unclear

Chapter 4
Even though it is just a part-time job, it reflects the attitude of the civil service group.If only a few editors come to give lectures in turn, it means that the civil service group does not pay much attention to the prince. If there is a cabinet bachelor, the level of attention will be much higher.

If the chief minister of the cabinet can come in person, the position of the prince will be very stable for the time being. It also shows that the chief minister has a little hope in his heart and plans to move closer to Zhang Juzheng, hoping that one day he will be able to monopolize power.

Speaking of the Ming Dynasty, Hong Tao had only learned about it from reading books.I thought that the emperors of this dynasty were all weird, and there was basically no one who was normal from beginning to end.This dynasty was the turning point of Chinese civilization, and it has gradually entered a downward slope since then.

The founding emperor Zhu Yuanzhang got his start with the help of the Red Scarf Army. What is the Red Scarf Army?White Lotus Sect.What is the White Lotus Sect?In modern parlance, it is crab legs.And he is not the boss in Crab Legs yet, he can only be regarded as one of the boss's thugs. His best skill in the early stage is to huddle in the corner to preserve his strength.

Others were busy fighting against the Yuan Dynasty army. Liu Futong fought all the way from Henan to Mongolia, then from Mongolia to the Northeast, and finally rushed into the Korean Peninsula with his help.When he was in trouble, Zhu Yuanzhang did not support his immediate superiors, but instead focused on occupying territory in the south by exploding troops.

When Liu Futong died in battle and Han Lin'er was left orphaned and widowed, he ran over and pretended to lend a helping hand, using the tiger skin as a banner. He continued to use Liu Futong's banner to fight against both sides, but still did not take the initiative to fight against the Yuan army.He was quite keen on taking advantage of the empty space behind the other rebels to go over and give them a hard beating.

After passing through the growth period and having strong soldiers and horses, Han Lin'er, the nominal boss, seemed to be a bit of a hindrance. He simply sent his subordinates to drown him halfway under the guise of picking up people.

The person in charge of transporting Han Lin'er and his son was called Liao Yongzhong. He was from the Navy. He led the fleet to the Neihu Lake and capsized. He also capsized Han Lin'er's boat. Not a single person in the boat could be saved.

It is possible to say that it was accidental. After all, there is no evidence to prove that it was Zhu Yuanzhang's instruction.But according to common logical reasoning, this matter is a bit suspicious.

Let’s take a look at the fate of Liao Yongzhong first. This founding hero whose military exploits were comparable to those of Feng Sheng and Fu Youde was executed just a few years after the founding of the Ming Dynasty for dressing inappropriately. It is difficult to escape the suspicion of murder and silence.

After killing Han Lin'er, Lao Zhu still did not go north to find trouble with the Yuan Dynasty. Instead, he went east, south, and west to wipe out all the other branches of the Red Turban Army.The reason was that those people resisted the Yuan Dynasty, and he became a staunch supporter of the Yuan Dynasty!
In fact, when Lao Zhu dominated the south of the Yangtze River, the Yuan Dynasty in the north had become a pot of porridge. Even Emperor Yuan Shun could not command him, so he simply packed up and ran back to the grassland.It only took Zhu Yuanzhang a total of eight months to push from south to north, and he encountered basically no decent resistance along the way except Luoyang.

The Yuan Dynasty was not destroyed, but retreated to the grassland on its own initiative, called Beiyuan.The Northern Yuan regime existed until the end of the Ming Dynasty, and caused trouble to the Ming Dynasty from time to time. It was not destroyed by the Hou Jin Dynasty until more than 200 years later. The Ming Dynasty also fell to the Hou Jin Dynasty within a few years.

After the founding of the country, Lao Zhu did nothing for a period of time. He concentrated on thinking about what crimes to use to kill the founding heroes who followed him to conquer the world, and he did so.The cruelty of the methods and the sheer quantity were unprecedented... To describe them as mean and unkind doesn't seem to be enough.

It's okay to endure hardships and hardships when starting a business together, but we can't enjoy the blessings together.As long as the business is successful, internal fighting will begin immediately. As long as you don't have the final say, you will always feel that you are at a disadvantage.

If we don't kill these old guys who are full of rebelliousness and have special combat experience, Lao Zhu, who regards the country as his homestead, will definitely not be able to eat well and sleep well.I am afraid that one day I will be kicked in the leg and the imperial power will not be passed on to my children and grandchildren. Even if it is passed down reluctantly, I will not be able to sit still. Every minute, I will be snatched away by the proud soldiers who follow me to conquer the country.

As a result, the task of burning down bridges across rivers was not achieved, and it did not bring eternal peace to the children and grandchildren. Instead, it created a group of successors with full of personality.

There are uncles and nephews who go in with white knives and come out with red knives for family property; there are two brothers who take me down and I will take you down again; there are those who have not spoken to courtiers for more than ten years and have not been in court for decades; there are those who have taken tiger and wolf medicine. When you eat jelly beans, there are those who make elixirs to become immortals and torment themselves to death...

Oh yes, and I, who had been the crown prince for 20 years, died within one month of taking the throne.The suspicion between father and son, brother against brother, political interference in the harem, eunuchs in power, and unlimited party strife are simply a vivid picture of human nature, full of ugliness.

In addition, he frequently beheaded ministers, took off his pants and spanked, had to kneel when talking to his superiors, and spread mosquito fish, which directly broke the bones of the Chinese elite and set many extremely bad precedents.From then on, in a high-risk environment where different political views lead to death, fewer and fewer people tell the truth, and more and more people spend their days wondering what the higher-ups want to hear.Courtiers do not do things if they can, because it is easy to make mistakes when doing practical things. If they make mistakes, they will be impeached by others. They are very passive.

There are also scientific examinations used to constrain the minds of intellectuals. If you want to get ahead under this rule, you must recite the prescribed content all the time since childhood. You are not allowed to ask why. Anyone who questions it is treasonous.

Without ideas, it is impossible to tell the truth and do practical things. It is strange that such a dynasty will progress.It was a good time. The Mongols were busy fighting among themselves and had no time to go south. The other nomadic groups had to be not too far away or not too weak, otherwise they would have disappeared long ago without waiting for the Manchus to go south.

Compared with other historical periods, the Ming Dynasty did not have the tolerance of the Tang Dynasty, the developed commerce of the Song Dynasty, and the culture of the Spring and Autumn Period when a hundred flowers bloomed.Not to mention the development of science and technology, even poetry and songs are in decline.Compared with the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties, the culture of the Ming Dynasty was generally good.

Compared with the rest of the world, Europe used the Renaissance to liberate its minds. It was coming out of the Dark Middle Ages and ushering in the Age of Discovery. Strong ships and cannons had arrived at their doorstep.

Da Vinci is thinking about the gearbox, Galileo is observing the solar system with the telescope he invented, Copernicus believes that the earth is not the center of the universe, Bruno is not afraid of life and death in order to insist on the truth...

Hong Tao agreed with most of these views, except that he felt that the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were not necessarily perverts.After living in the Forbidden City for more than ten years, seeing it with my own eyes, and experiencing it personally, I have my own opinions on some things.

Why do I say this? Because I saw a living example, that is, my cheap dad, the Wanli Emperor Zhu Yijun, who has not been in court for 20 years.He is not lazy or stupid, but helpless.

On the surface, Emperor Wanli was a young emperor. He was crowned prince at the age of five and ascended the throne at the age of ten. He happened to meet the capable minister Zhang Juzheng and was assisted by the not-so-arrogant and domineering internal official Feng Bao. Until the age of 20, everything was smooth sailing and achieved outstanding results.

In more than ten years, the Ming Dynasty not only had a sufficient treasury and a stable political situation, but also suffered no losses in foreign wars.He sent troops to quell the Mongolian Kuaibai rebellion, helped North Korea completely fight back Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invasion, and just last year defeated the Miao chieftain's rebellion.

But, the superficial glory could not conceal the inner irritability of Emperor Wanli.Since he ascended the throne at the age of ten, rather than running the country with Zhang Juzheng, it is better to say that Queen Mother Li and Zhang Juzheng have controlled the direction of the country internally and externally, with the young emperor and Feng Baoquan playing supporting roles.

The emperors of the past dynasties understood one truth even if they didn't have water in their heads: they must seize power!If the ministers are given too much power, big problems will occur sooner or later, and Zhang Juzheng is the key to this problem.

When Empress Dowager Li was getting too old and no longer interfered with the affairs of the government, Emperor Wanli, who was completely pro-government, suddenly found that his position with the chief minister was reversed.Whatever he wanted to do, Zhang Juzheng had to nod his head, and he had to help wipe his ass all the time to deal with the dissatisfaction of the civil and military officials in the court.

If Zhang Juzheng had not died, Emperor Wanli might have continued to endure.After all, I have been ignored since I was a child, and I have long been accustomed to the teacher's domineering attitude. I don't have enough courage and ability to resist if I want to.

But when Zhang Juzheng died, there was a huge vacuum in power. Emperor Wanli started to seize power like a graduated student.The liquidation of Zhang Juzheng and Feng Bao was an announcement that power had returned to the emperor's hands.

(End of this chapter)