Hongwu Became an Official: I Assisted Yongle in Establishing the Ming Dynasty

In the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu's reign, Prince Zhu Biao passed away, and the undercurrents of the Ming Dynasty surged. Shen Yan, a student from a poor family in the south of the Yangtze River, traveled to the early Ming Dynasty, which coincided with the crisis of the turmoil in the imperial power, the unresolved aftermath of Lan Yu, exorbitant taxes and oppression of the people, and the rise of vassal kings. He was familiar with the historical trend from Hongwu to Yongle. He was well aware of the brutality of the Jing Dynasty and the fratricide, and he also understood the root causes of the evils of the Ming Dynasty in later generations. In order to protect his family and make a living for the people, he stayed in bed and studied hard, passing the imperial examination and entering the court with his practical knowledge of managing the world. He was appreciated by Fang Xiaoru, but framed and suppressed by Qitai Huang Zicheng; Take charge of the household's money and food, crack down on corruption and tax abuses, and curb land mergers; His good advice to slow down the feudal lordship was not accepted, and the war between Jingnan and the North was raging across the north and south. He struggled to survive and watched the situation with a cold eye; The Yan army went south and offered advice in front of the city. They did not care about the empty reputation of Jianwen's old ministers, but only kept their original intention of peace and prosperity for the people. Yongle ascended the throne, the government and the opposition were liquidated, the old nobles were domineering, and the conservatives obstructed the New Deal. Shen Yan joined hands with Xia Yuanji and famous Neo-Confucian officials to rectify official administration, reform taxes, promote water conservancy, and establish vassal regulations to overcome the shortcomings of Hongwu's harsh government and make up for the mistakes of the civil system. He does not strive for imperial power, but only seeks to govern and secure the country; he does not strive for power and high positions, but only protects the livelihood of thousands of families. From a scholar from a poor family in the south of the Yangtze River to a civil servant who was the pillar of the Ming Dynasty, Shen Yan used the wisdom of a commoner to reverse the historical crisis, assist Yongle to create an eternal prosperous age, and leave his name in history!