Chapter 197 How to Live in Peace in the Ming Dynasty
"Father, from the perspective of Confucianism, aggression is definitely wrong. To say that aggression is right is to be a person without a sense of right and wrong!"
Zhu Chong explained with a smile, and with just one sentence, Old Zhu nodded and sat back on the dragon throne. There was nothing wrong with what he said.
The Zhu family had no ancestors. After Zhu became emperor, in order to gild his own reputation, he recognized a Confucian scholar named Zhu from the Northern Song Dynasty as the ancestor of his own Zhu family. Therefore, the Ming Dynasty today is founded on Confucianism.
From this point of view, Zhu Chong's words, which used Confucian thought to explain the invasion, catered to Zhu's thoughts and left him with no room for fault.
But what Zhu Chong said next made him break down instantly.
"But Father, is aggression really wrong? I'm afraid not entirely. This brings to mind another question: looking back at history, it seems that the descendants of those countries that invaded us Han people all lived better than us Han people!"
"Let's not talk about anything else, just look at those northern barbarian tribes. Which one of them didn't eventually conquer the Central Plains, split the land, crowned himself king, and reigned supreme?"
When Old Zhu heard this, blood rushed to his forehead and the look he gave Zhu Chong became as ferocious as a wild beast.
What the hell is this? Even if it's true, you can't say it like this. What is this? But then, Zhu Chong's words made him fall into deep thought again.
"Look at us Han people now. If it weren't for you, Father, who suddenly appeared and saved us Han people from danger, we Han people would probably have no place to stand by now, and would only be fighting among ourselves and killing each other!"
Upon hearing this, Old Zhu nodded slowly. Zhu Chong's flattery was direct, but also just right, hitting Old Zhu's sore spot.
During the hundred years of the Yuan Dynasty, the Han people were suppressed to the point where they had almost no living space and were reduced to the lowest class of people, even worse than livestock.
If Zhu Yuanzhang had not risen up and led the Han people to drive out the Mongols from the Northern Yuan Dynasty, the Han people today would probably still be slaves of the Mongols, allowing them to bully them without knowing how to strengthen themselves.
"But was this invasion right? After studying history, I have come to my own humble opinion."
"First of all, invasion is definitely wrong, but from what is described in history books, the lives of the people of the invaded countries after the invasion are strangely better than before."
"Confucianism says that aggression is wrong. This is very confusing to me. Even if we are not invaded, the people will suffer and become poor, and they will still be bullied by other countries. So aggression is indeed wrong, but even if we are not invaded, the people will still live in poverty."
"This invasion issue has become an unsolvable puzzle in my mind. I rack my brains, but I can't find a solution."
Hearing what Zhu Chong said, Old Zhu suddenly smiled. It turned out that this was a problem that Zhu Chong hadn't figured out, so he used it to embarrass himself!
Fortunately, I didn't give an answer, otherwise this brat would definitely have a lot of statements waiting to refute me!
But what Old Zhu didn't expect was that Zhu Chong had not finished speaking yet.
"Later, I thought about it for a long time and came up with an answer that, in my opinion, is completely wrong. I would like to ask your Majesty to evaluate whether there is anything wrong with my thinking."
Hearing what Zhu Chong said, Old Zhu's interest was immediately piqued.
Zhu Chong himself thought that the answer was wrong, but he still wanted to use it for self-evaluation. This answer must be very special, but he didn't know what was special about it, so Zhu Chong listened attentively.
"My son's answer is that aggression is right, even if it means being despised by the world!"
"Simply put, I'd rather bear the infamy of this life than let my descendants enjoy happiness for generations to come. This is what we call sin in this life, merit for generations to come. What do you think, Father?"
The crime is in this generation, but the merit will be passed down through the ages? Old Zhu's eyes widened as he stared at his son in disbelief, a dumbfounded expression on his face. He had never expected Zhu Chong to say such a thing.
"This, doesn't it, not..." Old Zhu widened his eyes and wanted to refute, but he didn't know where to start. And deep down, he didn't think there was anything wrong with what Zhu Chong said!
"So," Zhu Chong immediately said to Old Zhu, "those vassal states, to put it bluntly, are not part of our Ming Dynasty at all."
"In my eyes, anyone who is not one of my own is my enemy. I have only one thing to say when it comes to my enemies: be kind to them and be cruel to myself!"
"I'm a very careful person. If I get a scratch on my hand, I'll mend it. Don't even think of being cruel to myself. But if someone wants to be cruel to me, I'll be even more cruel than them!"
After hearing what Zhu Chong said, Old Zhu finally understood what the invasion Zhu Chong just mentioned had to do with these vassal states.
Indeed, as long as the Ming Dynasty lived well, who cares whether those vassal states were happy or not, and whether their people lived well or not, what did it have to do with the Ming Dynasty? As long as the Ming Dynasty was doing well, why bother with so many other things?
Old Zhu thought about this and finally understood Zhu Chong's approach. He nodded and said, "Then what benefits can you get from having these vassal envoys sign the document for the Ming Dynasty?"
"Of course there are many benefits." Seeing that Old Zhu was no longer opposed, Zhu Chong explained with a smile: "On the surface, we still suffered a loss, but once this precedent is set, it will be completely impossible for any vassal state to make moves in the future regarding returning gifts."
"No matter what they say, or how valuable the gifts they bring are, we won't care. We'll use the market price in their country to calculate the price. And we'll definitely use the lowest price, and then lower the price by a ratio of one to six."
"In this way, even if those vassal states are dissatisfied, the Ming Dynasty will only get 10% of it, and the rest will be divided among the vassal states of Goryeo."
After hearing this, Old Zhu finally understood Zhu Chong's intention, which was to use this incident to shut up the future envoys from the vassal states. As for the possibility of foul play between the vassal states, that was not within Zhu Chong's consideration.
But just because Zhu Chong didn't want to, didn't mean he wouldn't think about it. "If that happens, those vassal states will go to war..."
"Father!" Zhu Chong interrupted Zhu Yuanzhang with a smile, and said meaningfully, "I believe that a weak vassal state is more beneficial to the Ming Dynasty than a group of vassal states that share a common hatred or work together."
When Old Zhu heard this, his pupils dilated again and he understood instantly.
The metaphor in Zhu Chong's words is very simple, and it is the same as the court he is currently in charge of.
If the ministers were strong and the lord was weak, Zhu Yuanzhang would certainly be uneasy. But if the situation were reversed and the lord was strong and the ministers were weak, Zhu Yuanzhang would not have so many worries.
The same principle applies between countries. If you want to keep the borders of the Ming Dynasty stable, those vassal states should not be too powerful. It is best if there are many conflicts between vassal states and they fight wars frequently to make them restless. Only in this way can the Ming Dynasty be stable!
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