Spoiler History: Starting from the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 720: Three Similar Gentlemen
"I really want to...see with my own eyes what the West looked like at that time."

Kong Ming was not as sentimental as his lord. He just looked at the arrows on the screen that connected the entire map more and more closely, and sighed from the bottom of his heart.

Pang Tong on the side thought for a moment:
"Kong Ming feels that there is something wrong with the Western countries at this time?"

This is nonsense. After all, Pang Tong has also seen it all. When people in later generations talk about the history of China, they will also talk about Western affairs in passing.

But looking back from the time when we looked at the light curtain until now, there are not many things worth talking about in Western countries since the Western Han Dynasty, and the vast majority of things are concentrated in the same period as the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties.

For more than a thousand years, Western countries, like China, were busy with the affairs of their neighbors, but seemingly overnight, these countries began to appear all over the world.

While Pang Tong was still frowning and trying to summarize, he heard Kong Ming beside him saying leisurely:

"It was said by some generations before that the Black Death was even more raging than the typhoid epidemic three years later, and it shook the church's rule."

"Now we know that the church can command all nations and grant the emperor a crown. They follow the church and falsely proclaim the words of God, and they are extremely honorable."

"When the Mongols invaded the West, our Eastern learning spread to the West, and perhaps... the people's wisdom was awakened, and the dispute with the church over the word of God began."

"All things are like piles of earth, which form a mountain, and from them come wind and rain."

At this point, Pang Tong also understood:

"Kong Ming wants to see the storm with his own eyes?"

"Could it be that Shi Yuan doesn't want to see him?" Kong Ming asked back.

Having said that, both of them understood that the storm they were talking about was an unprecedented change in the Western countries.

Judging from the fact that a wise man in the West wrote "The Elements of Geometry", the systems and studies of the East and the West are different, but all things are concentrated in just one or two hundred years. It is probably because one thing after another collided with each other that caused the unprecedented major changes in the Western academic system, which is what Kong Ming just mentioned as "wind and rain".

After a moment of silence, Kong Ming smiled:
"This happened a thousand years ago, so why should I worry? I'll just have to see if the younger generation can take us to see it."

"The most important task now is to unite all the states and form the Han Dynasty."

……

The expressions of the emperor, his ministers, fathers and sons in the Huagai Hall also became serious.

The events of the Song Dynasty before this could still be said to be the affairs of the previous dynasty, but the conquests of Kublai Khan that are being mentioned now all happened within the past hundred years.

Not to mention that the young man also talked about the impact of Kublai Khan's conquests on the Ming Dynasty, which determined that it must be taken seriously.

Among them, Li Wenzhong beat his chest and stamped his feet:
"Why don't you repeat the story of the Yuan Dynasty's invasion of Japan? I, the General of the Japanese Expedition, haven't even read it yet!"

That being said, who doesn’t know that this is a performance for His Majesty?

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't know for a moment whether he should first reprimand his nephew for claiming the title of general or reprimand him for his attitude that the Ming Dynasty must invade Japan.

But seeing that it was still howling, I simply waved my hands in disgust:

"Li Wenzhong, please stay for the banquet later and tell me about your plan to conquer Japan!"

Although it was not her usual nickname, Li Wenzhong was still very happy.

Zhu Biao, on the other hand, frowned as he watched the hundreds of years of chaos in Burma described by later generations: "It was difficult to govern the Yuan Dynasty, let alone the Ming Dynasty, which has just been established?"

"And according to this statement, does the Ming Dynasty need to help them unify the country?"

"Why is it so troublesome?" Zhu Biao turned around and saw his excited brother Zhu Di, who continued:
"Since the kingdoms are attacking each other, they have no unity. If they have no unity, why don't they join the Ming Dynasty?"

"Order brave generals and capable officials to slowly push forward the kingdom's rule in the south, and cede the territories of the states one by one. At the same time, we need to send ships to go around to the place where the Portuguese entered Burma, and attack from both the north and the south. Using the rich land of Khitan and Mie as a base, we will slowly build order. If we work hard for 50 years, the South China Sea will be at peace."

Zhu Biao was in deep thought, while Zhu Yuanzhang was slightly surprised.

The feasibility of this strategy still needs to be questioned, but it reveals that the land will be controlled first and then governed, and finally the king will be established to make the people become the people of the Ming Dynasty. Then the land will naturally become the land of the Ming Dynasty. It will only take a few decades to make this place... how do I say it? Yes, become a sacred and inseparable part.

Although the strategy was a bit immature and fanciful, the fourth child was only twenty-one years old after all, and it was an unexpected surprise that he could come up with such an idea.

This immediately made Zhu Yuanzhang want to test him:

"What about Java?"

In response, Zhu Di pointed to the strait west of Java without hesitation and said:
"From the map, it seems that the survival of the South China Sea depends on this. If we implement the strategy of controlling the sea, the Ming Dynasty should use the Central Plains to control Jimei, and then use Jimei to defend this strait."

"If we don't lose this gorge, it will be difficult for the enemy to enter from the west, and the countries in the South Sea will become the internal countries of the Ming Dynasty. Even if they attack each other, they will eventually become vassals of the Ming Dynasty."

This is also not a particularly brilliant strategy, but it is the most useful military strategy. It is simple, direct and quite practical.

This was quite a surprise to Zhu Yuanzhang, and he couldn't help but exclaimed:
"Brother Xu Da, it seems that the Beiping Prefecture's military strategy discussion office has added another seat."

[In addition to the Yuan Dynasty's unsuccessful foreign wars that added to Kublai Khan's troubles, the death of his wife, Empress Chabi, also dealt a heavy blow to Kublai Khan.

In the feudal era, there were many emperors and empresses who lived in harmony with each other, such as Emperor Yuwen Yong of the Northern Zhou Dynasty and Empress Ashina, Li Yu of the Southern Tang Dynasty and Empress Zhou the Elder and the Younger, and the famous God of Pure Love and War of the Ming Dynasty.

I would like to add here that the story "Emperor Taizong of Song Forced to Sleep with Concubine Xiao Zhou" is a wild and unofficial history. It is okay to listen to it for fun but don't take it seriously. After all, Li Yu was already miserable enough.

But there are not many people who not only have a good relationship but are also allies and help each other politically, such as Li Shimin and Empress Zhangsun, Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma, and Kublai Khan and Empress Chabi can also be considered a couple.

Kublai Khan married Chabi very early, so early that no one thought that Kublai Khan would one day ascend to the throne.

As we mentioned before, Ogedei died suddenly during the Western Expedition of his eldest son. At that time, Empress Naimanzhen was regent and actively eliminated dissidents to pave the way for the unfortunate Khan Guyuk. At that time, Chabi repeatedly advised Kublai Khan not to disobey and that only by surviving could he have a chance of winning.

Later, when Mongke ascended the throne, Kublai, as Mongke's younger brother, was also reused. He conquered Dali with great success and established a government in the south of the desert with great fanfare. Mongke had already begun to suspect his younger brother. At the critical moment, it was Chabi who suggested Kublai to find his brother, play the family card first, and then resolutely hand over military power in order to retreat in order to advance.

Later, the war against the Song Dynasty did not go smoothly. Kublai Khan made a successful comeback, and then Mongkega was in Diaoyu City. It can be said that Kublai Khan had received good news from heaven. After some struggle, he successfully broke up the Mongol Empire, which was in name only.

When the Southern Song Dynasty fell, Chabi also repeatedly advised Kublai Khan to stay. She advised Kublai Khan to treat the surrendered ministers well, advised Kublai Khan not to be harsh on Zhao, advised Kublai Khan to use capable ministers, and advised Kublai Khan not to kill indiscriminately. She almost disciplined Kublai Khan like an old mother. It can be said that this queen was the biggest guarantee for the relative stability of the political situation in the early Yuan Dynasty.

However, what is rather ironic is that in history, Kublai Khan admired Li Shimin very much, and Zhu Yuanzhang admired both Kublai Khan and Li Shimin very much.

All three were founding emperors, but their fates were very similar, such as their respective queens.

李世民活了51岁，于38岁丧妻；朱元璋享年71岁，54岁丧妻；忽必烈享年80岁，66岁丧妻。

What is also similar is that the three founding monarchs all tenaciously overcame the pain of losing their wives, but a few years later, they all faced the death of their favorite princes.

(End of this chapter)