After hearing Li Shanchang's words, Liu Bowen pondered. The advice he gave Zhu Yuanzhang was to make fewer enemies. How to make fewer enemies was naturally not to take the lead. When Zhu Sheng came to see him, he was to slowly become king. Zhang Ximeng also had similar suggestions.
They can be said to be of the same opinion, all advocating making a fortune in silence.
But Li Shanchang seemed to have more ideas. He hoped that Zhu Yuanzhang could reach a higher level.
"Counsellor Li, the current situation is dark and unclear. Although the superior occupies the land outside the river, looking around, there are strong enemies. If he rashly claims the king, he is afraid that he will be besieged by all directions. If he claims the title of Duke, he and the generalissimo do not seem to have any
What a difference!"
Li Shanchang gradually became serious.
"I'm not meddlesome, nor am I trying to persuade people to advance. There's just a saying, if the name is not right, the words will not go well, and if the words are not right, the things will not happen...Brother Bowen, you have also been an official in the government, so take the
Speaking of which, not long ago, I signed an agreement with several merchants in Xuancheng to purchase the Four Treasures of the Study. What do you think I should write in the name of the signature?"
Liu Bowen was a little startled, "It seems that we should write about the Generalissimo's Palace?"
"What about the year?"
"This...takes fifteen years!"
Li Shanchang nodded, "Yes, but it depends on how to write it. But once it is written like this, wouldn't it become the Grand Marshal's Mansion of Yuan Ting? Brother Bowen, what do you think should be done?"
Liu Bowen was startled, this is really what happened.
As the territory becomes larger and larger, there are more and more things happening. Once a government order is issued, it has to face millions of people. It is indeed not a simple matter under what name to order so many people.
Just like the example given by Li Shanchang, although Zhu Yuanzhang did not declare himself a minister to the Yuan Dynasty, he wrote "Generalissimo's Palace" and used the Zhizheng reign title, which is a secret saying that Zhu Yuanzhang was a minister of the Yuan Dynasty.
If you don't use Zhi Zheng, you can use the Dragon and Phoenix era names, which is the same reason.
"Zhang Shicheng dared to establish the Zhou Kingdom and call him King Cheng, Xu Shouhui also called him emperor, and Liu Futong supported King Xiao Ming as emperor... If the superiors cannot call themselves kings and emperors, we will all suffer when dealing with them. Brother Bowen is very knowledgeable.
I have great knowledge and insight, what do you think I should do?"
Liu Bowen frowned. Being low-key has the advantage of being low-key. But if you keep low-key for a long time, it will inevitably lead to embarrassment. You always want to pretend to be a pig and eat the tiger. If someone really leads you to the pig pen, it seems to be excusable.
"Brother Bowen, I suggest that you ascend the throne and be crowned king. Even if you are not crowned king, you can be crowned Duke of the country. In fact, what I want is just the first two words."
Liu Bowen fell into thinking. Speaking of it, Li Shanchang's idea was not wrong.
Zhu Yuanzhang was promoted to a higher level, and he was well-known externally. Internally, he was able to properly arrange the civil and military official system and determine his subordinates. His status was clear and he also had fighting spirit.
In short, the advantages and disadvantages are obvious.
"Counsellor Li, this low-ranking official is stupid. I really can't understand such a big thing at the moment."
Li Shanchang was startled for a moment, then smiled and said: "Okay, that's what I said. You can tell Zhang Qiancheng later, and when you are free, we will talk to the superiors together and finally come up with a proper solution."
Liu Bowen nodded and left in a hurry.
Li Shanchang looked at his back and smiled slightly. Zhang Ximeng was indeed more talented than himself and was deeply trusted by Zhu Yuanzhang, which he could not match.
But Li Shanchang is not without any advantages at all... As Lao Zhu's power expands, more and more old bureaucrats are under his command.
After entering Jinling, Yang Xian and Xia Yu joined Zhu Yuanzhang, followed by Wang Guangyang, and then Fan Zukian, Ye Yi, Xu Yuan and others.
If we include Song Lian, Ye Chen, and Zhang Yi who were recommended by Liu Bowen, Zhu Yuanzhang had already formed a considerable force of civil servants.
Don't compare them to those generals, they are inconspicuous and very low-key.
But they all have similar ideas. After all, they lived in the Yuan Dynasty and were accustomed to Confucian thinking.
In comparison, Zhang Ximeng has no advantages at all.
Maybe one day, Lao Li can completely defeat Zhang Ximeng.
"From experience, I think what Councilor Li said is indeed a problem. We have many policies here. If we can't explain them clearly, we will really be in trouble. And now there are more than a dozen prefectures and millions of people in total. We should really think about it.
There are ways to order your subordinates, just don't provoke siege from all sides."
Zhang Ximeng smiled and said, "So, you have to call yourself the Duke first? Which one does Mr. Bowen think is more appropriate?"
Liu Bowen smiled bitterly, "If the superior is in the south of the Yangtze River, the only ones he can use are the Dukes of Chu, Yue and Wu... Chu is mainly under the rule of Tian Wan, and the Yue is on Fang Guozhen's side, and it is too remote. The next step for the superior is best.
He calls himself Duke of Wu. He rules the place in the name of Wu."
Zhang Ximeng didn't say anything. Historically, Lao Zhu did call himself the Duke of Wu soon after he captured Jinling... But Lao Zhu became the king relatively late. He didn't call himself the King of Wu until he defeated Chen Youliang and established his status as the king of the Southern Region.
But there's still a problem here.
"Mr. Bowen, even if the lord is called Wu Guogong, which year should be used?"
Liu Bowen smiled helplessly, "If you use Zhizheng, it will be Wu Guogong of the Yuan Dynasty. If you use dragon and phoenix, it will be Wu Guogong of Han and Song Dynasties. Things are still the same, nothing has changed... I have thought about it all my brains, but I can't think of a way!"
Liu Bowen pondered for a long time and suddenly said: "Experience, do you think this is okay? Can you temporarily become a minister of Yuan Ting?"
"What?" Zhang Ximeng was furious, "Mr. Bowen, what are you talking about?"
Liu Bowen said helplessly: "Zhang Qingcheng, I think there is nothing wrong with temporarily surrendering to the Yuan Dynasty to accumulate strength, and then commanding the Northern Expedition. It is reasonable for a man to bend and stretch..."
"No!"
Zhang Ximeng stopped Liu Bowen decisively.
"Mr. Bowen, do you know how Zhu Jiajun got to where he is today?"
"This... is naturally a wise person with great experience and wisdom, and the generals are responsible for their lives..."
"No!" Zhang Ximeng sighed, "In the final analysis, it is because we have ideals and perseverance. It is our idea to expel the barbarians and restore China. It is also our idea to equally divide the land and relieve the people. This is my Zhu Jiajun's idea.
Bottom line, if you surrender to the Yuan Dynasty, how can you order the world to expel the barbarians in the future?"
Liu Bowen was speechless again, speechless.
In fact, there are many misunderstandings about Zhu Yuanzhang in later generations... For example, Zhu Yuanzhang was a minister of King Xiao Ming. Later, King Xiao Ming died, and naturally it was Old Zhu who committed regicide. Some film and television works even performed it in a serious way.
However, it is clearly recorded in the history books that Zhu Yuanzhang did not accept the official position of Han and Song Dynasty, but only used the title of Dragon and Phoenix to order his subordinates.
Of course, you can barely make sense by saying that by using the reign name, you can be regarded as a minister.
But the relationship between Zhu Yuanzhang and Yuan Ting was innocent.
Of course, according to actual records, in the winter of December of the 22nd year of Zhizheng, the Yuan Dynasty sent Shangshu Zhang Chang to sail to Qingyuan and confer upon Lao Zhu the political affairs of Jiangxi Province.
Is this always the ironclad proof that Zhu Yuanzhang accepted the Yuan Ting’s imperial edict?
They have all accepted official positions, but they are still not members of Yuan Ting?
Sure enough, you, Zhu Yuanzhang, are just a villain with both ends of the head and a mouse. The main force against the Yuan Dynasty is Liu Futong. Zhu Yuanzhang is just a hypocrite who jumps out to pick peaches!
The idea of expelling the barbarians and restoring China was also Zhu Yuanzhang’s deceptive talk...
Don't be too busy, let's take a look at what the actual record says, "In the twelfth month of winter, the Yuan Dynasty sent Zhang Chang, the Minister of the Yuan Dynasty, to sail to the Qingyuan Dynasty and grant Taizu the administrative affairs of Jiangxi Province, but he was not accepted!"
Did you see that there are clearly two words behind this sentence, "Don't accept it!"
Lao Zhu did not accept the official appointment from Yuan Ting at all.
As for Zhu Yuanzhang's correspondence with Li Chahan and Wang Baobao, there were rumors at the time that they were Han Chinese but were willing to serve the Yuan Dynasty, and that Zhu Yuanzhang planned to instigate rebellion against them.
Any other explanation is nothing more than intrigues and intrigues for the world.
Overall, there is no doubt about Lao Zhu’s anti-Yuan attitude.
Expelling the Huru and restoring China are not empty words.
There is no way Zhu Yuanzhang can get through this kind of request to submit to the Yuan Dynasty, not to mention Zhang Ximeng is here.
Liu Bowen was also confused for a moment. He quickly said: "I was confused for a moment. How can I submit my vassalage to the Yuan Dynasty? No! It won't work no matter what! Then, use the reign names of Han and Song Dynasties?"
No matter how smart and wise Liu Bowen was, he was stuck in a dilemma of choosing between two options and could not get out.
Zhang Ximeng suddenly smiled, "Mr. Bowen, your good friend Ouyang Su, he is from Dantu, right?"
"Yes, that's right!"
"Do you know any famous places in Dantu?"
Liu Bowen immediately said: "When it comes to Dantu's famous places, there are many, such as Furong Tower, Beigu Mountain, and, by the way, Zongze's tomb... As a Yuanchen, I had no shame to go to see his old man, but
When I passed by the tomb and saw the serious damage, I felt sad that even though I was so loyal and kind, I could not save the Song Dynasty!"
Liu Bowen lowered his head and looked lonely. They seemed to have no shame to mention people like Zongze, Yue Fei, and Wen Tianxiang...
"Mr. Bowen, do you think what would happen if my lord went to pay homage to Zongze and announce his promotion to Duke Wu?"
"This, is this going to be Duke Wu of Zhao Song?"
"Wrong!" Zhang Ximeng said flatly: "Zhao Song is immoral, I'm sorry for the heroes and sages! My lord is a Chinese hero, so he naturally inherited the Chinese orthodoxy, was promoted to Duke of Wu, and led his own side!"
Liu Bowen suddenly took a breath of air. This sentence was not simple, it was like opening up the situation all of a sudden.
Zhu Yuanzhang's problem was that if he did not proclaim himself king or emperor, he would suffer losses when dealing with other forces, and he would not be able to govern his territory with integrity.
It can be called king and emperor, but it goes against the basic strategy of slowing down the process of becoming king.
Faced with a dilemma, Liu Bowen came up with the bad idea of surrendering to Yuan Ting first.
But Zhang Ximeng jumped out of this circle and put forward the slogan of expelling the Huru and restoring China.
Then going to Zhenjiang, offering sacrifices to Zongze, reaffirming the great righteousness, and being promoted to Duke of Wu seems to be not only logical, but also more justifiable!
There was obviously no way out, but Zhang Ximeng suddenly found a new path.
Pattern, what is pattern!
Liu Bowen instantly felt a strong respect for Zhang Ximeng.
This young man is indeed tall!
Two days later, Zhang Ximeng and Li Shanchang met. Lao Li thought that Zhang Ximeng had no choice. But after chatting for a few words, when he heard Zhang Ximeng's plan, Li Shanchang was stunned again and was speechless. The two of them were speechless.
I personally went to see Zhu Yuanzhang, and from beginning to end, I listened to Zhang Ximeng explain his reasons and describe the various benefits.
Lao Zhu was very happy when he heard this.
"We know that Mr. Zhang is very resourceful...then from now on, we will use the Chinese calendar?"
Zhang Ximeng said: "It may not be possible for the time being...but we can use the Chinese Wu Kingdom to chronologically, and the lord can call himself Wu Guogong."
"Chinese Wu Kingdom!"
Lao Zhu looked up to the sky and laughed: "Okay! That's great! We remember that Liu Futong's banner was to reopen the Song Dynasty, right? We are expelling the barbarians and restoring China! Which one is higher, which one is lower, which one is better? Li
Sir, please tell me too!"
What can Li Shanchang say?
"The superior is wise and the experience is wise!"
