Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

Chapter 76: Death Without Knowing
In the study, Li Shanchang stared at the piece of paper with tiny calligraphy in his hand for a long time. His face was serious and he said nothing, but suddenly he laughed.

He casually threw the note in his hand to Li Qi, who had been watching his reaction and also remained silent and looked a little nervous.

Li Qi hurriedly reached out to catch it, straightened it and looked at it.

He saw the contents clearly in just a few glances, but his expression changed and he looked a little flustered.

The content of the note was very simple. It said that after the emperor returned to Yingtian, he soon became relatives with Xu Da, Duke of Wei, and Feng Sheng, Duke of Song.

He also asked the Princess of Qin to recognize Deng Yu, the Duke of Wei, as her father.

If this kind of news happened on a normal day, although it would not be uncommon, it would definitely not cause Li Qi to react like this.

But now is not an ordinary time.

It was a critical moment when his father had already put on airs and was ready to have a big fight with the emperor and force the emperor to surrender.

Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor, did such a thing immediately after returning, and he couldn't help but think about it.

Moreover, in this way, among the six founding kingdoms, only his family had no kinship relationship with the emperor.

This news is terrifying. How can my father still laugh?
"Dad, this...could it be that the emperor has already noticed our actions and started to respond?"

After enduring for a long time, Li Qi finally looked at his father and asked.

"Probably not."

Faced with his son's answer, Li Shanchang did not try to be mysterious and directly stated his judgment.

"How long have we been doing this here? I'm afraid that places a little further away haven't received the news yet.

How could Zhu Yuanzhang possibly get the news?"

Li Qi breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, but Li Shanchang's next words made him feel relieved again.

“However, this action now is indeed directed at your father.

We have worked together for many years and he knows my temper. He is so unkind and heartless in Zhongdu City. He feels guilty towards you and me.

You know I won't give up so easily.

So, feeling guilty, he immediately began using this method to win over Xu Da and others as soon as he returned to Yingtian.

"Then... Dad, you are still so relaxed and can still laugh?"

"How can I not relax and laugh?"

Li Shanchang asked back.

Then he slowed down his tone and patiently explained to Li Qi, "Don't be intimidated by Zhu Yuanzhang.

The reason why Zhu Yuanzhang won over people like Xu Da at the first opportunity does not mean that he wants to do anything to us.

This is only because Zhu Yuanzhang has always been cautious and relies on the army. He is afraid that those people in the army will follow your father and me to do something, so he would have this reaction.

But this time, the moves your father used were not about soldiers or horses at all.

Zhu Yuanzhang's actions were futile.

I still say that even if Zhu Yuanzhang knew what I was going to do at this moment, it wouldn’t matter.

This matter was originally an unsolvable conspiracy. Even if Zhu Yuanzhang had all the generals firmly in his hands, it would be of no avail.

The only way out is to bow down to your father and admit defeat!"

Li Qi wanted to say something more, but after thinking it over, he finally kept silent...

……

"Your Majesty, there are some errors in my teacher's book. This is indeed my teacher's inappropriate thinking at the time.

Allow me to make a few corrections."

In the Wuying Hall, Luo Guanzhong, who had changed the way he addressed Zhu Yuanzhang, gritted his teeth, squinted his eyes, and decided to be honest with Emperor Zhu.

What he wanted to talk about was nothing else but the story of his teacher secretly writing about Zhu Wu, Chen Da and Yang Chun, three heroes of Liangshan who became bandits.

He was not sure whether the emperor had seen through his teacher's deep-seated thoughts.

But now that the emperor is really preparing to start printing Water Margin, and is printing it in this way, I wonder how many people will be able to see Water Margin next.

Even if the emperor couldn't see through it, with so many people in the world, there would always be someone who was particularly capable of making wild assumptions and would see through it.

Once the noise starts, it's not fun.

Therefore, it is better to take the initiative to expose the problem and make changes at the beginning to prevent future troubles.

Luo Guanzhong, who had previously refused to make any deletions or changes to Water Margin, now took the initiative to ask to do so.

After saying this, Luo Guanxin's heart beat like a drum and he was extremely nervous, fearing that this would anger the emperor.

His death didn't matter much, the main thing was that the emperor was afraid that the cooked duck would fly away and he would no longer publish Water Margin.

That would be a huge loss.

"Are you talking about Zhu Wu, Chen Da and the others? We've already said this before, so there's no need to change it."

Ok? !

Luo Guanzhong, who had already prepared himself for the worst, widened his squinting eyes.

It was not because the emperor was just as he thought, and had already known his master's insinuations.

It was because the emperor downplayed the matter and did not take it seriously.

This kind of understatement is not deliberately pretended, but it means that I really don't care.

This... who said that the current emperor is narrow-minded and holds grudges?

There is no one more open-minded than the current emperor, right?

Even if the same thing happened to Zhang Shicheng, he would definitely not be so indifferent!

Luo Guanzhong was surprised and delighted, and immediately offered a series of flattering words to Zhu Yuanzhang.

At the same time, he also decided in his heart that if anyone said that the emperor was narrow-minded again, he would be angry with that person.

He also felt that it was not unfair at all that Gao Qi was beheaded by the emperor last year.

Gao Qi not only did not want to serve such a good emperor, but also mocked him all day long. If he didn't die, who would die?

Because of the distortions made by Gao Qi and others, he also had many misunderstandings about the emperor.

The fact that the emperor was able to endure until last year before taking action against Gao Qi is enough to demonstrate his tolerance.

Before coming to Beijing, Mr. Luo was still deeply saddened by Gao Qi's death, but in a short period of time, his attitude had changed drastically.

Zhu Yuanzhang was not a person who liked to be flattered, but at this moment, listening to Luo Guanzhong flattering him, he was in a rare good mood.

After all, Luo Guanzhong is now a pure person who just wants to write novels.

And what bad intentions could a novelist have?

At most, when writing, countless thoughts are flying in my mind, and it is easy to let my imagination wander. But when it comes to putting pen to paper, I become extremely serious...

After talking with Luo Guanzhong for a few more words, Zhu Yuanzhang asked the eunuch to take Luo Guanzhong away.

Zhu Yuanzhang was lost in thought as he watched Luo Guanzhong, who was squinting and bending over to see the road as he left Wuying Hall, yet still nearly tripped over the threshold.

Luo Guanzhong was already an official at this time, but of course he was not the editor-in-chief of the Ming Daily as Zhu Yuanzhang had told him before.

Although this was exactly the job he asked Luo Guanzhong to do, he certainly couldn't be so straightforward.

Luo Guanzhong's official position was the Propaganda Commissioner of the Propaganda Department, a fifth-rank official.

There is no such office as the Propaganda Commissioner in the Ming Dynasty, let alone a Propaganda Commissioner.

But it will be available soon.

Zhu Yuanzhang planned to set it up to be responsible for news in the future.

Belongs to the Ministry of Rites.

This is the advantage of being a founding emperor. You don’t have to be bound by established precedents or the laws of your ancestors.

Because he himself is the ancestor, his practices are precedents, the laws of the ancestors.

Zhu Yuanzhang had strong execution ability and was a decisive person.

Besides, this was something he had considered many times a long time ago.

So after meeting Luo Guanzhong and finalizing the matter, he immediately gave the order and had it done right away.

……

In the Secretariat, Right Prime Minister Hu Weiyong stopped writing and sat in front of the large mahogany desk that Li Shanchang missed so much, staring at the note in front of him in a daze.

His eyebrows were twisted together.

Propaganda Department? What happened to the Emperor?
Why is it suddenly necessary to set up such a government office that has never existed?

And they even decided on the propaganda officer, letting Luo Guanzhong take the position?

After thinking for a while with a frown, Hu Weiyong's brows relaxed.

It’s not that he understood the true intention of the emperor’s move, but that he confirmed that the emergence of this Propaganda Department would not take away the power of the Secretariat.

As long as he can confirm this, he doesn't need to worry too much about anything else.

"Send this to the Ministry of Rites and let them discuss it. The Propaganda Department is under the Ministry of Rites' jurisdiction."

Hu Weiyong gave the order.

He then went on to deal with other government affairs, putting aside this matter, which seemed novel but unimportant to him.

Didn't pay much attention to it.

Firstly, the current emperor had so many innovative initiatives that the idea of ​​establishing a Propaganda Department was in line with his past style. Secondly, the Propaganda Department was a small department after all. The Ministry of Rites was under the jurisdiction of the Secretariat, let alone a Propaganda Department under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites.

It's unlikely to achieve anything, so don't worry about it.

Maybe after a year or two, the emperor might cool down and dismiss the Propaganda Department. It's not impossible...

……

A monk with triangular eyes, a smile on his face, a bowl in one hand and a Zen staff in the other, walked into Yingtianfu City...

……

"Zhongya, what do you think His Majesty means?"

Zhang Chou, who had been promoted from Vice Minister of Rites to Minister of Rites, looked at Zhu Mengyan, who had also been promoted from Deputy Minister of Rites to Vice Minister of Rites, and asked him.

After the former Minister of Rites Niu Liang fell to his death beside a large pit in Zhongdu where innocent civilians who had died tragically during the construction of Zhongdu were buried, the position of Minister was vacated, and they began to be promoted naturally.

It has to be said that during Zhu Yuanzhang's Hongwu Dynasty, officials were promoted very quickly.

On the one hand, it was because the country was just established and there were many things to be done, so there was a big shortage of officials.

On the one hand, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang was a more pragmatic emperor, and he often appointed officials in an unconventional way.

On the other hand, it is because Zhu Yuanzhang was able to demote officials very quickly.

Many people often lose their boss without realizing it.

Then it was natural to move up.

This time, the promotion of Zhang Chou and Zhu Mengyan belonged to a third party.

"The imperial court already has its own gazette, so why does it need a Propaganda Department?"

Zhu Mengyan did not speak directly. He pondered for a while before speaking, "I'm afraid that His Majesty feels that the court reports are not very good. After all, only a limited number of people can understand the court's policies through the reports.

So we set up a Propaganda Department and will run the Daming Daily in the future."

Zhang Chou nodded and said, "I think so too."

But there were some thoughts in his mind that he didn't say, that is, he felt that this matter should be related to the death of the former Shangshu Niu Liang.

Niu Liang was killed by the emperor in anger because he strongly opposed the emperor's sacrifice to heaven and violated the ritual system when issuing the edict of repentance, offering sacrifices to dead civilians.

Combined with the various words he said in Zhongdu afterwards, it can be seen that the emperor wanted to work hard to support the people.

The establishment of such an institution at this time and the founding of the Ming Daily are probably due to similar intentions, which is to let the people know more.

Zhang Chou was a scholar, so he naturally disagreed with the emperor's behavior and ideas.

I feel that the emperor's actions are really thankless.

Flirting with a blind man.

According to him, if the emperor wanted to govern the country well, he naturally had to rely on his soldiers to conquer the country and drive out the Tartars.

Internally, it is necessary to rely heavily on numerous civil officials to govern the country.

Since ancient times, the people have been the ones being governed. As long as these people know how to farm, produce food, do some rough work, and provide money and food for the country, that is enough.

As for the insistence on praising the people so highly, and even now wanting to use such means to try to let some peasants understand military and national affairs, such actions are undoubtedly whimsical and laughable.

Not to mention how many of these peasants can access the Daming Daily, and how many can understand it.

Even if someone can really gain something from this, what's the use?

Is it to allow him to harvest two more buckets of grain from his fields, or to allow his wife to weave half a piece of cloth more?

It has no effect at all, it's a complete waste of effort.

Moreover, Luo Guanzhong, who was personally appointed by the emperor as a propaganda envoy and had a separate office set up for him, had already known some of this person's background at this time.

He was a second-rate strategist who had worked with Zhang Shicheng in the past. After Zhang Shicheng was defeated, he stopped doing his job and chose to write novels.

To the point of being impoverished.

A completely down-and-out poor person.

But the emperor just happened to be crazy recently, and he actually found this person and arranged such a position for him.

Such a ridiculous intention, such a newly created and meaningless official position, coupled with such a meaningless person, all these combined together really make no sense.

I have to say that people who don’t read are no match for him and cannot even be a good emperor.

He always likes to act so self-righteously and recklessly.

Of course, he only dared to think about these words in his heart, and he absolutely did not dare to say them out loud.

He has not forgotten how he got the position of Minister of Rites.

With the lesson of Niu Liang as a precedent, he has to be more careful. Even if it goes against his conscience in certain aspects, he has to pretend!
"Your Majesty is truly a benevolent and wise ruler who cares about the world and the people.

Apart from Your Majesty, how many other superiors can focus on the people like this?

Zhongya, you will arrange this matter yourself later and find a good house to be used as the Propaganda Department's daily official business.

Everything is done in accordance with the highest standards.”

Zhang Chou first expressed his sincere emotion, then looked at Zhu Mengyan, the Minister of Rites, with a serious face and gave instructions.

Zhu Mengyan also said seriously: "This humble official will definitely go all out to complete this matter. From now on, after this propaganda envoy Luo takes office, if there are any shortages or difficulties, this humble official will do his best to help!"

Zhang Chou nodded in satisfaction. "That's the best. Go ahead and get busy. Make sure everything is ready before Luo Xuanshi takes office."

After Zhu Mengyan left, Zhang Chou shook his head and smiled silently. Not long after, he stood up and went to the Secretariat to see Hu Weiyong and told him about their Ministry of Rites' opinions on this matter.

Zhu Mengyan's reaction when he left was different from his reaction in front of Zhang Chou. He seemed a little distracted and felt vaguely uneasy in his heart.

He always felt that things were not that simple, and wondered whether the emperor wanted to increase his influence through this move.

Is it to increase the weight of the emperor's words? Will this have some negative impact on the scholars and literati?

After some thought, he suddenly chuckled, shook his head slightly, and threw all his worries out of his mind.

I feel like I'm really worrying too much.

When it comes to influence among the people and the right to speak in the whole world, Confucianism is undoubtedly the number one.

Even Buddhism and Taoism cannot compare to this.

Not to mention whether the emperor had any such intention in doing this, even if he did, the only outcome would be failure.

The influence of Confucianism is not so easy to break.

Moreover, since it is a newspaper, it needs to be read by people who can read.

Those who can read are basically Confucianists, and the rest can be basically ignored.

Even if the emperor really wanted to exert some influence or gain some say through the Propaganda Department and the Ming Daily, he couldn't do it.

When this thought arose, Zhu Mengyan thought about it again and again, and after confirming that there was nothing missing, he didn't think about it any more.

Following Zhang Chou's instructions, I went to arrange all the affairs of the Propaganda Department...

……

"It has to be Yingtian again, it's really lively."

After wandering around Yingtianfu City for most of the day, Daoyan, who came to Tianjie Temple to stay, couldn't help but speak out.

"Of course. Ever since Your Majesty conquered Jiqing Road and renamed it Yingtian, this place has begun to recover its prosperity and is no longer as dilapidated as before.

Now, a clear decree has been issued that Yingtian will be the capital of the Ming Dynasty from now on, and it will no longer be moved to Zhongdu. Some wealthy businessmen who had been waiting and watching elsewhere have come to the capital to settle down and purchase properties.

It adds a bit of prosperity.

Just wait and see, this Yingtian will only get better in the future."

A monk nearby heard this and spoke up, with a hint of pride in his words.

He was a monk from Tianjie Temple, and was different from wandering monks like Daoyan.

Tianjie Temple is located in Yingtian City. When the capital is prosperous, Tianjie Temple will also be prosperous and the incense will be more popular.

Even if they could not get any benefits, as people from Tianjie Temple, when facing a wandering monk like Daoyan, they would naturally feel some sense of superiority as local monks.

Daoyan responded with a smile and continued to talk to the monk.

In fact, what he just said about the bustling Yingtian City and the monks in this temple are completely different things.

The excitement he mentioned meant that as soon as he arrived in the capital, he heard the news that the emperor was marrying General Xu Da and Duke of Song Feng Sheng, and that the Princess of Qin recognized Duke of Wei Deng Yu as her father.

As early as when the emperor left Zhongdu City, he knew that this drama would not be completely over and would continue.

Relying on Li Shanchang's status, power, and the importance he attached to Zhongdu City, he would never give up.

The current emperor Zhu Yuanzhang also fought his way to the top, preferring to break rather than bend. He had a tough, resolute character and was very courageous.

These two are bound to fight.

Now that he had just arrived in the capital, he had already heard such news, which undoubtedly confirmed that his guess was correct.

Now there is something good to watch.

Moreover, in his opinion, the excitement of this event is probably no less than that of Zhongdu City.

But these had nothing to do with him. He was just a person from outside the world, and he just sat in the capital and watched the show.

But Daoyan soon stopped thinking so, because two people dressed as eunuchs, led by the monk in charge of the temple, came all the way to meet him.

After confirming his identity, he began to speak, saying that the emperor invited him to the palace for a chat.

Even though Dao Yan had a good heart, he was stunned for a moment...

(End of this chapter)