Ming Dynasty: Charge, Emperor Yongle!

"Zhu Chongba".

From afar, a gentle yet authoritative voice drifted into the Fengtian Hall.

"Woman!"

"Why are you here?"

Zhu Yuanzhang turned around and saw Empress Ma walking in from outside the palace, her face frosty and her phoenix eyes cold and stern.

"You didn't listen to a single word Biao'er said."

"How old is the fourth son? You're going to use him to death."

When Empress Ma stood before Zhu Yuanzhang, she no longer possessed the demeanor of an empress dowager; she was merely a protective mother.

"we..."

Zhu Yuanzhang was speechless. Faced with Empress Ma, his wife of many years, he couldn't even utter a single word of defense.

"Why doesn't Tiande just take down the fourth brother? Doesn't he have the ability?"

"He is the pillar of the Ming army; at his command, who in the central army dares to disobey!"

Why did he let the fourth prince do it? He simply sent someone with an urgent report to the capital.

"Don't you understand what he means?"

"What exactly did the fourth brother do to make you treat him like this?"

"He's just a child."

Empress Ma's eyes were full of heartache, and every word she spoke revealed her concern for Zhu Di.

Zhu Di was born in the 20th year of the Zhizheng era (1360). He was only thirteen years old this year, but he had already appeared on the battlefield, fighting bloody battles, making a thousand-mile raid on the northern desert, capturing Karakorum, capturing the Northern Yuan emperor, and establishing many great military achievements.

These achievements, if placed on an ordinary person, would at least earn them the rank of marquis, or even a duke.

Unfortunately, he was Zhu Yuanzhang's son, the Prince of Yan of the Ming Dynasty. There was nothing more to reward him with, nothing more to bestow upon him, except the power to deal with the northern deserts.

Even Xu Da, Zhu Di's father-in-law, knew how to feel sorry for him, but Zhu Yuanzhang, his biological father, pushed his son step by step into the abyss.

It’s tolerable, it’s unbearable!

"Woman."

Zhu Yuanzhang grew anxious and said in a hoarse voice, "Do you think we don't want to be considerate of the fourth prince?"

"But that's not just any place; it's the northern desert, the very place where the Mongols rose to power."

"Who is Wang Baobao? He's the most extraordinary man in the world. How could he be ordered around by a mere brat like Lao Si?"

"How do you know that the fourth brother is in control of all this? Why can't it be that Wang Baobao is using this to his advantage?"

"I ask you, you are the emperor, the Son of Heaven of the Great Ming Dynasty, what were you doing at the age of thirteen?"

Empress Ma showed no mercy to Zhu Yuanzhang, mocking him, "When you were still herding cattle for a landlord, the fourth prince had already accomplished everything that ordinary people could not. What makes you doubt the fourth prince? What makes you not believe in Tiande?"

"That's his son-in-law. Would he just sit by and watch his daughter become a widow?"

"Father, things have come to this point, we have no choice but to trust our fourth brother."

Zhu Biao, who hadn't spoken until now, couldn't help but interject and offer some advice.

"Wife, boss."

"Okay, let's not worry about that, this is fine."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his wife on one side and his eldest son on the other, sighed, and said.

"no."

Empress Ma glared at him and demanded, "Your old brothers would love for Fourth Prince to die in the northern desert."

"Will Fu Youde and Feng Sheng listen to Lao Si?"

"I want you to issue an imperial edict granting the Prince of Yan the authority to tour the borders on behalf of Heaven and to control all the guards along the border."

"The Eastern Route Army and the Western Route Army must obey the orders of the Prince of Yan; those who disobey will be executed without pardon!"

"Eldest brother, draft the imperial edict as your mother instructed and send it to the Eastern Route Army, the Western Route Army, and the border guards."

Zhu Yuanzhang could not disobey Empress Ma, so he could only instruct his crown prince Zhu Biao.

"Yes, Father."

A hint of relief flashed across Zhu Biao's eyes as he hurriedly left Fengtian Hall.

After he left, Zhu Yuanzhang helped Empress Ma to sit down and said with an awkward smile, "My dear wife, give me some face in front of your son."

"I am, after all, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the ruler of all people."

"How dare I, a mere woman in the inner palace, show disrespect to His Majesty?"

Empress Ma said something in a lukewarm tone.

"Look at you, why are you still angry?"

"Didn't I promise to give the fourth prince the power to control the border guards and the eastern and western armies?"

"I even sent Wenying and Tang He to the northern desert, just because I was worried about that brat, the fourth prince."

Zhu Yuanzhang carefully coaxed Empress Ma; a couple who had gone through thick and thin together could not be compared to others.

"His Majesty."

Empress Ma said solemnly, "The Ming Dynasty is in dire need of reconstruction. The court will continue the Yuan Dynasty's system of establishing the Secretariat, with the Left and Right Chancellors in charge of the Six Ministries."

"The local areas were established as provinces, governed by the Vice Chancellor and the Grand Chancellor."

"We established guard posts throughout the country to control key locations. The Grand General's Office was set up to manage the military registers of the guard posts nationwide. Campaigns, garrisons, and training were all under the command of the Ministry of War."

"Local authorities shall establish regional command offices and appoint commanders to serve as the local military leaders."

"The Secretariat has become the self-governing camp of the Huai-Xi faction, while the Zhejiang literati manage the Censorate and try their best to maintain a balance."

"Most of the generals who led the campaigns were from Huaixi and colluded with the Ministry of War."

"If this continues, will the world ultimately be in your hands, or will it be in the hands of Xun Gui from Huaixi?"

"Woman, please continue."

Zhu Yuanzhang knew that Empress Ma had always been quite insightful in military and political affairs, so he was not angry that she interfered in court affairs. Instead, he listened carefully to her opinions.

"The second northern expedition was an opportunity for our Great Ming to completely resolve the threat from the grasslands."

"The Eastern Route Army is commanded by Bao'er, so there is no problem."

"The commander of the Western Route Army, Feng Sheng, and the vanguard, Fu Youde, were both nobles from Huaixi and had close relationships with Li Shanchang and Hu Weiyong."

"If we don't seize their military power now, it will be much harder to do so later."

"Wen Ying is Feng Guoyong's son-in-law and Feng Sheng's nephew-in-law. No one can say a word about him taking command of the Western Route Army."

"The fact that Tang He has not associated with the nobles of Huaixi all these years is enough to show that he, like Tian De, is someone you can trust."

"With him stationed in the northern desert, it's like the fourth brother has a stabilizing force to keep Wang Baobao in check."

"This is a good opportunity to temper the fourth prince. The fourth prince is the Prince of Yan. It is not enough to just have military strategy. He also needs to know how to govern the region."

"The Hexi Corridor stretches for two thousand miles and has been a vital passage for the Central Plains to reach the Western Regions since ancient times."

"The area is home to a diverse mix of Han, Tibetan, Mongolian, and Hui ethnic groups, making it extremely complex."

"If the fourth prince can clean up the northern deserts and the Hexi Corridor, his future enfeoffment will be assured."

"With the northern deserts and the Hexi Corridor pacified, there is no need to worry too much about the second and third sons taking up their fiefs."

Empress Ma meticulously analyzed the situation of the Ming Dynasty and offered a proposal that Zhu Yuanzhang could not refuse.

"you're right."

Zhu Yuanzhang agreed, saying, "I should indeed let the fourth prince act freely."

"With Tang He stationed in the northern desert and Wen Ying taking over the Hexi Corridor, there will be no more threats to the northwest and the grasslands."

"At that time, it would be natural for the second son to be enfeoffed in Xi'an and the third son in Taiyuan."

"Zhongba, don't be too harsh on the fourth brother."

After saying this, Empress Ma got up and walked out of Fengtian Hall.

Zhu Yuanzhang watched her disappear from sight step by step, and the thoughts of this founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty became increasingly profound.