Zhu Di, who was eavesdropping on the conversation between the two people next door, was unconsciously supporting the table with his hands. When he heard Jiang Xinghuo's "alarmist" words, he frowned tightly.
Peacefully cut down the vassals and support the clan.
This eight-character strategy for reducing vassal status is an absolutely feasible method that Zhu Di and Dao Yan came up with after careful argumentation after reading historical books of the past dynasties.
Like Taizu of the Song Dynasty, Zhu Di and Dao Yan's idea was to not only want their own reputation, but also cut down the vassal and maintain the stability of the Ming Dynasty.
The reason is simple, just like what Jiang Xinghuo said.
First of all, no matter what his name is, Zhu Di is essentially a vassal king who rebelled and usurped the throne. His reputation is not very good anymore. Zhu Di has no intention of letting it go to the end. On the contrary, he wants to become a great hero.
Therefore, it was impossible for Zhu Di to tolerate the reputation of massacring his relatives again, and to be nailed to the pillar of shame in history just like those tyrants during the Southern and Northern Dynasties.
Secondly, the north, which had just regained a little strength during the recuperation of the Hongwu Dynasty, had been completely destroyed by the brutal Jingnan Campaign.
When the Ming Dynasty was founded and General Xu Da was marching north, the Han people in the rich water and grassland of Huaibei, Shandong, had long been expelled from their homes by the Mongolian dignitaries, and the cultivated land was converted into horse farms... This was just the rule of the Han people in the north during the Jin and Yuan dynasties. A microcosm.
Starting from the Jin Dynasty, the population base of the Han people in Lianghe, Central Plains, and Shandong began to decrease sharply. By the Yuan Dynasty, people's livelihood was even worse. Many famous cities and towns even had their walls demolished by the Mongols.
Zhu Di also benefited from many of the sieges in the Battle of Jingnan. Most of the cities on the map had neither cities nor pools; of course, misfortunes and blessings depended on it, precisely because in addition to The outer cities of Jinan, Dezhou, Zhending and other military strongholds were difficult to defend, so the Jingnan and Nanjing forces conducted several brutal large-scale field battles with heavy troops, which led to another sharp decline in the population of the north.
As for the eight great fortress kings, except for King Zhu Di of Yan and the kidnapped King Ning, the other six great fortress kings, as the first line of defense against Bei Yuan, still hold hundreds of thousands of troops in total. If you are not careful, it will lead to disastrous consequences.
In short, the north has been reduced to a white ground, and Zhu Di will never allow the vassals to unite and start another "Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms" and "Rebellion of the Eight Kings" because of their dissatisfaction with his reduction of vassals.
Only by supporting the clan can we peacefully cut down the vassals, and at the same time use the force of the imperial court as a deterrent, so that the vassals can be obedient and not dare to act rashly.
Otherwise, Ming Dynasty must pay a bloody price!
But now it seems that Jiang Xinghuo, a scholar, actually looks down on the plans of Zhu Di and Dao Yan?
He even said that peaceful reduction of vassals would shorten the destiny of the Ming Dynasty!
How absurd is this?
Is it possible that Jiang Xinghuo can be more powerful than him, the nine-five-year-old who conquered the world with his own hands, and Dao Yan, the master of conspiracy who has been plotting for decades?
Ji Gang naturally didn't know Zhu Di's inner thoughts, but when he saw Zhu Di's expression was calm and his brows were furrowed, Ji Gang quickly knelt down and said tremblingly: "Your Majesty, this Jiang Xinghuo is a deceiver. He talks nonsense, don't believe him. "
Zhu Di waved his hand to stop Ji Gang, raised his hand and walked to the desk, saying in a deep voice: "Listen to him continue to elaborate, I would like to hear why Jiang Xinghuo dares to say that peaceful reduction of vassals can shorten the national destiny of the Ming Dynasty. "
"If he can't explain why..."
Ji Gang responded quickly: "Wei Chen understands!"
Jiang Xinghuo, who was lying under the old crooked neck tree, had no idea that Zhu Di was already murderous.
Of course, if he knew, he would only say - "Please, please help me chop me to death!"
Jiang Xinghuo was still lying down and talking, giving advice.
"Let's talk about the first sequelae first. Since you once served in the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army, you should have seen the Ming Dynasty's map, right?"
Zhu Gaoxu nodded. Although his self-reported experiences as a general in the Southern Army were all forged, he was much more familiar with the Ming Dynasty's map than those of the Fifth Army Commander-in-Chief.
"Then have you noticed any patterns in the distribution of the fiefdoms of the Ming vassal kings?"
Zhu Gaoxu pondered for a moment, twirled his beard, and answered uncertainly: "How much in the north and less in the south?"
"It's not just that."
Jiang Xinghuo casually drew three lines on the sand on the ground and pointed sideways.
"The first line is the Great Wall Defense Line. You are familiar with these. Tell me, how many vassal kings were distributed in the Great Wall Defense Line when Emperor Taizu Gao died?"
Zhu Gaoxu looked at the sand table carefully and said: "Mr. Jiang...the vassal fiefdoms are connected and lined up along the Great Wall. From west to east, they should be King Su, King Qing, King Jin, King Dai, and King Gu. , King Yan, King Ning, and King Liao, a total of eight vassal kings."
"Mr. Jiang, I understand!"
Zhu Gaoxu suddenly realized, looked at the second line on the sand and said: "The second line is the Yellow River Defense Line, right?"
Seeing Jiang Xinghuo nodded slightly, Zhu Gaoxu said to himself: "The Yellow River defense line is distributed with the King of Qin, King Zhou, King Lu, and King Qi, a total of four vassal kings; the Yangtze River defense line is distributed with the King of Shu, King of Shu, and King of Qi in the upper and middle reaches. King Xiang and King Chu, three vassal kings in total."
"You have led troops on the battlefield, so you must know them well. Let's talk about war on paper today." Jiang Xinghuo slowly assumed, "If you are Bei Yuan, the capital of Ming Dynasty is in Nanjing, and you want to return to the Central Plains to eliminate them. Daming, what can you do?"
Zhu Gaoxu stroked his beard and thought in silence.
After he thought about it until his head started to hurt, he finally came to a conclusion.
——If we follow the vassal system of the Hongwu Dynasty, there is no way!
There are only three defense lines from north to south that can be cut through. The Great Wall defense line, Yellow River defense line, and Yangtze River defense line are all natural dangers based on mountains and rivers, making them extremely easy to defend and difficult to attack.
The troops of the various vassals are all concentrated in the south of these natural dangers.
"Looking at you, you should have figured it out." Jiang Xinghuo continued, "Emperor Taizu Gao was the top strategist of his time. Although his vision cannot escape the limitations of the times, there are problems that his descendants can think of and cannot think of. , he basically gave a system design that can be directly used for hundreds of years."
"The most powerful Great Wall defense line resisted the Northern Yuan Dynasty, and the two river areas between the Great Wall and the Yellow River were under the direct jurisdiction of the imperial court to guard against the eight great fortress kings; the Yellow River defense line with half the strength could not only resist the Northern Yuan Dynasty, but also block the rebellious vassal kings. The Lianghuai area between the Yangtze River and the Yangtze River was under the direct jurisdiction of the imperial court; the defense line in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River with the least number of troops could quickly serve the king along the river without threatening the security of the capital Nanjing."
"If nothing else happens, the Ming Dynasty, with its capital in Nanjing, will be able to rely on the Great Wall, the Yellow River, and the Yangtze River to rely on the three powerful nomads that will emerge in the north, such as the Khitan, Jurchen, and Mongolia in history. The defense line, as well as the front and rear layout of the checks and balances between the direct jurisdiction of the imperial court and the vassal fiefdoms, can last until the nomadic people themselves are corrupted and their combat power is sharply reduced... No matter how bad it is, they rely on the Yellow River successively like the Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty. It is also possible for the Yangtze River to continue the national destiny."
"The three lines of defense were the lifeline of the Ming Dynasty, but they have already been completely destroyed by Jianwen's reduction of vassal status. King Zhou and King Qi were deposed, and King Xiang set his family on fire. This resulted in the Yellow River defense line collapsing without a fight, and the Yangtze River defense line being unable to support Nanjing. That’s why King Yan went all the way south without encountering any vassal kings raising troops to stop him.”
"Now that I am sweeping the world as a vassal king, I will definitely be afraid of other vassal kings and will definitely try to cut down the vassal state."
"Whether we plan to reduce the vassal state peacefully or use force like Jianwen did, the result will be the same."
"The three life-saving lines left by Emperor Taizu Gao to the Ming Dynasty have completely failed!"
"Now that our foundation is in the north and we have always wanted to clear out the remaining elements, we will definitely move the capital!"
"Hundreds of years from now, when foreign races rise and the border troops are weakened, the Ming Dynasty will surely fall!"
