My aunt is Queen Ma

Chapter 71 A Myriad of Tasks
How can we find the ritual vessels from the Yin-Shang period?
As a married couple, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately guessed her meaning and said:
"You mean..."

Empress Ma nodded and said, "This is the approach his elders used when searching for clues about Shang Dynasty ritual artifacts."

"This is exactly the same as Yu'er's speculation about the Confucian approach to mathematics."

"They all approach the issue from angles that ordinary people would not think of, like a gazelle hanging its horns on a tree."

"Even looking back at the whole process afterward, it still feels unbelievable."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded in deep agreement; he did indeed have that feeling.

Without prior knowledge, who could connect Shang Dynasty ritual vessels with dragon bones?
Every time he thinks back on this incident, he is amazed by this unconventional way of thinking.

"So you believe what he said is true, that there's a group of people trying to disrupt the country's finances and taxes?"

Empress Ma replied, "Now it seems that he learned from his elders since childhood."

"Through constant exposure, I also learned this way of thinking."

"This is further supported by his earlier remarks about the religiousization of Confucianism and his view of Neo-Confucianism as the bible of Confucianism."

"They all approached things from angles that others wouldn't have thought of."

"But no matter how unique his perspective or how unbelievable his views may be."

"Once you accept his perspective and follow his line of reasoning, you can often get an amazing result."

"The important thing is that his results often match reality."

"From this perspective, his speculation is not unfounded, but rather based on his own set of ideas."

"Take this case for example, according to his deduction."

“Using mathematics to disrupt national finances and taxes was very likely one of the ways Confucianism superseded imperial power.”

Zhu Yuanzhang fully understood her meaning:
"Following your line of thinking, as long as we can confirm that someone is tampering with the national treasury and taxation..."

"This can be used to prove that Confucianism harbors treacherous intentions."

Empress Ma said, "While we cannot be certain, at least everything is no longer baseless, is it?"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "That makes sense. Let's investigate and see if his speculation is true or false."
-
On the other side, Zhu Shuang immediately issued orders to the section of the Embroidered Uniform Guard under his control.

They were tasked with secretly investigating the financial and tax operations of various prefectures and counties.

But soon after the order was passed on, he realized a loophole in Ma Yu's words and quickly came over to say:

"You said that Confucianism targeted mathematics in order to disrupt the fiscal and taxation system and then profit from it."

"They also said that it's very likely that a group of people are already doing this."

"Where are the accountants from that government office? Why didn't they report this matter to the imperial court? Have they also colluded with the Confucian scholars?"

Ma Yu said speechlessly, "You are truly ignorant and incompetent."

Zhu Shuang roared in anger, "You're the one who's utterly ignorant and incompetent..."

Ma Yu rolled his eyes and said, "Where did the Ming Dynasty get its accounting system?"

"Do you think accountants are like roadside weeds, growing naturally by nature?"

Zhu Shuang, forgetting his anger, asked in confusion, "The Ming Dynasty has no accounting officials? How is the financial and tax work done then?"

Ma Yu shrugged: "Just make do with what we have, what else can we do?"

He then patiently explained, "Arithmetic knowledge is merely a prerequisite skill for becoming a statistician."

"It doesn't mean that mastering mathematics will make you an accountant."

"Financial and tax work has its own set of management methods, including how to keep accounts, etc., all of which are particular."

"After mastering mathematical knowledge, one must undergo systematic training before becoming a true accountant."

"Throughout history, the Imperial Academy's mathematics department was responsible for training accounting officials."

"But you know about the Yuan Dynasty. They didn't have a systematic training program for accounting officials at all. Everything was just made do."

"This is the mess that the Ming Dynasty inherited."

"The most important task for the Ming Dynasty now is to unify the country. We can make do with other things for now."

"With a large number of official positions vacant, the imperial court had no choice but to continuously recruit talent from the common people."

"Never mind whether these people are truly capable or just all show and no substance, let's fill the hole first."

"Once the country is unified, we can go back and replace these officials."

"The same goes for the accounting system. Don't worry about whether they understand finance and taxation or not. As long as they know a little arithmetic, they're forced into it."

"You don't even need to know arithmetic; as long as you can read, you can take up a post as an accountant."

“Your father came from a very humble background and never realized this problem before.”

"They thought mathematics was dispensable and allowed Confucianism to target it."

"It was only after I reminded him several times that he realized the problem."

"But even if he realizes it, there's no way to solve this problem in the short term."

“The training of accountants cannot be completed in a few days or two; even a crash course would take three to five months.”

"The key issue is that the gap is too large. If we consider the whole country, there is a gap of at least 20,000 to 30,000."

"It will take at least eight or ten years to establish this system."

This is the huge pit left by the Mongol Yuan dynasty. Even if a knowledgeable person makes a comprehensive plan, it would take at least one or two decades to fill it.

Moreover, Zhu Yuanzhang's vision was not that far-reaching. He had taken too many detours in the world and ended up confusing himself.

Many problems remained unresolved until the end of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Shuang was also completely bewildered. He had originally thought that once he conquered the world, he could finally relax and enjoy life.

Little did they know that unifying the world was merely the starting point of another path.

The situation his family was facing was dire.

However, he did understand one thing: his concern that the officials in charge of accounting would collude with Confucian scholars was completely unfounded.

Because the Ming Dynasty's finances and taxation are currently managed by a group of laymen, and the accounting system has not been established at all.

This also means that internal problems are very likely to occur.

"Everyone says that conquering the world is easy, but governing it is difficult. Now I know why."

Ma Yu smiled and said, "Conquering the world and governing the world are both difficult, and the problems they face are also completely different."

"Don't you like challenges? Don't worry, there will be plenty of challenges to come."

Zhu Shuang retorted, "Nonsense, people live to have fun, and challenges are also for the sake of having fun."

Ma Yu chuckled and said, "You've got a lot of reasons to say, kid. Well then, just enjoy yourself."

"The next challenge is guaranteed to make you scream with excitement."
-
Investigating tax and financial issues is naturally not something that can be accomplished in a short period of time.

Next, we just have to wait for the results.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang did not stop his actions against Confucianism because of this, and in the next round of talent recruitment assessments...

He specifically criticized Confucian scholars for only knowing classical Chinese texts and being ignorant of practical matters.

On the contrary, it is those unorthodox individuals who cannot clearly identify which school of thought they belong to.

Because they live at the bottom of society, they have a better understanding of the people's situation and know how to handle basic livelihood issues.

Therefore, he rejected most of the Confucian scholars recruited this time.

On the contrary, those who came from unofficial backgrounds were generally given corresponding official positions.

This wave of criticism greatly angered the Confucian scholars, and officials with Confucian backgrounds submitted memorials expressing their dissatisfaction.

Zhu Yuanzhang retorted directly with one sentence: the court has no need for pedantic scholars who are lazy and ignorant of farming.

Instead of shouting here, we should think about how to make Confucian scholars more knowledgeable about worldly affairs.

Some people disagreed, saying that experience can be accumulated on the job, and that giving them an official position would allow them to become competent in about six months.

Zhu Yuanzhang completely ignored this.

Seeing that he didn't speak, some people became bolder.

The memorial stated that as long as the people are taught the thoughts of sages and virtuous men, and they all understand the greater good, the world will naturally be well-governed.

Without saying a word, Zhu Yuanzhang dismissed all those who had spoken out of office.

The courtiers immediately fell silent.

Moreover, they also sensed something was wrong. Wasn't it supposed to be that the emperor was starting to lean towards Confucianism?
How come I can't see it at all?
Many people sought advice from Song Lian and Liu Bowen.

As before, Liu Bowen remained silent.

Song Lian was different; he felt really exhausted dealing with these people's problems.

If his self-control hadn't prevented him, he would have really wanted to shout, "Are you pigs?"
But anger aside, the matter still needs to be resolved.

This incident also reminded him of Ma Yu.

The two had a falling out earlier, and Ma Yu's attitude was very clear: he was dissatisfied with many aspects of the current state of Confucianism.

Could it be that he said something to the emperor?
Then, considering that he left his home and then went to the palace, and not long after that this incident happened.

This further confirmed his suspicions.

Song Lian wasn't angry about this; instead, he felt helpless.

In his view, Ma Yu's initial approach to him was a sign of respect. Only after he rejected the proposal did he go to the emperor to voice his concerns.

This is in accordance with etiquette and is not the behavior of a petty person who tattles behind someone's back.

But the more this happened, the more helpless he felt.

The key point is that Ma Yu's statement wasn't wrong; some Confucian scholars really don't know anything except how to read books.

It's simply impossible to expect such a person to manage the people well.

On the contrary, he should thank Ma Yu.

If these people were to become officials and cause trouble, it would be the reputation of Confucianism that would be ruined.

Instead of blaming Ma Yu, we should think about how to change the current predicament.

However, he really didn't have any good solutions.

Therefore, when faced with those who came to him seeking his help to take charge of the overall situation, he could only respond with...

The emperor has made up his mind. Let's all work together to figure out how to solve the problem of Confucian scholars being ignorant of practical matters.

His suggestion was that Confucian scholars could work as scribes in government offices for a period of time during their spare time from studying.

However, his proposal was unacceptable to many Confucian scholars.

We are upright officials; how can we engage in the work of corrupt officials?

Some Confucian scholars also began to have reservations about him.

As the leader of the civil officials, why don't you, Song Lian, dare to fight the emperor and let him know that we Confucian scholars are not to be trifled with?

Song Lian felt even more helpless about this.

I couldn't help but agree with Ma Yu's statement; some Confucian scholars were too naive and outrageous.

Despite his anger, he did do something.

The memorial was submitted the very next day. The students had studied diligently for decades, which was no easy feat.

Many scholars were supported by their entire families.

It would be far too cruel to strip them of their qualifications to hold office.

Moreover, now is a time when talent is needed, and those who have achieved success through reading are all outstanding individuals.

Giving up on them like this would not be conducive to national development.

We hope the Emperor will show mercy and consider giving them another chance.

This time, Zhu Yuanzhang did not object again, but went along with it.

As long as you can solve the problem of Confucian scholars being unfamiliar with worldly affairs, we can certainly use them.

As for how to solve it, let's all think of a solution together.

When they figure it out, they will be allowed to become officials.

With a seemingly effortless and subtle move, the conflict was diverted.

It was no longer a conflict between the emperor and Confucian scholars, but rather how Confucianism should solve its own problems.

However, there is no feasible solution to this problem in the short term.

Those who only know how to study by rote will still not become officials.

On the contrary, the officials who were not from Confucian backgrounds were overjoyed.

The emperor did not completely align himself with Confucianism. When selecting officials, he only considered virtue and talent, not which school of thought you belonged to.

As a result, more unorthodox individuals began to eagerly prepare to respond to the court's next recruitment drive.

Li Shanchang was overjoyed and recommended many 'talented people' in succession.

Even someone like Zhou Dexing, who barely knew any characters, was put into the Ministry of Justice.

Zhu Yuanzhang simply watched without saying a word.

Since most of these people were founding nobles, if the emperor opposed them, many people would probably think he was mean and ungrateful.

But he wasn't a political novice; he couldn't oppose the appointment, but he could sabotage it in other ways.

Not long after, he sent Zhou Dexing and others to the front line under the pretext of a rebellion by the local people in the southeast.

Other nobles who were not capable of performing clerical work were also transferred away.

He wasn't overly happy that he had finally managed to resolve the crisis.

With the unification of the country imminent, many people began to have their own ambitions, wanting to secure a suitable position in the court.

We must find a way to solve this problem.

At this moment, Ma Yu's previous suggestion came to mind again.

He immediately found Zhu Biao and said, "Don't delay any longer about Ma Yu's suggestion that you teach the children of noble families. Get started on it right away."

Zhu Biao was startled and quickly asked, "What happened?"

Zhu Yuanzhang then recounted Li Shanchang's actions and the thoughts of the nobles:
"Go and teach the sons of noble families, let them influence their elders, and hopefully it will have some effect."

Zhu Biao dared not delay any longer and quickly left the palace to find Ma Yu, explaining the situation:
"You made this suggestion, do you have any advice for me, brother?"

Ma Yu shook his head and said, "Your Majesty's idea is good, but I think its effect will be limited."

Why would valiant generals in the army listen to the opinions of their own children?

"To solve this problem, we still need to start with the system."

Zhu Biao sighed, "That's true, but there are so many things to deal with right now, how can we possibly attend to all of that at the moment?"

"Besides, as you know, if your previous speculation is true, the court still needs the nobles to suppress the Confucianists."

"There is actually very little we can do right now."

"It is already quite difficult to guide the sons of noble families well."

Ma Yu sighed inwardly, "That's true."

There are priorities in matters, and relatively speaking, resolving the hidden dangers of Confucianism is the most important thing.

We need to break this deadlock at least first.

The problems of the nobles can be addressed later.

Zhu Biao, fearing he might be frightened, reassured him, "The nobles only want some benefits; they don't have any ulterior motives."

"Besides, the world is far from being unified, and there is a need for military operations everywhere, so they can't stay idle."

"We are doing all this only to safeguard the long-term interests of the nobles."

Ma Yu smiled and said, "I know, but I do have an idea for solving the problem of the nobles."

Zhu Biao was overjoyed and asked, "Tell me quickly, what is the method?"

Ma Yu shook her head and said, "I can't say, at least it's not appropriate to say it now."

Zhu Biao said dejectedly, "My cousin, are you trying to drive your elder brother crazy? Stop keeping me in suspense and just tell me."

Ma Yu firmly stated, "It's not that I want to keep you in suspense, but this method is somewhat rebellious to you now."

“Even if I told you, you wouldn’t accept it, and it would only affect our relationship.”

"I will tell you when the time is right."

Outrageous? Unacceptable?

Zhu Biao was completely bewildered. What kind of method is this?
This only piqued his interest further, and he kept asking questions.

Ma Yu couldn't take the questioning anymore and simply said:
"Let me put it bluntly: your perspective is too narrow right now, and there are many things you wouldn't understand even if I explained them to you."

"Right now, I can only teach you things step by step."

"I can only tell you when your understanding reaches a level that allows you to comprehend it."

These words were incredibly arrogant, yet Zhu Biao actually nodded in agreement.

"Alright, I look forward to that day."

Ma Yu nodded solemnly and said, "I believe that day is not far off."

The two then continued to discuss the issue of educating the members of the small group, and soon came up with a general charter.

To put it simply, less preaching and more influence through practical actions.

Even if you're going to preach, you have to find the right time so that people don't find it annoying.

With the plan settled, the two agreed to begin the operation the next day, after which Zhu Biao returned to the palace.

He didn't hide anything and relayed Ma Yu's words, including his lack of vision.

Empress Ma, on the other hand, was full of anticipation.

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't stand it anymore and angrily said, "This is too arrogant! It's more believable that his elders would say such things, but does he even deserve it?"

"Didn't he say he had a broad perspective?"

“Alright, go ask him another day how to solve the problem of Confucian scholars being ignorant of practical matters.”

"Let's see if he's as good as he claims."

(End of this chapter)