The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 404 Zhu Biao's Imperial Lesson
The great enfeoffment, a plan that was drawn up a few years ago, has finally reached the stage of implementation.

Chen Jingke said: "Normally, the ministers would definitely oppose it, even if it was an overseas fiefdom."

“There’s a fear of the unknown, and part of it comes from the human heart.”

Zhu Xiongying asked doubtfully: "What human heart?"

Chen Jingke explained: "What is worrying is not the scarcity but the inequality. In the past, everyone was a minister of the Ming Dynasty."

"Although the nobility can be inherited, everyone still eats from the same pot."

"Now that you have suddenly become an independent little kingdom, at least the civil service group will feel very uncomfortable."

Zhu Xiongying understood, and then said disdainfully:
"If you feel sick, go to the battlefield. If you can't go, send your children and grandchildren to the battlefield."

"With their connections, their descendants are more likely to succeed than ordinary people."

"You can't bear the hardship and don't want to go to the battlefield, but you are jealous of the benefits others have gained. How despicable."

Chen Jingke smiled and said, "That being said, everything in the world is ultimately a matter of people, and we must consider the impact of people's hearts."

Zhu Xiongying said, "Indeed, we can't let them get too complacent. Lao Du, did you hear that?"

"When the great division of fiefdoms is announced and the ministers begin to oppose it, we will create public opinion around what I just said."

Du Tongli subconsciously wanted to answer, but only reacted when the words were on the tip of his tongue.

He first looked at Zhu Biao, and waited for him to nod before saying, "Yes, I understand."

It’s just spreading rumors, the Jinyiwei are really good at it.

At that time, all officials who opposed this matter would be labeled as jealous.

Chen Jingke reminded: "Remember to leave the prince out."

Du Tongli quickly said, "Yes, I understand."

Chen Jingke then continued, "Such petty tricks alone cannot influence the overall situation."

"If you want to divide the country into many parts, you still need a suitable reason. The Nanyang incident can also be used as an excuse."

"After such a big incident, it is impossible to return those lands in Nanyang to the barbarians."

"In such a remote place, it is unrealistic to establish a county system. Enfeoffment is the most reasonable."

"But there are only about a hundred Ming clan members in total, and only thirty or forty males, most of whom are too young to manage affairs."

“There’s so much land that it’s impossible to seal it all.”

"Based on this theory, we proposed the Great Enfeoffment Plan."

"If the ministers object, we will kick the ball to them and let them come up with a better solution."

"Besides enfeoffment, I don't think there is a better way."

Finally, he smiled and said, "Of course, if someone can come up with a more appropriate solution than dividing the land, that would be even better. I would like to nominate him to join the cabinet."

Zhu Xiongying sneered, "So many of us have thought about it for so many years, but we haven't come up with a more appropriate solution. It's too late to expect them to do so."

Unexpectedly, Zhu Biao shook his head and said, "You two are still a little lacking in energy."

Zhu Xiongying and Chen Jingke were both puzzled. What was the lack of heat? Was it because the method was not working?

Zhu Biao did not explain directly, but first said to Du Tongli:
"You step back first. No one is allowed to approach without permission."

Du Tongli knew that the next words were not suitable for outsiders to hear, so he immediately stood up and left.

After he left, Zhu Biao said, "A leader needs to be both firm and flexible. When it is time to respect the ministers, you should give them face."

"When it's time to be tough, you have to be tough."

"So, let me ask you a question: when is it time to be tough?"

Zhu Xiongying blurted out: "If you want to accomplish great things, you must use thundering means."

Chen Jingke also agreed and said, "We must be tough when we do big things."

Zhu Biao said: "Wrong, absolutely wrong."

Both of them were a little unconvinced. What's the problem with that?

Zhu Biao said seriously: "What do you mean by big things or small things? There are no small things in national affairs."

"Which of the so-called trivial matters you mentioned does not concern the livelihood of the common people? Can this still be considered a trivial matter?"

Both of them showed shame: "Your Majesty (Dad) taught me a lesson."

Seeing that the two had listened, Zhu Biao did not say any more and continued to talk about the main topic:
"Since there are no trivial matters in the court, when should we be tough and when should we be gentle?"

"When a policy can be implemented through negotiation or indirect means, use soft means."

“When negotiations are impossible or the cost of negotiations is too high, decision makers need to be tough and push for it.”

Chen Jingke and the other man seemed to be thinking about something at first, and then they looked as if they had suddenly realized something.

Yes, it turns out that the standards for soft and hard are here.

It’s not about whether it’s big or small, but how to get through it most effectively.

In the early stages of the reform, all officials were distrustful of the reform and were unwilling to cooperate.

Zhu Yuanzhang implemented it through tough measures.

After the new policy was implemented, officials saw the benefits of the policy and their thinking gradually changed.

Thus the reformists were born.

By the time Zhu Biao succeeded to the throne, the power of the reformists had become very strong.

Many policies no longer require the emperor to appear in person. As long as they are proposed, there will naturally be reformists to promote them.

In this way, the emperor could stay out of the matter and act as an arbitrator.

Therefore, many of Zhu Biao's methods seem to be relatively gentle.

Many times, he would have some little tricks to make his ministers accept the changes.

Instead of relying on force like Zhu did.

The advantage of doing this is that it can reduce the resistance of officials to the new policy and make it easier to unite the majority of people.

However, when faced with policies that face strong opposition and are difficult to pass through normal negotiations, he will become tough.

For example, this time we sent troops to Southeast Asia.

He ignored the opposition of his ministers and issued an edict of repentance.

Although there was no direct order to send troops, it was equivalent to announcing the decision to send troops.

The ministers who had originally opposed this matter could only agree reluctantly when they saw his tough attitude.

He even comforted himself that the emperor was still willing to take everyone's feelings into consideration and did not directly announce the dispatch of troops.

Zhu Biao continued: "Don't put your hopes on public opinion."

"When you can only rely on public opinion to promote something, it is highly likely that this thing will not be accomplished."

"This time the Great Division is like this. No matter how much preparation you make, it will not be passed through negotiation."

"If we want to implement this policy, there is only one way, which is to force it."

"However, the Nanyang incident did reduce the resistance when we implemented the new policy."

"But that's about it."

"So, you are putting too much thought into propaganda, which is putting the cart before the horse."

"What we should really do is to make arrangements in advance to eliminate the adverse effects of forcibly pushing forward the new policy."

Chen Jingke and the other person nodded repeatedly. This was real practical teaching.

Zhu Biao drank a sip of tea, gave the two people time to think, and then said:

"There is nothing wrong with you making a fuss about public opinion, but what is wrong is your intention to manipulate public opinion."

“The purpose of manipulating public opinion is not to force the ministers to agree to the new plan, but to eliminate adverse effects.”

Chen Jingke couldn't help but think of the electoral politics in the West in his previous life.

Whenever public opinion is used to promote something, it will eventually be demonized.

All seventy-two genders were created, and Sun Wukong felt inferior when he saw them.

But don't overestimate Western politicians and think they respect elections.

When real interests are involved, the so-called voting rights of ordinary people are not as good as a piece of waste paper. For example, the Lighthouse Country ignored public opinion and laws and forcibly passed the Anti-Semitism Act.

Why would they do this?

Because the Squid Group has given up a lot of benefits to the ruling class of the Lighthouse Country.

In the face of interests, they can package an unconventional bill as legitimate national will.

They usually show warmth and affection, package themselves as democracy fighters, and make voters feel that they respect democracy.

However, in fact, all those who can participate in the election are representatives of several major political families.

A very small number of those who do not come from political families are themselves big capitalists.

When something really big happens, they stop pretending and just push forward with force.

Public opinion? Opposition? Try opposing it in front of the army.

In fact, their approach is very similar to what Zhu Biao said.

The world is ruled by a small elite.

Whether you admit it or not, whether you are willing to accept it or not, this is reality.

Most decisions are made by the elites.

So the core question is, how to ensure that the elite class does not become detached from the grassroots people?

How can we ensure that those who control the country will not become a purely selfish group?

This requires correct thinking and advanced systems.

Therefore, you can imagine how important the person who first shouted "Long live the people" is to us.

As descendants, we can only say that we are fortunate to have him.

In fact, Chen Jingke has always been following in his footsteps, but due to the limitations of the times, there is not much he can do.

To put it bluntly, he does not have the ability to overthrow everything and can only work on small details.

Try to make people's lives a little better as much as possible.

His idea of ​​Great Harmony was established based on this theory.

Zhu Biao must have had a lot to say and finally found an opportunity to speak it out.

Once he started talking, he couldn't stop and told the two of them a lot of practical experience.

Chen Jingke and Zhu Xiongying listened very carefully.

These things cannot be learned from books. You either go out into society and hit the wall and let reality teach you.

Or you can rely on experienced elders to teach you.

But do you think you can learn by just hitting a wall a few times?
No, without a certain level of talent, you won’t learn anything even if you die.

The best way is for elders to teach by example.
-
War reports arrived from Nanyang; the Nanyang Navy, Temasek Governor's Office and the State of Chu jointly launched military operations.

In three months, Nanyang was pacified, and seven countries were wiped out, including countless small forces.

Subsequent military strikes are still ongoing to ensure that there is no force in Southeast Asia that can threaten the Ming people.

When the news came out, the whole world naturally rejoiced.

Even the conservatives breathed a sigh of relief. They had not expected the Nanyang natives to be so vulnerable. Their previous worries were in vain.

Not to mention the common people.

From time to time, you can hear people shouting "Long live the city".

The term "descendants of the Chinese nation" has appeared more and more frequently on everyone's lips.

Qin Feng Wu Yi's song became even more popular.

Everything looks so beautiful.

However, at this moment, bad news came out.

The big families in Southeast Asia harmed the people of Ming Dynasty in the name of being fellow countrymen, and this situation started in the Song Dynasty and has continued to this day.

Over the past few hundred years, the number of people who have been harmed is incalculable.

The government and the public were in an uproar.

Originally, everyone was still angry about what happened to these people and was excited about the court's decision to send troops for revenge.

The concept of Greater China has been recognized by more and more people.

But now I tell you that the big families in Southeast Asia are all guilty of heinous crimes, and our tears have been shed in vain.

A feeling of being teased arises.

What the hell is this Great China? Is this how they treat their compatriots?
It’s better not to have such compatriots.

Various true and false stories began to circulate, such as "A friend of mine went out to sea and never came back, and I heard that he was killed by his fellow travelers."

As more and more stories like this emerge, the dangers of going out to sea are once again brought up.

The sea itself is dangerous, and you have to be careful of the natives. Now you even have to be careful of your compatriots around you.

It’s better to stay at home honestly.

The conservatives were excited, and we said that we couldn't move too fast. Now you know why.

So they took action to attack the overseas policy.

The story of oranges grown in Huainan was also mentioned. Those people had moved away from the Ming Dynasty and were infected by the barbaric ideas of the natives. They were no longer Chinese.

They don't consider themselves Chinese from the bottom of their hearts, so we shouldn't wish for it.

Then they began to oppose large-scale emigration.

For a time, there seemed to be a shift in public opinion.

In contrast, the radicals are a bit overwhelmed.

After the Ming Dynasty opened up the sea, a huge vested interest group had been formed.

Some of these people do it to realize their ideals and ambitions, while others do it for their own interests.

But no matter what the reason was, everything they needed came from going to sea.

The wind direction has changed, which is not favorable to them.

Since the matter involves one's own interests, one will naturally not sit idly by and wait for death.

But the headwind was so strong that they were a little confused.

The main reason is that I don’t understand why the court wanted to spread this news.

Could it be that the will of the top leaders has changed?

They could only ask around for information through their connections, and Chen Jingke's doorstep was once again trampled upon.

This time, Chen Jingke did not close the door to visitors, but met with some people and told them bluntly:
"Going to sea has indeed brought huge benefits, but it has also created huge hidden dangers."

"These hidden dangers were previously covered up, but now they have erupted in a concentrated manner following the Nanyang tragedy."

"If these problems are not resolved, the court will no longer support the policy of going out to sea as much as before."

As for what specific problems there were and how to solve them, Chen Jingke did not say anything.

When asked urgently, I would use one sentence to prevaricate:
"This is a state secret, I can't say more, you should reflect on it yourself."

Although I didn't get a specific answer, I finally knew the reason.

At least you know where the problem lies and which direction to look for a solution.

The next step is self-examination.

Let’s take a good look at the hidden dangers under the overseas policies in recent years and how to solve them.

So the radicals put aside other things for the time being and began to examine themselves.

As for the conservatives, in order to combat the radicals, they naturally have to understand the other side's shortcomings.

For a moment, the radicals and conservatives miraculously kept in step.

As the two factions join forces, more and more hidden dangers and loopholes are discovered.

A great debate ensued.

In this case, is there any need to continue the overseas policy?
(End of this chapter)