Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 281 The Xu family’s plan is truly clever!
Xu Huizu was filled with emotion.

As the son of Xu Da, Duke of Wei of the Ming Dynasty, and an important figure among the nobles, when Zhu Yunhuan established the Ming Military Academy, he naturally took the initiative to go and become Zhu Yunhuan's disciple.

But to be honest, Xu Huizu still had some disapproval towards Zhu Yunhuan at that time.

Although Zhu Yunhuan had already gained considerable fame at that time.

But no matter what, he is just a teenager.

Teaching all the nobles in the court and the veterans who had fought on the battlefield for many years, and accepting everyone as a disciple, it seemed absurd no matter how you looked at it.

But power has always been run like this. After all, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is the crown prince and the future emperor. If he wants to do this, everyone can only follow his lead.

Otherwise, he would end up like Li Jinglong, Duke of Cao, with his head and body separated.

What's more, when the Ming Military Academy was first established, the first person to take the lead in becoming a disciple was his brother-in-law, Prince of Yan Zhu Di.

Xu Huizu will definitely follow suit.

The thoughts deep in my heart can only be kept hidden.

It was also at the Ming Military Academy that Xu Huizu saw new guns and cannons for the first time and was immediately deeply shocked.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was able to invent such a magical object, which made him look at him with new eyes.

Only in the following lectures did Xu Huizu begin to listen seriously.

Because the new army had never been on the battlefield, the same was true for the guns and cannons produced by the Ming Manufacturing Bureau.

Although what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said about tactics and strategies sounded reasonable and logical, he still could not escape the suspicion of being just "paper talk".

Although there are many veterans among the students, they have never led a new army equipped with guns and cannons to fight a war, so they have no way of judging.

It was not until His Royal Highness the Crown Prince led the Ming navy to an expedition that the Japanese pirates who had plagued the southeastern coast for many years were wiped out and Japan was pacified.

Only by using ironclad facts to prove the combat effectiveness of the new army and the power of the new weapons could everyone be convinced.

Xu Huizu carefully analyzed the tactics and strategies of the war to eliminate the Japanese pirates, the war to recover Taiwan, and the war to suppress the Japanese pirates.

On the one hand, they were shocked by the power of new weapons, guns and cannons.

On the other hand, he was amazed at Zhu Yunhuan's superb command skills.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can already be called a well-deserved "God of War".

I am afraid that even if a military genius were to be reborn, with the addition of new weapons, guns and cannons, he would still find it difficult to compete with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

Later, Zhang Fu and Zhu Neng's expedition to the northern desert and the battle to pacify the Northern Yuan Dynasty once again confirmed his idea.

Although Zhang Fu and Zhu Neng led the troops into battle, everyone knew that all strategies and tactics were formulated by Zhu Yunhuan himself.

Zhang Fu, if Zhu Neng really had the ability to lead an army to easily wipe out the Northern Yuan Dynasty, he would have done it as early as when he was under the command of Prince of Yan Zhu Di. Why did he have to wait until today?
Only by commanding a new army equipped with new weapons and strictly trained, and following the tactics and strategies formulated by Zhu Yunhuan, could such a war miracle be created.

The Ming Dynasty's biggest threat, the Northern Yuan Dynasty, was defeated in one battle.

At this point, how could Xu Huizu still dare to despise the military book written by Zhu Yunhuan?
During this period, he studied hard every day.

The more you read, the more you can feel its extraordinary nature.

Both "On War" and "Ten Military Principles" can be regarded as treasures of military command.

The person who can write such a book must be a "Military Saint" like Sun Wu.

Whether it is the understanding of war, the relationship between war and politics, or the art of military command itself, he has reached a state of perfection.

Xu Huizu even felt that the contents of the book had vaguely touched upon the art of slaying dragons.

It is hard to believe that such a book was written by a young boy.

This is probably what is meant by a “genius beyond compare”.

No wonder Xu Huizu sighed.

Xu Miaojin nodded slightly.

"My sister also said in the letter that His Royal Highness is unprecedented in history and has a broad mind. He will not kill people at will. He will surely be a wise ruler in the future."

"Only by clinging to his thighs can our Xu family stand firm and protect the family business that my father worked so hard to earn."

"Isn't it for this that I've been running around all day these days?"

"Brother, don't stay at home all day, you should go out more often."

"The Duke of Zheng, Chang Sheng, is the uncle of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and he likes to make friends with the nobles."

"When my father was alive, our Xu family and Chang family had always been on good terms."

"You should go out and spend time with him, too."

"Right now, rumors are everywhere that the court is going to withdraw its fiefdoms and go to sea. It has already spread among the sons of the nobles. It is said that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said this in public when he was drinking at the Chang family."

"But the news about my Xu family is far behind others."

There was a hint of complaint in her words.

The Xu family is a top noble family. Logically, they should have received the news long ago.

But the actual situation was that many marquis families and even some wealthy businessmen without titles had heard the news and came to inquire from the Xu family whether the news was true or not. Only then did Xu Miaojin hear the relevant content from their mouths.

If this matter were to spread outside, outsiders would probably think that the Xu family had lost power.

Even noble families have to rely on face to support themselves.

Although Xu Da had led troops for many years and had a strong foundation in the army, those were not connections that could be easily used.

Most officials in the court are opportunists.

Many nobles are ostentatious, not because they really like to spend money to show off, but because they are in the situation and have no choice.

If there is no superficial pomp and the house looks too shabby, people will wonder if there is something wrong with your family.

Enemies who used to lurk in the dark will immediately become restless and even take the opportunity to sneak in.

Officials who have a good relationship with you and who usually support each other will hesitate because of this.

This is how officialdom is.

Seeing that you are doing well, everyone comes to curry favor with you.

If you are unhappy and in trouble, people will stay away from you.

The wall fell and everyone pushed.

It was based on such concerns that Xu Miaojin gave the reminder.

Xu Huizu shook his head and looked around. He knew that there was no one else in the courtyard and it was impossible for anyone to eavesdrop. Then he said, "Although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is not as suspicious as His Majesty the Emperor, he is not inferior to His Majesty in the way of power."

"The reason why he ignored the noble generals and recruited a large number of newcomers to train new military commanders is because we nobles have deep roots in the army."

"In the past, we fought together, fought in battles together, and braved mountains of swords and seas of fire together. We have a life-and-death friendship."

"This is of course a good thing when conquering the world."

"At that time, the world was not at peace, and we needed everyone to work together to create a peaceful world and a great Ming dynasty."

"But now the world is settled, the four seas are at peace, and we are not worried about external troubles but internal strife."

"If we nobles still get together to drink and talk about brotherhood like we did in the past, and stand together, how can the superiors control us?"

"Even if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is kind-hearted and doesn't kill us, he can only leave us all idle and unused."

"I don't associate with them because I want to keep my distance. Only in this way can I hope to be employed by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince one day."

He paused, then smiled bitterly and said, "Besides, Chang Sheng is also very famous in the capital." "It is also thanks to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who is in power that he has earned the status of an uncle for nothing, so he can live so freely."

"If someone else had won the battle for the crown prince, then in my opinion, the Chang family would be doomed to disaster if they had such an unworthy descendant like Chang Sheng."

"Everyone knows my temper. If I deliberately try to make friends with Chang Sheng, everyone will know what I want."

"How shrewd is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince? How could we hide this from him?"

“Don’t let yourself fall into decline, and instead bring great trouble to the Xu family.”

His words were quite straightforward and bold.

Even the fact that Lao Zhu was very suspicious was spoken out.

Only when the brother and sister are talking privately and without anyone else around would they dare to make such unscrupulous comments.

Xu Miaojin did not refute Xu Huizu's opinion, and said with a smile: "Brother, it's good that you know what's going on."

"However, all the noble families are actively preparing silver and purchasing ships. Once the imperial court ban is lifted, they will form a mercenary group to go out to sea."

"I think His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will not lie about this. Going out to sea is risky, but the rewards are also extremely high."

"Especially the families that went out to sea in the early stage, most of them will make a lot of money. Will my Xu family really not follow suit?"

Xu Huizu said: "This matter was vigorously promoted by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so of course my Xu family must respond."

"I have sold all the Xu family's land to the court as you ordered."

"However, we cannot rush into purchasing ships and organizing mercenaries to go out to sea."

Xu Huizu analyzed: "In the early stage of going out to sea, everyone was unfamiliar with each other, so they had to contact each other, stick together, and rely on each other."

"This will inevitably lead to closer ties between people, but will also inevitably lead to suspicion."

"My Xu family doesn't have to get involved."

"Although His Royal Highness said that a few hundred mercenaries are enough to conquer a place in the wild lands overseas, we still need the imperial army as a backup."

"Becoming the commander of the Ming Navy is the position that your brother and I want to pursue."

"What does a mercenary group of just a few hundred people count for?"

"No matter how high the income from overseas is, it cannot compare to the trust and reuse of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Xu Miaojin laughed and said, "I know that my eldest brother has great ambitions and is unwilling to spend his old age at home."

"I am also traveling outside to find more places for the Xu family to settle down."

Xu Huizu glanced at her, smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying, "You've been acting like you love His Royal Highness the Crown Prince all day in the mansion, and you've deceived the maids and servants. Isn't that enough?"

"Now they are messing with my marriage again."

"Is it true that Gu Panjun was arranged by Master Daoyan and Mr. Yang as you said?"

"Without any evidence, how dare you be so sure? If your guess is wrong, it will be too late to regret it!"

Xu Miaojin's beautiful eyes turned slightly, and she giggled, "It wasn't all acting."

"I heard that His Royal Highness once said to someone, 'When the false is made to appear true, the true becomes false; when the non-existent is present, the existing becomes non-existent.'"

"His Royal Highness is very capable, and his position is now as stable as Mount Tai. It is a foregone conclusion that he will ascend the throne one day. It is much better to marry him than to marry someone whose background you don't know."

"I'm performing a 'miserable drama' in my mansion. What if someone hears about it and takes it seriously?"

"Hehe, that's not bad."

She blinked and giggled mischievously.

"Although the 'sad drama' I played was fake and I didn't adore him that much, I didn't hate him either."

"Besides, how could there be so many unmarried ladies in the world who would fall in love with men they have never met?"

"It's just a bunch of idle scholars who made up a bunch of crappy stories."

"The maids and servants are ignorant, so they really believe those things."

"With His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's intelligence, I'm afraid he can guess it."

"But in this world, there are differences between men and women, and there are great barriers. And since they have never dated before marriage, how can there be love?"

"Which person you marry is all a matter of luck and fate."

"Even if they don't know each other before marriage, if the couple is harmonious after marriage, it may not be impossible to create a good story."

Immediately, her lively eyes moved around, and she smiled and said, "That Gu Panjun is extremely beautiful, with a beauty that I have never seen in my life."

"Besides, she is also very smart, well-educated and well-mannered. If Big Brother really marries her, it won't be a loss at all. There's no reason to regret it!"

Xu Huizu sighed and said, "These words should not come out of the mouth of an unmarried woman like you. If they get out, I wonder what bad things those gossipers will say."

Xu Miaojin stuck out her tongue and made a face, revealing a girlish air, without any of the maturity and steadiness that she had just conveyed in her words.

This is the extent of human intelligence.

The most important point is the advanced understanding of the world beyond one's age.

A person who can see through the essence of things in one second and a person who needs decades to see through it are destined to have different fates.

Some people have experienced many vicissitudes of life, endured countless hardships, and the ravages of time, only then they slowly see the essence of marriage and the truth of life.

But by then, it was too late.

A truly smart person is someone who, at the age of twenty, has the knowledge and thoughts that a person at the age of forty has.

Before I got married, I knew clearly what kind of partner I wanted.

Instead of waiting until you are forty years old and then saying that you have seen through marriage, men, and life... and be proud of your own awakening.

Little do they know that this is just a concrete manifestation of not being smart enough.

Because a truly smart person will have this understanding before she gets married or even falls in love.

Smart people will perceive things decades earlier than ordinary people and will also make plans ten years in advance.

Just like in later society, people who are preparing to take the college entrance examination when they are 18 years old and in the third year of high school are ordinary people.

Those who start planning which university to attend and prepare for it at the age of eight are truly smart people.

Most smart people don't even wait until their senior year of high school before they are booked by the best universities.

By the time ordinary people take the college entrance examination, they have already gone out to play happily.

The same applies to other things.

Gu Panjun is undoubtedly a smart man, and so is Xu Miaojin.

Otherwise, Xu Huizu would not have listened to her arrangements on major matters.

Therefore, even though she has not yet married, she has a deeper understanding of marriage than ordinary women.

"I only say these things in front of my brother. How could I say such nonsense outside?"

Xu Miaojin smiled and said, "Brother, you don't have to worry. When I went to look for Miss Gu today, I ran into His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

As soon as these words were spoken, Xu Huizu's originally casual expression suddenly froze, his black pupils suddenly dilated, and even his breathing suddenly quickened a bit.

"really?"

……

(End of this chapter)