frightfiction Chapter 678 is over; His Highness the Crown Prince has become ill from anger.
Chapter 678 is over; His Highness the Crown Prince has become ill from anger.
Zhu Biao said with a smile, "It is inevitable to reduce the number of soldiers in the garrisons who are unwilling to serve. Whether or not to establish government-run farms in various places depends on the results of the Dengzhou farm trial. However, the reclamation farms in Liaodong are unrelated to this matter."
Both Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen were taken aback.
The Liaodong reclamation farms were unrelated to the reduction of garrison soldiers.
What does that relate to?
Zhu Biao stood up, walked to the huge map, and gestured with his hands: "Right now, our Great Ming Dynasty has two pressing problems."
"First, the north and south are becoming increasingly separated."
“Some northerners do not regard southerners as their own people, and even call southerners “southern barbarians”.”
This problem was sown after the infamous puppet emperor Shi Jingtang ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun, and the Yuan dynasty's four-class system further amplified it.
For example, after the famous General Zhang Hongfan defeated the Southern Song army led by Zhang Shijie at Yaishan, he carved "General Zhang Hongfan destroyed the Song Dynasty here" on the stone wall.
In his speech, he did not consider himself a Han Chinese at all.
Or rather, Zhang Hongfan considered himself a Han Chinese, but regarded the people of Jiangnan as "Southerners".
Zhu Biao continued, "The second problem is that some people never treat ordinary people as human beings."
Local gentry and scholars, as well as those scholars who would become local gentry and scholars.
The fate of the former was already sealed.
As the names of Liu Bowen, Hu Weiyong, and even Li Shanchang's nine generations of relatives flashed wildly before the King of Hell, the gentry of Jiangnan, whether they liked it or not, were destined to either reclaim wasteland in Liaodong or perform hard labor in Dengzhou.
What about the latter?
Zhu Biao sighed slightly and said, "Officials are made by scholars, and so are local gentry and gentry."
"If scholars become corrupt, it will be the common people who suffer in the end."
"When the people can't survive, they will definitely create another one-eyed stone man, and who knows, the story of the hidden book in the belly of a fish will reappear one day."
"I've been pondering how to prevent scholars from becoming corrupted."
"After much thought, I think it's best to first establish a farm in Liaodong, and let the scholars who are about to become officials work on the farm for a year, so that they can understand the hardships of farming."
Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen exchanged a glance, feeling a bit uneasy.
Those scholars study hard for years, all they want is to become officials.
If you force people to go to Liaodong to reclaim wasteland and cultivate the land, do you think scholars would be happy about it?
Li Shanchang sighed inwardly.
His Highness the Crown Prince is still too young.
Whenever they see Yang Dianfeng coming up with a new trick, they want to try it out, without considering the consequences of messing it up.
Just as Li Shanchang was pondering how to advise Zhu Biao, Zhu Biao continued, "If the Dengzhou reclamation farms are effective, I also plan to have more articles written in the official gazette and newspapers, calling on scholars from all over the country to go to the local government-run reclamation farms to learn farming."
Li Shanchang immediately became restless.
Why are you getting more and more excited as you talk?
Is it something you can just do on a whim that would offend all the scholars in the world?
No, I must persuade His Highness the Crown Prince that he should not rashly cause such a commotion.
As the saying goes, you can't eat hot tofu in a hurry.
Even if we were to take action against those scholars, we should at least deal with the problem of the local gentry first.
Li Shanchang winked at Liu Bowen, intending to step forward and persuade him, but Zhu Biao added, "And the sons of all the noble families in the court must spend two years on farms before entering officialdom."
As Zhu Biao finished speaking, Li Shanchang swallowed back the words of advice he had intended to give.
Oh no, His Highness the Crown Prince has been so angry he's developed a mental illness.
He wanted to target the gentry, the scholars, and even the sons of noble families.
Is he planning to follow his brother-in-law's example and completely stand in opposition to the gentry and nobles?
Just as Li Shanchang was pondering whether to write a letter to Emperor Zhu, urging him to return to preside over the government, Zhu Biao said meaningfully, "The nobles share the fate of the nation. If the Ming Dynasty falls, the nobles will become worthless."
As Zhu Biao finished speaking, Li Shanchang and Liu Bowen immediately frowned.
This is indeed the truth.
Vice Emperor Zhu's ideas were also good.
The problem is that these ideas should never be implemented now.
Li Shanchang frowned and said, "Your Highness's ideas are all correct and well-intentioned."
"As for the nobles, your minister and the Earl of Chengyi can go and explain things to them. I believe they will understand."
"But shouldn't we postpone calling on scholars across the country to go to government-run farms to learn farming?"
Zhu Biao nodded and smiled, "As I just said, I need to see the situation at Dengzhou Farm before making a decision."
……
Just after leaving the palace, Li Shanchang stopped Liu Bowen and asked, "What do you think, Brother Qingtian?"
Liu Bowen rolled his eyes and replied, "Whatever Brother Shanchang thinks, that's what I think."
Your, Li Shanchang's, list of nine generations of relatives flashed twice in the King of Hell's palace, while my, Liu Bowen's, list of nine generations of relatives flashed repeatedly in the King of Hell's palace. One foot of each of my nine generations of relatives, young and old, was constantly hopping in front of the King of Hell's palace, and who knows when they might finally fall in completely.
You, Li Shanchang, are the Duke of Han, who shares the fate of the nation, and I am also the Earl of Chengyi, who shares the fate of the nation. You will not get any good out of me, and neither will I.
Therefore, if Your Highness intends to target those gentry and scholars, it would be a dereliction of duty for me, the Chief Censor of the Censorate, not to offer myself up as a weapon!
Li Shanchang cut to the chase and asked directly, "Brother Qingtian, don't you think His Highness is acting too hastily?"
Liu Bowen rolled his eyes again and retorted, "Isn't it enough that Your Highness hasn't immediately put these matters aside?"
“I know that Brother Shanchang is worried that some people will resort to desperate measures.”
“But…” Liu Bowen pointed to the east and said, “Your Highness has an additional hundred-household garrison as guards in the Eastern Palace, and these guards are all from Ningyang County or from the personal guards of the Imperial Son-in-Law’s residence.”
"With them around, what can some people do even if they're desperate?"
"Not to mention that the Emperor and Empress are still in Ningyang County, the Second Prince and Fifth Prince are in Dengzhou, and the Third Prince and Fourth Prince are in the army."
"They say it's like a cornered dog jumping over a wall, but would those people really dare to jump out?"
"They're nothing but a bunch of petty thieves."
"They are too proud to risk their lives for important matters, and too greedy to pursue petty gains."
"They can only do bad things from behind the scenes."
"If you really ask them to jump out, I'm afraid they won't have the guts."
After a slight pause, Liu Bowen added, "Brother Shanchang, don't forget that the person in charge of the children's case and the ironware case is the renowned Prince Consort Yang."
"In my opinion, Your Highness was able to bring these things up so easily because you had probably already discussed them with the Prince Consort beforehand, and it is even possible that you have already received the approval of the higher-ups."