Chapter 78: Theory of human nature being good and theory of human nature being evil.

"Lift the curfew?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhu Biao's eyes suddenly widened with a look of disbelief.

"Well, it means lifting the curfew."

Zhu Gang nodded calmly.

"You shouldn't be confused about why the old man set a curfew, right?"

In response, Zhu Biao still shook his head.

"Didn't the old man set a curfew to restore the population and maintain law and order?"

Zhu Gang still waved his hand nonchalantly.

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the tyranny of the Yuan court and the sharp decline in population caused by wars had ultimately dealt a heavy blow to the world.

Therefore, after Zhu Yuanzhang established the Kaiyuan period, he imposed a curfew, hoping to restore the population.

After all, the lives of the people in ancient times were very monotonous, especially at night.

During the long night, with no entertainment activities available, every household was busy with the activities of making babies.

But the effect is indeed significant, and from the early years of Hongwu to this year, the population of the Ming Dynasty has increased at an extremely fast rate.

"If you knew that, why did you ask the old man to cancel the curfew?"

Zhu Biao was stunned again and asked.

Zhu Biao never doubted the intelligence of his third son, so since Zhu Gang could understand it, why did he ask Zhu Yuanzhang to cancel the curfew?
After all, in Zhu Biao's view, a curfew can not only eliminate many hidden dangers, but also quickly restore the population, and it will be of great benefit to the Ming Dynasty.

Could it be that curfews also have drawbacks?
"Guess Taiyuan, has the curfew been lifted?"

Zhu Gang did not answer, but looked at Zhu Biao and asked back.

"Given your personality, you will definitely kill first and ask for permission later."

Zhu Biao thought about it and then spoke.

"Yes."

"When I first arrived in Taiyuan, I sent someone to order the curfew to be lifted and encourage people to open night markets."

Hearing this, Zhu Gang nodded.

In the sixth year of Hongwu, the first order Zhu Gang issued when he entered Taiyuan was to lift the curfew.

Although this move was opposed by a large number of officials, it was obvious that no one could stop Zhu Gang from doing what he wanted to do.

"You have just arrived in Taiyuan and have no foundation. How can you lift the curfew set by the old man in Taiyuan?"

Zhu Biao frowned again.

After all, if it weren't for Zhu Yuanzhang's secret help, it would not have been so easy for Zhu Gang to control Taiyuan.

Therefore, it was bound to be opposed by the officials in Taiyuan. How did Zhu Gang implement the curfew?
"The officialdom in the capital is full of intrigue and deception, and it is full of twists and turns."

"But do you think that the officialdom in the outer towns is better than that in the capital?"

"You know, where there are people, there are rivers and lakes, not to mention that they are ministers from other towns."

“And they also have to understand, who am I?”

"I am the legitimate son of the Hongwu Emperor, the first king of Jin in the Ming Dynasty, and I control the military power of Shanxi. In name, I am the leader of all the kings."

"So, I will be in charge of Taiyuan's government affairs in the future."

“Then I will lift the curfew. Even if I will face opposition from officials, it will only be temporary opposition because they don’t have the courage to investigate further.”

"It's even more impossible for you to confront me head-on and defend the curfew set by the old man."

"After all, the fact that they can become officials proves that they are smart, so it makes sense. They think clearly."

Zhu Gang's lips curled up into a smile again.

"It is better for the county magistrate to take charge now. The capital is more than 4,000 miles away from Taiyuan. As long as we deliberately conceal the truth, we can indeed hide it from the old man's eyes and ears."

"And if someone else violates the old man's curfew, it would be a capital crime. But you are different. You are the legitimate son, you are the prince."

"Family members should protect each other, so no matter how serious the crime you have committed, as long as it is not a rebellion, the old man will only give you a minor punishment and a severe warning."

"Then it's obviously not a wise move to offend you."

"But in terms of their status, they are officials of the Ming Dynasty, so their verbal opposition still needs to go through the motions."

"This way, even if the old man really wants to conduct a strict investigation, they can get away with it."

"After all, no one can challenge the power of King Jin. We can only be angry but not speak out, and be coerced by him."

Zhu Biao immediately understood what Zhu Gang meant and nodded.

"Yes, I knew their evil plan from the beginning."

"But at that time, I needed such ministers, so I did not touch them."

"And when I actually took over the military power of Shanxi, I replaced all these officials."

"After all, if they can do it on the first day, I, the King of Jin, can also do it on the fifteenth."

Zhu Gang still smiled.

The strategy of being soft first and hard later was Zhu Gang's means of controlling Taiyuan.

After all, these officials are not in Taiyuan for nothing, and each of them has some complicated power connections.

I'm afraid that even in the capital, these officials have some tricks.

Moreover, the ancients were not as stupid as they thought, because they also understood that after Zhu Gang became a vassal in Taiyuan, he would definitely take control of Taiyuan.

So they either had to join the Jin Wang Party or pack up and leave, and they had no other choice.

"That's true. After all, you can't have your cake and eat it too."

Zhu Biao also nodded slightly.

"Then you can probably guess why I insisted on lifting the curfew?"

Seeing Zhu Biao nod, Zhu Gang asked again in a low voice.

"Can't guess."

Zhu Biao, constrained by his limited thinking, naturally could not guess Zhu Gang's thoughts, so he just shook his head.

"In short, the old man issued a curfew, firstly to maintain law and order, and secondly to restore the population."

"After all, the Ming Dynasty is still in a state of disrepair, and if we want to recover quickly, we must first solve the population problem."

"So it seems that the old man is not wrong. In fact, all dynasties have restored the vitality of the world in this way."

"But do you know what the first thing I saw when I first arrived in Taiyuan was?"

As he spoke, Zhu Gang took another deep breath and clenched his fists tightly.

"what?"

Zhu Biao seemed to sense Zhu Gang's heaviness, and he also spoke in a deep voice.

"Eating each other's children."

Zhu Gang's voice was low, and there was an indescribable bitterness in his eyes, as if these few words carried too much heaviness and sadness.

After saying this, Zhu Gang seemed to have all his strength drained away, and he leaned weakly against the wall of the study.

That posture revealed not only physical fatigue, but also the shock and pain deep in the soul.

Because at this moment, Zhu Gang was not the powerful King of Jin.

He is an ordinary citizen who has witnessed the greatest pain in the world and is overwhelmed by the heavy sorrow.

"boom--"

The powerlessness in Zhu Gang's voice exploded like thunder in Zhu Biao's heart, and it hurt Zhu Biao's soul!

"Eating each other's children." Zhu Biao repeated these words over and over again, his face was as pale as snow, his eyes were full of regret and shock. Under curfew, there was such grief?

As night fell, the streets of the ancient city of Taiyuan looked particularly deserted in the dim firelight, and the occasional sound of the wind seemed to be mixed with a barely perceptible wailing.

In a dilapidated little house, the weak candlelight barely illuminated two haggard faces in the corner.

A young couple hugged their thin child tightly, tears silently sliding down the child's cheeks, intertwined with the pain brought by hunger.

Outside, another couple approached slowly, also with heavy hearts.

The door was pushed open with a creak, and the eyes of the two pairs of parents met in the dim light.

There were no words, only the sound of heavy breathing and the unspeakable pain in each other's hearts.

At the moment of the exchange, it seemed as if time had stopped and every movement was as heavy as a thousand pounds. The two children were half-pushed and half-reluctantly exchanged into each other's arms.

"In order to survive" the choked voice broke the silence, like a sharp blade cutting through the tranquility of the night and piercing into the softest part of everyone's heart.

This was the most painful sorrow during the chaotic times at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty.

"And this is why the old man is only seeking population growth, but he has never thought deeply about whether he can give them hope of survival while giving them life?"

"How can numbers measure the pain of children coming into the world but lingering on in hunger and misery?"

"But brother, have you ever seen those young women dragging four or five young children behind them, with the food in front of them being too coarse to fill their stomachs?"

"But can your eyes still burst with joy and expectation?"

"Have you ever heard with your own ears the subtle yet deafening sobs of mothers facing their hungry children in the cold wind at night?"

"Have you ever smelled the smell of tears and despair in the quiet nights of those desperate families who were hungry?

Zhu Gang's voice was filled with irrepressible indignation amidst his sorrow.

And each of these words was like a heavy hammer, hitting Zhu Biao's heart, making him feel the same pain and unwillingness.

Hearing the voice, Zhu Biao's face turned even paler, and his whole body trembled with grief.

"So this is why I must lift the curfew and encourage people to open night markets."

Facing the silent Zhu Biao, Zhu Gang spoke again.

"Because only in this way can the people have a way to survive and the children have a way to live."

"And under the rule of our Great Ming, we cannot increase the population just for the sake of population."

After a long time, Zhu Biao raised his head and said.

"That's right. I've seen too many joys and sorrows since I left the capital."

"Let's put it this way. Under the curfew system, the population did grow wildly, but abandonment and drowning were also common occurrences."

"Why? I can't afford it."

"Whether it's food or disease, it's not something a poor family can afford."

"Another reason is that they favor boys over girls. After all, in their minds, boys can carry on the family line, while girls are just money-losing goods."

"Plus, if the family is poor, they will sell the baby girl, but these days, there are only two purposes for buying a child."

"One reason is that they can't have children, so they hope to buy a child to take care of them in their old age."

"One is a laborer bought since childhood. After all, children eat less, but a half-grown boy is also a good laborer."

"But who would buy what they subconsciously think is a money-losing product? The final fate of these baby girls is either to be sold to a brothel or to die."

After saying this, Zhu Gang sighed softly again.

"Killing a child is a serious crime! Do they really dare to do it?"

Hearing this, Zhu Biao spoke again in a trembling voice.

"Haha, if you can't even live happily anymore, who would care whether the crime is serious or not?"

"Besides, every poor family has its own problems, so the people will definitely hide such things from each other."

"Even if the government noticed something, most of them would turn a blind eye. After all, they also understand the cruelty involved."

"That's why, even though people know it's a serious crime, they still do it."

Zhu Gang shook his head again.

After these words were spoken, Zhu Biao clenched his fists again, and at this moment he finally understood what it meant to feel powerless.

"So what did you do after you arrived in Taiyuan?"

Afterwards, Zhu Biao tried to suppress the grief in his heart, but still looked at Zhu Gang with some numbness and asked.

“Lift the curfew and build a Salesian home.”

Zhu Gang said without even thinking about it.

"Salesian House?"

Zhu Biao was slightly stunned and asked: "What is this?"

"The Salesian Home is used to adopt children who have been abandoned or are about to be abandoned."

"Because I knew that the Ming Dynasty's laws would not have any effect, so I paid for the construction of an orphanage in Taiyuan."

"And tell the people of Taiyuan that anyone who cannot afford to raise a child or wants to abandon a child, regardless of whether the child is a boy or a girl, can send the child to the orphanage."

"And I will compensate them."

Zhu Gang thought about it and said.

"Compensation. Third brother, if they all send their children to the Salesian Home in exchange for compensation on the grounds that their families are poor and unable to raise them, how will you respond?"

"Furthermore, when those children grow up and their biological parents want them to return to their ancestral home, what will you do with them?"

"Don't forget, we are connected by blood. Even if you have abandoned them, how can you stop them from recognizing their relationship?"

"And how do you balance reason and law?"

Hearing this, Zhu Biao looked at Zhu Gang with concern.

"It's true that I paid for it, but it wasn't built in my name."

In response, Zhu Gang waved his hand.

"Not in your name?"

Zhu Biao frowned again.

"Well, it is to prevent those who want to get something for nothing."

"Besides, the Salesian Home is in the name of the outside world. After receiving this little money, this child has nothing to do with them. Whether the child lives or dies in the future, it has nothing to do with them."

"The other thing is to tell the people that these abandoned children will be sent to Jiangnan in the future to serve as maids and attendants in wealthy families."

"And you have to understand that human nature is good, but also evil. The theory of human nature being good and the theory of human nature being evil have always been difficult to distinguish."

Zhu Gang looked at Zhu Biao deeply again and said.

"If I tell them frankly, they will definitely not believe it, because no one will be kind enough to help him raise a child, so there must be some profit in this."

"But after all, a life was saved. As a parent, even if you are cruel, you still have some compassion for your child."

"Sending them to a salesian home can not only help them get through this difficult time, but also keep them well fed and clothed. Why not do it?"

There was a gleam of light in Zhu Biao's eyes.

"That's right. Besides, there are so many children in the orphanage who need to be taken care of. This has also solved the livelihood of many people."
Zhu Gang stretched out his hand again and patted Zhu Biao on the shoulder.

"But where did you get the money?"

Zhu Biao nodded in understanding, but still asked.

"Cough cough."

(End of this chapter)