Though Qianlong, that old dog, admitted in person that the Great Qing's demise was not unjust, Zhu Jinsong clearly had no intention of letting him off the hook.
"The reason the Great Qing fell was actually a foregone conclusion from the moment your ancestor, Nurhaci, established the Eight Banner system."
"Beneath the Eight Banners, only your Aisin Gioro clan were true masters. The Upper Three Banners were considered high-ranking servants, and the Lower Five Banners, low-ranking servants. Han Chinese and people from the grasslands were likely not even considered livestock in your eyes."
"Therefore, without Zhu Jinsong, there would still be Liu Jinsong, or Li Jinsong."
"Furthermore, your Eight Banner system had a fatal flaw: as long as there were commoners for you Manchus to bleed dry, the flaws were not apparent. Had you been without the commoners to feed upon, your Eight Banner system would likely have perished long ago."
"To put it bluntly, the Eight Banner system was no different from Genghis Khan's Noyan system of old. Both were only suitable for raiding. Once there was nothing left to raid, the system would corrupt and collapse. Yet, you Manchus never sought progress, lacking Genghis Khan's ambition to swallow the world whole."
After once again analyzing the root causes of the Great Qing's demise with Qianlong, Zhu Jinsong turned to the assembled old farmers and said, "Esteemed elders, would you accompany me for a stroll around the village?"
Old Man Zhao wiped the corner of his eye and nodded, "Yes, Your Majesty. We are accompanying the Emperor, and it will be an honor to speak of this in the future."
Zhu Jinsong nodded, and accompanied by Empress Li and the two consorts, walked into the village under the escort of Old Man Zhao and the others.
The village, known as Zhao Family Village, was not large, perhaps a hundred households with a total population of four to five hundred people, young and old. However, the village roads were clean, lined with verdant willows, and a water channel encircled the trees, making it a comfortable sight.
As Old Man Zhao led the way, he pointed to the courtyards and boasted, "Ever since the Farmers' Association was established, and the government allotted us land, exempted us from taxes and corvée labor, our lives have become better and better. We can save a lot of grain each year."
"Later, when everyone had some spare money, we started to dislike our old shabby mud and thatched huts. Gradually, we began building these brick and tile houses."
"In the past, only landlords had water-milled carts. Now, one cannot say everyone has these things, but at least we are no longer lacking in food and clothing, and our homes have been furnished with many new items."
"We heard from the Farmers' Association that the soil here in Zhao Village is good, and we are planning to build a brick kiln soon to fire bricks and sell them. Then, besides the wages for those who work at the kiln, each household will also receive a share of the profits."
Zhu Jinsong nodded and said, "This is a good thing. It is a good thing to live a good life. Only when you live well can I live better."
"However, the work at the brick kiln is strenuous and causes significant environmental damage. You must think about planting more trees and the like; you cannot just cut them down without replanting. The brick kiln must also be considered for backfilling or for other uses in the future, so as not to leave a barren kiln pit for future generations."
Time was slowly turning toward evening, and smoke from cooking fires had begun to drift from many houses in the village.
Old Man Zhao couldn't help but boast again, "When the Great Qing was still in power, our Zhao Family Village was so poor we couldn't even afford to have our bottoms bare, and we only had two meals a day, neither of which was enough. Now, we basically have three meals a day and occasionally have meat to treat our taste buds."
Saying this, Old Man Zhao continued to play coy, "Your Majesty, do you know what kind of meat the children of our Zhao Village like to eat?"
Zhu Jinsong laughed heartily and said, "You cannot stump me on this. Those little rascals who haven't suffered much hardship surely like to eat lean meat and gnaw on bones, because the fat is too oily and makes them feel greasy."
Old Man Zhao gave a thumbs-up, first praising the Emperor for being sharp, and then launching into his display of humble bragging, "You see, in just a few days of good living, these little rascals' teeth have turned yellow from eating so well. It's infuriating to look at."
Zhu Jinsong laughed heartily again, "Being able to make these little rascals' teeth turn yellow means life has improved. This is a good thing. If one day, all the people of our Great Ming are picky about eating meat, then I will be truly happy."
Qianlong, shackled and following behind, found everything he heard increasingly uncomfortable.
"If you want to praise that traitor Zhu, go ahead, but why must you bring up my Great Qing? Had this traitor Zhu not rebelled, I would have planned to hold a third Grand Banquet for the Elderly and bestow rewards upon you common folk!"
"Speaking of which, you should hate this traitor Zhu even more. It is because of him that you will never have the chance to taste imperial court banquets in this lifetime!"
"Bah!"
Qianlong cursed silently in his heart while meticulously observing Zhao Family Village, trying to find something that could prove the Great Ming inferior to the Great Qing.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard Qianlong stared with his dog-like eyes, he could not find any fault with Zhao Family Village.
As the group walked, they gradually arrived in front of a courtyard that was larger and better than all the other houses, even more imposing than some county offices.
This gave Qianlong an opportunity to attack Zhu Jinsong: "Look, look! My Great Qing at least knew not to build official yamen, but look at you. You build your official yamen so grandly. Even the Farmers' Association in a village has such a magnificent yamen. Do you still have the face to criticize how corrupt my Great Qing officials were?"
Zhu Jinsong ignored Qianlong, but Wu Mancang could not hold back, "Old Master Qianlong, this servant knows you are blind, but there is no official yamen sign hanging above. Where do you see that this is an official yamen?"
"Let me tell you, this is the elementary school of Zhao Family Village! The elementary school! It is a place where children under seven in the village begin their learning. It was built with government funds, not by the common people using their own money!"
"Truly, if you had even half the wisdom and martial prowess of the current Emperor, or even a tenth of his love for the people, you would not have ended up in this state."
"But this servant never imagined that without even understanding what was happening, you would dare to speak so carelessly, just to prove that there is still something good about your Great Qing. You are truly shameless."
"Besides, don't you know why the Great Qing officials did not build yamen? This servant remembers that there is such a record in the files of the Stick-Catching Department. Have you truly forgotten, or are you deliberately pretending not to know?"
Qianlong was instantly enraged and glared at Wu Mancang, shouting, "You dog servant!"
Wu Mancang immediately retorted, "Who are you calling a dog servant!"
Qianlong angrily said, "A dog servant is calling you!"
Zhu Jinsong, along with Wu Mancang, Old Man Zhao, and others, burst into laughter. Empress Li and the two consorts also covered their mouths and chuckled.
Zhu Jinsong pointed at Qianlong and said with a smile, "It seems I have not misjudged. You are truly both wicked and foolish."
Qianlong's face turned from green to white. Just as he was about to retort, Zhu Jinsong said to Wu Mancang, "Don't anger him too much. If you anger him to death, where will I find such entertainment?"
Wu Mancang was immediately startled and kowtowed, "This servant deserves death!"
Zhu Jinsong's face darkened. He pulled Wu Mancang up and said, "I have always said that you are a citizen of the Great Ming, not anyone's servant. Remember this, you are now Han Chinese, a dignified person."
"Furthermore, I am the Emperor of the Great Ming, the father of all people in the realm, that is true. But I am not anyone's master. Do you understand?"
Wu Mancang's heart warmed, and he exclaimed loudly, "Yes, this commoner understands!"
They walked forward a bit more, and Old Man Zhao suddenly quickened his pace, pushed open the gate of a courtyard, and said to Zhu Jinsong, "Your Majesty, this is my courtyard. Would you like to come in and sit for a while?"
Zhu Jinsong nodded and said, "Alright, then I will come in and sit, and have a meal at the elder's home."
Old Man Zhao was overjoyed. After leading Zhu Jinsong into the house, he loudly instructed his son and daughter-in-law to kill a chicken and stew some meat. He specifically stated that they should kill a rooster and a hen, and claimed that his family's rooster and hen had been blessed for eight lifetimes to be eaten by the Emperor, Empress, and the imperial consorts.
Alas, the rooster that had been crowing for his family for over two years, and the hen that had laid countless eggs, met their end. Zhu Jinsong, the culprit, didn't even say to stop them.
Qianlong was even more displeased.
Ordinarily, let alone a rooster and hen raised for over two years, even better things might not have caught Qianlong's eye. However, after being a prisoner for so long, Qianlong had only eaten cabbage stalks and corn gruel, and had long forgotten what meat tasted like. As the fragrant rooster and hen, along with a plate of golden fried eggs and a plate of boiled and sliced white eggs were placed on the table, Qianlong couldn't help but swallow his saliva.
Of course, Qianlong knew in his heart that the traitor Zhu would certainly not let him have a bite; he would only make him salivate at the enticing aroma. Thus, Qianlong thought of finding fault with Zhu Jinsong again.
After licking his lips, Qianlong began to mock him extensively, "You, traitor Zhu, claim to love the people. But look, to entertain you with this meal, the commoners have taken out so many eggs. How can you still have the face to say you love the people and are frugal?"
Zhu Jinsong looked at Qianlong, then at the dishes on the table, and was somewhat bewildered, "No, if I eat a few of his eggs, is that also a crime?"
Let alone that I don't intend to eat for free, even if I did, at the current prices in the Great Ming, eggs were about one copper coin each. The eggs on this table, at most, were about a pound, which would be at most ten copper coins. Could this possibly be related to frugality and love for the people?
However, to Zhu Jinsong's surprise, Qianlong nodded seriously and said, "Of course it is a crime. If they are offering eggs to entertain you, they naturally wouldn't use rotten eggs. Fresh eggs like these are worth ten taels of silver each. This table must have at least ten eggs, worth a hundred taels of silver. You ate over a hundred taels of silver for one meal, is that not a crime?"
Hearing Qianlong say this, Zhu Jinsong was somewhat bewildered.
Zhu Jinsong had always thought that the story of eggs being ten taels of silver each was a joke, but he never imagined it was actually true!
Zhu Jinsong shook his head slightly and said, "You've been fooled again."
"Even in your Great Qing era, eggs were only three copper coins each. Only you, Qianlong, ate eggs worth ten taels of silver each, while everyone else ate eggs worth three copper coins. The same eggs."
"And as the lives of the people in the Great Ming have become better and better, the price of eggs has naturally decreased significantly. Now, you can buy one for one copper coin."
"Let me tell you, this rooster would sell for about thirty copper coins if sold. As for the hen, it depends on its size. One like this on the table would sell for about twenty-five copper coins, and smaller ones would be worth only twenty copper coins."
"The dishes on this entire table would amount to about one hundred copper coins at most."
"Of course, if it were your Qianlong's imperial feast, this same table of dishes would cost at least one hundred taels of silver."
Wu Mancang, who had been pulled over by Old Man Zhao to accompany the Emperor for a meal, also chuckled and said, "The Stick-Catching Department also reported the prices in the capital. I estimate you didn't see it – you are truly blind!"
Qianlong's face sank, and he angrily said, "Nonsense! If you speak of other things, I would admit it. But the intelligence from the Stick-Catching Department, when have I ever missed a single report!"
Wu Mancang sneered, "That means someone deliberately didn't let you see it, and you truly didn't see it."