The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 184 What’s important?

On the way, Chen Jingke gave Lan Yu's sword to Xu Yungong. The sword was more useful in his hands than in his own.

At this time, he represented Wei Guogong and Yongchang Hou.

Xu Yungong naturally understood what he meant and took it without hesitation.

Seeing him hanging the knife on his waist, Chen Jingke laughed very loudly.

What he took over was a knife, which was also a signal to form an alliance with the Yongchang Houfu.

This means that the Duke of Wei and the Marquis of Yongchang will be consistent on many things.

Considering Lan Yu's status as a princeling, it also means that Xu Da is moving closer to the prince.

In the past, Xu Da did not support anyone, including Zhu Biao.

He is a standard imperialist and only supports Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang would do whatever he asked him to do.

He will be loyal to whomever he is told to be loyal to.

No matter if that person is Zhu Biao or someone else.

But before Zhu Yuanzhang spoke, the only person he was loyal to was Zhu Yuanzhang.

Although Xu Yungong could not fully represent Xu Da, he still expressed his attitude to a certain extent.

He recognized Zhu Biao as the prince.

Although with or without Xu Da's support, Zhu Biao's status is as stable as Mount Tai.

But having the approval of the top military official will make it easier for him to act.

As his grandson's companion, Chen Jingke was naturally happy to see this scene.

What's more, Xu Yungong is still his good brother, which is a double happiness.

Standing on the deck, looking at Yingtian City getting smaller and smaller, Xu Yungong suddenly said:

"I know you've always been bold, but I was still shocked when I heard you were going to shave your head."

Chen Jingke smiled and said, "Do you think hair is important?"

Xu Yungong withdrew his gaze and said, "You know how much meaning hair has been given by Confucianism, even if I don't tell you, isn't it still important?"

Chen Jingke nodded and said: "Sometimes it is important, but it is far less important than everyone thinks."

"At first I thought hair style was very important."

"Not only the Confucian scholars are opposed to shaving their heads, but even the common people are opposed to it."

"It wasn't until I remembered something that I woke up."

“A lot of things we think are important, actually are nothing more than that.”

Xu Yungong said curiously: "Oh, what did you think of?"

Chen Jingke did not answer directly, but asked: "You said which one cares more about short hair or tattoos on the face?"

Xu Yungong said without hesitation: "I definitely care more about the tattoos. The hair will grow out within a few months of shaving. The tattoos are a humiliation that can never be washed away in a lifetime."

A smile appeared on Chen Jingke's face: "Then do you know why there is a title of 'thief with the army'?"

Xu Yungong replied: "At the end of the Tang Dynasty, Zhu Wen was afraid that his soldiers would escape, so he ordered all the soldiers to have their faces tattooed..."

At this point, he suddenly stopped, showing a look of sudden realization.

Chen Jingke looked at the surging river and picked up what he didn't say:

"Other warlords also followed Zhu Wen's example and tattooed the faces of their soldiers."

"Logically speaking, for such a shame and humiliation, the soldiers should be outraged."

"It is only right to hack Zhu Wen and those who imitate him to death to maintain his own dignity."

"But in fact, this matter was carried out smoothly."

"No one stood up to resist, at least there is no record of any resistance."

"When the Song Dynasty was established, this humiliating law was not changed and they continued to tattoo people's faces."

"So, all the soldiers in the Song Dynasty had their faces tattooed."

"Since ancient times, only criminals, and criminals with very serious crimes, have tattoos on their faces."

"In addition, the Song Dynasty valued civility over military affairs, and the status of soldiers was low, so they got the contemptuous name of a thief with an army."

"But in the face of this naked humiliation, no one stood up to resist."

Xu Yungong also had to admit that this was indeed the case.

If you don’t know that history of humiliation, someone told him to tattoo all the soldiers’ faces.

He would definitely think that man was crazy.

If you humiliate soldiers like this, everyone will definitely stand up and rebel.

But the fact is, no.

Starting from Zhu Wen at the end of Tang Dynasty until the fall of Song Dynasty.

In more than three hundred years, no soldier has ever rebelled against having his face tattooed.

This decree, which was extremely humiliating to soldiers, was abolished by the Yuan Dynasty.

So, is it really important to have short hair and long hair?

I'm afraid it's just what everyone thinks is important.

Chen Jingke asked him another question: "Do you think your last name is important?"

Xu Yungong wanted to answer that it was important, but his mouth just opened and closed again.

Is it important?

Changing one's surname often happens among ordinary people.

The master requires his slaves to take his own surname.

Many slaves also took the initiative to change their surnames in order to please their masters.

Where do the children from wealthy families come from?

It was the fathers and grandfathers who changed their surnames, and then became slaves for generations before they became family members.

Do powerful and scholarly people attach great importance to their surnames?

Historically, those whose surnames changed most frequently were those from high-ranking families.

Some were to avoid disaster, some were given surnames by the monarchs they followed, and some changed their surnames after settling down in a certain place.

There are many reasons, but the final result is to change the last name.

A surname, according to etiquette, is something that should be defended with life.

But in fact, it is just something that can be replaced at will if the chips are enough.

Chen Jingke smiled and said, "So, you understand."

"A lot of things are actually not important."

"It's us who imagine it as important."

"Especially compared with interests and lives, it is even more insignificant."

“Is hair important?”

"Compared with life and health, how many people would care?"

"No one shaved their hair before, but no one told them about the dangers of long hair."

"Now, it's up to us to tell them all."

"They will naturally make the choice that is best for them."

Xu Yungong nodded heavily and said, "I understand. You never fight an unprepared battle."

“It may seem impulsive, but in reality everything has been taken into consideration.”

Chen Jingke shook his head and sighed: "Actually, I also made a mistake in this matter."

He told the story about encouraging slave laborers to shave their heads but not thinking about follow-up protective measures.

"We should first publicize the benefits of shaving our heads, and then find some people with status and status to take the lead in shaving their heads, thereby motivating people to shave their heads."

Top-down reform is called reform, bottom-up reform is called revolution, and revolution means bloodshed and sacrifice.

"Fortunately, Fang Xiaoru took care of everything, otherwise it might have caused irreversible consequences."

Xu Yungong didn't expect such twists and turns, and couldn't help but feel lucky for him. He also had a better impression of Fang Xiaoru.

"You are at a disadvantage because you are too young and have no experience."

"After experiencing this, you will be more thoughtful in doing things in the future."

Chen Jingke nodded. If he has experienced this, he has not grown up at all.

Then he doesn't have to think about anything else. He can just hide behind the scenes and be a staff member for the rest of his life.

However, promoting hair shaving is indeed not an impulsive decision, but a decision made after careful consideration.

In previous lives, everyone could not help but fall into misunderstandings.

I think the ancients paid more attention to etiquette, unlike modern people who have broken down rituals and music. However, the opposite is true. The ancients were more pragmatic than we are.

As for the reason, our ancestors have long told us:

If you have enough food and clothing, you will know honor and disgrace; if you have enough food and clothing, you will know etiquette.

Only when you have enough food and clothing can you pursue etiquette and care about honor and disgrace.

People in ancient times didn't have enough to eat, so why should they pay attention to etiquette, honor and disgrace?

Another point is that only after receiving education and enlightenment can we understand many truths more clearly.

With the literacy rate like in ancient times, it would be fine not to mention many things.

The idea of ​​respecting the past and advocating for the past is not limited to ancient people.

Modern people sometimes subconsciously think of ancient times as beautiful.

As for hair, its status was indeed raised a bit high in ancient times.

The roots are still in "Filial Piety", which says: The body, hair and skin receive it from the parents.

This established its status.

Cao Cao consolidated his position by cutting off his hair and taking the throne.

However, it was still necessary to wait until the late Ming and early Qing dynasties to raise hair to the level of national characteristics.

The Manchus forced Han people to shave their heads as a symbol of their conquest and enslavement.

A large number of Han people also regard hairstyle as a symbol of defending the dignity of the Han people and resisting the Manchus.

From this moment on, hair was given a higher meaning.

Later, the Manchu and Qing courts continued to defend their braids, further reinforcing this concept.

By the end of the Qing Dynasty, the revolutionary ancestors regarded braids as a symbol of backwardness, slavery, and oppression.

He cut his braids to express his determination to expel the Tartars and restore China.

Braids are further given a higher meaning.

But this was still the early Ming Dynasty, and hair was only related to tradition and filial piety, and had not yet been given that much meaning.

The point of filial piety has been broken by Chen Jingke.

Because the ancients also had haircuts and shaves, and any attempt to talk about filial piety would be a slap in the face.

As for tradition... the words "middle and late dynasty" can really crush people.

But these were the founding days, a time when tradition mattered least.

The beginning of a unified dynasty is often the period when new traditions are formed.

Under the guise of tradition, it is of no use to Chen Jingke.

In other words, the two words tradition have no binding force on Zhu Yuanzhang.

What he cares more about is tangible benefits.

As long as it does not threaten the imperial power and benefits the country and the people, he will definitely support it.

Opposition from Confucian scholars?

The Hu Weiyong case killed tens of thousands of people, and the Zhao Mao case killed tens of thousands more.

There are nobles, there are bureaucrats, there are scholars, there are big landowners...but there are not many ordinary people.

So many powerful officials and bureaucrats were killed, but Zuo Zuo of the Ming Dynasty remained as stable as Mount Tai.

So, many times we think something is important, but we think it is too important.

Actually, it's not that important.

This truth is what Chen Jingke wanted to understand in the process of promoting hair shaving.

This was also the reason why he agreed to Fang Xiaoru's plan to promote short hair in Henan before moving the capital.

In the next few days, he acted very calmly and showed no signs of anxiety.

Every day I spent time on the bow looking at the scenery and discussing the art of war with Xu Yungong. My life was quite pleasant.

And his performance, in Xu Yungong's view, is that he remains unfazed in the face of big events. This is a character that can achieve great things.

I admire him even more in my heart.

We had to go upstream to get back, so we walked two extra days before reaching Kaifeng.

Chen Jingke did not get off the ship, but had someone send a letter to Fang Xiaoru.

Tell him everything is going well and according to plan.

Then continue to move forward to Luoyang.

When we arrived at the boundary of Zhengzhou, we could feel the number of boats coming and going on the river.

Basically, all kinds of materials are carried.

Not surprisingly, it should be sent to Luoyang.

The closer we get to Luoyang, the more ships there are.

When we arrived at Mengjin, the river was lined with boats of all sizes.

As a new capital, naturally not just any ship can enter, but must be inspected.

This level was placed in Mengjin.

This is the junction of the Yiluo River and the Yellow River. Only a sluice needs to be built to control the passage of ships.

And it does not affect the navigation of the Yellow River itself, which can be said to be very convenient.

Chen Jingke was traveling on an official ship, so naturally he didn't have to queue up with the merchant ship.

After finding the official responsible for order on the water surface and revealing his identity, he passed directly through the gate.

After that, we went all the way to Luoyang and saw a huge construction site.

The new capital has arrived.

Looking at the construction site that could not be reached at a glance, Chen Jingke was very excited.

Witnessing the construction of a new city with your own eyes, and personally participating in the site selection and design, this sense of accomplishment is really hard to explain to outsiders.

Because of this, he has a natural affinity for the city of Luoyang.

Xu Yungong was also very excited and said:

"I have been to Fengyang Imperial City before, but the scale there is far inferior to Luoyang City."

Chen Jingke smiled and said: "Fengyang Imperial City was built on a scale of 300,000 people, and the construction was stopped before it was completed."

"Luoyang City was built on a scale of one million people, so there is no way to compare the two."

Xu Yungong praised: "I have only heard that the new city was built on a scale of one million people."

"I just didn't expect it to be so grand."

"Although only a circle of wall foundations has been built, I can already see what it will look like after it is completed."

Chen Jingke said: "After it is completed, it will be countless times more magnificent than you imagine."

The two expressed their feelings for a while and then set off to meet Zhu Biao.

Under the guidance of the officials, we soon met Zhu Benn himself.

His skin is much darker than before, but his body is much stronger and his eyes are bright and clear.

Apparently he's doing well here.

Thinking about it, there is no need for him, the prince, to be personally responsible for repairing the palace.

We only need to arrest the general manager, and other officials will be responsible for the specific work.

And hiding here is equivalent to avoiding the chaos in the court.

There is less intrigue every day, and the roots of the ears are also clear.

He came here not so much to oversee the work as to recuperate.

Of course, this was also the original intention of Zhu Yuanzhang and Queen Ma.

Ever since they learned that Zhu Biao had high blood pressure, the couple had been worried.

I was afraid that he would be overtired and his condition would worsen.

Simply let him hide in Luoyang in the name of building a new capital.

All I can say is, how pitiful the hearts of parents in the world are.

After the two parties met, Zhu Biao looked at Xu Yungong's hair and said with some surprise:

"I didn't expect that Wei Guogong decided to end it personally. This is not in line with his usual style."

Xu Yunggong said respectfully: "My father believed that short hair was inevitable and he should set an example as a distinguished noble, so he ordered his ministers to shave their hair short."

Zhu Biao praised: "The Duke of Wei is loyal to the country and is a model for all officials."

After saying a few more words, he looked at Chen Jingke and said:

"Tell me your specific plan so I can decide how to cooperate with you."

(End of this chapter)