First Minister of Ming Dynasty

"But after these eight words, there are eight more words...Equally divide the fields and relieve the people." Zhang Ximeng smiled faintly, "I think the key lies in these eight words, equally divide the fields and help the people! These eight words The word is not only aimed at the Yuan Dynasty, Zhao Song established the country, and merged without restraint. The rich have lands and fields, and the poor have no place to stand. Because of this, after the rise of the Mongols, they swept the world, and the people of Zhao and Song had nothing. , How are they willing to sacrifice their lives for the Great Song Dynasty? This is the reason why the Great Song Dynasty suffered a crushing defeat, which is the real destiny!"

"After the Mongols took control of the Central Plains, they not only did not reflect on Zhao Song's bad governance, but they wantonly occupied the land and squeezed the people. A life of the Han people is worth less than a donkey! The Song Dynasty had a bit of exploitation, and the Yuan court carried it forward, which the Song Dynasty did not have. , Yuan Ting weeds out the old to bring forth the new. All in all, Yuan Ting's efforts are ten times and a hundred times better than those of the Song Dynasty!"

"In less than a hundred years, the people of the world have been driven to the limit, and they had to raise their troops to rebel. Only then did the red scarves spread all over the world! This is also the key to the Yuan court's loss of destiny!"

"Speaking of this, what is the destiny? I thought the destiny was the will of the people! The biggest key to the people's will is the people's livelihood! And the foundation of the people's livelihood is the land! It is food! So it is not an exaggeration to say that food is the real destiny. "

Zhang Ximeng's detailed analysis, when he talked about it up to this point, was shocking, but he still didn't like it enough, so he continued: "So the purpose of our uprising is two-fold... The first is to expel the Yuan court, restore the Han people, and take back the land. Abolish the decree that oppresses the Han people, the north and the south are united, there is no distinction between Mongols, Semu people, and Han people...Human life is at stake, and it is not allowed to equate the lives of some people with livestock! Never allow it!"

"As for the second level, it is to cut off the long-existing maladministration, which can be traced back to Zhao and Song Dynasties, or even earlier... Crack down on the powerful, divide the land evenly, and realize that the tiller can have the land. Average corvee taxes and establish a fair and just Kingdom! This is the fundamental purpose of this uprising!"

Zhang Ximeng glanced at everyone again, and finally his eyes fell on Liu Bowen. He found that Liu Bowen's forehead was covered with sweat. He was obviously shocked and couldn't be counted!

Zhang Ximeng fully established the height, don't worry about the Yuan Dynasty, what we have to do is far beyond the rise and fall of the dynasty, what we want to cut off is the bad governance of thousands of years!

If you are willing to join it, you are naturally welcome, even if you are a Mongolian.If you don't want to join, you still want to live a life as a master, oppress the common people, oppress the poor, even if you are a Han Chinese, you are also an enemy!

Zhu Yuanzhang finally showed a gratified smile, "Who is in favor of what Mr. Zhang said, and who is against it?"

Chapter 182

Without a common thinking, no matter how many soldiers and horses there are, they are all a mob, unable to withstand wind and rain.However, it is not easy to build consensus and form a unified ideological understanding.

Everyone has their own interests, starting from their own, the result is naturally strange and unimaginable, just like the Han scholar-bureaucrats, who actually share the same interests with the Mongolian nobles. In their view, the Red Scarf Army is even more terrifying than the Yuan court The presence.

Today's Zhu Jiajun needs to clean up the source, clean up wrong ideas, and truly realize the unity of thought.

Zhu Yuanzhang's dignified eyes swept over everyone, and finally fell on Liu Bowen.Old Zhu didn't think he would agree at all, just based on what he just said, he could sacrifice his head to the flag!

Sure enough, Liu Bowen said solemnly: "I am a minister of the Great Yuan. Unfortunately, I fell into the bandit camp and died. Please give me a good time!"

He really wanted to die!

Zhang Ximeng said before Zhu Yuanzhang: "You haven't said what you just said, do you agree or disagree? It's not a gentleman's behavior to avoid the important and take the light!"

Liu Bowen became more and more embarrassed, and his old face flushed. In fact, he had already thought of a lot when he saw those sixteen words.To expel the Hulu and restore China.

It is tantamount to treating the Yuan court as a barbarian barbarian, destroying the Yuan court, and restoring the Han family. This is a very powerful call, and it is also the best reason for these Han officials to join the Zhu family army.

Of course, it is not enough to offset some people's nostalgia for Yuan Ting. There are many factors in it, including personal emotional issues and rejection of rebels, but in the final analysis, it is still a matter of interests.

That's why there are the following eight characters, to divide the land evenly, and to save the people!

In the history of the Central Plains, the Li Gang and Chen Ji were used. In fact, by comparing the differences between the two, we can understand the intention of the proposer. Suffering, we crusade against Yuan Ting to restore Gangji.

What discipline was restored?Nature is the three cardinal principles and five constant principles, the order that Confucian scholar-bureaucrats have always sung.

And this slogan also implies a layer of meaning. At the beginning of the founding of the Yuan Dynasty, it was the destiny of the Yuan Dynasty to establish order and order. After that, the emperors who followed were too stretched, so they had to attack.

This also coincides with many of Lao Zhu's statements about the Yuan court... To put it bluntly, it is Zhu Yuanzhang's compromise with the old bureaucrats of the Yuan court and with the entire group of scholars and landlords.

Did the majestic Emperor Hongwu also compromise?

Nonsense, if he won't compromise, how can he sit on the dragon chair!

The difference between Zhu Yuanzhang and ordinary people is that he has a knife in his heart, and the compromise is only temporary. When he has the opportunity, he will definitely kill him back.

From the beginning of his ascension to his death... No matter how much pressure and difficulties there are, Zhu Yuanzhang has completed this road, always consistent, and never forgetting his original intention.

Perhaps this is where Zhu Yuanzhang's charm lies!

However, after Zhang Ximeng's modification, the establishment of guidelines and records has become a clear and equal division of land, that is to say, anyone who ignores the annexation of land and lets it go is a big mistake.According to this standard, it wasn't just Zhao Song who was wrong!

You must know that all aristocratic landlords and wealthy families are chasing land, and it is their instinct to annex fields. They rely on the land to collect rent and enjoy the benefits. Being a comfortable rentier has been the consensus of all people for thousands of years. .

Once the idea of ​​evenly dividing the land, that is to say, the annexation of the land by the entire group of gentry and landlords has become unfair.It is equivalent to digging the ancestral grave of the scholar group.

Liu Bowen is so smart, how can he not understand the powerful relationship.

But the more he understood, the more panicked he became. The reason is very simple, he can reject Zhu Yuanzhang and become a pure minister of the Yuan Dynasty. In this way, even if he dies, his reputation will not be ruined.

His behavior is still in line with the general morality of the scholar group, and some people even praise his integrity, which can still be recognized within the scholar group.

For many scholars, this is enough. On the contrary, being ostracized by the world and condemned by thousands of people, that kind of fate is even more miserable. And Mr. Xu Ge is still regarded by many people as a famous face of ZTE, but if you look closely at the actions of the two people, it seems that they are not the same...

Therefore, the lethality contained in the four words of evenly dividing the field is unparalleled, belonging to the three-body star level.

The smarter you are, the more you understand its power.

Where exactly did Zhu Yuanzhang dig out this young man? It's really tricky and weird!

"Is it the king's land in the whole world, and the king's ministers on the coast of the land. You talk about dividing the land evenly, but in the final analysis, the land belongs to the heavenly family, so it is not the private property of the family!" Liu Bowen's eyes were sharp, and he decided to make a desperate fight. The old man's head can be broken, blood can be shed, and the truth cannot be lost!

Facing Liu Bowen's heart-breaking question, Zhang Ximeng said calmly, "Are you saying that all the land in the world is the king's land, and all the land produced by the land is dedicated to the royal family? Or is it that a royal family eats up all the output?"

Liu Bowen was stunned, "The emperor's family, of course, cannot afford these taxes, but the ministers are the emperor's retainers, and the soldiers are the emperor's own soldiers. Why don't they serve the emperor's family?"

"That's a good point. After all, they are all the emperor's family. So let me ask the scholars in the world, what is the purpose of cultivating one's morality, regulating the family, governing the country and the world? Why don't they all become servants of the emperor?" Zhang Ximeng said calmly: "Speaking of it, the emperor The residence is nothing more than an imperial palace, and meals have to be eaten separately. Thousands of courtiers, how can it be for the emperor alone... What's more, the officials of various ministries, provinces and state capitals, uphold the laws of the country to govern the people. They are all humble social instruments The common people pay the land tax and support the officials, but also for someone to be able to judge right from wrong, maintain discipline, and protect the country and the people.”

"The Son of Heaven cannot rule the world by himself, nor can the Son of Heaven alone enjoy all the offerings of billions of people... After all, there is no king's land in the whole world. Enjoy, the justice of the emperor's distribution, the people are convinced, the country is peaceful and the people are safe. The emperor's distribution is unfair, the world is in turmoil, the country is turbulent, refugees are everywhere, rebels are everywhere, and someone needs to come out to redistribute the land. And those who can divide the land well can King of Heaven, sit on the dragon chair!"

"What the emperor has is not the land, but the right to distribute the land. The courtiers are not the emperor's retainers, but the virtuous people selected by the emperor from the billions of people, people with both ability and political integrity, to assist the emperor and divide the land , maintain good discipline, protect the people, and make good public objects... The emperor accepts the order of heaven and obeys the hearts of the people. The hearts of the people desire fairness, and the common people want justice. All kinds of justice, all kinds of fairness, the core is only the field of land! Therefore, the equal distribution of fields is the core of the core!"

Zhang Ximeng finished speaking in one breath, and then looked at the audience, all were silent, and a needle could be heard.

After a while, there were sighs again, and Liu Ji was not the only one who frowned and thought!

There are not a few masters present, Jia Lu is second to none, followed by Zhu Sheng's level is also top-notch.

Then there are Li Xi and Tao An, both well-known old Confucians.

Besides them, several important officials captured by the Yuan court were not simple figures, especially Gong Bosui. He participated in the compilation of history and served as a counselor for Tuotuo.

It's just that Li Shanchang, although he is the head of Zhu Yuanzhang's civil servants (note that the head of civil servants is not equal to the first civil servant), but he was born as a small official and has been busy with specific government affairs.

After listening to Zhang Ximeng's mostly pragmatic speech, he didn't know much about it.What did you say? It's just an ordinary argument, and even if the superior becomes the emperor, I'm afraid he won't be able to follow through. It's all flashy stuff.

He looked strange, but among the group of people, Gong Bosui was the first to stand up and bowed deeply.

"Zhang Gonggao's theory, let me suddenly understand. I also have a few words of experience, and I want to say it, so I can't spit it out!"

Zhang Ximeng smiled and said, "Please enlighten me!"

Gong Bo then coughed, and then said loudly: "The kings of the Han and Tang Dynasties, at the beginning of the founding of the country, rested with the people, gave the people land, benevolent to the people, and returned to their hearts. Therefore, the prosperity of the Han and Tang Dynasties was achieved. Although the kings of the early Song Dynasty loved the people, they did not Suppressing mergers, although the country is rich and the people are poor...so the country's situation is getting worse day by day, losing to Khitan, losing to Jin, losing to Mongolia, until the country is destroyed!"

"The emperor of the Yuan Dynasty had no love for the people, nor did he have the desire to suppress mergers. Instead, he occupied the fields and squeezed the people. He enslaved thousands of Han people with Mongols and Semu people. Exhausting the national treasury to buy people's hearts. After ascending the throne, he plundered wantonly and acted recklessly. How can such a king not perish! How can such a country not perish! Hulu has no national fortune for a hundred years, and this is justified!"

After Gong Bosui finished speaking, Jia Lu also sighed, "Living between heaven and earth, with the blue sky above your head and thick soil under your feet, giving the people acres of land is the foundation for the people to live and live! Annexing the acres of land is to cut off the people's vitality. Since there is no hope of survival, Naturally, we have to rise up, cut trees into soldiers, and raise poles to revolt. If one man is in trouble, the whole country will collapse. Yuan Tingkong has a million troops, but he lost to a stone man. This lesson can be said to be unforgettable!"

Zhu Sheng even clasped his hands and said: "The Son of Heaven bears the order of the heavens, divides the land evenly, and takes care of the common people. The courtiers follow the orders of the emperor to herd the people. Although the common people worship the emperor's hundreds of officials, they are not fish and meat that they can ask for. Heaven has the heart of the people, and God wills the people!"

When Zhu Sheng said this, his eyes lit up, his beard fluttered, and he was in high spirits.

"Zhang Ji, the way you teach can be said to be the most rational in the world, and it is unknown if it will surpass Zhu Zi in the future!"

Based on these words, can you surpass the sage Zhu Xi?

Li Shanchang was still dizzy.

Liu Bowen said coldly: "You bragging about yourself, in the end, you are just talking about the truth and harming the country with empty talk!"

Zhang Ximeng smiled, "Empty talk is certainly harmful to the country, but this statement is not empty talk!"

After he finished speaking, he turned around and bowed deeply to Zhu Yuanzhang, "My lord, I thought that I should divide the land in the south of the Yangtze River, and I ask my lord for permission!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Jia Lu, Zhu Sheng, Tao An, Li Xi, and Li Shanchang, who was half a beat behind, also stood up and bowed together, "Please give me permission!"

Zhu Yuanzhang blushed, and he understood most of Zhang Ximeng's remarks. After all, he had studied with Zhang Ximeng for several years, and he knew what Zhang Ximeng was thinking.

But at the moment Zhu Yuanzhang doesn't mind the shackles Zhang Ximeng put on the emperor... On the contrary, he prefers that Zhang Ximeng treats us as the emperor!

Do we really have the emperor's life?

Lao Zhu's blood boiled all over, "Okay, let's do as Mr. Zhang wants!"

At this moment, Zhang Ximeng turned his head and smiled at Liu Bowen, and said calmly: "Now it's not just empty talk, but practical, practical work to rejuvenate the country!"

Chapter 183 Newborn

After this conversation, many civil servants under Zhu Yuanzhang, no matter old or new, were like spring breeze, especially Jia Lu and Zhu Sheng, the two old men couldn't stop laughing, which can be said to be a great comfort for the old.

In fact, the two of them are in a similar situation to Liu Bowen. They were both officials of the Yuan court. Jia Lu also became Zhongshu Zuocheng, belonging to the highest level.

Even if they have thoroughly seen the essence of Yuan Ting, they don't have the heart to summon Yuan Ting's soul.But the past experience cannot be erased, there will always be people who make irresponsible remarks and point fingers.

For example, Zhu Sheng, after assisting Zhu Yuanzhang to win the world in history, he immediately retreated bravely and stopped meddling in the government. As the top adviser who proposed the nine-character mantra, after the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, he did not achieve much. The water is so deep that he can't hold it!

But things are very different today.

The discussion hosted by Zhang Ximeng has completely formed a new discussion... If this stuff continues to develop, it will be comparable to Dong Zhongshu's Three Strategies of Heaven and Man, and even a higher level!

There are many people in later generations who are grateful to Zulong, and praised Qin Shihuang's contribution. Without Brother Zheng, there would be no unified land of China... This is absolutely true, there is no mistake at all, and it is impossible to praise Zulong too much.

But don't forget that the Qin Dynasty died after the second generation, and it took only 15 years to unify the world. After the Qin Dynasty fell, Xiang Yu divided the princes and divided the Central Plains into smaller parts than the Warring States Period.

If Xiang Yu's path continues, the short-term unification of the land of China may be like the Peacock Dynasty.

At this time, it was Liu Bang who stood up and took over the foundation of the Qin Dynasty. The situation of great unification has been maintained, and it has continued for hundreds of years.

Since then, the great unification has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. No matter how the dynasties change, no one can resist this unified overall situation!

It is precisely because of this that in the land of the Central Plains, there are hundreds of millions of people who regard themselves as Han people. From this alone, one can know that the achievements of the Liu family are not inferior to Zulong.

The Liu family did not become emperors all at once. After Liu Bang established the country, he encountered a rebellion by a king of a different surname, and encountered the invasion of the Huns. He worked hard to put down the rebellion and was exhausted to death.

Later, the foreign relatives took power, the Lu family ruled, and then there was the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion. Although there was Wenjing rule, the world in the early Han Dynasty was still chaotic. How difficult it is to maintain the unified situation!

At this time, the baton of history was in the hands of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

Working hard to fight against the Xiongnu, Liu Che not only eradicated all hidden dangers that threatened the great unification, but also pushed the Central Plains Dynasty to a new peak. Qin Huang Han Wu, keeping pace with each other, is the greatest affirmation of him.

Coincidentally, at this time, another Confucian scholar stood up and proposed three strategies for heaven and man, instigated the emperor, dismissed hundreds of schools, and only respected Confucianism.

This unified country has been injected with thought and soul!

Dong Zhongshu advocated the relationship between heaven and man, the power of the king was granted by God, dismissed hundreds of schools of thought, respected Confucianism alone, advocated great unification, and emphasized respecting the king and fighting barbarians... His set of ideas just provided the best theoretical basis for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. Attacking the Xiongnu, the great Han Dynasty entered its heyday.

Regardless of whether it is good or not to only respect Confucianism, in fact, for more than 1000 years since the Han Dynasty, no matter how the dynasties changed, the same framework continued, and everyone just tinkered with it.

Until the Song Dynasty, 300 years of land fell into the hands of Yuan Ting, and the pride that was once there was shattered...Amidst decades of pain and depression, a touch of red rose between the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. A group of people from humble backgrounds The peasants took up arms and started the war to restore the old mountains and rivers.

From north to south of the Yellow River, east of Huaihe River and west of Huaihe River, and up and down the Yangtze River, countless heroes participated in this massive uprising, and some people shouted to reopen the sky of the Song Dynasty.Aiming at restoring the old mountains and rivers.

Yuan Ting is doomed to perish, what will the new world look like?

How will the future emperor govern the country?

What is the relationship between the emperor, the courtiers, and the common people?

The fall of Zhao and Song, the collapse of the Yuan court... What should we learn from the painful lessons of hundreds of years?

And how to govern the world?

This series of grand questions is tormenting the wise people of today... Jia Lu, Zhu Sheng, and even countless scholars are thinking, but none of them have an answer that can convince everyone, so they also have hesitation and entanglement, He has no confidence in the future, and he can't forget the past when he was a minister of the Great Yuan.

One foot has stepped into the new era, and the other foot is still struggling in the quagmire of the old era.

There is also a possibility that they faced a revolving door and overthrew the Yuan Dynasty with great difficulty. In the end, they turned back to the script of the Song Dynasty. It was still Wen Tian and Wu Xi. Party disputes continued, reforms could not be carried out, and the emperor became more and more faint. Incompetence, the rise of the barbarians on the frontier, and the tragic subjugation of the country in the end... Reliving the old dream belongs to yes!

In the end how to do?

After experiencing the painful lessons of bone-like mountains, thinkers in the late Ming Dynasty began to thoroughly reflect on what a real emperor should be like?Why did Ming Dynasty perish?

After countless days and nights of painstaking thought, someone wrote Ming Yi Dai's interview record, and put forward Yuan Jun... At the beginning of life, everyone is selfish, and everyone has his own interests; And Mo or get rid of it.There are people who come out and do not take their own benefit as profit, but make the world benefit from it; do not take their own harm as harm, but let the world release its harm; this person's hard work will be thousands of people in the world...

In ancient times, because of selfishness, no one did things that were beneficial to everyone, and no one dared to stand up for bad things that endangered everyone's interests... Until the ancient sages were born, regardless of personal gains and losses, they made profits and eliminated disadvantages. Doubly hardworking and governing the people, only then can the rule of the three generations be established.

The latter is not the case.Thinking that the power of the world's interests all belong to me, I take all the benefits of the world for myself, and all the harms of the world for others, it is all right; so that people in the world dare not be selfish, dare not benefit themselves, and take my big selfishness as their own. Grand Duke of the world.

After three generations, the monarchs regarded the world as their private property, took full advantage of the world, regarded the people of the world as guests, and regarded themselves as the master. Is this still the real way to be a king?

This is the lesson that some survivors learned from blood and tears after the fall of Ming Dynasty.

May I ask what is the true way of being a king?

How should the world be governed?

Perhaps no one would have thought about the poverty of the Ming Dynasty, and no one would have dared to think about it in the 300 years after the Ming Dynasty.

Faced with this huge problem, Zhang Ximeng gave his own answer before the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

Although the future king upholds the destiny, the destiny is the human heart, and the human heart is the land.

The land in the world is not the private property of the emperor, but it is received from the sky and distributed to the people.