The Ming Dynasty: The opening scene features Zhu Di angrily accusing him of illegitimate succession.

The two exchanged a glance, both feeling mutual loathing, but could only remain silent for the time being and walk together toward the palace.

The moment Lin Yue stepped through the Zuo Shun Gate, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

The hall was already full of people, including Xie Jin. All seven scholars of Wenyuan Pavilion were present, with Huang Huai, Hu Guang, Yang Rong, Yang Shiqi, Jin Youzi, and Hu Yan sitting on either side, their expressions solemn.

The three princes, Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Gaoxu, and Zhu Gaosui, stood on the left.

Zhu Gaochi's expression was calm, Zhu Gaoxu's eyes were sharp, while Zhu Gaosui looked around somewhat.

Yao Guangxiao, dressed in a monk's robe, sat upright on the right side, eyes closed, seemingly detached from the situation.

This isn't a normal meeting; it's clearly not a routine discussion.

Lin Yue's heart skipped a beat, and he thought to himself, "Could it be that Zhu Di is going to discuss the crown prince today?"

He glanced at Xie Jin beside him and saw that the other man also looked solemn, clearly having also noticed something amiss.

Zhu Di sat upright on the throne at the head of the table. When the two men entered, he spoke in a deep voice.

"Sit down. I have summoned you here today for no other reason than to discuss Lin Yue's proposal for overseas fiefdoms and Xie Jin's proposal for domestic fiefdoms."

"The ministers of the Wenyuan Pavilion, the princes, and Daoyan are all here. Let's discuss this today and get to the bottom of it: how should the fiefdoms be distributed, and who should be chosen as the heir apparent?"

The hall fell silent instantly.

The seven members of the Wenyuan Pavilion were all shocked. They had not expected His Majesty to be so decisive in linking the enfeoffment system with the position of heir apparent.

The three princes had different expressions. Zhu Gaochi lowered his eyes and remained silent, while Zhu Gaoxu's eyes flickered.

Yao Guangxiao slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping across everyone's faces before finally settling on Lin Yue.

Lin Yue's reaction was different from the others; he was purely excited.

Whether it's establishing vassal states overseas or the issue of choosing an heir, he can rant about it all today.

Lin Yue raised his eyes to look at Zhu Di and said loudly, "Your Majesty, I believe that we should widely implement the system of enfeoffing princes overseas and changing the enfeoffment of other princes."

"Lin, the remonstrator, stop spouting nonsense and misleading the emperor!" Xie Jin's expression changed drastically, and he stepped forward, holding his jade tablet.

"The ancestral rules are glorious; how can they be altered arbitrarily?"

Emperor Taizu (Hongwu Emperor) enfeoffed various princes, all in the heart of the Central Plains and strategically important border regions, so that the imperial family could protect the royal family and that they could jointly safeguard the Ming Dynasty through blood ties. There has never been a precedent of princes being enfeoffed overseas!

Xie Jin disliked Lin Yue's plan for a simple reason: he was trying to get the Yongle Emperor's sons to take up their fiefdoms so that Zhu Gaochi could become the crown prince.

Lin Yue's overseas enfeoffment was a genuine attempt to make the princes kings in name and in fact, but how could that be allowed?

To move forward, civil officials can tolerate taking a step back to accumulate strength, but you can't just retreat more than a thousand years.

Is their Ming Dynasty some kind of backward feudal country?

Faced with Xie Jin's angry rebuke, Lin Yue immediately chose to refute.

"Scholar Xie, how dare you! We have both spoken before His Majesty, and the rules of court deliberations are clearly established: when one person speaks, the others listen attentively. How dare you interrupt my speech?"

Lin Yue shouted angrily to stop him, pointing his jade tablet directly at Xie Jin.

"Even if my suggestion regarding the overseas fiefdoms is inappropriate, it should be decided by His Majesty, not by you, relying on your status as a Hanlin scholar, to forcibly suppress dissent!"

He pressed on relentlessly, escalating his attacks on Xie Jin and resorting to personal assault.

"Smooth channels for communication are the foundation of a nation! In the past, Tang of Shang rose to power by accepting the advice of Yi Yin, while Jie of Xia perished by silencing loyal ministers. Emperor Gaozu established officials to speak out and held court discussions precisely to broaden the scope of opinions and avoid being swayed by biased views."

You interrupt your colleagues' reports at every turn today, simply because you fear that my words will expose the fallacy of your system of enfeoffment within your territory, and thus you try to use your power to block the channels of communication.

Your act of blatant disregard for court regulations and imperial authority is surely a grave disrespect!

Faced with the old-fashioned approach of first labeling someone and then criticizing them, Xie Jin was so angry that his face turned red. He opened his mouth to defend himself, but he didn't know where to begin.

According to the rules, interrupting during court discussions is indeed a breach of etiquette, not to mention the serious charge of blocking the channels of communication.

Sitting on his throne, Zhu Di looked at Lin Yue's righteous and dignified demeanor and felt utterly absurd and speechless.

Lin Yue is such a scoundrel. Wasn't he the one who loved to interrupt others the most during the court assembly?

This madman even dared to interrupt the emperor when he was speaking, but when he was interrupted himself, he couldn't stand it at all and immediately retaliated.

Zhu Di suppressed his inner complaints and decided to try to control the situation.

"Please wait a moment, Hanlin. Although Lin Yue's words are harsh, let him finish speaking."

Xie Jin shut up sullenly, glared at Lin Yue, and retreated to his original position.

Lin Yue straightened his back, raised his eyes to look at Zhu Di, and spoke with great passion.

"Your Majesty! Today I will explain the advantages and disadvantages of establishing overseas fiefdoms thoroughly, so that Your Majesty may know that this is not just empty talk, but the foundation for the eternal prosperity of the Ming Dynasty!"

In the past, when Emperor Taizu Gao enfeoffed princes within the territory, the annual grain consumption during the Hongwu era was more than 200,000 shi (a unit of dry measure) to support them. Now, with the population of the imperial clan increasing dramatically, there is a great deal of extravagance. This has been discussed before, so I will not go into details.

Leaving aside the issue of the vassal kings' stipends, the princes in various regions are uncontrollable, annexing countless acres of land, exempting them from taxes and corvée labor, leaving the common people with no land to cultivate and no taxes to evade. This is the true, deepest thorn in the side of the Ming Dynasty!

The hall was silent, and the people reacted in different ways.

Yao Guangxiao nodded slowly, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes. Having been in the local area for a long time, he was well aware of the drawbacks of the annexation of the imperial clan. What Lin Yue said was by no means an exaggeration; there were indeed signs that the vassal kings in this territory were becoming too powerful.

Zhu Di also agreed with Lin Yue's assessment. As the most powerful vassal king himself, no one understood better than him the dangers of vassal kings causing chaos and the expansion of the imperial clan.

When Emperor Yongle was still Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan, he did annex land. After all, without annexing land, there would be no money or grain, no army, and without an army, the princes would be powerless and unable to defeat the Northern Yuan.

Lin Yue's words were incisive and irrefutable. The seven scholars of Wenyuan Pavilion looked at each other, some exchanging glances, but no one dared to refute them, clearly acknowledging their judgment.

Of the three princes, Zhu Gaochi remained silent with his eyes lowered, his expression calm and unmoved.

Zhu Gaoxu's eyes flickered. In truth, he was the one who most approved of Lin Yue's overseas fiefdom. He could become emperor or a powerful vassal king. Why not?

Only Zhu Gaosui's smile vanished instantly, his brows furrowed, and he couldn't help but secretly purse his lips.

He had long hoped to be enfeoffed, to enjoy his fiefdom and wealth, and to live a carefree life. Now that Lin Yue wanted to reassign the princes to overseas lands and send them to suffer in those barbaric places, how could he be happy about it?

He looked around, his eyes full of displeasure, but dared not show it due to the occasion.

Everyone had their own thoughts, while Lin Yue continued to output.

"On the contrary, the overseas enfeoffment was the best strategy for the long-term stability of the Ming Dynasty, especially since the benefits of maritime trade far exceeded those of land tax!"

During the Song Dynasty, the annual revenue of the Maritime Trade Office reached as high as 3.4 million strings of cash. The total fiscal revenue of the Song Dynasty was nearly 100 million strings of cash, of which trade alone accounted for 90% of the fiscal revenue!

(In reality, it's usually 70%-85%, and not all of it is trade tax.)

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di was immediately shocked: "The trade and tax revenue during the Song Dynasty was so high? Is this really true?"