Chapter Twenty-Nine: Struggling Against Heaven is Infinite Joy

"Li Shanchang is truly ruthless! He doesn't treat people like human beings at all. Even livestock aren't treated this poorly!"

In the shadows, someone spoke with a hint of indignation.

"Hehe, that's exactly what we want. The more he treats them like animals, the more fertile the soil becomes for our survival. The more followers we can attract, the greater our power grows!"

"How many followers do we have in Zhongdu City now?" a steady voice asked.

"Reporting to the Cult Leader, we have reached twenty thousand," another replied, their voice brimming with irrepressible excitement.

"Cult Leader, shouldn't we... prepare to rise up soon? Zhongdu City is a powder keg right now; it will explode with the slightest spark! Twenty thousand men are more than enough to start an uprising!"

The person in the center shook his head, his voice remaining calm. "No rush. Good things are worth waiting for. Following this trend, if we wait another month, we will gain at least another ten thousand followers in Zhongdu. The imperial court has many troops stationed here in Fengyang, and Li Shanchang is not a man to be trifled with. It won't be easy to stir up a major disturbance with just twenty thousand men. Let's wait a little longer..."

The group lingered for a while longer before quietly departing, soon vanishing into the night.

...

It was still long before dawn when Zhu Yuanzhang woke up. Subconsciously, he reached out toward the nightstand to grab his phone and check the time, only to grasp at empty air.

It was then he remembered that he had returned to the Hongwu era; he was no longer in the modern age. Where would he find a phone? In his modern life, his phone had been like a second life—he truly couldn't live without it. He had been back in the Hongwu timeline for several days now, but he still couldn't get used to it; everything felt inconvenient. He couldn't help but think how wonderful it would be if he could have brought his phone back with him to the eighth year of the Hongwu reign. Even without a network, the wealth of information stored inside would have been incredibly useful.

However, he knew this was mere wishful thinking. It was more realistic to rely on his own governance to make the Ming Dynasty invent the mobile phone. Yet, considering the current state of the Ming and the level of technological development in the future, Zhu Yuanzhang felt that hand-crafting a phone was equally unreliable. It would be a monumental achievement just to see the Ming Dynasty enter the steam age within his lifetime.

Shaking his head, Zhu Yuanzhang cast these thoughts aside, deciding that the most practical course of action was to resolve the situation in Zhongdu City. After dressing, washing up, and performing a set of boxing exercises to loosen his limbs, he went to have breakfast.

During his meal, a scholar sat nearby, reciting history to him. This wasn't a habit he had picked up in the modern era, but rather a practice he had long insisted upon. As an emperor with endless tasks every day, Zhu Yuanzhang valued time immensely. He felt that eating purely for the sake of eating was a waste, so he arranged for scholars to read historical texts to him during his meals.

He had once enjoyed this, but having grown accustomed to listening to novels at double speed on his phone in the modern era, listening to the dramatic, cadence-filled recitations of a real-life Ming scholar felt awkward. He kept wanting to turn the speed up to two times...

After breakfast, he attended the morning court session. Once he had handled the state affairs, he returned to the Wuying Palace. Soon, an imperial decree was issued: the Prince of Qin, Zhu Shuang; the Prince of Jin, Zhu Gang; and the Prince of Yan, Zhu Di, had committed a grave error and were to be confined to Xuanwu Lake for two months to reflect on their actions. To serve as a warning to others, it was strictly forbidden for anyone to visit them.

This explanation was convincing enough. After all, during the New Year's Eve banquet, many had noticed that the Princes of Qin and Jin were moving with difficulty—it was obvious they had been beaten.

Xuanwu Lake had originally been open to the public. When he had asked Liu Bowen to select a site for the palace, Liu had chosen Yanque Lake after careful observation, so the lake was filled in to build the palace. Because it was close to Xuanwu Lake, Zhu Yuanzhang had simply ordered it to be enclosed with high walls, turning it into a private royal lake. He knew that many so-called intellectuals and writers cursed him for it, claiming he had seized the lake for his own personal enjoyment. Only he knew the real purpose: he intended to build structures on the islands within the lake to store the "Yellow Registers" for the future.

The Yellow Registers were the Ming version of a household registry, though they covered much more than modern records. They detailed not only the number of people in a household but also the acreage of their land. It was a comprehensive survey of the Ming population and land. With this data, he could understand the specific conditions of the empire, providing a basis for taxation, labor corvée, and development planning. Coupled with the "Fish-Scale Registers" that began to be drawn up in the twentieth year of Hongwu, these became the foundation of Ming governance.

Such vital materials required careful management, with fire prevention being the most critical. Storing them on an island in the middle of a large lake like Xuanwu was the perfect solution. However, the islands were not yet storing the registers, as in his previous life, he hadn't ordered the land survey and the creation of the Yellow Registers until the fourteenth year of Hongwu. He hadn't waited because he didn't want to do it sooner, but because he couldn't.

Surveying land and rooting out hidden households had always been an incredibly difficult nut to crack. It meant making an enemy of the entire wealthy class; it was like carving flesh from their bodies. The resistance was immense. If it were easy, Emperor Guangwu of the Han, who restored the dynasty, wouldn't have failed to complete his own land survey. Even though he had spent ten years accomplishing this in his previous life, thinking about doing it all over again, Zhu Yuanzhang still felt the obstacles were daunting.

But no matter how difficult, it had to be done, and he had to do it better than last time! Anyone who disobeyed or tried to obstruct the land survey would die. On this matter, Zhu Yuanzhang was absolutely resolute. He also realized he needed to pave the way for this task in advance. At the very least, he had to take less time and achieve better results than he had before. If he were to repeat his life and end up with the same results, wouldn't these years be wasted?

Struggling against heaven is endless joy; struggling against man is even greater joy!

While these thoughts churned in Zhu Yuanzhang's mind, Zhu Shuang, Zhu Gang, and Zhu Di were already being escorted to Xuanwu Lake. In front of others, the brothers had looked dejected, but once they were alone, they perked up like wilted eggplants watered by rain. They were full of anticipation for the journey ahead, all eager to flex their muscles.

They had no idea what the place they were going to was actually like, nor how dangerous it would be to live as commoners. They also didn't know how much information their "benevolent father" had hidden from them just to trick them into going. In short, this would surely be a journey they would never forget.

In the dead of night, a small boat carried them through the water gate, merging into the great river. They traveled through circuitous routes, the three brothers—now disguised—heading toward Fengyang by water.

Only after Zhu Yuanzhang had confirmed his sons were gone and beyond recall did he prepare to tell the Crown Prince, Zhu Biao, about a critical situation he had previously kept hidden from him...

One could say he had played the role of the benevolent father to perfection.

...

A warhorse with sparks flying from its hooves charged into Zhongdu City, heading straight for the Ministry of Works to find Li Shanchang. A moment later, a letter was placed upon Li Shanchang's desk. After a single glance, his expression turned grim.