Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 90 The Three Treasures of Yan Mansion
"Being with you is like being with a tiger. It's good to have power. Whoever you want to take the blame must take the blame. Unfortunately, I helped the leader take the blame in my previous life. In this life, I have to take the blame for Lao Zhu."

"In the next life, I'll just be a bastard. I'll have to carry a shell for the rest of my life!"

In the corridor on the right side of the door, Zhu Gaoxu was muttering in his heart while secretly cursing Lao Zhu and Zhu Yunwen.

Only then did he realize that since he entered Wuying Hall, he was either on the way to helping others take the blame or taking the blame.

This time it was clearly King Jin's fault, but judging from Lao Zhu's arrangement, Lao Zhu simply hid it from Zhu Yunwen and tried to put the blame on himself.

Without even walking to the East Palace, Zhu Gaoxu could guess Zhu Yunwen's expression after hearing his message.

"You want to help your son take the blame, but your grandson doesn't dare to hate you. In the end, just don't blame me as the person who passed the news."

Zhu Gaoxu cursed as he walked through the Youshunmen corridor, and what appeared in front of him was Fengtianmen Square and the Wulong Bridge in front of Fengtian City Gate Tower.

Except for opening during important festivals and court meetings, this door was closed most of the time, but Zhu Gaoxu was too lazy to look at the scenery.

He passed through Fengtianmen Square, took the left shunmen and arrived at the square in front of Wenhua Palace.

Nanjing Wenhua Hall was originally the place where Zhu Biao studied, and later gradually evolved into the place where the crown prince, grandson and other princes worked daily.

However, when Zhu Gaoxu walked out of the Zuoshun Gate, the entrance to the Wenhua Hall was deserted. It was obvious that Zhu Yunwen was not managing politics here at the moment.

"I still have to work hard to walk another two miles..."

Looking at the deserted Wenhua Hall, Zhu Gaoxu shook his head and walked towards the Chunhe Palace to the east of the Wenhua Hall.

After traveling for a quarter of an hour, he finally arrived in front of the Spring Harmony Palace.

"Your Highness"

The soldiers in front of the palace gate all knew Zhu Gaoxu, and they bowed and saluted from a distance.

"I have been ordered to deliver the Holy Edict, please pass it on."

Zhu Gaoxu started shouting more than ten steps away. Upon seeing this, a soldier at the door quickly ran into the palace.

"Your Highness, please wait a moment."

The officer guarding the palace gate brought a horse stool for Zhu Gaoxu. Zhu Gaoxu was not polite. After all, he was tired after walking for several miles.

"Fortunately it's not too hot today."

Sitting on the horse stool, Zhu Gaoxu looked at the blue sky.

I have to say that for Zhu Gaoxu personally, the temperature in the early Ming Dynasty was not too comfortable compared to later generations.

In the same mid-July month of the lunar calendar, according to previous lives, the temperature in Nanjing would probably be 27-[-] degrees, even if it was not [-] degrees.

However, according to Zhu Gaoxu's personal estimation, the temperature in Nanjing during the Hongwu period was probably only 24 to [-] degrees Celsius.

Zhu Gaoxu remembered reading an article about "temperature changes in 5000 years" when he was blowing water on the Internet in his previous life. The temperature before the Song Dynasty was generally [-] to [-] degrees higher than that of later generations, while the temperature after the Southern Song Dynasty was generally [-] degrees lower than that of later generations. to one and a half degrees.

Among them, the early Ming Dynasty was one degree lower than that of later generations, and the late Ming Dynasty was two degrees lower than that of later generations.

Although it does not seem high, Zhu Gaoxu still listened to the people in the institute talking about the average temperature of one or two degrees.

When the average temperature is one degree lower, the precipitation line moves hundreds of kilometers to the southeast, and when it is one degree higher, it moves hundreds of kilometers to the northwest.

In addition, too low temperature will affect precipitation and lead to drought, resulting in forest reduction and vegetation destruction. Once precipitation increases, it will cause floods, which will cause great damage to agriculture. This is also what people around the world thought from the [-]th to the [-]th centuries. The reason why there are many records of cannibalism.

Of course, if it was just this level of flattery, Zhu Gaoxu would not remember it so clearly.

The reason why he remembered it so clearly was because his friend told him about a snowstorm one year.

That year coincided with the hosting of the Olympic Games. As a result, twenty provinces were affected to varying degrees by low temperature, rain, snow, and freezing disasters.

A heavy snowfall caused nearly 2000 million acres of agricultural land to lose production, more than [-] million acres lost harvest, and hundreds of millions of people were affected.

As a result of such a severe snowstorm, the average annual temperature dropped by less than 0.2 degrees.

Zhu Gaoxu had never been to the north in the Ming Dynasty, but the memory of his predecessor contained scenes of the north.

In the memory of my predecessor, as long as I crossed the Yangtze River and went all the way north, it was difficult to see a forest, and even a few mature trees were very rare.

Because of this, many local yamen will send people to plant trees on both sides of the post roads and prohibit felling.

But even so, in Zhu Gaoxu's memory, there were still sandstorms blowing all year round in Peiping, and on his way south with Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaosui, they could even see sandstorms that covered the sky and the sun in Henan, which was terrifying.

In such a climatic environment, even the Mongolians in the north can only go to live in the areas with Hulanhu hypothermia in Mobei, Hangai Mountain and Jinshan in Moxi, and the northwest foothills of Harawen Mountain in Modong. The place where people can live in Nanneng has been occupied by the Ming army.

If the Eurasian steppes were not connected and the Tatars and Oaras could get some support from Central Asia, Eastern Europe and other places, I am afraid they would have surrendered like Nahachu and Naerbuhua.

Unless the east and the west can work together to attack the Mongolian issue, it will be difficult to solve it in this era. Unless the Ming Dynasty's population can double its original basis, it will be difficult to rule Mobei.

Of course, if the Ming Dynasty was willing to continue supporting Mobei Mongolia from the interior like the Yuan and Qing dynasties, it could still be replaced by a Jisi rule.

Otherwise, the Ming Dynasty would have to be like Zhu Di, pulling one faction to fight another in Mobei, maintaining the balance in Mobei for a long time, until the rise of Tsarist Russia could attack and destroy Mongolia.

Therefore, there were only two choices left for the Ming Dynasty. One was to spend great efforts to conquer Mongolia, and then wait until the national power weakened and the Mongols rebelled again.

One is to expand southward, completely incorporate the southwest into the Han Dynasty, and then march towards Jiaozhi, Myanmar, Nanyang and other places.

"If only someone could help me build trains, airplanes, and ships..."

"Your Highness, your grandson is here to invite you!"

Before Zhu Gaojiu finished his thoughts, the soldiers who went to pass the news trotted out and bowed to Zhu Gaojiu who was sitting on the horse stool.

Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu also stood up and patted the non-existent dust on his butt, and walked into the Spring Harmony Palace under the guidance of the soldiers.

Since Chunhe Palace is the residence of the prince, it has a vast building area and looks like a miniature version of the Forbidden City. It is easy to get lost in it.

Zhu Gaoxu was taken outside the Chunhe Hall by the soldiers. Seeing the young eunuch announcing the news, he stepped in and saw Zhu Yunwen who was discussing matters with a civil servant in the side hall on the right.

"Gao Xu meets the great grandson!"

"Brother Xu is here. I wonder what message grandpa sent you."

When Zhu Gaoxu entered the palace, he bowed and saluted. Zhu Yunwen greeted him with a smile as usual. The civil servants standing next to him stood up and bowed to Zhu Gaoxu.

The civil servant was in his forties, with a white face and a long beard. His facial features were majestic and delicate, and he had a strong scholarly air. Therefore, Zhu Gaoxu knew his identity without even looking at his clothes.

Needless to say, this person is probably Huang Zicheng, the leader of Jianwen's three pits.

For this Ming version of the idealist, Zhu Gaoxu would be lying if he said he didn't hate him.

If this guy's method of cutting down the vassal was slightly milder, he wouldn't be able to cause the Jingnan War, let alone make Zhu Yunwen lose the chair under his butt.

"Gao Xu?"

Looking at Zhu Gaoxu who was silent, Zhu Yunwen reminded him again with some displeasure.

Zhu Gaoxu, who came back to his senses, bowed quickly when he saw this, and explained: "My brother is just thinking about how to tell my eldest brother."

After explaining, Zhu Gaoxu looked around and said carefully to Zhu Yunwen: "Brother, why don't you ask these slaves to leave first?"

"Huh?" Seeing Zhu Gaoxu's cautious look, Zhu Yunwen had a bad premonition in his heart, and immediately waved his hand to signal everyone in the palace to go out.

Seeing his signal, the maids and eunuchs in the palace retreated one after another. In the end, only Zhu Yunwen, Zhu Gaoxu and Huang Zicheng were left.

"this……"

Although he had already guessed Huang Zicheng's identity, Zhu Gaoxu still pretended not to know.

"This is Huang Zicheng, the minister of Taichang Temple, and he is also my professor. There is no need to avoid him."

Zhu Yunwen explained it once, and Zhu Gaoxu also returned a false gift to Huang Zicheng after hearing this.

"Brother Xu, what's going on?" Zhu Yunwen asked impatiently when he saw him dawdling.

"That's it..." Zhu Gaoxu told Zhu Yunwen what Lao Zhu had said. As he expected, Zhu Yunwen's expression changed many times in just a few breaths.

Obviously, he was very dissatisfied with the increase in the number of people in charge of Wuying Palace, especially since the person who increased this time was the eldest son of the three kings of Qin, Jin and Yan.

Although he has a private friendship with Zhu Shangbing, Zhu Jixi, and Zhu Gaochi, this does not mean that he is willing to give the power of governing to these three people, especially since the father of one of the three wants to shake his position...

Thinking of this, Zhu Yunwen put on a smile, walked up to Zhu Gaoxu and held his hand: "Brother Xu, when grandpa asked you to pass the message, was there anything wrong?"

"This..." Zhu Gaoxu was helpless. He knew that Zhu Yunwen could find out about the Jin Mansion and Duke Ying's Mansion, as well as his entry into the palace, but Lao Zhu had already reminded him that he couldn't tell Zhu Yunwen even if he wanted to.

"Grandpa told you not to say anything?" Zhu Yunwen didn't say anything else, but he was very good at observing people's emotions.

Seeing that Zhu Gaoxu was in trouble, he knew that Zhu Gaoxu could not speak, so he let go of his hand and patted his arms:

"Thank you for coming, Brother Xu. I know the matter. I will go to Wuying Hall to find grandpa in a while."

"Then I'll resign..." Seeing that Zhu Yunwen didn't ask any more questions, and Zhu Gaoxu didn't intend to stay long, he bowed and was about to leave.

"Brother Xu, walk slowly, I'll see you off." Zhu Yunwen led the way for Zhu Gaoxu, and Huang Zicheng followed suit.

The three of them walked to the entrance of Chunhe Hall. After Zhu Gaoxu bowed in return, they left under the guidance of the soldiers.

Looking at his back, Zhu Yunwen turned around and returned to Chunhe Hall. Huang Zicheng also said to the eunuch and maid waiting at the door: "Come in in a quarter of an hour."

After saying that, before they could react, Huang Zicheng turned around and walked into Chunhe Palace. Obviously he also had a certain prestige in Chunhe Palace.

Not long after, he returned to the side hall and saw Zhu Yunwen sitting silently on a chair.

"Grandson..." Huang Zicheng stepped forward and bowed: "I'm afraid it's the one from Shanxi who is responsible for this..."

"I know," Zhu Yunwen interrupted Huang Zicheng: "But I want to know even more, what did my third uncle do to actually make grandpa orally pass on the three of them to join the Wuying Palace to govern!"

Speaking of excitement, Zhu Yunwen couldn't help but stand up: "One Zhu Gaoxu is enough to be an eyesore, and now there are three more future princes."

"What do you think my third uncle will do if he finds out that Ji Xi has entered the Wuying Palace to manage politics?!" Zhu Yunwen's face, which was originally kind with thick eyebrows and big eyes, now revealed a bit of ruthlessness, that is Huang Zicheng couldn't help but panic, but his years of experience in temples helped him calm down.

"Your Highness, it seems that Yan Erzi is closer to us now and poses no threat."

Huang Zicheng spoke kindly for Zhu Gaoxu for the first time, and further analyzed:

"If the King of Jin succeeds in his fight for the crown prince, the one who will benefit the most will naturally be Jin Shizi Xi. Qin and Yan will also be able to continue to control the troops in Guanzhong and Peiping, and the other two will also benefit."

"On the other hand, if the two sons of Yan do not change, they will have no choice but to be the king of the county in this life. They are already at the very beginning and cannot go any further."

"Therefore, I thought I could win over him further to prevent Yan's eldest son Chi from being disobedient in the future."

"Furthermore, judging from Yan Erzi's "On Cutting Down the Domain", if we can successfully transfer the guards of the feudal vassals to the princes, it will be easier to cut down the feudal lords in the future."

Huang Zicheng was right this time. Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly when he heard this, and had to admit Huang Zicheng's words.

Seeing Zhu Yunwen nodding, Huang Zicheng further expressed:
"In my opinion, if the three kings of Qin, Jin and Yan are still around in the future, we can definitely use the theory of the two sons of Yan to reduce the vassal status and cut off the guardianship of more than ten princes in the world who have already established vassal status to their heirs."

"The princes have no military power. If they cut off the vassalage and give them their father's military power, then most of the princes will definitely side with the court."

"As a result, the military power in the hands of the prince has been weakened, and even if he wants to rebel, he will be unable to do so."

"From this point of view, the second son of Yan is probably thinking of dividing the Yan Mansion's guards, otherwise he will only be a powerless prince for the rest of his life."

Huang Zicheng elaborated on his views, which also won Zhu Yunwen's approval.

Zhu Yunwen put his hands behind his back, thought for a while before looking up and said:
"If that's the case, then Gao Xu can be used by me."

"How do you think my uncles will react if his "Lun on the Reduction of Domains" is made known to the world?"

"No!" Huang Zicheng rejected this approach and expressed his opinion:

"The article "On Cutting Down the Domain" has already been circulated in the palace. I think it won't be long before it will be known to the feudal kings everywhere. There is no need for us to take action."

"If we add fuel to the flames, His Majesty will definitely notice that this is not good for Your Highness's reputation."

"Well..." When Zhu Yunwen heard that his proposal was rejected, he was not angry. Instead, he smiled at Huang Zicheng and said:
"Sir is indeed my humerus. Without him, I would definitely do some stupid things."

"Your Highness, why should you be so humble?" Huang Zicheng bowed in return and shook his head at the same time: "With my understanding, you will definitely not do such a thing."

"What I just said was just a further step to help you dispel your thoughts."

"Haha, sir, you are truly self-effacing." Zhu Yunwen smiled and held up Huang Zicheng's arms, while his eyes flashed:

"As Mr. Wang said, once this "Lun on the Reduction of Domain" is known to those uncles of Gu, I'm afraid it will cause quite a stir."

"But judging from their characters, except for my restless third uncle, the other uncles probably wouldn't dare to say anything."

Mentioning Jin Wang Zhu Fan, Zhu Yunwen couldn't help but narrow his eyes. After all, his biggest enemy at the moment was Jin Wang Zhu Fan.

"Prince Jin, it is indeed a big problem." Huang Zicheng couldn't help but admit:

"What I just said is based on what King Jin did when he was still alive."

"If the King of Jin is cut off his wings, or dies in Taiyuan, then he can use six divisions to attack the rebellious ministers, as mentioned before, and all the vassals will surrender."

Huang Zicheng said a lot of beautiful words, but in the last sentence he still did not give up using force to reduce the vassal state, and this also won Zhu Yunwen's heart.

However, no matter whether he chooses Zhu Gaoxu's "On the Elimination of the Domain" in the end or chooses to use force to reduce the vassal state, Zhu Yunwen must make the people's hearts turn towards him. Thinking of this, he also asked Huang Zicheng eagerly:

"Has the arrangement for the 'Su Song tax credit' that Mr. Sir mentioned before been properly arranged?"

"Don't worry, Your Highness!" Huang Zicheng vowed: "I have already worked with Hanzhong Professor Fang Xiaoru, Deputy Capital Censor Lian Zining, Minister of Civil Affairs Zhai Shanshu and others to build momentum in Nanjing."

"In addition, among the people, there are also Confucian scholars such as Yang Shiqi, Xie Jin, Hu Huzhen, Wu Qin, Nie Xuan, Huang Boqi, etc. who are giving lectures and spreading the news in various places in the south of the Yangtze River. I think it will not take long for this matter to spread throughout the south of the Yangtze River."

"Okay!" After hearing Huang Zicheng's words, Zhu Yunwen was very happy. He urgently needed the support of the people in Jiangnan right now. Therefore, if this matter can go as he expected, many gentry and wealthy households will be attracted to him.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yunwen no longer felt that Zhu Gaoxu was an eyesore. He no longer resented his action of coming to deliver the message just now, and turned his attention to the head of the third mansion.

He walked back to his seat and sat down, looking much more calm than before.

"The head of the three palaces came to Wuying Hall to manage the government. Mr. Gu felt that the matter was related to King Jin."

"Gao Xu refuses to say it, and I can't force him, but as long as we investigate what he did today, I'm afraid it can be easily found out."

"Your Highness is wise." Huang Zicheng nodded and bowed: "I will send someone to investigate soon, and the results will be available tomorrow."

"Thank you very much, sir." Zhu Yunwen replied, and Huang Zicheng also sang and walked out of Chunhe Hall.

After he walked out, many maids and eunuchs from Chunhe Palace came in to attend to Zhu Yunwen's daily life.

Compared with his life, Zhu Gaoxu seems a bit barren.

He walked back to Xihuamen, took Chi Huan, who was full and had enough to drink, and left Xihuamen.

Due to Zhu Yuanzhang's words, he did not dare to return directly to Duke Ying's mansion, so he had to bite the bullet and ride Chi Huan back to the front guard square of the government army.

But what he didn't expect was that after he rode into the alley, he saw the Yan Mansion carriage at the back door and Zhu Gaosui sitting on the steps of the back door.

"Second brother is here!"

Seeing Zhu Gaojiu coming, Zhu Gaojiu stood up and spoke impatiently to the carriage. In the middle of his breath, the carriage door opened, and Zhu Gaochi stepped out of the carriage.

"Big Brother, Third Brother."

Zhu Gaojiu said hello and his eyes stayed on Zhu Gaosui for a while.

As expected, Zhu Gaojiu snorted and avoided his gaze, obviously still holding grudges for the last time Zhu Gaojiu helped the old woodcutter.

Zhu Gaojiu did not find his attitude strange. After all, in history, Zhu Gaojiu was indeed a petty person who was often favored and arrogant.

His last action must have offended him.

However, Zhu Gaoxu didn't take it seriously. After all, he had offended many people during this period, and he had offended all the vassal kings just by writing "On Cutting Down the Domain".

Compared with this, Zhu Gaosui is nothing.

"Brother, do you have anything to do with me today?"

Zhu Gaoxu handed Chi Huan's horse rein and key to the Yan Mansion guard next to him, and watched him open the back door and enter.

During this period, Zhu Gaochi also said: "After what happened last time, I have been worried about you. When I heard that you entered the Wuying Palace to govern, I breathed a sigh of relief, but I still feel uneasy and wanted to come and see you."

Zhu Gaochi really had nothing to say about Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui. Whether he was pretending or his true feelings, in short, this concern could easily enter the hearts of others.

Even though he was Zhu Gaoxu, a fake, he couldn't help but be a little moved, so he smiled and replied:

"If that's all, then brother, you can rest assured. I'm afraid you'll be able to receive the imperial edict from the palace soon."

"Holy edict?" Zhu Gaochi's heart tightened, thinking that he had committed something. He stepped forward, grabbed Zhu Gaoxu's wrist and walked aside, carefully asking:

"Second brother, I can tell you that I can't stand being scared of your elder brother. If you have anything to do, don't keep it secret and tell me as soon as possible."

"Haha..." Seeing Zhu Gaochi like this, Zhu Gaoxu could only tell the story about Zhu Yuanzhang summoning the direct chiefs of their three houses to manage the government.

"This..." After hearing Zhu Gaoxu's words, Zhu Gaochi opened his mouth and couldn't believe it.

If Zhu Gaoxu hadn't been very reliable during this period, he might have thought Zhu Gaoxu was joking on him.

"Are you serious?" Zhu Gaochi asked again worriedly.

"Of course." Zhu Gaoxu nodded in response.

"This matter is serious..." After receiving the response, Zhu Gaochi's face became sad, he let go of Zhu Gaoxu's hand and said worriedly:

"If the three of us enter Wuying Hall, I'm afraid my grandson will be unhappy."

"Why do you think grandpa would make such a decree? Isn't this obviously pushing the three of us into the fire pit?"

Zhu Gaochi was spinning on the spot anxiously, and after spinning for a long time, he suddenly looked at Zhu Gaoxu.

Seeing that his face was very calm, Zhu Gaochi asked carefully: "Do you know the reason?"

Zhu Gaoxu nodded: "I know, but I can't say it, and you can't listen."

"Don't listen, don't listen..." Seeing Zhu Gaoxu say this, Zhu Gaochi shook his head quickly, obviously having guessed whose order it was.

"What are they two doing?" Looking at Zhu Gaochi, who was standing in the corner of the alley, shaking his head, and Zhu Gaojiu, who was smiling across from him, Zhu Gaojiu felt at this moment that the identities of his eldest brother and second brother seemed to be confused.

"If you go back now, you will probably get an order from the palace soon."

Zhu Gaoxu glanced at the sky and reminded Zhu Gaochi.

"Okay, then I'll go back now. Brother, take good care of yourself. If this is true, I'll see you tomorrow."

Zhu Gaochi did not delay. After all, entering the Wuying Palace to govern was a big deal, and not everyone could be as calm and composed as Zhu Gaoxu.

He turned around and trotted towards the car. His "robust" figure stunned Zhu Gaosui who was sitting at the door of the backyard.

"Gao Sui! Get in the car quickly. Let's go back home and meet your second brother tomorrow."

Zhu Gaochi greeted Zhu Gaosui who was stunned on the spot, and Zhu Gaosui also got into the car in confusion.

The guards of the Yan Mansion who were taking care of Chi Huan also heard his voice. After simply placing the fodder and beans, they walked out of the backyard and returned a salute to Zhu Gaoxu in the alley, and then drove Zhu Gaochi and the two back to the Yan Mansion. .

Zhu Gaoxu stepped aside to get out of the way for them. Zhu Gaochi did not forget to open the window and tell Zhu Gaoxu a second time: "Second brother, I will greet you when I enter the palace tomorrow."

"..." Zhu Gaoxu felt a little ashamed when he heard the voice in his ears and the carriage that was driving away.

After a while, when the carriage disappeared into the alley, Zhu Gaoxu shook his head and walked into the backyard, shaking his head as he walked:
"When you meet him tomorrow, you have to say hello and ask him to change his name..."

(End of this chapter)