Peking Mansion.
It is very hot in Peiping in June.
The streets and alleys in the city were lifeless.
In Prince Yan's palace, Zhu Di was sitting in the room, reading a military book.
"Your Majesty."
Qianhu Qiufu, the guard of King Yan, reported outside the door. After receiving the answer, Fang walked into the room, looked at the strange and majestic Zhu Di, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, I have received news from the capital and summoned you to the capital."
"Entering Beijing?"
Zhu Di looked at Qiu Fu with surprise and suspicion on his face.
He traveled thousands of miles to go to the funeral, but was stopped in Huai'an by Mei Yin's men. He was not allowed to go to Huai'an even if he begged. In the end, he could only entrust his three sons to go to the funeral.
Unable to die, Zhu Di kowtowed several times in the direction of the capital in Huai'an, and returned to Beiping Mansion with grief and indignation.
After only a few days of instability, the imperial court summoned him to Beijing?
"Where did the news come from?"
Zhu Di asked in a deep voice.
Qiu Fu said quickly: "Your Majesty, this is the news that our eyes and ears in the imperial capital have heard. Moreover, according to them, there is another big event."
"What's the matter?"
"Your Majesty will reduce the number of troops by one hundred thousand!"
"What?"
Zhu Di stood up suddenly and stared at Qiu Fu with sharp eyes.
Qiu Fu did not dare to look directly, lowered his head and said: "Your Majesty, the imperial envoys will arrive in a day or two at the earliest. Moreover, I have heard that the matter of summoning the Prince to the capital and disarmament is already known to everyone in the capital."
Zhu Di frowned, paced uneasily in the room, and said, "I know, please go down."
Qiu Fu retreated.
Zhu Di sat on the chair, with a trace of uncertainty and panic in his eyes.
Zhu Di is thirty-nine years old this year. As early as when he was eleven years old, that is, in the third year of Hongwu, he was granted the title of King of Yan by Zhu Yuanzhang. When he was twenty-one years old, he conquered Beiping.
In the early Ming Dynasty, although the Yuan Dynasty was driven out of the Central Plains area and fled beyond the Great Wall, the Yuan Dynasty still retained its strong power and always wanted to invade the Central Plains again.
Peiping was the center and capital of the Yuan Dynasty empire, so it was naturally the top priority for defense.
At the beginning of the vassal period, Zhu Di, together with King Qin, King Jin, King Ning and other Sai kings, defended the northern border of the Ming Empire.
After Zhu Yuanzhang eliminated a group of Hongwu generals, he appointed his son as the guardian of the empire. In the 23rd year of Hongwu and the 28th year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang twice ordered Zhu Di to go to the north of the Great Wall.
Zhu Di lived up to expectations, won twice, and became famous.
Zhu Yuanzhang trusted Zhu Di even more, especially after the death of Zhu Yuanzhang's eldest son Zhu Biao, second son Zhu Fang and third son Zhu Fan, Zhu Di, the fourth son, became the head of the vassal kings.
One month before Zhu Yuanzhang died, he ordered Zhu Di to control the armies and prepare for Kaiping. Zhu Di did not wait for Zhu Yuanzhang's order to go to war, but waited for the news of Zhu Yuanzhang's death.
Zhu Di went to the funeral but returned midway, which puzzled everyone in Beiping Mansion and made Zhu Di's subordinates angry. Although everyone did not dare to curse Zhu Yunwen directly, privately, they had long hated Zhu Yunwen.
"Your Majesty."
A slightly vicissitudes of voice woke Zhu Di from his deep thoughts.
Zhu Di looked up and saw a skinny old monk, wearing a light red cassock with black stripes, standing at the door with his hands clasped together.
"Master Daoyan, please sit down quickly."
Zhu Di stood up quickly, clasped his hands together and returned the gift, and arranged: "The heat is unbearable now, and traveling between the mansion and Qingshou Temple is quite tiring, isn't it? How about staying in the mansion for a while?"
Dao Yan thanked him and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. It's just that the poor monk is used to the quietness of the Zen room in Qingshou Temple. This little bit of heat is nothing."
Zhu Di understood and stopped talking. He arranged for someone to serve tea, then sat down, sipping the tea gently, thinking about how to speak.
Dao Yan was not in a hurry. He held the Buddha beads in one hand and seemed to be deep in thought, looking at Zhu Di quietly.
Although Zhu Di knew the details of Dao Yan, he still couldn't see through the person in front of him.
His original name was Yao Guangxiao, a native of Changzhou, Suzhou. He became a monk at the age of fourteen, with the Buddhist name Daoyan.
Although he is a Buddhist, Daoyan is not limited to one family. Not only is he very proficient in Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, but he also knows a lot about astrology, Bagua, physiognomy, and the art of war.
The two met in the fifteenth year of Hongwu, when Empress Xiaoci passed away. At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered eminent monks to chant sutras and pray for Queen Ma, and monk Sizong Ai recommended Daoyan to serve King Yan.
Dao Yan believed that Zhu Di had the appearance of an emperor, had extraordinary conversational skills, was both civil and military, and had great magnanimity, so he made up his mind to follow Zhu Di. By "serving the white hat vassal king", he became Zhu Di's trusted person.
Later, when Dao Yan arrived in Peiping, Zhu Di made him the abbot of Qingshou Temple and made him a confidant. If there was any major event, he would discuss it with him.
After Zhu Di failed to attend the funeral and returned to Peiping, Dao Yan went to Zhu Di and reminded Zhu Di that Emperor Jianwen intended to reduce the vassal status and would probably do something to him. He urged Zhu Di to "make preparations early" on the grounds that "the imperial court was afraid". At the same time, "find out the truth".
Zhu Di thought so.
However, the current sudden change in the direction of the court made Zhu Di confused about the court's attitude for a while.
"Master must have heard the news in the capital, right?"
Zhu Di broke the silence.
Dao Yan stopped the Buddhist beads and said slowly: "I have heard it, but I don't know the truth."
Zhu Di sighed and said: "It should be true, but I am not sure about the court's attitude. I don't know whether this trip will be bad or good."
Dao Yan pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, if the court really calls you to the capital, in my opinion, there may not be a risk. Perhaps, it is still an opportunity."
"oh?"
Zhu Di's eyes lit up and he looked at Dao Yan.
Dao Yan analyzed: "It has been known to everyone in the capital that the emperor summoned the prince to the capital and reduced the army by 100,000. If this is true, it tells the world that the emperor has no intention to reduce the vassal. At least, at the moment I won’t cut down the feudal lordship.”
Zhu Di looked at Dao Yan and asked in a deep voice: "Why do you say that?"
Dao Yan said solemnly: "First, if the emperor borrows the vassal kings to go to Beijing for funerals, forcibly detains them, and tries to cut down the vassal, it will make the people of the world fearful and worry the frontier generals. If you are not careful, it may cause mutiny."
"Secondly, the emperor's reduction of 100,000 troops is obviously not a precursor to the reduction of the vassal state. If the strategy of reducing the vassal state is adopted, the most important thing is to strengthen the branches and strengthen the weak branches. The emperor has not yet weakened the branches, but he has taken the first step to weaken the branches. It can be seen that his intention is for people's livelihood. It is not preparation for the reduction of the vassal state."
"Thirdly, there is no accurate news about the abolition of vassalage in the capital. Although Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng have repeatedly made suggestions, the emperor remains unmoved. It can be seen that the emperor has not made up his mind yet."
"Fourth, and the most important point, the prince's old departments and personnel in the capital have not received any warnings, nor have there been any signs of mobilization of the capital's troops."
Dao Yan analyzed carefully.
Zhu Di nodded repeatedly after hearing this, but still asked worriedly: "What should I do if the emperor braves the disdain of the world and forcibly cuts down the vassal vassal?"
The corners of Dao Yan's lips moved slightly and he said: "Your Majesty, if you go to the capital and do one thing, you will have no worries."
"Oh? What's the matter?"
Zhu Di asked.
Dao Yan said slowly: "With great fanfare, advertise to the citizens and the military."
Zhu Di was silent.
Dao Yan's method is to go to the capital with the hearts of the people and the army. Once Zhu Di is trapped in the capital, it will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among the people and the army in Peking. By then, Peiping will be completely in chaos.
And this result was not something Zhu Yunwen could bear.
"In that case, I will just go to the capital again."
Zhu Di made up his mind.
Dao Yan said with a smile: "You don't have to worry, Your Majesty. If you enter the capital, it might be an opportunity. In the mansion of the Commander-in-Chief of the Five Armies, those who are close to Your Majesty, if they can move around a bit, they may be able to make more preparations for the future..."
Zhu Di nodded calmly, and after leaving Daoyan to have lunch, he arranged for someone to escort Daoyan back to Qingshou Temple.
Zhu Di, who was walking in Prince Yan's Mansion, looked at Ma Sanbao who was standing guard and said, "Get ready to follow me to the capital in two days."
"As commanded."
Ma Sanbao solemnly agreed.
Capital, Imperial College.
Xu Miaojin knew that it was not good to be the Imperial College Supervisor, and he might have to bear the scorn of others, but Xu Miaojin still accepted the task.
Heavy, but extremely meaningful.
Although Xu Miaojin didn't know how Zhu Yunwen calmed down the turmoil he caused, he respected the rules of the Imperial College very much. He took off all his jewelry, changed into elegant gentleman's clothes, and entered the Imperial College wearing a silk scarf.
The Imperial Academy held a memorial ceremony for Master Cheng Zhou and the Chief Industry Officer Zhang Zhi just waited calmly for Xu Miaojin's arrival. From the Imperial Academy's point of view, Xu Miaojin was just a passerby and the emperor's temporary interest.
After all, although Xu Miaojin came from a famous family and knew some knowledge, he was still far behind in the Imperial College.
If the emperor really wanted to select talents in the Imperial College, he would not approach her.
Rumor has it that Xu Miaojin begged the emperor to find something to do, but the emperor had no choice but to agree.
When Xu Miaojin came to visit, Cheng Shizhou just said a few words casually, arranged for someone to find a place to live, and ignored him. Xu Miaojin was not polite, knowing that if the mountain didn't come, I would come, and if I came, the mountain would come, so he went directly to the Dianbo Hall to find a list of the Imperial College, and conducted an investigation on past performance.
Students of the Imperial College can be directly awarded official positions, but the life of the Imperial College students is not easy.
According to the regulations of the Ming Dynasty, Imperial College students had two days off on the first and fifteenth day of each month. At other times, they either had classes or self-study. For example, it will be taught in the second and third grades of junior high school, endorsed in the fourth grade, repeated lectures in the fifth and sixth grade, and endorsed in the seventh grade...
Either he can speak it, or he can endorse and repeat it.
In a month, roughly thirteen days are spent on endorsements, eight days of re-lectures, and the rest is time for self-study, checking academic performance, participating in activities, etc.
Compared with later generations of scientific education that did not require rote learning, the Imperial College can be said to have taken rote learning to the extreme.
Every supervisor must memorize the text, be familiar with the principles, and be inspected every three days. During each inspection, he needs to recite 100 words of the Great Edict, 100 words of the Classic, and 100 words of the Four Books...
If you can't carry it, hit ten boards.
The spanking was not on the palm of the hand, but on the buttocks...
Each month I have to write six essays, two on classics and meaning, two on meaning of four books, two on edicts, chapters, policies, and judgments on internal medicine...
Even if you want to be lazy, you can't do it.
For the Imperial College in the early Ming Dynasty, talents were quite attentive. However, most of them are orthodox Confucians.
