their pride and draft a favorable posthumous title and conferment plan, and then symbolically promote it in court.

On August 12, the results of the court recommendation were announced, and an imperial edict was immediately issued.

As soon as the proclamation and official gazette were released, discussions arose among the court and the public, each with their own thoughts. The already complex Nanjing court became even more turbulent.

Zhang Juzheng was posthumously honored as Zhongwu, which was the same as Zhuge Liang's posthumous title, ranking first alongside Wenzheng and Wuzhong!

Zhang Juzheng was a civil official with no military achievements, so he should not have been posthumously honored as Zhongwu.

However, in Zhu Yin's view, Zhang Juzheng had military merits, and quite significant ones at that.

During Zhang Juzheng's reign, he strengthened the military, reformed the military system, improved firearms, reorganized border defenses, replenished military funds, and heavily relied on renowned generals such as Qi Jiguang and Li Chengliang. The Ming Dynasty's military strength was greatly enhanced, and he played a crucial role in winning the three major campaigns of the Wanli Emperor.

If Zhang Juzheng had not improved the Ming army's combat strength and enabled it to rise again, the Ming Dynasty would likely have had difficulty surviving until the Chongzhen era.

Therefore, Zhu Yin frankly and without hesitation chose the posthumous title "Zhongwu" for Zhang Juzheng.

At the same time, Zhang Juzheng's title of Grand Tutor was restored, and his tomb was rebuilt according to ritual.

Then, he ordered a search for Zhang Juzheng's descendants, ending their exile and sending them to study at the Imperial Academy. He also bestowed upon them 1,000 mu of land, 10,000 taels of silver, and ordered the reconstruction of Zhang's ancestral home.

Emperor Wanli was extremely cold and ruthless towards his teacher. Seventeen members of Zhang Juzheng's family starved to death, several of his sons committed suicide, were imprisoned, or were exiled. Even Zhang Juzheng himself had his tomb destroyed and was almost exhumed and mutilated.

After this great calamity, only a few members of the Zhang family remained.

Zhu Yin then ordered local officials to build a memorial archway to honor Zhang Juzheng. He also personally wrote four large characters: "His merits shine brightly for ten thousand years."

Then it was given to the Zhang family as a plaque.

He also ordered the Imperial Academy and the Hanlin Academy to jointly organize personnel to compile "Jiangling Zhengyao" (Essentials of Governance in Jiangling), which would record Zhang Juzheng's governance measures during his tenure, and required that it be completed within a year and then published throughout the country.

In just two days, Zhang Juzheng went from being a treacherous minister whose home was confiscated to a national hero, Duke Zhongwu, and Grand Tutor.

The Zhang family survivors scattered across various regions also experienced a change in their fate amidst the brutal political purges!
……

On the morning of the fifteenth of August, Zhu Yin, along with Ning Caiwei, Ning Qingchen, and others, as well as Xiao Hei and Fei Hu, returned to their hometown in Qingqiaoli to celebrate the festival.

Zhu Yin rode in the regent's golden carriage, accompanied by a full retinue, and left the city through the familiar Juxian Gate amidst the attention of the entire city's residents. He passed through Yuhuatai and the outer city's Fengtai Gate, his procession illustrious and grand.

The number of guards accompanying the emperor alone was over a thousand, making it a truly grand procession.

Now that his status is different, Zhu Yin's security and entourage for his travels cannot be taken lightly. It's not that he wants to show off, but he can no longer afford to be casual.

Many people want him dead.

Ning Caiwei has returned to Qingqiao Lane many times over the years. Because her business in Nanjing is important, she comes to Nanjing almost every year and stays in the old house when she returns.

Ning Qingchen also returned once to visit his wet nurse, Zhao Chan'er.

Zhu Yin, however, never returned after going to Beijing to participate in the imperial examination.

It's been eight years already.

Eight years ago, when he left Qingqiao Village, he was just a Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations at the provincial level). But eight years later, he is the Regent Grand Tutor and the Duke of Ningguo.

Not only Zhu Yin, but also the three Jurchen guards who accompanied him, Lancha, Mehe, and Nima, all looked on with emotion.

It's finally back.

On the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhu Yin stood on the sunny side of Lishui, gazing into the distance. The air was filled with the fragrance of rice paddies and the streams murmured, creating a scene of crisp autumn air and tranquil beauty.

It seems to be the same as before.

However, Zhu Yin keenly noticed that the villagers' lives were clearly not as good as they had been eight years ago.

I remember the first time I came to Qingqiaoli, the children's clothes had very few patches, and the farmers' faces were rosy.

But now, he has discovered that many children's clothes have patches on them, and many villagers look pale and sickly.

In just eight years, even in the suburbs and rural areas outside Nanjing, the living standards of the people have declined significantly.

Zhu Yin knew the reason without asking.

Increase taxes on the suppression! Deploy large numbers of tax inspectors!
Over the years, the imperial court levied an additional ten million taels of silver to suppress Bo Bai, aid Korea in resisting Japanese pirates, and suppress the Western Ming. However, due to rampant corruption, the actual collection was inflated at each level, ultimately amounting to at least thirty to forty million taels. At most, only thirty percent went into the national treasury; the bulk of it was embezzled at each level.

Such a heavy burden was difficult for even the wealthy Jiangnan region to bear. Coupled with the extortion of tax supervisors, the exorbitant taxes levied on the people more than doubled.

In just eight years, the world has changed dramatically, and signs of an impending doom are already emerging.

Even in Qingqiao Village, people's livelihoods are declining; what about other places?

Ning Caiwei, dressed in a plain satin ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) and holding Yingning in her arms, stood beside Zhu Yin and said with a sigh:
“In recent years, life has become difficult for the villagers. Every time I came back before, I would give them some money, and I also set up a welfare and relief home in the village. With my help, the Zhang and Liu families no longer dare to bully them.”

"Life in Qingqiao is relatively good, after all, quite a few people there are workers from our factory. But we can't hire that many people."

"There are people in need of help everywhere in the world. Even if we give away all our wealth, we still can't help them all. In the end, we still need a great and sweeping reform."

Zhu Yin reached out and touched Ying Ning's little face, smelling her milky scent, then tickled her little feet and laughed:

"I hope that when Yingning is as old as Qingchen, she will see a new Ming Dynasty."

"Giggle..." Yingning suddenly laughed, bubbles coming out of her mouth, and grabbed Zhu Yin with her two little hands, pinching him hard.

“Hey…” Ning Caiwei was a little speechless. “You have such a good name, Yingning. It’s like a self-fulfilling prophecy. You just like to giggle like an idiot.”

"Giggle..." Yingning chuckled again. The little thing didn't know why it was laughing, and it didn't seem to be tickled.

As Ning Caiwei was speaking, the villagers who had spotted the procession gathered around and knelt down respectfully in a distance.

They all knew that Mr. Chikyu from Beili back then was now quite remarkable, serving as the Emperor's tutor and regent.

Zhu Yin also bowed to the kneeling villagers from afar, and then ordered that each household be given a mooncake gift box as a reward. As he entered the village, the villagers knelt and bowed along the roadside, praising him endlessly.

The Zhu family were their great benefactors. Every household in the family enshrined the memorial tablets of Zhu Yin and Ning Caiwei, and offered incense and sacrifices during the four seasons and eight festivals, praying for the Zhu family to live a long and peaceful life.

Seeing this, Zhu Yin's desire to change the world became even stronger. The gap between rich and poor in late Ming society was becoming extreme, and major reforms were necessary.

The once powerful and influential gentry families of Qingqiao Village, the Zhang and Liu families, waited respectfully by the roadside. When they saw Zhu Yin's honor guard, they bowed and paid their respects with utmost respect.

If they once wanted to take revenge on the Zhu family, they wouldn't even dare to think about it now.

Zhu Yin was too lazy to argue with the Zhang and Liu families anymore, and had no intention of summoning them. He simply ignored them as if they were nothing.

Only when he returned to his familiar old house did Zhu Yin feel like a weary bird returning to its forest, his joy beyond words.

They should have come back a long time ago.

Zhu Yin entered the old courtyard and saw the abundant grapes on the trellis and the Zhuque Tower not far away. He couldn't help but smile like the autumn sun.

Even Little Black darted out like an arrow and returned to the doghouse where he used to live.

"Welcome home, Master!" The dozens of servants who stayed behind at the old house were all excited to see Zhu Yin return and knelt down to greet him.

They had not seen their master for eight years. Although their master had grown up, when they saw Zhu Yin, the image of the clever and spirited child prodigy from back then still came to mind.

Right now, no one in the entire Qingqiao area is more proud than them. Because their master has become the Regent's Tutor and the Emperor's teacher!

The new emperor sat on the throne in Nanjing, making him second only to the emperor in power.

"You've all worked hard these past years." Zhu Yin greeted them warmly. "Rise. No need for formalities!"

Everyone stood up and bowed to the Ning sisters again.

Zhu Yin walked to the grapevines, picked a grape, and stuffed it into his mouth without peeling it. He laughed and said, "It still tastes the same as it did back then, sweet and sour with the warmth of the autumn sun."

Zhu Weiming and Zhao Jingzhong climbed the grapevines like monkeys, trying to pick grapes.

The two men both took a fancy to a bunch of grapes and immediately began to fight over it.

Zhao Jingzhong was younger and couldn't win the argument with Zhu Weiming, so he burst into tears in anger.

"Waaaaah... You're bullying me! I'm going to tell Daddy!"

Zhu Yin couldn't help but chuckle upon seeing this. The Qing Taizong Emperor was so easily swayed by a bunch of grapes? Interesting.

Although Zhu Weiming was young, he was also very loyal. Seeing Zhao Jingzhong crying, he immediately gave him a few pieces of food. Emperor Taizong of Qing immediately stopped crying and started laughing, with bubbles coming out of his nose.

"What a disgrace!" Ning Qingchen couldn't stand it. "He's not a three-year-old anymore, and he still cries all the time."

She picked several bunches of grapes and said to Zhu Yin, "Little Tiger, I'm going to Aunt Zhao's house to invite her and her family to celebrate the festival together."

Zhu Yin laughed and said, "You are so filial. You went to see your wet nurse as soon as you returned to your hometown. It was worth the effort of nursing you back then."

"Let's invite their family over for the New Year; they're not outsiders."

They were indeed not outsiders. Gu Qiyuan was a key member of the Propaganda Society, and his wife, Zhao Chan'er, was Ning Qingchen's wet nurse and a teacher at the sugar factory's school. Gu Qiyuan's younger sister, Gu Hongxiu, was Caiwei's right-hand woman and the chief secretary of Ningyin Trading Company.

Ning Qingchen then summoned two servants, who, along with mooncake gift boxes and other gifts, went directly to the Gu family.

Ning Caiwei was busy making arrangements for the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Not long after, a familiar voice laughed, "I've been waiting for you so long! The magpies at the door have been chirping every day, and I never expected you to return today!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ning Qingchen accompanied a beautiful young woman into the courtyard. This young woman had bound feet that swayed gracefully, and her scholarly air was hard to conceal, yet she also possessed a wild and lively spirit.

But who else could it be but Zhao Chan'er?

Behind her followed her sister-in-law, Gu Hongxiu, and behind her were the servants carrying a wine basket.

"Sister-in-law hasn't changed at all." Ning Caiwei greeted her with a smile and took her hand. "I asked Hongxiu to invite you, but Qingchen went to invite you too because she was afraid you wouldn't come. Now that you're here, this Mid-Autumn Festival is finally complete."

Zhao Chan'er laughed and said, "You think too highly of me! How could I not come? I would have come on my own even without being invited. I just missed you all!"

He pointed to the wine basket behind him and said, "This is rice wine that I brewed myself. We only drink it at home. I brought it for you to try."

After speaking, she looked at Zhu Yin with a smile in her dark eyes, "Oh my, Brother Yin has grown up so much, he's now the Regent's Tutor, a celestial being, shall I pay my respects?"

"Haha!" Zhu Yin laughed too. "Sister-in-law, you're joking. No matter how high an official I become, you don't need to pay me respects. Otherwise, wouldn't that be making things difficult for me? I've just grown taller, but I haven't changed as a person."

Zhao Chan'er laughed and said, "Indeed! What did I say? Some people change after passing the imperial examination, but Yin-ge'er is the most sentimental and loyal. Even if he becomes the Grand Secretary, he will still be Yin-ge'er and will never change. I've only ever heard of iron turning into rust and copper turning into verdigris, but have I ever heard of gold turning into rust?"

"Over the years, I am so grateful for your and Caiwei's help. I have no thanks to you."

Zhao Chan'er spoke from the heart; she was genuinely grateful to Zhu Yin's family and didn't consider herself an outsider.

Zhu Yin asked, "Where is Brother Taichu? Why didn't he come?"

Zhao Chan'er said, "Didn't you tell him about oracle bone script back then? He took it to heart and has been paying close attention to it all these years. He's a big fan of bronze and stone artifacts. He met an antique dealer in Luoyang before, and the dealer mentioned dragon bones, so he deduced that it might be the oracle bone script you mentioned."

“A while ago he told me that you would definitely come back to Qingqiao for the festival, so he went to Suzhou to find that antique dealer in Luoyang to look for oracle bone inscriptions, saying that he would give them to you as a gift. He should be back soon, but he may not be able to find the items.”

Zhao Chan'er chuckled at this point, "Yin-ge'er, you really like those?"

Zhu Yin said solemnly, "Sister-in-law, you may not know this, but those oracle bone inscriptions are ancient scripts, the most precious treasures of metal and stone, and are of no small importance. If Brother Taichu can pioneer the study of oracle bones, he will be a national hero, and it would not be an exaggeration to bestow a title upon him!"

Gu Qiyuan was a famous epigrapher of the Ming Dynasty, obsessed with the study of epigraphy. Zhu Yin certainly hoped that he could have pioneered the study of oracle bone inscriptions three hundred years earlier.

Oracle bone script is extremely important to the Chinese cultural heritage, belonging to the core cultural artifacts. Unfortunately, it was discovered too late.

Wang Yirong, the father of oracle bone script, lived in the late Qing Dynasty and discovered oracle bone script close to the Republic of China era.

Oracle bone script is the script of the Shang Dynasty, and may even be the script of the Xia Dynasty!

Unfortunately, because they were discovered too late, the vast majority of the oracle bone inscriptions were consumed as the traditional Chinese medicine "dragon bones".

Less than one percent of the oracle bone inscriptions have survived to the present day. This is a tremendous loss to China's cultural heritage.

The fact that the vast majority of oracle bone inscriptions were "eaten up" by the ancients is heartbreaking for the expert group of the Xia-Shang-Zhou Chronology Project and all scholars of ancient Chinese characters.

Many people speculate that the reason why we cannot find any texts about the Xia Dynasty is because most of the oracle bone inscriptions were ground up and eaten as medicine.

If it had been discovered and organized a few hundred years earlier, it might have revealed the oracle bone inscriptions of the Xia Dynasty, and even compiled a reliable history of the Xia Dynasty!
Back in the Xuan Society, he had a long talk with Gu Qiyuan about oracle bone script, and he never expected Gu Qiyuan to be so interested in it.

If Gu Qiyuan had studied and protected oracle bone inscriptions three hundred years earlier, the number of oracle bone inscription carriers he could have found might have been more than ten times that of later generations!
"Really?" Zhao Chan'er's dark almond-shaped eyes widened in surprise. "Could she even be granted a noble title?"

Zhu Yin said, "Sister-in-law, I'm not joking. If Brother Taichu can really study oracle bone script, as long as he achieves something, he will be a meritorious official of the Ming Dynasty, and I can grant him a marquisate!"

Just then, a voice came from outside: "Wife! The master has sent a letter!"

However, he was an old servant of the Gu family.

"A letter?" Zhao Chan'er rushed over. "He's not even coming back for Mid-Autumn Festival? This person is really something!"

She had originally thought that her husband would come back to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.

But since I've already written the letter, I definitely won't reply.

She took the letter from the old servant, opened it and read it for a while, then suddenly raised her eyebrows.

It turned out that, in addition to the letter, the husband also had a rubbing of paper in the envelope, which had many ancient characters on it and looked very ancient.

"He's not coming back." Zhao Chan'er was filled with disappointment. "Yin-ge'er, these are the rubbings he sent back. Are they the oracle bone script you mentioned?"

Zhu Yin excitedly took the rubbing, his eyes sparkling as he saw the inscription.

It's oracle bone script!

It must be.

Well done, Gu Qiyuan! You actually managed to transcribe dozens of words!

The rubbing contains more than forty oracle bone characters. Some of these characters are easily recognizable and have remained largely unchanged for thousands of years. However, most of the characters are ambiguous and difficult to identify.

Next to each oracle bone character, Gu Qiyuan annotated it with the modern Chinese character. This is Gu Qiyuan's interpretation of the oracle bone characters.

Soon, a word caught Zhu Yin's attention, and the moment he saw it, he got goosebumps all over his body.

Because next to this seemingly familiar yet unfamiliar oracle bone script character, there is a Chinese character: 夏 (Xia)!
Zhu Yin was momentarily lost in thought and forgot his purpose.

In later generations, there were some oracle bone inscriptions that archaeologists most hoped to discover, but unfortunately these oracle bone inscriptions have never been discovered.

Among the oracle bone inscriptions most eager to be discovered, one character is: Xia!
If Gu Qiyuan's discovery and interpretation are correct, then this single character "Xia" can be exchanged for a Marquis!

...

P.S.: I'll just briefly mention the oracle bone script for now and won't go into detail. The next chapter will be about the main storyline. Thank you! Tomorrow is the beginning of the month, and I need to aim for the monthly ticket rankings.

(End of this chapter)