Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 284: Counterattack an army!
A bad feeling suddenly arose in Xu Miaojin's heart.

In order to save the Xu family, she did a lot of research on Zhu Yunhuan.

This person was not well-known in the past, and people outside rumored that he was "extremely stupid".

Until the death of Crown Prince Zhu Biao.

Even at this time, Zhu Yunhuan was still unknown.

He was even once disliked by the Emperor for not showing enough sorrow at Zhu Biao's funeral, and was considered to have a "cold nature."

Later, when the Emperor wanted to appoint a crown prince, Zhu Yunhuan, who should have been the first choice, was quickly eliminated.

This was certainly due to his status. His Majesty the Emperor was worried that he would not be able to control the nobles and generals from his maternal uncle's family.

But the more important factor is that he does not please the Emperor.

Zhu Yunwen was the complete opposite, which made Your Majesty very happy.

But just when everyone thought that everything was settled and Zhu Yunwen was about to be appointed crown prince, things suddenly took a turn for the worse.

Zhu Yunhuan actually stood up and openly opposed the appointment of Zhu Yunwen as the crown prince in the court.

Everyone thought he was crazy.

No one thought he could succeed.

After all, since ancient times, there has only been a crown prince given by the emperor, so how could there be a crown prince that one chooses?
What's more, this is inconsistent with the Confucian ideals of loyalty and filial piety.

If he wanted to ask for the crown prince himself, he had to do what Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, did and staged the Xuanwu Gate Coup.

This is definitely impossible.

Zhu Yunhuan was young, and although he had the support of his noble uncle's family, he had never led troops and did not have the same high prestige in the army as Li Shimin.

Zhu Yuanzhang is not even comparable to Li Yuan.

If you want to implement the Xuanwu Gate inheritance law, I can only say that there is no way.

Just when everyone thought that Zhu Yunhuan was dreaming and bringing humiliation upon himself, the development of events once again shocked everyone.

Zhu Yunhuan first shocked the Emperor with his poetic talent, then invented the drum-type photocopier, and later, in the name of fulfilling his filial duty to his grandfather, he personally arrested his own great uncle, the great general Lan Yu.

Then, Lan Yu expressed the late Crown Prince Zhu Biao's last wish in the court, which deeply touched the Emperor. Finally, Zhu Yunhuan's crying in the court determined the fate of the country.

His Majesty the Emperor changed his mind about making Zhu Yunwen the crown prince and instead made Zhu Yunhuan the crown prince.

Later, Concubine Lu died and Zhu Yunwen was imprisoned for life.

Zhu Yunhuan, who was in charge of the government, launched a large-scale reform and innovation.

In Xu Miaojin's original view, Zhu Yunwen was a man who was too easily influenced and easily bewitched and manipulated by the civil officials around him.

In addition, people like Huang Zicheng have limited abilities, so Xu Miaojin is not optimistic about Zhu Yunwen.

Even if he ascended the throne, he might not be able to hold on to the throne securely.

To be on the safe side, Xu Miaojin's solution was to bet on multiple options.

On the one hand, he asked his eldest brother Xu Huizu to follow Zhu Yunwen closely, and on the other hand, he asked his other two brothers to maintain close contact with his brother-in-law, Prince of Yan Zhu Di, and his younger brother-in-law, Prince of Dai Zhu Gui.

In Xu Miaojin's analysis, the Emperor's policy of enfeoffment of the kings was a huge bomb buried for the Ming Dynasty.

Everything was easy when His Majesty the Emperor was alive.

Once he passed away, the contradiction between the imperial court and the vassal kings would inevitably be irreconcilable.

Chaos is bound to occur.

It is still unknown who will win at that time.

If the Xu family wants to preserve itself in this chaotic situation, they have no choice but to place their bets separately.

This may sacrifice one or two people in the family, but the Xu family as a whole will still stand.

Xu Miaojin was not the only person in the Ming Dynasty who could see the hidden dangers of the vassal kings.

In fact, all the knowledgeable people in the Ming Dynasty court saw it clearly.

Even Huang Zicheng, Qi Tai and others are well aware of this.

Otherwise, in history, they would not have made reducing the power of the princes their top priority as soon as Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne.

If there was anyone who didn't see it, it would probably be the wise and powerful Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang.

In Zhu's eyes, the division of fiefdoms could not only defend the borders against foreign invasions, but also prevent treacherous ministers from coming to power in the court. When the power of the later emperor fell into the hands of others and the Zhu regime was in danger, the emperor would raise an army to defend the throne, thus ensuring the stability of the Zhu dynasty.

As a family, the emperor and the princes can rely on each other.

In this way, if a powerful official wants to seize power in the court, seize power, and change the dynasty, he has to consider whether the princes outside agree.

This is the experience and inspiration that Lao Zhu got from the folk clan.

Large families in the folk can only maintain stability if the main family and the side branches look out for each other and support each other.

As for the hidden dangers that this may bring...

Given Mr. Zhu's cleverness, he certainly wasn't completely unaware of it.

However, in his opinion, brothers quarrel within the walls while defending against external insults. Even if the descendants of the Zhu family have disputes, conflicts, and even fights because of this, no matter how they fight, the country will still be in the hands of the Zhu family, which is always better than being taken away by outsiders.

The Zhou royal family divided the country into fiefdoms and ruled the country for eight hundred years.

Qin Shihuang unified the country but did not divide the country into fiefdoms, and died in the second generation.

Just imagine if, after Qin Shihuang swept across the six kingdoms, he did not set up counties, but instead followed the Zhou royal family's example and enfeoffed kings and sent his sons out to guard the place. Then the uprising of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang would probably have been suppressed by the local kings at the first opportunity, without having to wait for the slow-reacting central dynasty to make a decision and miss the opportunity.

It is impossible for the nobles of the six countries to return to seclusion one after another.

It was also difficult for Liu Bang and Xiang Yu to take advantage of the situation.

The Qin Dynasty might not have perished in the second generation.

Even if the kings rebelled, seized the country, and killed the emperor, they were still descendants of the Zhu family.

Just like among clans with the same surname, there are always a lot of internal fights.

But once they encounter foreign enemies, they will still unite to face the outside world.

The more people in the clan with the same surname, the greater their power and the more stable their status.

No matter how much they fight each other, it won't change that.

Therefore, from Zhu Yuanzhang's perspective, dividing the country into fiefdoms was a very wise approach.

After the division of the feudal states, only by looking out for each other can the country be stable.

In fact, Lao Zhu’s idea is not wrong.

Looking back at history, if there had been no division of the feudal system and Zhu Di's uprising in Peking, the Ming Dynasty would have fallen into the hands of Emperor Jianwen. Given his weak and self-willed character, there is a high possibility that his power would have been stripped away by powerful officials in the court after 20 or 30 years.

It only took ten years for the country to be formally unified.

But it may take fifty years or even longer for people's hearts to stabilize.

Only after three generations will the dynasty enter a stable period.

Because at this time, everyone in the world recognized this dynasty.

The first one or two generations witnessed the change of dynasties and usually did not have a strong sense of belonging and security in the new dynasty.

After all, the incident of the changing of the king's flag on the city wall is still vivid in our minds.

In their worldview, it would not be surprising if something similar happened again.

Only those who were born after the unification of the dynasty and grew up in a stable environment would feel that the dynasty is a natural existence.

I feel incredible about the change of dynasties, or at least I think such a thing will never happen to me.

This is actually the same as people’s attitude towards science and technology.

People who were born and raised in peacetime cannot imagine life in wartime, and they instinctively resist such a thing from happening. They will also spontaneously maintain the good situation of unity and stability.

In their minds, there is no concept of the fall of a kingdom or the change of dynasties.

Unless there is no other way out and you can't survive...

No matter how many people complain about the current situation and how bad they criticize those in power, if they really have to choose between welcoming a new dynasty after thirty years of turmoil, they will be afraid and will refuse.

Everyone understands that people in troubled times are worse than dogs in peaceful times.

Only when there are a large number of such people can the country be truly stable.

This is also why a new dynasty must go through three generations before it can be truly stable.

The Ming Dynasty was still a new dynasty and was still unstable. It required the concerted efforts of the entire family to defend the country.

Therefore, no matter how the ministers advised him and pointed out the various disadvantages of dividing the country into fiefdoms, Zhu Yuanzhang remained steadfast in implementing the system.

Upon hearing this, Xu Huizu and Xu Miaojin hurriedly bowed and said, "Your Highness, if you have anything to say, just let us know. It is an honor for our Xu family to serve Your Highness. But we would never accept the word 'help'."

Zhu Yunhuan was too lazy to bother playing a role with the brother and sister over this, so he took Gu Panjun's hand again, looked at Xu Miaojin and said with a smile: "Just now at the market, you said you wanted to recognize Panjun as your sister."

"I think this is a good thing. It will be a good story if it spreads."

"But it's just a joke, after all, it can't be taken seriously."

"Now I'm asking you again, and by the way, Duke Wei, are you willing to accept Panjun as your sister?"

Xu Huizu was delighted when he heard this.

It seems that the development of things was exactly as my sister expected.

Xu Miaojin stepped forward and said, "These are my sincere words. If Your Highness the Crown Prince is willing to witness them, I would be more than happy to do so."

Xu Huizu also bowed and said, "I have heard from my sister before about Miss Gu. My sister is blessed to have a sister like Miss Gu after three lifetimes of cultivation."

"Good!" Zhu Yunhuan clapped his hands and laughed.

Immediately, Xu Miaojin asked someone to prepare an incense burner and a chopping board, and wrote down his name and date of birth.

Gu Panjun also stepped forward and wrote down in the same way.

"Huh?" Xu Miaojin exclaimed in surprise, "It turns out to be Sister Gu, not Sister Gu."

According to the paper, Gu Panjun's birthday age was three months older than hers.

"I saw Sister Gu was very pretty before, and I thought she was younger than me, but I didn't expect that I was the younger sister." Xu Miaojin said with a smile: "Sister, you won't blame me for being reckless before, right?"

She said this, but she was worried in her heart.

According to the information she had previously obtained, Gu Panjun should be slightly younger than her.

But the numbers written at this time do not match the previous news.

However, in Xu Miaojin's view, these are all trivial matters and not worth worrying about too much.

Maybe the person who inquired about the information earlier made a mistake.

"How could that be?" Gu Panjun took Xu Miaojin's hand and said with a smile, "I was just born a few months earlier than you, but I am far less knowledgeable than you."

"When we become sworn brothers, we don't necessarily have to judge by age."

"How about we keep it the same as before? I'll still call you sister, and you'll still call me sister. How about that?"

In later generations, many girls hope to make themselves look younger.

I feel very happy when I am called sister even though I should call her aunt.

They even add the word "xiao" in front of their sister to show their youth.

But this world is completely different.

Everyone hopes that others can address them as older, like older brothers or sisters, and they absolutely do not want to be called younger brothers or sisters.

For example, when asking for directions outside, calling someone of the same age as you "big brother" is a sign of respect for the other person.

For example, the maids and servants in wealthy families would respectfully address the young master in the family who was much younger than themselves, or even only a few years old, as "Your Excellency".

Young unmarried ladies are called "Gu Nainai".

In short, people of humble status should act like juniors and listen to the teachings of their elders.

People with high status will naturally become elders.

Similarly, if the crown prince is not the eldest son but the legitimate son, and there is an older illegitimate brother above the crown prince, then after the crown prince inherits the throne, the older brother must call his younger brother "imperial brother" and call himself "imperial younger brother".

This is completely different from later generations who pursue youth and hope to be addressed as younger.

The most basic requirement of this era is respect for elders and juniors.

Elders represent power, status, respect... and younger generations need to obey.

With such internal logic, naturally everyone rushes to be the “elder”.

Gu Panjun took the initiative to ask Xu Miaojing to be his sister in order to show his respect for her.

Moreover, the age she wrote on the paper was originally false.

Gu Panjun’s actual age is exactly one year younger.

It was not that she intended to deceive, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had whispered to her in the carriage and told her to do so.

Gu Panjun didn't understand the reason for the wish for a moment, but since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had given the order, she had to do it.

"How can that be possible?" Xu Miaojin said with a smile, "There is an order of seniority. You are older than me, so you should be the elder sister."

After saying this, without waiting for Gu Panjun to explain or argue further, he immediately pulled her down to kneel.

"I, Xu Miaojin, am here today to become sworn sisters with my sister..."

……

After the two of them had sworn brotherhood, Xu Huizu laughed loudly and said, "From today on, I will have another sister."

Gu Panjun also bowed and called him "big brother". Xu Huizu immediately ordered a banquet to celebrate this event.

My sister has planned with great difficulty, and now it has finally paid off.

This relationship is neither too close nor too far, just right.

During the banquet, Zhu Yunhuan winked at Yang Rong, who understood and immediately began to persuade him to drink one cup after another.

Soon, Xu Huizu was about 70% drunk.

He is very strict with himself on a daily basis and rarely drinks, so his alcohol tolerance is not very high.

Today, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince came to visit the Xu Mansion in person, so he had to drink.

"I already know everything about your sister." Zhu Yunhuan said with a smile, "Your sister and I are in love with each other. I wonder if Duke Wei is willing to help us?"

"Yes, yes!" Xu Huizu couldn't help himself.

As soon as Xu Miaojing and Gu Panjun became sworn brothers, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince came to propose marriage.

The Xu family thus got the identity of the Crown Princess's "family" for free, and the matter was settled.

"Good, good, good!" Zhu Yunhuan laughed and said, "I knew that Duke Wei is a reasonable person and will not hinder my sister's lifelong happiness."

"Panjun and Miaojin are sworn sisters. When Miaojin enters the East Palace, she will have a companion."

and many more……

What did I hear?
Xu Huizu was instantly about 70% sober.

The person His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wants to marry is not Gu Panjun, but his own sister Xu Miaojing?
what's the situation?
Before he could react, Yang Rong beside him had already picked up the wine glass and said, "Your Highness heard that your sister has admired him for a long time, and Your Highness also took a liking to your sister at first sight. Today, they will be married forever. In the future, the Xu family and the Ming Dynasty will share weal and woe. This will be a good story for all ages!"

……

(End of this chapter)