When Zeng Cheng announced his intention to personally engage in a spiritual battle with those individuals, the expressions of the prominent figures, including Zeng Cheng himself, darkened.
Frankly, Zeng Cheng felt that instead of waiting for the Emperor to take action, it would have been more merciful for those people to commit suicide on the spot.
After all, one needn't fear an emperor who is a rogue, nor one who is learned.
A rogue emperor like Liu Xiao San was not to be feared; even if he detested Confucianism, there was still a Sun Shudong who could climb to high positions under his rule.
A scholarly emperor like Li Houzhu of Southern Tang was also not frightening; such individuals were easy to deceive once their preferences were understood.
Even facing an emperor like Zhu Yuanzhang, who was prone to wielding a blade, was not an issue. Although Old Zhu resorted to his sword when he couldn't win an argument, he generally adhered to the rules of the game.
Even encountering some of the Aisin Gioro clan would not present a problem, as that family of slave owners held a slave-owner mentality; as long as their preferences were met, everyone could still get along.
What one should fear is an emperor who possesses the capability to act as a rogue, is highly learned, and furthermore enjoys challenging traditional rules.
Coincidentally, the current Emperor of the Great Ming, who sits on the dragon throne, happens to be precisely such an unconventional emperor, capable of being a rogue, highly learned, and particularly fond of challenging traditional rules.
The unwritten rules that emperors of past dynasties had tacitly abided by, such as "officials are not to be subjected to punishment" (刑不上大夫), "sharing the realm with the literati" (与士大夫共天下), "not to express opinions easily during grand court assemblies" (大朝会时不轻易发表意见), or "the Way of civil and military arts lies in balance or in using civil means to control the military" (文武之道在于平衡或者以文驭武), were, in this gentleman's eyes, nothing short of a joke.
Officials are not to be subjected to punishment?
Whether it was the second-rank, first-rank, or even current enfeoffed lords, as long as this gentleman found them involved in corruption or harming the populace, they would be summarily executed. Cases involving tens of thousands of people would be overturned without the slightest hesitation.
Sharing the realm with the literati?
From the day this gentleman raised his rebellion, his path had been decided: to share the realm with all the common people, not with the literati.
Not to express opinions easily during grand court assemblies?
The dignified Emperor of the Great Ming, upon encountering something displeasing during a grand court assembly, would directly scold like a shrew. Who would have believed that this was the enlightened and wise ruler praised in folk legends for his merits surpassing the Three Sovereigns and his virtue matching the Five Emperors?
As for the notion that the Way of civil and military arts lies in balance or in using civil means to control the military, these held even less significance in this gentleman's view.
This gentleman neither needed to use civil means to control the military nor engage in any balancing act between civil and military power.
This was because all the armies of the Great Ming were established by him. In other words, the very soul of the Great Ming army was instilled by him. As long as he was still breathing, the Great Ming army would have no problems.
Not to mention that the current court structure of the Great Ming was already quite different from all previous dynasties. Although the names of many government offices remained unchanged, their duties and operational methods had been altered.
For instance, the Dali Temple, the Censorate and the Supervising Ministry, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Eastern Depot, which had been separated, were all tasked with overseeing the civil and military officials across the land. Even in Zeng Cheng's capacity as the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, he was unable to interfere with these departments.
To summarize, this gentleman could reason when he wanted to reason, and act as a rogue when he wanted to act as a rogue.
Upon thinking of those unfortunate individuals who dared to publish articles in secret, and who had unknowingly provoked such a gentleman, Zeng Cheng couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for them.
However, while he felt sympathy, he absolutely could not offer any commiseration.
This was because the nonsensical articles they published had affected his own career, the career of the current Grand Secretary of the Great Ming.
After careful consideration, Zeng Cheng cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, your humble servant believes that merely publishing articles and engaging in a war of words with these individuals in the newspapers might not be enough to deter certain scoundrels."
Zhu Jinsong grunted and looked at Zeng Cheng, asking, "Then what is your opinion, Minister Zeng?"
Zeng Cheng replied, "I have heard it said that when you strike a snake, you must hit its vital point; it is better to sever one finger than to injure ten."
"Since these scoundrels are whitewashing those slave owners in the newspapers, there is no need for us to be polite to them. While refuting their arguments with articles, we should also list them in the Register of Treacherous Officials and erect memorial tablets in their hometowns, so that the villagers know what kind of people these scoundrels are."
"In addition, your humble servant believes that those who have previously served as officials can be stripped of their positions, and their descendants for three generations and within the nine degrees of kinship will be permanently barred from employment. Those engaged in commerce can also have their trade routes cut off by the government-run workshops in various regions."
"If their livelihood is farming…"
At this point, Zeng Cheng turned his gaze to Zhu Sanshun, saying, "Is His Highness Prince Qin not planning to sail to New Qinzhou to expand the territory? Your humble servant believes it is opportune to relocate these scoundrels who harbor allegiance to the Jianyi."
Zhu Sanshun immediately exclaimed, "What nonsense are you talking about? You want to foist such riff-raff onto me?"
"Fine, if these people collude with the barbarians in New Qinzhou, it might be easy for me to kill them all, but won't the pace of my territorial expansion also be hindered by this?"
Zeng Cheng shook his head and replied, "Your Highness, your humble servant certainly knows that these scoundrels are not good people, and I am aware that their presence in New Qinzhou would not be beneficial. However, what other recourse do we have?"
Zhu Sanshun said with a dark expression, "How can there be no other recourse? Does the vast land of the Great Ming not have enough space for these few pieces of trash? If they are allowed to accompany me to expand new territories, do you think they will work diligently or fight bravely?"
Zeng Cheng chuckled and did not directly answer Zhu Sanshun's question. Ke Zhiming, after glancing at Zhu Jinsong, said, "Reporting to Your Highness, your humble servant believes Minister Zeng's words are most pertinent. Keeping these people in the Great Ming is also a blight. It would be better to let them accompany Your Highness to New Qinzhou and let them experience the hardships of opening up new territories. Perhaps then these individuals will change their original ideas?"
Zhu Sanshun still shook his head, stating, "As the saying goes, it is easier to change mountains and rivers than to change a person's nature. These greedy scoundrels could not mend their ways even in the Great Ming; would they change after following me to New Qinzhou?"
Ke Zhiming gave a hearty laugh and straightforwardly clarified the matter: "Your Highness may not know, but the sea is fraught with strong winds and high waves. Perhaps a ship might happen to sink?"
Upon hearing Ke Zhiming's words, Zhu Sanshun finally understood.
It made perfect sense.
As long as these people remained unrepentant, then let them accompany him to New Qinzhou to open up new territories. However, given the strong winds and high waves at sea, if by chance a ship met with misfortune and sank, and these people happened to be on that ship…
Only after Zhu Sanshun cupped his hands and agreed did Zhu Jinsong tap the table with his fingers and say, "Let it be decided for now. I am not a cruel, bloodthirsty, tyrannical emperor. Those who deserve opportunities should be given them."
Zeng Cheng mused, "Spare me, Your Majesty. If you say that Qin Shi Huang, Yang Er, or even Emperor Hongwu were not inclined to kill, that might be plausible. But to say that you, Your Highness, are not inclined to kill…"
The corpses in the Jingguan would likely be the first to protest!
...
The Jiangnan region, before the Tang Dynasty, could be considered a wild and untamed land. It was only when the Tang Dynasty began its vigorous development of Jiangnan that Jiangnan started to exhibit some cultural characteristics. Its true development, however, occurred in the late Northern Song Dynasty or even later.
Nevertheless, it must be said that since the end of the Song Dynasty, the literary tradition in Jiangnan had been extremely strong. By the thirtieth year of Hongwu in the Great Ming, there was even a situation where out of fifty-two Jinshi in a single imperial examination, fifty-one were from the southern scholars, with only one from the northern scholars. This led to considerable anger among the northern scholars who did not pass, and they jointly petitioned the Ministry of Rites, accusing Liu Sanwu, as the chief examiner, of favoring southerners.
According to historical records, after this incident occurred, Old Zhu first had twelve individuals, including the imperial reader Zhang Xin, re-examine the papers. To increase the admission rate for northerners, Zhu Yuanzhang even specifically instructed the re-examining officials to review ten of the failed papers each.
However, it was unfortunate that the answer sheets of the northern scholars were grammatically incoherent and contained many statements that violated taboos. The North-South Examination Case was more like a farce.
As for Old Zhu creating the Northern List for balance and then using public resentment to eliminate Liu Sanwu, this was a matter of unspoken understanding within the officialdom.
Yes, the reason Old Zhu eliminated Liu Sanwu was not because Liu Sanwu was involved in the imperial examination fraud case.
In fact, Old Zhu was well aware that Liu Sanwu, who was eighty-five years old at the time, was unlikely to be involved in imperial examination fraud.
Liu Sanwu's true cause of death stemmed from Zhu Yuanzhang asking him a question after the death of Crown Prince Yiwen: "Prince Yan resembles me; could he be the太子?"
Liu Sanwu replied that the rule of establishing the legitimate heir and the eldest son was established by you. If you establish Prince Yan, how will the other princes view it? How will the deceased Crown Prince Yiwen view it? That Crown Prince Yiwen has a son!
Then, Liu Sanwu incurred Old Zhu's resentment. When Old Zhu asked this question, Liu Sanwu should have followed Old Zhu's wishes and said that virtue should be prioritized, meaning Prince Yan should be established as the太子.
After all, Old Zhu was not foolish; he knew that Zhu Yunwen was incompetent and not fit to rule the empire. However, as Liu Sanwu stated, the rule of establishing the legitimate heir and the eldest son was established by Old Zhu himself. If it were to be changed, a reliable elder would need to step forward and declare that strict adherence to the rules was not necessary.
Liu Sanwu, who possessed a good reputation and excellent official and literary standing, and who was considered venerable due to his advanced age, naturally became the best candidate.
Unfortunately, Liu Sanwu did not grasp Old Zhu's intention and instead insisted on adhering to the rule of establishing the legitimate heir and the eldest son. Could Old Zhu not resent him for this?
The consequences of incurring Old Zhu's resentment were dire. Liu Sanwu's life's focus was his reputation, and Old Zhu precisely used the imperial examination fraud case to deal with Liu Sanwu, effectively ruining Liu Sanwu's reputation.
When killing someone, one must attack their heart.
Not only was the founding emperor of the Great Ming, Old Zhu, adept at killing with precision to the heart, but the current Great Ming Emperor Zhu, who occupies the dragon throne, was also skilled at this.
Furthermore, Zeng Cheng, the Grand Secretary of the Great Ming, also seemed quite adept at this.
Emperor Zhu first had articles published in the "Great Ming Newspaper" to refute the articles that were resurrecting the family of Old Qian Long and the slave owners. He then stated that the Jianyi entering the pass was a case of slaves controlling their masters, and that these literati who were resurrecting the family of Old Qian Long were eagerly seeking to become servants of servants, which was utterly nonsensical.
That's right, he directly insulted them using plain language like "utterly nonsensical," and he did so publicly in the newspaper.
The words spoken and the actions taken by people in different positions had completely different effects.
It was normal for an ordinary person to curse in plain language, but it was extremely rare for an emperor to do so. Although the emperors of the Great Ming had inherited Old Zhu's penchant for using plain language, apart from Old Zhu and Zhu Lao Si, no emperor of the Great Ming had ever cursed in plain language.
Emperor Zhu Jinsong's act of cursing in plain language directly garnered a large number of loyal fans among the populace. Or, one could say, Zhu Huangdi's four hundred million loyal fans did not care about his act of cursing in plain language; they were more curious about the matter itself.
What kind of person, by saying what kind of words, could have angered the normally good-tempered Emperor of the Great Ming to this extent?
Out of curiosity, the public naturally sought out those sensational newspapers and pamphlets that were resurrecting the family of Old Qian Long.
And then, the people of the land became enraged.
If these sensational newspapers and pamphlets that were resurrecting the family of Old Qian Long had been published a few decades later, for example, after Zhu Jinsong's death, or if Zhu Jinsong had not previously settled accounts with the family of Old Qian Long and those Jianyi and bondservants, then perhaps these sensational newspapers and pamphlets could have had some effect.
But the Great Qing had only been gone for a few years, and Old Qian Long had been dead for only a few years.
At this time, the people of the Great Ming still remembered how Old Qian Long had caused trouble during his southern tours more than a decade ago! They also remembered how those Manchu lords had harmed the common people back then!
Therefore, the people of the Great Ming could accept people cursing the emperors of past dynasties; they even enjoyed hearing people curse emperors, as it provided some amusement.
However, the people of the Great Ming could not accept people resurrecting the family of Old Qian Long, nor could they accept people slandering Zhu Jinsong, the emperor who had driven away the Jianyi, rebuilt the Great Ming empire, redistributed land to the people, and ensured they had enough to eat, wear, and read!
At this point, the wickedness of scholars like Zeng Cheng became apparent.
If it were in the past, or before the Chongzhen era, the struggles of the literati would mostly remain on paper or within the official circles. Even if the common people learned the truth of the matter, they would mostly have anger but nowhere to direct it.
But it was different with Zeng Cheng. After Minister Zeng and the prominent figures from the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate had thoroughly deliberated, they decided to disclose the information of all those who had compiled the resurrection articles.
The people of the Great Ming now had targets!