The Ming Dynasty: I Fabricated Dreams for Zhu Di 55

Chapter 55: Zhu Yuanzhang: Peasant vs. Landlord? We’re Experts at This!

“I don’t have any dishes here; drinking alone is too boring.”

Normal restaurants would have a kitchen to prepare some side dishes to go with the alcohol.

Higher-end restaurants would offer alcohol, side dishes, and even female companions.

There were about a dozen such high-end restaurants in the Capital City.

This was one of the reasons why my place had so few customers.

No women, no side dishes.

My father used to make a living selling his original brews, but I didn’t learn the brewing craft.

Fortunately, Uncle Niu learned my father’s brewing skills, and I buy my alcohol from him.

The price is cheap and affordable, and with the loyal customers among the old monks, I can barely make ends meet.

Zhu Di picked up a wooden carving, curiously examining it.

“Landlord Fighting, how does one fight?”

If it’s the literal meaning of fighting landlords, then my father would be second to none.

In the 18th year of the Hongwu Emperor’s reign, the Guo Huan case saw many landlords and wealthy merchants go bankrupt due to the court’s pursuit of embezzled funds.

During that time, from high-ranking officials to landlords and merchants,

everyone was terrified.

Everyone knew.

It was said that they were pursuing the embezzled funds of corrupt officials.

To put it bluntly, it was robbing those landlords and wealthy merchants to enrich the national treasury.

Strictly speaking, it shouldn’t be called fighting landlords, but rather robbing landlords.

The Hongwu Dynasty waged successive northern expeditions, and even military farms couldn’t support such massive expenses. The country had no money, but these landlords and wealthy merchants did.

This not only purged corrupt officials but also curbed the power of landlords and wealthy merchants while enriching the national treasury—three birds with one stone.

“Um… how should I say this, it’s two peasants fighting one landlord.”

“Except, it’s not through fighting and killing, but through playing cards.”

“I’ll explain the specific rules after I make it.”

Seeing this, Zhu Di laughed.

“Hahaha, what a clever ‘Peasant vs. Landlord’ game.”

Peasants and landlords are two classes, and the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, my father,

was once a peasant.

Therefore, he didn’t find anything wrong with this phrase; instead, he found it rather pleasant.

Landlords, and their land annexation, are one of the major reasons for the downfall of nations.

Zhu Di stood up, just about to leave, when he suddenly remembered something.

He asked, “By the way, on my way here, I saw many Brocade Guards among the street vendors.”

“They seemed to be investigating… rebels who illegally wore Dragon Robes. Do you know about this?”

Zhuang Mu nodded.

“I know, the Brocade Guard came to investigate a couple of days ago.”

“This has nothing to do with you, right?” Zhu Di narrowed his eyes, staring at Zhuang Mu.

“Me?” Zhuang Mu didn’t know how to respond for a moment.

Seeing Zhuang Mu’s stunned expression, Zhu Di’s suspicion dissipated.

It was unlikely to be related to this kid.

His dreams provided everything he desired.

Why would he do something that would get him beheaded?

Zhuang Mu’s dream was incredibly realistic; in fact, being an emperor in a dream and being an emperor in reality were virtually the same.

The experience was quite fulfilling. The only difference might be that a real emperor needs to handle official documents.

He needs to consider the impact of his actions.

A dream emperor doesn’t.

Thinking about it this way, being an emperor in a dream was quite comfortable.

“It’s good that it’s unrelated. I heard that those Brocade Guards are merciless in their torture.”

After saying that, he left.

Yao Guangxiao also stood up and followed.

…

After leaving the tavern, Zhu Di put away his smile and instructed, “Zhu Wei, have the third prince investigate the Taoist priest’s background.”

“Your Majesty, is there something wrong with this person?”

The Taoist priest didn’t seem to have done anything out of line.

Zhu Di simply said indifferently.

“I don’t like him.”

This was the first time he had felt a genuine dislike for someone.

The key was that they had never met before.

He was curious about this Taoist priest’s identity.

At that moment, Yao Guangxiao caught up and said, “Your Majesty should know about Zhuang Mu poisoning the two princes, right?”

Zhu Di nodded.

“So?”

“Your Majesty isn’t angry?”

“The second and third princes have been arrogant for too long. I don’t have the energy to manage them. Someone disciplining them is fine, as long as the second and third princes don’t die.”

In recent years, he had been rather sluggish in handling government affairs and had no intention of disciplining his two sons.

Anyway, regarding Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui, as long as they don’t die, Zhuang Mu can do whatever he wants with them. As long as he doesn’t strip Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui naked and throw them on the streets, he wouldn’t lose face.

“What do you want to say?” Zhu Di knew that Yao Guangxiao was afraid that he would get angry and implicate Zhuang Mu, so he chased after him to ask.

He certainly had something to say in his heart.

“Nothing, I just want to explain to Your Majesty and Zhuang Mu that the wine the two princes drank was not poisonous.”

Seeing Yao Guangxiao’s expression, Zhu Di was slightly surprised. He teased him,

“Old Monk, you care quite a bit about this kid Zhuang Mu.”

“Why don’t you just adopt him as your son? I’ll grant you a noble title.”

“Let him carry on your legacy, how about that?”

“You don’t have any children, friends, or family anyway.”

Actually, Yao Guangxiao wasn’t completely alone.

He had a sister and friends.

However, because he wrote a book called *Dao Yu Lu*.

The content of the book criticizes Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi of the Northern Song Dynasty, and Zhu Xi of the Southern Song Dynasty, saying that they used their personal opinions to suppress Buddhism and Taoism in their writings.

The main idea is that:

The above three did not understand Buddhist teachings, and used their personal opinions to make false statements, suppressing Buddhism too much.

In short, he criticized Neo-Confucianism, demanding evidence instead of empty words.

Yao Guangxiao believed that twenty-eight passages in the writings of Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi, and twenty-one passages in Zhu Xi’s writings were fallacies. He dissected and analyzed these principles one by one.

As a result, he didn’t get any recognition and instead attracted criticism.

Those who knew about the book began to look down on Yao Guangxiao.

That year, Yao Guangxiao went to Suhu to alleviate a disaster. Passing through Changzhou, he visited his sister, only to be turned away.

Later, he visited his old friend Wang Bin, and was also turned away, with a message sent saying: “The monk is wrong.”

Then, Yao Guangxiao visited his sister again, only to be scolded by his sister, resulting in a rift between them.

All because of this book.

In the eyes of Confucian scholars, the writings of Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi were sacred words, and Yao Guangxiao had no right to deny them.

Even Yao Guangxiao himself didn’t expect that the book he wrote would cause a rift between him and his sister.

However, he still distributed the imperial rewards to his relatives.

“Your Majesty, there’s no need for that.”

“I’ve only known Zhuang Mu for a short time. How can I rashly adopt him as my son?” Yao Guangxiao shook his head.

Zhu Di smiled lightly: “This kid Zhuang Mu is alone and helpless in the Capital City, and has such a strange hobby.”

“If you become his backing, he will have a better life.”

“When I’m not around, you won’t be so lonely either.”

“You too, why did you write *Dao Yu Lu*, criticizing Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi, and Zhu Xi? You can’t even go back home, and your friendships and sibling relationships are broken.”

“I, the Grand Preceptor of the Yongle Dynasty, am actually reduced to this state.”

(End of Chapter)

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