Chapter 122: Emperor, Your Father is Angry

In early April, there was an earthquake in the capital city, sounding like thunder. More than twenty people died, and over a thousand were injured.

That’s enough.

The long-pent-up anger of the officials erupted completely.

We opposed the Single Whip method, but the Emperor enforced it.

We opposed the state policies, and the Emperor became furious, enforcing them.

We opposed sales of Garrison lands, and the Emperor implemented them without consulting us.

We can’t let the Emperor continue to act recklessly. It’s time to stand up.

For our lost lands, for our confiscated profits, for the happiness of our generation and the generations to come!

Officials, don’t remain silent any longer. Unite and let us oppose the New Policies of the Jianwen Emperor, oppose the Single Whip method, oppose the state policies, oppose sales of garrison lands, and restore our ancestral customs!

An earthquake may not be a sentient being, but it has given these people endless courage.

In a moment, the flames of the officials’ accusations against the New Policies of the Jianwen Emperor completely ignited the court.

Each memorial was focused on one point:

The Emperor’s conduct is improper, his governance is flawed, and his actions have provoked a warning from Heaven. Therefore, we request a self-reproach decree, a self-examination document, and a demonstration of humility to correct the course.

“A self-reproach decree? A self-examination document? Tsk tsk, these people think they’re Emperor Cheng of Han.”

After reading one memorial, Zhu Yunzhang threw it into the fire and continued reading. He shook his head slightly and said, “A ruler’s lack of virtue leads to disturbances in heaven and earth, and natural disasters indicate an inability to govern properly. This eloquence is most suitable for a teaching indeed.”

Well, ancient people didn’t really understand earthquakes. If you explained seismic waves to them, they wouldn’t comprehend.

Ancient people had their own interpretations and beliefs.

Western Zhou’s Bo Yangfu: “The qi of heaven and earth, if it doesn’t follow its order… when the yang qi is concealed and unable to emerge, and the yin qi is oppressed and unable to ascend, then there are earthquakes.”

So, here comes the “imbalance of yin and yang” theory.

An earthquake is caused by an imbalance of yin and yang.

If a young or old lady is striving to climb the ranks and prepare for regency and suddenly there’s an earthquake, well, that lady is in for bad luck…

However, linking the theory of yin and yang to earthquakes doesn’t hold much value. Even if you talk about an imbalance of yin and yang, it’s rare to encounter a tough lady once in several hundred years. You can’t solely rely on luck, can you?

If a theory isn’t useful, then what value does it have?

So, everyone put their heads together, searched through historical records, and found that when Bo Yangfu proposed, “The qi of heaven and earth if it doesn’t follow its order,” during the Western Zhou Dynasty, there were earthquakes in all three rivers. In that same year, the three rivers dried up, and Mount Qi collapsed. Shortly after, the Zhou Dynasty fell.

Doesn’t this tell everyone that earthquakes are an omen of a dynasty’s downfall, a sign of the demise of a dynasty?

Well then, let’s introduce the “dynasty’s downfall” theory.

But here’s the problem: dynasties don’t just fall easily, yet earthquakes happen frequently. If you keep using this trick to deceive emperors, it would be strange if they don’t chop your head off.

This theory, while seemingly logical, lacks reliability, practicality, and has a high risk factor. So, this theory doesn’t have much appeal.

Chinese people are resourceful. If the theory of an imbalance of yin and yang and the downfall of dynasties doesn’t work, they’ll create a theory that does.

The emperor calls himself the Son of Heaven, right?

In other words, the emperor has two fathers: his biological father and his non-biological father—Heavenly Father.

This is easy. Since Heavenly Father is your dad, if you, as His son, have poor moral conduct, your dad will be displeased. He might send heavy rain with a gloomy face or cause a drought to show his disapproval.

If you don’t behave or govern improperly, and you provoke your dad’s anger, he slams the table and voila, an earthquake.

The bigger the earthquake and the more people die, the angrier your dad is, which means the severity of your mistakes.

At this point, the best thing to do is apologize, admit your mistakes, and sincerely repent.

Because your dad, Heavenly Father, is up in the heavens, and you can’t commute up there, so you can only write a self-reproach edict. After burning it, the words will ride the wind and travel nine thousand miles, essentially delivering your message.

This is known as the “Ruler’s Morality” theory of earthquakes!

For instance, Emperor Cheng of the Han Dynasty, because of an earthquake, got so scared that he couldn’t eat or sleep properly. He wrote a self-examination letter and had all officials criticize him, pointing out his mistakes and shortcomings.

Because the “Ruler’s Morality” theory of earthquakes can restrain emperors without much risk and is cost-effective, it has been passed down through generations.

During the reign of Zhu Yunwen, earthquakes and the morality of rulers became closely intertwined.

During the era of the One Whip Method, there were occasional small-scale earthquakes. These disturbances were not significant, and given Zhu Yunwen’s forceful disposition. Either they were dispatched to the border to herd livestock or sent to the sea for fishing, and officials just went along with it.

However, the current earthquake was much larger, resulting in casualties and injuries, indicating that the emperor had greatly angered Heaven.

As the emperor, even if you don’t listen to us, shouldn’t you listen to Heavenly Father?

The Ming Dynasty was founded on the principle of filial piety. If you, as the emperor, don’t heed Heavenly Father’s warnings, wouldn’t that…

After burning all the memorials, Zhu Yunwen returned to the Kunning Palace to sleep. The next day, he continued to burn memorials, as many as were delivered during that time.

Attacking the One Whip Method? No problem.

Attacking the state policies? Feel free.

Demanding the prohibition of selling garrison lands, shout it out.

Zhu Yunwen yawned, paying no attention to these attacks.

The ministers from the Six Ministries and the Grand Secretariat remained silent. It was only your group of people jumping up and down, don’t you feel tired?

If I don’t issue orders, who dares to abolish the One Whip Method?

Who dares to prohibit state policies?

Who dares to ban sale of garrison lands?

It was already set in stone, the coffin lid was nailed shut, and yet they were still causing a fuss. Wasn’t this matter over?

From early April to April 15, the courtiers were in high spirits. They lined up outside the Fengtian Hall, rubbing their hands and preparing their speeches, determined to get an explanation from the emperor today.

Fengtian Hall was opened, and a eunuch emerged. “Today, His Majesty is not feeling well, and the morning court is canceled…”

The officials were utterly dumbfounded.

The officials refused to leave and clamored for the emperor to come out and say a few words, or they would sit here and not leave.

Since Emperor Zhu Yunwen’s ascension, the biggest political turmoil had erupted.

When Shuangxi informed Zhu Yunwen about the ministers sitting in silence, he just shook his head and smiled coldly. So, you want to use violent non-cooperation, huh? Fine, if you have the guts, you can also go on a hunger strike to demonstrate your determination.

Zhu Yunwen simply said, “No need to pay attention to them.”

If he had that much time, He might as well study the affairs of the China Bookstore. Currently, the Two Kings had purchased a large mansion in the capital and was renovating it. They had also bought a large shop at the intersection of Chengxian Street and Baotai Street.

West of Chengxian Street and south of Baotai Street was the Imperial Academy. North of the intersection of the two streets were Jilong Mountain and Beiji Pavilion, a bustling area.

With the shop and the bookstore in place, the challenge was printing and publishing books.

They couldn’t just sell “The Romance of the Three Kingdoms” and “Water Margin,” right?

After some thought, Zhu Yunwen decided to include “Three Character Classic,” “Hundred Family Surnames,” and “Thousand Character Classic” in the list of books to be printed.

“The Three Character Classic” was believed to have appeared during the Southern Song Dynasty, possibly authored by Wang Yinglin. “Hundred Family Surnames” was compiled during the Northern Song Dynasty. “Thousand Character Classic” was compiled by Zhou Xingsi during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period and had existed for a long time.

These “Three Hundred Thousand” books were the most important primer texts in ancient times, so there was no reason they wouldn’t sell well. Rather than keeping them hidden away in private schools, it was better to sell them widely throughout the country and make some extra income…

PS:

It is a mainstream view that “The Three Character Classic” was authored by Wang Yinglin during the Southern Song Dynasty. However, there is ongoing scholarly debate about the true authorship, and some theories suggest it may have been created during the Yuan or Ming Dynasty. In this text, the mainstream view is adopted.

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