"Boom... Boom... Knock ......"

The morning bell and the dusk drum, when the dusk drum sounded to represent the imminent start of the curfew in Beijing, everyone began to hurry home.

This is true for the common people, and the same is true for the military households, only the soldiers on duty can follow the team on the street and patrol openly.

It's just that after the end of the three hundred drums, the streets of Nanjing City are empty, and only the twelve guards and the soldiers and horses of the five cities appear from time to time to show that there are still living people active in this largest capital city in the Middle Ages.

Of course, this is only a small number of living people on the streets, and there are still a large number of living people in those houses.

Among them, they are divided into three, six, nine and so on according to their status and income, and those who are second only to the emperor and the clan are naturally people with official status.

Although the imperial court has been cracking down on political parties during the Hongwu period, such things as political parties have been weeds blown and grown by the spring breeze since ancient times, and it is difficult to completely eliminate them.

Just as right now, with the registration of the world's wealthy, the voices of the world's wealthy people are also like a wave, slapping at the people they support.

Whether it is Huaixi or Zhedong, or Jiangyou and Jiangdong, all people with official status and the right to speak have become the mouths of local heroes and powerful, trying to stop this turmoil.

However, few people can stop what Zhu Yuanzhang wants to do, and they have worked hard for a long time, but they still don't see the court stop moving.

Faced with this situation, some people choose to retreat, while others choose to go up in spite of difficulties......

"The old man has already read the "Book of Rich People" of the household department, and seven of them have become Han Chinese, and only three have become northerners."

In the pavilion, when such a discriminatory sentence came out of the private room, none of the more than ten people in the private room refuted it, but instead echoed it.

More than ten people in this private room are all people who have appeared in the first five rows of the Jintai of the Chang Dynasty, that is, officials above the fifth grade.

As an official above the fifth grade, he actually said such discriminatory words, and he also had a deeply disapproving expression, and I don't know how indignant the people who were scolded by them as 'Northern Barbarians' would be after hearing it.

Sitting on the main seat of the banquet, Liu Sanwu, an eighty-five-year-old Hanlin scholar, raised his wine glass and stroked his white beard with one hand:

"Yesterday, Your Majesty appointed the old man to be the main exam, so I hereby invite you to a banquet."

"Tan Weng broke the fee, I knew it was this matter, I should wait for Tan Weng to ask Tan Weng to ......"

"Exactly, Tan Weng is the three elders of the country, the leader of Shilin, and he will be examined by Tan Weng, and he must be fair!"

"Tanon ......"

As soon as Liu Sanwu spoke, everyone echoed.

In their mouths, Liu Sanwu is like a generous and open-minded person, but who would have thought that such a person would actually call southerners Han and northerners northerners.

What's even more ironic is that everyone still thinks that what he said is right, and they echo it and pursue it.

It makes sense for them to be courteous, because Liu Sanwu is a great Confucian in the south, and he is called the "three elders" along with Wang Rui and Zhu Shan.

Because of his reputation, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Yunwen's grandson all have a lot of respect for him.

Because of this, the regulations of the imperial examination system of the Ming Dynasty were formulated by his disciples and officials.

In addition, he also wrote the preface to the criminal law "Great Message" during the Hongwu period, and he also edited the "Huanyu Tongzhi", which can be called an encyclopedia of the surrounding countries of the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, the above things are only the tip of the iceberg in his decades-long career, and one of the things he has had the greatest impact should be that after Zhu Yuanzhang dismissed Mencius, he was personally responsible for the deletion of the book "Mencius".

In the twenty-seventh year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang was displeased because of some of the remarks in "Mencius", so he ordered Liu Sanwu to preside over the deletion of "Mencius", which did not conform to the remarks of "monarchs, ministers, ministers, fathers, sons".

In this way, Liu Sanwu, in line with the idea of everything for Zhu Yuanzhang's rule, made drastic revisions to "Mencius", deleted nearly half of the content and compiled it into a book, called "Mencius Verses".

After the completion of this book, Zhu Yuanzhang made another decree, stipulating that this book should be distributed to all prefectures and counties across the country as the standard textbook for the imperial examination, and in the future, if the proposition of the imperial examination is involved, if it involves "Mencius", it is only allowed to find materials from the "Mencius Verses".

It can be said that this is tantamount to filtering out Mencius's unpleasant words with the imperial examination in disguise.

As a typical southern literati, Liu Sanwu admired Cheng Zhu Lixue and opposed many of the "correct theories" in Mencius, so he completed the matter of deleting the book "Mencius" with great care.

Under his deletion and revision, the book "Mencius" became unrecognizable, and this was what he considered his greatest achievement in his life.

Not only that, but last year, Liu Sanwu asked Zhu Yunwen to improve the "Da Ming Law", and took the initiative to revise the "Da Ming Law" according to his favorite "Book of Rites".

In the eyes of the southern scholars, these books by Liu Sanwuxiu were very suitable for their academic philosophy, so they were greatly touted.

On the contrary, it was the northern literati who were indignant at the many articles that had been revised beyond recognition, and attacked Liu Sanwu a lot.

These attacks were all recorded by Liu Sanwu, and this time, as the main examiner, he naturally wanted to give the northerners some colors to see.

Of course, if it was just personal emotion, it would not be enough to push him to do this, but with the rich family in the south being forcibly moved to Beijing by Zhu Yuanzhang, such resentment began to form a sense of crisis.

Such a sense of crisis, after the news of Zhu Yuanzhang's poor health came out in the Forbidden City after the winter, gradually turned into a plan and an outbreak.

"In this examination, the old man will definitely use the sage's canonical proposition to test the world's scholars' understanding of the classics, so as to screen out the real Qianli Pony for the imperial court!"

Liu Sanwu's words were very vague, but none of the people present were stupid, combined with Liu Sanwu's experience, everyone naturally knew the meaning of his words.

Thinking of this, everyone discussed ancient and modern classics with Liu Sanwu, and secretly noted down Liu Sanwu's tendencies.

In the early Ming Dynasty, although there was no 'eight-strand text' that was well known to later generations, there were already strict requirements for the content format of the exam-taking essay, and it was absolutely impossible to deviate from the topic.

The proposition is just a question, and if you really want to answer it correctly, you have to see whether what you want and write is consistent with the answer in the examiner's heart.

Generally speaking, it is difficult to limit the answer to the proposition, and if you want to enter the course, it is best to stand in the mind and perspective of the examiner when he asks the question.

Only by understanding what school of thought Liu Sanwu advocates and what kind of governance style the emperor likes, can he slowly write articles that please them according to these.

Talking about the past and the present with Liu Sanwu is not about the past and the present, but about the present......

They talked loudly, but they didn't know that all the news had reached Zhu Yuanzhang's ears, but Zhu Yuanzhang at the moment was not in a good situation......

"Forehead ......"

The groans of illness and the smell of medicine filled the Qianqing Palace, lying on the stepping bed in the Heart Cultivation Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang had a sickly sallow on his face.

His body was much thinner than before the winter, and the former supreme ruler of the Ming Dynasty was no different from an ordinary patient at the moment.

"Grandpa ......"

Zhu Yunwen's voice sounded, he knelt in front of the stepping bed, holding a bowl of decoction in his hand, and carefully fed Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang's consciousness was blurred because of the pain, and in the face of the medicine spoon handed over, he turned his head and didn't want to drink it.

Zhu Yunwen said so badly that he finally turned his head and took a sip.

In the interval, the Jinyi guard commanded Song Zhong to enter the Heart Cultivation Palace, and waited quietly for the summons.

It's just that Zhu Yuanzhang at the moment can't see his face clearly.

"Who's coming......"

Zhu Yuanzhang's voice was weak, Zhu Yunwen looked back after hearing this, turned his head and replied in a low voice: "It is Song Zhong, the commander of the Jinyi Guard." ”

"Call him... Come forward. Zhu Yuanzhang gave a weak order, but Zhu Yunwen looked worried after hearing it: "But your body is ......"

"Call ......"

"Yes" Seeing Zhu Yuanzhang say this, Zhu Yunwen did not dare to be disobedient, but turned back to Song Zhong and summoned: "You come up." ”

"The minister leads ......the order" Song Zhong is a well-proportioned person with a good appearance and a well-proportioned figure, but he was promoted to his current position by Zhu Yuanzhang because he did not smile and did not climb the wealth.

Although he has no talent, he is very obedient and can do the things that Zhu Yuanzhang tells him in an orderly manner.

Because of this, after he was promoted to the commander of the Jinyi Guard this time, as Zhu Yuanzhang expected, the officials who opposed the relocation of the world's rich households were punished one by one.

After returning the salute, Song Zhong walked to the edge of the Babu bed and knelt behind Zhu Yunwen.

The distance between him and Zhu Yuanzhang was only two or three steps, but even so, Zhu Yuanzhang still couldn't see his facial features clearly, so he stretched out his hand and waved falsely: "Come forward a little more......"

When Song Zhong heard this, he hurriedly knelt down and walked a few steps forward until Zhu Yuanzhang could see him clearly.

"Let's talk about it......" seemed to sense that something was wrong with him, Zhu Yuanzhang no longer avoided Zhu Yunwen this time, and this move also made Zhu Yunwen happy, and the strength of holding the medicine spoon in his hand was greater.

"Back to Your Majesty, the grandson, Liu Rusun, a scholar of Hanlin, hosted a banquet for many ministers in the court and the central government at home."

Liu Rusun is Liu Sanwu's real name and surname, and Sanwu is his cousin.

For Liu Sanwu, a cultural white glove, Zhu Yuanzhang still likes to use it very much, after all, Liu Sanwu deleted and modified "Mencius" for him, and also formulated many principles and articles of "monarchs, ministers, ministers, fathers, sons, fathers, sons".

Because of this, he asked Liu Sanwu to serve as the chief examiner of the Spring Boudoir Examination.

"What did he say?" Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to be sober for a moment, but Song Zhong shook his head when he heard this: "He talked about articles with the ministers and told the scriptures." ”

"......" Hearing Song Zhong's words, Zhu Yunwen looked at his imperial grandfather.

His eyes were closed, as if he was thinking, and he seemed to be asleep again.

"Yun Wei, how do you think it ......?"

Just when Zhu Yunwen thought that Zhu Yuanzhang was asleep, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly asked him, and he replied carefully: "The main exam should avoid suspicion before the exam, this Liu Sanwu is still too high-profile." ”

Although Liu Sanwu is from the East Palace, Zhu Yunwen still criticized him.

He thought that Zhu Yuanzhang would take this opportunity to depose Liu Sanwu's position as the main exam, but he didn't want Zhu Yuanzhang to be tired and said: "It's okay if you don't disclose the exam questions...... How's the matter going for the rich in the world......

Zhu Yuanzhang skipped Liu Sanwu's matter, not because Liu Sanwu's matter was not important, but because he didn't have the energy to take care of this matter at the moment.

The place he paid attention to was the registration and compilation of the rich people in the world.

In this regard, Song Zhong also replied cautiously: "On the side of the household department, half of the registration and compilation of the rich people register has been completed, and now the rich people of the four provinces of Zhili, Zhejiang, Shandong, Jiangxi, and Huguang have been compiled. ”

"Among the eighteen prefectures and four provinces, there are 7,597 rich households with more than seven hectares of land, and the names of all the households have been recorded."

"How many acres of land are involved...... Zhu Yuanzhang still looks groggy, but he can soberly ask the questions he wants to know.

"Total ......" Song Zhong hesitated for a moment, and then said with difficulty: "Three hundred and seventy-eight thousand nine hundred and seventy-two ......"

Song Zhong's words shocked Zhu Yunwen, he didn't expect that the rich families of the eighteen prefectures and the four provinces of Zhili would actually control so many fields.

"Yunwen, how much cultivated land is there in the eighteen prefectures and four provinces of Zhili."

Before Zhu Yunwen could get out of his surprise, Zhu Yuanzhang's voice sounded in his ears, and he hurriedly replied: "About less than two million hectares ......."

"There are geometric ...... of the number of mouths" Zhu Yuanzhang asked again, and Zhu Yunwen also answered truthfully: "About 5.1 million households ......"

Zhu Yunwen finished answering, but Zhu Yuanzhang stopped talking, which made Zhu Yunwen understand what his imperial grandfather wanted to say.

Less than 7,600 households control nearly one-fifth of the local arable land, while the remaining five million households share the remaining four-fifths.

The rich families with so much wealth, as long as they are united, can completely empty the rogue officials appointed by the imperial court.

Their local connections, wealth and power will only grow.

What's even more fatal is that it has only been seven years since Zhu Yuanzhang last migrated to the world to enrich the people, which means that these more than 7,600 rich households were not rich people at all seven years ago, and it only took them seven years to annex nearly one-fifth of the fields in the 18 prefectures and four provinces.

Such a situation made Zhu Yuanzhang even more determined to relocate the wealthy.

The purpose of relocating the wealthy households is to put an end to the expansion of their power and wealth at the local level, and to leave a way for the people to rise.

"Grandpa, my grandson can save (know) what you mean."

Zhu Yunwen replied cautiously, and Zhu Yuanzhang finally spoke again after hearing it: "You remember, you always pay attention to these rich people, if the tail is too big, you must move them to Beijing or Zhongdu, so as to teach them who the master of this world is." ”

"Grandson remember......" Zhu Yunwen recorded Zhu Yuanzhang's words, and Zhu Yuanzhang said slowly when he heard the words:

"North Side...... Uliangha has been hit hard, and this is an opportunity......"

"You issued an order on my behalf to transfer grain from Jinan, Luoyang, Kaifeng, Beiping, Taiyuan, and Changping to 700,000 stone to Kaiping, 300,000 stone to Daning, and 200,000 stone to Jilin."

"The edict ordered your fourth uncle to control the soldiers and horses of the Sandu Division, and patrol the difficult river in the north."

"Then the edict will order your seventeenth uncle to lead the three guards of the headquarters, and Gao Xu to lead the headquarters to escort them, and each of them will patrol the ground of Wuliangha in the north to contain the ...... of Harawu."

Zhu Yuanzhang really ordered the northern tour again, and Zhu Yunwen was also relieved about this.

This matter was expected by Qi Tai, which also means that once this matter is over, his grandfather should be relieved of Zhu Di's military power to control the Sandu Division.

Relieved, Zhu Yunwen asked uneasily: "Grandpa, what about the time to send troops?" ”

Zhu Yunwen's question made Zhu Yuanzhang feel very tired, but he still reluctantly spoke:

"Before July, all the grain will arrive, and your fourth uncle will review the arrangements for the time of dispatching the troops......"

"The grandson can save it." Listening to Zhu Yuanzhang arrange everything, Zhu Yunwen also relaxed.

He continued to feed the medicine until Zhu Yuanzhang drank the bitter decoction, then he got up and saluted and left.

Seeing this, Song Zhong also got up and left.

On the bed, Zhu Yuanzhang also fell asleep after arranging everything.

Walking out of the gate of the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Yunwen did not leave, but stopped and waited for Song Zhong.

Seeing Song Zhong come out, he spoke: "Commander Song, Gu wants to know something, I don't know if you can tell the truth." ”

The grandson asked, and the minister knew everything...... "Song Zhong is not a fool, since Zhu Yuanzhang has asked Zhu Yunwen to stay and listen to the affairs just now, it means that Zhu Yuanzhang has handed over the power to Zhu Yunwen."

For this kind of thing, he, the commander of the Jinyi Guard, naturally has to tell all kinds of information to the future Son of Heaven.

"Beiping Sandu Division, how many soldiers are available?"

Zhu Yunwen asked about the number of soldiers in the Sandu Division, and Song Zhong, who heard the words, replied without thinking: "According to the Yamen documents of last year, not counting the guards of the King of Yan, the King of Ning, the King of Liao and the King of Bohai County, the soldiers of the Sandu Division are more than 56,000 soldiers of the Fourteenth Wei of Beiping, more than 32,000 soldiers of Daning, more than 42,000 soldiers of Liaodong, a total of 130,000 soldiers of the Sandu Division, and more than 226,000 tun soldiers. ”

"That's ......" Zhu Yunwen groaned, and then asked, "What about Shanxi Dusi?" ”

"Although the number of nine guards and five institutes in Shanxi is small, there are more than 63,000 soldiers." Song Zhong replied without thinking.

"Okay, I see." Zhu Yunwen smiled and bowed his head, and then said to Song Zhong:

"Shanxi, Beiping, Daning, Liaodong and other capitals have to supervise the movement of soldiers and horses."

"It's just a matter of lowly office." Song Zhong returned the salute, then turned to leave.

Looking at his back, Zhu Yunwen figured out the jade on his waist with his hand, and then sat on the elephant chariot and left the East Palace.

In the following days, he presided over the morning and afternoon dynasties every day, dealt with the music in the Wuying Hall in the afternoon, and came to serve Zhu Yuanzhang to take medicine in the evening.

During this period, Zhu Jixi also expressed his desire to serve Zhu Yuanzhang, but Zhu Yunwen rejected him on the grounds that "the imperial grandfather does not want too many people to enter the Qianqing Palace".

Zhu Gaochi watched these two compete for favor, but did not join in, but honestly finished the recitals that Zhu Yunwen gave him.

Just when everyone was watching Zhu Yuanzhang's body, Zhu Yuanzhang also stubbornly withstood the cold and gradually recovered.

On the twenty-eighth day of the first month, after Zhu Yuanzhang recovered from his illness, he still handed over the Wuying Hall to Zhu Yunwen, and he only participated in the early and afternoon dynasties.

However, just when everyone thought that there was nothing wrong, on the third day after Zhu Yuanzhang recovered from his illness, news came from the northwest that shook the five governments and six departments......

"You mean, the Black Son of Fire did marry a woman to Timur."

On the last day of the first lunar month, in front of the Fengtian Hall of the Wu Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang sat on the golden platform, and his face was still a little sallow.

In front of him, the officials of the five prefectures, six ministries, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate all held their breath, waiting for the man kneeling on the ground to answer.

Wang Meng, an official of the Ministry of Rites, was the chief official sent by the Ministry of Rites to the Western Regions, responsible for investigating the situation in the Eastern Chagatai Khanate and the Timurid Kingdom.

This matter started in July last year, and it has not come to fruition until today.

Kneeling on the ground, Wang Meng replied with a solemn face: "Back to Your Majesty, the black son of fire did let the eldest son discuss the matter of marrying a daughter with Timur, and when the ministers and others secretly returned to Suzhou, they also heard the news of the black son of fire marrying his niece and Timur on the road. ”

It's been said again......

When Wang Meng's words were finished, the civil and military officials of the five governments and six ministries thought of what Zhu Gaoxu said in the Wuying Hall back then.

The envoy was detained, and the marriage was also forced, and troops were sent to invade the west of the Daming River.

Two of the above three things mentioned by Zhu Gaoxu have been realized, so in this case, I am afraid that the last thing is ......

Thinking of this, the ministers vaguely looked at Zhu Yuanzhang, who was sitting on the golden platform and had just recovered from his illness.

Standing beside Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Yunwen was also very worried in his heart.

He used to think that Zhu Gaoxu was nonsense, but he didn't want that now what he said is being realized one by one.

If this is the case, doesn't it mean that Timur will really raise troops to invade the east?

Zhu Yunwen was still worried, but Zhu Yuanzhang was still sitting firmly on the Diaoyutai: "Wang Meng, with what you saw in Yili Li, can you supply grain and grass for hundreds of thousands of troops?" ”

Zhu Yuanzhang's voice was a little hoarse, obviously his wind and cold had not yet healed.

In response to his inquiry, Wang Meng pondered for a moment, and thought of Yili in the yellow sand, and said in a deep voice: "In the opinion of the ministers, Yili is unable to support the grain and grass of tens of thousands of troops. ”

Wang Meng first gave the answer, and then specifically explained: "The minister went out of Suzhou to the west, passing through Shazhou, Hami, Huozhou, Turpan, Weilumu, Qamdo, Fear, and Rally Horsepower to the capital of his country. ”

"The cities passed along the way, most of them are earth cities and stone cities, and there are more than 10,000 people, and there are thousands of widows, and the only ones that can be called densely populated are only rally horsepower and Yili Li."

"But even so, the population of the country's capital is only a few tens of thousands, and half of the country's population lives in the valley where Yili Lili is located."

"Although Yili called Li's envoys a million in his country, as far as the ministers saw, Yili may not even have 300,000 men, and it is really ......difficult to support more than 100,000 troops to cross the Western Regions."

Wang Meng explained what he had seen along the way, and after hearing his words, many ministers in the five provinces and six ministries who did not know about the Western Regions breathed a sigh of relief.

It's just that in the face of their ease, Zhu Yuanzhang set his eyes on Li Jinglong, who was not smiling.

"Cao Guogong, how is the Tun army and Tuntian of the Shaanxi Xingdu Division?"

Zhu Yuanzhang opened his mouth to ask, and Li Jinglong also seemed to have been prepared, and responded: "Back to Your Majesty, the day before yesterday, Shaanxi Xingdu commanded the envoy Sidu to command Chen Hui Shangshu, Yanliangzhou and other eleven guards, there are 18,600 soldiers, 33,536 troops in Tuntian, and a total of 18,372 hectares of tuntian. ”

"Liangzhou, Xining, Yongchang, Suzhou, Zhuanglang and other Weituntian are rich and mature, and the annual military salary is eight points for officials, and two points for foreign losses are given to the soldiers."

"Ganzhou, Shandan and other six guards are cold, and the snow can be cultivated in April every year, so it is more difficult to reclaim than Liangzhou and other guards, and they can only achieve four points for officials and six points for losing."

"After calculation, the eleventh guard and fifty-two thousand one hundred and thirty-six military households can achieve seven points of self-sufficiency, and they still need to lose three points."

"However, the army of Tuntun has increased, and the border troops and horses of Shaanxi Xingdu are insufficient, so please ask Your Majesty to migrate to Suzhou, Xining, Ganzhou and other ......"

After Zhu Yuanzhang appointed last year, Li Jinglong began to preside over the affairs of the Hexi Tuntian, and the 11 guards and horses of the Shaanxi Xingdu Division had the habit of tuntian before, and after Li Jinglong and the household department discussed the relocation of the population and the distribution of cultivated cattle, the local 11 guards successfully reclaimed more than 2,000 hectares of cultivated land last year, which was converted into 200,000 mu.

With the supply of 1.83 million mu of local military cantonment fields, more than 50,000 military households can already reach the level of self-sufficiency.

However, the increase in the garrison of the Tun army also led to a decline in the garrison strength of the Xingdu Division in Shaanxi, so Li Jinglong hoped to continue to relocate the population and train the tun army to achieve the goal of self-sufficiency in Hexi's soldiers and horses.

In this regard, Zhu Yuanzhang naturally could not refuse, after all, in his opinion, the formation of the people for the army to enrich the border fortress is an important reason for him to adopt the guard system, so in the face of Li Jinglong's words, Zhu Yuanzhang also said in that hoarse voice:

"The household department, the official department and the right army are all compiled by the governor's office of Sichuan, Huguang and 3,000 households in Gansu, Su, Xining and other three guards."

"Ministers receive orders......"

As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang spoke, Yu Xin and others responded one after another.

Seeing that no one was disobedient, Zhu Yuanzhang also got up slowly, and finally explained: "Recently, there have been changes in the southwest, northwest, and north, and the edict ordered the Duke of Wei to guard the land and thieves, and not to move lightly. ”

"Then Zhao Yan Wang controlled Beiping, Liaodong, and Daning, and sent troops to the north before and after the great heat, and King Ning and King Bohai each led guards to patrol Wuliangha."

Maybe the words were too long, Zhu Yuanzhang was a little out of breath, but he still continued strongly:

"The spring boudoir is imminent, and the selection of materials needs to be taken into account in the world, and there is no favoritism!"

"Ministers receive orders......"

Zhu Yuanzhang's words made the hearts of the officials of the five governments and six ministries tighten, and Liu Sanwu, who was appointed as the chief examiner of the examination in Fengtiandian Square, was also half a point empty.

The ministers sang one after another, and Zhu Yuanzhang did not continue, but got off the golden platform and walked towards Buran.

Zhu Yunwen followed his back, and Honglu Siqing also began to sing salutes.

Perhaps in Zhu Yuanzhang's view, he has reminded him very obviously.

But he didn't know that now he was like a candle before the wind, but whenever there was any wind, he wanted to test his temperature......

(End of chapter)