The father and son looked at each other silently for a while, and then Zhu Biao said with a smile: "I seemed to have seen Yang Xian at the door just now."
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his son who had grown up a lot and said: "You took Liu Bowen away, and Zhongshu Province became Li Shanchang's hall of speech. No matter what, we have to find someone to check and balance."
Zhu Biao said with a smile: "Then Li Shanchang should already know what to do, and he must have started to cultivate a successor."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded with satisfaction and said: "After Tang He was demoted, Li Shanchang began to cultivate Hu Weiyong. He is a smart man. I thought that after his daughter married into the East Palace, he would resign due to illness."
Zhu Biao nodded. The position of king is a reminder. What's more, Li Shanchang also holds the position of Prime Minister Zuo of Zhongshu. If you want to preserve the family, the best way is to retire.
However, Li Shanchang was not willing to lose all his power, so he wanted to push his protégé up so that he could retire with peace of mind.
Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to have thought of something and said: "However, Li Shanchang has gone too far recently. The counselors Li Yinbing and Yang Xisheng only offended him a little, but he immediately reported their crimes and asked me to remove them two!"
Zhu Biao advised: "The geese leave their voices, and the people leave their names. Li Shan is already quite old. Since he is retiring, he naturally wants to show off."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said nothing. Li Shanchang still had a high status in his heart, and he could help him handle most of the government affairs in an orderly manner. Li Shanchang had made great contributions to him both before and after the founding of the country.
Then Zhu Biao began to tell Zhu Yuanzhang the story of his Northern Expedition. Zhu Yuanzhang naturally knew all this, but if his son was willing to talk, he was also willing to listen.
Zhu Yuanzhang's pro-army commanders were all over the three armies, and nothing about the Northern Expedition could be hidden from him.
Zhu Yuanzhang also vetoed Zhu Biao's decision from time to time, and pointed out another better decision. Zhu Biao's victory this time was actually due to the strength of his army, and his decision was not the best choice.
Zhu Biao also listened carefully. His experience in commanding troops was naturally not as good as that of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the country. But it didn't matter. It was basically impossible for Zhu Biao to lead an army on an expedition.
The son of a rich man cannot sit in court, let alone the crown prince of a country. This battle has achieved the goal he wanted. Li Wenzhong, Lan Yu, Muying and others are his direct descendants in the army, and all future battles will be left to them.
They are still very young, but they will gradually gain military power in the future.
Zhu Yuanzhang was naturally aware of this, so he did not damage his son's self-confidence too much. Zhu Biao did quite well during the Northern Expedition. He was at least courageous, perseverant, and decisive enough, which satisfied Zhu Yuanzhang very much.
The father and son took a sip of tea together, and Zhu Yuanzhang said: "We are going to open the imperial examination. Now there is a shortage of officials in the local area, not to mention going to the countryside. It will be a problem for the government orders to be sent to the county, not to mention the countryside."
Zhu Biao pondered for a while and asked: "Do those wealthy families want their children to become officials?"
Zhu Yuanzhang sneered and said: "Not to mention those big families, we ordered the country to recommend some talents a few days ago. I heard that Yao Shurun and Wang E in Suzhou are both famous local Confucian masters. They are proficient in the Four Books and Five Classics and enjoy a high reputation.
"We ordered the officials to send documents to Suzhou Prefecture, and asked local officials to send people to escort Yao Shurun and Wang E to Beijing. As a result, the two people refused to accept the documents from the court on the spot.
And the uncle and nephew of Xia Boqi, they not only rejected the imperial document in person, but also cut off one of their fingers on the spot, determined never to serve as officials in the imperial court!"
After Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, his expression was calm, but Zhu Biao had already felt the terrifying murderous intention. Zhu Yuanzhang continued: "These people are hermits, so it's okay if they don't want to, but those old officials of the Northern Yuan Dynasty went even further.
"For example, Zheng Yu, the official of the former dynasty, went on a hunger strike for seven days, and finally hanged himself. The former minister of the Ministry of Rites also committed suicide. What did these two people say before they died, that they would rather die than become a second minister!
In addition to those who are unwilling to serve us and swear to die for justice, there are also a large number of old officials from the Northern Yuan Dynasty who have directly returned to the mountains and forests, such as Yang Weizhen, Shen Menglin and Teng Kegong."
Zhu Biao naturally knew the reasons for this situation. These literati and officials had lived under the rule of the Yuan Dynasty for more than a hundred years and had a sense of identification with the rule of the Yuan Dynasty. There was also the adverse influence of Confucian loyalty to the emperor, which caused these Han intellectuals to only Knowing to be loyal to the monarch, but not caring whether the monarch himself is worthy of loyalty, to put it bluntly, is a kind of servility.
Of course, the most important point is that the Yuan Dynasty exploited the people at the bottom, and they were very good at wooing the gentry. This was true even in the Qing Dynasty. No matter how the dynasties changed, they were the group that enjoyed privileges. "
Zhu Biao glanced at Zhu Yuanzhang who looked calm and said, "How do you want to deal with it, father?"
Zhu Yuanzhang said coldly: "Since they miss the Yuan Dynasty so much, let's give them a ride and let them go underground to serve their master."
There was no change on Zhu Biao's face, but he was weighing the pros and cons in his heart. Although it would be satisfying to kill them all directly, the harm would outweigh the benefits. Political matters are not as simple as on the battlefield.
People seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. It would be great if even one of these aristocratic families left behind by the Northern Yuan Dynasty could become loyal to the Northern Yuan Dynasty. The remaining 50% had already defected to the Ming Dynasty, and the remaining 40% were still waiting and watching. They He was afraid that he would be suppressed if he entered the imperial court, so he was waiting for Zhu Yuanzhang's attitude.
The best way to solve this problem is to issue an edict to praise their loyalty to the emperor, allow them to serve the Northern Yuan Dynasty, let their families move to the grassland to guard their tombs, and announce that their descendants will not be allowed to participate in the imperial examination in the future!
In this way, their foundation will be completely cut off. Without the protection of official circles, they will be eaten by other rising families in a few decades.
The so-called aristocratic families all rise and fall in this way. In this way, except for those stubborn and immortal families, other families will actively send their children to participate in the imperial examination to express their attitude.
Even those stubborn old men will be forced to death by their own children and grandchildren. In the family, the wishes of the whole family must always be considered. These scholars are so smart, how could they completely destroy the foundation of their family for an elder?
However, these are not things that Zhu Biao can comment on. Firstly, Zhu Yuanzhang is very angry now, and secondly, he has just returned to the court after victory. How could he teach his father how to do things when he comes back? Wouldn't that mean he is arrogant and has no father?
It can be seen from the attitude of the officials when they greet each other that he has now reached the point where the flowers are blooming and the fire is cooking oil. The most important thing is to cool down rather than add fuel to the fire.
He can persuade him now to rely on Lao Zhu's love for him, but Lao Zhu will always feel uncomfortable, and the relationship between father and son also needs to be managed. Don't act unscrupulously just because someone loves you more.