Zhu Jingyuan himself saw that all the ministers around him were silent, and at first he subconsciously thought that his words had convinced all the princes and ministers.
But this overly proud and arrogant idea was extinguished the moment it emerged.
Accepting it without any doubt is almost impossible. Someone will give suggestions even if the emperor gives a direct order.
Even if they were impressed by themselves, they would stand up and agree, but now they are silent.
Faced with this strange situation, Zhu Jingyuan vaguely understood the current situation after a brief moment of surprise.
This shows that no one is willing to oppose it, and it is inconvenient for them to agree.
Then when faced with the old emperor's inquiry again, Zhu Jingyuan was speechless, but he could only continue to press forward.
"If I host the peace talks, I need the emperor and everyone here to accept, recognize, and cooperate with these three prerequisites.
“First, peace is only temporary, and wars will eventually break out again, because the conflicts between countries have not been resolved, so the peace treaty should prepare for new wars.
“Second, war is a continuation of politics, and peace talks have the highest priority under the current situation, so the military, court, and financial groups must fully cooperate with the peace talks.
"Third, under the current situation, it is difficult to obtain relatively favorable terms by specifying a very tight deadline, so the time limit for peace talks must be as loose as possible."
When Zhu Jingyuan said this, he paused slightly and looked around again at the reactions of the emperor and ministers.
There was no obvious reaction from anyone, and many people even frowned secretly, obviously thinking that what Zhu Jingyuan said was all nonsense.
Zhu Jingyuan also expected this situation. Without this basic understanding and awareness, these people would not be qualified to sit here, but he still had to speak out.
Zhu Jingyuan stabilized his mentality again and asked again, which seemed a little unnecessary:
"If any senior does not agree with my three premises, please stand up and explain the reasons. Otherwise, it means that everyone here agrees with these three points."
What Zhu Jingyuan said seemed to be nonsense, but the ministers started whispering among themselves.
Do you know that those three premises are not important, but the response to these three premises is very important.
The response to the premise is a promise. If everyone does not speak now, the subsequent discussion must be based on this premise and cannot be denied anymore.
The discussion at the scene soon stopped, and Military and Aircraft Minister Cao Zhenyong said:
“The tight time limit is indeed not conducive to negotiations, but the time limit cannot be completely eliminated.
"The frontline war situation is tense now, and a large amount of ammunition, supplies, and well-trained soldiers are being consumed every day.
"So the negotiations cannot be delayed indefinitely. I think the time limit for peace talks cannot exceed six months."
After Emperor Shizu re-established the Ming Dynasty, the authority of the Five Military Governor's Office was restored and it once again became the highest military institution of the Ming Dynasty.
At the same time, the cabinet facing the imperial court borrowed the name of the Military Aircraft Department of the Qing Dynasty and added a staff organization to the military attache system, composed of personnel drawn from the Governor's Office of the Fifth Army.
Therefore, the military ministers of the new Ming Dynasty are not the kowtow-headed worms of the Qing Dynasty who knelt down to receive transcripts, but members of the military's highest staff.
After considering the identity of the other party, Zhu Jingyuan responded:
"Current technology is conducive to defense, and defensive losses are much smaller than offense. After the peace talks begin, the intensity of the battle will definitely decrease, and the consumption will also decrease.
"In any case, six months is too short a time limit and I think the frontline should hold on for at least another two years."
Cao Zhenyong frowned slightly and subconsciously glanced at the upper right, Emperor Zhu Zhongliang and the ninth son of the emperor Zhu Jianfeng.
Zhu Jianyan has said before that the emperor may abdicate after the negotiations are concluded, and the intended successor is likely to be Zhu Jianfeng. This is already semi-public.
Therefore, the period for this peace negotiation is actually equivalent to the period for Zhu Zhongliang to abdicate and Zhu Jianfeng to ascend the throne.
No one wanted to talk more about this topic, so they could only look at the emperor and let him make his own decision.
In the silence, the old emperor Zhu Zhongliang scanned the audience, exhaled softly and said:
"The negotiation time will be until the end of this year. Jingyuan, everyone agrees with your three premises. You can continue."
Zhu Jingyuan breathed a sigh of relief, slightly bowed his hands to the old emperor and the surrounding ministers, and then spoke again:
"Based on the above three premises, I believe that the first thing the imperial court needs to provide in terms of political cooperation is to immediately determine the policy of abolishing vassals and establishing provinces.
“Determine and publish the conditions and timetable for the abolition of the vassal state and the establishment of provinces as soon as possible, and determine the arrangements for the people of the vassal country after the vassal state is abolished and establish provinces. We must not delay it any longer.
“A large number of vassal states were established during Emperor Sejo’s time because the speed of navigation and information transmission was limited at that time, and the empire could not directly control places that were too far away.
“For example, in the most remote Xintianfu Territory in South America, the sailing ships at that time followed the ocean currents and monsoon winds and went back and forth once, and a whole year passed, making it impossible to realize direct control by the central government.
"But the situation is different now. It only takes one month for the imperial fleet to reach Xintianfu, which is faster than the army's journey to the Western Regions at that time.
“At the same time, the radio relay antenna combined with wired cables allows us to quickly contact the world and will not miss decision-making opportunities due to communication time.
"Now that the imperial court can control the most remote territories, the prerequisites for the large-scale withdrawal of vassals and the establishment of provinces are mature.
"Nowadays, a large number of vassal states openly or covertly declare that they want to be independent. In the anti-Ming war, they pursue the so-called principle of two armies helping each other, which has affected the balance of power between the enemy and ourselves.
“Only when the imperial court decisively announces the withdrawal of vassals and the creation of provinces can the power of the vassal states be pulled back and the entire Ming Dynasty be united again.
"Then we can force the so-called anti-Ming alliance to make concessions at the negotiating table."
When a vassal state is preparing for independence, the imperial court's announcement to withdraw the vassal state and establish a province will not force the vassal state to rebel and become independent. On the contrary, it can reduce the tendency of independence and increase the cohesion of the empire.
This logic felt like a dream in the classical dynasty, but within the scope of the Ming Empire today, it is a natural reality.
However, the reactions of the princes and ministers present were also very strange.
When Zhu Jingyuan was explaining, he began to murmur his words and emotions in a low voice. After Zhu Jingyuan finished speaking, he handed over his hand again, and immediately stood up one after another.
"The vassals that claim to be independent are actually rebelling. Instead of punishing them, the imperial court tolerates them. Where is the majesty of the Celestial Empire?"
"The population of the vassal state and overseas imperial estates is at least 20 million. To remove the vassal and establish a province, we need to reconstruct the household registration information of 20 million people. This cannot be completed in two or three years!"
"The imperial court now does not have so much manpower and time to complete the household registration adjustment of 20 million people, so appeasing the local civil unrest is the first priority!"
"After the vassal is abolished and provinces are established, how will the status of the two million people in the vassal country be settled? Should we grant imperial citizenship?"
"Are citizens of the former vassal state allowed to participate in the local imperial examinations of the Ming Dynasty? How are the quotas for the imperial examinations in the local provinces and the former vassal state divided?"
"The vassal state has lifted the ban but the empire is still a specialized industry. What should we do after the vassal state is abolished and a province is established?"
"How will the ethnic groups that exist in the vassal state but not in the mainland be resettled after the vassal state is abolished and a province is established? What level of rights should be given to the residents?"
"Your Highness Jingyuan, the withdrawal of feudal vassals and establishment of provinces has been brewing in the Central Committee for many years, but it has never been implemented because of the wide involvement."
"The withdrawal of the vassal feudal vassal should be planned slowly and without any hesitation. Otherwise there will be chaos!"
Some doubted, some reminded, and some persuaded, but no matter what, no one supported the withdrawal of the vassal state.
