Ming Dynasty: Domination of the World from the Imperial Examination

Chapter 162: Cultivate Yourself, Manage Your Family, Govern Your Country, and Bring Peace to the World! (First Update)
Prince Yan's Mansion.

Zhu Di was wearing casual clothes.

I was getting a little impatient waiting inside the house.

"Where has Yao Guangxiao been? How could it take so long for him to deliver a message?"

At this time.

There were footsteps outside the house.

Yao Guangxiao is back.

Following behind him was Xia Zhibai, who was still wearing coarse linen clothes.

Yao Guangxiao glanced at the scene, smiled, bowed, and then tactfully retreated.

Only Zhu Di and Xia Zhibai were left in the hall.

Xia Zhibai walked into the hall, bowed to Zhu Di without being servile or overbearing, and said calmly: "Xia Zhibai pays respect to His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan."

Zhu Di sneered, glanced outside the hall, and suddenly said angrily: "Xia Zhibai, you are so bold that you even dare to plot against me. Do you really think that just because you came from Kyoto, you can ignore me, Zhu Di?"

Zhu Di glared angrily.

His anger was not feigned.

It was anger from the bottom of his heart, especially since he had to wait for a while, he was even more furious.

Xia Zhibai bowed slightly and said, "Your Highness, you are overthinking. I have no intention of plotting against you, nor have I ever plotted against you. However, many things in this world are not one-sided, one is one, two is two. You are in me, and I am in you. Your Highness is in charge of the military affairs of Peking, so you will naturally be involved in the affairs of Peking, big or small, and it is inevitable that you will be affected in the end."

"Besides."

"My original intention of this trip was just to do business."

"Nothing else."

"If it weren't for the reckless violation of military discipline by your Highness's soldiers, why would I have done this? As for the follow-up, it was mostly your Highness's spontaneous behavior, and I just followed the trend."

"You're such a silver-tongued person." Zhu Di snorted coldly.

Xia Zhibai smiled faintly and said slowly: "Your Highness, there is no need to use this posture to overwhelm others. I, Xia Zhibai, will not be affected."

"I came here just to give something to Your Highness."

"What is it?" Zhu Di frowned, a hint of suspicion flashing across his eyes.

"This is what Your Highness has been worried about recently." Xia Zhibai smiled, took out a book from his arms, and then placed it on the wooden table beside him.

Zhu Di hesitated for a moment, reached out to pick up the book, looked at it for a few seconds, and a strange look appeared in his eyes.

Xia Zhibai said: "Your Highness, I said it."

“I’m only doing business.”

“These are just for self-protection.”

"Since Your Highness doesn't like it, just leave it to Your Highness."

Zhu Di snorted coldly and his expression softened a lot.

This booklet records the recent daily interactions of military attachés in Peiping.

Zhu Di put the book down, turned around and looked at Xia Zhibai deeply, and said in a deep voice: "What do you want to do?"

He couldn't understand something.

Xia Zhibai spent so much time and effort to collect the information, and he just gave it to me like this?
Xia Zhibai said: "Business!"

"Your Highness is in charge of Peking, so I will seek cooperation."

"It's just that His Highness is too arrogant and has no intention of cooperating, so we can only find another way to seek cooperation."

"But I didn't expect that Beiping in His Highness's hands would degenerate so quickly."

"The frontier of the empire is in ruins."

Xia Zhibai sighed, his eyes filled with regret.

Zhu Di closed his eyes slightly and sneered, "You are really smart. You guessed my thoughts before you came, right? I really don't want to get entangled with you anymore. I must get what you have in your hands, and you are strictly prohibited from handing it over to the court."

Xia Zhibai shook his head.

He said calmly: "Before I came here, I had a conversation with Master Yao."

Zhu Di frowned.

Xia Zhibai said: "Master Yao has a very high opinion of His Highness. Before I came to Beiping, I also had the same expectations for His Highness. However, during this period of time since I came to Beiping, I feel that His Highness is not as powerful as the rumors say."

“And it’s very short-sighted.”

"In terms of politics, Your Highness is in charge of military affairs and is not very familiar with civil affairs. This is understandable, but in terms of military affairs, you are also careless, which is absolutely wrong."

"Your Highness is in a military stronghold like Beiping, facing the direct threat of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. Under such circumstances, Your Highness has not proposed a relatively independent 'national strategy' for several years, nor has he carried out a long-term diplomatic strategy like other commanders in history."

"Your eyes are always limited to your own little piece of land."

"In terms of tactics, your highness values ​​firearms, but it's just the 'sound' that matters."

"You have not proposed more advanced and pioneering tactics for firearms. In terms of military management, you have not achieved the same level of discipline and discipline as Xu Da over the years. You have no long-term military management philosophy and no military innovation. In terms of combat guidance, you still use the more instinctive 'on-the-spot performance'. Your Highness has indeed not lived up to the high evaluation of the outside world."

"If Your Highness still does not put away his arrogance."

"I'm afraid it will be hard to achieve anything great in the future."

"Your Highness's ambition is obvious to many people in the world."

"But from His Majesty to the officials, not many people really take His Highness seriously. This is the reason."

"Your Highness is too short-sighted."

"Your Highness, have you ever climbed a high place to look far into the distance in the past?" Xia Zhibai suddenly asked another question.

Zhu Di hesitated for a moment, then said slowly: "Of course there is."

"How is the world's scenery?"

“It’s so beautiful.”

"But Your Highness, do you know what the world means to me?" Xia Zhibai looked at Zhu Di. Zhu Di shook his head.

How could he know what Xia Zhibai thought?

Xia Zhibai said: "It is a real huge painting. If you are close to it, it is easy to see the details, but if you are far away, you can't see it clearly. If you want to grasp such a huge painting, you need a deep foundation, a lot of homework, and a lot of bold and reliable predictions."

"Your Highness is now like a blind man groping in the dark."

“You can only see what’s in front of you.”

“But you can’t see the grand picture beyond your horizon.”

"When I first started to read, I heard a saying."

"Cultivation of one's character, order of family, governance of country, peace of the world."

"When I first started studying, I didn't take this statement seriously, I even laughed at it, and even thought it was very decadent."

"It was only later that I gradually came to some realization. As an ordinary person, I must first do well on my own. Only when I have a strong foundation can I consider other things."

"Your Highness is of noble birth."

"From the beginning, I was destined to be extraordinary."

"And this also means that it will be difficult for Your Highness to cultivate himself well."

"Among your Majesty's descendants today, only the Crown Prince has managed to do so."

"And your highness."

Xia Zhibai shook his head honestly.

Zhu Di was silent.

Xia Zhibai said: "Everyone has ambitions, and it is right to have ambitions. Just like what Yao Guangxiao saw in me, he thought that I was 'wise in my heart, planned in my actions, and used my body as a chess piece to stir up the situation'. Because I want to realize my ambitions, but the basis for realizing my ambitions is to do well in the present."

“I am currently a business officer.”

"The main thing is to do business."

"I am here this time to open a business as well."

"As for the others, they were unexpected. In your Highness's view, it is incredible that I can hand over these books that are enough to completely knock down the forces that you have worked so hard to build. But in my eyes, these were not part of my plan."

"Why not hand it over for better business in the future?"

"What does it have to do with me?"

"But I am actually quite grateful to Your Highness."

"If it weren't for your impulsive behavior, I wouldn't have seen through the army's strengths and weaknesses so quickly, and I wouldn't have spoken out some of my buried thoughts in advance."

"With the joint efforts of Your Highness and I, the picture of the Ming Dynasty has opened up a lot."

"I believe."

"The words I said when I first came to Peking should have reached your Majesty's ears, and your Majesty will make the corresponding decision."

"It's just that I also want to remind Your Highness."

"Your Highness is a vassal king who controls the military of several prefectures in the north. Your Highness needs to figure out whether you are a general leading troops or a prince who is intoxicated by a life of luxury."

"As for the rest, Your Highness should not consider it."

"I have no intention of making enemies with Your Highness, nor do I want to worry about Your Highness. I came here today just to dispel these things." Xia Zhibai bowed slightly to Zhu Di and said, "I will not participate in the military and political affairs of Beiping, let alone interfere. I only care about business matters."

Zhu Di looked at Xia Zhibai with a complicated expression.

He actually couldn't bear to hear this.

But one can indeed feel the sincerity in Xia Zhibai's words.

Moreover, Xia Zhibai did express his stance and handed over the collected information to himself.

Zhu Di asked, "You mean I am not qualified to be a general, nor am I qualified to be a vassal king?"

Xia Zhibai nodded and shook his head and said, "Your Highness is indeed not qualified to be a general, at least not in line with the rumors outside. As for being a vassal king, it does not depend on me, but on the current emperor. The current emperor wants your Highness to be a vassal king who only controls military affairs, but your Highness intends to meddle in civil affairs."

“This is crossing the line.”

“If you cross the line, you will be punished.”

"Your Highness needs to know that civil affairs are civil affairs, and military affairs are military affairs."

“They are different.”

"We can't confuse the two, otherwise it will only go astray. His Majesty has divided the country among his many sons. Princes like the King of Qin and the King of Jin are stationed in important military locations and are mainly responsible for local military affairs. But there are also some like the King of Zhou, who are mainly responsible for coordinating the supply of food and grass, but are more responsible for the civil affairs of the fiefdoms."

"The current emperor makes a distinction between your highness and these vassal kings."

"The civil and military are divided into two parts, and the military and civilians are also divided into two parts."

“That’s a red line.”

"For example, if Your Highness secretly tried to win over the Beiping Provincial Government, that would have crossed the red line and he would definitely be punished. If Prince Zhou were to have close contact with his father-in-law in the future, he would also be targeted. The principle is the same."

"The princes can only choose between military and civil administration, and cannot combine both."

"That's not a vassal king, that's a prince king!"

"To a certain extent, this is the protection of the vassal king by His Majesty today."

“Otherwise, future emperors of the Ming Dynasty, facing vassal kings who control local military and political affairs, would not tolerate them if they were ambitious. They would definitely reduce the power of the vassal kings, or even abolish them, and only control some local power. As long as they don’t go too far, future emperors of the Ming Dynasty would still be able to turn a blind eye and continue to ensure the prosperity and wealth of these vassal kings and their descendants.”

"So the more people cross the line, the more ruthless His Majesty will be."

"Because the more people break the rules, the more likely it is that the descendants of future princes will stumble over it, or even die from it."

"Your Majesty must deal with this seriously."

"Don't dare to commit it!"

Xia Zhibai shook his head and revealed some truths.

Zhu Di thought that his actions were very covert and no one could notice them, but he didn't know that Zhu Yuanzhang could see everything clearly, but Zhu Di himself hadn't realized it yet.

(End of this chapter)