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Facts have proven that there are indeed not many unthinking students, except for a part of truly brainless fools who rushed out of the tents with the young dog of the Zhang Xijin family, the remaining students chose to be cautious and only walked out of the tents the next day after the sun was high up, under the roar of the imperial guards.
Looking down at the clean ground, sniffing the faint smell of blood in the air, and then thinking about the cheap, almost free breakfasts like eggs, bread, steamed buns, mantou, pickles, and milk in the school cafeteria, these cautious students deeply regretted it. If they hadn't listened to the胡言 and the瞎忽悠 of the young dog of the Zhang Xijin family, they should be sitting in the school cafeteria now, reading the圣贤书 or the《大明报纸》 in their hands, and eating breakfast that was nearly ten times cheaper than the normal price outside, instead of huddling together and shivering like quails?
Especially for students from ordinary backgrounds, this experience was even more obvious. After all, no matter how cheap the prices in the Great Ming were, they still had to be bought with money. As students, they enjoyed subsidies from the Ministry of Revenue, not only could they eat breakfast that was nearly ten times cheaper than outside the school, but those with better grades could even get scholarships to help their families.
Now, not only did they have to shiver in the cold wind, but their future destinies were also unknown!
A famous decadent literati from the Central Plains Hall once said that fear does not necessarily come from a lack of firepower, but can also come from the unknown.
The cold, the hunger in their stomachs, and the worries about the future made these students unconsciously huddle together, trying to seek warmth by banding together—both for their bodies and for their courage.ノ亅丶說壹2З
However, the imperial guards did not intend to give the students a chance to huddle together for warmth. They directly ordered the students to stand at attention. It was only when the palace gate creaked open again and the imperial guards who patrolled from time to time retreated to the side that Emperor Zhu, along with Zeng Cheng, Liu Heming, and a few other elder statesmen, once again appeared before the students.
Frankly speaking, Emperor Zhu was somewhat surprised to see thousands of students still present.
While it couldn't be said that all these students were brainless, there weren't many who were truly brainy. After all, truly brainy students wouldn't have been fooled by Hu Wenhong and the young dog of the Zhang Xijin family to cry out at the palace gates. If Hu Wenhong and the young dog of the Zhang Xijin family had fooled them again, these brainless fools might have rushed to charge the imperial guards or fled directly in a moment of impulsiveness, and would never have stayed in the tents obediently to await judgment after dawn.
However, the faint smell of blood in the air and the more than three thousand students standing before him proved the theory that even ants want to survive, and incidentally proved that truly brainless students were the minority.
Emperor Zhu let out a cold laugh, glanced at the students from side to side, and then said with a smile, "Since you didn't follow those scoundrels in their mischief, I won't take your lives directly. However, while capital punishment is avoidable, lesser punishments are unavoidable."
As Emperor Zhu's words fell, the faces of the students immediately turned pale. Exile for three thousand miles, forced labor, court beatings, and various other punishments kept replaying in their minds. Some students' legs had already gone weak, feeling that it would have been better to die directly than to accept Emperor Zhu's so-called lesser punishments.
Emperor Zhu glanced at the students again and sneered, "Don't worry, I won't exile you for three thousand miles, nor will I inflict any cruel torture on you. I just plan to take you to the countryside to walk around and see."
This time, it was the students' turn to be surprised.
The matter of crying out at the palace gates could be either serious or trivial. If viewed as serious, it could be directly classified as rebellion. If viewed as trivial, it could also be classified as an incorrect method of remonstrance. A severe punishment could involve the extermination of nine generations of relatives, while a light punishment could be to raise it high and then put it down gently.
Or rather, the key to Zhu Jinsong's perspective on the matter was the impact of a certain event on all the people of the Great Ming.
If they conceded this time and abolished the ancestral rule of "only students are not allowed" according to the students' demands, would these students who had tasted the sweetness demand more in the future?
Zhu Jinsong naturally did not wish for these troublesome matters to recur.
After laughing heartily, Zhu Jinsong let out a cold snort and said, "Right is right, and wrong is wrong. Clearly, they are in the wrong, so why are you two acting as if the court is in the wrong?"
After exchanging glances again, Zeng Cheng and Liu Heming tentatively said, "Your Majesty, the vast public opinion..."
Zhu Jinsong directly waved his hand and asked with a smile, "Vast public opinion? Let me ask you, is this world the world of the people, or the world of the literati?"
Zeng Cheng was immediately choked speechless.
Before the Song Dynasty, the world was nominally the emperor's world, but in reality, it was the world of noble families.
After the Song Dynasty, the world was still nominally the emperor's world, but in reality, it had already become the world of scholar-officials.
What is the difference between scholar-officials and noble families?
A scholar-official who does not wish to become a noble family is not a qualified scholar-official.
As for the "people of the world" mentioned by Emperor Zhu?
The people of the world certainly included more than just scholar-officials and noble families, but scholar-officials and noble families could, through the discourse they controlled, package themselves as representatives of the people of the world.
Therefore, Emperor Zhu's question itself was flawed – scholar-officials could righteously claim that they were the people of the world, so this world was the world of the people of the world.
And it was also the world of scholar-officials.
After a long silence, Zeng Cheng bowed slightly and replied, "Your Majesty's heart yearns for the people of the world, but the people of the world may not be able to understand Your Majesty's painstaking efforts."
Emperor Zhu's words were very well-measured, but they were like a thunderclap in Zeng Cheng's ears, terrifying him.
A common cliché, right?
But when this word came from the mouth of an emperor, saying that someone intended to "act tyrannically" over the common people, the meaning of this word returned to its original meaning.
"Only the ruler dispenses blessings, only the ruler dispenses power, only the ruler feasts. Ministers do not dispense blessings or power, nor do they feast."
This quote comes from the Book of Documents: Hong Fan, and originally meant that only the king could hold absolute authority and dispense rewards and punishments.
Therefore, Emperor Zhu's words could also be understood in another way, which was that someone intended to exercise the power of a king.
This was tantamount to calling those scholar-officials rebels to their faces!
Even if Emperor Zhu himself had no such intention, those who served as his ministers must proceed from this perspective!
Liu Heming, standing beside Zeng Cheng, was not as thoughtful as Zeng Cheng.
Although he understood in his heart, Liu Heming still intended to forge the documents of the Ministry of War directly.
If he could resolve today's mess, what was the big deal about sacrificing his own life?
Of course, Zeng Cheng and Liu Heming also had their own selfish interests.
Sometimes, it was not a big deal to bet one's life, because it was a sure-win gamble—they would certainly lose their heads, but the prosperity and wealth of their families could continue for a longer time!
Seeing that Zeng Cheng and Liu Heming were even competing to take the blame for mobilizing troops to enter the city to quell the rebellion, and willingly offered their heads to be chopped, Zhu Jinsong couldn't help but laugh, "You two don't need to compete or rush. What I've decided, you can't persuade me otherwise."
After speaking, Zhu Jinsong simply paced back to the imperial desk, sat back on the dragon throne, and commanded without looking back, "Draft an imperial edict, mobilize the first army and first division of the Imperial Guard to enter the city and surround the Imperial City. No scholar or official present shall be allowed to escape. Mobilize the Suolun Camp in the capital to enter the city and seal the city gates, allowing entry but not exit."
"Dispatch an edict to the Five City Patrol and Traffic Department, ordering them to maintain order in the capital and impose a curfew after You Shi tonight."
"Draft another edict, enfeoffing the eldest son Zhu Jianying as the Crown Prince of the Great Ming. All troops currently near the Ottoman Empire shall be temporarily under the Crown Prince's command. Liu Erniu, the Grand Commander of the Southern Army of the Five Military Commanderies, shall immediately depart for the Ottoman Empire to assist."
"Draft another edict, enfeoffing the second son Zhu Jianyu as the King of Liao, with the original Eastern and Central Siberia as his fiefdom. He shall leave the palace immediately to take up his post. In addition, one thousand strong men shall be selected from the Suolun tribe to accompany the King of Liao to develop the territory. Geng Rui, the Grand Commander of the Northern Army of the Five Military Commanderies, shall accompany him."
As Emperor Zhu's imperial decrees poured out one after another, Zeng Cheng and Liu Heming were both stunned!
When Emperor Zhu launched his rebellion, he was only eighteen years old. In just two or three years, he had overthrown the entire Great Qing and ascended the throne. It had only been a little over twenty years since then.
Zeng Cheng bowed slightly and paid homage to Emperor Zhu, saying, "Your Majesty,"
Old Man Chen and Old Man Hu and others looked at Qi Feng, who was speaking eloquently, with blank expressions, and could not believe that these words were coming from Qi Feng's mouth.
Old Man Hu's eyes lit up, "The person you are talking about, is it Zhang Wenhong of the near prefectures and foreign tribes?"
Daming originated from the term "Mingzhu" (名主), which referred to land with a name, meaning private land. Daming referred to people who owned a large amount of land.
During the Muromachi Shogunate, the samurai leaders who joined Ashikaga Takauji's uprising were appointed Shugo, governing one or several provinces, collectively known as Shugo Daimyo.
After the Onin War, the trend of "gekokujo" (下克上) prevailed in Japan, and many Shugo Daimyo declined, while small lords rose to become Sengoku Daimyo.
During the Edo period, the Shogunate divided the Daimyo of the country into Fudai Daimyo (vassals of Tokugawa Ieyasu) and Tozama Daimyo (Daimyo who had originally submitted to Toyotomi Hideyoshi).
Because Inukai Wenhong said, "If the Great Ming were to rule Japan."
To put it bluntly, Japan, which was praised to the heavens by countless incurable individuals, was actually similar to the situation in India. India had a caste system, and Japan also had a class system.
For example, why would ronin samurai who lost their masters remain ronin instead of finding a job?
This also meant that Tokugawa Ienari, in order to completely complete the blockade, had to first deal with those ronin.
The feudal lords of Chikuzen, Chikugo, Buzen, Bungo, Hizen, Tsushima, Hyuga, and other regions also responded one after another, while other feudal lords and daimyo couldn't help but frown.
This geographical difference naturally led to unbalanced development among the various domains. Some domains were relatively wealthy, while others were extremely poor.
The difference in wealth and poverty would directly reflect in the number of ronin within each domain.
The poorer the domain, the more ronin it had.
More importantly, Satsuma Domain and the feudal lords of Chikuzen and Chikugo also had a common designation: the Kyushu Domains.
These domains originally made a living in the Kyushu Island area. Satsuma Domain even sent troops to capture the Ryukyu Kingdom, forcing the King of Ryukyu to pay tribute to Japan.
If it was said that they were willing, they were certainly unwilling. Shimazu Hisamitsu and the feudal lords of Chikuzen and Chikugo had also considered resisting, at least to get a better place, right?
Then Shimazu Hisamitsu and his followers nimbly moved to Ezo, completely ceding Kyushu Island.
If they were to obey the command of their feudal lords and ignore Tokugawa Ienari, what would the Shogunate think? If they mutually hindered and argued, how could they possibly clear the nest of chickens and ronin!
This was even more unacceptable to the feudal lords than directly providing money to support Tokugawa Ienari!
After Tokugawa Ienari finished speaking, the feudal lords present secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, they couldn't help but feel a little suspicious.
As everyone knows, besides being lecherous, Tokugawa Ienari's biggest flaw was greed. The corrupt practices of his sons and daughters in accumulating wealth could be said to be inherited from Tokugawa Ienari.
Tokugawa Ienari, however, was secretly filled with hatred.
As for sending ninjas or bringing people with leprosy to the territory of Mitsukata Keni and his son to cause trouble, Tokugawa Ienari did not have such thoughts for the time being.
Unfortunately, Tokugawa Ienari's plan was going well, but it was now disrupted by the two scoundrels Shimazu Hisamitsu and Matsudaira Nobunobu.
The feudal lords and daimyo present were somewhat bewildered, not knowing what this scoundrel Tokugawa Ienari wanted to say next.
Under the bewildered eyes of the merchants, Qi Feng unfurled a map of Japan and said casually, gesturing with his hand, "Leprosy has not fully erupted in Japan. Many of the short and stubby people in many places don't even know what leprosy is, let alone how to prevent or treat leprosy."
"What we need to do now is to find any daimyo who is willing to cooperate with us, package him as a daimyo who is wholeheartedly considering the good people and low-born people of Japan, and consider the entire Japan, so that those short and stubby people will firmly believe that this daimyo can save Japan."
"As long as those short and stubby people believe it, subsequently, even if leprosy spreads rapidly on a large scale, the blockade efforts of the Japanese court and the Shogunate will increase, the impact on those short and stubby people in Japan will be greater, food shortages will become more severe, and the number of deaths will increase."
"In short, there are opportunities to make money sooner or later, but our brothers will definitely all make money."
"After we have made enough money, we will find a few daimyo and provide them with some firearms and artillery, and let them fight directly."
"War means death, war also causes food shortages, and war requires medicinal materials. Naturally, our brothers will be able to earn more money."