Daming: If I find a great-grandson, I will teach an emperor through the ages

Chapter 247: I am not kidding about deposing the kings!

Cao Wei spoke again: "In the beginning, the enfeoffment of kings was an act of the emperor declaring his royal power. Later, Qin unified the world, and after several kings' rebellions, kings with different surnames gradually disappeared, and the imperial power of a dynasty became more stable."

"But whether they are kings with different surnames or kings with the same surname, the emperor requires them to perform the same duties, which is to maintain peace in the border areas."

"Therefore, the emperor will allow the vassal king to hold a certain amount of military power. The amount of military power also depends on the different characteristics of the vassal land. A land with more peace and less war will have fewer troops, and vice versa."

Zhu Xiongying naturally understood such a simple truth. The kings of the Ming Dynasty all had three guards, but the number of the three guards was different. Just like Ning King Zhu Quan's fiefdom was in Daning (today's Ningcheng area in Mongolia), Zhu Yuanzhang naturally gave him The largest deployment of troops.

"Of course, this was in the past," Cao Wei said. "In the past, when people were traveling or marching, they could only walk and ride horses. Even the journey between two adjacent provinces would take at least ten days and a half. This is because no matter what Both humans and horses need rest.”

"Now the Ming Dynasty railway is under construction. The one-way railway from Yingtianfu to Henan only takes three days. With such terrifying transportation efficiency, it can even be said to be reached in an instant."

"Even if His Majesty gathers troops from various border areas in the future, he is not afraid of sudden wars in the border areas. As long as the troops stationed in the border areas can hold on for three to five days and reinforcements arrive, all crises will disappear."

"What if the troops stationed in the border areas cannot hold on for these three to five days?" Zhu Xiongying asked his concerns. He was worried that the large-scale deployment of troops in the border areas would cause a significant decline in local military strength and would be unable to cope with sudden crises. .

Cao Wei glanced at him and said with a smile: "There is only a lack of corresponding troops in the local area, but the city is still there. Besides, our Ming Dynasty has strong ships and powerful artillery. If the garrison cannot hold on for three to five days, then your Majesty should take good care of it." Ask the generals how they train their troops."

Doing this will do no good to the Ming Dynasty, but... I also know that when those vassal kings hear the news, they will definitely make trouble. Then the pressure on him will not be light. After all, they are still the vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty at this time. !

Because by then the threat of the vassal king was gone, let alone the peasant uprising. If an enemy invaded, the Ming Central Committee would send troops, and it would only take three to five days to reach the place, which was enough to deal with it.

This is what Cao Wei said, the threat and restriction of the vassal king's power to the imperial power.

Zhu Xiongying pondered alone for a long time. The more he thought about it, the more feasible it became, his eyes sparkling.

Moreover, under the current overwhelming advantage of the Ming Dynasty in national power and military strength, it is hard to say whether any other country would dare to harm the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Xiongying need not worry unfoundedly and just concentrate on developing and building the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Xiongying looked grave, recalling the history books he had read. It seemed that no matter which dynasty, there was no shortage of examples of vassal kings rebelling, or the vassal kings were too powerful, entrenched in one party, and did not listen to the emperor's orders. Therefore, most emperors in the history of the Central Plains , are all keen on the move of reducing the vassal state, and every time the vassal state is reduced, it will be a turmoil for the country.

The reason why there were peasant uprisings during the Hongwu period was mostly because the productivity of the Ming Dynasty was too low, and the lives of people in some poor places were unsatisfactory.

From the 29th year of Hongwu to the present, with the high-yield grains developed by Cao Wei and the high-yield crops recovered from overseas, after they became popular, there was no trace of peasant uprisings anymore.

But then again.

"Since ancient times, although the emperor has needed a group of princes to help him guard the place because of the problem that the imperial power cannot go to the countryside, the military strength in the hands of those princes is not a destabilizing factor for the emperor?"

"Of course, there is a price for doing anything. The price for doing this is to make the Ming vassal kings give up almost 90% of their interests and power."

"This method can completely change the enfeoffment system. Your Majesty will no longer have to worry about the Ming Dynasty's finances hundreds of years later. It will also eliminate many security risks and make the Ming Dynasty more monolithic."

The most important thing is that the Ming Dynasty is no longer what it used to be. It has enough portable and fast transportation capabilities that even if most of the military power is gathered back to the center, it is not afraid of most sudden wars.

After hearing this, Zhu Xiongying nodded thoughtfully. Yes, even if there are only ten thousand people, they can defend a city for three to five days.

"Grand Master, this has solved the problem of the stability of the Ming Dynasty, but how should we deal with the vassal kings? If they are removed from their vassal king positions, won't they become white? They will not accept such a result."

At this time, Cao Wei proposed that after all the equipment of the Ming Dynasty Railway was completed, the military power should be gathered back, which indeed greatly reduced the possibility of unrest in the border areas.

However, the vast majority of military and civilian uprisings are just mobs and cannot take shape. They can be easily suppressed by the government. Compared with organized and large-scale rebellions by feudal lords, the harm is almost negligible.

If not, some people over there are responsible for their gains and losses, and he, the emperor, should be held accountable with a straight face!
"There is another aspect." Cao Wei seemed to be tired of standing, so he sat down on the chair next to him.

In fact, in every dynasty, not only the feudal lords rebelled, but the most common ones were peasant uprisings. Just before the Hongwu period, there were several refugees in the Ming Dynasty who raised the banner of uprising.

Cao Wei said: "That's why I said that I have one method, but it doesn't have both ends."

After hearing this, Zhu Xiongying frowned again.

"Master," Zhu Xiongying raised his head and looked at Cao Wei, and suddenly laughed helplessly.

"You really gave me a difficult problem!"

Cao Wei was a little embarrassed and smiled, "Everything in this world is like traveling thousands of miles. Nothing is easy."

"Okay," Zhu Xiongying seemed to have made up his mind, "I will definitely bear in mind what the Grand Master said today. For the sake of the Ming Dynasty and the people of the world, I will no longer be a villain who bullies others."

Cao Wei felt something in his heart. After sitting for a while, he stood up and cupped his hands towards Zhu Xiongying.

"Your Majesty still has government affairs to deal with. It is inconvenient for me to stay for a long time. If your Majesty has nothing else to do, I will leave."

"Grand Master, go slowly." After Zhu Xiongying finished speaking, he ordered his servants to send Cao Wei off.

...

It was getting dusk again, and Zhu Xiongying finally reviewed all the memorials in front of him one by one.

Putting down the ink pen in his hand, he rubbed the center of his eyebrows, and the soreness in front of his eyebrows gradually dissipated.

Then he remembered his conversation with Cao Wei today, so he got up and left the study, all the way to Zhu Yuanzhang's palace.

Today, Zhu Yuanzhang no longer has much physical strength, and he basically lies either on the bed or on a chair.

When Zhu Xiongying arrived, Zhu Yuanzhang had just moved from the recliner to the bed and sat down with the help of the palace maid.

"My grandson has met Grandpa Huang." Zhu Xiongying bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang grinned and patted the seat beside him, "Xiongying, come and sit."

Zhu Xiongying sat down as instructed, and Zhu Yuanzhang said:

"Jinri Cao Wei went to your study. What did he say to you? Tell us too."

In fact, when Zhu Xiongying invited Cao Wei into the palace this time, he originally wanted Zhu Yuanzhang to sit on the spot, but Lao Zhu felt that he was so rude to Cao Wei two days ago, and now he is still embarrassed, so he waited alone in the palace.

After several years of development, the palace already has a large number of circuits and lighting bulbs.

At this time, Zhu Xiongying was slowly telling everything that happened today under the warm light of the light bulb in the room.

Not only was Zhu Yuanzhang's physical strength not as good as before, but his mental power also declined significantly. After listening to it, it took him a long time to fully digest it.

Zhu Xiongying was not in a hurry, just sat aside and waited quietly.

Until Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly breathed out a "ha" sound. "This kid Cao Wei is so unconvinced!"

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his head and looked at his eldest grandson, "Back then, we thought that we were the smartest people in the world, so those talents couldn't fight us."

"Now... we are just glad that Cao Wei was born twenty years later than us, hahahaha."

Zhu Xiongying knew that Zhu Yuanzhang was joking, so he also smiled and said: "Master Cao has the talent to govern the country, but he may not be able to conquer the world. Grandpa Huang, if you say good things about Master Cao to me, he won't hear it. He should hate you, but he will still hate you." "

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed out loud at Zhu Xiongying's words, but suddenly coughed, and Zhu Xiongying hurriedly stroked his back.

When Zhu Yuanzhang was relieved, he looked at his great grandson with burning eyes.

"What Cao Wei said today is to remove the vassal king and gather military power. What do you think after hearing this, Xiongying?"

When it came to business, Zhu Xiongying straightened his expression and said:
"According to the current development path of Ming Dynasty, this is a move that conforms to the times. It must be done sooner or later. Avoiding all unstable factors is the first priority."

"So grandson thinks that we should do what Grand Master Cao said."

"Have you decided yet?"

Zhu Xiongying nodded solemnly, "I have made up my mind!" This time, he changed his title.

"Okay! Hahahaha, he is indeed our grandson. This courage is with us!" Zhu Yuanzhang laughed again.

"We have thought a lot in the past two days, but when we think about it, we don't have many days left to live. Suddenly, some things that we could not see through before can be understood."

"A person's life lasts only a few decades. Many people just want a safe and smooth life. Such a request is not too much."

"When we were in power, we wanted to build a dynasty that would allow everyone to live a good life. But now it seems that what we did was not good enough, and we almost forced the common people to rebel against our Zhu family."

"But the Ming Dynasty still has You and Cao Wei. This is the greatest blessing God has given us. You have the ability to do what we hope."

"As for your uncles... how many of them are there? How do they compare with the power of our Zhu family? If you want to dethrone them, go ahead!" Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said, being free and uninhibited to the extreme.

"They just want glory and wealth. Let them stay in Yingtian, and give them glory and wealth in the same way. If any of them are determined to do something for the Ming Dynasty, you can evaluate them. Those who are capable will be officials or generals. For those who are incompetent, just stop them from causing trouble."

"Now that we sit on this throne, we must be worthy of the mouths of future generations and our ancestors. We may not leave our names in history, but we must not leave a reputation."

Zhu Xiongying listened to Zhu Yuanzhang's earnest preaching and kept nodding his head without saying a word.

"Cao Wei is right. Our Ming Dynasty now has trains, wireless telegraphs, and airplanes. It's useless for those vassal kings. The local government can handle it."

"There are also problems that will arise from removing the vassal kings. There will definitely be solutions to the problems, so you don't have to worry too much..."

The more Zhu Yuanzhang talked, the more he talked, the more complicated he became, and the more he talked, the more confused he became. By the time he finished speaking, he had already taken Zhu Xiongying's hand.

"Your father died early. These problems should have given him a headache, but God wanted you to go into battle early. We see that you have to shoulder the entire country at such a young age, and you often blame yourself..."

"Fortunately, Xiongying, you are up to par and have done well. If your father sees it in the sky, he will definitely be very pleased..."

"And Cao Wei, we originally planned to take him with us when we left, but this kid, no matter how we look at him, he doesn't look like a man in troubled times. Slowly, we look at him like a son. Same."

"Even if we want to take him with us now, we can't bear to see you sad after losing Cao Wei, so we still let him stay with you..."

Zhu Xiongying's eyes turned red as he listened. He couldn't hear Zhu Yuanzhang's voice in his ears. When he raised his head and looked up, he found that he had fallen asleep.

Wiping the corners of his eyes, Zhu Xiongying waved to the palace maid and served Zhu Yuanzhang to lie down.

Grandpa Huang, just watch, I will definitely carry forward the Ming Dynasty!

……

The next day.

After Zhu Xiongying came to Xia Dynasty, he called over the feudal kings who were still staying in Yingtian Mansion.

"See Your Majesty." The study room seemed crowded again with all the feudal princes.

"Uncle Wang, there is no need to be polite," Zhu Xiongying waved his hand with a smile, and then went straight to the point.

"I'm calling you uncles here this time because I have something to tell you."

After hearing this, all the feudal kings were confused.

Is there anything that needs to be informed to all their vassal kings? It seems to be no small matter.

"It's a long story, but it's also simple. Now our Ming Dynasty is developing rapidly. With wireless telegraphs, trains and airplanes, the position of vassal king is no longer needed everywhere."

Zhu Xiongying's voice sounded, although it was slow but his tone was firm and unquestionable.

"Therefore, I intend to take back the military power and fiefdoms in the hands of your uncles. If you intend to continue to serve the court, I can allow you to become officials in the court or generals in the army. If you want to be free, I can also protect you. No worries about food and clothing.”

In a few simple sentences, Zhu Xiongying summarized the results of his half-day discussion with Cao Wei yesterday.

After hearing this, all the vassal kings were silent for a moment, looking at each other back and forth, and then suddenly burst into cheerful laughter.

"I didn't expect His Majesty to be such a funny person."

"Looking at the seriousness on His Majesty's face, I thought what he said was true."

"Your Majesty, please stop joking. If Your Majesty is reluctant to part with the plane, the worst we can do is not take it."

"Yes, Your Majesty, if you scare us like this, we won't obey."

……

Zhu Xiongying listened calmly, and after they had finished speaking, he said loudly again:

"You are not joking, I am not joking with you! I will draw up a detailed charter in the next few days to take back the fiefdoms and military power of your uncles..."

At this time, all the vassal kings present lost their smiles and all had their faces downcast. They stared at Zhu Xiongying in front of them. The aura around them was as cold as ice.

(End of this chapter)