Chapter 170: The People's Hearts · An Examination of the Realm's Common Folk

Inside Wuying Hall, one could hear a pin drop.

Every gaze — some sympathetic, some startled and suspicious, some gloating over another's misfortune — converged on Lai Zongdao, the man who had just bluntly defied the Son of Heaven.

Zhu Youjian took in every expression, inwardly baffled.

You all think far too narrowly of my temper.

He looked at the uneasy Lai Zongdao and softened his tone.

"Minister Lai, rise and receive your orders."

Lai Zongdao jolted as if shocked, straightened up almost by instinct, and bowed. "This subject… this subject is here."

His voice was hoarse, carrying a tremor he himself had not noticed.

"I have three matters for the Ministry of Rites to carry out, all concerning the great task of rectifying the people's hearts."

The moment these words were spoken, the atmosphere shifted.

Not a punishment? But rather… entrusting him with an important task?

So that was what "receive your orders" had meant.

Lai Zongdao exhaled in relief. He raised his head, ready to listen to the sacred instructions.

Zhu Youjian continued:

"The first matter is the turmoil of hearts stirred up by the dispute over population and land."

"The present age is truly a great transformation unseen in the thousand years of the Central Plains."

"When I brought it to light, it naturally could rouse the realm's men of insight to seek a way forward together."

He shifted tone. "However, at the Daily Lecture, what the former Grand Secretariat scholar Han Kuang said was not without a target."

"Ignorant commoners, men of wild ambition, and even those cultist evildoers lurking in the shadows — they love nothing more than to seize on a phrase or two of mine, twist it out of context to delude the people, misattribute it, and shake the foundations of the state."

"This matter cannot be left unchecked."

"Yet this matter is also easy to manage." Zhu Youjian smiled faintly. "It is simply a matter of clarifying understanding and settling the people's hearts. Such work of edification suits your Ministry of Rites perfectly."

He extended a finger, pointing toward the rear rows on the left.

"Ni Yuanlu, step forward."

From behind the high officials, Ni Yuanlu, the minor secretary who had been sitting on a small stool auditing the session, hurriedly rose.

"This subject is here." Ni Yuanlu suppressed the excitement and nervousness in his heart and walked quickly to the center of the great hall.

"Tell my ministers what you have compiled over the past three days," Zhu Youjian instructed.

Ni Yuanlu swept his gaze around the room, taking in the assembled Grand Secretaries and Ministers. He drew a deep breath, struggling to keep his voice steady.

He bowed to accept the order, drew a thin booklet from his sleeve, opened it, and read aloud in a clear voice:

"By imperial decree, this subject has researched the historical records of successive dynasties and now presents this essay."

"Its title is: 'A Historical Examination of the Capital Through the Dynasties.'"

He cleared his throat and began to recount.

"The land of the capital — in the Western Zhou, it was the capital of the state of Ji. Later, the state of Yan destroyed Ji and moved its capital here, calling it Yan's capital."

"In the Qin, it was Ji County, under Guangyang Commandery. In the Han, it was the chief city of the Guangyang Principality, under You Province."

At first, the assembled officials paid little heed.

They knew this history by heart — what could a mere Junior Compiler possibly make of it?

"At the end of the Han, Gongsun Zan held this place and fought year after year against Liu Yu and Yuan Shao."

"From the two Jin dynasties onward, the Five Barbarians ravaged the Central Plains, and this land changed masters again and again — Wang Jun, Shi Le, An Lushan, Liu Rengong, Shi Jingtang… one after another they took the stage."

Ni Yuanlu's voice gradually deepened.

"What the histories record is no more than victors becoming kings and lords, the defeated becoming bandits. What the histories do not record is this: on this land around the capital, how many times the common people were nearly wiped out, how many springs the white bones saw."

This unpolished line of verse made several sharp-minded officials in the hall furrow their brows slightly.

"Thereafter, the Liao built it as their Southern Capital. The Jin destroyed the Liao and renamed it the Central Capital — only then did it bear the name of an imperial capital."

"Yet in the eighth year of the Jin Taihe era, the Mongols came south and besieged the city for a year."

"On the day the city fell, they loosed the troops to slaughter for a full month — the dead numbered far more than a million!"

"Afterward, they set fires and burned the city. Palaces and common dwellings alike were reduced to scorched earth! The Jin imperial clan, high officials, and scholar-officials were butchered to the last — not one in ten of the common people survived!"

As he read this far, Ni Yuanlu's voice trembled faintly.

"What the histories record are emperors, kings, generals, and ministers — written by the victors. What the histories do not record is this: on the day the city fell, the myriad people were treated as straw dogs, and blood flowed deep enough to float pestles! The ground on which we stand today — beneath our feet are piles of white bones!"

"After that, Kublai Khan ascended the throne and built the Great Capital upon the ruins of the Central Capital. Later still, our own Great Ancestor raised his armies northward, recovered the Great Capital, and thus we have the present imperial capital of our Great Ming!"

"My lords!" Ni Yuanlu suddenly raised his head, his voice hoarse. "Have you ever considered why the Mongols rebuilt the Great Capital upon the ruins? Because everything of the old — the people, the buildings, the families, the wealth — had all been wiped utterly clean!"

When he finished, he bowed deeply and stepped aside, his chest still heaving violently — clearly his emotions had not yet settled.

Throughout Wuying Hall, a deathly silence reigned.

Ni Yuanlu's voice, choked with grief and indignation, seemed still to echo through the hall.

The assembled Grand Secretaries and Ministers wore varied expressions.

Some showed pained sympathy, clearly recalling those cold records in the histories.

Others frowned slightly, feeling that a mere Junior Compiler like Ni Yuanlu venting such emotion before the imperial presence was somewhat unseemly.

Yet there were still some who sank, however slightly, into deeper thought.

When they read history, they read of order and chaos, rise and fall, of stratagems won and lost.

They knew of city massacres, knew of white bones — but those had been mere cold words in the histories.

Today, read aloud by Ni Yuanlu with such emotion, the bloody stench behind those words seemed suddenly to rush at their faces, making even these pampered, high-ranking court officials feel a long-forgotten chill.

Zhu Youjian waved his hand, signaling Ni Yuanlu to withdraw.

He waited a moment, letting this heavy mood ferment in the hall, then rapped his knuckles on the imperial desk.

Thump. Thump.

The assembly started as if waking from a dream, one by one turning their eyes back to the Emperor.

"This was produced by Junior Compiler Ni, who spent three days searching through a vast ocean of historical records and old papers, hunting down passages and pulling out phrases."

"The greatest difficulty lay in the fact that no county gazetteer or prefectural gazetteer for the capital exists to consult."

Zhu Youjian gave a long sigh, his gaze sweeping across the assembly.

"As for why none exist... my ministers, I imagine you all know the reason."

Indeed — everything had been slaughtered clean, burned clean. What documents or traditions could possibly have survived?

"Therefore, to resolve the crisis of the people's hearts that this 'man-land conflict' may ignite, Our thought is this: use history as a mirror, use history as medicine!"

Zhu Youjian issued the order in a deep voice:

"We command that in every county and department throughout the realm, the local instructors and government students shall all consult their local county gazetteers, prefectural gazetteers, and historical records, and investigate the local conditions during the transitions between dynasties across all ages."

"What of the gentry? What of the common people? Extract and record every detail clearly, proclaim and explain it locally, and then send the finalized text to the capital!"

"The Ministry of Rites, furthermore, shall take this as its foundation and compile a work titled An Examination of the Common People Through the Rise and Fall of Empires, to serve as a warning against national ruin, and to be transmitted to later generations!"

At these words, the expressions of the assembled ministers in the hall grew exceedingly grave.

They had imagined the Emperor would placate, would suppress — but never had they imagined that, far from suppressing it, he would instead take the cruelty of this "man-land conflict" and, in the most blood-drenched manner, lay it bare for all under Heaven to see!

Henceforth, every man who raised troops in rebellion would have to answer this question: was he prepared to pay the price of his homeland reduced to ashes?

Using history as a blade, carving the lesson into bone — was he forcibly driving the hearts of the realm's scholars?

What would the outcome truly be? Would it not truly incite even greater turmoil?

The momentum of the realm, from this moment, would surge into a seething boil!

Lai Zongdao was even more stirred, yet not because of this so-called man-land conflict.

His cheeks flushed deep red; it was impossible to tell whether it was the shame of the earlier reprimand or the excitement born of ambition.

An Examination of the Common People Through the Rise and Fall of Empires!

If this book were completed, it would surely shake heaven and earth — a monumental work to be transmitted through the ages, worthy of comparison with the Zizhi Tongjian!

And he, Lai Zongdao, as the chief compiler of this work, would also surely leave his name in the annals of history!

A moment ago, he had been trembling at the prospect of dismissal from office; in this moment, an opportunity sufficient to bring glory to his ancestors and immortalize his name for a thousand ages had simply dropped onto his head!

What of the sovereign's harshness, what of public humiliation — before these four words, "leave his name in history," all became utterly insignificant!

No longer caring for any restraint, he leaned forward, nearly toppling his desk, his voice resonant and resolute:

"In reply to Your Majesty! The Ministry of Rites... can do it!"

"Good!" Zhu Youjian clapped his hands and laughed. "Then accept the directive!"

Gao Shiming understood at once, immediately stepped forward to take a silk-bound document, and swiftly delivered it before Lai Zongdao.

Lai Zongdao received it with both hands. He saw that the silk was embroidered with dragon patterns along the edges, and in the center a circle had been drawn in vermilion, within which was the character for "Directive."

Was this an imperial edict? It seemed not. What exactly was this, then?

Zhu Youjian spoke:

"Draft the regulations according to the standards for statecraft documents. Submit them first to the Secretariat for review; once approved, forward them to the Grand Secretariat Committee. After the final text is settled, post it on the bulletin board outside Chengtian Gate for ten days, proclaim it to the realm, and then formally implement it."

"This subject... obeys... accepts the directive!" Lai Zongdao raised the document high above his head, stepped out of formation, and kowtowed to accept the directive.

Zhu Youjian nodded with satisfaction and let out a breath of relief.

This directive, to put it plainly, was never meant for this hall full of nobles in vermilion and purple robes.

When Heaven topples, among the high ministers there might be three or five who seize the chaos to jump ship, and perhaps many would be willing to try to shore up the falling sky before the situation becomes clear.

But what interests did he, Zhu Youjian, even have left to offer them?!

The broader ranks of middle and lower officials, the landlords, the common people — these were the targets he needed to win over in the next stage.

For now, this was merely planting a seed.

As for the effect...

In this realm of the Great Ming, could there perhaps be counties or departments that had never suffered the calamity of war in all of history?

Hainan? Yunnan?

But in any case, it was certainly not the north, and certainly not the Southern Metropolitan Region!

Zhu Youjian smiled faintly and continued:

"The second matter..."