I open a history tutorial class in Daming

Chapter 141 Your Majesty Might as Well Rebel
After Li Longji was bluntly persuaded to withdraw by Song Shen, all the students fell silent.

Even though they all disliked this guy, and even though Li Shimin had been thinking about how to get this Li Sanlang out before today's class, when they actually saw this scene, they couldn't help but feel sympathetic.

It turns out that not every student can be forgiven for making a mistake...

In this system space, Mr. Song has absolute power, which is totally unquestionable!

a long time.

Zhu Youjian coughed lightly, breaking the silence.

Everyone couldn't help but look at him, their eyes full of shock.

You are a newcomer, you are so brave! We don’t even dare to speak at this moment, how dare you!

But Zhu Youjian couldn't care less.

He hesitated for a moment, but still asked the question he wanted to ask.

"Sir, you have said many things before, which are very inspiring to me, but there is a question that I really want to ask you. I wonder if you can answer it?"

Song Shen raised his eyebrows and looked him up and down.

In his impression, Emperor Chongzhen was actually not that good. There were very few emperors who could combine indecision and self-willedness. He was like a superhero who only knew how to give orders all day long - fail - get angry and kill people - and repeat over and over again.

If you say he is bad, he is much more diligent than Wanli. But if you say he is good, the things he did diligently after he came to power are not as good as those done by Wanli.

It’s really hard to evaluate.

If Zhu Youjian wants to evaluate him himself, how should he do it concisely? Should he recite the encyclopedia of his life and the evaluation of later generations?
It doesn’t seem impossible…

Song Shen's mind was a little vacant, but he still remembered that he was in class, so he nodded casually:

"You ask."

Zhu Youjian bowed solemnly, stared at Song Shen eagerly and asked:
"According to your opinion, it is now the second year of Chongzhen. If I follow the teachings of my classmates, ancestors and you in everything, can I save the Ming Dynasty from collapse?"

What the hell is this problem?

Song Shen glanced at everyone in the Zhu family with a very ambiguous look, picked up the thermos cup and took a sip of water.

Then, he walked over, patted Zhu Youjian on the shoulder, and said comfortingly:

"If you want me to tell you, I can only tell you that no one can help this mess at the end of the Ming Dynasty. Even if Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di were to go to the end of the Ming Dynasty together, if they want to save the country and change the final outcome of the Tartar invasion, the best choice is to go back to the old path of the founding of the Ming Dynasty, rather than cleaning up the world for the royal family in the court."

"Of course, this is a very subjective question. What I say may not be correct, but if you ask me now, this is my opinion."

Everyone was shocked.

If we go back to the old path of founding the Ming Dynasty, wouldn’t that be just rebellion?
Everyone knows about Zhu Yuanzhang's rise to wealth, the legendary way he started with a bowl. But the problem is that Chongzhen was already the emperor, the ruler of a country, and the legitimate emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Who was he going to rebel against?

The only person at the scene who rebelled against himself... was probably Zhu Qizhen.

Well, how can restoration not be considered rebellion in another sense?

It's too far! It's too far!

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hands vigorously to drive out all the mess in his mind, and then looked at Song Shen with a serious face.

"Mr. Song, what you mean is that by the time of Chongzhen's reign, even if it was only in the second year of Chongzhen's reign when he had just ascended the throne, the Ming Dynasty had already fallen into a state of despair and was powerless to recover?"

"We have so many emperors and generals here. Let's not even mention the Zhu family. The Qin Shi Huangdi, Emperor Wu of Han, and Emperor Taizong of Tang are all outstanding people! In addition, the strategist Zhang Liang, Fang Xuanling, and Zhangsun Wuji are all capable of turning the tide. If all these people are tied together, can't they save the late Ming Dynasty?!"

By the end of his speech, he was spitting all over the place, obviously he was too excited.

No wonder he was so excited. Song Shen was able to analyze the Qin Dynasty, which fell in the second generation, from another perspective, and found that the root cause of its demise was the system; Song Shen could also point out the aristocratic families that troubled the Tang Dynasty for 300 years, so that Li Shimin could find a way to cut off the source of the trouble at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty.

Even the Anshi Rebellion that Li Longji was about to face seemed precarious, but in fact, as long as Li Longji stopped his suicidal efforts for a few years, this incident could have been completely avoided, at least the prosperous Tang Dynasty could have been extended for another few decades or hundreds of years.

As for the Ming Dynasty, there are even more things, such as the feudal system, maritime ban, muskets, etc. It sounds like there are some parts that have not been mentioned now.

Why is it that when it comes to the end of the Ming Dynasty, Song Shen looks like a doctor telling the patient's family to prepare the coffin?
Why!
Song Shen frowned and looked at him, saying earnestly:

"I won't say anything else, just one thing."

"Who here do you think Zhu Youjian can compare to?"

"Of course, Zhu Qizhen is an exception. He is from another dimension. If we only judge by merit, then if we take all the emperors in China's five thousand years and take a look at them all, he would be the last one."

"It's true that I just drove Li Longji away, but to be fair, although Li Sanlang is really a scoundrel, the things he did and the achievements he made in the first half of his life are not fake. He is a natural political fighter. If Li Longji, who is also 18 years old, is placed in Zhu Youjian's position, he may be able to extend the life of the Ming Dynasty. The question is, can Zhu Youjian compare with him?"

"Li Longji was not good at fighting, but he definitely would not do something like killing Wei Zhongxian as soon as he ascended the throne."

"Being an emperor is a gift for playing political games. I, Song Shen, am just an ordinary person. If you put me in Chongzhen's position, I would be defeated. Zhu Youjian and I are the same. In the situation at the end of the Ming Dynasty, you can do it. Li Sanlang and Jiajing may also be able to play political games. Li Shimin and his group of old friends can even lead the army to plow the whole Ming Dynasty inside and outside, and turn over the table and play no more games. But can you do the same as us?"

Song Shen didn't mind putting himself in the same position as Chongzhen.

Anyway, he didn't think he was superior to others. The current situation is equivalent to a teacher who graduated from Beijing Normal University teaching a provincial key class of top students. The students sitting below are indeed his students, but if he were to compete with these students in the college entrance examination hall, who knows how he would be beaten.

Everyone has their own strengths, and it's not shameful to be beaten by them.

Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep breath, and then another deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

Then, he looked at Zhu Youjian, who was already stunned, and asked:

"Are there any outstanding ones among your sons, brothers, or cousins?"

"You don't have to set your standards too high. You don't have to compare yourself to the Qin Emperor or Han Emperor. Just be like yourself. Or if that doesn't work, be like Biao'er or Lao Si. Is there anyone like you?"

Zhu Youjian felt bitter in his mouth.

If there was, would it still be Zhu Youjian's turn to ascend the throne?
Zhu Biao was carefully selected by Taizu, and Zhu Di was carefully selected for the Jingnan Campaign. One of these two ancestors was good at civil administration, and the other was good at martial arts. If anyone in the imperial family at the end of the Ming Dynasty had even half the skills of one of them, he wouldn't have ended up here in such a mess! "No...no."

He stammered.

Zhu Yuanzhang covered the back of his head and felt the blood rushing to his crown.

"It's unfortunate for your family, it's unfortunate for your family...it would be great if the feudal lords hadn't been reduced...it would be great if another fourth brother came and rebelled against you!"

Previously, due to the successive reduction of power by Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Di, Zhu Yuanzhang had already deeply realized how serious the problems were with the national policies he had formulated.

The problem does not lie with the feudal system itself, because this system was originally designed to deal with such situations. For example, if there is an uprising in any feudal territory, the surrounding feudal lords can directly lead troops to provide support. Or if there are barbarians attacking the border, the feudal lord’s seat can quickly attack.

The original princes also had this ability. Zhu Di's ability to lead troops in battle was first developed during his years in Fengyang.

The real problem lies in human nature and human heart.

Except for Zhu Biao who died young, no emperor could tolerate his brothers having such great power and territory, nor could they control them, let alone Zhu Yunwen, who was young and whose throne was not so stable, and Zhu Di, who came to power by rebelling.

At this point, the Ming Dynasty is on the verge of collapse, and the princes have become useless people who just eat and do nothing. It is no use saying any more.

"What's the point of rebelling against him?"

Song Shen said slowly:
"It is written in the History of Ming Dynasty, and many later generations also know a familiar saying, which is 'Ming Dynasty actually fell during the reign of Emperor Wanli'. Do you know what this means?"

"From the death of Emperor Wanli Zhu Yijun to the fall of the Ming Dynasty, there was only a gap of 24 years, even though there were three emperors, Taichang, Tianqi, and Chongzhen. Although the latter three emperors all had an unshirkable responsibility for the fall of the Ming Dynasty, and although they were not good emperors, does this have nothing to do with Wanli?"

"How stupid must the three emperors have been to have worked so hard one after another and squandered such a great family fortune."

"Let me check the year of birth and death... Oh, Emperor Chongzhen was born in the 38th year of the Wanli reign, and Zhu Yijun died in the 48th year of the Wanli reign. It seems that the grandfather and grandson interacted with each other. Come on, Zhu Youjian, evaluate for yourself what kind of emperor your grandfather was?"

Zhu Youjian:......

Zhu Youjian's face turned red when he was named.

He closed his eyes and said with difficulty and shame:
"My grandfather didn't like me very much. When he was alive, I saw him only a few times. The longest time was after the assassination. You should know that, sir."

Song Shen nodded in understanding and turned around to check the information.

He had naturally heard of the Stick Attack Case, one of the three major unsolved cases in the late Ming Dynasty, but he really didn't know what role Zhu Youjian played in it.

It turned out that after the attack with a stick, Zhu Yijun, in order to silence the gossips and prevent his beloved third prince from being involved in the controversy over the change of crown prince, summoned the three sons of Crown Prince Zhu Changluo in public. Among them was Zhu Youxiao, who later became Emperor Tianqi, and Zhu Youjian, who was only ten years old.

This was also Zhu Youjian's first public appearance among his ministers.

Emperor Wanli didn't like Zhu Changluo, and Zhu Changluo didn't like Zhu Youjian. This is really a closed loop.

"Oh~"

Song Shen even made a meaningful wavy sound.

Looking at Zhu Youjian whose face was getting redder and redder, he waved his hand:
"Okay, okay, I won't embarrass you. You can't say anything too harsh when your grandson evaluates your grandfather."

"Everyone, let me explain why even the history of the Ming Dynasty says that the Ming Dynasty actually fell during the reign of Emperor Wanli."

"The two emperors, Jiajing and Wanli, were actually the same. They did not attend court for decades, and both were criticized. It was said that the former was practicing alchemy and Taoism in the palace every day, but later generations criticized Wanli for not attending court. Why? Because even if Emperor Jiajing did not attend court, he was never really lazy. Whether he attended court or not had no effect on his control over the government."

"He was just too lazy to do so many formalistic things. He still did things and read memorials. But Wanli was different. He reigned for 48 years. As the longest-reigning emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he ignored state affairs out of pure malice and self-destructiveness!"

"Later generations scolded Jiajing for being too narrow-minded and only knowing how to play political games. He was a tyrannical and suspicious old bastard who only knew how to manipulate his ministers and mess with their minds every day. He was mediocre at all the serious matters. There are many other black spots, which I will not explain one by one here for the time being."

"And the reason why we scold Wanli is because he really doesn't do anything!"

"He was not so outrageous in the early days, but in the middle and late stages of his reign, due to poor health, disgust with his ministers and officials, and his extremely strong desire for power, he deliberately and even maliciously withheld a large number of memorials, did not report or approve them, did not fill vacancies, and did not summon ministers to discuss state affairs for a long time."

"All government offices were almost paralyzed. The normal government operations were stuck in his hands and could not proceed, causing various political affairs in the court to remain undecided for a long time."

"He allowed factional disputes to intensify and officials to argue, turned a blind eye to the corruption of Ming Dynasty affairs, and delayed as much as possible. He also allowed eunuchs to run wild in Liaodong, almost ruining the entire area. It can be said that he was the starting point for the rise of the Qing Dynasty, that is, the Later Jin Tartars."

"Classmates, who do you think had a greater influence on the demise of the Ming Dynasty, with this emperor on the throne for forty-eight years and the three emperors who followed him on the throne for a total of twenty-four years?"

All the emperors were silenced, even someone as incompetent as Zhu Qizhen found it outrageous.

It was really hard for them to imagine how such an emperor could avoid rebellion. The Ming Dynasty was really lucky that it lasted until the time of Chongzhen!
Song Shen's concluding remarks:

"So! If you want to ask me how to break through the situation at the end of the Ming Dynasty, my answer is don't think about it. People with this level of ability can't get to this point. Those who have reached this point are already irreversible. No matter how much you teach, you will still be at a loss when it comes to practical operation."

"With the fate of the country like this, you might as well train a group of people to rebel, and perhaps the Han people will still have a way to survive."

Zhu Youjian's face had turned purple.

He grunted for a long time before finally uttering:
"I... Although I haven't seen Grandpa many times, I know that he is really in poor health. He is not deliberately neglecting his duties, but he has a splitting headache every day, and he has difficulty walking and moving..."

After listening for a while, Zhu Di could no longer bear it and shouted angrily:
"Since he is not in good health, doesn't he know how to abdicate? If he doesn't want to abdicate and doesn't want to hand over power to the civil officials, then can't he do the same as me and my father and hand over the government affairs to the crown prince?!"

"He himself is incapable of handling government affairs, and he is unwilling to give up power to the crown prince. No wonder he has a splitting headache every day. How can he not have a headache if his brain is kicked by a donkey?"

Zhu Yuanzhang had long known that during the Yongle period, Zhu Di wasted his time raising military funds to fight wars while Zhu Gaochi was working hard in the rear to take care of government affairs and make money for him, so he agreed with this statement very much.

But at this moment, Song Shen said faintly:
"Because Zhang Juzheng, one of the top three famous ministers of the Ming Dynasty, was Wanli's teacher. After he found out about Zhang Juzheng's affairs, he became furious and refused to believe anyone. Do you still expect him to believe the prince? He is not as mentally strong as you three."

Along with the appearance of the “Top Three Ministers of the Ming Dynasty” which aroused everyone’s curiosity.

The bell for the end of get out of class rang.

Song Shen clapped his hands and said with a smile:
"Let's talk about gossip and history later. I'm going to grade your papers now. get out of class is over! I'll talk to you about Zhang Juzheng next time!"

(End of this chapter)