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A notorious fallen literati from the Central Plains' Tang Kou once uttered a famous saying: bottom lines are meant to be broken little by little, and ancestral teachings are also meant to be defied bit by bit.
To demonstrate to the people of the realm that he was indeed prioritizing agriculture and stabilizing their hearts, Old Zhu shyly stipulated that merchants were forbidden from wearing silk, from joining the army, from taking the imperial examinations, or from becoming officials. In short, a host of messy regulations were introduced, all of which ultimately proved useless.
When Old Zhu prohibited merchants from becoming officials, certain individuals would first become officials themselves and then instruct their trusted confidantes to engage in commerce, or they would collude directly with wealthy magnates.
When Old Zhu imposed maritime restrictions, Old Fourth Zhu, under the guise of searching for Zhu Yunwen, monopolized maritime trade.
When Old Zhu enforced policies to guard the frontier against the northern tribes, both Zhu Yunwen and Old Fourth Zhu, uncle and nephew, successively curtailed the power of the feudal lords.
When Old Zhu forbade eunuchs from interfering in politics, Zhu Zhanji, against all odds, established an Imperial Eunuch Academy, inviting esteemed scholars to teach young eunuchs in the palace to read and write.
In essence, the ancestral system established by Old Zhu, while diligently enforced during the Hongwu era, was rarely adhered to in subsequent times. It also made future Ming emperors hesitant, forcing them to contend with the court and the merchants of the southeastern provinces even for the slightest opening of maritime trade.
Due to the changing times, as the Ming Dynasty developed over decades and centuries, the rules set by Old Zhu no longer aligned with the prevailing social productivity, nor did they meet the needs of the emperors, the court, or even the populace.
However, the rules established by Old Zhu should not be entirely dismissed simply because they did not meet later needs. The rules he set were undoubtedly the most fitting for the developmental circumstances of the Hongwu era, and it was precisely because of these rules that the Ming Dynasty had accumulated a certain foundation by the Hongwu period.
Now that the Emperor Zhu had suddenly brought up old matters from the Hongwu era and the old affairs of Yangzhou's Shibajia Lane, the students from merchant families were immediately rendered speechless.
Emperor Zhu cast a cold glance at the assembled students from merchant families and asked, "You believe merchants are also part of the common people of the realm, and that it is unfair to merchants for me to collect only commercial taxes and not agricultural levies and taxes. But have you ever considered that while merchants are numerically the smallest group, they control the vast majority of wealth? Is this fair to the farmers, artisans, and soldiers, who are the largest groups?"
The students from merchant families instinctively felt something was amiss – while collecting only commercial taxes might indeed be fair to the farmers, artisans, and soldiers, was it truly fair to the merchants? Did merchants not engage in business at the risk of losing their entire fortunes? Was the money in the hands of merchants not accumulated bit by bit?
Despite sensing that something was wrong, these students from merchant families dared not voice it in the presence of Emperor Zhu. This was because the gazes from the farmers of Cuigezhuang and the imperial guards responsible for their custody were even more unsettling, as if they longed to tear them apart.
Seeing the students from merchant families appear outwardly compliant but inwardly unconvinced, Emperor Zhu chuckled again and said, "I know there are risks in doing business, but I also know that business can generate profits. Those merchants who have made money can live lives far surpassing those of ordinary people and enjoy many benefits that commoners will never experience in a lifetime."
"Perhaps I can put it this way: if you feel that my treatment of merchants is unfair and that you have been wronged, you are entirely free to join the army, work as laborers, or farm. I have not stopped you, nor has the Great Ming Law. This is your freedom."
As Emperor Zhu finished speaking, the students from merchant families finally understood what was wrong—Emperor Zhu's perspective on the issue was different from everyone else's!
Emperor Zhu's status dictated that he must view matters from the perspective of the entire realm; he had to consider the entire Great Ming. However, these students from merchant families only needed to consider matters from their own family's perspective. Naturally, there was a divergence in their understanding of fairness.
The crucial point was that this issue had no solution.
As Emperor Zhu had said, if these students from merchant families felt it was unfair, they could give up their businesses. After all, the Great Ming had a population of 500 million, and there would always be someone willing to engage in commerce, and the court would still collect commercial taxes.
Casting another cold glance at the students, Emperor Zhu turned and walked away, instructing as he went, "As I said before, you did not follow that brat from Zhang Xijin's family in their wild endeavors, so your death sentences can be commuted."
"However, a new provision will be added to the Great Ming Law: all students admitted to universities and the Imperial Academy will be randomly assigned to villages across the country to farm for one year. Furthermore, any student who becomes an official must also farm for one year in the countryside."
"I know you have many ways to twist this regulation into new variations, but I don't care. I also have plenty of ways to contend with you slowly."
After speaking, Emperor Zhu, accompanied by Zeng Cheng and a group of old farmers, left the barren land. The students who remained to continue reclaiming the wasteland fell into despair—this time, it was truly over!
Regardless of whether they could later find ways to circumvent the regulation requiring students admitted to universities and the Imperial Academy, and students aspiring to be officials, to farm for a year, for now, all students across the realm would deeply resent these individuals due to this undeserved calamity!
And to be resented by all students in the realm…
Wu Zhi was clearly an official, and his wife, Lady Pan, was clearly the wife of an official. Merely for offending Shi Nai'an, how terrible did his reputation become?
Zhu Yuanzhang could be considered a good emperor, but simply because he was disliked by scholars, wasn't his reputation utterly foul?
What about Yongle, Chenghua, Zhengde, Jiajing, Wanli, Tianqi, Chongzhen… which one of them left a good reputation?
Xu Zhendong glanced at the pickaxe in his hand, then at the students from merchant families not far away, and finally couldn't help but heave a sigh before raising the pickaxe again.
"Bang!"
Emperor Zhu's footsteps paused slightly, and then he walked on without looking back.
There is an old saying in the Central Plains' Tang Kou: calamities caused by heaven can be forgiven, but self-inflicted calamities cannot be survived.
These students were doted upon by their parents and relatives at home, revered by their teachers at school, and the court even squeezed various subsidies out of its tight budget for them each year. Their post-graduation prospects were also far broader and more extensive than others. They didn't want such good lives, yet they insisted on stirring up trouble and crying out to the palace, so who could they blame?
Upon returning to the Cuigezhuang Farmers' Association, Emperor Zhu directly instructed Zeng Cheng and Cui Baoguo, "Cheng, prepare a plan later. Brother Cui, you also need to make good preparations. We must not delay our own farming season and, at the same time, teach these students how to farm, so they can also recognize the hardships of cultivation."
Zeng Cheng couldn't help but tentatively advise, "Your Majesty, isn't this a bit excessive? If it's targeting students who intend to enter officialdom, then it's understandable. But for students admitted to universities and the Imperial Academy who aim for the Royal Academy or the military, there's no need for them to farm as well, is there? Moreover, the students who caused trouble are ultimately a minority."
Emperor Zhu understood Zeng Cheng's meaning—dispatching those who caused trouble to reclaim wasteland was one thing, but dispatching students who did not participate in the trouble to reclaim wasteland, was this not another form of unfairness to them?
Or, was Emperor Zhu's approach somewhat overcorrecting?
Emperor Zhu shook his head slightly, "I know this will lead to some waste of talent, and it might even scare away some students who aspire to attend universities, the Imperial Academy, or the Royal Academy. I also know that the majority are students who did not join the commotion. But these students…"
The social schools of the Great Ming were five-year programs, with enrollment at age seven. Including three years each in county and prefectural schools, a student would be eighteen when they entered university. At eighteen, they were precisely at an age where they feared nothing. At this age, students were passionate and impulsive; if guided well, they could be a great asset, but if not guided well, they could easily cause major disturbances.
Take this incident as an example. Many thoughtless fools, easily swayed by others, dared to go to the gates of the Forbidden City to cry out to the palace. They never considered the impact of their actions, nor did they even consider their families behind them.
Having students farm for a year before entering universities or the Imperial Academy was intended both to give them an early glimpse of the true hardships of the common people and to temper their temperaments, lest these fools cause further major disruptions.
Emperor Zhu then turned his gaze to Ke Zhiming, "What about Hu Wenhong and Zhang Xijin, those scoundrels?"
Upon hearing the names Hu Wenhong and Zhang Xijin, Ke Zhiming's expression became somewhat peculiar. "Reporting to Your Majesty, Hu Wenhong and Zhang Xijin… yesterday, while Hu Yan and Zhang Yang and other students were crying out to the palace, they were feasting and celebrating in advance. I have already ordered people to send telegrams to the local Embroidered Uniform Guard to arrest them. If nothing unexpected occurs, they will be boarding the train to the capital tonight."
What is meant by joy turning to sorrow?
This is what is meant by joy turning to sorrow!
Ke Zhiming then took out an intelligence report from his懷 and continued, "Furthermore, Hu Wenhong and Zhang Xijin were too arrogant. They publicly held a celebration banquet at the Farmers' Association compound in Chenjiazhuangzi. Although this frightened some of the residents of Chenjiazhuangzi, some members of the Farmers' Association Guard reported them overnight to the Hundred-Household Office of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in Songjiang Prefecture."
Emperor Zhu took the intelligence report, examined it for a few moments, and his smile grew increasingly cold.
…
Hu Wenhong and Zhang Xijin never imagined failure. After all, thousands of students were crying out to the palace together. As long as Emperor Zhu had not descended into utter madness to the point of executing thousands of students in a fit of rage, their plan had no possibility of failure.
Even if Emperor Zhu were truly so insane as to execute thousands of students in anger, Hu Wenhong and Zhang Xijin had prepared fallback plans.
Firstly, students from all over the Great Ming would stir up trouble. This would not be just thousands of students, but tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of students causing trouble together. No matter how ruthless you, Emperor Zhu, were, could you really kill tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of students?
Don't be ridiculous. Killing tens of thousands of students is not the same as uncovering corruption cases involving tens of thousands of people. If you, Emperor Zhu, uncovered corruption cases involving tens of thousands of people, the common people of the realm would applaud. But if you killed tens of thousands of students, see how the students of the realm would view you?
Secondly, the true core members of the Hu and Zhang families had already left the Great Ming and had gone their separate ways to regions such as Sha'e, Ourolopa, Sazeyi, and even Xikunlun. Those who remained in the Great Ming were close relatives but not core family members. Even if you, Emperor Zhu, killed them all at once, the Hu and Zhang families would still have the capital to stage a comeback.
In fact, Hu Wenhong and Zhang Xijin were both conceived as contingency plans and expendable pawns. If their plan succeeded, Hu Wenhong and Zhang Xijin would become great contributors to their families, and they would receive even greater benefits in the future. If the plan failed, Hu Wenhong and Zhang Xijin would use their own lives and the lives of their clan members remaining in the Great Ming as a final bullet shot at Emperor Zhu and the Ming court, paving the way for their next plan with their lives.
Unfortunately, despite their brilliant plan, Hu Wenhong and Zhang Xijin overlooked a fatal flaw.
Information asymmetry.
It is well-known that any advanced technology, when it first appears, is applied first in the military before gradually spreading to the civilian sector. Under normal circumstances, the technological gap between the military and civilian sectors is at least one to two generations.
The telegraph was no exception.
Since the esteemed scholars of the Royal Academy had developed the telegraph, although Emperor Zhu and the Ming court had been desperately laying telegraph lines, the actual application of the telegraph still prioritized the Five Chief Military Commissions, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Eastern Depot. Secondly, it was used by the court and local government offices. As for the civilian sector, it was not opened at all. Although Hu Wenhong and Zhang Xijin knew of the telegraph's existence, they did not have the qualification to use it, nor did they have a clear understanding of how fast telegraphic communication was.
Therefore, when Hu Yan and Zhang Yang and other students, according to the planned time, began
When Emperor Zhu soft-detained those scholars crying out to the palace at the tents outside Chengtianmen,
Therefore, Hu Wenhong and Zhang Xijin felt confident enough to hold their victory banquet at the appointed time.
The execution supervisor saw that there was a problem and quickly reported it layer by layer, eventually reaching Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang was decisive and summoned Old Wang, asking him directly, "Why did you kill?"
After listening, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "To kill an unjust person and save an innocent one is a good deed!" (Original text: "杀一不义，生一无辜，可佳也。")
The execution supervisor saw that there was a problem and quickly reported it layer by layer, eventually reaching Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu Yuanzhang was decisive and summoned Old Wang, asking him directly, "Why did you kill?"
After listening, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "To kill an unjust person and save an innocent one is a good deed!" (Original text: "杀一不义，生一无辜，可佳也。")