My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 97 Essential Contradiction
"Fang Xiaoru is a man of great talent. He is not only knowledgeable but also a master of writing. However, compared with his other characteristic, it is nothing to mention!"

Old Li is a man who always exaggerates when he speaks and writes. Praising a scholar for his great talent is already the highest honor. Is there any higher praise than this?
Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and smiled, then continued reading.

"The greatest characteristic of this person is that he is absolutely loyal to the orthodoxy of the Ming imperial family!"

Absolute loyalty, is there any other meaning behind this?
But what does the orthodoxy of the Ming Dynasty royal family mean?
We, Zhu, are the orthodox royal family. Isn't it natural for Fang Xiaoru to be absolutely loyal to us?
However, Zhu Yuanzhang was relieved when he saw that Fang Xiaoru had no problems with his character.

He quite admired this scholar.

"In his eyes, the orthodoxy of the Ming imperial family refers to the orthodoxy of the heir designated by you, Old Zhu, to be the emperor. In his eyes, anyone else is a rebel no matter who becomes emperor!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned and seemed to understand what Li Han meant.

In the future that Old Li originally described, he later designated Zhu Yunwen as his successor, and then the fourth son Jingnan usurped the throne.

Could it be that something else happened between Fang Xiaoru and the fourth brother?
"If I hadn't written to you, according to the original development, Zhu Di would have invaded Yingtian Prefecture, Zhu Yunwen would have disappeared, and Zhu Di would have become the emperor himself.

After he became emperor, in order to ensure the legitimacy of his accession to the throne, that is, to ensure that he, Zhu Laosi, was qualified to inherit the legal system of the Ming Dynasty, he summoned the former ministers of Jianwen into the court.

Fang Xiaoru, however, hated Zhu Di's usurpation of the throne so much that he wore mourning clothes in the court and cried for Zhu Yunwen.

Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang was somewhat moved. He did not expect that this scholar had such a loyal and courageous side!

"Zhu Di naturally hated Fang Xiaoru for wearing mourning clothes, but at that time Fang Xiaoru was already the leader of the Confucian scholars in the world. When Zhu Di was suppressing the rebellion, the anti-rebellion manifesto on Jianwen's side was written by him, which shows how high his status in the literary world is.

Therefore, if Zhu Di wanted to obtain the legal right, he had to let Fang Xiaoru draft the edict of enthronement for him, but he refused and only wrote four big characters on the paper: "Yan thief usurped the throne!"

How could Fang Xiaoru be so principled?

Zhu Yuanzhang was also greatly shocked, and thought to himself, if all the scholars in my Ming Dynasty were as loyal as Fang Xiaoru, there would be no need to worry about eternal peace!
"Zhu Di was naturally furious and threatened to exterminate Fang Xiaoru's entire clan if he did not comply.

However, Fang Xiaoru responded: What can even ten clans do to me?

Zhu Di then ordered the extermination of Fang Xiaoru's ten clans: four clans from his father, three clans from his mother, two clans from his wife, and his relatives, friends and students as the tenth clan! "

Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's scalp went numb.

Kill ten clans! Throughout the dynasties, no matter how foolish and cruel the emperor was, he would never kill ten clans!
In his opinion, killing nine generations of a clan is the ceiling for killing.

Even if it was Zhu Yuanzhang, even if he killed countless people on the battlefield and even if he killed ministers without mercy, but when it came to killing ten generations of a clan, he knew he couldn't do it!
Even if the whole clan is plotting treason, it is impossible to kill all ten clans!
When I thought of Fang Xiaoru, the scholar who always squinted his eyes to see things, and how he would be so strong and loyal in the future, my eyes suddenly became moist.

If I can find such a loyal and righteous person in my life, what else could I ask for!

“But now, Old Zhu, you have changed your strategy for governing the country, and Zhu Biao will be the heir to the throne in the future, so it is impossible for Zhu Di to become emperor in this lifetime.

Now Zhu Di saw Fang Xiaoru like a mouse seeing a cat, which can be regarded as a way for the two of them to reach a certain form of reconciliation in the form of enemies for a future that will never happen again. "

Yes, yes, yes, yes, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded repeatedly. When he read this, he felt as if he was in another world.

Now Zhu Di would hide away when he saw Fang Xiaoru, and would tremble all over when he heard the words "righteousness". It seemed that he had been influenced and frightened by Fang Xiaoru.

Letting these two people become a pair of enemies is not a bad ending, it is better than a future where relatives kill each other and corpses are scattered all over the ground. Thanks to Lao Li, Lao Zhu can avoid future tragedies from happening again!

"As for the Confucian scholars causing trouble nowadays, this is bound to happen. In fact, it is a little slower than I expected."

Zhu Yuanzhang had just finished expressing his feelings about Fang Xiaoru and Zhu Di, and when he saw Li Han talking about serious matters, he immediately perked up.

Judging from what Lao Li said, it seems that he had anticipated this incident.

"To be honest, according to my temper, since those Confucian scholars like to study things so much, I will be generous and give them a bamboo forest, let them study for seven days and seven nights, and see if they vomit blood or not!"

Zhu Yuanzhang burst into laughter immediately. What Lao Li said was both mean and funny, but he just liked to read it. It was exactly what he wanted.

He found it extremely interesting when he thought of the scene of Confucian scholars pondering in front of the bamboo in the bamboo forest.

Every time I communicate with Lao Li, no matter how upset I am, I will feel relaxed and happy.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang knew that Li Han was joking, he relaxed completely at this moment. He knew that Li Han would definitely have a solution.

“From a historical perspective, every change and progress will encounter great resistance and even bloodshed and sacrifice.

Such as the Hu clothing and horse riding during the Warring States Period, Shang Yang's reforms, and even Wang Anshi's reforms during the reign of Emperor Shenzong of Song Dynasty. Although Wang Anshi's reforms have received mixed reviews in history, his enterprising spirit is still worthy of recognition.

The essence behind all of this is the vested interest groups’ fear and suppression of the emerging interest groups.”

Zhu Yuanzhang took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and started thinking in his mind.

Every time Lao Li mentions a new concept, it is a brainstorming session for him.

“As far as the current situation is concerned, the vested interest group is the aristocratic class represented by literati, while the emerging interest group is the craftsmen and workers.

The reason why the aristocratic class is so powerful is that they monopolize the right to interpret knowledge and learning. Therefore, no matter whether it is from the perspective of classical sages or from the perspective of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, no matter how you argue, as long as it is within their rules of the game, you will not win.

The second reason is that they also monopolized the land, and before the development of industry, land was the most important means of production in the Ming Dynasty!
The establishment of the Jiangzao Academy essentially changed the track and adopted a new approach, using technological advantages to challenge the gentry's monopoly on the right to interpret knowledge.

At the same time, because factories do not require as much land as agricultural planting, they can generate greater value, and land will then lose its original important status.

Once the right to interpret knowledge was lost and the land lost its original value, the gentry would lose their dominant position in the Ming Empire and become second-rate or even the bottom class!

This is also the fundamental reason why the aristocrats, represented by the students and Confucian scholars, reacted so strongly to the establishment of the Artisan Academy, even to the point of fighting to the death! "

Zhu Yuanzhang slapped his head. Lao Li’s explanation was so thorough that it instantly made him realize something.

The establishment of the Academy of Craftsmen and the development of factories actually struck a blow to the foundation of the gentry. No wonder those Confucian scholars came to petition every day like crazy.

It turns out that my sore spot has been stepped on!

Are you eating salty or sweet rice dumplings today, fellow book lovers?
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(End of this chapter)