Chapter 74: The selfish motives of kings
At this moment he made up his mind. Because he felt that the sooner he straightened things out, maybe it would be possible for his sons to live together peacefully in the future. Otherwise, if this vassal policy continues, anyone who comes to power will cut down the vassal.
After all, whether it was Zhu Yunzhen or Zhu Di, they only had different methods, not different purposes, in reducing the feudal vassal.
Rather than letting the juniors take action. It's better to let him do it.
After all, there is still room for maneuver.
"Father, dear brothers." Upon seeing this, the prince said, not wanting to let the silence continue: "What we are discussing today is a national matter. There is no selfish intention. The matter is already before us and must be resolved. But dear brothers, The interests must be preserved. After all, the Ming Dynasty belongs to the Zhu family. This will not change now or in the future."
"Brothers, please put the overall situation first."
The prince's words showed that he, as the elder brother, did not subjectively weaken the interests of his younger brothers. And it also shows that now and in the future, the interests of the Ming clan in the Ming court will be protected.
In fact, the prince's words were just for the occasion. But it may not be sincere.
First of all, the prince may not have any objections to the kings.
Not to mention other princes who have not been sealed. The King of Qin monopolizes the northwest, the King of Jin controls Taiyuan Prefecture, the King of Yan is in Beiping Prefecture, the King of Qilu is in Shandong, the King of Tan is in Changsha, and the King of Chu is in Wuchang.
They all occupy dangerous and rich places in the world, and they all have military power. The military power here does not refer to the three guards of the feudal king, but the command power of the feudal king over the local guards. Even if the world changes, it is not difficult for a vassal king to gather tens of thousands of troops.
It is for this reason. When King Yan raised his army, together with King Yan and King Ning, based on the northern frontier army and the three Duoyan guards, there were hundreds of thousands of troops, which could compete with the Ming Dynasty center.
Of course, the prince still has confidence. Although kings have great power. They are all his brothers. He was confident that he could win them. He knew very well that his position was that of the prince. The most important consideration is nothing else, if succession is guaranteed.
rather than anything else. Therefore, he can only be kind to these younger brothers. And it can't be bad. To satisfy Zhu Yuanzhang, brothers and sisters should be respectful.
Of course, the prince himself is not a bad person. This situation will need to be adjusted after he comes and ascends the throne in the future. But I have no intention of taking your brothers' lives.
However, now Zhu Yuanzhang proposed this idea. The prince himself was very happy.
But the prince knew his role very well. As the older brother, he wanted to show that he had no intention of suppressing his younger brothers. That's why I made such a statement.
King Qin said, "Father, the eldest brother of the prince, and my sons and ministers understand. As long as my father gives orders, my sons and ministers will obey."
As the eldest brother of the kings, King Qin came forward, and the princes below all said, "Just ask Father to give the order."
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "I have given orders for other things. But for this matter, you brothers should discuss it. I will die anyway. This world belongs to you. If I give orders and make you uncomfortable, brothers in the future will It would be bad if we had conflicts."
"Prince, please discuss this with your brothers. After we have discussed it, give me a charter. I will no longer be here."
After saying that, he walked away. He Xi quickly followed, but Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and asked him to stay.
In fact, Zhu Yuanzhang would not have done this originally. Now he has learned democratic centralism. I decided to let my sons discuss it first. Anyway, after the discussion, the real decision-making power is in my own hands. This matter is obviously asking the kings to cut off their flesh. Therefore, after they fully discuss it, they may be able to reduce some of their resentment.
Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang still had the expectation of an old father in his heart, hoping that his sons could live in harmony, whether during his lifetime or after his death.
Maybe Zhu Yuanzhang didn't feel that He Xi was embarrassed here.
He Xi was embarrassed in the corner, wishing he could burrow underground. Hidden in the soil. After all, everyone present was brothers, so He Xi didn't matter.
He Xi wanted to hide, but someone refused to let him go.
King Lu sneered and said, "Secretary He, tell me, what do you mean? So that we can sign and stamp it."
King Lu is very vindictive.
Back then, Princess Anqing forced King Lu to apologize to He Xi, which made King Lu very unhappy.
Now, the few big brothers who have really suffered loss of profits have not said anything yet. King Lu began to attack.
When the prince saw this, he also came out to smooth things over. He said, "He Xi, my father must have a deep meaning in asking you to stay. If you have anything to say, just say it."
Seeing this, He Xi said, "Your Highnesses, I am advising Your Majesty on this matter today. But I am also doing it for the benefit of the Ming Dynasty for all generations. I am also good for your Highnesses. Your Highnesses are all well-educated men. Everyone knows about the chaos in the country and the rebellion among the eight kings. And there are always people in the court reporting it."
"Nonsense." King Qi said, "Just what you just said is driving a wedge between the Tian family's flesh and blood."
He Xi said; "I know, Your Highnesses, we have a deep brotherhood, so naturally such problems will not arise. But what will it be like after forever? What will it be like when the children and grandchildren are estranged? Parents love their children , for a long-term plan. Your Highnesses, many of you have sons, why can’t you understand your father’s heart? How much Your Majesty loves and protects all the princes, why does he want to mention this matter? It’s not for the sake of the close friendship with the court. "
"Okay." King Qin said, "Tell me what you mean. What do you mean by the emperor? Do you want us to return to the capital and be rich and idle like the kings of the Tang and Song Dynasties? Then what is the purpose of studying and practicing martial arts since we were young?"
The education of the Ming prince had two extremes.
During the Hongwu period, the prince received education in Dabentang, where both civil and military education were given equal emphasis and he was very strict. This is why most of Zhu Yuanzhang's sons are talented people. King Yan will not say anything. The King of Qin, the King of Jin, the King of Chu, and the King of Ning could all stabilize one side or send troops as generals. The King of Zhou, the King of Ning, and others also made great achievements in learning.
And later on, it almost turned into pig farming.
It can be said that most of today's kings have a sense of responsibility for taking the world as their own responsibility. After all, the world belongs to them. They inevitably want to make achievements and become famous in history.
But today's incident has hit them the hardest.
After all, they are not King Lu. We don't just think that Zhu Yuanzhang came here because his descendants would multiply in the future and his salary would not be enough. This matter is actually very easy to solve. Limit the succession to the throne. Limit the salary, and then set up the clan roster, that is, there will be no clan roster except for those who have been with the emperor for five years. Not receiving salary and so on.
Why bring them all in?
Well it's because of the power in their hands.
But power is something that no one wants to give up. More importantly, the education they received since childhood did not allow them to be rich and idle. This will suffocate them to death. He studied hard every day, learned how to bow and horse, went through battles, and even prepared to be shrouded in horse leather. He wants to do something big. In the end, I want to be a wealthy and idle person.
This kind of repetition can really make a person feel that life is meaningless and life is worse than death.
He Xi said: "His Royal Highness King Qin, you have misunderstood Your Majesty. Your Majesty has kept me here to tell you about feudal strategies."
King Qin was stunned and said, "Do we still need to talk about this?"
For Zhu Yuanzhang's son, this is common sense. Where is the need for He Xi to tell. Regardless of whether He Xi was talking about Liu Zongyuan's theory of ennoblement, Zong Zhou's feudal process etiquette, or Ming Dynasty's normal kingship, they were all very familiar with it.
He Xi smiled slightly. Take a few steps back. Pull back the curtain on the wall.
The kings and princes were stunned. Look at a big map on the wall.
It's a map they haven't seen.
It's a world map.
Naturally, Anqing drew it bit by bit on the computer in equal proportions. However, only the topography is depicted. He also compared it with Jin Yiwei's records over the years and marked it on it. Of course, many places have not yet been discovered. Therefore, it is blank.
The prince and the kings were all very familiar with the map. Although maps were often kept secret in ancient times, for people like them, they grew up seeing them.
But I have never seen this map before.
