Chapter 81

Empress Ma patted his back gently.

"Alright, alright, don't be angry. Listen to what the sky screen has to say next."

【Next, let us discuss Zhu Yuanzhang's achievements in various aspects.】

【Politically, he abolished the chancellorship.

In 1380 AD, he executed Chancellor Hu Weiyong on charges of "plotting treason," and took the opportunity to abolish the Secretariat and the chancellor system.

From then on, the Six Ministries were directly responsible to the emperor, and the chancellor system, which had existed for over a thousand years in China, came to an end in his hands.

He also established the Three Offices (the Provincial Administration Commission, the Provincial Surveillance Commission, and the Provincial Military Commission) to manage local affairs through divided authority, keeping power firmly in his own hands.】

【Qin Shi Huang Ying Zheng: Abolished the chancellorship? Consolidating all power under the emperor? This approach... is actually somewhat similar to mine.

However, I established the Three Councillors and Nine Ministers, and the chancellor still had official authority. He simply pulled it out by the roots.】

【Han Wudi Liu Che: The chancellor system began in the Qin Dynasty and lasted for over a thousand years; he abolished it just like that? Ruthless enough.】

【Cao Cao stroked his beard:

Without a chancellor, the emperor has to handle all government affairs personally.

No wonder he worked 007 every day; he was just creating work for himself.】

【Militarily, he completed unification from south to north.

Zhu Yuanzhang is the only founding emperor in Chinese history to launch an uprising in the south and fight his way north to unify the entire country.

He sent Xu Da and Chang Yuchun on a northern expedition, capturing Dadu in 1368 AD, ending the 98-year rule of the Yuan Dynasty, and recovering the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, which had been lost for over four hundred years.】

Liu Che stood up abruptly: "The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun?! The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun that had been lost for over four hundred years?!"

He turned to look at Huo Qubing, Wei Qing, and others, his voice trembling slightly:

"Do you know what the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun mean? They are the gateway to the Central Plains! I tried so many times to take them back when I was fighting the Xiongnu, but I never succeeded! This man... this man actually took Yanyun back?!"

Wei Qing said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, that was a matter of the Ming Dynasty, over a thousand years after our time..."

Liu Che took a deep breath and sat down slowly, but his eyes were still full of shock.

【Zhao Kuangyin was so excited that his beard was shaking:

The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun! I dreamed of recovering the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun!

The greatest regret of my life was not being able to recover Yanyun! This Zhu Yuanzhang, he... he actually did it?!】

He looked at Zhao Pu beside him, his eye sockets turning red:

"Zhao Pu, did you hear that? Someone recovered Yanyun!"

Zhao Pu nodded repeatedly: "I heard, I heard, Your Majesty, please don't get so excited..."

【Economically, he fostered recovery.

He ordered the encouragement of land reclamation; whoever reclaimed the land owned it;

He relocated people to cultivate land, moving people from densely populated areas to areas with more land;

He promoted water conservancy, with over 40,000 ponds and weirs and over 5,000 embankments built nationwide.

He also created the Fish-Scale Registers and the Yellow Registers, clearly mapping out the land and population of the entire country.

By the time he passed away, the national cultivated land had increased from less than 3 million qing at the end of the Yuan Dynasty to 8.5 million qing, and the population also surged.】

【Tang Taizong Li Shimin: Promoting water conservancy and surveying land are the foundations of governing a country. Although this man came from humble beginnings, his way of governing is not sloppy at all.】

Yang Jian (Sui Wendi) also spoke up for once:

"I also conducted a grand population census back then. These Fish-Scale Registers and Yellow Registers are indeed more detailed than mine."

【Culturally, he revived Huaxia.

He vigorously restored Han clothing, Han rituals, and Han characters, letting the common people take off their Mongol robes and put on Han attire again.

He revered Confucianism, reopened the imperial examinations, and established the Eight-Legged Essay system for selecting officials.

Although the Eight-Legged Essay was later severely criticized, at the time, it was an important means to break the monopoly of powerful families and give children from humble backgrounds a way out.】

Liu Che watched the explanation on the sky screen and made an assessment.

"Restoring Han attire and revering Confucianism is an act of returning to the source. As for the Eight-Legged Essay... that is a matter for later generations, not something he could have foreseen."

Liu Bei sighed with emotion: "Being able to give children from humble backgrounds a way out is a great merit. If I could have entered officialdom through the imperial examinations back then, I wouldn't have had to sell straw sandals."

【Territorially, he established Huaxia.

He pacified Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Liangguang, and Liaodong, basically establishing the foundation of modern China's territory.

His attitude toward the Mongols was to "drive them to extinction"—not by killing them all, but by driving them back to the grasslands and then setting up garrisons and building the Great Wall along the border to guard strictly.】

Upon hearing the words "build the Great Wall," Ying Zheng raised the corners of his mouth slightly.

"Build the Great Wall? This man and I see things somewhat similarly."

【In terms of civil livelihood, he severely punished corrupt officials.

Zhu Yuanzhang decreed: for corruption of over 60 taels of silver, the punishment was "skinning and stuffing with straw"—peeling off the skin, stuffing it with straw, and hanging it in the yamen as a "warning education" for the next official.

He also allowed commoners to tie up corrupt officials and send them directly to the capital; whoever dared to stop them would be executed without mercy.】

The entire space-time went quiet for a moment.

Liu Bang swallowed hard.

"Skin... skinning and stuffing with straw?"

Liu Che's mouth twitched: "Isn't this too ruthless?"

Li Shimin frowned deeply.

"Corruption should be punished, but this punishment... is too cruel."

Cao Cao nodded, however.

"Corrupt officials should be killed. But to kill them in a way that makes everyone afraid is indeed effective. However, skinning and stuffing with straw... tsk, this Old Zhu is ruthless enough."

【Faults section:

【Politically, he wantonly killed meritorious officials.

This is the aspect for which he is most criticized.

The Hu Weiyong case killed over 30,000 people, and the Lan Yu case killed another 15,000; the founding meritorious officials were almost wiped out.

Feng Sheng, Fu Youde, and other veteran generals who had long since surrendered their military power and were living in retirement at home were also forced to commit suicide.

Before dying, Feng Sheng asked: "I have no power and no children, why kill me?"

The answer is actually very simple—Crown Prince Zhu Biao had died, and his grandson Zhu Yunwen was too young; he was afraid these old generals would bully his grandson, so he simply killed them all.】

Under the sky screen, the faces of Xu Da, Chang Yuchun, Tang He, and others changed.

Tang He subconsciously took a step back, his eyes filled with more fear as he looked at Zhu Yuanzhang.

Xu Da took a deep breath, trying to stay calm, but the hand holding his sword trembled slightly.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face darkened, and he said nothing.

Empress Ma held his hand tightly and whispered: "Chongba..."

Liu Bowen stood to the side, his eyes complex, and he sighed silently.

Liu Bang clicked his tongue twice.

"Killing meritorious officials? I did that too, but I killed kings of different surnames because they were truly rebelling. You killed the old brothers who fought for the world with you!"

Liu Xiu shook his head and sighed.

"I treated my meritorious officials with the utmost kindness back then. Which of the twenty-eight generals of Yuntai didn't have a good ending? Why go to such lengths?"

Zhao Kuangyin patted his chest and said thankfully:

"Fortunately, I released military power with a cup of wine, and everyone had a good ending. If it were like Old Zhu, my brothers would probably be unable to sleep at night."

Cao Cao snorted coldly: "This is the consequence of not knowing how to balance power. If you kill everyone, who will help you guard the empire?"

【Institutionally, secret service rule.

He established the Jinyiwei, specifically to spy on the words and deeds of officials and commoners.

If an official hosted a banquet at home, the next day at court, Zhu Yuanzhang could recite exactly what they had said.

This kind of terror rule made the entire court tremble with fear.】

Liu Che raised an eyebrow.

"Jinyiwei? Similar to my Embroidered Uniform Envoys? It's a good way to control subordinates."