I open a history tutorial class in Daming

Chapter 39: Ying Zheng asks questions, and Zhu suffers (please read on!)
When asked this question by Ying Zheng, Song Shen's first reaction was -

Okay, okay, the First Emperor always asks difficult questions like this every day, right?
Of course, he knew that the feudal system and the county system had been a major issue since the Qin Dynasty swept across the six kingdoms. As the founder of the first unified dynasty, most of the decisions made by Ying Zheng were made by trial and error.

This task was extremely difficult, and countless people questioned and advised him, believing that his pioneering initiative had major problems.

Having finally met someone from later generations, Ying Zheng naturally wanted to know whether what he had done was right or wrong, and the feudal system taught in today's class just happened to hit the mark for him.

After thinking for a moment, Song Shen smiled and nodded.

"Student Ying Zheng, I understand that you want to know about this matter, and it is not beyond the scope of this class. But I think before the lecture, I can let the students speak actively. After all, there were many dynasties after the Qin Dynasty, and the Han and Ming dynasties both made decisions that were somewhat different from yours on this matter."

"Student Liu Che, student Zhu Yuanzhang, you may speak now."

Everyone:? ? ?
Zhu Biao stood up immediately:

"Sir, I don't understand what you said!"

"In the early Han Dynasty, Emperor Gaozu of Han implemented the county system, that is, the county system was used near Chang'an, and other remote areas were governed by princes. Later, Emperor Wu of Han issued the Enfeoffment Order, which was indeed different from the Qin Dynasty. But let's not talk about the Qin and Han dynasties. My Ming Dynasty did not use the feudal system. The Ming Dynasty set up the Provincial Administration Commission, and below it were prefectures, directly governed states, and below that were subordinate states and counties."

"Does the difference you mentioned mean that the Ming Dynasty changed the provincial system of the former Yuan Dynasty into this form?"

Ying Zheng listened to him with great interest, while also observing other people, trying to see if there would be a better and more suitable system in the future.

When asked, Song Shen smiled and was not annoyed by the student's rebuttal.

He calmly asked back:

"Is there no king in the Ming Dynasty?"

"Many of your brothers have been enfeoffed as vassal kings. In the first enfeoffment in the third year of Hongwu, ten vassal kings were enfeoffed. How do you explain this?"

Seeing that Zhu Biao was choked, Zhu Yuanzhang also stood up to support his son.

He straightened his chest and raised his head and said:

"It is true that our sons have been assigned to their respective fiefdoms, and there are soldiers in their fiefdoms, but unlike the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the soldiers in their fiefdoms are not directly commanded by them. Instead, they have special generals, and the soldiers are directly under the emperor. Unless there is an invasion by foreign enemies, the army will not obey their orders!"

"What's more, we have also learned the Enfeoffment Order of Emperor Wu of Han. Except for the eldest son, the rest of the descendants of the princes can only inherit the title of county prince. The next ones can only be generals, and they will be demoted step by step. There will be no hidden danger of the tail being too big to be removed."

"The most important thing is that the princes we have appointed are the barrier for the Ming Dynasty to resist foreign enemies. This is much more reliable than handing over the military power to others. What's wrong with that?"

Song Shen really couldn't help but burst out laughing.

He looked at Zhu Qizhen, who was shrinking his head and trying to reduce his presence, and said leisurely:
"Zhu Qizhen, tell me, what happened to the feudal system established by your ancestors?"

Zhu Qizhen hesitated and dared not speak.

Seeing him like this, Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry that he hit him on the back of the head with a big pouch:

"If there is anything you dare not say, just say it!"

Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, thought for a moment and suddenly asked:

"Didn't we say before that Zhu Yuanzhang's other son, Prince of Yan, rebelled in the end? If he really didn't have the power to command the troops, how could he rebel? Most importantly, he himself ascended to the throne as a vassal prince. Wouldn't he take any action after ascending the throne?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was confused by the three questions. He was at a loss for a moment, then turned to look at Zhu Qizhen, who was completely depressed, and then looked at Song Shen, who was sitting on the podium with a leisurely look on his face. He felt unwell.

So, what exactly happened?
Song Shen nodded happily and agreed with Liu Che's statement:
"That's right. It was precisely because of the success of Yan Wang Zhu Di's Jingnan Campaign that the subsequent vassal kings completely lost their ability to serve as a barrier for the Ming Dynasty."

"But we can't blame him entirely for this. After all, he was forced to rebel in a certain sense. If he didn't rebel, he would either die or be completely abolished."

"Mr. Zhu Yuanzhang, you really found a good successor. You chose Zhu Yunwen as the crown prince instead of all the other princes. He is second only to Zhu Qizhen in stupidity... Ahem, never mind. What I mean is that Zhu Di is both a victim and a beneficiary of the reduction of the feudal lords. If he hadn't abolished the feudal lords, he probably wouldn't have a good sleep until his death!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned when he heard this.

He had ten thousand questions in his mind, but in the end he asked the same question:

"Who is Zhu Yunwen?"

"Wait, Yunwen follows the teachings of his ancestors, and the great prince Qinwu wins. Good luck will come along the way, and the teacher will use Sheng well..."

"Is this Biao'er's son?!"

Song Shen and Zhu Qizhen nodded in unison.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face flushed.

Zhu Biao looked confused:
"Ah? I only have Xiongying as my child now. This is... No, Lu is pregnant with a baby. According to the date calculation, she will give birth in two months. Is this him?"

Song Shen raised his eyebrows:

"Yes, that's him."

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head like a rattle:
"No, no, even if he is to be crowned as the Crown Prince, it shouldn't be him. Lu is the Crown Prince's concubine, and this unborn child is not only a bastard, but there is also a Xiongying ahead of him. How could it be possible..."

When the father and son of the old Zhu family saw Song Shen's half-smile that was constantly wandering around Zhu Biao, their mouths immediately shut.

Can't be so unlucky?
Zhu Qizhen added silently:
"My two ancestors, this Prince Yu Huai died at the age of eight. Before his death, the Crown Princess Chang had already died, and Lu was promoted to Crown Princess. Naturally, Emperor Jianwen became the eldest son... Oh, Emperor Jianwen is Zhu Yunwen."

The situation suddenly became awkward.

Zhu Yuanzhang’s eyes went dark, he covered the back of his head and almost fainted.

He never imagined in his life that not only would the crown prince, whom he trusted the most and cultivated with great care, die young, but even Zhu Biao's eldest son, Zhu Xiongying, would die young.

If any one of them hadn't died, it would not have been the turn of Zhu Yunwen who was still in his mother's womb!

If Zhu Yunwen hadn't ascended the throne and forced Zhu Di to rebel somehow, how could there be a bastard like Zhu Qizhen!

A surge of evil fire rushed straight to the top of his head.

Zhu Yuanzhang took off his boots with one hand and called out to Zhu Qizhen next to him:
"You beast! Let's beat you to death!"

Zhu Qizhen ran away while crying out for justice:
"Great-grandfather, I am innocent. Why did you hit me? It was not me who made Zhu Yunwen the emperor!"

　Please read on! Whether the next recommendation will be sent depends on today's follow-up reading. Everyone, please stop raising your eyebrows and click to read on. TAT
　　

(End of this chapter)