My aunt is Queen Ma

Chapter 130 The Benevolent Crown Prince

If we're talking about the person with the most complex feelings, it has to be Zhu Yuanzhang.

The enormous sum of money and grain seized from the property excited him.

"A rough estimate suggests that the confiscated wealth exceeds 70 million strings of cash, while the current tax revenue of the Ming Dynasty is only 13 million strings of cash."

"It is enough to offset more than five years of tax revenue of the imperial court."

"The seized grain amounted to more than 400,000 shi (a unit of dry measure), which will provide provisions for the 150,000-strong Northern Expeditionary Army next year."

Zhu Biao also said excitedly, "There's also land. The land that has been cleared out is over 200,000 hectares."

"If each household is allocated ten mu of land, it can solve the livelihood problem for two million households."

"No wonder my cousin always says that the government and the common people are poor, while the powerful and wealthy families in between are rolling in money."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, as if recalling something, and sighed:

“We live in a place in the north that has been ravaged by war for a long time, and clans do indeed provide protection.”

"If we had the protection of our clan back then, we wouldn't have been destroyed and our family would not have perished."

"So when Ma Yu said that the clan was bad, we didn't really believe it."

This was the first time Zhu Biao had heard him say these things, and he was quite surprised.

But it’s normal to think about it.

My father does value blood ties quite a lot.

Don't be fooled by our usual zero-tolerance policy towards illegal and disorderly conduct.

However, when it comes to people who are related to the Zhu family by blood, a different set of standards often applies.

This is actually due to the influence of clan ideology.

It's understandable that he disagreed with Ma Yu's criticism of clan power.

However, as the emperor, he was well aware of the influence of clan power on imperial authority, which is why he did not express it.

Instead, they took the opportunity to attack the clan.

But this action made him realize another side of the clan.

The key point is that this operation is really targeting the criminals involved in the Huangcheng building materials resale case, as well as their families with vested interests.

It was not specifically targeted at clan power.

The crimes uncovered have already shattered his understanding of clans.

I wonder how much evil is hidden beneath the glamorous exterior of those large clans.

The shattering of his preconceived notions left him with very mixed feelings.

Zhu Biao agreed wholeheartedly, saying, "My cousin once said that the primary and secondary contradictions will change with the times."

"In times of chaos, the main contradiction is survival, and the evil of the clan can be tolerated compared to the general environment."

"The environment in the south is relatively stable, and the pressure to survive is not so great, so the behavior of clans is even more despicable."

"Especially after unification, the world was at peace, and there was no pressure to survive."

"The evils of clans become apparent, turning from a secondary contradiction into a primary one."

Zhu Yuanzhang had also heard of this theory, but his understanding of it was not deep at the time.

But now, with vivid examples, he finally understood the true meaning of primary and secondary contradictions.

"There is another reason. In times of chaos, clans are afraid of clansmen rebelling and dare not go too far."

"When a peaceful and prosperous era arrives, it becomes more difficult to rebel."

"In addition, there was collusion between clans and officials, and the imperial court helped suppress the rebellion."

"They will become even more unscrupulous and exploit the people even more ruthlessly."

Then he couldn't help but praise, "Ma Yu has put forward many theories, which at first listen seem quite inexplicable."

"Only by understanding it deeply can we know that it is all aimed at the root causes of various problems in the world."

"This is the change in the primary and secondary contradictions."

Zhu Biao seized the opportunity to say, "Yes, that's why my cousin said that governing a country is a process of resolving various contradictions."

"Contradictions are constantly changing, so the methods of governing a country cannot remain unchanged."

"At certain times, it is necessary to adopt appropriate methods of governance."

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said, "What he said is too idealistic. Change means risk, and who can guarantee that they can always accurately grasp the pulse of the times?"

Zhu Biao retorted, "But remaining unchanged will inevitably lead to death."

"That's why we need to popularize education and cultivate more talent."

"Then the imperial court established think tanks to help understand the real situation in society and provide advice to policymakers."

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed, "It's not as simple as you say. Think tanks are also made up of people."

"Everyone has selfish desires, and who can guarantee that what they say is true?"

Zhu Biao said, "That depends on the monarch's ability to employ people."

"Moreover, the world is so vast that it is impossible for a monarch to govern it all by himself."

"Ultimately, we still need the assistance of our ministers to govern."

"If you're afraid of wolves in front and tigers behind, how can you govern a country?"

Looking at his son, who was speaking eloquently, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but chuckle:
"Good, we're glad you have this ambition."

Zhu Biao paused for a moment, then said somewhat embarrassedly:
"I said too much."

Zhu Yuanzhang encouraged him, saying, "What can't you tell me?"

"Since you have this idea, then pay more attention to the Six Schools of the Imperial Academy and cultivate more talents for the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Biao said happily, "Yes, I will definitely not let you down."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, bringing the topic back to its initial point:
"Now that the world is unified, clan issues have become one of the main contradictions and must be resolved."

"What are your thoughts on the homework I assigned you last time?"

What was the homework I assigned last time?
Zhu Biao immediately knew what he was talking about.

Last time they discussed how to resolve the issues of local powerful clans and clans, Zhu Yuanzhang told him to look up the answers in history himself.

He also specifically emphasized not to ask Ma Yu.

He has been reading history books these days and has gained quite a bit.

Upon hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's question, he immediately replied:

"I recently read through historical records and found that the ancients did indeed employ various methods to weaken local powerful families."

"The most common method is migration."

"Whether they are powerful clans or families, their strength mostly comes from their influence over their local area."

“If they are moved from their ancestral land to settle elsewhere and leave their familiar homeland, they will not be able to exert even a fraction of their strength.”

“If we strip them of their influence in the local area, they will be nothing to fear.”

"This method was used throughout the early and middle period of the Western Han Dynasty to weaken the power of local magnates."

"It was only during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han that, due to his excessive faith in Confucianism and his desire to implement so-called benevolent governance, he abolished many policies that weakened local areas."

"Ultimately, this led to the rise of local power, an imbalance of power between the central and local governments, and the inability to enforce the migration law, which was eventually abolished."

“During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the method of relocation was often used to weaken the power of local magnates.”

"This law was only shelved after the An Lushan Rebellion, when the Tang Dynasty lost control of the local areas."

"During the Song Dynasty, the government was governed by scholar-officials, so the policy of relocation could not be implemented."

"When the Ming Dynasty unified the country, it should also adopt this method to eliminate the obstacles that local forces pose to the imperial court."

Zhu Yuanzhang felt it was very incongruous.

Starting from the Han Dynasty and connecting similar historical events, isn't this a method that Ma Yu often uses?

My eldest son has been so deeply influenced by him.

However, this is not necessarily a bad thing. There are no new things in the world, and the answers to many questions can be found in history.

Being good at learning history is an excellent quality.

It is a cause for celebration that Biao'er has learned Ma Yu's ability to read history.

"So you also think that the Ming Dynasty should relocate wealthy and powerful people?"

Zhu Biao nodded and said, "Yes, 100,000 households can be relocated from Fengyang."

"As the center of the world, Luoyang can also accommodate the relocation of 100,000 households."

"Chang'an is an ancient capital of several dynasties. Although it is now facing desertification, tens of thousands of households can still be relocated there."

“Beiping, as the former capital and a major power controlling Liaodong, should also relocate 100,000 households there.”

“Anyang, as the capital region of the Ming Dynasty, could also accommodate the relocation of 100,000 households.”

“Once the location of the imperial tombs is determined in the future, powerful families can be relocated to guard them.”

"Through such operations, the power of the clans and powerful families in the south can be greatly weakened."

"If we combine this with other means of suppression, we should be able to resolve this problem smoothly."

Zhu Yuanzhang was astonished: We were only thinking about relocating 100,000 households to Fengyang, and he had already planned to relocate to so many places.

According to his plan, at least 600,000 wealthy households would have to be relocated from the south.

That guy's ruthlessness is even greater than ours.

The thought of those Confucian scholars praising his eldest son's kindness every day made him want to laugh.

Okay, okay, you're so kind, huh? You'll have your day to cry.

Zhu Biao was speaking enthusiastically when he suddenly saw his father laugh. Thinking there might be a problem with his plan, he stopped and asked:
"Father, do you think there's anything wrong with my plan?"

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed loudly, "No, your plan coincides with ours."

"But according to your plan, at least 500,000 to 600,000 households would have to be relocated. How exactly do you plan to do that?"

Zhu Biao said embarrassedly, "I haven't thought of that much yet."

"However, wealthy families have abundant resources, which makes them more capable of dealing with risks."

"As long as the imperial court makes reasonable arrangements, the losses during the migration will be very small."

"On the contrary, relocating ordinary people would come at a very high cost."

“My cousin previously mentioned wanting to reconcile the populations of the north and south. I thought about it and realized that it could be linked to cracking down on local powerful clans.”

"Furthermore, my cousin also said that before the Tang Dynasty, in order to weaken the power of clans, the court would relocate people of different surnames to live together."

“A village is often composed of a dozen or more families with different surnames.”

“We can also use this method to break up the clan and then have dozens of different surnames live together to form a village.”

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded repeatedly and said, "Good, good, very good, we'll do it your way."
-
"Ha ha……"

Empress Ma was instructing Consort Chang and Xu Miaoyun in the palace when she suddenly heard Zhu Yuanzhang's happy laughter.

She couldn't help but laugh and said, "What happy event has Your Majesty encountered this time?"

Consort Chang smiled and said, "Recently, the court has indeed had a series of happy events. People below say that His Majesty has become more amiable."

Xu Miaoyun nodded in agreement.

There have been many happy events recently, the biggest of which is the elimination of the Japanese pirates and the remnants of Zhang Shicheng.

The coastal environment of the Ming Dynasty immediately became harmonious.

In addition, with frequent victories reported from all fronts, it was clear to everyone that the Ming Dynasty's fate was as secure as Mount Tai.

Not only Zhu Yuanzhang, but all the vested interests were extremely happy.

Just then, Zhu Yuanzhang walked over.

After everyone rose to greet them, the two women tactfully left, leaving only the couple behind.

Empress Ma laughed and said, "What is it? You seem so happy."

Zhu Yuanzhang then briefly recounted what Zhu Biao had just said: "Tell me, shouldn't we be happy?"

Empress Ma also said with delight, "That is indeed something to be happy about. Before we knew it, Biao'er had grown up."

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed and said, "Yes, I used to think he was just a child. Apart from being a little smart and talented, he was nothing special."

"In the blink of an eye, he had his own understanding of the country and his own ideas about governing it."

"Great, that's wonderful."

Empress Ma's eyes lit up, and she said, "What's even more gratifying is that his ideas are different from yours."

"You two complement each other perfectly; when father and son work together, their strength can move mountains."

Zhu Yuanzhang chuckled and said, "The brothers are united... but what you said makes sense too."

"With our father and son working together, we will surely be invincible."

Then he added, "You said Biao'er is different from us, and that's true."

"In terms of demeanor, he is more like an emperor than we are."

"But precisely because of this, there are some things he can't do."

“This power is like a thorny bramble; we have to pull out the thorns.”

Empress Ma did not object to this, but she did have differing opinions:
"You can't pull out all the thorns; only by feeling the pain can he know that wielding power comes at a price."

Zhu Yuanzhang paused for a moment, then thought for a while before saying:
"What you said makes sense. Protecting him too much is actually not good for him."

"Ma Yu often says that flowers in a greenhouse are very fragile, and that's exactly the point."

Empress Ma nodded, and then followed his words:
"Speaking of Biao'er's growth, we also have to thank Yu'er."

"Actually, looking back, Biao'er really grew up after he started learning from Yu'er."

"Without him, Biao'er wouldn't have reached where he is today, and the same goes for Shuang'er."

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said, "So you've taken in a good nephew."

"It's a pity that he only likes Wang Min, otherwise we would have married a princess to him no matter what."

Ultimately, he still trusted his in-laws.

But you can't blame him; that's just how times are.

When the matter was brought up, Empress Ma said regretfully, "I was thinking of arranging for him to take two concubines first."

"In ten or eight years, I'll marry my eldest daughter to him."

In ancient times, there was a saying called "return marriage," which meant that after a woman got married, one of her daughters would return to her parents' home to marry her off.

Su Shi's sister married his cousin for this very reason, but she was abused and died of illness.

Influenced by local customs, it is not surprising that Empress Ma wanted to marry her daughter to her nephew.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing her words, Zhu Yuanzhang angrily replied:

"He married our daughter and now he wants to take a concubine? He's dreaming."

"From now on, anyone who marries a princess is absolutely forbidden from taking concubines, or we'll see how they're dealt with."

Empress Ma advised, "If you really do this, it will turn marrying a princess into a difficult task. Who with any ability would want to marry a princess?"

"We can prohibit them from visiting prostitutes and limit the number of concubines they can take, but it's best not to forcibly prohibit it."

Zhu Yuanzhang clearly disliked hearing this kind of talk and said impatiently:
"Jingjing is only ten years old, it's too early for her to get married, let's not talk about that now."

Empress Ma did not forcefully persuade her.

Nowadays, people believe that having many children brings many blessings. If you only allow the prince consort to marry one child, others will definitely not be willing.

In that case, a good thing could easily turn into a bad thing.

However, mindsets are not so easily changed, and forcibly persuading them will not only be ineffective, but will also strain the relationship between the two.

I'll talk to him about it later.

(End of this chapter)