Chapter 26 Chapter 25 Zhu Di in Waiting

Zhu Di actually didn't want to rebel, he wanted to be emperor, but he didn't want to rebel. This may seem like a contradictory proposition, but it is not.From the perspective of the relationship between rights and obligations, being an emperor is a right, while rebellion is an obligation, because for those who were born in the wrong or late birth, they must fulfill their obligations if they want to enjoy their rights. From an economic point of view, the cost of rebellion is too high, and it is easy to lose money. According to past data, those who lose money usually end up dead.I believe that Zhu Di had carefully read the history books before the rebellion. Throughout the ages, counting the small dynasties such as the Five Hu and Sixteen Kingdoms and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the princes who were able to rebel successfully can be counted with a finger. It is estimated that it is not necessary. toe.

If the scope is narrowed down a little more, and only the unification era like the Ming Dynasty is counted, Zhu Di will be pleasantly surprised to find that the current record is still zero.And Zhu Di seems not too confident about breaking this record.If someone told Zhu Di that if he paid a certain amount of money, he could start a rebellion, and if the rebellion failed, he could just lose money. It is estimated that Zhu Di would make up enough money even if he asked for a bank loan. It's a pity that there is no such opportunity in this world, and there is no such guarantor.For Zhu Di, the cost of rebellion was too great. At that time, Zhu Chongba had one life, two parents died, no property, one person fed the whole family without hunger, no proper job, and no bank deposits. A natural born rebel.But that's it, before he rebelled, he still thought about it, hesitating.

Zhu Di is different. He was born in the royal family, has his own house, wife and children, and has hundreds of thousands of people under his command at any time.The palace has everything you need for leisure and entertainment. If you want to find some excitement, you can meet the neighbors—the Mongols—and enjoy the war by the way.But if the rebellion fails, the house, women and children are gone, and my own life is bound to be lost. Doing such a business really needs to be carefully considered. Because once you go down this road, you can't go back. At this time, someone broke Zhu Di's hesitation and changed his fate.

Zhu Di was still hesitating, but Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai, the two important ministers of Emperor Jianwen, were already ready to do it. It was funny to say that although these two were scholars, they followed suit and pointed out to the kings that they would be destroyed today. This one, fix that one tomorrow, and the argument quickly took place.However, both of them are very conceited, one claims to be full of strategy, the other thinks he is superior in strategy, neither of them accepts the other. In fact, there was no need for them to argue, because the number one counselor in the world at that time was someone else, and what was even more unfortunate was that this person was their enemy, that is, the one who changed Zhu Di's fate.

In the eighteenth year of Hongwu (1385), Zhu Yuanzhang selected ten monks from the people, and prepared to share scriptures and recommend blessings to the vassal kings. Before the arrival of the vassal kings, the monks talked about which one was richer, which one had more power, and which place had better water and soil. Only one monk named Daoyan stood still, he didn't seem to care about these things, but in fact, his heart was more excited than anyone else, because he had been waiting for this opportunity and that person for a long time. After a while, the feudal kings came in, and the noisy monks immediately quieted down. They knew that the moment to decide their own destiny had come.

Dao Yan saw the person he was waiting for out of the corner of his eye, and he finally came! Zhu Di walked all the way with a signature smile, he didn't pay attention to Dao Yan, just when he was about to pass by, the silent monk suddenly said: "His Royal Highness, the poor monk is willing to follow you." Zhu Di was stunned. He looked back at the self-recommended monk, smiled slightly, and asked a question that seemed necessary: ​​"Why?" "The poor monk has a big gift." Now Zhu Di is really interested, he is a vassal king, he can get what he wants, what gift can this poor monk give him?

"Oh, He Li?" It's the critical moment, there is no more hesitation, this gift will definitely impress him! "If the king can use me, the poor monk is willing to give the king a white hat!" Hearing this, Zhu Di's face changed suddenly. Although he has limited reading, he still knows what the word "Wang Shangjiabai" is. He walked quickly to Dao Yan, and angrily said in a low voice: "Who the hell are you? , don’t die?!” At this time, Dao Yan smiled without saying a word, as if he didn't hear this sentence, he closed his eyes and meditated. This temptation is too great, he will definitely come to me.

Sure enough, after a while, a deep voice rang in his ear: "Come with me." A smile crept onto the corner of his mouth, my time has come, turning this world upside down! There are many people in this world, engaged in different occupations, farmers who cultivate the land, businessmen who do business, craftsmen who repair and repair, they are all members of the multitude of beings in this world.Among them, there are some people who are not satisfied with these occupations, and they choose another way-studying. From the words of sages to the way of managing the world, they read everything, and from these books, they mastered some essential and regular things, which enabled them to look at the world more rationally and objectively.At the same time, the imperial examination system also made reading an important channel for entering official career.So many scholars followed this path and became the courtiers of the feudal emperor, assisting the emperor to rule the world.

Among these ministers, there are some more outstanding people who have become the elite among the elites by virtue of their own abilities. They judge problems more accurately than others, know how to seize the opportunity, and can solve problems better. We call these people capable ministers. The so-called capable ministers do not only refer to honest and loyal ministers, but also include so-called treacherous ministers. It is only used to describe a person's ability, not his position. These people are real elites, but they can be further divided into three levels according to the number of people and different purposes.

The first type is called ministers who govern the world. There are such people in almost every dynasty. What they master is the words of sages and the way of a gentleman. Such courtiers can create a peaceful and prosperous age, and there are many representative figures, such as Yao Chong and Song Jing in the Tang Dynasty.Such people are not uncommon, they belong to the builders. The second type is called ministers in troubled times. They are not so-called treacherous ministers, but disorderly ministers. What they master are conspiracies and tricks, and they are proficient in black science. Unlike the first type of people, they often struggle in society Over the years, I have experienced many turmoil, and I have a clear understanding of the dark side of life.These people have great energy and are often able to destroy a great dynasty. The representative is An Lushan. Such people are rare, and they belong to destroyers.

The third type is called the Lord of Salvation, which is a rare breed, its heritability and survival rate are lower than that of pandas, and only one is born in hundreds of years.These people have the characteristics of the above two types of people. They not only learn the ways of Confucius and Mencius, but also practice power and tricks.They can flexibly use various means to govern the world, and use their abilities to extend the life of a declining dynasty.Its representative is Zhang Juzheng. Such people are rare, and they belong to the defenders. And this Dao Yan is a typical minister in troubled times. He is not a real monk. Before he became a monk, he also read poetry and books. Yao Guangxiao, a native of Changzhou (now Wu County, Jiangsu Province), was born in the fifteenth year of Zhiyuan, only seven years younger than Zhu Yuanzhang. Born in troubled times, he was eager to learn from childhood, good at reciting poems and painting, and became a monk at the age of fourteen, named Daoyan .He had a wide range of contacts, and celebrities at the time such as Yang Ji, Song Lian and others had a good relationship with him. But what he studied was not the Neo-Confucianism and the way of governing the world that were popular at that time. In fact, it was really useless for monks to learn these things, but what is surprising is that he did not study Buddhist scriptures either.What is even more amazing is that although he is a monk, he worships Taoist priests as his teacher!It is indeed an anecdote that religious beliefs can also engage in internationalism. His Taoist master is not a simple person. His name is Xi Yingzhen. The so-called Onmyoshu has a long history and its content is complex, including fortune-telling, divination, astronomy, strategy and decision-making, etc. These things were regarded as heresy by people at the time, and gentlemen often dismissed them.But in fact, Yin Yang contains a deep understanding and analysis of social reality, and it is a summary and generalization of previous experience. Having said that, people who study this kind of knowledge are generally not serious people, and serious people don't study it, because the imperial examination does not test Yin-Yang studies, but those who have this knowledge often have the ambition to devour the world, and plan to change the dynasty. In other words, it is a factor of social instability.In addition, learning this knowledge still has a certain degree of living security. If you can't make a conspiracy, you can go to a fortune-telling stall to achieve re-employment. A Taoist priest who doesn't make alchemy, a monk who doesn't recite scriptures, and a school of heresy.Dao Yan grew up step by step in such an environment and became a conspirator. He read a lot of books, saw the world, understood the ugliness of human nature, and mastered the means of power struggle. More importantly, he hoped to be able to Do something. The crux of the problem lies here. Although he made friends with famous people and had a soldier in his heart, he had no way to serve the country, because the main content of the exam was Chinese, and the extracurricular knowledge he had learned was not tested.And what he learned doesn't seem to be useful in peacetime.He has talent and learning, but he can't use it and has nowhere to use it. Therefore, for a long time, Dao Yan was in a depressed state. Maybe there will be no bright future in this life, and he began to become negative. Since you are bored at home, let's go out to play. Since it is a monk's tour, the best place is a temple.Most of the temples all over the country have left his footprints, and when he went to Songshan Temple to play, he met a person who influenced his life. This person gave a fortune-telling to Dao Yan, who is good at divination, and accurately predicted his future. future and destiny. This man is called Yuan Gong. Unlike Dao Yan, an amateur fortune teller, his profession is a fortune teller.Fortune tellers are also a profession with a long history. They have a great reputation in history. The main reason is that they can often accurately predict a person's future decades in advance, which is more accurate than weather forecasts, and the celebrity effect is even greater. The mystery of this group of people.The most representative one is the comment on Cao Cao's traitor in troubled times. Yuan Gong didn't know Dao Yan at first, but when he saw Dao Yan, he was taken aback. Just like the fortune tellers on the street today, he caught up with Dao Yan and insisted on giving him a fortune teller (I don't know if the money will be collected), and He gave him a comment: "How can there be such a strange monk like you in the world! You have a pair of triangular eyes, like a sick tiger. People like you are naturally fond of killing. In the future, you will definitely become a person like Liu Bingzhong!" If a fortune teller on the street gave you such a comment today, it is estimated that not only will you not pay him, but you will teach him a lesson.But Dao Yan's reaction was quite different, he was very happy, comments like triangular eyes and bloodthirsty made Dao Yan so happy.It can also be seen from this that this person is really a dangerous element. Here is also Liu Bingzhong, what kind of person is this, why does Daoyan regard this person as an idol? Liu Bingzhong was also a monk. From the point of view of Zhu Chongba and Daoyan later, monks at that time were really a dangerous profession, and criminals often gathered.Liu Bingzhong was a native of the Yuan Dynasty. When Kublai Khan was still a prince, he was spotted by Kublai Khan at a glance and accepted by his subordinates as an important counselor. He made great contributions to Kublai Khan's ascension to the throne of God. With such a person as an idol, it is not difficult to guess what Dao Yan wants to do. Daoyan is not a person with asceticism. During the Hongwu period, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the learned monks to take the exam at the Ministry of Rites. Daoyan seized the opportunity to recruit civil servants and took the exam. , but he did not do it anyway, which made Dao Yan very disappointed, and he had to wait again. Finally, he seized this opportunity in the eighteenth year of Hongwu (1385), followed Yan Wang to Beiping, and presided over Qingshou Temple. If he really only served as host, there wouldn't be so many things happening. This monk who was supposed to chant scriptures in the temple was really incompetent. His main area of ​​activity was not the temple, but the palace. Day after day, year after year, he persuaded Zhu Di with the same proposition—rebellion. Judging from the later historical facts, Dao Yan was not greedy for official positions, nor did he love money. It is very strange that a person who does not seek fame and fortune talks about rebellion all day long, lest the world will not be chaotic. Yes, what is he planning? Obviously, Dao Yan is a normal person, and he is not the kind of person who has nothing to do when he is full. Rebellion is not a good entertainment. Why is he so enthusiastic about it?If we analyze this person's experience, it should not be difficult to find the answer. What drives him is two words - ambition. Dao Yan is a lost person. He has knowledge of the past and the present, and has a strategy in mind, but due to various reasons, he was not reused. He was already fifty years old when Zhu Di brought him back to Beiping.Youth is gone forever, the passage of time has increased the wrinkles on his face, but it has also tempered his heart.Wait after wait, disappointment after disappointment, turned the man who was supposed to be home for the elderly into a powder keg that would explode with the right lead and timing. Zhu Di is the lead wire, and this era of turmoil is the opportunity.