The Hidden Perils of the Great Ming

Listening to the long string of titles Li Shimin rattled off, Zhu Yuanzhang was completely dumbfounded. It took him quite a while to react. "You are... Li Shimin? Emperor Taizong of the Great Tang? How is that possible?"

"How is it possible?" Li Shimin chuckled. "Didn't you also come here? I came from the sixth year of the Zhenguan era. I am the genuine Emperor Taizong of Tang."

"Is he really Li Shimin?" Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Qin Ning, as if wanting to get an answer from him.

Seeing Qin Ning nod, the surprise on Zhu Yuanzhang's face deepened.

He never expected that one day he would actually meet the legendary Emperor Taizong of Tang. Today's experiences were simply too bizarre for him.

"Wait, did you just say... my Great Ming... has perished?"

After his initial shock, Zhu Yuanzhang's expression changed. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he stared fixedly at Li Shimin. "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

"How could my Great Ming perish?"

"Why wouldn't it be possible?" Li Shimin laughed. "Even my prosperous Tang Dynasty fell. Did you really think your Great Ming could last for all eternity?"

"Chongba, there is no immortal dynasty in this world. Moreover, the Great Ming was six hundred years ago. You shouldn't feel any regrets," Empress Ma spoke up from the side.

He understood the logic, but as the founder of the Great Ming Empire, hearing someone say that the dynasty he built with his own hands had fallen was naturally hard for Zhu Yuanzhang to accept.

"This... could this be the legendary Empress Zhangsun?"

At this moment, Empress Ma's gaze couldn't help but evaluate the young woman in front of her, who was wearing a phoenix robe just like her.

Yes, young.

At least to her, she was.

Empress Zhangsun from the sixth year of the Zhenguan era was only thirty-three or thirty-four years old.

Meanwhile, Empress Ma from the eleventh year of the Hongwu era was already forty-seven.

"Greetings, Sister Ma."

Empress Zhangsun smiled and nodded, then politely greeted Empress Ma.

She had naturally just heard some things about Empress Ma from Qin Fei and the others, knowing that this was absolutely a generation's virtuous empress in history.

Furthermore, Empress Ma had once personally issued a decree allowing commoner women to wear phoenix crowns and official robes when they married.

This point alone was enough to show her unparalleled virtue and kindness throughout the ages.

"This... I should be the one calling you senior."

Empress Ma was flattered. Truth be told, Empress Zhangsun of the Tang Dynasty was born about eight hundred years before her.

Moreover, in her understanding, Empress Zhangsun was the true eternal virtuous empress. How could she feel at ease having the other party call her sister?

"You two empresses, stop being so modest with each other. Looking throughout our Hua Xia history, both of you are among the very best virtuous empresses."

Jiang Yanran smiled and continued, "However, who exactly ranks first is still up for debate, as everyone has different opinions. But it is undeniable that the first and second places can absolutely only be chosen between the two of you."

"Heh, then naturally my Guanyinbi ranks first," Li Shimin said.

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang was unconvinced. "Empress Zhangsun is indeed a virtuous empress rarely matched in history, but if we are talking about first place, that is definitely my wife."

"It's Guanyinbi."

"It's my wife."

"Guanyinbi."

"My wife."

The two engaged in a heated argument over this, each with their own rhetoric, neither yielding to the other.

If Qin Ning hadn't been there to stop them, they might have already started fighting.

Compared to Li Shimin and Zhu Yuanzhang's tit-for-tat, Empress Ma and Empress Zhangsun were much more harmonious. The two of them went over to the sofa with Qin Fei and the others, watching TV while chatting idly.

Soon, Su Xingwan and Yang Xin finished preparing the food, and everyone sat around the dining table.

Looking at the table full of all kinds of delicacies, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but swallow hard. "I didn't expect you people of later generations to eat so well. This is countless times more sumptuous than what my Guanglu Temple makes."

The so-called Guanglu Temple was the Ming Dynasty's name for the imperial kitchens.

"Imperial Grandmother, this is delicious."

Zhu Xiongying, sitting next to Empress Ma, pointed at a plate of pork stewed with potatoes with his chopsticks.

Empress Ma smiled, picked up a piece of meat for him, and then picked up a piece of potato for herself, putting it in her mouth to eat.

"This thing is actually so soft and glutinous, and it's fragrant, tender, and delicious," she said in surprise.

Li Shimin paused for a moment. "This is called a potato. Have you never eaten it?"

He remembered Jiang Yanran saying earlier that potatoes seemed to have been introduced during the Ming Dynasty.

"Potato?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was puzzled. "I've never heard of it."

"This is something that only appeared in the late Ming Dynasty. Naturally, there weren't any during the Hongwu era," Jiang Yanran explained.

Empress Ma picked up another piece with her chopsticks. Seeming to have completely fallen in love with it, she couldn't help but say, "Such delicious food must be very difficult to grow, right? And the yield probably isn't very high either."

"It's very easy to grow. We started promoting it in our Great Tang not long ago."

Empress Zhangsun explained, "Moreover, its yield is astonishing. It can produce three to four thousand catties per mu."

"How... how much?"

Zhu Yuanzhang had just picked up a piece and hadn't even had time to put it in his mouth. Hearing this, he was completely shocked, and the potato from his chopsticks dropped into his bowl.

"Three to four thousand catties per mu," Li Shimin said.

"And in the warm and hot regions of the south, this thing can be harvested twice or even three times a year."

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang could no longer sit still. "If I had this stuff back then, my parents wouldn't have starved to death, and I definitely wouldn't have rebelled."

"Besides potatoes, there are also sweet potatoes and corn, all of which are high-yield crops. If you want, I'll have someone prepare some for you later, and you can just take them back with you," Qin Ning said.

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but get excited. "I want them! Such divine items! I must ensure they are promoted throughout the Great Ming. From then on, there will be no more starvation in the Great Ming!"

"The problems and hidden dangers of the Great Ming cannot be solved just by having food," Jiang Yanran suddenly spoke up.

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but exchange a glance with Empress Ma. Empress Ma said, "Girl, can you tell us about the problems and hidden dangers of the Great Ming?"

"The biggest problem and hidden danger is the royal support system established by His Majesty Old Zhu. This is actually also one of the main reasons for the fall of the Great Ming."

"How is that possible?"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned. "Are you saying that this royal support system I established ultimately led to the fall of the Great Ming?"

"According to historical records, the royal support system was initially established in the ninth year of Hongwu. Princes were given fifty thousand shi of rice annually. It wasn't until the twenty-eighth year of Hongwu that it was reduced to ten thousand shi, which continued to be used throughout the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty."

"Commandery princes and princesses received two thousand shi, decreasing according to rank. Below them were commandery princesses and county princesses. It can be said that the national strength consumed by such a support system is beyond your imagination," Jiang Yanran said.

"I toiled and bled to conquer this empire just so my future descendants could live a better life. Is there anything wrong with that? Besides, even by your calculations, it doesn't add up to that much. How could it possibly drain the nation's strength, let alone lead to the empire's downfall?"

Zhu Yuanzhang retorted, completely disagreeing with the notion.