Chapter 158: Using the excuse that one cannot be an official as an excuse to incite the people to rebel?

"If this arouses even greater resentment, and scholars all over the country refuse to take the imperial examination, wouldn't the court lose face?"

Zhu Biao shook his head and asked back.

As Zhu Biao was the crown prince and also had the power to govern the country, he naturally had to consider everything and there could not be the slightest hidden danger.

Banning people from eastern Zhejiang from taking the imperial examinations is equivalent to eliminating all scholars in the region.

This is also a loss for the imperial court.

But if you own the world, you can bear such losses, but it will be counterproductive.

As a result, all scholars in the world felt resentful towards the imperial court, and no one would participate in the so-called imperial examinations of the imperial court.

Isn't this just throwing the imperial court's reputation to the ground?

"Take the imperial examination, and if you pass, you can become an official. Otherwise, you can go farming."

"They have worked hard for more than ten years, even decades of studying, will they really go farming?"

"So there are only two possible outcomes. One is to honestly participate in the imperial examination, but to be a law-abiding person and not to interfere in national policy."

"The other is that as long as the scholars can incite the people to rise up and rebel against the Ming Dynasty."

"But have you ever thought that the people of our Ming Dynasty are not stupid, they have just been fooled for many years."

"Because the land tax is distributed according to the land, officials and gentry all pay taxes together, and they are not allowed to hold official positions, they are going to rebel against the court?"

"If they use this as an excuse to incite the people to rebel, the people will probably arrest them immediately and hand them over to the government. Isn't this pure idiocy?"

"It is undeniable that throughout the dynasties, including ours, there have been many honest officials, but most people only have an instinctive reaction to officials."

Zhu Gang rolled his eyes at Zhu Biao and spoke slowly again.

"What's the instinctive reaction?"

Zhu Biao didn't quite understand, so he frowned.

"fear."

Zhu Gang raised his head and said.

"Since ancient times, how many court officials can live up to the four words of integrity and honesty?"

"Most of them cannot escape political needs, mutual protection among officials, and corruption and abuse of power."

"Even in prosperous times, such corrupt officials are everywhere."

“So even if the official is a good one, the first thing people see is fear.”

"There is also an instinctive hatred towards officials."

"This is because they have been oppressed and bullied for a long time. So even if the official is a good official, works for the people and does things in a down-to-earth manner, it is close to instinct, and the people still think he is pretending."

"To put it bluntly, I just don't like officials, because officials and the people are not on the same level. What's more, the people don't fight against officials, not because they don't want to fight, but because they can't fight."

"This is why, since the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the common people have been bullied and humiliated, but have not dared to resist."

"That is a fear that has penetrated deep into my bones."

"So the scholar used the excuse that he couldn't be an official to incite the people to rebel?"

"Also, the tax system of equalizing land tax and requiring officials and gentry to pay taxes together is meant to reduce the burden on the people, but these scholars insist that this is a bad policy and that the court wants to exploit the people."

“But the tangible benefits have already been delivered, and the people will not be taken advantage of.”

"For the above two reasons, as long as the Ming Dynasty has the support of the people, no matter how cunning and scheming the scholars are, what can they do?"

After a pause, a hint of disdain flashed across Zhu Gang's eyes again.

The people of the feudal dynasties have bent their spines, not because they cannot straighten themselves up, but because the current world does not allow them to straighten their spines.

Whether it is the imperial power or the officials, the people need to respect them from the bottom of their hearts.

Because the people are ordinary people, all they have to worry about is the rice in their bowls, and this is also the result that those in power want.

So they only care about whether they can eat enough. As for whether their spine is bent or not, staying alive is more important.

As long as they can survive, even if it is a humiliating or devastating life, they will still try their best to survive.

Looking back on his life, it is obvious what foundation Zhu Gang wanted to lay for the world.

That is to straighten the people's spines, which have been bent for hundreds and thousands of years, bit by bit.

As for the reason.

There is no dynasty in this world that lasts for thousands of years. There will be turmoil every hundred years, and prosperity and decline have existed since ancient times.

But it is always the common people who suffer. As for those in power, they may live in luxury in the first half of their lives, and even if they live in turmoil and do not have a good end in the second half, it is always better than the common people.

But the bones on the road were all those of the people who died of freezing or starvation.

Therefore, instead of caring about the rise and fall of the dynasty, it is better to let the people stand up straight.

Whenever we encounter oppression and injustice, we will fight back and resist the injustice of fate.

At the same time, the national policy of the Ming Dynasty will be forever continued in the hearts of the people. No matter how the dynasties change, the national policy will still be used, and the people's lives will not become more difficult.

A thousand years later, there was another real explosion.

Only from then on, although equality in class could not be completely distinguished, the people could at least achieve equality in morality and culture, although there was still a gap.

But this is the way the world is. Everyone is equal. This is a lofty idealism, because there is inequality in everyone's heart.

"Li Heng, pass on the order."

"From now on, let the Ministry of Works supervise the construction of Yingtianfu School, and even extend it outward until it spreads throughout the Ming Dynasty, and all the sons of the people of our Ming Dynasty can enroll in school."

"As for you, sir, there are many great scholars in the Imperial College who can be your teacher."

"Also, any general in the army who wants to go into politics can study at the Imperial Academy. There will be an exam every year, and anyone who passes the exam can become an official."

"At the same time, starting next year, we will reopen the imperial examinations to recruit the best talents from all over the world."

"However, in view of the bad conditions in eastern Zhejiang, their refusal to obey the king's rule and their disregard for the grace of heaven, we deprive them of their qualification to take the imperial examinations. All people from eastern Zhejiang and surrounding areas are not allowed to take the imperial examinations, let alone serve as officials in the court."

"The tax is distributed according to the amount of land, and officials and gentry pay taxes together, but the foundation of the country cannot be shaken by anyone."

"If anyone dares to challenge the might of the Ming Dynasty, he will be punished accordingly."

"At the same time, it is announced to the world that if there are those who are dissatisfied, the court can allow them to give up the imperial examination, but they will not be allowed to take the imperial examination for the rest of their lives, nor will their descendants be allowed to take the imperial examination."

Zhu Biao turned to look at Li Heng beside him and gave the order directly.

His tone was full of determination.

Even if there are no educated people in the world who take the imperial examinations, the imperial court is still the imperial court, and the Ming Dynasty is still the Ming Dynasty.

One person or a group of people can never replace all the people in the world.

Since this group of scholars are not loyal to the court, we should destroy them and then rebuild them, so that the people of the world and their children can afford to go to school, and the court will pay the money.

Even if it is useless for one year or five years, then wait for ten or twenty years. One day, the sons of the people will become talented.

Before that, the imperial court could use military generals to let them understand government affairs in the shortest possible time and allow them to temporarily govern a region.

Everything is still in order and no one can shake it.

"According to the order."

Li Heng bowed slightly and stepped out of the imperial study to convey the imperial edict.

At that time, once this imperial edict was issued, Yingtian was shaken, Zhejiang was shaken, and the whole world would be shaken. Even Li Shanchang looked thoughtful, and no one knew what he was thinking.

To put it bluntly, the current crown prince has the courage to prepare for the worst, but no one can shake the court's national policy.

Moreover, once the imperial edict is issued, it is golden and will never be disobeyed.

The people in eastern Zhejiang have really gone too far with this move, and even the gentry and powerful people are dumbfounded.

Who could have thought that the imperial court was so cruel as to directly deprive Zhejiang East of the right to participate in the imperial examinations.

Anyone who dares to resist will be punished severely. The meaning is very clear: death.

Just a few poor and corrupt scholars dare to claim to be virtuous and to express their objections to the national policy. This in itself is a crime that cannot be forgiven.

So the purpose is to kill one to warn the rest, and at the same time let the gentry and powerful people taste the bitter fruit of adding fuel to the fire.

Because, if they hadn't fanned the flames behind the scenes, these scholars would not dare to be so arrogant.

However, not only did they fail to make the court back down, they also angered the court, which in turn deprived Zhejiang East of its imperial examination qualifications.

Then these gentry and powerful people will probably have to bear the anger of the students in eastern Zhejiang.

At the same time, these extremely powerful scholars would also submit to the court, hoping to regain the qualification to take the imperial examinations.

After all, isn't the purpose of studying for most of your life to take the imperial examination, become an official, and bring honor to your family?

But now, with an imperial decree, all the time they have spent studying for most of their lives has been wasted?
Who can handle this?

However, the court's decision to kill a chicken to scare the monkeys may not be so easy to get away with.

Zhejiang students have to swallow this bitter pill whether they can or not.

Because this has touched the core of interests, no one will share their hatred for the enemy.

As I said, power that can be held is called authority, and power that cannot be held is just empty talk.

After several days, the imperial edict also reached eastern Zhejiang, especially Mingzhou Prefecture.

When the imperial edict was announced, the students who were imprisoned in the prison were all dumbfounded.

"Let's make a scene?"

"Keep making trouble?"

"You poor, pedantic scholars dare to discuss national policy?"

"Let's not talk about whether you have official positions or achievements. Just your foolish behavior alone makes you unworthy of being a scholar."

"Now it's all right, you can study peacefully, but from now on, scholars in eastern Zhejiang are not allowed to take the imperial examinations."

"You will also be recorded in the book, because if you are not recorded, how can we distinguish you as scholars?"

"After all, the people of eastern Zhejiang still have to take part in the imperial examinations."

"As for you scholars who are high up in the sky, you cannot be called the people."

The officer's sarcastic voice sounded, and he slowly opened the prison door.

With this imperial decree, there was no reason to keep these scholars in prison any longer. It was better to release them to avoid wasting the court's money.

"By the way, fellow scholars, you can try to take to the streets to protest against injustice."

"But this time, you won't be so lucky."

"Your Majesty has issued an order that anyone who makes irresponsible comments on state policy and parades them through the streets will be punished according to their crimes and will not be forgiven lightly."

The officer's voice sounded again, but this sarcastic voice made the faces of the scholars in front of him turn red.

Even a few of the scholars had a look of regret on their faces.

"I want to see Prime Minister Hu!"

It was at this moment that the leading scholar suddenly spoke.

"Ok?"

"Haha, this is really ridiculous."

"You have neither official position nor fame, you are just a scholar with a criminal record. What right do you have to meet the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister must meet you?"

The officer was slightly stunned, then a sneer flashed in his eyes, and he said with disdain: "You are worthy?"

The officer was not a man of sharp tongue, but in the face of this group of arrogant scholars, he was able to vent his anger.

A poor and pedantic scholar, do you dare to point fingers at the imperial court just because you have only studied for two years?
The tax burden is distributed according to the amount of land, and officials and gentry all pay taxes together. What a good national policy! It is so considerate of the people.

But you still want to criticize the court?

Don’t you think about the fact that according to the books of ancient sages, even in prosperous times, people still starved to death.

The current imperial court does not want that kind of false prosperity, but wants the people to live a good life and have enough food to eat.

But these scholars who have read Jiang's books so thoroughly dare to stand up and criticize him?
You still want to meet Hu Weiyong?
Why don't you take a piss and look in the mirror?

See if you are worthy of it?
In response to this, the faces of these scholars turned green and purple, which was very interesting.

But they had no power to refute, especially at this time, the imperial court held an imperial examination to recruit officials, but excluded Zhejiang East.

What do you mean?
Even without the scholars in eastern Zhejiang, the imperial court would still be the imperial court.

But without the imperial court, the scholars in eastern Zhejiang could no longer be called scholars.

"Brother Li, didn't you tell me that the court would definitely make concessions and we would be able to live in peace?"

"What should we do now?"

"My parents paid for my education in the hope that one day I could bring honor to our family and revive our Wang family."

"But how do you want me to explain this to my parents now?"

At this moment, one of the scholars exploded, looked at the leading scholar, and began to question.

But this so-called explanation is nothing more than high-sounding words.

A hint of sneer appeared on the officer's face again.

These scholars have no calluses on their hands at all, and you can tell at first glance that they live a life of luxury.

The family members work hard on the farm and support their children's education, hoping that they can bring honor to the family.

Nature will not let them work hard.

After all, anyone can guess what this group of people are thinking.

That is, their son is definitely capable of becoming a high-ranking official, and there will definitely be many people serving their son in the future.

So how could I let my son suffer?

It was as if their son was destined to become an official, but because the imperial court had temporarily closed the imperial examination, it was just bad luck.

But after a few years, the imperial court opened the imperial examination, and their sons could take the examination again, and gradually become high-ranking officials, or at least county officials.

This is what people commonly call the county magistrate.

But after this incident, not to mention whether they could become officials with their talents, the imperial court would not allow them to take the imperial examinations, and would not allow them to become officials.

Not to mention their parents, the conflicts among this group of scholars alone would erupt in an instant and spread far and wide.

(End of this chapter)