Ming Dynasty 1627

Chapter 168 Human Nature: A Study of the People Under Heaven

Inside the Wuying Hall, you could hear a pin drop.

All eyes, whether of sympathy, surprise, or schadenfreude, were focused on Lai Zongdao, who had just spoken out against the emperor.

Zhu Youjian took in everyone's expressions, feeling utterly bewildered.

You all think too little of me, that I am petty and narrow-minded.

He looked at Lai Zongdao, who looked uneasy, and took a breath.

"Lai Qing, rise and receive the order."

Lai Zongdao was startled and almost instinctively stood up straight, bowing and saying, "Your subject... Your subject is here."

His voice was hoarse, trembling without him even realizing it.

"I have three tasks to entrust to the Ministry of Rites, all of which are important matters concerning the rectification of people's hearts."

The atmosphere changed instantly upon hearing this.

Not punishment? But... being entrusted with an important task?
So that's what "receiving the order" means.

Lai Zongdao breathed a sigh of relief. He raised his head, ready to listen to the imperial edict.

Zhu Youjian continued:

"The first thing is the unrest in people's hearts caused by the struggle between people and land."

"The world today is truly undergoing a great transformation unseen in a thousand years of Chinese history."

"By revealing this to the world, I can certainly inspire wise men across the land to work together to find a way out."

He then changed the subject, saying, "However, what Han Kuang, the former Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, said during the lecture was not unfounded."

“Ignorant people, ambitious individuals, and even those cultists lurking in the shadows, love to take things out of context, seize a few words from me and use them to bewitch people, misattribute them, and shake the foundations of the nation.”

"This matter cannot be ignored."

“But this matter is easy to manage.” Zhu Youjian smiled slightly. “It’s nothing more than clarifying people’s understanding and calming their hearts. Such matters of education are perfect for your Ministry of Rites to handle.”

He held up one finger and pointed to the back row on his left.

"Ni Yuanlu, come forward."

Behind the officials, Ni Yuanlu, the secretary who had been sitting on a small stool listening to the proceedings, quickly stood up.

"Your subject is here." Ni Yuanlu suppressed his excitement and nervousness and quickly walked to the center of the hall.

"Tell all my ministers what you have compiled over the past three days," Zhu Youjian instructed.

Ni Yuanlu glanced around at the assembled Grand Secretaries and Ministers, took a deep breath, and tried to keep her voice steady.

He bowed to accept the order, took out a thin booklet from his sleeve, opened it, and read aloud:
"I have been ordered to examine historical records from various dynasties and have thus prepared this article to present to you."

Its title is: "A Study of Historical Events in the Capital".

He cleared his throat and began to speak.

“The capital city was the capital of the State of Ji during the Western Zhou Dynasty. Later, the State of Yan conquered Ji and moved its capital here, hence the name Yandu.”

During the Qin Dynasty, it was Ji County, under the jurisdiction of Guangyang Commandery. During the Han Dynasty, it was the capital of Guangyang State, under the jurisdiction of Youzhou.

At first, the officials in the palace did not pay any attention.

They can recite these histories by heart; what kind of tales can a mere editor possibly tell?
"At the end of the Han Dynasty, Gongsun Zan occupied this area and fought against Liu Yu and Yuan Shao for many years."

"From the Jin Dynasty onwards, during the chaos of the Five Barbarian Tribes, this place changed hands several times, with Wang Jun, Shi Le, An Lushan, Liu Rengong, Shi Jingtang and others taking turns to rule."

Ni Yuanlu's voice gradually lowered.

"History records nothing more than the victor becoming king and the loser becoming a bandit; what history does not record is this capital region, where people have been wiped out and bones have been left to die in spring."

This unpolished line of poetry immediately caused several astute officials in the hall to furrow their brows slightly.

"Later, the Liao Dynasty established Nanjing as its capital. When the Jin Dynasty destroyed the Liao Dynasty, it renamed Nanjing Zhongdu, which is how it came to be known as the Imperial Capital."

"However, in the eighth year of the Jin Taihe era, the Mongol Yuan dynasty marched south and besieged the city for a year."

"On the day the city fell, the soldiers were allowed to massacre the city for a month, and the number of dead was more than a million!"

"Afterwards, they set fire to the city, turning palaces and residences into ashes! The Jin dynasty's royal family, officials, and scholars were almost all slaughtered, and less than one in ten people survived!"

Ni Yuanlu's voice trembled slightly as she read this.

"History records the emperors and generals, the victors are the ones who are remembered; what history does not record is the day the city falls, when the people are treated like straw dogs, and blood flows like rivers! The place where we stand today is covered with piles of white bones!"

"Afterwards, Kublai Khan ascended the throne and built Dadu on the ruins of Zhongdu. Later, my great ancestor raised an army and marched north, conquered Dadu, and that is how our Great Ming Dynasty came to have its current imperial capital!"

"My lords!" Ni Yuanlu suddenly raised his head, his voice hoarse, "Have you ever thought about why the Mongol Yuan Dynasty rebuilt Dadu on the ruins? Because everything old—the people, the buildings, the families, the wealth...—has been wiped clean!"

After he finished speaking, he bowed deeply, stepped aside, his chest still heaving violently, clearly still deeply troubled.

The entire Wuying Hall was deathly silent. Ni Yuanlu's suppressed grief and indignation seemed to still echo in the hall.

The cabinet ministers and ministers present had different expressions.

Some people looked reluctant, clearly recalling the cold, hard records in history books.

Some people frowned slightly, feeling that it was somewhat improper for Ni Yuanlu, a minor official, to vent her emotions in front of the emperor.

But some people still fell into deep thought.

When they read history, they read about order and chaos, rise and fall, and the gains and losses of power struggles.

They knew about massacres and the sight of skeletons, but those were just cold words in history books.

Today, as Ni Yuanlu read the text with such emotion, the bloody smell behind the words seemed to rush towards them all at once, making even these pampered high-ranking officials feel a long-lost chill.

Zhu Youjian waved his hand, signaling Ni Yuanlu to step down.

He waited a moment, allowing the heavy emotions to fester in the hall, before tapping the imperial desk with his knuckles.

"Boom, boom."

As if waking from a dream, everyone turned their attention back to the emperor.

"This was compiled by Editor Ni, who spent three days searching through countless historical records and old documents to find the relevant passages."

"The most difficult part is that there are no county or prefectural gazetteers available in the capital."

Zhu Youjian sighed and glanced at everyone.

"As for why there is none... I think you all know."

Yes, they were all killed and burned, so how could any documents have been passed down?
"Therefore, to resolve the potential crisis in public sentiment caused by the 'conflict between people and land,' my idea is to learn from history and use history as a remedy!"

Zhu Youjian gave the order in a deep voice:

"I order all the instructors and students in all the prefectures and counties of the empire to investigate the local conditions during the periods of dynastic change, from the local county annals, prefectural annals, and historical records."

"What about the gentry? What about the common people? Record them clearly, explain them locally, and then send the final draft to the capital!"

"The Ministry of Rites should use this as a basis to compile a book titled 'A Study of the Rise and Fall of the Nation and the People,' to serve as a warning against national subjugation and to pass it down to future generations!"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the officials in the hall became extremely solemn.

They had thought the emperor would appease or suppress them, but they never expected that he would not only not suppress them, but would instead reveal the cruelty of this "battle for land and people" to the world in the most bloody way!

From then on, all those who rebelled had to answer whether they were prepared to face the fate of their hometown being burned to the ground.

Using history as a sword and profound lessons as a guide, are we to forcibly manipulate the minds of scholars across the land?
What will the outcome be? Won't it incite even greater unrest?
The world was in turmoil from that moment on!

Lai Zongdao was even more excited, but not because of this so-called struggle between people and land.

His cheeks flushed red, it was hard to tell whether it was the shame of being reprimanded earlier or the excitement brought on by his ambition.

A Study on the Rise and Fall of the Nation and the People!
If this book is completed, it will surely be a groundbreaking masterpiece, comparable to the Zizhi Tongjian!
And he, Lai Zongdao, will serve as the chief editor of this book, and will surely be remembered in history!
Just moments before, he was filled with fear of being dismissed from his post; now, an opportunity that could bring glory to his family and make him famous for all time has fallen into his lap!
What does it matter if the emperor is harsh or humiliated in public? All of these become insignificant in the face of the words "to be remembered in history"!
He could no longer care about anything else; he leaned forward, almost knocking over the table, his voice loud and firm:
"Your Majesty! The Ministry of Rites... has done it!"

"Good!" Zhu Youjian clapped his hands and laughed. "Then I accept the order!"

Gao Shiming understood and immediately stepped forward to take a silk scroll, quickly handing it to Lai Zongdao.

Lai Zongdao accepted it with both hands. He saw that the silk was embroidered with dragon patterns around the edges, and a circle was drawn in red ink in the middle, with the character "令" (command) inside the circle.

Is this an imperial edict? It doesn't seem so. What, then?
Zhu Youjian began by saying:

"According to the norms of official documents for governing the country, the regulations were written and first submitted to the Secretariat for review. Once approved, they were submitted to the Cabinet Committee. After the final draft was completed, a notice was posted outside Chengtian Gate for ten days to announce it to the world, and then it was officially implemented."

"Your subject... obeys... receives the order!" Lai Zongdao raised the memorial high above his head, stepped forward, and kowtowed to receive the order.

Zhu Youjian nodded in satisfaction and breathed a sigh of relief.

To put it bluntly, this order was not intended for the benefit of the court's nobles and high-ranking officials.

When the world is in chaos, perhaps a few officials might jump ship in the confusion, but most would probably be willing to try to salvage the situation before things become unclear.

But what benefits could Zhu Youjian possibly offer them?!

His next target group is a wider range of lower- and middle-ranking officials, landlords, and ordinary people.

This is just laying the groundwork for something.

As for the effect...

In this vast Ming Dynasty, perhaps there are prefectures and counties that have never suffered from war in history?

Hainan? Yunnan?
But it's definitely not in the north, and it's definitely not in Southern Zhili!

Zhu Youjian smiled slightly and continued speaking.

"Second..."

(End of this chapter)