Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 25 Spring and the Palace
"You mean, Grandpa Huang summoned Duke Ying back to the capital..."

In the Chunhe Palace of the Forbidden City, an eunuch bowed his head and bowed. In front of him were a civil servant in his forties and Zhu Yunwen, who was playing with pen and ink.

Zhu Yunwen was practicing calligraphy with a pen in one hand and asked the eunuch without raising his head.

"Return to Your Highness, that's right."

"Okay, please step back." After receiving the answer, Zhu Yunwen motioned to the eunuch to step back without raising his head, and the civil servant also motioned to the left and right eunuchs and maids to step back.

After everyone had completely exited the palace, the civil servant bowed to Zhu Yunwen:
"Your Majesty, your Majesty's actions may cause..."

In the middle of his words, Wen Chen seemed to feel that he couldn't say that, so he took it back.

Before he could say anything else, Zhu Yunwen put down his pen, turned around and took out a "Book of Han" from the bookshelf.

"Do you still have any correspondence between Fu Youde and my third uncle?"

Zhu Yunwen looked at the "Book of Han" in his hand and asked the civil servant without raising his head.

"Never" the civil servant shook his head in response.

"Never..." Zhu Yunwen pondered for a moment, then chuckled:
"My third uncle can't hold himself back. If he sends someone to deliver a letter to Fu Youde again, we won't have to do the rest."

During the conversation, Zhu Yunwen raised his head and looked behind his chair.

On that wall hangs a framed article, and this article is none other than Zhu Gaoxu's "On the Cutting of Fans."

"Sir, what do you think of this treatise on reducing vassalage?"

Zhu Yunwen asked the civil officials behind him, and the only one he could call sir was Huang Zicheng, who was the companion of the East Palace and the Minister of Taichang Temple.

Faced with his question, Huang Zicheng looked at Zhu Gaoxu's theory on reducing vassals:

"The theory is feasible, but if we really follow this method, I'm afraid we won't have a hundred years to make any achievements."

"I still believe that we should fight quickly and cut off all the vassals in one fell swoop."

Huang Zicheng's words made Zhu Yunwen nod with satisfaction, but he was also worried about the soldiers and horses in the hands of the vassals, so he put down the "Book of Han" and picked up the brush again:
"All the uncles and vassal kings have strong troops. What should we do if something goes wrong?"

Faced with the question, Huang Zicheng responded neither humble nor arrogantly: "The kings only have soldiers to defend themselves. If there is a change, they can be supervised by the six divisions. Who can resist?"

As he spoke, Huang Zicheng looked at the "Book of Han" Zhu Yunwen put aside, his back straightening:

"The seven kingdoms of the Han Dynasty were not weak, but they perished in the end."

"The forces of strength and weakness are different, and the principles of obedience and rebellion are even more different. Why should Your Highness worry?"

"Hmm..." Zhu Yunwen was very satisfied with Huang Zicheng's words, but he still glanced at Zhu Gaoxu's "On the Cutting of Fans" uneasily.

"Grandpa Huang values ​​Gao Xu very much, what do you think?" Zhu Yunwen asked again.

"The Prince of Qin, Zi Bing, the Prince of Jin, Zi Xi, and the eldest son of Yan, Chi, are all acquainted with His Highness and have a deep brotherly love."

"Although Yan's second son Xu is highly appreciated by His Majesty, he is still the second son. According to the rules of etiquette, he is not allowed to challenge the title of King Yan, so he has to be the county king."

"Since you are the king of the county, there is no need to worry."

"What's more, judging from this article, his heart should be towards the imperial court. Like his brother, he is on His Highness's side, but he is not as gentle, kind and knowledgeable as his brother."

Huang Zicheng's words of "knowing the general" made Zhu Yunqi slightly frown. Although Zhu Yuanzhang asked him to have a good relationship with Zhu Gaoxu, in his opinion, it was not him but Zhu Gaoxu who should have a good relationship.

He should not be the one to tell Zhu Gaoxu, but Zhu Gaoxu should be allowed to visit him himself.

It's just that he waited for more than a month, but Zhu Gaoxu, like an elm tree, never came to visit.

Therefore, even though he presented "On the Cutting of Fans", Zhu Yunwen still didn't like him.Ever since his father helped his mother, Lu, become the eldest son, who among the people around him had not been very supportive of him?

Those who dare not agree with him, such as Lan Yu and others, will end up with their heads in different places.

However, what he should deal with now is not Zhu Gaoxu, but...

"Prince Jin and Fu Youde, Prince Zhou and Feng Sheng, sir, how do you think Grandpa Huang will deal with them."

As soon as Zhu Yunwen's words came out, Huang Zicheng's mind came alive. He bowed to Zhu Yunwen and replied:
"The King of Jin and the King of Zhou are His Majesty's heirs, and since the King of Jin controls 15 troops in Shanxi, I'm afraid Your Majesty will not deal with them."

"On the other hand, Duke Ying and Duke Song, one of them exchanged letters with the King of Jin, and the other met with the King of Zhou in private. In any case, they have touched His Majesty's bottom line."

"Although I don't know why Your Majesty hasn't taken action yet, I think it's just a matter of morning and evening. Your Highness doesn't need to worry."

"How can I not worry?" Zhu Yunwen asked Huang Zicheng, with a hint of anger in his tone.

He turned around to prevent his angry expression from appearing in front of Huang Zicheng, but grabbed the bookshelf with one hand and held it tightly.

"Except for Shandong, most of the people north of the Yellow River are old tribes of these two. If the emperor leaves in the future and the third uncle raises a flag, do you think Fu Youde will not respond to his in-laws?"

"In case the King of Zhou joins forces with the King of Jin and brings Feng Sheng in, then only the Fourth Uncle, the Seventeenth Uncle, the Fourteenth Uncle, and the Fifteenth Uncle will be able to compete."

"How can the four kings and twelve guards with less than [-] troops and horses resist the more than [-] troops of Jin, Zhou, Feng, and Fu?"

"Not to mention, the Fourth Uncle is close to the King of Zhou. Even if he doesn't rebel, I'm afraid he won't send troops to help the King."

"If Fourth Uncle doesn't send troops, how many of the northern vassal kings will dare to send troops?"

Zhu Yunwen expressed his worries. In his opinion, it would be better for Fu Youde and Feng Sheng to die early.

Even if he could, he wanted Zhu Yuanzhang to get rid of Jin Wang Zhu Fan and Zhou Wang Zhu Ru.

It's just that he knows that his royal grandfather loves his descendants, and the matter of cutting down the vassal will eventually fall on him.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yunwen clenched his fists.

Looking at his appearance, Huang Zicheng didn't know how to persuade him, but bowed and said:
"Now that Duke Ying and Duke Song are in Beijing, as long as His Majesty makes up his mind, these two people will definitely be punished for what they have committed."

"Apart from these two people, the one I'm most worried about is King Yan, and the other two are King Xiang and King Chu."

"You mean Uncle Twelve?" Zhu Yunwen frowned when he heard Huang Zicheng mention Xiang Wang Zhu Bai.

He had a good feeling about Zhu Bai. Although the other party was also a vassal king, Zhu Bai often helped the country, helped the world, calmed the people, and encouraged himself. He was the person he wanted to win over.

"The King of Xiang established his state in Jingzhou, and the King of Chu established his state in Wuchang. Wuchang and Jingzhou are close to the Yangtze River, and the two kings also had naval forces."

"If chaos breaks out in the Jin and Zhou Dynasties and the army moves northward, the land east of the Yangtze River will be very empty."

"At that time, if the two kings use their navy to carry their troops and horses down the river, they will be able to reach Nanjing City in a matter of days. This..."

Huang Zicheng said that three points is enough, but just these three points are enough.

Zhu Yunwen was extremely confused by what he said, so he had to raise his hand to signal him to stop talking.

Seeing this, Huang Zicheng didn't say much, but looked at the sky outside the window and changed the topic:
"Your Highness, it's time for you to go to Wuying Palace to accompany His Majesty in handling government affairs."

"Well..." Zhu Yunwen agreed, but his mind was focused on what Huang Zicheng just said.

Although he asked after answering, the effect Huang Zicheng wanted had already been achieved...

(End of this chapter)