Chapter 18 Ask Liu Bowen
The room was very shabby.
A big bed, an old table, and some red painted stools.
That's it.
A gray-haired old man was leaning on the bed, his eyes closed.
His face was pale and haggard, and he was skinny and looked like he would soon die.
Zhu Yuanzhang felt bitter for a while.
The old man is his first adviser, Liu Bowen, who is known as the unifier of the country.
It had only been two months since I last saw Liu Bowen, and he turned out to be so ill.
He is completely different from the sincere Bobbie who was so high-spirited at the beginning.
Hearing someone entering the room, Liu Bowen slowly opened his cloudy eyes.
At a glance, he saw Zhu Yuanzhang in casual clothes.
and the prince Zhu Biao behind him.
Liu Bowen felt excited and struggled to get out of bed, but he felt weak all over.
There was no way to get out of bed, but it caused a violent cough.
Zhu Yuanzhang quickly stepped forward and held down Liu Bowen who was struggling to get out of bed: "Bowen, you are very ill, so don't get out of bed and salute. I came here to see you."
"We, the monarch and his ministers, are free from these clichés."
"You have to recover quickly, we Lao Zhu can't live without your 'Zi Liang'!"
As he spoke, he turned to Prince Zhu Biao behind him and said: "Prince, please go back and ask the Imperial Hospital to arrange for the best physician to come over and treat Uncle Chengyi."
"You must keep an eye on Uncle Chengyi, or we will chop off their heads!"
Zhu Biao agreed.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Liu Bowen struggled to sit up a little, waited until the coughing subsided, and then said: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your love!"
"I am old and frail and suffering from diseases. I am afraid that my days are numbered, so I dare not bother Your Majesty."
"Your Majesty can come to my residence to visit me. I am very grateful."
"Lian'er, why don't you make some tea for the emperor?"
Hearing this, Liu Lian hurriedly went to make tea, but was stopped by Zhu Yuanzhang.
"No need to bother, the prince and I will come and take a look and then leave."
Zhu Yuanzhang found a stool and moved to the bedside to sit down.
"Bowen, you are so sick, so don't worry about it."
"We are here today, firstly to see that you are feeling better, and secondly, to ask Uncle Cheng to help us read a memorial."
"Help us check the details."
As he spoke, Zhu Yuanzhang took out the memorial copied by the prince from his sleeve.
The content of the memorial was exactly the content of Lin Che’s lectures that the prisoner had eavesdropped on.
Liu Bowen took the memorial with trembling hands. He could see at a glance that the memorial was written by the prince, and sighed:
"The prince has so many things to do, but he can still care about the sufferings of the people. It is really not easy to come up with such a good strategy for governing the country!"
Then look down.
When he saw that "to completely eradicate land annexation, land reform and tax reform are needed," Liu Bowen nodded repeatedly.
land reform?
Tax Reform?
It seems to have captured Liu Bowen's interest.
The eyes of this terminally ill first counselor of the Ming Dynasty lit up, his spirits were lifted, and his coughing stopped.
Continue reading along the article.
"Preserve the public land owned by officials and gentry, and implement the principle of 'dividing a small portion into an acre', and 'the officials and gentry work as errands and pay grain as one body'"
Divide into mu?
The officials and the gentry work together as errands and receive food as one? The further he looked down, the faint light appeared in Liu Bowen's originally cloudy eyes.
After seeing this, Uncle Chengyi's breathing became more and more rapid, and his body couldn't help but tremble.
Zhu Yuanzhang hurriedly put his hand on Liu Bowen's back and smoothed it.
Liu Bowen took a deep breath.
"Thank...thank you, Your Majesty!"
Read the memorial copied by the prince in one a while.
Liu Bowen just slowly looked back.
"This... Your Majesty, is this memorial really written by the prince?"
Liu Bowen suddenly raised his head and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang, forgetting the etiquette between monarch and minister for a moment, his eyes were full of shock.
He has assisted Lao Zhu and his son for many years and knows the prince's style very well.
Although the prince is well-read in poetry and books, he is shrewd and capable.
After all, he has not gone through social experience.
And this memorial, whether it is theoretical or practical, is not something that a prince who grew up in the palace can make.
Liu Bowen served as an official in two dynasties and grew up in Qingtian rural area in eastern Zhejiang.
It is very warm to see this memorial, which is full of deep concern for farmers.
"Ha ha!"
"Let's not talk about this first. Bowen, please tell me first, what is this memorial like?"
Without answering Liu Bowen's question, Zhu Yuanzhang was eager to know what his first adviser thought of the policy in this memorial.
"call--"
"call--"
"call--"
After hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's inquiry, Liu Bowen took three deep breaths in a row, and then he calmed down a little.
Suppressing the churning breath in his chest, Liu Bowen narrowed his eyes and then replied:
"Your Majesty, I have followed your Majesty for more than ten years, and I have never seen such a strategy that understands the sufferings of the peasants, considers the people of the world, and can resolve the conflicts between officials, gentry and the people."
"According to my opinion! This policy statement can be called a national policy!"
It can be called a national policy! These words came from the mouth of Liu Bowen, who was seriously ill.
The voice was not loud, but it sounded like a loud bell, lingering in Zhu Yuanzhang's ears.
The first counselor of the Ming Dynasty, he was extremely resourceful and understood the emperor's heart well.
Throughout the Hongwu Dynasty to the present, ministers and Confucian scholars have put forward countless strategies, and several of them have been highly affirmed by Liu Bowen.
"Oh?"
"Bowen spoke so highly of it, couldn't it be because this strategy was written by the prince, and he was deliberately exalting it?"
Zhu Yuanzhang, who was sitting in front of the bed, heard Liu Bowen's high praise and tentatively looked at Liu Bowen who looked excited.
"Your Majesty, how dare I deceive Your Majesty!"
"Everything Wei Chen said is true, whether it is re-measurement of land, thorough household registration, land reform, tax reform, digging out hidden land and people."
"Alternatively, it can be regarded as a wise strategy to 'spread the land between farmers' and 'the officials and gentry work together as servants and pay the grain as one body'."
“This kind of policy theory is by no means just talk on paper, it is actually an implementable national policy!
There is no way a minister like this would be able to make a decision no matter what. "
"Your Majesty has a talented prince like the prince, and the Ming Dynasty can be passed down for generations to come."
"Congratulations, Your Majesty, His Majesty."
Liu Bowen put down the memorial, his voice trembled, and he excitedly congratulated Zhu Yuanzhang.
"Hahaha!"
"Uncle Sincerity, this is the first time I've seen you make such a high evaluation!"
Seeing Liu Bowen's sincere face without the slightest compliment, Zhu Yuanzhang also smiled.
"Of course I believe Bowen's words."
"However, this policy was not made by the prince. I am trying to see if Mr. Bowen can identify who made it."
Hearing this, Liu Bowen shook his head.
"Your Majesty, I forgive you. I am ill and my eyesight is so dim that I really can't see who did it!"
"However, this policy theory has a novel viewpoint, a close-knit conception, and is close to the people. It must not have been done by a court minister."
"I dare to ask Your Majesty, who is the author of this policy?"
"With such a vision and such a pattern, even though I am ill, I still want to see my true appearance and ask for advice."
Although Liu Bowen was seriously ill, his curiosity was instantly aroused when he met such wizards.
now.
He just wanted to see the genius of this paper right away.
(End of this chapter)