My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 37: Lao Zhu Wants to Draw the Riddler

Of the ten radio handheld stations, four were given to Li Min, four to Xu Da and Li Wenzhong, and the remaining two were kept by himself.

After distributing the walkie-talkies and batteries, Zhu Yuanzhang had a premonition that the Ming Dynasty would undergo earth-shaking changes as a result.

Lao Li said in the letter that if necessary, more walkie-talkies could be sent over.

Our Mr. Li is the most considerate!
Thinking of how Xu Da, Li Min and Li Wenzhong fought for the stage, Zhu Yuanzhang felt both angry and amused.

But this thing is really amazing. I can talk to anyone I want at any time. I can't help but want to hold it all day long.

He returned to the inner hall, picked up Li Han's reply and continued reading.

Unexpectedly, the shackles of government orders not being implemented were miraculously solved by Lao Li. I wonder if he has any good solutions to the doubts we raised?

Zhu Yuanzhang became even more excited.

"To clarify the issue of the princes and royal family, we must first analyze why you, Old Zhu, divided the princes into princes.

I think, in addition to wanting your descendants to enjoy wealth and prosperity forever, you, Old Zhu, have another important consideration: military affairs.

In addition to balancing merit and frontiers, the more important responsibility of enfeoffed princes was to guard the border.

The border defenses of the vassal kings can be roughly divided into three lines of defense.

The first route is based on southern Liaoning, Daning, Ningxia and Ganzhou, facing the remnant Yuan Dynasty in the north.

The second line is based on Chang'an, Taiyuan and Beiping, which serves as the support and support for the first line of defense.

The third plan is to take Yingtian Prefecture as the core, rely on the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, issue orders, and support the first and second lines of defense at any time.

You know, even the most cowardly Southern Song Dynasty in history, relying on the natural barrier of the Yangtze River, managed to survive for more than a hundred years under the iron hoof of Mongolia.

Therefore, the deployment of vassal kings to guard the border based on three lines of defense is theoretically effective.

Old Zhu, you can be called the top strategist during the Hongwu period."

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but say "hmm" heavily and nodded repeatedly. The one who understands my heart is you, Old Li!
But is the Southern Song Dynasty mentioned in the letter the one that Zhao Gou was forced to move the capital to Lin'an after the Jingkang Incident?

Then, in contrast, the one with Bianliang as its capital can be called the Northern Song Dynasty?

Well, this division is very good. Old Zhu ordered the Hanlin Academy to compile it into history books.

The statement "the most cowardly person in history" is quite interesting. Well, it can also be recorded in history books!
"However, the premise for all these arrangements to be effective is that you, Zhu, are the emperor. When you are in power, the princes will be honest and behave themselves. When Zhu Biao succeeds to the throne, his ability and prestige will be
It is also enough to deter the princes, so what about after Zhu Biao?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned. He had thought about this question before, but he never had an answer in his heart. Moreover, even if a vassal king succeeded in rebelling, it would be the descendants of the Zhu family who would become emperor.

Overall not a loss.

"Old Zhu, you may be thinking that even if a vassal king succeeds in his rebellion, the throne of the emperor will still belong to the old Zhu family, so it's not a loss."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked around awkwardly, as if Li Han was staring at him from somewhere.

Alas, Lao Li, you see it but don’t say it out loud.

"If the princes succeed in their rebellion, will the other princes still be willing to be princes? I'm afraid they all want to wear a white hat, right?

Even if it fails, the emperor of the time might not be able to keep the vassal kings.

In either case, it is imperative to reduce the power of the feudal lords! Zhu Di's Jingnan Rebellion is a typical example.

In short, if the princes control the military, they may split and even rebel!

The rule of the vassal kings may affect the imperial power!
If a prince does nothing but keeps a high salary, he will only indulge in sensual pleasures and raise children behind closed doors. In the end, he will become a cancer of the Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was silent. Every word Li Han said hit the nail on the head!
He had spent most of his life wandering around, living in fear of losing his life, and he had hardly ever had a peaceful life. He was really afraid of suffering, so he was afraid that his children and future generations would suffer.

When the decision was made to enfeoff the princes, the princes were given the right to privately hire royal guards. In the event of war, the princes could also mobilize border garrisons. Guarding the border was naturally one of the reasons, but there was also the intention of checking and balancing the meritorious service.

But if you dig deep into his heart, his wish is actually quite simple, which is to let his children live a good life.

But at this time, his views were somewhat shaken.

If you are only concerned about giving your children and grandchildren a good life, then I'm afraid, as Li Han said, you will end up ruining your children!
There are probably too many examples like this throughout history!
"So, Old Zhu, you are afraid that your descendants will suffer, and you are also afraid that your descendants will invade Yingtian Prefecture."

Zhu Yuanzhang was feeling upset and confused, but suddenly he was amused by these words.

"Cough cough cough cough."

Zhu Yuanzhang was choked, but still couldn't help laughing.

This sentence really perfectly explains his contradictory mentality.

"Old Li, Old Li, I'm afraid you are the only person in the world who can make me feel uncomfortable and want to laugh at the same time."

After expressing his feelings, Zhu Yuanzhang found that he was not so conflicted anymore.

Descendants have their own blessings. After he let go of his mindset, he suddenly felt his whole body and mind relaxed.

"In this era, there are not many princes who have been enfeoffed, and they have not been enfeoffed for long. They cannot control the garrisons and border troops, and their mentality has not changed. They are still young people who live in peace for the people and guard the border for the country.

Now is a good time to reform the vassal kings.

Note that what I meant was to thoroughly reform the feudal system, not to reduce it! "

What does it mean?
Does Old Li want us to completely abolish the vassal kings?
Zhu Yuanzhang continued reading with doubts.

"Then to solve the problem of the vassal kings, first of all, we must strip the vassal kings of their military functions.

This problem is actually very easy to solve for you, Old Zhu. All you have to do is prohibit him from raising guards for the royal palace and deprive him of the orders to transfer the guards and border troops.

As for the specific effect, let’s take Zhu Di as a negative example. After Zhu Di ascended the throne, although he also reformed the vassal system, it was not thorough and he did not completely deprive the vassal kings of their power.

This led to the rebellion of Prince Ning's family after Zhu Di, which also caused great trouble to the emperor at that time, Zhu Di's great-great-grandson, your seventh-generation grandson, but fortunately, the appearance of the powerful man Wang Shouren stopped the crisis. "

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang was calm as water. Go ahead and rebel, he knew he had learned the lesson from Zhu Laosi, so he was used to it.

But who is this Wang Shouren? Why did Old Li use the term “a powerful man sent from heaven” to describe him?

Could it be that this person is strong, intelligent and brave?

The image of Zhuge Liang holding the Green Dragon Crescent Blade suddenly appeared in Zhu Yuanzhang's mind, and he was very curious.

Our Ming Dynasty is fortunate to have such virtuous ministers as Yu Qian and Wang Shouren.

"I will not discuss why Prince Ning and his family rebelled and who Wang Shouren was for now. I will discuss it with you in detail when I have the chance.

What we want to say is that the princes cannot command the army and govern the affairs, nor can they train useless people, so what should they do?

Then we come to our second question, how to conduct overseas trade! "

Old Li, Old Li, sometimes I really want to slap you. You keep people in suspense halfway through saying something. It really makes Old Zhu feel uncomfortable!

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(End of this chapter)