Chapter 52: Late-Night Conversation!

Mansion of the Prince of Wu.

The candlelight flickered, yet Yang Shiqi's voice remained steady and resolute.

Zhu Yunteng sighed, saying, "Sir Yang's insight is profound. I shall write the memorial of self-blame tonight."

Yang Shiqi picked up his teacup, took a sip, and smiled. "Your Highness must not only write the memorial of self-blame tonight, but another piece as well."

Zhu Yunteng looked at him inquiringly.

Yang Shiqi smiled and said, "Earlier, I inspected the newspaper Your Highness intends to launch, as well as the rotary mimeograph machine you invented."

"Your Highness possesses supreme talent; the mimeograph machine you created is truly a masterpiece of divine craftsmanship."

"This endeavor is of profound significance, and all scholars of our Great Ming will benefit infinitely from it."

"On behalf of the scholars across the realm, I offer my gratitude to Your Highness!"

He bowed deeply, hands folded respectfully in front of him.

Zhu Yunteng did not put on a false display of modesty and accepted the compliment with ease.

Yang Shiqi continued, "The printing and distribution of the newspaper have all been arranged. We shall write the articles and print them tonight. Tomorrow morning, before the court assembly, the printed newspapers must be delivered to the inner court, the mansions of all princes and nobles in the capital, and the residences of all civil and military officials currently in the capital."

Everything had been prepared so quickly?

Zhu Yunteng was somewhat surprised.

After all, Yang Shiqi had only arrived at his mansion this very afternoon.

Though Zhu Yunteng had long since completed the preliminary preparations—sufficient numbers of rotary mimeographs had already been manufactured, and printing workers had been recruited; even the layout of the newspaper had been finalized, drawing upon readily available experiences from later generations—he had still been hesitating over what articles to write and what content to include.

"Sir Yang need not be in such haste. The publication of the newspaper does not depend on a day or two," Zhu Yunteng said.

"No!" Yang Shiqi shook his head. "This matter is urgent and brooks no delay."

"If the newspaper can be successfully printed tonight and distributed before tomorrow's court session, Your Highness will gain an extra measure of leverage in tomorrow's court struggles."

It was connected to tomorrow's court struggle as well?

Zhu Yunteng instantly grew interested.

Yang Shiqi explained, "When Your Highness first requested permission to establish the newspaper, you explicitly stated that its purpose was to propagate the magnificent achievements of His Majesty, ensuring that future generations would not allow the Emperor's sacred name to be tarnished due to incomplete historical records."

"Therefore, the inaugural edition of the newspaper must naturally record the past events of His Majesty's youth to highlight his merits."

"His Majesty is advanced in years now and inevitably reminisces about his youth. Writing such pieces will also win his favor."

Zhu Yunteng nodded. "This happens to coincide with my own thoughts."

"This should be structured as a serialized feature, beginning with our House of Zhu's ancestors."

"Nor do we need to conceal the fact that our ancestors were poor people who came from humble peasant origins."

Daily editions, serialized continuously.

Such a detailed biography of the emperor would not only please Old Zhu, but common folk would also find it immensely engaging.

Everyone possesses a desire for gossip.

Ordinary people were endlessly curious about imperial secrets and the experiences of the founding emperor before he achieved prominence.

In the past, the imperial court had always kept things under wraps, and the common people knew very little.

Yet that could not extinguish their burning passion for gossip.

Even though private discussion carried the risk of losing one's head, the populace remained enthusiastically undeterred.

All sorts of bizarre legends about the emperor had never ceased among the common people.

Naturally, lacking reliable sources of information, the content of many such legends could only be described as utterly absurd.

Now, with a serialized newspaper widely circulating, it would inevitably ignite a new wave of public discussion.

And for Old Zhu, this was yet another perfectly timed stroke of flattery.

What Old Zhu desired most in his heart was his reputation among the people and his posthumous legacy for a thousand generations.

Yang Shiqi continued, "The second edition of the newspaper should be used to publish the *Imperial Grand Pronouncements*."

The *Grand Pronouncements* were compiled by Old Zhu through the expenditure of immense effort.

He had poured a tremendous amount of energy into them and even issued an imperial decree stating that every single household must possess a copy.

Those families possessing the *Grand Pronouncements*, provided they had not committed a capital offense, would have their punishments reduced by one degree.

Conversely, households lacking the *Grand Pronouncements* would have their punishments increased by one degree.

However, because the regulations of the *Grand Pronouncements* were overly strict and the clauses too cumbersome, many rules proved extremely difficult to execute in actual practice.

Consequently, by the thirtieth year of Hongwu, Old Zhu had recompiled the *Great Ming Code*, stipulating that all future judicial judgments and sentencing should be based upon the *Great Ming Code*.

From then on, the *Grand Pronouncements* withdrew from the historical stage.

Upon hearing this, however, Zhu Yunteng shook his head. "I believe we should publish the *Great Ming Code* instead of the *Grand Pronouncements*."

Both the *Great Ming Code* and the *Grand Pronouncements* were legal codes, except that the latter were far more severe.

Meeting the inquiring gaze of Yang Shiqi, Zhu Yunteng explained, "In troubled times, use heavy codes. Imperial Grandfather adopted the lesson of the Yuan Dynasty's laissez-faire negligence, which is why he compiled the incomparably strict *Grand Pronouncements*."

"However, now that the Great Ming has been founded for over twenty years, the realm is at peace and all lands have turned toward us in allegiance."

"The clauses set forth in the *Grand Pronouncements* are overly rigorous and difficult to execute; Imperial Grandfather actually long ago harbored the intention of revising them."

"It's just that the ministers have all lacked the courage to submit memorials advising on this matter, and it has been somewhat difficult for Imperial Grandfather to retract his original imperial commands."

"Furthermore, after my father's passing, if one needed to punish the court nobility and military generals, the *Grand Pronouncements* still held tremendous utility."

"Now that I have protected my maternal uncle and the others, the *Grand Pronouncements* are no longer necessary."

"To publish the *Grand Pronouncements* at this juncture would only invite misunderstanding."

"People might assume that if I take charge of state affairs in the future, I too will enforce draconian laws and purge the court in a sea of blood. That would cause others to fear me and provoke even stronger opposition against me."

"This would be extremely detrimental to my quest for the position of Crown Prince."

"Besides, Imperial Grandfather also hopes that the future successor of the Great Ming will be a benevolent ruler."

Zhu Yunteng had grasped Old Zhu's mindset quite thoroughly.

After all, historically, Old Zhu's choice of Zhu Yunwen as the Crown Prince to inherit the empire of the Great Ming was the best proof of this.

Since antiquity, one could conquer the realm upon horseback, but one could not govern it upon horseback.

The Prince of Zhou, the Prince of Jin, and the Prince of Yan were all formidable military commanders leading troops.

If the throne were passed to them, they would inevitably continue waging wars.

Zhu Yunwen, clearly, would not do so.

However, Old Zhu had still miscalculated. Although Zhu Yunwen was not obsessed with continuing the northern expeditions against the Northern Yuan and expanding territories like Zhu Di, his attempt to strip the fiefs of the feudal princes triggered the "Campaign of Jingnan."

Four years of civil war exhausted the elite forces of the Great Ming and gave the steppe tribes a chance to rise once more.

After Zhu Di became emperor, despite leading troops on five expeditions into the desert regions, he was never able to completely eliminate the remnant forces of the Northern Yuan.

Throughout the Ming Dynasty, the peace and stability of the northern frontier remained a lingering affliction for the imperial court.

While this was partly due to the stubborn difficulties of subduing nomadic tribes in the feudal era, the severe depletion of the Great Ming's national strength caused by the Campaign of Jingnan was also a very significant reason.

In Old Zhu's heart at this moment, the Great Ming, after his reign, needed to experience a period of recuperation and rehabilitation akin to the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing in the Han Dynasty.

"Very well, let us follow Your Highness's decision. The second edition will publish the *Great Ming Code*."

Yang Shiqi raised no further objections.

In truth, his initial proposal to publish the *Grand Pronouncements* had also stemmed from a desire to flatter Old Zhu.

In Yang Shiqi's own heart, he likewise believed that the *Great Ming Code* was far more reasonable than the *Grand Pronouncements*.

Enforcing extra-legal punishments was never a good thing for governance.

Since Zhu Yunteng believed the *Great Ming Code* actually better aligned with Old Zhu's true intentions, he had no reason to oppose it.

"For the third edition, I wish to publish some views on state affairs and suggestions on how to govern the country," Zhu Yunteng stated directly, revealing his thoughts.

Many of the institutions established by Old Zhu were excellent, yet still imperfect.

Some even possessed grave drawbacks.

As a time traveler, he naturally knew quite a few methods for improvement.

This would also serve to prove his governance capabilities to Old Zhu.

Unexpectedly, as soon as these words were spoken, Yang Shiqi immediately objected, "Your Highness, this must never be done!"

"Given the current circumstances, Your Highness must on no account rashly express any views on state affairs at this moment, let alone discuss how to govern the country!"