Rebirth of Zhu Di's son

Chapter 225 I'm Your Father
The next day.

Afterwards.

Hall of Martial Arts.

Zhu Di retreated, leaving only Zhu Gaoxu by his side.

He stood up, walked around the imperial table, and walked straight to the giant globe in the middle of the hall.

Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu stepped forward to help Zhu Di, but was deliberately avoided by the latter.

"I spent my entire life in the military, but I'm not that bad now. The senility I showed up in the morning was a deliberate show off."

Zhu Di showed a sly smile, looked back at Zhu Gaoxu, who was following him, and asked, "Do you know why I pretend to be old and frail?"

"Dad should be trying to find a good reason for inner meditation."

Zhu Gaoxu replied without hesitation.

Zhu Di stopped in front of the globe, looked at the position of Ming Dynasty on the globe, stood with his hands behind his hands, and asked: "Then why don't I find other reasons and have to use 'old age and frailty'?"

Zhu Gaoxu thought for a while and said: "Dad probably wants to use the story of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty in his later years to silence everyone."

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Liu Che was very similar to Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty Li Longji. Both of them worked hard and forged ahead in the early stages of their rule, pushing the inherited dynasty to unprecedented heights and creating a glorious and prosperous age.

However, both of them became dim-witted in their later years and were no longer wise and powerful. They both pushed their dynasties to the edge of the abyss, causing the country to begin to decline.

"In July of the first year of the Yuan Dynasty, the powerful minister Li Fuguo took advantage of the illness of Emperor Suzong of the Tang Dynasty and forcibly moved Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty to the west. When passing through Jiacheng, Li Fuguo led another [-] cavalrymen with their swords drawn and menacingly blocked the way. "

Like an old man telling a story, Zhu Di slowly said: "Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty was so frightened that he almost fell off his horse. Fortunately, Gao Lishi came forward and was able to move to Ganlu Palace safely. However, after the incident, Gao Lishi secretly communicated with the rebels. As a result, Chen Xuanli was exiled to Wuzhou; Chen Xuanli was ordered to become an official; Princess Yuzhen also left Yuzhen Temple, leaving Tang Xuanzong alone, alone, and miserable. Two years later, Tang Xuanzong died of depression. "

"As for Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Liu Che was very lonely in his later years. Although he vindicated the rebellion of the prince Liu Ju, he had lost his best heir. He could only choose the taller one among the dwarfs and pass the throne to the subsequent Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty."

He changed the subject, turned to look at Zhu Gaoxu beside him, and said: "How similar am I to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty in the early years? But they are not as lucky as me, because I have you as the prince."

"Dad is too flattering." Zhu Gaoxu said respectfully.

Zhu Di continued: "Let me ask you, after you succeed to the throne, how do you plan to deal with the relationship between the Ming Dynasty and overseas vassals and states? Kingly? Overbearing? Overlord and miscellaneous?"

"My son believes that if we only deal with foreign countries with hegemony, that is, 'anyone who offends our strong men will be punished no matter how far away', even if we completely occupy the enemy's territory, we will fall into the situation of 'we can't cultivate the land, we can't lead the people, and we can't destroy them'" ' Dilemma."

Zhu Gaoxu spoke eloquently: "If we only treat the outside world with the king's way, that is, 'the people in the distant and remote areas without herding will not be enough to bother China.' During the Han and Wei dynasties, the Central Plains dynasties absorbed foreign tribes and tried to control them with barbarians, which resulted in great chaos and led to The Central Plains has been in constant war for nearly 400 years. The Anshi Rebellion was also the same."

"The Tang Dynasty was founded in the Sui Dynasty, and based on the stories of past dynasties, it was discovered that the Central Plains dynasty faced threats from the outside. There was no one-and-done solution, and it must be constantly prepared. In other words, China is China, and barbarians are barbarians. They have existed for a long time, and no one can change the other. Therefore, with The righteousness of Jizu should be answered with all courtesy, and Jizu states should be set up for the foreign peoples on the frontier to pursue practical interests. For the peripheral countries, tribute should be used as a link to establish a tributary relationship between countries. "

Zhu Di thought thoughtfully, "Are you planning to use the vassal and canonization system to maintain the relationship between the Ming Dynasty and overseas vassals and states?"

"Yes."

Zhu Gaoxu replied respectfully.

Zhu Di nodded and said: "You have mentioned to me before that the tribute system is a vassal relationship, which is a special relationship between countries. Please tell me why this system is adopted."

"In the early Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan was willing to surrender to the Turks in the north in order to stabilize and manage the Central Plains region. When the Turks realized that Li Tang's strength was gradually increasing, they formed alliances with Li Tang's opponents many times and almost captured Li Tang's home base. Taiyuan. After Li Tang wiped out the surrounding separatist forces, the Turks still attacked Chang'an City many times. Even so, Li Tang did not give up the tributary relationship between the two sides."

Zhu Gaoxu said slowly: "With the increase in national power, Li Tang went from unilaterally paying money and making peace in the early stage to using tributary relations to restrain his opponents in the later stage, until the collapse of the Turks."

During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty once abandoned the four towns of Anxi due to insufficient military and financial resources. After its national power was stabilized, the Tang Dynasty used the tribute system to regain the initiative in the Western Regions.

For example, the Uighur cavalry was used to quell the Anshi Rebellion, but the consequence was that the Uighurs continued to loot, causing the Tang Dynasty a headache.As a result, the Tang Dynasty once again used the tribute system to lure Tibet, its main rival in the west, to Uighur. With the latter being destroyed and the former's strength being damaged, the Tang Dynasty almost restored its heyday in Western Xinjiang.

Another example is that during the Zhenguan period, Li Shimin was determined to use force to deal with Goguryeo, which posed a huge threat to the northeastern part of the Tang Dynasty.

During this period, Goguryeo went to Chang'an to pay tribute many times, but the Li and Tang court did not refuse. Goguryeo also did not give up preparations for war because of the high-standard reception of the Tang Dynasty.

It can be seen that paying tribute is not as simple as trade or accepting vassal status. It is a bloodless war.

In order to achieve victory, the Tang Dynasty hesitated repeatedly between Baekje and Silla. Both countries had tributary relations with the Tang Dynasty, Silla had tributary relations with Japan, and Japan had tributary relations with the Tang Dynasty.

Through complex tribute exchanges, the Tang Dynasty finally figured out the trump cards of various countries.

At the Battle of Baijiangkou, the Tang Dynasty established its status as a suzerain state. However, due to the tight war in Western Xinjiang, the Tang Dynasty had to transfer 20 troops from Eastern Xinjiang and recognized the special status of Baekje.

While making concessions, the Tang Dynasty turned to support the Bohai Kingdom to prevent Baekje from attacking.

During the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, countries were beggaring their neighbors and conflicts continued.

After the tribute system was established, the country-to-country relationship with the Central Plains Dynasty as the suzerainty and the surrounding states as vassal states maintained relative stability, which enabled normal commercial trade and cultural exchange between countries. Knowledge exchange.

Under normal circumstances, the suzerain state does not interfere in the internal affairs of the vassal state. It mainly attracts the vassal state with culture and emphasizes the order between the suzerain state and the tributary state.

In tributary trade, the emphasis is on giving favors and giving favors, which means, to put it bluntly, the inequality in diplomatic status between the suzerain country and the tributary country.

In view of the stories of the previous dynasties, the Tang Dynasty did not think about establishing a world order dominated by the Tang Dynasty. Instead, it recognized the existence of surrounding states and maintained the Tang Dynasty's suzerain status through the tribute system, ultimately maximizing interests.

Every victory in the Tang Dynasty's foreign wars was due to the correct use of the tribute system, while every defeat in the war was due to the emperor's interference with the normal order of the tribute system out of personal preferences.

"In my son's view, the tribute system is like three concentric circles set together. The center is the Ming Dynasty, which includes overseas vassals, the periphery is the vassal states, and the outermost periphery is the foreign country."

Zhu Gaoxu continued: "Therefore, my son believes that compared to using force to coerce submission, the tribute system without resorting to force can make all countries in the world convinced and show the magnificence of China."

After a pause, he added specifically: "Of course, we should send troops to attack the countries that invaded our Ming subjects. Just like deposing the king of Mount Ceylon and the king of Spain, using both kings and tyrants, this way we can maintain our suzerainty of the Ming Dynasty. The position will never waver.”

"Yes, the right way is to be a king and bully."

Zhu Di affirmed: "Blindly pursuing a royal and gentle policy will make some countries think that our country is weak and can be bullied. It must be accompanied by force to demonstrate the hegemony of the suzerain country in order to deter those with ulterior motives."

He stared at Zhu Gaoxu and said bluntly: "I passed the seat to you in advance for many reasons, so I won't go into details one by one. But one thing is that I need you to be prepared."

"Dad, you mean that some people will take advantage of the saying that 'there are two days in the sky and two emperors in the country' to gain power and gain?"

Zhu Gaoxu asked in a low voice.

"Confucius said, 'Heaven has no two suns, and earth has no two kings.' Once this situation occurs, it will inevitably cause chaos. Therefore, after I abdicate, you don't have to follow the same example and give me the title of 'Tai Shang Emperor' .”

Zhu Di said meaningfully: "Then, I will lead the fleet to visit the princes of various vassals overseas, in order to save their relatives. If someone has evil intentions, my father and I will activate the latent Jin Yiwei, command the army, cooperate inside and outside, and take the opportunity to stop the evildoers. Catch them all in one fell swoop! Remove obstacles for your next restructuring!"

"Dad knows that I want to change my system?"

Zhu Gaoxu pretended to be surprised.

Zhu Di smiled and said: "Stop pretending, I am your father, do I know what you are thinking?"

PS: Today’s chapter is a bit short ￣^￣゜ sweat!
(End of this chapter)