Chapter 144 The most difficult start in history, conquering the world with only a broken bowl in hand.

"Every household can afford to raise livestock, and Taiyuan has several large farms."

In response to Zhu Gang's words, Zhu Yuanzhang opened his mouth slightly, and there was no excitement in his eyes.

On the contrary, Zhu Yuanzhang felt a little inferior at this moment.

On the market, oxen and sheep have never been affordable for poor people.

Let’s put it this way, even in the entire Jiangnan region, the number of people who can afford to raise cattle and sheep definitely does not exceed 10%.

After all, not to mention the high price of their meat, the cost of raising them is not something ordinary people can afford.

It's like farming. One year the yield is good, a year of great abundance, and one year the yield is low, a year of great disaster.

Therefore, if the livestock are not raised to a large size, it will be a huge loss.

From this we can see that among the people of the Ming Dynasty, apart from those who could really afford to lose money, only businessmen and the like would seek profit from raising livestock.

But it is a complete pipe dream to expect every household to be able to afford to raise livestock.

But in Taiyuan now, the Jinyiwei will not lie to Zhu Yuanzhang, and they don’t have the courage to lie, so this is the fact.

The price of meat in Taiyuan is low and the livestock industry is booming, so every household can afford to raise livestock and every household can afford to eat them.

By comparing himself this way, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang is not as good as his own son from head to toe. How could he not feel inferior?

"So, can your scientific breeding be popularized throughout the Ming Dynasty?"

Unlike Zhu Yuanzhang's inferiority complex, Zhu Biao had long been numb. He looked at Zhu Gang and asked.

This is also the issue that Zhu Biao is most concerned about.

But obviously, this is just nonsense. After all, our ancestors have planted the trees, and future generations can enjoy the shade.

The theory of scientific breeding has become a fairly mature technology after changes in recent years. It can improve the survival rate and reproduction rate of livestock.

In addition, the habits of livestock are recorded in detail, so that they can be popularized in the Ming Dynasty one day and all the people can benefit from them.

"Nonsense, the purpose of creating a scientific breeding method is to popularize it in Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, this scientific breeding method will be meaningless."

"And this is not for the purpose of making money for the government, but is truly beneficial to the lives of the people."

"Because from the very beginning, once the scientific breeding method was introduced, I promoted it to the people without reservation."

"So that every household can raise livestock, be self-sufficient and afford meat."

"but."

When he said this, Zhu Gang's face showed a smile again, and he continued: "The people are used to being poor. If they can afford to raise livestock, they will sell the meat to supplement their family income, and they are reluctant to eat it."

"This also happened to promote the first economic development of Taiyuan, that is, the circulation of meat, and the price was not expensive, so the people would try it, this meat that once made them salivate."

"In this way, if the people sell out, they will earn a whole head of profit, but if they buy back, they will only earn enough for a family of three for one day. In the long run, the people will still make money."

"But for Taiyuan, this is an innovation and an economic boom."

"So later on, I supported some controllable merchants and built several large-scale breeding farms in Taiyuan. Not only can they meet daily needs, but they can also provide regular supplies for the army to improve their food."

"As for the cost, it is just to promote an economic boom, but the rewards it brings are unprecedented."

"Because Taiyuan has developed well, people in the north will also join Taiyuan and become Taiyuan citizens, so the population flow is huge."

"The more livestock we raise, the better. In the long run, we can expand into the entire northern and even southern markets."

"Bringing down the price fundamentally is a blessing for the people, isn't it?"

"As for loans, just like the purchase of farming tools mentioned earlier, if the people don't have the money to buy them, the government will provide support."

"Moreover, with such a huge palace as the pillar, it will give the people a sense of conviction. In addition, there is no interest at all, and payment can be made in installments, which greatly relieves the pressure on the people."

"This is also the biggest reason why Taiyuan was able to develop, because the royal palace did not care about the cost, did not care about gains and losses, and was wholeheartedly supporting the people, so it was able to achieve the current situation."

"But if you care about money, Taiyuan is still the same Taiyuan as before."

After saying this, a look of realization flashed across everyone's faces.

Skill and courage.

Without the courage to carry out drastic reforms and extremely tough political tactics, this reform will eventually become a joke.

This is enough to show how important it is to grasp the general direction of economic development.

However, the trivial details that one hand takes care of have no practical effect on the people.

On the contrary, it will lead to the opposite conflict, with civil and military officials complaining and the people still suffering from poverty.

Thinking of this, everyone's eyes turned to Zhu Yuanzhang again.

If I remember correctly, Zhu Gang once said that Zhu Yuanzhang never knew how to grasp the general direction, but instead only knew how to focus on small details.

Facing the gazes of the crowd, Zhu Yuanzhang blushed again, but he was always stubborn, and at this moment he nodded, which was uncharacteristic of him.

This is also a disguised way of admitting one's mistake. After all, it seems that no matter how stubborn Zhu Yuanzhang is, he cannot prove that his decision is correct.

On the contrary, all the decisions made by his eldest son have stood the test of time and have enriched the lives of the people.

This is enough to prove that even if Zhu Yuanzhang said anything today, the facts are right in front of us.

Besides, it's time to admit my mistake to my stubborn son. He has done the same thing when he was a child. It happens at home anyway and it won't be spread out, so I can just be casual about it.

"Old man, do you still think that the policy of light taxation and recuperation formulated at the beginning of the founding of the country is correct?"

"Perhaps your original intention was good at the beginning of the system, because emperors of all dynasties, especially the founding emperors, would implement a national policy of light taxation and recuperation."

"But they overlooked the most fundamental problem, which is the serious land annexation, the powerful families' lawlessness and the oppression of the people."

"Just like at the feet of the emperor, the lowest person you can see is a fourth-rank minister, a minister whose name you can remember."

"Either they are old ministers in the palace, or they are young and capable and can become the backbone of the Ming Dynasty in the future."

"But under this, if the officials of a prefecture want to hide it from you, you are blind and deaf, unable to see or hear."

"So even if the people have complaints and are resentful of you, there is no way to make you hear their voices except by rebelling."

"Just like the Fengyang case in the past, Han Duo, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Works, teamed up with the police to exploit the laborers, but can you see it?"

"If Huang Gang and Gao Feng had not led the people in rebellion, and the incident had not alarmed the court, how could you have known that Han Duo, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, was exploiting labor and making personal profits from it?"

"And that's because we can't see it, but how many brave men like Huang Gang and Gao Feng are there in this world?"

"Isn't it just like a dumb person eating coptis chinensis, unable to express his pain?"

"Then think about it, does the national policy you formulated enrich the common people, or enrich the gentry, powerful people, and corrupt officials?" Zhu Gang's tone today was not as harsh as when he just came back. Instead, he looked at Zhu Yuanzhang calmly and smiled.

In the eighth year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang stopped building Ming Zhongdu.

The external announcement was due to political considerations and a desire not to add burden to the people.

But all the court officials and people from Fengyang who participated in it also understood why, but everyone kept it to themselves.

rebel.

The two people who rebelled were named Huang Gang and Gao Feng.

As for the people who forced them to rebel, one was named Li Hongqiang and the other was named Zhang Daoguang, but these two were just small minions and were not big fish at all.

The real mastermind behind the scenes was Han Duo, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works. He was also a Jinshi in the Yuan Dynasty and had served as an official in the dynasty.

In the early days of the founding of the country, Zhu Yuanzhang took a fancy to Han Duo's talents and promoted him to become the right vice minister of the Ministry of Works.

If this incident had not happened in the future, Han Duo would definitely have been able to advance to the Minister of Works and become a central minister in the court.

But unfortunately, Zhu Yuanzhang paid attention to Han Duo's talents, but ignored this man's greed, which was very hidden and clever.

If Huang Gang and Gao Feng had not risen up in rebellion, this corrupt leader would never have been caught.

After all, Han Duo used his position and influence in officialdom to weave a huge network of interests, in which many officials were forced or voluntarily joined, forming an intricate corruption system.

The outbreak of this case indicated that many officials had been brought down, including local officials, officials in the court, and even nobles from Huaixi, gentlemen from eastern Zhejiang, and civil servants from Jiangnan.

But at a glance, apart from Han Duo, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works who held real power, almost no other senior officials were brought down.

One thing that is obvious is that Han Duo was just a scapegoat, but the amount of money he embezzled is truly shocking.

Just by building Ming Zhongdu and withholding the laborers' food and wages, Han Duo made a profit of 3,000 strings of treasure money, which was all the food for the laborers.

That means it is impossible not to rebel, because you cannot survive. If you rebel, you will die, and if you don't rebel, you will die too. It is better to rebel, maybe you can find a way to survive.

After all, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang rose up in rebellion and left behind a quatrain that will be passed down through the ages: "Are kings, princes, generals, and ministers all born with a different kind of blood?"

It may not be impossible to create another Zhu Yuanzhang.

So, this is why Zhu Yuanzhang stopped the construction of Ming Zhongdu.

"Old Three is right. This is our fault."

"At first, we just wanted to relieve the pressure on the people, implement a national policy of recuperation, and encourage them to farm."

"But nine years have passed, and the people are still poor, while the gentry and corrupt officials are getting fatter and fatter."

This time Zhu Yuanzhang did not refute Zhu Gang. Instead, he nodded slightly and sighed, "It is because I stand too high that I cannot see the difficulties of the people. I made a big mistake. But this is my fault and I admit it."

Zhu Yuanzhang was stubborn all his life. He read the biographies of emperors from ancient times to the present and learned how to be an emperor from them.

But throughout his life, he was a weird emperor who never learned the essence, or maybe he didn't have the essence.

Because politics itself is progress, but who can you learn from blindly studying archaeology, especially the feudal dynasties of China which have a continuous heritage and produced many emperors?

It is clear from this that Zhu Yuanzhang initially wanted to follow the example of Li Shimin and did not want to take action against his meritorious officials.

But he still took action in the end, because every one of his old brothers deserved to die, and considering their crimes, Lao Zhu was already very merciful.

As for Li Shanchang's death, it all came down to Zhu Yuanzhang being afraid.

There is also the lesson of Sima Yi and the actions of powerful officials in history.

Being able to survive is also a sin, especially since Zhu Yuanzhang did not live longer than Li Shanchang.

So this person must die, but this is a feudal dynasty, and the emperor's power is greater than that of God. If the emperor wants his subjects to die, they have to die.

There is no need to wash it, and there is no need to be concerned about right or wrong, because politically, no one will ever give you a break just because you are right.

This is a life-and-death struggle, especially since people have seven emotions and six desires, but as long as you touch the bottom line of politics and shake the foundation of the country, this person cannot be kept.

In addition, the ruler is young and the country is in doubt, so the necessary means must be used, and it is better to kill the wrong person than to let him go.

This is also one of the main reasons why Zhu Yuanzhang was able to conquer the world.

Only a real man can be ruthless and cruel.

It also illustrates the saying that those who achieve great things do not pay attention to trivial matters, and as for their later merits and demerits, they are left for future generations to discuss.

After I die, I won’t care about the flood.

"Don't worry, Dad. The people will get better and better. Your kingdom will never be defeated. I want it to be passed down for thousands of years. This is the beginning of a brand new era."

"Even if it's no longer the Ming Dynasty, they will still remember your contributions to China and the people of this world."

Looking at Zhu Yuanzhang, who looked somewhat dejected, Zhu Gang did not want to discourage his old man, but comforted him instead.

Because being a human is like looking in the mirror. To put it bluntly, if Zhu Gang was not a time traveler, he would have never experienced that brilliant era.

Even though Zhu Yuanzhang loved him and regarded him as a treasure, the Ming Dynasty before him was still the Ming Dynasty, and the country that had been lost for three hundred years was still before him.

So as a latecomer and the son of Zhu Yuanzhang, could Zhu Gang use his later remarks to teach Zhu Yuanzhang how to move forward, how to govern the country, and how to abandon the chaff?

Leaving behind China's civilizational heritage that has lasted for thousands of years and leaving behind its steadfast etiquette is the foundation of ethics and morality in the world and must never be shaken.

But at the same time, the Ming Dynasty should not repeat the mistakes made by the ancients, because the footsteps of this era have spread from ancient times to the present.

It has taken so many talented people and great minds to finally have the beginnings of change. We must not miss it. We must keep moving forward and not stop for a single step.

This is the only way to avoid the situation where the country in the future will still belong to the Chinese people and the Han family.

As I said, in a feudal dynasty where the strong are respected, as long as you are strong enough, no one can shake your dominant position.

Because this is a continuous inheritance for thousands of years, the foundation of a great country. As long as this foundation exists, even if China experiences ups and downs, its prosperity will never perish.

As for judging Zhu Yuanzhang, as a person of later generations, it is wrong to judge a dynasty that has just risen after the end of a chaotic era, or a feudal dynasty that is constrained by limited thinking, with the eyes of a prosperous era.

After all, only by standing next to Zhu Yuanzhang can you understand how difficult it would be to face such a situation.

The most difficult start in history, conquering the world with only a broken bowl in hand.

But the real intensity lies in founding a country and governing the world.

So from a historical perspective, Zhu Gang felt that this was not just Zhu Yuanzhang's fault, but the fault of the feudal dynasty.

After all, being born under the red flag and growing up in the spring breeze has always been an elusive dream for ancient feudal dynasties.

(End of this chapter)