Popularize education, writing, knowledge, laws, etc.

It was a very long process. With a population of over 60 million, 90% of them were illiterate. Even more than half of the military officers in the court were illiterate. It was much more difficult than imagined.

The early Ming Dynasty was the best era, but also the blankest era.

The broken mountains and rivers once caused the Han culture to be interrupted here. Perhaps if future generations carefully examine the classics, they will find that much of the history before the Ming Dynasty was almost entirely continued or filled in by the Ming Dynasty.

The publication of the Imperial Gazette involves a very large aspect.

That is the popularization of ideas and education.

On a deeper level, it means: enlightening the people.

In the early Ming Dynasty, was it the right choice to enlighten the people?

If you ask this question, ask those who are well-educated, wealthy aristocrats, children of prominent families, and noble families.

They will tell you without hesitation that it is not possible to enlighten the people.

Especially the mainstream thought, Confucianism, which advocates that people's wisdom should not be enlightened.

The Confucian ideal is that scholars and nobles monopolize state power, and the lower classes should just be docile cattle and sheep, so the Confucians call their ideal "herding the people on behalf of the emperor."

The word "牧" is extremely eye-catching.

In the Ming Dynasty, learning knowledge required preparing a complete set of study treasures: pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, which poor farmers could not afford.

Did so many cultured and learned people in ancient times ever think of this?

They thought about it, but just didn't want to.

In Daming today, county magistrates are responsible for promoting education, but they only encourage those who can afford to go to school.

For example, those who have at least dozens of acres of land at home.

Have they ever thought about doing something for those who cannot afford to go to school?

No.

In the Ming Dynasty, movable type printing had been invented a long time ago, but almost the entire cultural circle was rejecting it.

I condemn such printed books, saying that they are without spirit and god, and that they cannot convey the profound meaning of the ancient sages.

Have they ever thought about improving the situation and producing cheaper books for the lower classes?

No.

Whether they are submissive to the Ming Dynasty or not, whether they are submissive to Your Majesty or not, it does not affect their standing on the side for their own interests.

Even now, the Imperial Gazette is widely circulated in the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

A large number of memorials and secret petitions continued to appear on the desks of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Ying.

There are a lot of analyses, estimates, and exhortations in it, all of which are about national affairs. How can the people be allowed to know about them?

"They are afraid. They are afraid that the people will grow up and officials will not be able to embezzle or deceive their superiors or subordinates."

“They want to stop it, but is it something they can do?”

"They keep saying that if people are enlightened, they will no longer be obedient, but I came from the lowest class of people. They can deceive emperors of every dynasty."

"But the only thing is that you can't fool me."

"Even if I become the emperor, I know very well in my heart that the people rebelled not because they read a few more books, not because they understood the truth, and have never heard of kings, princes, generals, and ministers being of different species!"

"Rather, they were so hungry that they couldn't even eat, and they watched their parents, wives, and children starve to death in front of them."

"I lay on the bed, even breathing carefully, for fear that if I moved too much, I would get even hungrier."

"To eat one's own children is a tragedy. It is hell on earth."

"At the end of the road, how can you not rebel? Are you going to die alive???"

In the Qianqing Palace, the grandfather and grandson reviewed memorials together.

More than ten consecutive books were about impeaching the court newspaper.

This made Zhu Yuanzhang curse loudly, and then he began to tell the story, also to teach his eldest grandson.

For many things, just because the ministers agree does not necessarily mean they are right.

Zhu Ying said: "From ancient times to the present, people who are literate and sensible have never liked to rebel. Instead, it is the common people who are ignorant of the truth who are more likely to be instigated and blindly follow."

"At the end of every dynasty, many heroes work hard for the country. Looking back on Cao Cao's life, no matter how large his territory was or how many men he had, he was still the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, not Emperor Wu of Wei."

Listening to his grandson's sigh, Zhu Yuanzhang said with a sigh: "To be honest, I didn't think about becoming an emperor back then. Even though I couldn't even fill my stomach, I didn't think I had to join the Red Turban Army."

"Brother Tang He invited me to join him. I was in the temple at the time. Although I didn't have enough to eat, I wasn't starving to death. I wanted to refuse, but someone wanted to frame me and forced me to flee."

"If no one forced us, we might still be making a living in the temple at this moment."

Having said this, Zhu Yuanzhang began to laugh.

Some past events flashed through my mind.

Zhu Ying said: "This is God's will. Even if grandpa doesn't go once, there will always be a second time and a third time."

"This country needs Grandpa, and only Grandpa can shoulder the heavy responsibility of saving the Han family."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and shook his head, saying, "Dynasties change. Even if there is no Zhu Yuanzhang, there will be Li Yuanzhang and Liu Yuanzhang. We just happened to be there at the right time."

When Zhu Ying heard this, he immediately thought of the division of Western Europe and said firmly: "There is no Li Yuanzhang or Liu Yuanzhang in this world, and there can be no such thing as Li Yuanzhang or Liu Yuanzhang."

"Not everyone can defeat Zhang Shicheng and Chen Youliang. Grandpa, have you ever thought about this: if the world is taken over by them, can there still be a unified dynasty?"

Chen Youliang was arrogant and conceited, while Zhang Shicheng just wanted to protect his own piece of land.

If there was no Zhu Yuanzhang, could this broken country be restored?

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he did not express much, but just raised his head slightly with the corners of his mouth raised.

Da Sun is not the first one to say such flattering words.

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty and the unification of the country, the literati have described its great achievements in a more elegant and magnificent way.

It was pretty good at the beginning, but I got tired of it after listening to it every day.

My ears are already calloused.

However, when it comes from the eldest grandson's mouth, the taste is completely different.

"As for the official report, we will definitely implement it in an all-round way. No one can stop us. We will have the Royal Guards write down the names of those who submitted the report."

"Let's investigate thoroughly to see if there is any corruption or illegality."

"The army will set out to attack Japan in a few days. Grandson, go and visit us more often in the next two days."

"As for the Imperial Observatory, let's have Liu Rixin lead the team over there to help the army identify the weather."

"This time, we must conquer Japan and achieve success in one fell swoop."

Zhu Yuanzhang talked about the arrangements for the expedition against Japan.

When Zhu Ying heard Liu Rixin's name, he paused for a moment. Then he remembered that Feng Shui masters of this era knew everything about astronomy and geography.

Is it reliable to just use them to predict the weather?

Although there was the story of Zhuge Liang borrowing the east wind before, it still feels a bit weird no matter how I think about it.

Thinking of this, Zhu Ying still felt that he had to go and ask Liu Rixin in person.

…

The effect of the official bulletin was unexpectedly good.

Almost everyone in the capital was talking about what was written in the court bulletin.

In this age of lack of entertainment, this new thing called official bulletin is enough to fascinate all scholars and common people.

Even the old farmer who sells vegetables would go to the teahouse to listen to this piece.

In the past, national affairs had nothing to do with poor people like them; those were the affairs of the officials.

Upon hearing about the prince's wedding, the old farmer would also clap his hands and say "good".

Many people were grateful to the Crown Prince, because with the intervention of the Public Security Bureau, the business community in the capital was almost wiped out.

What comes with this is that vendors no longer need to pay protection fees.

Even the patrol officers from the Wucheng Bingmasi, who were in charge of the market, suddenly became much more polite.

In the past, everyone could eat and get things for free, but now even the vendors are rushing to deliver the food, and the police officers dare not even accept it.

When the Crown Prince got married, the common people sincerely blessed him from the bottom of their hearts.

And that school.

The old farmer who listened to the court report had a young son studying in the prince's school.

This is our family’s hope for the future.

For an old farmer, if he can learn and have the title of a student, it is the blessing of his ancestors.

Every time the youngest son came home, the old farmer would scold him severely and force him to study hard with the teacher in school.

At the same time, he would not let his youngest son do any farm work, even spring ploughing.

This is the time to change your destiny.

"Before the founding of the Ming Dynasty, the Mongols ruled, and we Han people, especially the southerners, were considered fourth-class people."

"What is a fourth-class citizen? It's the same status as chickens and dogs. Oh, that's not quite accurate. In Lord Yuan's eyes, we are not even as good as dogs. We don't have the qualifications to be dogs."

"This land of Central Plains has been the world of the Han people since ancient times. It was only when Emperor Hongwu established the Ming Dynasty that we were given a real place to live. Otherwise, life there would be like purgatory."...

Listening to the storyteller's words on the stage, the old farmer also felt a strange feeling in his heart.

This year's old farmer has reached the age of sixty and has truly lived under "Mr. Yuan".

At that time, his family was the servants of "Mr. Yuan".

Living a life worse than a dog.

The past was brought back to the mind of the old farmer, who could not help but clench his fists, and an emotion called anger arose.

When he heard that Emperor Hongwu had established the country, he slowly relaxed his gaze, a smile on his face.

Although I am tired now, at least I am alive.

The old farmer with three sons is respected even in the village.

I remembered the rumor in the village about "spreading the tax according to the land area".

The old farmer suddenly thought: with less taxes, he could support more people.

It is said that the new crops planted are very productive, and I am afraid that we will no longer suffer from hunger in the future.

Maybe, go home, find a wife and have a few more kids?

Thinking of this, the old farmer felt a surge of heat in his heart.

…

Imperial Observatory.

In the minds of outsiders, this place should be very mysterious, with a mythical color.

Zhu Ying thought so before he came.

The reason why he did not summon Liu Rixin but came here in person was that he wanted to take a look at this mysterious place.

However, when I actually arrived, I couldn't say I was disappointed, but it was very different from what I had imagined.

It is called the Imperial Observatory, but it feels not much different from the Hanlin Academy.

Everywhere one could see various officials from the Imperial Observatory buried in their studies.

There were even many members of the Imperial Observatory who were looking at ancient books, sometimes using an abacus to calculate, and sometimes writing and drawing quickly on paper.

It's like doing arithmetic.

If it weren't for the Feng Shui compass, copper coins and wooden swords, Zhu Ying would even suspect that he had come to the wrong place.

Some officials who saw this wanted to pay their respects, but Zhu Ying raised his hand to stop them.

"Take me to where Liu Rixin is."

"Yes, sir."

As the director of the Imperial Observatory, Liu Rixin naturally had a separate courtyard lobby.

Zhu Ying walked straight in and saw Liu Rixin studying a book.

Hearing someone coming in, he said without even looking up: "Didn't I tell you not to disturb me at this time every day?"

Zhu Ying smiled and said, "It's been a long time since we last met. Sir Liu has indeed changed a lot."

This familiar voice made Liu Rixin look up immediately.

Seeing this, he immediately stood up and bowed, "Your Highness, Liu Rixin, pays homage to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Zhu Ying said, "Okay, we are all old acquaintances, so there is no need to pay attention to these empty formalities. Stand up and talk."

Liu Rixin stood up and bowed: "Thank you, Your Highness."

Zhu Ying looked around and said, "It seems that Liu Jianzheng has been living a good life recently."

These words made Liu Rixin break out in a cold sweat.

To be honest, Liu Rixin really can't bear to give up his current life.

I knew your Majesty's character and that you were afraid of death, so I just wanted to stay away from the court.

Now he has become the director of the Imperial Observatory, which is a good salary and he doesn't have to worry about too many things.

The housing problem was solved, my wife moved in, and she is pregnant.

If we offend His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, all of this will be shattered like a dream.

Thinking of this, Liu Rixin wanted to kowtow again.

Zhu Ying naturally noticed it, and held it with one hand and said, "Don't be so serious. I came here today to talk to you about other things, not to punish you."

Liu Rixin finally felt relieved, but he became more cautious in his actions.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Ying was too lazy to reminisce about the past and went straight to the point to express his doubts.

Finally, he pointed out that if you don't have the ability, you shouldn't take on this job.

In Zhu Ying's view, attacking Japan was an extremely important matter.

Under the strategy of fighting to support war, even if the battle lasts for ten, twenty, or even thirty years, Japan must be thoroughly civilized.

All of this may seem too costly to others, but to Zhu Ying, it is all worth it.

There are some things that you can only understand their importance once you know them.

Liu Rixin did not think much about it and said quickly: "Please rest assured, Your Highness. This time, I will lead all the officials in the Imperial Observatory who are familiar with meteorology to go together and serve the Ming Dynasty in the Eastern Expedition."

Zhu Ying was stunned and asked, "Can you really understand the celestial phenomena?"

Liu Rixin explained: "Human power cannot match the changes of nature, but the changes of wind and clouds are all based on the Five Elements and Eight Diagrams. In the Yishu, the summary of the predecessors is seven-point theorem and six-point accuracy."

Zhu Ying understood what he said. It roughly meant that the predicted result was 60% to 70% certain, but there were unexpected events and it might not be possible to get it right every time.

Zhu Ying asked curiously: "What is the specific calculation method?"

Liu Rixin said cheerfully: "Da'an is cloudy and sunny, and the breeze is refreshing the willow branches. The rain lingers, and the dry seedlings are happy for the rain in the fields. The neon lights are coming soon, and the sun is shining brightly on the earth. ..."

"Stop!" Zhu Ying felt overwhelmed and shouted quickly.

He knew that these things were not so easy to understand.