The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 419: Another Shortcoming

When Chen Jingke saw the densely packed list, he couldn't help but feel his scalp tingling.

When the Ming Dynasty was founded, not many nobles were actually granted fiefs.

There are thirty-six people in total, commonly known as six dukes, twenty-eight marquises, and two earls.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, some of them were promoted one after another, but compared with those that were abolished, the number did not actually increase much.

It was not until the military merit system was reinstated that nobles began to appear on a large scale.

There was one thing that made the Ming Dynasty different from all previous dynasties: it failed to truly pacify the world even after more than 20 years of its founding.

Take the Sui and Tang dynasties as an example. They basically pacified the four barbarians within a few years of their establishment.

Although the Song Dynasty was never able to achieve unification, China was in a stage of confrontation between the north and the south for a long time.

But most of the time, the two countries of the North and the South were relatively peaceful, and large-scale wars were relatively rare.

The Ming Dynasty was different, as it continued to fight wars until the reign of Zhu Di.

There were remnants of the Northern Yuan Dynasty in the north, and Liaodong was not recovered until the 20th year of Hongwu.

In the west there were the Chagatai Khanate, the Seven Princes of Hexi, and so on.

The south was not peaceful either. Yunnan was not conquered until the 15th or 16th year of the Hongwu reign.

The local people in Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan and Shu would rebel from time to time, and the imperial court had to appoint generals to take charge all year round.

Not to mention Jiaozhi, which had been in turmoil until Zhu Zhanji gave it up.

The continuous wars consumed too much of the Ming Dynasty's national strength.

It was not until the Renzong and Xuanzong periods that the national treasury had a surplus, and the political system was not stabilized until this period.

Someone may ask, isn’t the combat effectiveness of the Ming Dynasty’s army too poor?
Not to mention the comparison with the Han and Tang dynasties, how come it is even inferior to the Song Dynasty?

In fact, this is not the case. From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties and the Song Dynasty, the imperial court mostly adopted a control system towards the South and did not pursue actual rule.

To put it bluntly, as long as you nominally submit to the central court, it is enough to come to pay homage during festivals and holidays.

This way, things will naturally become much easier.

But the Ming Dynasty was different. Zhu had many shortcomings, but he had one great advantage.

They have a deep obsession with the traditional Chinese territory.

Take out the map and take a look. It is the land that our ancestors have reserved, so we, the Ming Dynasty, must take it back.

It is not just about taking it down in name, but also about actually ruling it.

However, the mountain people who have lived in the area for generations only know their neighbors and the tribal chief.

They certainly would not be willing to accept the rule of an emperor who was thousands of miles away.

For those tribal chiefs, we only needed to pledge allegiance to the emperor in name only.

In this small piece of land, we are the local tyrants.

Now that you, the emperor who is far away in the sky, send a few temporary officials and want to take more of my power as a local emperor, that certainly won't work.

Resistance becomes inevitable.

It can be said that the Ming Dynasty had been in a tug-of-war with the natives for the entire period, and paid a huge price before finally completing the policy of converting the natives into officials.

Chinese civilization truly achieved actual rule over those territories.

Take Yunnan as an example. It was through more than 200 years of development by the Ming Dynasty and the sacrifices of sages such as Mu Ying that the colorful south of the Yangtze River came into being.

At this point, Dai Qingzhen enjoyed too much of the legacy left by the Ming Dynasty.

After Chen Jingke traveled through time, the Ming Dynasty's pace of expansion was accelerated.

The more battles you fight, the more opportunities you have to make military achievements.

Since the reinstatement of the military merit system, a large number of promising soldiers have emerged every year, completing the class transition of their status.

The imperial court distributed honors and titles in bulk.

In just seven or eight years, there were more than 500 people with the fifth-class nobility and more than 88,000 people with the ninth-class honors.

However, although there are many honors, most of them are of the lowest level, seventh, eighth, and ninth grades.

It can be given by beheading, so it is relatively easy to obtain, which is why there are so many honors.

In reality, the seventh, eighth and ninth grade honors are more of an honor and do not have any substantive privileges.

If we have to say there is one, it is that one does not bow to an official. After retiring, one can go to the local area to serve as a constable, a messenger, or a thief catcher.

Going further up, it decreases drastically.

For example, at the first level of the sixth-class honor doctor, there are only more than 3,000 gatekeepers of the middle-level honor.

Currently, only nine people have obtained the highest level of Pillar of the State.

Therefore, although the Ming Dynasty had many honors, they did not bring serious consequences.

On the contrary, those who have received honors have a stronger sense of belonging to the country.

When they go to the grassroots level, they become the best grassroots officials in the country.

It can greatly weaken the influence of clans and gentry on the local areas and help the court better rule the local areas.

This is the essence of the entire system designed by Chen Jingke.

However, the above figures are only the total number, not the current number of people.

Excluding those whose titles of lordship were revoked for various reasons, there are now more than 400 knights and more than 64,000 nobles.

Moreover, these lords basically do not have the title of founding a country, but have to be inherited from generation to generation.

In two or three generations at most, he would become an honorary lord.

The so-called honorary lords are the light cavalry commanders, public officials, and the like.

He is the lowest rank of noble, and apart from basic rights such as not bowing when meeting officials, he has no other privileges.

There are less than sixty nobles who were truly honored with the title of founding fathers, and even then we have to count the more than thirty meritorious service rendered during the founding of the country.

And now, Zhu Yuanzhang wants to streamline this number again.

Among the list of more than 400 people, there are 13 marquises, including four founding marquises and nine demoted marquises.

There were twenty-eight earls, seven founding earls and twenty-one descended earls.

There were also ninety-six viscounts and barons, fifteen of whom were given the title of founding emperor.

The rest are all honors, and they are all middle and high-level honors above grade six.

Because low-level honors are not qualified to be included in this list.

It can be said that about one-fifth of the nobles of the Ming Dynasty were directly eliminated, and one-tenth of the middle and senior honors were reduced.

And on the surface these seem to be more than 400 people, but in fact they are more than 400 families or even clans.

In the end, there must have been more than 10,000 people implicated.

So, when I heard Zhu Yuanzhang say with regret:
"Well, if we really want to consider the overall situation, this list can be doubled."

Chen Jingke on the side almost couldn't hold it in anymore. You old man must be addicted to killing.

At the same time, he also understood in his heart that Lao Zhu was still the same Lao Zhu and had never changed.

He hates evil and is decisive in killing.

It's just that his horizons have broadened, he does things more methodically, and he always has a legitimate reason for killing people.

It gives people the illusion that he has changed.

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Zhu Yuanzhang asked in surprise, "Why don't you try to persuade me?"

Chen Jingke shook his head, sighed and said, "Either don't move, or move all at once."

"Let them feel fear from the bottom of their hearts, so that they won't dare to have any dissenting thoughts for one or two generations."

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said, "You finally figured it out."

"Fu Youde said something that was a joke, but I think it makes a lot of sense."

"The most intense period of change is like a chaotic time, and in a chaotic time, severe punishments should be used."

"After this, no one will dare to move for at least twenty years, not to mention two generations."

Zhu Biao nodded. Although he felt that the noise was a bit too loud and would cause some confusion, he shared the same idea as Chen Jingke.

Either do nothing, or move drastically.

Zhu Xiongying looked at the list and their charges and fell into deep thought.

Old Zhu asked curiously: "What is Xiongying thinking about? Why isn't he talking?"

Zhu Xiongying patted the thick file and said:

"I was thinking about the Jinyiwei's investigation report on the nobles. There is one item that appears most frequently."

Lao Zhu asked: "Oh, which one?"

Zhu Xiongying said: "He is arrogant and domineering, and he is a nuisance to the people of the village."

Zhu Biao thought about it carefully and couldn't help but say: "It is true. Even if they have not done evil, they will become domineering."

Old Zhu raised his eyebrows and cursed, "He has forgotten his roots. He has no idea how important he is now that he has a certain status." "In Jing Ke's words, he has become arrogant. He has become so arrogant that he forgets everything. People like him should be killed."

Chen Jingke was about to express his opinion, but he saw Zhu Xiongying shook his head and said first:
"No, no... Jing Ke said that once or twice is accidental, but three or five times is inevitable."

"So many nobles have the same problem, there must be an internal connection."

"If we can find out why, maybe we can solve this problem."

Zhu Biao had a thoughtful expression, and no one knew what he was thinking about.

Old Zhu asked with great interest: "Have you thought of any inner connection?"

Zhu Xiongying nodded, then shook his head and said:

"I can only think of one thing, but I don't know if it's right."

Old Zhu said happily: "Come, tell Grandpa Huang what you have thought of."

Zhu Biao and Chen Jingke also looked over curiously.

Zhu Xiongying said seriously, "Education. These people lack education."

He then explained: "Nine out of ten of the nobles of the Ming Dynasty were born into the lower classes of the people."

"They have been poor for generations, and they have never been to school and don't understand the truth."

"By risking his life on the battlefield, he completed the transition of his status."

"Although their identities have changed, their ideas and insights have not changed much."

"They don't know how to be nobles. They either imitate the behavior of local gentry or just follow their own will."

“That’s why so many people have the same problem.”

The more Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it, the more he felt it made sense. He clapped his hands and laughed:
"That's great. Isn't this the same as when a poor man suddenly becomes rich?"

"Okay, okay, my dear grandson, you are so smart. I really found the root of the problem."

Zhu Biao couldn't help but nod, it seemed to be the truth.

No one taught me, and I don't know how to be a noble, so I just follow my own will.

Some people have received certain influence in the military camp and have not had any problems.

But their families don’t. After suffering for several lifetimes, they deserve to enjoy themselves.

Zhu Xiongying was not particularly happy, but asked Chen Jingke:
"Jing Ke, do you think my analysis makes sense?"

Chen Jingke gave a thumbs up and said, "That makes perfect sense. I hadn't even thought of that..."

Zhu Xiongying rolled his eyes and said, "Stop it, don't say you didn't expect it."

"The reason I thought of this was because of the noble academy you proposed to open."

Many nobles do not know how to be princes, and letting them establish their own kingdoms may bring disaster to the country and the people.

Therefore, Chen Jingke proposed that the court set up an academy for nobles to teach them how to be leaders.

"I just thought that the princes didn't know how to be monarchs, and needed the court to teach them."

"Then the nobles collectively made the same mistake. Is it because they don't know how to be nobles?"

"I can think of this truth, so I don't believe you can't think of it."

What else could Chen Jingke say but to giggle.

Old Zhu and Zhu Biao also smiled. These two people really understand each other.

Of course, what made them even happier was that Zhu Xiongying could keep up with Chen Jingke's thinking.

Isn’t this the biggest purpose of keeping Chen Jingke in the palace?

In other words, initially they just hoped that Zhu Xiongying could learn some skills, but they did not expect him to learn particularly deeply.

After all, what Chen Jingke possesses can only be described as mysterious and unpredictable.

Although they had high expectations for Zhu Xiongying, they did not dare to expect him to be that smart.

Now, Zhu Xiongying has refreshed their cognition again and again.

This grandson is as talented as Chen Jingke - well, a little bit worse than Chen Jingke, but already rare in the world.

The future of the Ming Dynasty is promising.

Is there anything that could make them happier than this?

Zhu Xiongying didn't know what his two old men were thinking, so he said to Chen Jingke:

"Come and add some more information to see if there is anything I haven't said yet."

"Ahem." Chen Jingke coughed dryly and said, "Not knowing how to be an official is a common problem in the Ming Dynasty."

"Looking back at all the dynasties before China, all of them were established by the powerful and wealthy, and the ruling class was basically composed of the powerful and wealthy."

"It has been like this since the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. The Xia Dynasty was founded by Yu the Great, and the Shang, Zhou, and Qin dynasties were all established by vassal states to replace the previous dynasties."

"Although Emperor Gaozu of the Western Han Dynasty was of humble origin, he had a large number of nobles from previous dynasties under his command, the most representative of whom was Zhang Liang."

"Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty was a descendant of the royal family, and the core members of his entourage were basically nobles of the Western Han Dynasty."

"The Sui and Tang dynasties were both founded by the Eight Pillars of the Western Wei Dynasty, and their ruling class consisted of two parts."

"Some are military nobles who have been passed down since the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and some are aristocratic groups centered on the Five Surnames and Seven Famous Names and the Twelve Famous Names in Jiangnan."

"Song Taizu's family also had many generations of nobles, and most of the ruling class under him also came from famous families."

"Although we often say that meat eaters are vulgar, we must admit that family traditions are very important."

"As the saying goes, it takes three generations to produce a nobleman."

"The etiquette, knowledge, and ways of dealing with people that their ancestors have passed down are beyond the reach of ordinary people."

"How to be an official and how to be a qualified noble is also the education they received since childhood."

"These people may not be able to govern a country in a great way, but as long as the monarch does not mess around, there will generally not be a great chaos."

"The Ming Dynasty is different. From the founding heroes to the civil and military officials promoted after the founding of the country, most of them were born into poor families."

"A family of scholars is considered a family of good family background."

"Their abilities may not be bad, but in terms of vision and insight, they are still inferior to the powerful families with generations of power and nobility."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded. It was not just one step short, but many steps short.

The longer he was emperor, the clearer his understanding of his family's academic background became.

Of course, deep down he was proud.

Although I was born in a peasant family, I still conquered the world and established the Ming Dynasty. I am much better than those who came from famous families.

It is precisely because of this kind of thinking that he behaves somewhat stubbornly.

Until Chen Jingke appeared.

Only after being hit by Chen Jingke did he accept the reality.

Education is really important.

Systematic education can determine a person's life.

The experiences and lessons accumulated by generations cannot be learned from books.

This is also one of the reasons why he kept Chen Jingke in the palace.

Although we don’t know who Chen Jingke’s teacher was, it is obvious that he received systematic education.

Although it is not comprehensive, it is good enough.

Keeping him in the palace and educating the next generation of the Zhu family through words and deeds can help the Ming Dynasty avoid many detours.

As it turns out, his plan worked.

Not to mention Zhu Xiongying, just Zhu Bo, Zhu Chun, Zhu Gaochi and others who often came into contact with him were far better than other princes and grandchildren.

Chen Jingke felt a little thirsty and touched the cup with his hand. Zhu Xiongying naturally picked up the teapot and filled it up.

Both Zhu Lao and Zhu Biao were used to it.

Chen Jingke drank the tea in one gulp and said:

"Just as the prince said just now, the nobles of the Ming Dynasty generally have the problem of being arrogant and domineering, and doing harm to the people in their hometowns. This has a lot to do with their backgrounds."

"Without receiving a systematic education, I don't know how to be a nobleman."

"So I think the prince's suggestion is very good. We should build an academy to teach new nobles how to be a qualified noble."

Lao Zhu and the other two nodded again, education must be put on the agenda.

Chen Jingke continued, "It's not just the nobles, the officials are the same. The officials of the Ming Dynasty are generally short-sighted."

"This short-sightedness is reflected in the tendency to go to extremes and abuse power and engage in corruption without restraint."

"Therefore, new officials should also receive a period of training."

"If an official wants to be promoted, he or she must also go in for training for a period of time."

"In this way, although we cannot guarantee that all the high-ranking officials in the Ming Dynasty are honest, at least we can ensure a minimum."

(End of this chapter)