My father is Jiajing

Chapter 539: Unofficial History May Not Be True, But It’s Wild Enough
Snapped--

Zhu Zaigui looked at the book that fell out of Zhu Zaizhen's body and couldn't help but become curious.

After Zhu Zaizhen's copy of "Zheng He's Secret Records" fell out of his pocket, he quickly squatted down to pick it up. While picking it up, he nervously said, "Third brother, please forgive me. Third brother, please forgive me."

Zhu Zaigui laughed and said, "What crime has he committed? It's just that something was dropped."

Zhu Zaizhen smiled after he calmed down and said, "Yes, yes, Third Brother is right. I was too careless and made you laugh."

Zhu Zaigui continued with a chuckle, "No problem, no problem. What book is this?"

Zhu Zaigui didn't care what the book Zhu Zaizhen picked up was called, he just asked casually.

Zhu Zaizhen said: "This book is called 'Zheng He's Secret Records'. I saw it when I was checking the secret files of the Imperial Guards. I thought there might be some interesting stories, so I just put it in my pocket."

Zhu Zaigui, who had not taken it seriously at first, suddenly lit up his eyes after hearing Zhu Zaizhen's words, and his tone became a little higher with excitement.

"What?! It's Zheng He's book?"

Zhu Zaizhen did not expect that Zhu Zaigui would react so strongly after hearing the two words "Zheng He".

He said nervously, "It shouldn't be Zheng He's book. It should be a secret report about Zheng He collected by the Royal Guards a hundred years ago. It's called 'Zheng He's Secret Records'."

Zhu Zaigui was extremely excited. He had read so many copies of the Yongle Encyclopedia but had not seen any information about Zheng He. He did not expect that Zhu Zaizhen would bring news about Zheng He when he came to drink tea.

This has to be said to be a wonderful fate.

Zhu Zaigui said, "Show it to me quickly."

Zhu Zaizhen didn't know why Zhu Zaigui was so interested in this "Zheng He Secret Records".

Moreover, Zhu Zaigui's accumulated power over the years also made him dare not go against Zhu Zaigui's wishes.

So even though Zhu Zaizhen had not even taken a look at the contents of the "Zheng He Secret Records", he still obediently handed the secret record to Zhu Zaigui.

When Zhu Zaigui took the old and yellowed book "Zheng He's Secret Records", he was extremely excited.

This is really a place where you can't find anything without wearing iron shoes, and it takes no effort at all to get there.

I didn’t expect that the news about Zheng He that was impossible to find in the past would now pop up directly in a secret record of the Jinyiwei a hundred years ago.

Zhu Zaigui carefully flipped through the yellowed and brittle paper, fearing that he would damage the "Zheng He Secret Records" by using too much force.

"The former eunuch Zheng He was a close attendant of Emperor Taizong Wen. He was intelligent and strategic, and was familiar with military affairs. He made contributions in the Jingnan Campaign and was promoted to the position of eunuch in charge of internal affairs. In the third year of Yongle, he was ordered by Emperor Taizong to serve as the chief eunuch and set sail overseas from Liujiagang, Suzhou."

"He made seven voyages to the Western Ocean, spreading the power of the Ming Dynasty thousands of miles away. Wherever he went, all the foreigners submitted. He visited thirty-six countries: Champa, Java, Chenla, Old Port, Siam, Calicut, Malacca, Borneo, Sumatra, Aru, Cochin, Greater Kuala Lumpur, Lesser Kuala Lumpur, Western Soli, Sulu, Kayila, Adan, Nanwuli, Gambari, Ceylon, Pahang, Kelantan, Hormuz, Liushan, Sunci, Mugudusu, Malindi, Cissa, Zufar, Zhubu, Manbasa, Mecca, Ledai, Naguer, Sariwani, Buchawa and other countries."

Zhu Zaigui was greatly excited after reading the first page of "Zheng He's Secret Records".

The story of Zheng He's voyages to the West was a well-known story in the world before Zhu Zaigui traveled through time.

But in today's Ming Dynasty, there are not as many people who know or understand this matter as imagined.

Even when talking about the story of Zheng He's voyages to the West, many people would change the concept and say that Zheng He was going to find the disappeared Emperor Jianwen.

But is this reason valid?

The cute Jianwen, who possesses the power of the entire country, is no match for Zhu Di. How can a Jianwen who may be missing or exiled turn the tide?

Obviously, this kind of rumor can only satisfy some people who like conspiracy theories.

As for the confident emperor, I have already buried Jianwen. Even if someone really comes out alive now, he is fake!

Moreover, there are many officials and common people in the world who want to profit. If they really hear that there are remnants of Jianwen causing trouble somewhere, unless they are crazy, they will definitely regard these so-called remnants of Jianwen as stepping stones for their own advancement and report them to the court for handling.

Therefore, Zhu Zaigui was dismissive of the claim that Zheng He sailed to the West to find Emperor Jianwen.

Because Zhu Zaigui is now a superior standing at the top of the pyramid, the way he thinks about problems is definitely not as complicated as those nosy conspiracy theorists imagine.

As long as what he wants to do is in the interests of the Ming Dynasty and his own interests, he will find ways to overcome all difficulties and achieve his plan.

It is not like what people usually imagine, that everything is based on conspiracy and shameful calculations.

You must know that the most advantageous weapons in the hands of real superiors are the power and status in their hands. With these two kinds of power and status, people all over the world recognize them.

Why is it necessary to resort to those shameful conspiracies and tricks to achieve the ideal of governing the country?

Isn't this totally hilarious?
Therefore, in Zhu Zaigui's view, Zheng He's voyages to the West were a great political feat by Emperor Yongle to demonstrate the power of the Ming Dynasty and to emphasize that he was more qualified to be emperor than Emperor Jianwen.

Emperor Yongle intended to use the method of sailing to the West to let foreign countries other than the Ming Dynasty know what a powerful ruler the current Ming emperor was compared to the previous cowardly and weak monarch.

And this is what Emperor Yongle should have thought about!
It's not as boring as the nosy conspiracy theorists imagine.

Zhu Zaigui closed the "Zheng He Secret Records" with an unprecedented brilliance in his eyes. He said to Zhu Zaizhen beside him: "Go back and arrange for a reliable person to immediately re-copy all the secret files of the previous dynasty in the Jinyiwei archives room and send them to me. I want to report these secrets that have been sealed for a hundred years to His Majesty."

"Then we will select the secrets of the past dynasties that are beneficial to our Ming Dynasty and make them into a series of reading materials to be distributed throughout the world, so that the people of the world can once again feel the grandeur of the Ming Dynasty from a hundred years ago!"

"And create a new atmosphere of confidence and heroism for your majesty's Jiajing prosperous era!"

Zhu Zaizhen was also excited by Zhu Zaigui's words.

Zhu Zaizhen immediately bowed and said, "I obey your command!" Zhu Zaigui looked at the "Zheng He Secret Records" in his hand and took a deep breath with emotion.

"Leave this secret record of Zheng He with me for now. I plan to present it to Your Majesty first, so that Your Majesty can open his eyes and see what a magnificent scene Zheng He's voyages to the West were a hundred years ago!"

Zhu Zaizhen looked at Zhu Zaigui's passionate and heroic appearance. Although he also wanted to see what exciting secrets were written in the "Zheng He Secret Records" at this time.

But now the secret record had already fallen into Zhu Zaigui's hands, and he could only suppress his curiosity and wait for Zhu Zaigui to finish reading it and report it to Emperor Jiajing before he could understand the secrets in the secret record.

Zhu Zaiqi finally looked at Zhu Zaizhen and said, "You must also pay attention to the issues in the Jinyiwei internal investigation. You must use this opportunity to establish your authority within the Jinyiwei and let them know that you are not here just to hang around and eat."

After hearing what Zhu Zaizhen said, he bowed in a serious manner, "I will not disappoint you, brother. I will manage the Jinyiwei well and make it a sharp knife again to protect you and my father!"

Zhu Zaiqi hummed, "Okay, there's nothing else to do for now, you can go back first. It doesn't matter if the methods are a bit cruel. Since you have to be in this position, kindness is the last thing you should have. Third brother hopes you understand."

Zhu Zaizhen was deeply moved when he heard Zhu Zaigui's words.

He knew that the reason why he didn't have to go to the vassal state until now was because Zhu Zaigui had always been on the side of Emperor Jiajing and the officials to protect him.

Otherwise, he would have been relocated to another place several years ago.

Now, not only did he not get a fief, but he also got a job as a member of the Imperial Guard.

It can be said that this was all due to Zhu Zaigui’s strong support.

Therefore, Zhu Zaizhen naturally understood what the significance of his being in the Jinyiwei was.
Otherwise, even if the current Emperor Jiajing does not replace him, he will be replaced when Zhu Zaigui ascends the throne one day in the future.

Therefore, in order not to disappoint Zhu Zaigui, and in order to be able to stay in the capital for a long time and not go to other places to be a vassal, Zhu Zaizhen must understand what his own value is!
After watching Zhu Zaizhen leave, Zhu Zaigui couldn't wait to open the "Zheng He Secret Records" in his hand.

This secret record of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, which has been sealed for hundreds of years, might not have appeared again for a very long time if it were not for Zhu Zaizhen's curiosity this time.

It is even possible that in the future it will disappear forever due to a fire or a war.

However, this idea does not seem to be valid, because in the future history that Zhu Zaigui knew, when the Qing Dynasty was compiling the "History of Ming Dynasty", it was unknown from which pile of old papers they found these historical materials of the previous dynasty that had been sealed for hundreds of years.

A biography was specially written for the story of Zheng He's voyage to the West, so that it can be passed down to later generations. When later generations read this history about Zheng He, they could not help but sincerely sigh that "Eunuch Sanbao's voyage to the West was a grand event in the early Ming Dynasty"!
It can be seen that although historians of all dynasties would intentionally or unintentionally discredit the emperors of the previous dynasty in the process of compiling history, their attitude towards some major historical facts and major historical issues was still fair.

Otherwise, how could China's cultural heritage of thousands of years have been passed down so continuously to this day?
Therefore, when studying history, except for some history that has been falsified or overturned by archaeology, the general historical context should still be based on official historical records.

After all, a dynasty that can compile official history will not only be a stable and powerful dynasty, but also have a mentality that far surpasses that of previous dynasties, except for some historical issues that really concern their own honor and disgrace.

The remaining historical records were definitely organized and compiled according to the written historical facts recorded by the previous dynasty.

Otherwise, wouldn’t the seriousness of history be lost?
If the seriousness of history is lost, then wouldn’t the historical heritage of the past also be destroyed?

Therefore, we must have a righteous heart when reading history. Although we cannot believe history completely, we cannot judge it with prejudice and think that the truth of certain historical facts is something else.

But in fact, this kind of assumed biased historical mentality is often just groundless speculation without any basis, or just some wishful imagination.

For example, some historical stories before Zhu Zaigui traveled through time are actually false history deliberately fabricated by a group of ignorant people in order to cater to the national sentiments of a certain section of the people.

The most widely circulated story is the story of Emperor Yongle conferring the title of Wolf's Lair.

But in fact, no matter whether you look through the records in "Ming Shilu" or "Ming History", or later historical and archaeological discoveries, there is no accurate and reliable evidence to prove that Emperor Yongle achieved the historical feat of Fenglangjuxu.

This "pseudo-history" first appeared after the rise of the Internet, so much so that later many nonsensical history marketing accounts began to quote fabricated stories without any verification, and even made them sound very plausible.

This behavior is just like the unofficial history that Zhu Di was not the biological son of Empress Ma in the late Ming Dynasty when someone suddenly fabricated it.

In order to make this unofficial history sound true, some people with ulterior motives pretend to quote all kinds of celebrity investigations and endorsements, as if by writing the names of these celebrities, this unofficial history can become true.

But in fact, as long as you have a little normal thinking and judgment, you can see through it at a glance. This kind of boring unofficial history record, to put it bluntly, is just some people who are bored and wrote such a paragraph out of boredom for some unknown reason.

Then it was spread by other people who were interested in it as a story to attract attention, and then it was further processed and created by some even more ridiculous people, making it seem like the real thing.

Therefore, sometimes when reading or seeing history, we should not simply choose to listen to one side or read or see history with a biased attitude just for the sake of psychological enjoyment.

History is actually very serious. Some things can be joked about, but some things absolutely cannot be joked about.

Just like Zhu Yuanzhang’s shoe-horn face, the earliest portrait of Zhu Yuanzhang with a shoe-horn face also came from the Jiangnan region in the late Ming Dynasty.

The author believes that the reason for the appearance of such insulting portraits is not only because the imperial court lost its majesty in the late Ming Dynasty, but more importantly, the accumulation of internal contradictions over a long period of time has caused the people to feel disgusted with the Ming court.

Therefore, this kind of portrait that insults Zhu Yuanzhang's appearance appeared.

It was precisely because of this mentality that the later Southern Ming Dynasty could not replicate the fate of the Eastern Jin and Southern Song dynasties no matter how hard it tried.

To put it bluntly, the Zhu family has lost the hearts of the people over the past three hundred years.

Otherwise, why were the descendants of Zhu Ming unable to gain the people's nostalgia and yearning in the subsequent chaos like the collapsed Western Han Dynasty?
As a result, there emerged a sentiment that the whole world missed the Han Dynasty, and then a descendant of the Ming Dynasty who could turn the tide, similar to Liu Xiu, the chosen son of heaven, emerged?

Therefore, the demise of some dynasties is not at all regrettable in the overall trend of history. Their demise and rebirth had already laid the final cause and effect at the very beginning.

Therefore, if one wants the country to prosper for a long time and win the support of the people, then as the ruler, the emperor must have a benevolent heart and must truly care about the people of the world.

Otherwise, no matter how nice the words are, when the moment comes, no one will sympathize with them at all. They will only pull the trigger even harder, wishing that a magazine of hateful bullets could shoot the corrupt rulers they hate into sieves in an instant!

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Asking for a monthly ticket~~
(End of this chapter)