Chapter 821

As June arrived, the weather in Qingzhou Province suddenly grew hot.

Every year at this time, he deeply missed contemporary T-shirts and shorts. After all, compared to such cool attire, he could only wear a dragon robe everywhere now.

However, fortunately, he was the Emperor, and people attended to him at all times. To avoid distraction from the heat while handling state affairs, he had Qian Dafu bring in saltpeter and water, and at the same time, he had the machinery department manufacture a hand-cranked fan.

When saltpeter encountered water, it would absorb a large amount of heat from the water, causing the water to freeze. Using a fan could blow this cold air over.

This way, it was both cool and humid, and the effect was no different from having an air conditioner installed indoors.

The only drawback was the consumption of saltpeter, a strategic resource. However, since gaining control of Bashu, the Mining Department had fully taken over the saltpeter caves in Shu territory. Regarding saltpeter resources, he finally no longer had to worry about scarcity.

Previously, Qian Dafu always stood outside the door when Xiao Ming handled state affairs. Now, he stood inside the door.

This was Xiao Ming’s consideration for his hard work, a small gesture, but it deeply moved Qian Dafu.

As he was enjoying the coolness inside, a small eunuch arrived outside the door. Qian Dafu inquired with the small eunuch and then returned inside.

“Your Majesty, the Goryeo delegation has arrived in Qingzhou Province and has been arranged by the Foreign Affairs Department to stay at the Splendid Restaurant,” Qian Dafu said.

Xiao Ming was reviewing the memorials that had been sent. He looked up, pondered for a moment, and said, “I will meet them tomorrow. Not today. I’m not in the mood.”

Qian Dafu responded with a “Yes,” turned to have the little eunuch notify the Foreign Affairs Department, then turned back and asked, “Your Majesty was quite happy just now. Why are you suddenly out of sorts?”

Xiao Ming had always trusted Qian Dafu and liked to talk to him. He sighed and said, “It’s nothing but the problem of official corruption. It’s only been a few years since I ascended the throne, and these officials are all already unable to resist extending their hands to line their pockets.”

“So it’s that,” Qian Dafu thought for a moment and said, “Ever since the founding of the Great Yu Empire, the problem of official corruption has been escalating. Back then, Great Ancestor, in a fit of rage, beheaded tens of thousands of officials, causing a shortage of officials throughout the Great Yu Empire, but this still could not eradicate the problem. Moreover, although some of the Great Yu Empire’s officials are graduates of Bowen Academy, most are still former officials. These officials are accustomed to corruption; how could they possibly stop?”

Xiao Ming nodded. Qian Dafu was right. The problem of corruption was eighty percent due to former officials, and twenty percent due to officials who graduated from Bowen Academy.

This was only what was reported in the memorials sent by the Censorate. Undiscovered corrupt officials were probably even more numerous.

Regarding this problem, Xiao Ming sometimes felt helpless. Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Great Ming in contemporary times, almost exterminated officials yet could not curb this problem. How then should he solve it now?

After a moment of contemplation, he said, “The root cure for corruption lies not in killing, but in changing customs. For thousands of years, the Confucian ‘li shang wang lai’ (reciprocity in social interactions) is the root of corruption. This is a culture of corruption. As long as the soil of this culture is not eradicated, the Great Yu Empire will forever be corrupt.”

At this moment, Xiao Ming felt that developing technology was important, but at the same time, eradicating some dross culture was also crucial. While Confucian rites certainly emphasized propriety.

However, after thousands of years of transmission, this propriety gradually extended to the notion that one needed to give gifts to get things done.

Besides this custom, the society based on personal connections and human sentiment was also something he disagreed with, because it was essentially a continuation of clan relationships and an impediment to the Great Yu Empire’s rule of law.

In such relationships, officials accepted bribes through personal favors, thereby trampling on the law.

At the same time, when one became an official, their entire family would rise in status. Over time, in areas where the imperial court’s ruling power was weak, clan forces would control certain government departments, or even the political affairs of a certain region.

“Changing customs, changing customs…” Xiao Ming repeated incessantly, because this was the fundamental solution, and also the way to avoid the cycle of dynastic rise and fall.

Qian Dafu was stunned. The solution Xiao Ming proposed was something he had never heard of.

“Your Majesty, the people of the Great Yu Empire have grown accustomed to such a life. How difficult would it be to change?” Qian Dafu shook his head.

“It is difficult, yet not difficult,” Xiao Ming said. “The imperial court represents the law, and Confucianism represents the moral constraints of the common people. This changing of customs must naturally start from the very root of culture. If Confucianism changes its customs, the Great Yu Empire will change its customs.”

Through these seven years of observation, Xiao Ming had discovered that Confucian concepts were deeply rooted in people’s hearts. Their status in the hearts of the common people was no less than that of Christianity in the West.

Followers of Christianity obeyed doctrine, while officials and common people who trusted Confucianism obeyed Confucian thought.

If the common people applied the spirit of “immersion in a pig cage” (a brutal ancient punishment for adultery) to treating corruption, the Great Yu Empire’s corruption problem would surely be resolved.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ming felt that not completely eradicating Confucianism was the right choice. Perhaps he could hold both the titles of a great Confucian scholar and the Emperor of the Great Yu Empire, and from both material and spiritual aspects, eradicate the ills that had formed in the Great Yu Empire over thousands of years.

Qian Dafu stared blankly at Xiao Ming. He sensed that this Emperor, who never adhered to rules, was about to cause another major stir.

“Oh, by the way, where are Ge Yiren and the other two?”

Xiao Ming asked. This matter naturally required the cooperation of the three.

He decided to create a century-long deception, thereby making the three into great Confucian scholars representing the ideas of the new era, to influence the common people’s thoughts through their writings.

Of course, this thought would certainly have to pass through his hands.

“They are in Qufu. After the news of the northern expedition’s victory came back, the three only then went to Qufu. It must be said that these three are also extremely intelligent. Riding on the momentum of the northern expedition’s victory, they have gained even more confidence.”

Xiao Ming nodded gently. “Have them come to see me when they return.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Qian Dafu responded.

Having clarified this matter, Xiao Ming picked up his pen and began reviewing memorials. Although it was necessary to change customs, these corrupt officials also needed to be dealt with severely. Otherwise, light penalties and little fear would fail to deter the current officialdom.

After finishing the review of the memorials in his hand, Xiao Ming began to consider how to deal with Goryeo.

Clearly, Goryeo was now merely fish on a chopping board for him, ready to be carved at his will. Even if Goryeo fought desperately with him, the ultimate outcome would only be defeat.

However, subduing an enemy without fighting was always superior to using force. Since Goryeo had sensibly chosen to submit, he would seize this opportunity to completely assimilate Goryeo and turn it into a province of the Great Yu Empire.

This might take a long time, but leaving an unstable factor beside the Great Yu Empire was an unwise choice.

Therefore, what he had to do was to assimilate, erase Goryeo’s history, and make the Goryeo people subservient.