novelaction Chapter 735 Three Evil Causes of National Demise
Chapter 735 Three Evil Causes of National Demise
Chapter 735 The Three Evil Causes of National Demise
Kunning Palace.
Wang Wenzhou, with one arm around Empress Zhou and the other around Dayuer, listened to Dayuer's report. After Dayuer finished recounting the events, Empress Zhou frowned and said helplessly, "Boxin, things have come to this point, why are you still disloyal to the Emperor?"
Empress Zhou was too embarrassed to say it directly, but her husband said, "You rascal, the Emperor has already given me to you to play with, and you still act like this? This is not right."
Wang Wenzhou hugged Empress Zhou and kissed her, saying coaxingly, "Sister-in-law, if it were for my own sake, I wouldn't cause any more trouble, but I have to think about our unborn son. Although Zhu Youjian won't do anything to us now, we're all under his house arrest."
That bastard Xiaoqiang, he's an accomplice to evil, following me around all day long. Except when I go to bed, he follows me everywhere. Even if I wanted to escape, I wouldn't have a chance!
“Yes!” Gao Guiying nodded. She sat down beside Wang Wenzhou and peeled an orange for him. Gao Guiying, of course, firmly supported Wang Wenzhou’s decision.
Empress Zhou said with a wry smile, "Boxin, to be honest, it is the two of us who have wronged the Emperor. Now, as long as you wholeheartedly assist him in governing the Ming Dynasty, based on my understanding of the Emperor, he is not the kind of person who would betray his promise."
“Sister-in-law!” Wang Wenzhou said with a wry smile, “Zhu Youjian was a good person in some ways, but wasn’t he a treacherous person? Don’t be ridiculous. How many ministers has he killed since he ascended the throne? To be fair, the eunuch faction and Yuan Chenghuan were indeed guilty, but since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, apart from the Taizu and Chengzu emperors, has there ever been an emperor who was so capable of killing people?”
Empress Zhou frowned, unsure how to refute.
Wang Wenzhou continued, "Sister-in-law, look how Zhu Youjian treats you! For personal gain, he'd even give you to his younger brother!"
Empress Zhou was so ashamed she wanted to disappear. She smiled bitterly to herself, thinking, "You wretch, shut up! How could you utter such shameless words? One should not covet a friend's wife! You call the Emperor your brother, yet you are so disrespectful and commit such a treasonous act! You truly have no respect for your friend's wife!"
Wang Wenzhou took a piece of orange from Gao Guiying's mouth and said, "Sister-in-law, to tell you the truth, this is my first time in the capital. After meeting Zhu Youjian, I sincerely want to assist him in governing the Ming Dynasty, so that the world can be at peace and the people can live and work in peace."
But Zhu Youjian was truly a pig! His younger brother risked his life to cause trouble in Liaodong, forcing the Tartars to sit down and negotiate. But what did Zhu Youjian do? He simply didn't want to negotiate anymore. He couldn't wait that long and wanted to immediately reclaim the lost territory of Liaodong. And what was the result? Forget about attacking Liaodong, it was a miracle that the Ming Dynasty could even hold on!
Zhu Youjian embezzled tens of millions of taels of silver from his underlings, and what happened? The silver was all gone in less than a year. While Zhu Youjian cannot be solely blamed, he bears the greatest responsibility, after all, he was the emperor!
Empress Zhou hugged Wang Wenzhou and kissed him, comforting him, "Boxin, things have come to this, let's not dwell on the past. We should focus on the future. If you don't think about yourself, you should think about our son. Do you want him to bear the infamy of a traitor before he's even born?"
"Ah?" Wang Wenzhou suddenly felt a heart-wrenching pain because Ru Ru Bao Bao had said the same thing back then.
At the time, Wang Wenzhou did indeed listen to Liu Rushi's advice and wasn't solely focused on rebellion. But what happened in the end? Not only did Rushi die, but Liu Xiaohua also died. So many babies, so many little flowers, all killed by that pig Zhu Youjian!
Wang Wenzhou said somewhat angrily, "Sister-in-law, you're right! But you have to think about it this way: the identity of our son is hard to say! If we don't kill Zhu Youjian, will our son be surnamed Zhou or Zhu? If he's surnamed Zhu, will Zhu Youjian treat our son well?"
Empress Zhou's face turned ashen, and she sighed inwardly, "What a tragedy! How did I end up pregnant with my enemy's child? This child will be a real headache when it's born!"
Wang Wenzhou hugged Empress Zhou and kissed her, saying sincerely, "Sister-in-law, please listen to my advice! Tell me, what kind of life have you been living with Zhu Youjian? You are the Empress Dowager, yet you dress like a beggar! Haven't you had enough of this kind of life?"
"Follow me, I'd rather eat chaff and wild vegetables myself than let you and your son suffer. As long as I handle Zhu Youjian, the throne will be our son's! It doesn't matter if he's surnamed Zhu or Zhou!"
Empress Zhou said with a bitter smile, "Bo Xin, throughout history, those who murder their rulers have never had a good end!"
“Sister-in-law! Who said we were going to kill Zhu Youjian?” Wang Wenzhou quickly hugged Empress Zhou and kissed her, saying, “I know you feel sorry for Zhu Youjian, which is why you have been urging me to assist him.”
Wang Wenzhou said with a wry smile, "If Zhu Youjian weren't a pig-brain, I really would have done that. But he really is a pig, he has no brains! Look at the things he's done. He dresses like a beggar every day, reluctant to eat or dress well, all to portray himself as a good emperor."
But could a person who spent ten years governing the Ming Dynasty to the point of widespread suffering be a good emperor? If he were truly a wise ruler, would the Ming Dynasty have been plagued by internal and external troubles, with war raging everywhere?
Zhu Youjian, a foolish and stubborn man, would never admit his mistakes, nor would he ever think he was wrong. Because of this, even when he made a mistake, he would shift the blame entirely onto others. Look at the ministers he executed—how many of them didn't take the fall for him?
Sister-in-law, it's not the formidable opponent you fear, but the incompetent teammate. If my brother had listened to you, he would have died alongside Zhu Youjian sooner or later!
Empress Zhou frowned and asked with a puzzled look, "Boxin, I've always wanted to ask you a question: why do I always feel that you believe the Emperor will be a ruler who brings about the downfall of the country?"
Wang Wenzhou curled his lips. "I'm a time traveler, of course I know!" But Wang Wenzhou couldn't explain this. After thinking for a moment, he lied and said, "Sister-in-law, there are three major signs of a country's demise since ancient times."
When the people are impoverished and the wealth is exhausted, society goes bankrupt, and the nation goes bankrupt. If the state has gold, but is stingy with it and hoards it for others, this is one example.
Good cannot be promoted, evil cannot be suppressed, benefits cannot be developed, and harm cannot be eliminated. This leads to turning good into greed and learning into theft; this is the second problem.
In the palace, in the mansion, in dreams; amidst weeping here, laughing there; amidst the spying of outsiders, amidst the machinations of petty villains—these are the three.
"Hmm?" Empress Zhou frowned. She had also studied the classics since childhood. What Wang Wenzhou said sounded reasonable, but she did not know the source of the words. Could it be that Wang Wenzhou summarized it himself?
This passage comes from Yu Youren's "Three Evil Causes of National Demise." Yu Youren was a scholar who passed the imperial examination in the late Qing Dynasty, so it is normal that Empress Zhou did not know the source.
Although Da Yu'er could read, she was, after all, a Mongolian girl and couldn't quite understand what Wang Wenzhou was saying. She asked, "Husband, what exactly do you mean?"