In 1421, Zhu Di wanted to go on an expedition to the northern desert, and Xia Yuanji directly advised: "After years of conquest of soldiers, it is better to return without success, it is better to recuperate his body in the palace" This sentence angered Zhu Di and ordered him to be detained, but unexpectedly, Zhu Di died of illness on the way to the conquest, and said before dying: "Xia Yuanji loves me".
Xia Yuanji was born into a Confucian family and has a profound cultural heritage. At the age of 23, he was selected to study in Guozijian with outstanding results, and was deeply appreciated by Emperor Ming. Seeing that Xia Yuanji was diligent and down-to-earth, Taizu promoted him to be the secretary of the household department and gave him important responsibilities.
Natsuhara Yoshi has the quality of hard work and excellent performance, which has won the high praise of his boss Yu Xin. Once, Yu Xin impeached a group of lazy officials, and Zhu Yuanzhang originally planned to be lenient, but Yu Xin insisted on severe punishment. Zhu Yuanzhang was angry at this and asked who instigated Yu Xin. Yu Xin had to push the responsibility to Xia Yuanji, and as a result, he was degraded, and Xia Yuanji almost suffered an unfortunate fate.
Fortunately, Ming Taizu was able to see Natsuharaji's talent and decided to keep him and continue to use his abilities. After this crisis, Natsuhara Yoshi became more cautious and worked harder, and eventually rose to the rank of Left Attendant and became a senior official in the household department.
In 1398, Zhu Yuanzhang died and was succeeded by Emperor Jianwen, who greatly appreciated Xia Yuanji's talents and gave him the post of being in charge of the country's financial planning. Xia Yuanji, with the strong support of Emperor Jianwen, implemented a series of reforms, which led to a significant increase in the revenue of the state treasury and a significant improvement in the financial situation.
Natsuharaji was also given the task of touring various places, visiting on foot to observe the civil affairs of the county and wilderness, and in order to understand the plight and needs of the people, he worked day and night, regardless of fatigue, and even suffered trauma in his eyes. However, Xia Yuanji never complained excessively, but silently worked for the well-being of the people.
In 1402, Zhu Di raised his army, and after capturing Nanjing, launched a large-scale search for Jianwen's old ministers, and countless Zhongliang were executed. Facing Xia Yuanji, Zhu Di wanted to get rid of him, but he found Xia Yuanji's firm request and was deeply surprised. After much deliberation, he decided to keep Natsuhara Yoshi and let him continue to straighten out his finances.
With the assistance of Xia Yuanji, the Ming Dynasty's fiscal revenue increased greatly. Zhu Di used these funds to build the city of Beijing and the Forbidden City, excavate the Tonghui River, and compile important projects such as the Yongle Dian. Zheng He's voyage to the West and the Northern Expedition to Mongolia were also inseparable from the financial support provided by Xia Yuanji.
In 1421, Zhu Di wanted to go on another expedition, but Xia Yuanji did not agree, firstly, the cost was insufficient, and secondly, Zhu Di's health was not as good as before. Xia Yuanji directly advised: "After years of conquest of soldiers, it is better to recuperate your body in the palace" This sentence angered Zhu Di, and he could accept other reasons, but saying that he was not physically good made Zhu Di very angry. Natsuhara Yoshi was imprisoned for this.
In 1424, Zhu Di died of illness during the battle, and before he died, in a daze, he remembered Xia Yuanji, a direct minister who opposed his own conquest and cared about his body, and said the phrase "Xia Yuanji loves me". This incident is also recorded in the history books
Xia Yuanji spent his life practicing the virtue of Confucian "loyalty". He was loyal to his country, to his duties, to his moral conscience, to his people, not to a single monarch. He never bowed his head in the face of power, and even if he was treated unjustly, he would never betray his faith. Xia Yuanji's perseverance spirit will always become a model for future generations to admire and inherit. #Talk about Chinese culture ##妙笔生花创作挑战#
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