Follow Zhu Yuanzhang to conquer the country

Chapter 268 Zhu Yuanzhang read "Records of the Ming Dynasty" and blushed with anger!

Zhu Yuanzhang is such a smart person. How could he not know the circumstances under which his grandson's throne would be taken by his uncle?

In Zhu Yuanzhang's view, even if his grandson who inherited the throne died without heirs, his younger brother or younger brother should inherit the throne.

Therefore, when Zhang Cheng told him that the person who would succeed him as emperor would be his grandson, and that after his grandson, his son would be the emperor, he would immediately lose his temper.

"According to your statement, the world will be in great turmoil again after us?"

Zhu Yuanzhang therefore asked Zhang Cheng very seriously.

Zhang Cheng nodded: "There was a large-scale civil war. Although it was a struggle within the rulers, it did lead to a lot of population reduction and property losses."

"Why is this happening?"

"We cannot let our descendants live in a turbulent and unstable world after us!"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked Zhang Cheng in disbelief.

"It's only because we accept the concept of Datong and have the goal of making all Chinese people prosperous that we are willing to make concessions to benefit others."

Zhu Yuanzhang started talking.

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't believe it even more, and couldn't help grinning, but he became more curious, so he forced himself to calm down and said to Zhang Cheng with a smile:
"Please continue, Mr. Zhang. Why should we blame ourselves?"

"And you are starting to have this idea now, which shows that this kind of family-world thinking that comes from farming civilization is still affecting you, making you still feel that relatives and acquaintances are more reliable."

"You will know when you take a good look at these records."

Zhang Cheng said with a smile: "Not only will there be a fight, but the Zhu family members of the clan will starve to death in the future, and even rebel against their own dynasty!"

After Zhang Cheng said this, Zhu Yuanzhang added:

Zhu Yuanzhang was very surprised after hearing this: "Really?"

"To be honest, we have already begun to think about letting our sons and grandsons occupy important places in the places mentioned by Mr. Zhang in the future, and we feel that our own family is more trustworthy."

"In a family-oriented society, it's normal for things like this to happen, and fighting among the same clan is not new in history."

Since Zhang Cheng had already shown his cards and had no worries, he replied without hesitation:
"The system in which you established a clan and controlled frontier fortresses and important places in the world, and also controlled a certain amount of military power, made the central government very dissatisfied."

"However, according to what you said, if we do this, we will only make the Zhu family fight first."

"The reason why we have this goal is because we want our family and future generations to live a more stable and prosperous life, so that China will not be like a world of beasts, so that our future generations will be fooled by cunning and smart people because they are stupid and embarrassed. If you eat them, our descendants will not be eaten by the young and strong when they are old and useless.”

"Blam ourselves?"

"So, after your grandson became emperor, he began to reduce the vassal status less than three months after your death. However, the reduction of the vassal status was too urgent and too intense. At the same time, it was also accompanied by the civil officials seizing the power of the military attachés. Soon, the powerful feudal lord will rebel, and the rebellion will be successful."

"This seems like something we, Lao Zhu, can do."

"However, it is normal to have this kind of thinking. When people in the world benefit, they are only willing to give it to their own people."

Zhang Cheng glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang: "The real reason is that it's your own fault."

Zhang Cheng nodded: "That's right! Mencius said: Old people are like old people, and young people are like people when they are young. It is precisely because of this awareness that Mencius said this, but it is not easy to realize this. Not to mention doing this.”

"Little children."

Zhu Yuanzhang read these words silently, then looked at Zhang Cheng and said: "To be honest, if it weren't for the books given by Mr. Zhang, we would have always felt that this sentence was just a lie and empty words suitable only for words. Because of this, the new dynasty we established in the world that Mr. Zhang mentioned without Mr. Zhang appeared, we only care about our own family. "

Zhang Cheng nodded: "That's true. Not only do you think it's meaningless in that world, but many scholar-bureaucrats also think it's meaningless. Most of them only want to emphasize the order of superiority and inferiority, and just want to be a master. After all, This is more humane and easier. If you really force yourself and others to benefit the world, it will only be hard and annoying. "

When Zhang Cheng said this, he smiled and said: "So, in the world without me, after establishing the new dynasty, you later took the initiative to issue an edict emphasizing the difference between high and low, and on this grounds, you exempted the world from being a scholar. Human corvee.”

"The result!"

"You must be able to guess that naturally, as a result, land annexation was very serious in the later period of your dynasty!"

"Because the gentry was exempted from service, the common people contributed a lot. In addition, the exempted gentry accumulated wealth faster, which made it easier to participate in lending and investment, and to annex the world's assets."

"How could this happen!"

"How can we exempt them from military service just because we recognize the difference between high and low?"

"It's not like we have never been common people. Don't we know that exemption from service is too much than exemption from taxes? Do we not know how terrible it would be to only allow common people to serve?"

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't believe Zhang Cheng's words.

Although reason told him that there was no need for someone like Zhang Cheng, who at least did not belong to this world, to lie to him.

Because, historically, Zhu Yuanzhang did not intend to actually exempt the gentry from military service at the beginning, but the decision to start exempting the gentry from military service was made ten years after he took the throne.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang now does not want to believe that he himself has exempted gentry from military service in history.

"I just happened to record your sacred decree in the record I gave you!"

"I'll turn it over for you."

As Zhang Cheng spoke, he took the "Records of Ming Taizu", turned to the ten years of Hongwu, and then pointed out to Zhu Yuanzhang the content of Zhu Yuanzhang's decree to exempt the gentry from corvee service.

"...the family of the rich and the rich are on the same level as the common people, and those who serve in service to serve the superiors are the common people's affairs..."

Zhu Yuanzhang read this paragraph while looking at it, and his expression became solemn for a moment, and he looked at Zhang Cheng: "In which world would we become so excessive?"

"This is impossible!"

Zhu Yuanzhang hurriedly stood up and said to Zhang Cheng with a red face:
"Even if we are in that world and have not been exposed to the concept of Datong, and we do not know how to make the people richer and richer, even if it is for the long-term prosperity of our Zhu family dynasty, we should not be exempted from the corvee of the Shilu family easily!"

"We treat gentry officials as favorably as they did in the Song Dynasty. Even if the gentry is exempted from corvee service, why do we exempt them? Is it because the Yuan Dynasty exempted them, so we have to compromise and follow them?"

"Are we the kind of people who compromise easily?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was puzzled.

Zhang Cheng said with a smile: "Not only were you exempted from military service, after you became emperor in that life, you also took the initiative to admit that you were a rebel bandit and that the Red Scarf Army in the world were monster thieves, just like the possibility I mentioned to you before. "

Although Zhu Yuanzhang believed that what Zhang Cheng said existed, he still darkened his face and did not want to believe that he would do this.

"Have we really compromised to this point?"

"Have you betrayed the world's rebels to this extent?"

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang asked knowingly while breathing heavily.

(End of this chapter)