Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 211 Four Requests, Zhu Di: Could it be that Xiong Ying can defeat me? [Please subscribe]

Zhu Di had long anticipated that the Ming Emperor and the imperial court would certainly not let overseas vassal states run wild and allow them to develop at will.

The key is what requirements the Ming Dynasty has for the vassal states and how it will impose restrictions.

If there are too many requirements and too many restrictions, then running a vassal state will be meaningless.

Princes Zhu Ying, Zhu Zhen, Zhu Tan and others also thought of this and looked at Zhu Yuanzhang anxiously.

Under the gaze of the other princes, Zhu Yuanzhang did not keep them in suspense and said directly: "First, in terms of foreign military affairs, the overseas vassal states must obey the arrangements and dispatches of the Ming Emperor."

"For example, after the Fourth Brother established a vassal state overseas, Biaoer, when he became emperor, ordered him to cooperate with the court to attack a foreign country. The Fourth Brother had to obey."

"You all have no objection to this, right?"

The key to the central government's control over the local areas lies in the army, so the princes' first request to Zhu was not surprising.

If they were to establish a vassal state and become completely independent militarily, it would no longer be a vassal state, but another country completely separated from the Ming Dynasty.

After all, for a vassal state like Goryeo, if the emperor of the suzerain state has the order, they have to send troops to deal with it.

After realizing this, Zhu Ying took the initiative to bow and said, "Your son has no objection."

Although the others were a step late, they also expressed their agreement.

Zhu Yuanzhang continued, "Secondly, for three hundred years, the vassal states are prohibited from attacking each other. If there are any conflicts, they will be mediated and resolved by the Ming Emperor. Do you have any objections to this?"

If it doesn’t work within three hundred years, does that mean it will be possible after three hundred years?

Liu Kuan instantly understood what Lao Zhu was thinking.

After all, those who established fiefdoms overseas were all descendants of Zhu Yuanzhang. He certainly did not want his descendants to fight and kill each other for territory and resources.

But isn’t a time limit of three hundred years too long?
As expected, Liu Kuan wasn't the only one who had this doubt. Zhu Ying also popped his head in confusion and asked, "Father, isn't three hundred years too long? As the saying goes, 'The grace of a gentleman is cut off after five generations'..."

"Shut up!" Old Zhu couldn't help but yell after hearing Zhu Ying's half-sentence. "You're going to execute him after five generations? What? By the time your great-great-grandson, Zhu Ying, is born, he won't be a member of the Ming royal family anymore?"

"That's not what I meant..." Zhu Ying wanted to explain, but he didn't know how. In a moment of urgency, he looked at Zhu Di and said, "Fourth Brother, please say something!"

Zhu Di actually felt that the three hundred years time limit was too long, but he had a "criminal record" of the "Jingnan Campaign" and really didn't dare to take the initiative to question it.

Zhu Ying's shout gave him a reason to speak.

He then said, "Father, three hundred years is indeed too long. At the current rate of development of the Ming Dynasty, I wonder what the Ming Dynasty and its overseas vassal states will be like in three hundred years."

"If there is a real reason for war between the vassal states, there will definitely be unfilial descendants who will not abide by your rule."

"Instead of that, it would be better if you shortened the time limit to avoid making things difficult for future Ming emperors. What do you think?"

After hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang thought about the many things in history where the Ming emperors had violated their ancestors' teachings, and his face suddenly turned dark.

He wanted to yell at Zhu Di, "It's you, the descendants who love to disobey the ancestral precepts the most," but on the one hand it was not convenient to say it in public, and on the other hand he remembered that the first one to disobey the ancestral precepts he set was the child Yunwen.

Zhu Yuanzhang then asked with a dark face: "Then how do you think this requirement should be changed?"

Zhu Di bravely asked, "One hundred years?"

"Old Four, I think you're itching for trouble!"

Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to use something to hit Zhu Di, but couldn't find anything suitable, so he took off his shoes and threw them at him.

Zhu Di did not dodge, but just used his arms to cover his head and face, and was hit.

He then picked up the shoes and returned them to Lao Zhu.

Old Zhu was still angry, so he took the shoes and hit Zhu Di on the thigh before putting them back on.

Then he said angrily, "From the moment Biaoer ascends the throne, the overseas vassal states will not invade each other for two hundred years! This is settled, and no one is allowed to raise any objections!"

Zhu Xing and Zhu Di, who stood out, were scolded and beaten respectively. Naturally, the other younger princes did not dare to raise any more opinions.

What's more, some of these princes thought that three hundred years was quite good - not only were not all princes fond of war and good at military affairs, there were also some like Zhu Su, Zhu Chun, and Zhu Bo who liked literary affairs.

But three hundred years is indeed too long.

In later history, the Ming Dynasty did not even last three hundred years. Now no one knows what the world situation will be like three hundred years from now.

A hundred years is too short. If the descendants live long, perhaps their grandchildren are still alive, or even if they have sons, it is not certain. In this way, the vassal states will invade each other, and it will become a real slaughter among relatives within the five degrees of mourning.

So, the two hundred year time limit is just right.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat back in his armchair and said with a stern face, "Third, the first generation of vassal kings may not enclose more than three thousand miles of land... Do you have any objections?"

On whether to continue asking the princes for their opinions, Zhu Yuanzhang obviously hesitated, but finally decided to ask.

After all, the cooperation of the princes is required. If the rules he sets are too outrageous and the princes are unwilling to accept them, or if they violate them soon after he passes away, wouldn't it be a waste of his efforts to set them?
Zhu Ying looked at the people below and saw that no one else came forward to ask, so he had to bite the bullet and go up again.

"Father, is it three thousand miles in radius, or three thousand miles around?"

This made Old Zhu, whose anger had subsided a little, glare again. "What do you mean by 3,000 li in radius? How many li is the Ming Dynasty in radius? You, the third brother, are trying to circle the Ming Dynasty overseas in one fell swoop, right?"

When Liu Kuan saw Zhu Ying actually asked such a question, he couldn't help but laugh, thinking that Zhu Ying was not ignorant, but too greedy.

The so-called "so many miles in radius" refers to the radius.

As far as Liu Kuan knew, China in later generations was only about 3,000 miles in radius, and the current size of the Ming Dynasty's territory could be appropriately described as 3,000 miles in radius.

As for the three thousand miles around, it refers to the circumference of the border line of a piece of land.

According to the formula of the circumference and area of ​​a circle, we can calculate that the radius of the territory within the surrounding three thousand miles is less than five hundred miles, which is much smaller than the territory within the three thousand miles.

Zhu Ying had been retraining in the Grand Hall for a year or two, and he had made considerable progress. After a quick calculation, he couldn't help but mutter, "After all this trouble, they're finally allowing us to become Marquises of a Hundred Miles Overseas? We might as well stay at home and enjoy a peaceful life."

Zhu Di's reaction was somewhat slow. Because he hadn't returned to the main hall to rebuild, his calculations weren't as quick as Zhu Ying's. Fortunately, he was able to make a rough estimate, and after hearing Zhu Ying's mutterings, he realized that the territory of three thousand miles around him was really just a hundred-mile marquisate.

He wanted to conquer a vast territory overseas and even establish a powerful vassal state that would be no weaker than the Ming Dynasty in the future. Naturally, he was unwilling to be bound by territorial restrictions.

So he also bit the bullet and said, "Father, the overseas is vast. If I were to cross the ocean, I would only be able to become a marquis of a hundred miles. It is really not interesting."

Even Zhu Biao felt embarrassed because the old Zhu was too partial to his lineage, and said aloud: "Father, a 3,000-li circumference vassal state is indeed too small. How about changing it to 5,000 li?"

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted, "Well, for your eldest brother's sake, let's make a change - the first generation of vassal kings granted overseas fiefdoms may not enclose lands exceeding 5,000 miles around them."

Zhu Di was still dissatisfied with the five thousand miles around him.

The subcontinent where India is located is very large.

He wanted to fight for it again, but couldn't speak up because of Zhu Biao's face. In his anxiety, an idea suddenly came to his mind and he came up with a brilliant way to deal with it.

"Father said that the first generation of vassal kings could not enclose lands larger than 5,000 miles. So, if the need arises, can't we just pass the throne to our son?"

"If I become the Supreme King and then go on a campaign to conquer more territory, it wouldn't be against my father's wishes, right?"

"Hehe, I didn't expect I was so smart. I'm worthy of being the Yongle Emperor in later history!"

Just when Zhu Di was secretly proud of his brilliant strategy, he suddenly heard a crisp voice.

"Grandpa Emperor, your grandson has a question." It was Zhu Xiongying who spoke.

When Zhu Yuanzhang saw Zhu Xiongying, his mood immediately brightened up. He asked with a smile, "Oh, what questions does our eldest grandson have?"

Zhu Xiongying glanced at the older uncles, lingering a bit longer on Zhu Ying, Zhu Di, and Zhu Zhen, before saying, "Xiongying is wondering, if a vassal king went overseas to acquire more territory and then passed the throne to his son, wouldn't that circumvent Grandpa Huang's third requirement?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned when he heard this, then he slapped his thigh and said, "Hey, it's true!"

Then when he looked at Zhu Xiongying, the smile on his old face became even more intense. "You actually thought of the loophole in my request so quickly. Our Xiongying is really smart."

The other princes, including the clever Zhu Tan, only came up with this way of dealing with the situation after listening to Zhu Xiongying's words.

Therefore, most people were stunned at first, and then many people felt annoyed: How could this kid Zhu Xiongying see through it?

No one noticed that Zhu Di was stunned.

No one knew that he was like a wooden chicken, but his mind was full of thoughts at this moment.

"I just came up with this brilliant plan, and U.A. actually found the loophole!"

"Could it be that Xiongying is destined to defeat me and achieve great things?"

Zhu Yuanzhang pondered for a few moments before saying, "Then let's add a third requirement—for the next twenty years, the overseas vassal state's territory must not exceed five thousand miles around it."

Liu Kuan nodded after hearing this.

If the territory of 5,000 miles around is a circle, the radius would be about 800 miles, which is not small.

There is a restriction that the territory cannot be expanded beyond 5,000 miles around within 20 years. In the future, there will be a greater buffer in time and space between the overseas vassal states of the Ming Dynasty.

"Fourth," Zhu Yuanzhang continued, "After ten years of establishing their vassal states, overseas vassal states must pay tribute of one to three percent of the Ming Dynasty's fiscal revenue annually for a hundred years."

This is equivalent to allowing the Ming Dynasty court to collect taxes from overseas vassal states.

Regarding this point, Zhu Ying, Zhu Di and other princes who intended to establish fiefdoms overseas had no objection.

First, the imperial court must have sought to profit from the vassal states. Otherwise, why would the court have supported the vassal kings in their overseas missions? Just because of kinship? Such an assumption is naive.

Secondly, the tribute ratio set by Zhu Yuanzhang was not high, it could even be said to be very low.

The lowest tax rate imposed by the Ming Dynasty on local areas was one-thirtieth, and even if the vassal kings paid tribute at three percent, it would still be less than one-thirtieth.

Besides, fiscal revenue is something that is difficult to supervise and verify with today's technological level, not to mention that the vassal state is far away overseas. It would be very easy for them to conceal some of the fiscal revenue.

However, the policy of enfeoffment of overseas vassal kings was, after all, a major event that concerned the lineages of the vassal kings for hundreds of years, so Zhu Ying, Zhu Di and others still wanted to gain more benefits.

After a few people exchanged glances, it was King Chu Zhu Zhen who spoke.

"Father, it's fine for the vassal states to pay tribute to the imperial court, but since they're so far away overseas, can we just pay tribute once every few years?"

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't scold him this time. Instead, he nodded and said, "Yes, but the interval cannot exceed five years. You must understand that paying tribute is also an opportunity for vassal states to connect with the Ming mainland and communicate with each other. It cannot be too infrequent."

Zhu Zhen said, "Father is right."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked around at everyone and said, "For now, I have only these four requirements for your overseas vassal states. We may add to or adjust the requirements before the overseas vassal states officially begin. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to raise them."

It is impossible to finalize the specific policies for such major events and plans through a single meeting.

Therefore, the kings had no objection to Zhu Yuanzhang's words - if Zhu Yuanzhang made unreasonable demands, the worst that could happen was that they would not go overseas to establish vassal states to resist.

Thinking of this, the princes and grandchildren of the emperor remembered another equally important thing: if the vassal kings did not want to go overseas to establish their fiefdoms, or were unable to go overseas to establish their fiefdoms, how would the court arrange it?

You can't still use the previous policy, right?
Thinking of this, several princes and grandchildren who had no intention of going overseas looked at King Zhou Zhu Su.

In fact, after all the princes gathered in the capital a few days ago, they split into two groups.

One wanted to establish a vassal state overseas, while the other wanted to stay in the Ming Dynasty.

The main figures who went overseas to establish vassal states were Zhu Xing and Zhu Di, while the princes and grandsons who planned to stay in the Ming Dynasty were headed by Zhu Su - because as early as a year or two ago, when Zhu Di proposed the idea of ​​establishing vassal states overseas in the vassal circle, Zhu Su made it clear that he did not want to go overseas.

If he didn't go overseas, the court's policies would have a greater impact on the vassal kings. Therefore, even though Zhu Su usually didn't like to show up, he had to stand out at this time.

Seeing many people looking at him, he stood up and bowed, saying, "Father, if I do not wish to be a vassal overseas, what arrangements will the court make?"

　Second update.

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　　Good night~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)