Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 1002 Stirring up the Storm
"Who?" Zhu Su asked.

"I am from Yongjia County, Wenzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, and my name is Huang Zongyu from the Huang Huai area." Huang Guandao.

"Huang Huai?" Zhu Su was stunned for a moment, then he showed a look of understanding.

"Your Highness... Have you heard of this person?" Huang Guan asked in surprise. This relative of his was not well-known, and had been studying hard in his hometown, and had not yet entered the Imperial College. It was also by chance that he met such a talented young man when he returned to his homeland last time.

That is why he recommended Huang Huai to join Zhu Su's Annan plan. Huang Huai was mature at a young age, well-versed in classics, history, and literature, and had aspirations to govern the world. His insights were very different from his peers. However, he was not well-known, so he was the perfect match.

Could it be that during the years he had been in Sindhu, Huang Huai Huang Zongyu had become so famous that even His Royal Highness King Zhou had heard of his talent?
This is not good. If I already have a reputation, it is hard to ensure that the Annan people will find out. Then, I will not be able to complete the important task of sneaking into Annan.

"...Hmm? Oh, I haven't heard of it." Seeing Huang Guan's surprised expression, Zhu Su hurriedly replied. Huang Guan breathed a sigh of relief, as Huang Huai had not yet become famous. So he continued: "Your Highness, this Huang Huai Huang Zongyu, although not well-known, has the talent to govern the world."

"He is flexible and ambitious, and will surely help Your Highness accomplish his great cause."

Huang Huai Huang Zongyu, historically, was a Jinshi in the 30th year of Hongwu. During his tenure as an official, he was well versed in government and made many suggestions. During the Yongle period, he served in the cabinet and was in charge of the power of drafting imperial edicts. He also served as the chief minister of the cabinet.

In terms of talent, this man was no less than Xie Jin. In terms of how he dealt with people, he experienced several dynasties and lived to be eighty-three years old, dying during the Zhengtong period.

Such a talent, who has been verified by history and has both high IQ and EQ, may really be able to take on the important task of lurking in the Annan court and stirring up troubles.

"I believe in Shangbin's vision." Zhu Su decided to try the strategy proposed by Huang Guan. This trip to Annan was very different from the other trips. The other times, whether in Liaodong or in Japan, they all made him fight.

But now in Annan, we have to fight with words. Armed fighting relies on manpower and equipment, but without the help of talented people and no one to cheer for you, you can't succeed in fighting with words.

The more helpers like Huang Huai have, the better.

The two agreed that Huang Guan would return to the country to help Zhu Su conquer Huang Huai and come here. Afterwards, the two talked a lot about the situation in Annan, and Huang Guan suddenly asked: "Since we are going to conquer Huang Huai, we need to tell him where to find His Highness."

"I just don't know what the name of this place is?"

This concession has not been named yet, and Huang Huai has no official position, so I think he can only come here by himself. But this place has no name yet, so if he wants to come here, it will take a lot of effort.

Now that the concession has been gradually built into a city, it is time to give it a resounding name. Zhu Su thought about it and said, "In this case,"

"Let's call this place 'Wu Qu'."

……

This place was later named Haifang, which means coastal defense. But in the Tang Dynasty, it had a more meaningful name.

The Annan Protectorate of the Tang Dynasty was under the jurisdiction of the Jing'an Jiedushi and Wuqu County.

There is no doubt that this was once the homeland of the Tang Dynasty.

But times have changed, and now this place is just a "concession" and no longer belongs to China. But Zhu Su believes that this "Wu Qu Port" will one day return to its original name.

After hearing that Ming Dynasty's King Zhou Zhu Su had brought several Li clan children back to the concession called "Wu Qu", many Annan nobles also began to send their own children to Wu Qu Port, wanting to be close to the water and be the first to listen to Zhu Su's teachings.

During this period, the influence of the Ming Dynasty on Annan was still very far-reaching. Not only were the goods of the Ming Dynasty regarded as first-class, but the knowledge of the Ming Dynasty was also always sought after by them.

One of the founders of the new school, Prince Zhou of the Ming Dynasty, came to Annan to preach the Dharma. If there were any nobles who did not listen carefully, they would be inferior to other nobles in the future.

Of course, some people came here because they saw that Zhu Su was young and planned to refute Zhu Su or even the new school of thought. Some of these people thought that His Royal Highness the King of Zhou might be worthy of the title, and if they refuted him, they would be able to become famous.

Or maybe he guessed that Le intended to use the new learning to stir up factional strife in the Annan court, and then use the factional strife to eliminate dissidents... Therefore, he wanted to thwart Le Qui Ly's conspiracy by "defeating" the new learning.

However, the theoretical basis of the new learning has been increasingly improved thanks to the painstaking efforts of great Ming Dynasty scholars such as Liu Bowen and Song Lian.

The culture and education of Annan were not prosperous, and the Confucianists of Annan, like the long-standing aristocratic families, had been at ease for too long. Being at ease easily made people lose their enterprising spirit, so they had no chance of success in refuting the new learning.

A month later, Wuqu Port had grown larger, and Zhu Su officially announced that the first new learning lecture would be held in Wuqu Port.

Confucian disciples from Annan came from all directions, wanting to listen to the teachings from their native Confucian land, the Ming Dynasty. The originally deserted Wuqu Port became bustling almost overnight, with cars and people rushing in an endless stream on the wide concrete streets.

It is more lively than Thang Long, the capital of Annan.

Zhu Su's lectures were also very successful. Of course, in preparation for his trip to Annan, Song Lian entrusted many manuscripts and articles to Zhu Su. After Zhu Su took a quick look at them, he simply picked one of them and recited it on the stage.

Song Lian was immersed in Confucianism throughout his life, and his writings and thoughts were so profound that even if he only revealed a little bit, it was enough to make these Annan scholars fascinated. Occasionally, a few people came up to the stage to find faults, but most of them were untenable. Even without Zhu Su making a move, they were refuted by the children of the Li family and other scholars who wanted to curry favor with Zhu Su.

This made Zhu Su, who was originally full of fighting spirit, feel a little bored.

"Fifth uncle." After the lecture, Li Jinglong found Zhu Su. "Did you say too much about these Annan people?"

"New learning is the basis for the prosperity of our Ming Dynasty. It is the learning that makes our country strong." He looked around, then approached Zhu Su and said, "Annan has evil ambitions. If we teach New Learning to Annan, won't it be detrimental to our Ming Dynasty?"

The ideological and scientific reforms of the Ming Dynasty all originated from new learning. Li Jinglong was also a son of a general. His father, Li Wenzhong, was one of the generals arranged by Zhu Yuanzhang to deal with Annan. Naturally, he knew something.

Zhu Su actually told Li Jinglong everything he knew about Annan during his lectures, which made Li Jinglong feel quite distressed.

In his opinion, all good things should belong to the Ming Dynasty and should not be shared with potential enemies like Annan...

"...I have also thought about just dealing with Annan casually and getting the matter over with." Zhu Su thought about it and explained to Li Jinglong.

"However, for our Ming Dynasty, it is easy to conquer Annan, but it is difficult to govern Annan."

"If we cannot control the people of Annan, even if the Ming Dynasty conquers Annan, this place will inevitably rebel and surrender from time to time, making the Ming Dynasty restless. Spreading new knowledge is to pave the way for the Ming Dynasty to control Annan in the future."

"Moreover, do you think that the people of Annan can rely on the new learning to enrich their country and strengthen their army?" Zhu Sushai laughed.

"This is a corrupt country..." Zhu Su looked out the window, at the Annan Confucian scholars who had just finished their lectures and were leaving the podium one after another.

Outside the pulpit, countless carriages, horses, and servants blocked the cement road outside this temporary pulpit.

They were waiting for their masters who had just finished their lectures.

"A corrupt upper class will not have the courage to initiate reform. Even if it is the most outstanding theory, they will only put it aside and use it to decorate the facade of their family. They will not think of using it to make the country strong."

"After all, they hope that their power and wealth will be passed down from generation to generation, forever unchanged... and all changes will only bring crises."

“Therefore, the new learning can only awaken a small number of people.”

"A few people?" Li Jinglong asked puzzledly.

"Yes. A minority." Zhu Su nodded, a gleam in his eyes. "What we need to do is to teach this minority everything we know, so that they will become dissatisfied with the status quo."

"Let them rely on the Ming Dynasty, let them overthrow the status quo. And then in the future, let them become... the majority."

Li Jinglong seemed to understand what he heard, and after thinking for a long time, he asked, "So, Fifth Uncle."

"Can we really incite civil unrest in Annan by giving lectures? How can the Annan people be willing to help our Ming Dynasty instead of being loyal to their own country?"

"Besides, won't it arouse the vigilance of the Annan court?"

"Of course we can't just rely on teaching." Zhu Su said. "Also, we need to find something for the Annan court to do... so that they don't have time to pay attention to our actions behind the scenes."

……

"Insects! They are all insects!" At the Li Mansion, Li Jilin angrily threw the documents in his hand to the ground, his face flushed with anger.

The document contained an urgent request for help from a rebellion by domestic slaves in southern Annan, requesting the Annan court to quickly send troops to quell the rebellion.

Compared to what Zhu Su had inferred, the problems in Annan were actually much more serious. For example, the slave rebellion occurred every now and then in various parts of Annan.

Annan was already at the end of its dynasty, and faced a variety of serious problems: the imperial examination system was in name only, aristocratic families controlled official positions, land annexation was serious, and the frequent rebellions by slaves in various households also made the court extremely anxious.

According to the laws of the Chen Dynasty, the royal family and the prime minister had the right to keep thousands of slaves, and most of the official families also kept hundreds of slaves. Most of these slaves were discriminated against and had to do hard labor. They had no right to sue their masters and were forbidden to marry commoners. It can be said that they had no way out for generations. At the end of the Chen Dynasty, the faces of the slaves of the princes were tattooed with the words "guests in the palace", and the faces of the emperor's slaves were engraved with the words "slaves on the throne", which made them suffer humiliation for the rest of their lives. Many slaves could not bear the heavy burden and rose up in rebellion, which seriously threatened the rule of the Annan court.

This was a tough situation for Brother Jimao. Le Qui Ly was a powerful official in Annan, and his superior, Tran Nghia Zong, was indifferent to everything, while Tran Thuan Zong was just a puppet. The hard job of putting out fires everywhere naturally fell on the head of the Prime Minister who was in charge of the government. Le Qui Ly was fed up with those short-sighted Annan nobles who had forced their servants to rebel.

Now, he is planning to expand the influence of the new learning through the King Zhou of the Ming Dynasty, and use the prosperity of the new learning to eliminate dissidents... How can he have the energy to deal with the rebellion of his household slaves!

"Teaching...is there anything wrong?" Pinching his brows and trying hard to control his emotions from the collapse, Li Jili asked the Li family servant beside him.

"Sir, the King Zhou of the Ming Dynasty held many lectures at the port called 'Wu Qu'. Every time, the place was packed with people. People like Hu and Fan attended the lectures, and they were unable to refute the views of the King Zhou of the Ming Dynasty."

"Very good." Li Ji's face finally showed some joy. The Hu family, the Fan family, and others were all families that opposed him in the court and were unwilling to promote the new learning of the Ming Dynasty. These families were also forced by the power of the Ming Dynasty to attend the lectures, which was tantamount to forcing them to slap themselves in the face.

This one move alone would cause the reputation of these families in the court to plummet... Although the King Zhou of the Ming Dynasty is young, he is indeed a man of real talent and knowledge.

As expected of the Ming Dynasty, such an outstanding figure could appear...

"But..." The Li family servant seemed to have something else to say.

"What else?" Li Jili asked with a frown.

"That King Zhou... seems to want to build an academy in our Dayue..." said the servant.

"College?" Li Jili was stunned.

"Yes," said the servant. "During the lecture, King Zhou said he was touched by the thirst for knowledge of our students in Dayue."

"I want to follow Confucius' teachings of 'teaching without distinction' and spread Confucianism to our Great Viet region."

"So he wanted to set up a school here to spread the true meaning of the new learning, and expressed that he welcomes the Confucian scholars from Annan to join the college he founded..."

Li Jilin frowned, then relaxed, but soon frowned again.

He asked the servant Zhu Su about the details of what he said, from words to expressions, without missing a single thing. The servant was able to tell him everything, no matter how big or small.

After listening to this, a sneer appeared on Li Ji's face which was originally quite kind:
"It seems that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty also wants to interfere in the affairs of our Great Yue."

"The Great Emperor of the Ming Dynasty?" The servant was somewhat frightened. Li Jili glanced at him and scolded, "Why are you panicking?"

"We are a tributary state of the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty has no reason to attack us."

Li Jixian stroked his short beard complacently and said, "The Ming Dynasty is a country of etiquette. Without reason, it would not attack a tributary state."

"The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty probably just wants to stabilize the south... I heard that they are working on the north, Japan, and Goryeo. This King Zhou probably wants to build a college to make the court of Dai Viet and the Ming Dynasty more closely connected."

"Dai Viet is, after all, the Dai Viet of the Dai Viet people. As a Ming citizen, he can only resort to such petty tricks."

Li Jizhen said confidently but with disdain.

(End of this chapter)