Everyone in the Zhu Family of Great Ming Is a Talent

Old Zhu is worried about eunuchs meddling in government, so he puts up an iron tablet. What good will that do? Lao Qi suggests limiting the rank of eunuchs, capping them at fourth grade, then establishing an Imperial Household Department staffed by Old Zhu's longtime personal guards and their hereditary successors. Using paper money to amass wealth? That's too crude. Change it! Why use the Embroidered Uniform Guard to kill corrupt officials who form factions? Divide the imperial exams into provincial and county quotas! Having trouble with the northern campaigns? Use firearms! Don't you have a general under your command? The Crown Prince's eldest son dies of smallpox? Lao Wu submits a memorial proposing the cowpox method. Then the Empress won't have to die either. Short on money? Open up maritime trade! A few Japanese pirates are nothing. Didn't you want the princes to guard the borders? Send them even farther away. Otherwise, smugglers will be the ones making all the money. The gentry are too powerful? Here's an upgraded version of the poll tax reform. Worried about the phrase "convenient for officials and commoners"? You've got so many idle nobles under your command anyway. The Blank Seal Case and the Guo Huan Case: What's the point of killing so many people? Cut off their source of income. Here's double-entry bookkeeping. A grain commissioner breaks the law? Have the government collect and transport the grain, and turn the transport surcharge into public funds for bonuses! The Crown Prince is feeling troubled? Take him out for some fun! Well, he nearly died after running into the White Lotus Sect, but the Crown Prince was happy and lived a long life. Military commanders are a threat? Build a military academy! In his later years, Zhu Yuanzhang looks at the books and maps in his hands: the Hongwu Punctuation Case, Hongwu Notes on Mathematics, Hongwu Cowpox Method, Hongwu Accounting Method, Hongwu Book of Agricultural Administration, Hongwu Herbal for Famine Relief, Hongwu Military Treatise, and the Map of Great Ming. He sighs, "I really am wise and mighty! I'm good at war and good at governing, and every one of my sons is talented. My life has been worth it. Why bother writing any more admonitions?"