GBP Chapter 1175 If you don't work according to the master's orders, you'll work yourself
Chapter 1175 If you don't work according to the master's orders, you'll work yourself
Zhu Laosi got a scolding.
Xu Yungong, Liao Yongzhong, and Yu Tongyuan accompanied Zhu Laosi and were thoroughly scolded by the Emperor.
"Fourth brother is stupid, and the other three of you are stupid too!"
Emperor Zhu held a memorial in his hand, pointed at Zhu Laosi, Liao Yongzhong, and Yu Tongyuan, and scolded, "How did Xu Da do things in Dadu?"
"What did Xu Da do in the third year of the Hongwu reign?"
"What have you four done? You traveled all the way to Pegu, only to slaughter one Bubei Qiang, capture 20,000 able-bodied men, and then turn Pegu into a Pacification Commissioner's Office, and that's it?"
"We don't know whether to praise you for being kind or curse you for being brainless!"
"Now look what's happened, such a huge mess, what do you suggest we do?"
Old Zhu retorted in a low voice, "Didn't my brother-in-law say he wanted laborers..."
Emperor Zhu glanced at Zhu Laosi with a puzzled look on his face and asked, "What business is it of yours if he wants laborers?"
"A bunch of idiots!"
"Why do you care about men, women, young and old? Capture those who can work as laborers and kill those who can't. Leave no one alive, wouldn't that be cleaner?"
"Now we have to worry about how to set up the Pacification Commissioner's Office in Pegu, and how to relocate the people. All this messy trouble is caused by you four idiots!"
Liao Yongzhong's expression changed repeatedly. Suddenly, he gritted his teeth, cupped his hands, and bowed to Emperor Zhu, saying, "Your Majesty, please allow me to go to Bago again. I guarantee I will wipe out the entire Bago!"
Emperor Zhu glared at Liao Yongzhong and scolded, "That's enough! Things have already turned out this way, and the envoys in the capital have all heard about it. If you go to Bogu now, you will have no legitimate reason to do so!"
Seeing Emperor Zhu's angry expression, Yang Shaofeng, Li Shanchang, and the others immediately rolled their eyes.
Unlike Li Erfeng, who in his early years could say, "Since ancient times, all people have valued the Chinese and despised the barbarians, but I love them all equally, so their tribes all rely on me as their parents," and who after being assassinated by the Turks said, "Those barbarians are lowly races, all with human faces and beastly hearts. When they are strong, they invade; when they are weak, they submit. They do not wait for kindness or righteousness," Emperor Zhu was determined to uphold "Han-centric" from beginning to end.
Slogans like "Han people who impersonate barbarians will be sent to the border to serve in the army" and "Barbarian clothing, language, and surnames are all prohibited" were merely means by which Emperor Zhu wanted to "restore clothing and customs to the Tang Dynasty system."
In fact, Emperor Zhu, who shouted "I rejoice in the Yuan Dynasty" in the "Edict to Pacify the Desert" in an attempt to deceive the Mongols, issued an edict to Xu Da in April of the third year of Hongwu, saying, "Tell the General that all those who were captured in battle, as well as Wang Baobao, the leader who surrendered after being defeated, should be killed without exception."
Even earlier, in the first year of the Hongwu reign, the Ming army, which had not committed any offenses when passing through Ningyang County, was subjected to a three-day massacre of Dadu (Beijing) under the command of Xu Da.
Once a Darughachi or prime minister from Mongolia came to the Ming Dynasty to offer horses, Emperor Zhu would "bestow upon each of them a fine silk robe, boots, and hat of varying quality."
They are the typical type who preach morality and righteousness while holding sweet dates in their left hand and their right hand stained with blood.
Compared to them, Zhu Laosi, Xu Yungong, Liao Yongzhong, and Yu Tongyuan were simply too stupid.
Alternatively, we could follow the military order given by the Grand General's Office and massacre the entire area within a ten-mile radius of Bubeiqiang, building a Jingguan (a mound of corpses). This would serve as a deterrent and reduce the resistance of other Bogu people. Then, we could send Luosuo Tuoli back to establish the Pacification Commissioner's Office, and later find a reason to establish it as the Provincial Administration Commissioner's Office. This would allow us to gain both face and substance.
Alternatively, they could adopt the principle of "a general in the field may disobey the emperor's orders" and simply clean up the Pegu area, turning it into a provincial administration office. Anyway, with Zhu Laosi as the scapegoat, no matter how much trouble Liao Yongzhong and Yu Tongyuan caused, Li Shanchang and his group could wash their hands of it completely.
Zhu Laosi, Xu Yungong, Liao Yongzhong, and Yu Tongyuan, these four idiots went to Pegu and slaughtered many people but failed to kill them all. In Emperor Zhu's eyes, they were typical examples of "working without the emperor's consent, even if you work yourself to death, you will achieve nothing".
As Yang Shaofeng was inwardly cursing the four idiots, Emperor Zhu glanced at Zhu Laosi and the others and said, "Alright, we won't say anything more to you. You should fast and bathe for three days, and this matter will be over."
Zhu Laosi was slightly taken aback and asked, "Three days of fasting? For what?"
Emperor Zhu snorted coldly and said, "Your eldest sister gave birth to a granddaughter for us. Don't you all have to go and see her? I made you fast for three days so that your evil aura wouldn't offend our granddaughter."
Zhu Laosi was overjoyed and couldn't help but rub his hands together, exclaiming, "I'm going to be an uncle now! Oh dear, this is the first time I'm meeting my niece, I'd better prepare properly."
After Zhu Laosi, Xu Yungong, Liao Yongzhong, and Yu Tongyuan had all left, Emperor Zhu snorted again and looked at Li Shanchang, saying, "Mr. Shanchang, those idiots have made such a mess of things, look..."
Li Shanchang stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "In my opinion, the Fourth Prince and his group are not entirely wrong. At the very least, they have served as a good deterrent to those petty villains."
After making a point for Zhu Laosi and the others, Li Shanchang changed the subject again, saying menacingly, "Actually, I never thought that aristocratic families and maritime merchants would be so deeply entangled, let alone that they had developed to this extent."
"From the Yuan Dynasty to the Ming Dynasty, they controlled almost all of the world's maritime trade."
"If it weren't for the mess in Yangzhou that dragged the remnants of the Pu family into it, who knows how long these people could have stayed hidden."
"The Fourth Prince and his men did a pretty good job this time, cutting off their base of operations in Bago."
"Once all these messy matters involving the Fujian Provincial Administration Commission are completely resolved, our Great Ming will have a firm grip on the money bag at sea."
"In this way, the Ming Dynasty will not have to worry about the national treasury being empty for thousands of years."
Emperor Zhu hummed in agreement, but Yang Shaofeng shook his head slightly and said, "You can't kill all the maritime merchants. If you kill Zhang San today, Li Si will pop up tomorrow."
"Wang Ermazi will still be thinking about touching the power in the imperial court."
"To put it bluntly, although these people can be considered a major threat, they are nothing more than a bunch of vermin that can't stand the light of day and can only hide in the shadows."
"As long as the officials in the imperial court and local areas don't cause trouble, they won't be able to cause any trouble."
"But if we want the officials in the court and local areas to remain incorruptible and not get mixed up with these people, relying solely on the Discipline Inspection Commission and the Supervision Commission is probably far from enough."
As soon as Yang Shaofeng finished speaking, Emperor Zhu, Heizhi Tangyuan, Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen, and even Xu Da and Chang Yuchun all changed their expressions instantly.
Li Shanchang is right. As long as maritime trade is controlled, the Ming Dynasty's treasury will never have to worry about running out of money.
Yang Shaofeng's words, however, directly pointed to the most fundamental flaw in Li Shanchang's statement—the maritime merchants could not be killed off, and their desire to extend their influence into the imperial court could never be eradicated.
After a long silence, Emperor Zhu looked at Yang Shaofeng and asked, "What are your thoughts?"
Yang Shaofeng remained silent for a while before speaking, "My thought is that there are some things that must be done by my father-in-law."