Chapter 53: Long Live the Common People!

Standing high on the grand platform, watching countless commoners fall to their knees and shout in unison, "Long live the Holy Monarch!" even Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, and Zhu Gang—let alone the attendant standing nearby who was responsible for relaying the Emperor's words—felt their blood surge and their emotions churn violently.

Yet at this moment, upon hearing the declaration of "Long live the common people!" roar from Zhu Yuanzhang’s lips, they were frozen in place, utterly stunned.

This was a phrase he had never dreamed could exist in this world!

It was always the emperor who was hailed as living for ten thousand years, while ordinary people were treated as nothing more than worthless blades of grass.

How could the common people possibly be proclaimed to live for ten thousand years?

Even more shocking and astonishing was that these very words had actually been uttered by the Emperor himself!

This silent shock was so overwhelming that he completely forgot his duty to relay the Emperor's proclamation.

"Long live the common people!!!"

Zhu Yuanzhang waved to the vast multitude of common people and shouted the words once more.

At that instant, it felt as though something shattered deep within Zhu Yuanzhang's chest, while simultaneously something new and powerful burst forth, growing rapidly.

This shout finally jolted the stunned herald back to his senses.

This time, he dared not hesitate any longer, and hastily shouted along at the top of his lungs, "Long live the common people!"

He carried the Emperor's declaration, sending it echoing far into the distance.

Even though he was merely passing on the words, his mind remained momentarily dazed as he shouted them, as if struck by some invisible force.

"Long live the common people!"

Further away, other heralds passed the words down the line, one after another, carrying the proclamation far and wide.

Shen Jing, who had been passionately shouting "Long live the Holy Monarch!" with all his heart, froze the moment he heard what the Emperor had cried out. His very soul was shaken to its core!

He even wondered for a second if he had misheard.

It wasn't until the second cry reached his ears that he knew for certain he hadn't misheard—the Emperor was genuinely shouting, "Long live the common people!"

Long live the common people!

The Emperor was actually proclaiming long life to the common people!

After standing frozen for a brief moment, Shen Jing suddenly burst into tears. With a choked voice, pouring every ounce of his being and the most profound sincerity into his words, he shouted once more for the long life of the Holy Monarch.

The countless common people who heard the cry of "Long live the common people!" were similarly enveloped in a profound, unimaginable shock.

And then, the shouts of "Long live the Holy Monarch!" grew even more thunderous.

Like rolling waves, they surged straight up into the clouds and shook the nine heavens!

Watching his father's retreating figure and listening to the echoes of "Long live the common people," Zhu Biao's gaze changed completely!

His instincts were not wrong; his father had truly transformed!

In the past, his father stood head and shoulders above the world, majestic and towering like a mountain peak.

Yet compared to before, the father standing here now commanded an even deeper, more profound reverence!

No matter how hard he tried to imagine it, he never could have anticipated that his father would cry out for the longevity of the common people at a moment like this.

Nor had he expected that such a single phrase, under these specific circumstances, would bring him such an overwhelming wave of shock!

At that moment, he finally understood completely why his father had cared so little about the activities of the White Lotus Sect operating here in Zhongdu.

Leaving aside the fact that arrangements had already been made in advance with Yu Tongyuan to capture the leader of the White Lotus Sect, even if they hadn't captured the leader first, the White Lotus Sect still wouldn't have been able to make any waves!

Under circumstances like these, even the leader of the White Lotus Sect would have been entirely incapable of inciting the people to rebel or cause trouble.

In fact, there was a very high probability that those very people claiming to be members of the White Lotus Sect would have seized their own leader and delivered him directly to his father!

He who wins the hearts of the people wins the realm.

The ruler is the boat, and the common people are the water; the water can bear the boat, yet it can also swallow it!

These principles, whose meanings he had understood long ago, now flowed through his mind like a clear stream, granting Zhu Biao a realization deeper and more profound than anything he had ever experienced before.

Zhu Shuang, Zhu Gang, and Zhu Di—the three brothers—all wore expressions of profound shock, especially the third and fourth brothers, whose astonishment ran even deeper.

Undoubtedly, this trip to Zhongdu, coupled with the actions their father had taken today, would leave a lasting impression on them.

It would help them mature significantly, ensuring that their future thoughts and actions would undergo a vast and positive transformation.

The rolling waves of sound continued for quite a while before gradually subsiding under Zhu Yuanzhang's raised hand.

"All of you, rise! There is no need to kneel any longer!"

Zhu Yuanzhang instructed the people to stand.

Prompted by the heralds shouting one after another, the order was carried far into the distance.

Only then did the common people rise from the ground.

Indeed, quite a few of them were reluctant to stand, wishing instead to continue kneeling in worship of their Emperor.

Among the vast crowd present, most had knelt before many people throughout their lives.

Yet never before had they felt such heartfelt submission as they did today when kneeling before the Emperor.

Never before had they been so entirely willing!

"I have one more matter to discuss with all of you!"

Once the common people had risen to their feet, Zhu Yuanzhang spoke up once more.

"Starting from today, the construction of Zhongdu will cease completely!

This capital city, I do not want it!

We shall not relocate the capital!

A capital built upon the corpses of the countless common people of our Great Ming is a place I cannot live in, and dare not live in!

I fear that I would be plagued by nightmares every single night!

Living here makes me feel as though my entire body were pierced by countless needles!

How can a nation ever prosper when its capital is founded upon a foundation piled high with the corpses of its own countless people?!"

Zhu Yuanzhang spoke with intense passion, showing not a shred of hesitation regarding the abandonment of Zhongdu.

In his past life, he had hesitated for a long time, enduring agonizing inner turmoil before finally making the painful decision to abandon Zhongdu.

Now, given a second chance, he would hesitate no longer.

Why had Li Shanchang been so utterly fearless at Zhongdu, daring to defy imperial orders and act with reckless abandon?

It was because he was certain that construction on Zhongdu had already progressed so far, consuming vast sums of money; once abandoned, all the capital invested beforehand would go completely down the drain.

The sunk cost was simply too high, and the Emperor wouldn't have the heart to give it up.

He believed that their collective power was formidable enough that even he, the Emperor, had to show them a measure of respect.

Even if things came to light, the Emperor would make a great show of thunderous anger only to let them off with a gentle touch, never truly holding them accountable.

Zhongdu had to be built, no matter what.

Since that was what they thought, he would abandon the construction of Zhongdu entirely and deliberately act contrary to their wishes!

If they thought they could force him to swallow this bitter pill, well, Li Shanchang and his faction hadn't managed to do it in his past life, and they had even less hope of doing it in this one!

Upon hearing the Emperor's words, Shen Jing was once again frozen in place.

His already turbulent heart was struck by yet another towering wave of shock!

After all the investment poured into Zhongdu, it was just going to be abandoned like this?

What a magnificent capital city it was!

Even without working the laborers to death, it could still have been fully completed by the end of the year and made ready for occupation.

Once finished, it would undoubtedly have been the most majestic capital in Chinese history!

Who could bear to abandon it?

Even he, a man who had suffered long and hard under the torment of Zhongdu's construction, found himself unable to bear the thought of abandoning it if he placed himself in the Emperor's shoes.

Yet His Majesty the current Emperor had simply discarded Zhongdu without a second thought!

And the reason for this abandonment was simply because Zhongdu's construction had ravaged the people, shattering countless families!

A true holy monarch!

His present Majesty was truly worthy of the title of Holy Monarch and fully lived up to the phrase "Long live the common people" he had just proclaimed!

The vast throngs of common people were equally astonished by the news announced by Zhu Yuanzhang, and their astonishment quickly turned into thunderous cheers.

This time, without anyone needing to take the lead, the shouts of "Long live the Holy Monarch!" once more soared into the heavens!

Zhu Yuanzhang pressed downward with both hands, and once the voices of the people subsided slightly, he spoke again:

"All laborers who came to Zhongdu to participate in the construction will receive their full wages—calculated at the originally stipulated rate of three coins per person per day—paid out in a single lump sum based on the actual number of days they worked.

In addition, every single one of them will be issued an extra string of coins as compensation for the grievances they suffered!

Those who suffered permanent disability due to the construction of Zhongdu will receive an additional five strings of coins per person.

For those who lost their lives in the construction of Zhongdu, apart from paying out the wages they earned during their labor, an additional ten strings of coins per person will be granted as a subsidy!

This money shall be delivered directly into the hands of their families.

Not a single coin of this money may be missing!

Anyone who dares to lay a hand on these funds—no matter the method, no matter the amount embezzled, even if it is merely a single cash coin—shall be skinned and stuffed with straw without exception!

I mean what I say!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's voice was laced with iron-clad ruthlessness and killing intent.

These funds were the hard-earned blood money of these laborers.

If anyone truly dared to reach out and steal from these funds, he would skin every single last one of them and stuff them with straw, without exception!

This was a red line that absolutely no one was permitted to cross by even a single step!

Hearing the words spoken by Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, the common people fell to their knees once more in a vast, rolling wave.

Some kowtowed unceasingly, some wept bitterly aloud, while others laughed broadly through their tears, their faces streaming with water even as smiles broke across their lips.

Very soon, the cries of "Long live the Holy Monarch!" once again pierced the firmament!

The rolling waves of sound echoed endlessly...

...

"Elder Brother, are you just going to sit here and wait like this? Are you waiting for You'er to be skinned and stuffed with straw?"

Inside the residence of Li Shanchang, Li Cuiyi, his eyes red and swollen from crying, stared at Li Shanchang and demanded angrily.

He lacked the courage, nor could he bear the thought, to watch his own son being skinned; he could only stay here and vent his frustration on his elder brother.

Even though his elder brother had already made it clear to him that he had tried to use the imperial iron certificate of pardon to save Li You's life, the Emperor had flatly refused.

"Stop putting on such a weak, pitiful display! Things have reached this point, and the overall situation is what matters most.

Prepare yourself, and then throw yourself wholeheartedly back into the construction of Zhongdu!"

Li Shanchang reached out, patted his younger brother's shoulder, sighed, and spoke.

"Then... what if that damned Emperor refuses to build Zhongdu anymore?"

"Impossible!"

Li Shanchang shook his head firmly.

"You don't understand Zhu Yuanzhang. The lion's share of the tax revenues for several consecutive years has been poured into Zhongdu.

An astronomical amount of human and material resources has been spent; if construction were to stop now, all of that would be wasted in vain.

And all those laborers would have died for nothing.

The more people who died building Zhongdu, the less Zhu Yuanzhang can afford to abandon it!

No matter how great a commotion has been stirred up now, Zhongdu still has to be built.

As long as Zhongdu continues to be built, and as long as the capital can still be relocated, we haven't failed.

Our ultimate goal can still be achieved.

In the end, we will still be the victors!

Every sacrifice will have been worth it!

Besides, not building Zhongdu would mean that His Majesty is completely breaking ties with us, and he simply doesn't have the guts for that!"

Li Shanchang spoke with absolute certainty, which was the very reason he was still able to sit here calmly.

Just as his voice fell, someone came running in frantically from outside.

"This is terrible, My Lord! My Lord, it's a disaster! His Majesty is going to abolish Zhongdu!"

Li Shanchang: ? ? ? ! ! !

(It's the beginning of the month, begging for monthly votes, great masters! Thank you very much.)