Daming Greedy Wolf Star

Chapter 256 Wealth and strength are two different things

"According to time, Zhu Ling should have arrived in Yunnan, right?"

Inside the room, Zhu Gaoxu sat on a chair, looking around, but saying irrelevant words.

"What do you think your grandpa would think?"

"What are you talking about?" Zhu Zhanhe poured a cup of tea for his father and sat down.

"Is it about the horse? Or is it about the grassland?"

"Tell me everything." Zhu Gaoxu did not directly say what he wanted to ask, but asked his son to tell him.

The reason why he left Xiangzhou Prefecture and came to Dhaka was for this matter.

Over the years, Zhu Gaoxu has gotten used to his son being the backbone of his life. Although he has a high probability of knowing the old man's reaction, he still wants his son to confirm him so that he can feel at ease.

"Let's talk about Ma Qi first." Zhu Zhanhe naturally knew what his father was thinking and started talking after taking a sip of tea.

"Ma Qi's matter won't cause any big waves. Let's not mention that grandpa's level of favor for him is not very high. Even if he is very, very high, he won't say much."

"Like Emperor Gao, Grandpa doesn't like eunuchs very much, but because of his helplessness as an emperor, he must have a few obedient eunuchs."

"People like eunuchs can be found as soon as they are gone. They are not that important, not to mention that grandpa doesn't like them."

"So there's really nothing to say about this."

"As for the grassland..."

Zhu Zhanhe paused for a moment, looked northeast, and then sighed.

"Although I will feel very disappointed, as far as grandpa is concerned, there is a high probability that he will not do anything to the grassland."

……

Zhu Gaoxu paused for a moment, then said: "Reason"

"There are four reasons."

"so much?"

"Ah."

"Tell me."

"First." Zhu Zhanhe stretched out a finger and looked at his father seriously.

"There's not enough reason to take action."

"Although we are convinced that we have enough evidence, this is only for us. If the imperial court wants to use troops, it will either suffer losses in this area or gain the support of either the Oara or the Eastern Chagatai Khanate. admit."

"But it's clear that none of them will admit it."

"Second, people's support."

"Now the imperial court is conquering the Jianzhou Rebellion, and the Japanese country also needs a continuous supply of people. Coupled with the consumption of your son and me in the past two years, if the Ming Dynasty starts fighting again, the people will have objections."

"Third, the imperial court cannot afford to fight on two fronts."

"This is different from when I conquered Japan and attacked Annan at the same time. Back then, I only used 10 troops to conquer Japan. The attack on Annan was mainly by fire attack and did not require many people."

"Now, neither the Oara nor the Eastern Chagatai Khanate is a small country. It will be too difficult to fight both of them at the same time, unless the Seven Guards of Kansai are dedicated to serving the imperial court."

"But you also know that the Seven Guards of Kansai are nothing but enemies. They will fall on whoever forces them. If they really get into a fight, they will be docile."

"Fourth, Ming Dynasty is not strong enough."

"Wait a moment!" Zhu Gaoxu suddenly reached out his hand and interrupted his son's words.

"What do you mean by this? Isn't the current Ming Dynasty strong enough?"

"Of course not enough!" Zhu Zhanhe didn't hesitate at all.

"My child asked you, what is your basis for saying that the Ming Dynasty is powerful?"

"Of course it's national strength!" Zhu Gaoxu directly refuted his son's words without any hesitation.

"The Ming Dynasty now has rocks and mountains of silver, and there is no shortage of money; there are new grains such as corn and sweet potatoes, and they have begun to be promoted, and there is no shortage of food."

"Now the Ming Dynasty can be regarded as a prosperous country and a strong people. Isn't it strong enough?"

Zhu Zhanhe smiled slightly, this was what he was waiting for.

"Not counting."

"Reason!" Zhu Gaoxu was a little angry.

"Dad." Zhu Zhanhe stood up, walked to the door, and looked outside.

"You have confused the two concepts together. The wealth of a country does not actually mean the strength of its people."

……

The room fell into a short and breathtaking silence. Zhu Gaoxu looked at his son's back and didn't know what to say for a moment.

He wanted to refute, but he didn't know how to refute.

Why doesn't a country's wealth mean that its people are strong?
"Dad." Zhu Gaoxu turned around and stared at his father seriously.

"In Daming now, I admit that the country is rich, or it should be said that our Daming has always been rich, but the wealth of the country really does not mean the strength of the people."

"What kind of life are people living now? We don't know the specific figures, but I dare say that before the new tax system was implemented, at least half of the people in Ming Dynasty did not have enough to eat."

"The country is rich, the court is rich, the officials are rich, and the businessmen are rich."

"But if a war breaks out, the emperor will not go to the battlefield in person. Even if it is like grandpa's last military expedition, he will sit in the rear and will not risk his own life."

"Not to mention officials. It can be said that military generals personally risked their lives to charge into battle, but the vast majority of officials are waiting for news of the war in various places."

"Businessmen, not to mention this, they have been representatives of valuing profits over righteousness since ancient times."

"So, when the war breaks out, the people who rush to the battlefield will still be the people who don't have enough to eat. They are the backbone of their families, their children, and their fathers."

“So, a country’s wealth does not mean its people are strong.”

Zhu Gaoxu was silent.

In fact, when Zhu Zhanhe was halfway through speaking, he guessed what Zhu Zhanhe wanted to say, but he was unable to refute.

Because everything Zhu Zhanhe said is right.

Not only was that true, what Zhu Zhanhe said was a bit conservative. Zhu Gaoxu knew very well that once a war broke out and the Ming Dynasty was at risk, officials and businessmen would be the first to run away.

But it was the ordinary people who risked their lives to escape for officials and businessmen, or even to buy time for the emperor to move south.

"Then, what do you think is the chance of winning for Ming Dynasty if there really is a fight?"

After a long time, Zhu Gaoxu asked a question again.

"Ten percent!"

……

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly raised his head and looked at his son in surprise.

"Don't look at me like that, it's really [-]% true." Zhu Zhanhe spread his hands and acted as if that's what happened.

"Even if the imperial court cannot withstand the two-sided attack from Oara and the Eastern Chagatai Khanate, I will take action."

"As long as I take action, the matter will no longer be in suspense."

"Are you really going to take action?" This was the first time Zhu Gaoxu had a disagreement with his son.

In fact, after such a long time, Zhu Gaoxu really lost interest in fighting for the throne, because he found that even if he was not the prince, he could still prove that he was outstanding.

With the method to resolve his obsession, Zhu Gaoxu naturally no longer obsessed with the position of prince.

But his own obsession was resolved, but he still thought that his son still cared about the injustice done by the old man back then.

There are two reasons why Zhu Gaoxu thinks so.

First, although Zhu Zhanhe has helped the court a lot over the years, most of the time he gets along with the old man in the form of transactions, and he will get benefits every time he helps.

The second is that the relationship between Zhu Zhanhe and the old man is still cold, and Zhu Zhanhe hardly talks to the old man about anything that has nothing to do with official business.

"Of course I will take action." Zhu Zhanhe sat down and poured himself another cup of tea.

"I may not mind giving things that I can't get to my uncle or cousin, but that doesn't mean that some foreign barbarians can also get their hands on it."

"If they want to get involved in the Central Plains, as long as I am alive, they will have no chance."

"I'm not telling you..." Zhu Gaoxu sighed after hearing this.

"You can't always use such an extremely radical way to deal with matters between countries. You can do it once or twice, but if it happens more times, it will always have an impact on you."

"What your uncle said is actually right. Conspiracies and intrigues cannot achieve great things. We must put the people of the world first."

"I'm not worried about these two points. One is that you never play tricks and tricks, and you use tricks and schemes. Second, your actions have always been done for the people of the world."

"But it's easy to show off one's power and be brave and aggressive. Learning to tolerate and forgive is the most difficult thing."

"Right is a public tool, and it has never been a family thing. Compared with your solution to the problem, it is better to let the world know that you have the determination to solve the problem. This may solve the problem with the smallest cost."

……

Zhu Zhanhe looked at his father with surprise and speechlessness, as if he was exploring whether the father in front of him was still the father who could only solve problems with beatings and golden beans.

"What, you...were infected by uncle?" After a long time, Zhu Zhanhe said cautiously.

"Learn tolerance and forgiveness. Power is a public weapon. These words come from your uncle's mouth, but you are not able to say them."

"Firstly, it's because of personality differences. Even if you have changed, you are still not the person who can say this. Secondly, these words can only be said by people who have read poetry and books. You..."

As he spoke, Zhu Zhanhe looked his father up and down.

"I can't say anything like that."

"You're right." Zhu Gaoxu was not angry, but laughed.

"Last time I went to Yingtian, I had a lot of chats with your uncle, which was quite enlightening."

"Just be inspired, take it seriously and forget it." Zhu Zhanhe waved his hand, looking very unconcerned.

"I admit that what the uncle said makes sense, but the problem is that these truths must be viewed in conjunction with the facts."

"Learn to tolerate and learn to forgive, but in return, the Tatars mercilessly killed my [-] soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, in exchange for Oala's cross-border grazing time and time again, and in return for the Japanese pirates harassing my Ming Dynasty again and again. Sea frontier.”

"Facts have proven that your son and I are the most effective. Now in the Ming Dynasty, there are no Tatar worries, Oara will not cross the border to graze, and the people along the coast are no longer intruded by Japanese pirates."

"As for the saying that power is a public instrument...just listen to it, but if you take it seriously, you will lose."

"Huh?" Zhu Gaoxu glanced at Zhu Zhanhe in surprise.

"How do you say that?"

Zhu Zhanhe rolled his eyes. He felt that his father was still too simple. No wonder he was played around by Zhu Gaochi and his son in history.

Power is a public weapon. It doesn't matter if such words come from others, but if they come from the mouth of the Crown Prince...

"First of all, I agree with the statement that rights are public tools, but a statement is a statement, and reality is reality."

"Rights are public weapons. Not to mention our Ming Dynasty, this rule can be used in all dynasties, because this statement aims to use rights to make the entire dynasty move forward."

"But the reality is that even if the emperor has this awareness, the officials will not."

“In the hands of officials
The power is also great, but in this world, corrupt officials are like the sand of the Yellow River, and honest officials are as rare as a phoenix. "

"so……"

Zhu Zhanhe spread his hands and did not continue talking.

Zhu Gaoxu frowned when he heard this, but nodded thoughtfully.

It seems that this conclusion still applies to some things, and it seems that he should make changes...

(End of this chapter)