What crime did King Yan commit?
Bao Zhao was silent again.
Is King Zhu Di of Yan really guilty?
Since Hongwu conquered Beiping in the thirteenth year of his reign, King Zhu Di of Yan has been guarding the border against the enemy for eighteen years!
During this period, King Zhu Di of Yan led his troops out to clear Mobei many times and made great achievements!
Compared with the Ming Dynasty vassal kings who did evil things in their fiefdoms and harmed the people on behalf of the kings of Qin, King Zhu Di of Yan was undoubtedly a wise, powerful and truly heroic man, with great power throughout the country and great ambition!
But precisely because of this, he became a thorn in the side of the new emperor Zhu Yunwen, and the Jiangnan Jin gentry formulated a series of plans to reduce the vassal power around him!
Even at this moment, Bao Zhao had to sigh in his heart.
How guilty is King Zhu Di of Yan, and how innocent is he?
However, after all, he is a violent and loyal chief minister of the Ministry of Punishment!
Regardless of whether Zhu Di was seeking self-protection or had evil intentions, Bao Zhao would secretly report all this to His Majesty the Emperor.
Just when Bao Zhao made up his mind, Su Yang dropped a bombshell again, which directly shocked Bao Zhao and Zhu Di.
"From the current point of view, reducing the vassal status is indeed beneficial to the court!"
"But in the long run, Zhu Yunwen's reckless reduction of vassals has laid huge hidden dangers for the Ming Dynasty, and future generations will suffer the consequences!"
Hidden danger?
The consequences?
Hearing these words, Bao Zhao couldn't sit still.
"Su Yang, what do you mean by this?"
"Yes, my dear son-in-law, if you have something to say, you might as well say it directly!"
Hearing Zhu Di's shameless and affectionate address, Zhu Gaoxu, who was silent on the side, immediately snorted a few times.
Before coming here, he cursed Su Yang as a "little brat" and a "bastard" in the palace, but now he has become a "virtuous son-in-law"?
Bah, how shameless!
On the contrary, when the little girl heard the word "virtuous son-in-law", her little face suddenly turned red with shame.
But Zhu Di had no time to pay attention to them at the moment, because all his attention was on Su Yang.
This Ming Dynasty belongs to his old Zhu family, but his father knocked it down from the mountain of corpses and the sea of blood!
Now I suddenly heard that cutting down vassal status would create hidden dangers for the court and would also affect future generations. Can Zhu Di not be anxious?
"The wise son-in-law said confidently and boldly, my father-in-law is here!"
When Su Yang heard the name Zhu Di, he felt a chill.
However, he did not continue to show off, but asked his wife to bring some more tea bowls.
"I dare to ask, old gentleman, why did Taizu divide the kings among them?"
Bao Zhao was stunned when he heard this. What does this have to do with the imperial court's current reduction of vassals?
However, Zhu Di responded quickly and gave the answer directly.
"The Imperial House of Fanping, the country will last forever!"
Su Yang nodded and glanced at Zhu Di in surprise.
Unexpectedly, this "cheap father-in-law" has some knowledge. Could it be that he is also Zhu Di's confidant?
"That's right, my father-in-law hit the nail on the head."
Bao Zhao also came back to his senses and nodded. Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang divided the kings among them just for the "Fan Ping Imperial House".
"However, the world is so big that it is necessary to build vassal screens to protect the country at the top and provide safety for the people below. Now that all the princes have grown up, it is appropriate for them to each have titles and to control the countries separately. Instead of keeping private relatives, we should follow the system of the ancient sages and kings. For the sake of long-term peace and stability... these are the original words of Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang when he divided the kings among themselves."
Su Yang placed the tea bowls and spoke to himself.
"In fact, Taizu enfeoffed the kings, firstly to defend against the dangers of the northern barbarians, secondly to prevent powerful ministers from controlling the government, and thirdly to transfer military power from the hands of meritorious generals. In short, the 'Fanping Imperial House' was enfeoffed by Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang The ultimate intention was that when enfeoffment was carried out for the first time, he made it clear that enfeoffment was a plan for long-term peace and stability of the country, and that history should be used as a lesson to punish the disadvantages of isolation in the Song and Yuan Dynasties."
"Since then, until the great ancestor Zhu Yuanzhang passed away not long ago, he has also consecrated nineteen vassal kings. Does the old gentleman know the rules of these vassal kings' fiefdoms?"
"Rule?" Bao Zhao felt confused again.
What are the rules for Taizu's enfeoffment of vassal kings?
Could it be that Taizu had other deep meanings?
Until Su Yang placed the tea bowls in his hands one by one, forming three lines of different lengths, Baozhao's pupils suddenly shrank, looking at these tea bowls in disbelief.
Zhu Di was still confused at first, but after careful observation, his expression suddenly changed and he stood up suddenly in shock.
"Xian son-in-law, this...these are..."
"That's right, each teacup represents a feudal lord."
Su Yang explained calmly.
"The first line can be regarded as the Great Wall defense line. All the vassal kings were vassalized in key military places. From west to east, they were King Su, King Qing, King Jin, King Dai, King Gu, King Yan, and King Ning. , King of Liao, a total of eight vassal kings, and their fiefdoms are all important military towns."
Before Su Yang could continue to speak, Zhu Di took the lead and said: "The second line is the Yellow River defense line, followed by the King of Qin, the King of Zhou, the King of Lu, and the King of Qi. The fiefdoms are either strategically important places or the prosperous and prosperous ancient capitals of the former dynasties! "
"The third line is the Yangtze River Defense Line, which is divided between the King of Chu, the King of Xiang and the King of Chu. The fiefdom is also crucial!"
After a pause, Zhu Di reached for a tea bowl and placed it behind the third line.
"This is the Imperial Capital of Jinling, the capital of the Ming Dynasty!"
The easy-to-understand explanation made everyone present understand these three lines of defense.
Bao Zhao, in particular, was even more pale at the moment, wishing he could write a secret report immediately and send it back to the capital.
"Surely the old gentleman also understands, right?"
"Emperor Taizu Gao divided the kings into enfeoffments. The fiefdoms were not random, but they left a way out for the Ming Dynasty!"
"The three lines of defense where the vassal kings are located can all rely on the terrain and natural dangers. Even if the barbarian army of the Northern Yuan Dynasty attacks, it will not be easy to break through!"
"It is true that the Ming Dynasty is now strong and powerful, and the barbarians of the Northern Yuan Dynasty no longer have the power to invade the south. It is common sense that the greatest prosperity must decline. After one hundred or two hundred years, who can guarantee that the Ming Dynasty will still be as strong as it is now? Who can guarantee that the Ming Dynasty will still be as strong as it is now? How can we guarantee that the Beiyuan barbarians or other alien races will not rise during this period?"
"If the Ming Dynasty declines in power in the future, and the Northern Yuan Dynasty rises and wins, and they want to return to the Ming Dynasty to take back the Middle Earth, the Ming Dynasty can still rely on the three lines of defense left by Emperor Taizu Gao to resist the barbarians of the Northern Yuan Dynasty and provide future generations with Leave a way out!"
"But now, the new emperor Zhu Yunwen is forcibly cutting down the vassal state regardless of the consequences. The first person to bear the brunt is the frontier king, who has completely destroyed the three lines of defense left by Emperor Taizu Gao. When Bei Yuan entered the Great Wall, Now, who is going to stop me?"
"Now that the imperial court insists on reducing the vassal state, the three lines of defense are self-defeating from within. No matter how far-sighted Emperor Taizu Gao is, it will not help. A hundred years later, the Ming Dynasty's national power will decline and foreign races will take advantage of the situation to rise, and the Ming Dynasty will surely perish!"
"Scholars govern the country, and the court of scholars is short-sighted and ignorant. They are best at talking on paper, regardless of the consequences, only looking at benefits!"
Su Yang sighed.
"Taizu's purpose in dividing the kings is very clear: to conquer the imperial family and protect the country forever!"
"What is the 'Fan Ping Imperial Family'? It is to allow these vassal kings to guard the country. When the barbarians of the Northern Yuan Dynasty attack the Great Wall one day, these descendants of the old Zhu family will act as a line of defense and strive for a glimmer of hope for the imperial court!"
"The prince guards the gate of the country, and the king dies in the country. This is the 'fanping imperial family, and the country is eternal'!"
The prince guards the country!
The king dies in Sheji!
Zhu Di murmured to himself, his expression gradually becoming serious.
Bao Zhao's face was as pale as paper, without any trace of blood!
At this moment, his originally extremely firm heart began to waver!
Kou Baozhao, the chief minister of the Ministry of Punishment, was extremely confused at this moment!
Your Majesty the Emperor, was it really wrong this time?
