Chapter 60: Reducing the power of the feudal lords
[Emperor Jianwen had long been wary of his good uncles.

When Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang was still alive, he had talked with Zhu Yunwen about the vassal kings. Zhu Yunwen frankly expressed his intention to weaken the vassal kings, and at that time, the countermeasure he proposed was "to win them over with virtue, to control them with courtesy, and if it is not possible, then reduce their territory, if it is still not possible, then change their people, and if it is even worse, then raise troops to attack them."

In fact, it was normal for him to be wary of and reduce the power of the vassal kings. His prestige was far weaker than that of his father Zhu Biao, and his good uncles also controlled some military forces. For the stability of his rule, even the vassal kings were prepared to be reduced.

However, no one expected that Zhu Yunwen would make such a stunning achievement and directly abolish the feudal system.

What he said back then was so good. He first used reason and etiquette to weaken the vassal kings. If that didn't work, he would reduce their fiefs. If that still didn't work, he would move against the vassal kings' people. Finally, he would mobilize the army. 】

"That's right!" Although Tan Wang Zhu Zi (the eighth son) was young, he understood after seeing the miracle talk to this point, "Dad, big brother, we also know that we need to reduce the power of the vassal states. Everyone agrees with it. Who would disagree?"

"Oh, that sounds nice," Zhou Wang Zhu Su sneered, "He actually uses virtue and courtesy. He is the legitimate successor to the throne, and he is also our nephew. Normally, reducing the power of the vassal states would not even require raising an army."

Zhu Biao and Zhu Yuanzhang looked at each other in silence. Zhu Biao said, "Dad, we still have to take good care of Xiongying's health."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded. He now also had doubts about this grandson of the Eastern Palace: "It's not just Xiongying, you have to pay more attention. If nothing happens to you, you won't have these problems."

[Of course, to some extent, Zhu Yunwen still did what he said back then. ]

“???” This is the unanimous mood of all dynasties.

The early years of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Bang thought for a moment: "Did you do it? Virtue, courtesy, land, people, soldiers? Can you abolish the feudal system this way?"

Xiao He looked at the wine cup and said, "It seems that the power of the central government is far greater than that of the vassal kings."

"Then this Emperor Jianwen is too useless," Liu Bang smacked his lips, "How could he allow the Ming Taizong to successfully rebel?"

[Yan Wang Zhu Di was the last prince on the list of princes abolished by Emperor Jianwen. Before Yan Wang, he had abolished five princes, including Zhou Wang Zhu Su, Xiang Wang Zhu Bo, Qi Wang Zhu Yu, Dai Wang Zhu Gui, and Min Wang Zhu Yu, but none of them went to the point of mobilizing troops.

The reason why Prince of Yan Zhu Di ranked low on the list was not because of any uncle-nephew relationship or because of his weak strength. On the contrary, Zhu Di was the core target of Emperor Jianwen's plan to reduce the power of the feudal lords.

Ah, we are here, here is a small easter egg in the place where the five princes were abolished, and we will reveal the mystery when we talk about the specific process of Emperor Jianwen abolishing the princes. 】

"Easter egg?" Zhu Biao frowned. Although he had never seen this word before, he could roughly understand its meaning in the context. Could it be that his son did something unexpected when he abolished the five princes? Although abolishing the princes was already very unexpected.

Zhu Yunwen was only three years old, and he didn't know this son very well. At this time, the eldest son Zhu Xiongying had not died yet, so he and his parents paid more attention to this eldest son.

"Brother, I don't think anything he does is surprising." Zhu Di stood aside and complained to Zhu Biao in a low voice, not daring to let Zhu Yuanzhang hear. After all, he still rebelled.

[Okay, back to the topic. Zhu Yunwen put the core goal at the end, which makes people hard to evaluate.

At this time, some people want to ask, what about the ministers around Zhu Yunwen? Did Zhu Yuanzhang not leave any good ministers for Zhu Yunwen?
of course not.

Zhu Yunwen's political core trio were the ministers left to him by Zhu Yuanzhang.

One is Qi Tai, who served as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War during the Hongwu period. The name "Tai" was bestowed by the Ming Taizu himself, and there is a record that "Taizu was surprised by it". After Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne, he promoted him to the Minister of War.

One is Huang Zicheng, who was the tutor of the crown prince during the Hongwu period. After Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne, he became the Minister of Taichang Temple and a scholar of the Hanlin Academy.

The third one is Fang Xiaoru. The Ming Taizu commented on him as: "This is a dignified man, whose talent should be used up when he grows old." Of course, this comment cannot be said to be good or bad. However, after Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne, he recalled him from Hanzhong and appointed him as a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy. Although he was nominally a lecturer, Emperor Jianwen would consult him for advice on everything he encountered.

The intention to reduce the power of the feudal lords was first initiated by Qi Tai, Huang Zicheng and Zhu Yunwen. 】

"Why did we leave him such ministers?" Zhu Yuanzhang was puzzled. Zhu Yuanzhang was puzzled. Zhu Yuanzhang didn't know what he was thinking at the time. "We don't know these three yet, and we don't know what level they are."

Zhu Di and his brothers stared at the names of the three people, gritting their teeth silently and saying, "I have remembered your three names, just wait and see!"
The important officials in the palace were more and more certain of their previous guesses. It seemed that there were probably not many of these founding ministers left. They just didn't know whether they died naturally or the emperor really killed all the founding ministers. Otherwise, why was there no name related to the old ministers? Instead, these young boys stood out! However, as long as the prince was fine, everyone would be fine... So, the prince's life must be saved!
The ministers exchanged glances and reached a consensus.

Pujiang County, Zhejiang Province.

Fang Xiaoru was 23 years old at the time. He had already studied under the great scholar Song Lian. This was his third year concentrating on his studies in Pujiang.

Song Lian and his companions naturally attached great importance to the content of the miracle. At this time, when they saw the curtain pointing out that Fang Xiaoru was one of the ministers of state left by Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty to Emperor Jianwen, they could not help but feel both happy and sad.

The reason for their joy was naturally that Fang Xiaoru had obviously achieved academic success in the future, and had been recognized by two generations of emperors. He was entrusted with important tasks and was able to realize his ambitions.

The tragedy is that this was a great task for the Emperor Jianwen. This was the core group of the Emperor Jianwen. The Emperor Jianwen abolished the feudal system and restored the old order, but failed and was driven off the throne. Fang Xiaoru's fate can be imagined. Moreover, if the Emperor knew about the future situation, would he still employ Fang Xiaoru? What would be Fang Xiaoru's fate in the future?
Fang Xiaoru looked at his teachers and classmates who were silently watching him, and said: "This is the canopy of heaven, reminding me to examine myself and warn me that I have not yet mastered my studies!"

Song Lian looked at him, and seeing that he was not shaken, he nodded in approval: "Although it is a matter of the future, the prince is still alive, and the future is still uncertain! You should focus on yourself, just in case!"

Fang Xiaoru accepted the instruction respectfully.

So, how did they discuss it?

First, Emperor Jianwen revealed his attitude: he wanted to reduce the power of the princes.

Huang Zicheng knew what he meant, so he and Qi Tai began to discuss the rules for reducing the power of the vassal states. Here, a key point appeared: Why did Huang Zicheng understand the attitude of Emperor Jianwen first?
This happened when Zhu Yunwen was still the grandson of the emperor. At that time, he consulted Huang Zicheng about his views on the vassal kings, and Huang Zicheng's answer was: the military strength of the kings is not enough to be feared, and they cannot resist the imperial army; besides, the seven kingdoms of the Western Han Dynasty were also very powerful, but they still perished, didn't they?
This raises a fatal question: How could Huang Zicheng be so sure? And Emperor Jianwen really believed it.

Huang Zicheng was a pure Confucian scholar. He could not be said to know nothing about the use of troops and fighting, but he was almost there. On the one hand, in his cognition, fighting a war might be as simple as "I am better than you, so I will win"; on the other hand, his words at that time might have been in line with Zhu Yunwen's reasons.

So, is it really true that victory or defeat can be determined simply by looking at the strength on paper? Of course not! If it were really that simple, why would we fight? We would just compare the strengths and the weaker side would admit defeat.

As for the example of the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion in the Western Han Dynasty, the Seven Kingdoms lost, but can the Seven Kingdoms and the Western Han Dynasty be compared exactly with the vassal kings and the Ming Dynasty? No.

But Emperor Jianwen really believed Huang Zicheng, not only at this time, but also in the subsequent plan to reduce the power of the feudal lords. 】

"Hmm?" The veins on Zhu Yuanzhang's forehead began to throb. "Is this how we will teach him in the future? Teach him to hire and trust people at will?" He paced in circles in the hall, looking like he was going to kick a chair or beat someone up. "It's fine that he has reduced the power of the feudal lords, but his level and skills are not good enough! He believes whatever others say. Huang Zicheng is still a scholar!"

He finally kicked the chair hard, ignoring Zhu Di who hid behind Zhu Biao again, "I don't believe it. We didn't leave him any capable generals! He just started preparing for something involving military affairs without even looking for generals?"

"Old Zhu, you are blind!" He still felt unsatisfied after cursing, but there was no way to settle the score with a three-year-old child, so he could only turn around and earnestly warn Zhu Biao: "Biao'er, you must take care of yourself, and don't make any mistakes."

Zhu Biao nodded, and together with Empress Ma, he comforted Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Di winked at his younger brothers and said, "No wonder I was successful. Just look at the attitude of this good nephew. There will be problems before it even starts."

Han Dynasty, the first year of Yuanshuo.

Emperor Wu of Han looked at the sky and saw Huang Zicheng using the example of the Seven Kingdoms Rebellion during his father's reign to tell Zhu Yunwen that the reduction of the power of the princes would surely succeed and there was no need to worry. He could not help but sneer.

What a joke! If the princes were so easy to control, the imperial court would just follow the will of heaven, and the princes' rebellion would be against heaven's will, then why did several generations of Han emperors go through so much trouble to plan and nibble away at their power for so many years!
It is true that the central government of the Ming Dynasty was much more powerful than the local vassal kings, but were there not many cases of failure? Didn’t Emperor Jianwen himself become a living example in the end?

He looked at Wei Qing.

Wei Qing also shook his head. Is the power comparison important in the use of troops in war? Of course it is important. In essence, the side with stronger power is more likely to win. As the saying goes, strength can defeat skill. But sometimes, once you have "power", how to use this "power" is also the key.

Song.

Taizu Zhao Kuangyin looked at the problems pointed out on the sky curtain that Emperor Jianwen had encountered before the start, and could not help but fall into deep thought.

He then looked at Zhao Guangyi, Zhao Guangmei, Zhao Dezhao and other close members of the royal family, and said: "The problems in the Tianmu are also what our Great Song needs to pay attention to in the future. I weakened the power of military generals, not to prevent them from participating in military and political discussions, nor to let civil officials monopolize power. When it is necessary to use military generals, we should still consult their opinions more, rather than let civil officials who do not understand the military take charge."

Several people nodded in agreement.

The sixteenth year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty.

When Zhu Di saw the mention of the three political core members during the reign of Emperor Jianwen in the sky, he could not help but sneer: "These three idiots are nothing but pedantic literati! My good nephew really trusts these three people."

Zhu Gaochi also recalled the situation before the Jingnan Campaign and nodded sympathetically. Indeed, if Zhu Yunwen had not trusted and adopted the ideas of these three people, especially Huang Zicheng, his family might not have been sure of the outcome. But speaking of it, there is also Li Jinglong...

[We mentioned before that Prince of Yan Zhu Di was the core target of Emperor Jianwen's reduction of the feudal system. So how should we deal with this target?
Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng proposed two plans. Qi Tai believed that the King of Yan should be taken first and resolved as soon as possible to avoid future troubles. However, Huang Zicheng believed that the other kings (Zhou, Qi, Xiang, Dai, and Min) should be taken first, as they had already committed illegal acts and had a legitimate reason to do so. Especially the King of Zhou, who had the same mother as the King of Yan, and cutting off the King of Zhou was equivalent to cutting off the hands and feet of the King of Yan.

Emperor Jianwen finally adopted Huang Zicheng's suggestion and decided to deal with other vassal kings first and then take action against Prince of Yan.

Here we would like to mention that the historical records show that Zhuo Jing, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, suggested that the Prince of Yan be relocated to the Prince of Nanchang and be controlled, and then Emperor Jianwen summoned him and said, "The Prince of Yan is my closest relative." In fact, after Zhuo Jing answered this sentence, Emperor Jianwen did not answer. Not answering is a certain degree of agreement. Of course, his characteristics of indecision and attention to reputation are still slightly reflected. 】

"..." Zhou Wang Zhu Su could not bear it any longer. He exuded a strong resentment, but he had to hold back to prevent himself from cursing. "What's wrong with me? I was singled out and the first one to be operated on? Just because my fourth brother and I have the same mother?"

"Haha," he gritted his teeth, "What's the point of using me as an operation? Didn't Fourth Brother succeed? He deserves it!"

[After discussing it, Emperor Jianwen started to take action.

Yes, very fast. This is the answer to the little Easter egg I buried earlier.

No one expected that he would act so quickly, when he had just ascended the throne and had not yet fully grasped the power of the court, and when his grandfather had just passed away two months ago. Even Zhu Yuanzhang probably didn't expect that his good grandson would not wait even a moment.

However, perhaps this is the filial piety of Emperor Jianwen. He was afraid that Zhu Yuanzhang would be lonely and miss his descendants, so as a good grandson, he had to share his grandfather's worries.

"What a good grandson!" Zhu Yuanzhang roared angrily, "Can't you wait a moment?"

"It seems that I am the first one to go." Zhou Wang Zhu Su murmured, "But why is he worried that the old man will be lonely? Don't tell me that he really sent a few of us brothers down..."

The princes around who heard his words were also shocked. No way!
The ministers in the hall all lowered their heads and dared not utter a word. They really wanted to hear the secret of the royal "filial piety" struggle, but they were afraid that the emperor would remember it and cause trouble in the future.

The early years of the Han Dynasty.

"How filial." Liu Bang laughed out loud, "You are really a good grandson of grandfather and a good nephew of uncle, hahahahahahahaha!"

Xiao He sighed and said, "Please restrain yourself, Your Majesty."

(End of this chapter)