Chapter Thirty-Two: Did Confucius Teach You How to Be a Han Woman?

After understanding the whole story, Zhu Yang looked at Zhu Biao with a face full of grievance: Why did you have to get involved? If they wanted to give me the last place, so be it. I came here to take the top scholar exam, but I never said I had to be the top scholar. Isn’t coming in last just fine? At least I wouldn’t have to rack my brains to resign from office!

At this moment, Zhu Yang really wished he could open up Zhu Biao’s head to see if there was a system inside called “Meddling in Other People’s Business.”

…

While Zhu Yang was blaming Zhu Biao, the ministers present were secretly shocked. They had all heard of Zhu Yang’s reputation, but he had always kept to himself in the capital, and none of them had ever seen him in person. Now, seeing him for the first time, these ministers were astonished at how much Zhu Yang resembled Zhu Biao.

“Could Zhu Yang really be Zhu Biao’s illegitimate son?” Countless ministers were speculating inwardly, some even feeling a pang of sympathy for Prince Qin, Zhu Quan.

Officials who held posts in the Eastern Palace began to feel guilty, blaming themselves for not having guided the crown prince properly and allowing him to produce a supposed illegitimate child.

“This boy must not be allowed to remain!” The officials of the Eastern Palace started to plot in their hearts, preparing to eliminate this hidden danger.

…

“Sigh, forget it, I can’t blame you. You meant well!” Zhu Yang looked at the aggrieved face of Zhu Biao, and his heart softened in an instant.

What could he do? Zhu Biao’s surname was Zhu, his own was Zhu, and they looked so much alike. Maybe he really was Zhu Biao’s long-lost cousin. For this pitiful man who would die within a year, Zhu Yang felt his anger was a bit excessive.

“So, what now? Not going to fight back?” Zhu Biao’s expression was eager, as if Zhu Yang were Sun Wukong about to storm the Jade Emperor’s palace.

Zhu Biao’s face seemed to say: Zhu Yang, go get them…

Zhu Yang glanced up at Zhu Yuanzhang, only to see him sitting leisurely on the dragon throne, looking around as if he hadn’t noticed Zhu Biao’s instigation below.

“Fine, you father and son are both up to no good!” Zhu Yang thought disdainfully.

“In that case, don’t blame me, Zhu the Monkey, for turning this Golden Throne Hall upside down!” Zhu Yang steadied himself, ready to show these ministers the true meaning of verbal sparring and online warriors.

…

“Ahem, His Majesty has ordered you to discuss my crimes. There’s no need to hold back, let’s hear it!” Zhu Yang looked around at the ministers, puffed out his chest, and spoke.

“Hm?” The ministers felt as if they had misheard.

Who was just crying injustice? Now he’s confessing?

The officials of the Eastern Palace smiled—this boy knows how to read the situation, so let’s at least give him a whole corpse.

Liu Sanwu and the others frowned. This boy is so arrogant. Since that’s the case, we won’t hold back.

“Your Majesty, I believe that as a scholar, Zhu Yang should set an example for the people. Not only has he led the resistance against court policy, he has also abetted evildoers, sided with those who fantasize about lifting the maritime ban, and incited Your Majesty to open the seas. This is a capital offense. Therefore, I suggest stripping Zhu Yang of his status as a scholar, demoting him to commoner, and executing him by slow slicing!” Shen Jin was the first to step forward.

“Execution by slow slicing?” Zhu Yang’s mouth twitched. He knew these civil officials could be ruthless, but he didn’t expect them to come out swinging so hard from the start.

—

Zhu Yang rubbed his nose and cupped his hands to Shen Jin: “I hear you’re the Minister of War?”

“Hmph! I am. What do you want to say?” Shen Jin snapped, flicking his sleeve.

“My, what a temper!” Zhu Yang replied indifferently, then continued, “I heard there was an urgent military report from Fujian last night. Wokou pirates landed and killed more than a dozen of our people. May I ask, Minister, what do you intend to do about it?”

“Hmph, military secrets, I cannot disclose them!” Shen Jin retreated to his place, refusing to tangle further. He thought he was already giving Zhu Yang too much face by speaking at all.

“Er, Your Majesty…” Zhu Yang turned to Zhu Yuanzhang with a face full of misery.

“Ahem, today at court, you may all speak freely. But once outside the palace, if I hear even a word about what happened here, I’ll wipe out your entire family!” Zhu Yuanzhang said. “Shen Jin, go ahead and tell us how you plan to handle it. I’d like to hear it myself!”

Shen Jin was stunned, turning to look at Liu Sanwu and Zhao Mian. They hadn’t expected the emperor to side with Zhu Yang.

What now?

Liu Sanwu stared at Zhu Yuanzhang for a long time, exhaling slowly. He realized there were too many surprises today, but they had already reached the edge of the cliff. If they didn’t get rid of Zhu Yang, they might end up dead themselves.

After all, Zhu Yuanzhang was not an emperor who played by the rules.

Liu Sanwu discreetly made a knife gesture to Shen Jin.

“Your Majesty, I believe we should strengthen the maritime ban, relocate the coastal population inland, and make them keep far from the shoreline. If the Wokou pirates land, they’ll find nothing to loot or destroy!” Shen Jin declared.

“Wow, what a grand plan, Minister Shen!” Zhu Yang exclaimed theatrically.

“Have you ever calculated how long the Ming coastline is, from south to north? How many people rely on the sea for their livelihood? And what about those living on the islands—are you going to relocate them all inland too? Have you considered that if the islands, especially those suitable for habitation, are abandoned, they’ll become foreign territory? Our Ming soldiers fought and bled over these places, and now you, the Minister of War, are ready to abandon them at a word. How magnificent! Don’t you fear the ghosts of those fallen soldiers will haunt you at night?

And aren’t you well-versed in the teachings of the sages? Haven’t you heard, ‘Those who live by the mountains, eat from the mountains; those by the waters, eat from the waters’? Centuries of coastal traditions discarded because of a single sentence from you—how grand! Is this what Confucius taught you?” Zhu Yang retorted.

“You are the Minister of War, commanding all the armed forces, yet you propose retreating before mere pirates. How will the world see Ming? The military exists to defend the nation, protect its territory and its people. Now, thirteen of our citizens have been killed by pirates, and instead of seeking justice, you talk about abandoning land and retreating! Even suggesting that the people should cower in fear—what do we need a Minister of War for? What’s the point of the Ming navy? Why not just disband them? Should we also cower before northern invaders—withdraw and abandon everything, retreat further and further, until one day the Northern Yuan reach the capital and we flee to Yunnan, leaving nothing but scorched earth behind? What do you think of my idea, Minister?”

His tone was thick with mockery.

The Wokou had been a problem since the Yuan and persisted through the Hongwu era. Zhu Yuanzhang’s maritime ban partly aimed to curb them, but history proved the ban ineffective; only force could stamp them out.

This was not the late Qing, but the Ming, which possessed a navy—even ocean-going capability. Otherwise, Zheng He would never have sailed to the Western Oceans seven times. Without a foundation, one man alone couldn’t accomplish such voyages.

Yet Ming had always prioritized land battles over naval warfare, never focusing on the navy, though even so, Ming’s navy was the world’s strongest. Even in the corrupt late Ming, they defeated Japan at the Battle of Liu Liang and the Dutch at Penghu and Liaoluo Bay; later, Zheng He even reclaimed Taiwan.

“You… Can the Northern Yuan even be compared to the Wokou?” Shen Jin retorted, stiff-necked.

“Why not? Do you think the Wokou can’t threaten Ming’s survival?” Zhu Yang snapped. “Have you ever thought about the future? It’s precisely because of your indulgence that the enemy grows stronger, until one day, when China is at its weakest, they strike a deadly blow, plunging the entire nation into a century of humiliation! You call yourselves scholars—haven’t you learned any lessons from history? How many died in the South-North Dynasties invasions? Have you forgotten the shame of the Fourteen Prefectures lost in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, and the early Song? The Mongol invasion cost countless lives, reduced the Han people to second-class status, and you’ve all forgotten?”

—

“It’s all because you complacently see yourselves as the Celestial Empire, caring only for the present and not the future. As long as the enemy is weak, you look down on them, convinced that a dynasty can last forever! Look through history—since Qin, which dynasty has lasted three hundred years? Even Han, together with the Later Han, lasted only four hundred years!

Oh, I see now—you don’t care how long the Ming lasts, because dynastic change is just a change of master to you. When the Tang fell, you rushed to the Zhao family. When the Song fell, you abandoned all loyalty and gratitude, forgetting the shared governance between Song and the scholars, and immediately served under Genghis Khan. Now, after His Majesty expelled the Mongols and restored China, you’ve all flocked to the Ming!

Because you know every government needs educated officials, so it doesn’t matter to you who sits on the throne. Just like the Confucius clan—whoever conquers Qufu, they surrender, knowing they’ll always be favored.

You call me disloyal and unfilial, but I say you civil officials are the truly disloyal and unfilial, devoid of benevolence and righteousness! Confucius spent centuries educating, only to produce people like you, who know nothing of national duty. I wonder if the Sage would rise from the grave to strangle you all!”

Zhu Yang stared at Liu Sanwu, grinning: “Before coming to the palace, I heard a phrase—‘Han traitor.’ Do you know how to write those two words?”

“You…” Liu Sanwu raised his hand, trembling as he pointed at Zhu Yang.

Liu Sanwu had once been an official under the Yuan.

“Tsk tsk, a Han, serving a regime that reduced Han people to second-class citizens, and you served them, managed the Han for them, all without a qualm—was that what Confucius taught you?

Aren’t you always talking about ‘the people are most important, the state next, the ruler least’? So the ruler is so insignificant, the people so weighty? When the foreigners invade, you surrender at once, calling it ‘for the people’s sake,’ disregarding the state and the monarch! And once in office, what do you do? Heap taxes on the people, line your own pockets, form cliques for power, until the country is ruined—then you just switch masters and repeat the process!”

Zhu Yang gave Liu Sanwu a thumbs up: “I must admit, you’re impressive. Sometimes, I’m actually proud to be a scholar, because I could do the same as you.”

“Minister Liu, Minister Shen, you shouldn’t be judging me, nor should any of you present, for I am one of you. I promise, if the Ming ever falls, I’ll be the first to defect, just like you. The former Yuan was Mongol; isn’t there the Jurchen in the northeast? If they ever grow strong and overrun China, we can all go work for the Jurchen together!”

Walking over, Zhu Yang put his arm around Liu Sanwu’s shoulders in a show of camaraderie.

“I…I…!” Liu Sanwu felt a surge of blood rise to his chest.

With a spray of blood, Liu Sanwu stared blankly at the sky. A great Confucian, steeped in the classics, yet today shamed by a mere youth—and left speechless by the shame.

This is the end for Confucianism!

Liu Sanwu toppled over, eyes wide open in death.

“Oh, he’s dead already?” Zhu Yang squatted beside him, poking his face. “How pitif…”

Suddenly, Zhu Yang felt a chill descend upon him.

“Spare us, Your Majesty!” The ministers fell to their knees, trembling. Zhu Yang’s indiscriminate tirade had provoked the already Confucian-averse Zhu Yuanzhang to fury.

At that moment, Zhu Yuanzhang seemed like a walking freezer, chilling the air wherever he passed.

“Damn, I’ve gone too far!” Zhu Yang, seeing the cold fury radiating from Zhu Yuanzhang, quickly wiped the sweat from his brow and knelt down, fearing for his life.