Great Ming Dynasty Wen Chao Gong

Chapter 183: Only the one with strong soldiers and horses is the emperor.

After chatting with shopkeeper Ding, Zhang Xiao returned home again.

Today is different from the past. Due to Dong Qichang's resignation, new teachers cannot be arranged so quickly, and the arrangements will not be in place so quickly. Now he is responsible for teaching more classes, and the class content Zhang Xiao has to prepare is expected to be more substantial. Some.

When the agreed class time arrived, Zhang Xiao came to the familiar classroom again. But this time there was a new thing added to the familiar classroom, which was a screen, but what was painted on the screen was not a landscape, or birds, animals, insects, and fish, but a list of official positions of Ming Dynasty officials.

The class time had not yet come, Zhang Xiaoxian carefully looked at the screen. The official positions written on it were all higher-level official positions, and the names of the officials were also written on it.

Zhang Xiao was still looking at the screen carefully, but the eldest prince had already walked in first.

"Mr. Zhang, His Majesty ordered this to be placed here. There is also this thing in His Majesty's study."

"I see." Zhang Xiao recalled it in his mind. It seemed that he had not seen this object in the emperor's study room, but then he thought about it. He was afraid that the emperor had put it in the room inside. This was not what he should have thought about. , quickly put his thoughts back.

Teaching to the descendants of the royal family is naturally different from teaching to ordinary students. In today's class, Zhang Xiao decided to give some more in-depth lessons to the two princes in accordance with the previous agreement.

"Two princes, the lesson I am going to teach today is slightly different, but His Majesty has already agreed with me. If there is anything wrong in this lesson, please correct me."

"The Qin Dynasty carried out tyranny, and the emperor of the Han Dynasty raised righteous troops to punish the Qin Dynasty. He was very righteous, so the country was very long. Later, Wang Mang, Cao Cao, and the Sima family all conspired to usurp power, causing future generations to imitate the same example. Therefore, it is natural that the country did not last long when Emperor Sui Yang of the Sui Dynasty did something violent to the Qin Dynasty. Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty raised up rebellious troops and established the world, which was considered to be a great success for the Song Dynasty. It can be regarded as orthodox. As for the Five Hus and Sixteen Kingdoms, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the world lost its master, and all the heroes were competing for the throne. No matter Hu or Han, they were always good at military affairs. During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, etiquette had disappeared in just a few decades. , there were five dynasties, more than a dozen emperors, and countless separatist regimes in the south. Feng Dao had many dynasties, and people at that time were accustomed to it. An Chongrong, a general of the Later Jin Dynasty, even called the emperor the one with strong soldiers and horses, although it is superficial. , which can be regarded as showing the appearance of the emperor at that time, nothing more than the leader of the princes and allies. "

"Of course, if the emperor of Zhou had not made the three kingdoms of Zhao, Wei and Han vassals, it would not have perished. This is actually hard to say. The acquisition of the Zhou Dynasty and the world was also achieved through revolutionary means. The so-called Tang-Wu Revolution means Tang of Shang and King Wu of Zhou. After King Wu of Zhou died, there was another rebellion in the Three Prisons. The Duke of Zhou gathered a heavy army to march eastward and fought for several years. He also built Luodu and was able to establish order in the world. Get up. Since the Emperor Zhou lost his martial virtue, it was only a matter of time before he perished. But if he did not enfeoff the three kingdoms of Zhao, Wei and Han, then he would still have the right to enfeoff the three kingdoms. Proclaimed king, and finally the two monarchs of Qin and Qi even directly proclaimed themselves emperor. It was impossible for the Zhou Dynasty not to be destroyed," Zhang Xiao explained.

"Princess Sima Wen of the Song Dynasty compiled "Zi Zhi Tong Jian", and the opening chapter said that the emperor's duties are nothing greater than etiquette, etiquette is nothing greater than points, and points are nothing greater than fame. From ancient times to the present, the emperor has relied on etiquette and law to govern the country. Of course, Etiquette and law are also maintained by force."

"Mr. Zhang, if the Emperor of Zhou does not grant enfeoffments to the monarchs of Zhao, Wei and Han, these three kingdoms will actually be independent. What if these princes become angry and start a war with the Emperor of Zhou? After all, as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, , King Huan of Zhou wanted to attack Duke Zheng Zhuang, but was defeated by Duke Zhuang of Zheng. Even King Huan of Zhou was hit by an arrow in the shoulder. If the Emperor of Zhou did not grant enfeoffments to these three princes, then if the three princes committed crimes, the Emperor of Zhou would suffer. Are you done?" the eldest son of the emperor asked.

"King Huan of Zhou was indeed defeated by Duke Zheng Zhuang, but it was the Emperor of Zhou who took the initiative to attack, and Duke Zheng Zhuang was forced to fight back. Zheng Guo was also a prince surnamed Ji, and had been a minister of the Emperor of Zhou for a long time. Duke Zheng Zhuang originally wanted to play with power and take advantage of the Emperor. However, King Huan of Zhou could not bear the domineering Duke Zhuang of Zheng, so he dismissed Duke Zhuang of Zheng from his position as minister, and then united allied forces to attack Zheng. This was indeed the emperor's righteousness. If defeated, the country would be destroyed in vain. But there would be no benefit in defeating it. In the future, Zheng would no longer be able to use the name of the emperor's ministers to coerce the emperor to order the princes. Later, Zheng was raised in the middle and late Spring and Autumn Period. The two countries of Jin and Chu were caught in the middle and fell victim to the struggle for hegemony among the great powers. If Zhao, Wei and Han had dared to raise troops to offend Emperor Zhou at that time, Emperor Zhou could have united with Qin, Qi and other countries to start a war against the three countries. , I believe that Qin and Qi will not give up this opportunity to weaken the strength of the Three Jins. "

"If it is said that the emperor is the one with strong soldiers and horses, then why An Chongrong did not succeed must be a lie by a military man."

"Mr. Zhang, since etiquette is so important, why were the subsequent dynasties so short-lived? Needless to say, the Qin Dynasty, the Han Dynasty was a long-lasting country, and by the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms when the Tang Dynasty fell, The world is in turmoil. I wonder how many people are proclaimed emperors and how many are kings? Is it because the emperor at that time did not follow the etiquette? "

"Sima Wen Gong continued to write "Spring and Autumn" written by Kong Shengren, starting from the division of the Jin into the Jin Dynasty. It was because Emperor Zhou recognized the status of the three kingdoms of Zhao, Wei and Han as princes. Zhao, Wei and Han, as the rebellious ministers and traitors of the Jin Kingdom, were naturally also the rebellious ministers and traitors of the Emperor Zhou, but Zhou However, the emperor was forced by the power of the three families of Zhao, Wei, and Han, and made the three families vassals. From then on, the Zhou Dynasty completely destroyed the rituals, and started the Warring States Period. The emperor of Zhou recognized the three princes, which destroyed the Zhou rites. From then on, the emperor of Zhou became a puppet, and the conquests of all countries no longer looked at the emperor of Zhou." Zhang Xiao said.

"How should I put it? As Shi Jingtang's general, An Chongrong watched his master take over the world with the help of Khitan. Shi Jingtang was the son-in-law of Mingzong of the later Tang Dynasty. After Mingzong's death, several princes competed with each other for the throne. Shi Jingtang did not help the country. Instead, because he was worried that he would lose his power, he lured the wolf into the house and surrendered to the Khitan monarch. On the condition of ceding the sixteen states of Yanyun, An Chongrong received strong support from the Khitan people, and then he invaded Luoyang and usurped the power. In this matter, Shi Jingtang advised him not to surrender to the Khitan, but Shi Jingtang naturally had no respect for his master. However, An Chongrong was invincible before, not only because of his own bravery, but also because Shi Jingtang gave his elite troops to him. Later, when An Chongrong rebelled, he was only the governor of a state and could only rely on the hungry people as an army. Naturally, the rebellion failed if An Chongrong had more elite troops. The princes responded to his uprising, and the outcome was still unclear."

"Mr. Zhang, in those countries you mentioned before, such as the Timurid Kingdom, the Mughal Kingdom, the Ottoman Kingdom, and the Folanji Kingdom, do their kings also have any etiquette and laws that need to be followed?"

"The situation in these countries is quite different. The Timur Kingdom and the Mughal Kingdom are of the same origin, and the succession of kings is actually the Mongolian inheritance law. As for European countries, there is a scholar in Italy in Europe called Machiavelli. He wrote a book called "The Prince", in which he mentioned two countries as examples. He said in the book that the Ottoman state was a centralized empire. Such an empire would be difficult to defeat from the outside, but if the Ottomans could be defeated, If the Sultan's army is defeated, then the Ottoman country can be conquered. This is not the case with France. The French monarch does not have so many direct troops, so after defeating the French monarch, the princes across France will not easily obey the Ottoman Empire. The country is difficult first and then easy, and conquering France is easy first and then difficult." Zhang Xiao still did not explain the Ottoman inheritance law. After all, the Ottoman deception given to the generals was an abridged version. It was really difficult to tell the two princes. Something is wrong. "Machiavelli, I have never heard of this person. Since he can write a book called "The Prince", he must be a great talent in the West. Mr. Zhang, do you have this copy of "The Prince" now? ?" The eldest son of the emperor suddenly became interested.

"I also have this book in my home in Nanyang. I read it briefly and then never read it again. If Your Highness wants to read it, I will inform Your Majesty and see if I can get it from overseas and translate it."

"When was this Machiavelli born? Is he still alive now?"

"Machiavelli is no longer alive."

"That's it, that's a pity." The eldest son of the emperor suddenly felt disappointed.

"Machiavelli's analyzes are also assumptions. After all, the only person who can completely defeat the Ottomans is Timur. The European countries are still being pressed by the Ottomans step by step, let alone conquering the Ottomans. .

"As for the systems of other European countries, they are similar to France. The authority of the monarch is not so great, or even smaller. If we want to make an analogy, the European countries are still feudal, and the monarch still has to rely on the powerful nobles in the country to maintain it. In order to rule, the princes in various countries did not listen to the announcement, and rebellions occurred one after another. For example, when Britain and France were at war, King Henry V of England only brought about 10,000 troops to expedition to France. How could Britain always have a population of millions at that time. Yes, the 10,000 people dispatched by the king were basically the troops directly under the British king. The other princes did not respond to the British king at all. That is to say, the French nobles were eager to perform their duties in the Battle of Agincourt and attacked without authorization, otherwise the British monarch would have been very likely. He will die and his country will be destroyed.”

"If this is the case, then there is nothing particularly remarkable about these European countries. Why can the Folangji country still occupy so much land?" The eldest son of the emperor was a little puzzled.

"His Royal Highness, the eldest son of the Emperor, the political systems of various countries are adapted to the time and place, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages. We cannot say that the feudal system is backward. When Liu Zihou wrote "On Feudalism", he advocated the county system and opposed the excessive promotion of the feudal system. In the article, Liu Zihou also specifically said that the Qin Dynasty fell because of harsh punishments and laws, not because of the system of counties and counties. I still remember what Liu Zongyuan said in the Han Dynasty. But there was no rebellion. However, the feudal system still had its role, that is, it could facilitate the expansion of land. At that time, the Zhou people only lived in Shaanxi, but after a large-scale feudal state, the territory of the Zhou Dynasty expanded countless times. .

"The success of the colonization of the Franco Kingdom was also due to the rewards of land sealing for those who made long voyages to pioneer. For example, Cortez turned out to be just an ordinary sergeant, and could even be said to be a rebel. Thanks to his contribution to the destruction of the country, he was He was rewarded with the title of duke. Although the king of Franji did not allow him to be granted the title of duke in his hometown of Aztec due to various considerations, the title of duke was actually passed down to Kirsti's subordinates. He was also given a large area of ​​land in the Franchi Kingdom, and he was considered a landlord from then on. If Pizarro had not been assassinated after conquering the Inca Kingdom, he would probably have become a prince," Zhang Xiao explained.

However, Zhang Xiao didn't know that the audience of this class was not only the two princes, but also two spectators, the emperor and Concubine Zheng, who had just finished her confinement and made a successful comeback.

"Your Majesty, since you already want to recruit Zhang Xiao as your consort, isn't it inappropriate to ask him to talk about this now?" Concubine Zheng couldn't help but speak.

"My beloved, this is not what you said before. Don't talk about things that are too simple, but talk about the way of an emperor. Why are you not satisfied with Zhang Xiao's talk?"

"Your Majesty, I did think so before, but now that I hear it, Zhang Xiao's lectures are too straightforward. It is always a bit uncomfortable to tell the prince these things." Concubine Zheng hesitated for a while before saying.

"If this is the case, then Zhang Xiao should not be allowed to teach homework? But if this is the case, Xun'er is still young and Luo'er is now more than ten years old. The court officials told me before that they would give him Opening the Sutra Banquet, if Zhang Xiao is exempted from this errand, then the ministers will have to report again. Dear concubine, you must know that Dong Qichang has just resigned and returned home. If Zhang Xiao doesn't teach anymore, then this matter will happen. I won't say anything. The ministers are so angry now that they can't accuse me face to face. If there is another Hai Rui among the ministers, I will be completely embarrassed."

"Then, what should we do?" Concubine Zheng suddenly became a little anxious.

"There is no rush. If I really want Zhang Xiao to be my consort, then his errands will naturally be eliminated. If my concubine doesn't want Zhang Xiao to talk about these things now, I can just ask him to talk about simple things. ” the emperor explained.

(End of this chapter)