Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

Chapter 66: Long Ying in Hand, Binding the Dragon

“From now on, the imperial mausoleum can be repaired, but it cannot be expanded.

This scale is good right now.”

Zhu Yuanzhang's words were beyond many people's expectations.

However, none of the officials spoke out in opposition.

First of all, the series of things the emperor did during his trip to Zhongdu were shocking.

Secondly, this imperial mausoleum is where the emperor’s parents are buried, not their parents.

The emperor himself said that he would not expand the palace any more, so he didn't expand it. It would be a good time for him to relax and have some free time.

It saves you from some troubles.

Haven’t you seen what happened to Li Shanchang, the Duke of Korea, who was in charge of building the Zhongdu City?

If any of them were chosen to oversee the renovation of the imperial mausoleum, wouldn’t that be the end of him?
"Your Majesty cares deeply about the people. To save money and manpower, he even stopped expanding the imperial mausoleum. You are truly a wise and benevolent ruler!"

The Minister of Personnel, Zhan Tong, took the lead and stepped forward, saluted Zhu Yuanzhang, and spoke with sincerity.

Such a scene shocked many people, and they couldn't help but secretly look at Zhan Tong.

Is this... still the well-known Zhan Tong?
Some people were stunned and couldn't help but secretly despise Zhan Tong. After what happened before, the emperor broke his spine.

Become the emperor's dog!
Even Zhan Hui, who was standing at the back, seemed stunned. Feeling the gazes of some people around him, he felt as if he couldn't raise his head.

Even though he still remembered what his father had said to him.

But he never expected that his father would be so straightforward.

It's only been a few days since I said those words to myself, and now I'm already doing this...

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhan Tong with some surprise, then looked at the officials who praised him for his kindness and consideration for the people after Zhan Tong spoke, and smiled secretly.

This is why he was so tough on the matter of Zhongdu City and Niu Liang.

The King of Chu loved thin waists, so all the concubines in his harem starved to death.

As an emperor, as long as he shows a particularly strong tendency in certain matters, there will be many people willing to work hard in this direction.

Even if they don't agree in their hearts, they will express strong support on the surface.

And do something related to it.

That's it, we've made a good start.

In the future, as long as I remain true to my original intention and keep the people in mind when doing things, I will continue to increase my efforts.

Then more and more people will do this, and eventually there will be some people who will really remember it in their hearts.

When you make putting the people first the first iron rule of the Ming Dynasty and the greatest correctness, then this matter can be considered to have been initially accomplished.

Zhu Yuanzhang was naturally not naive enough to believe that if things were done to this extent, there would be no corrupt officials and everyone would put the people first.

In secret, there will still be a lot of darkness growing and devouring the people.

But what is done in secret is done in secret after all, and no one dares to bring it to the surface.

The reason why unspoken rules are unspoken rules is that they will die in the light.

If we can achieve this, the people will live much better than before.

Zhu Yuanzhang knew that it was extremely difficult to achieve this.

In fact, in the past, he didn't even think that this was something that humans could accomplish.

But now, his belief is very firm, because he has seen with his own eyes that someone has actually done it!
It gave him direction and confidence.

Now he is the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and he already has the long tassel in his hand. From now on, he will be able to tie up the blue dragon!
“I feel the inscription on the imperial tomb is poorly written, and is filled with embellishments by Confucian officials.

I will personally write the inscription and have the craftsmen carve it on the stele. We will then remove the original stele and erect a new one."

Zhu Yuanzhang announced his second decision.

When these words were spoken, those who came from a military background did not think there was anything wrong, but those who came from a civil background looked at each other in bewilderment.

Everyone knows that the inscription on the imperial tomb was written by Mr. Song Lian himself.

This is Song Lian!

He was a recognized great scholar of his time, and was particularly good at writing. When it came to writing, even Liu Bowen and Gao Qi felt inferior to him.

The inscription written for the imperial mausoleum is an exquisite work, a meticulous creation by Song Lian.

They have all read it, and many of them can even recite the entire text.

The more you taste it, the more delicious it becomes. It is breathtaking.

As a result, the emperor now actually dislikes the inscription written by Song Lian.

He prepared to write the inscription himself to replace Song Lian's inscription.

This... leaves many people at a loss as to what to say.

For a moment, everyone wondered if the emperor had gone mad to say such words!

How could a man who used to herd cattle, be a monk, beg for food, and later become a soldier say such things?

Are you qualified to question the master of literature?

Fortunately, Mr. Jinglian did not follow the emperor to Zhongdu this time, otherwise he would have been furious after hearing what the emperor said.

But even if he wasn't there, if the news got back to Yingtian, Mr. Jing Lian would definitely feel bad, and he might even stir up some trouble...

However, despite thinking this way, no one stood up to oppose Zhu Yuanzhang.

The emperor overestimates his own abilities and wants to compete with the literary masters in writing. Then let him compete.

They didn't dare to persuade him, nor did they need to. They just waited to admire the emperor's literary talent and secretly watched the joke...

Inside the Golden Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang sat at the desk, and many memories flooded into his mind.

In my previous life, I disliked Confucian scholars because they were too good at using the Spring and Autumn style of writing.

I have embellished my own experiences too much.

He was clearly a person from a poor family, yet he insisted on creating some miraculous phenomena from the sky for himself.

He also embellished his past, making it seem as if he was born to be an emperor and that many things were easy for him.

Therefore, in the 11th year of Hongwu, after Wu Liang expanded and renovated the imperial mausoleum, he personally wrote the inscription to replace the original inscription written by Song Lian.

In modern times, the stele is still erected in front of the imperial mausoleum, and has become a piece of accurate information for future generations to understand themselves.

Because this inscription was written by himself, it was later called "The Imperial Stele of the Imperial Tomb".

The contents of the inscription flowed through his mind, and Zhu Yuanzhang picked up his pen to write, and each stroke of regular script fell on the paper.

The filial son Emperor Yuanzhang narrates: In the first month of the spring of the eighth year of Hongwu, I took my sons to pay homage to the imperial mausoleum, but seeing the gray hair and wrinkled face, I suddenly thought of the hardships of the past.

Moreover, the inscriptions on the imperial tombs are all written in embellishment by Confucian officials, and I am afraid that they are not enough to serve as a warning to future generations. Therefore, I specially describe the hardships and prosperous fortunes so that future generations can see them.

Its words are:
In the past, my father, the emperor, lived in this area. Farming was difficult and he was on the move day and night. Suddenly, a natural disaster struck and his family suffered. My father died at the age of sixty-four, my mother died at the age of fifty-nine, and my brother Meng died first, so the whole family was in mourning.

The owner of the land showed no regard for me, and I kept yelling and scolding him. He didn't give me the land, and my neighbors were sad.

Suddenly my brother was so generous that he gave me this yellow soil. I buried him without a coffin, and covered him with shabby clothes. He was buried three feet deep, and no food or drink was offered as an offering.

After the burial, the family was in a state of panic. The second brother was young and weak and could not make a living, so Mrs. Meng took the young child and returned to her hometown in the east.

There was no rain, locusts were flying everywhere, and the villagers were short of food, so they had to use plants and trees for food.

I have nothing to do. I am so frightened that I consult my brother. What should we do?
My brother said, "Let's go here and each survive the famine."

My brother cries for me, and I feel sad for him. In broad daylight, my heart breaks with tears. Brothers go their separate ways, and my grief spreads far and wide.

The old mother of the Wang family made plans for me, sent her son to see me off, prepared wine and fragrant incense, worshipped Buddha in the Buddhist temple, and went in and out of the monks' quarters...

The neat and straight regular scripts were written respectfully one after another on the paper, and the past events emerged one by one with the words.

Thinking of his family and the hard times of the past, Zhu Yuanzhang's thoughts surged and his eyes could not help but turn red...

During the writing, Zhu Yuanzhang put down his pen several times and wiped his tears with his sleeves.

Finally it was completed.

Zhu Biao, Zhu Gang, and Zhu Di came to watch and soon burst into tears.

They had heard their father talk about his miserable experiences a long time ago, but when they saw him write it down in a book, they couldn't help but feel sad for him.

I feel even more deeply the hardships my father went through in starting his business...

Zhu Yuanzhang knew that his idea of ​​using these things to make future generations remember how difficult life and entrepreneurship were for him as the founding emperor, and to encourage them to work hard to govern the country, had failed.

There are so many weird descendants who became emperors in later generations!
Those who fought crickets, those who were fooled by civil officials into being fools and acting as filial sons to them, those who sought immortality, those who took aphrodisiacs and killed themselves, those who had not served in the government for decades and had completely given up...

Now, he no longer expects this inscription to have any educational significance for future generations.

It is quite good to be able to survive to future generations and let them know about yourself without being deified.

Thinking of this, and seeing the reactions of Crown Prince Zhu Biao and others, Zhu Yuanzhang actually smiled.

Without mentioning things that happened too long ago, the current effect is quite good...

The inscription was handed over to several expert craftsmen to make as quickly as possible.

Two days later, a ceremony was held to erect it on the west side of the southern end of the imperial mausoleum's sacred road, and a stele without words was erected about ten feet to the east of it.

Before this, many civil officials laughed at Zhu Yuanzhang for overestimating his abilities and were waiting to see him make a fool of himself.

After seeing the inscription, many people gave up this idea.

In terms of writing style, use of allusions and many other aspects, the emperor's inscription is indeed not as good as Song Lian's, but it surpasses him in sincerity.

The only thing that worries people is that the emperor has written so frankly about his humble origins and poor experiences. He is afraid that he will be looked down upon by the world in the future...

……

Two days later, the fleet left Linhuai and headed towards Yingtian.

Emperor Hongwu ended his trip to Zhongdu.

Zhu Yuanzhang, sitting alone in the cabin, looked sad.

I don’t think that the incident in Zhongdu City was not handled well enough, leaving any regrets.

Instead, he was thinking about how to face his sister after returning to the palace.

In order to persuade the girl, he had asked her to agree to let the second, third and fourth brothers go to Zhongdu City as undercover agents.

But I promised the girl that I would never let those brats get into danger.

As a result, until now, the cracked cuts on the hands and faces of several guys have not completely disappeared.

This made Lao Zhu feel a little uneasy for a moment.

After thinking about it for a while, Zhu Yuanzhang's sad expression disappeared.

Replaced by confidence.

You don't have to scare yourself. Girls are people who understand the big picture and will never do anything to you because of these things.

Besides, didn’t these brats all come back safely?

The girl will definitely not blame herself!

(End of this chapter)