Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

Yingtian Mansion, Fengtian Hall.

While the rooster was still sleeping and the east was still dark, Zhu Di had already risen to handle government affairs.

Zhu Di, who didn't sleep well last night, was methodically reviewing the memorials sent from various places behind the piles of papers.

The Yongle Emperor, after successfully taking over this huge empire after a four-year civil war that could be described as crawling out of a mountain of blood, has gradually become familiar with the job of emperor.

Zhu Di, who was at the peak of his power in the Spring and Autumn Period, eagerly hoped to show his ministers that he, the emperor, was not just a famous general in the world, but also had rich and sophisticated governing abilities through diligent service.

Of course, even if Emperor Yongle handled government affairs according to his father Zhu Yuanzhang's work and rest standards, after a period of time, he had to admit that, like Zhu Yuanzhang, he approved more than 200 memorials a day on average and handled more than 400 state affairs, which was very important to the emperor. Patience and health are no small challenge.

Zhu Di thought to himself that maybe he needed the assistance of a team of close servants and civil servants.

"Dad, are you tired?"

Seeing Zhu Di's hand holding the brush like a sword and gun moving slower and slower, the third prince Zhu Gaosui, who was in the shadow of Jin Zhu, walked out holding the food plate he had been waiting for for a long time.

Zhu Gaosui did not wear the Yan Bianguan uniform that a prince should wear. Instead, he wore a bullfight uniform with only a small pumpkin hammer tied around his waist.

He walked up the jade steps briskly and placed the food plate on Zhu Di's desk. Inside was a bowl of rice porridge and a plate of pickles.

Zhu Di put down the memorial and said without raising his head.

"Leave the porridge and kill the people."

There is an allusion here, which is inseparable from the diligence of Ming Taizu. After hearing this, Zhu Gaosui did not panic at all, but said with a playful smile.

"Dad, I care about you. Don't tire yourself out like grandpa."

"Don't show any courtesy to me."

Zhu Di poured the pickles directly into the rice porridge, took a few sips and put them aside. He raised his head and asked seriously.

"Third brother, let me ask you, is there any movement from your second brother?"

"I was about to tell my father about this." The third prince Zhu Gaosui narrowed his slender eyes and reported seriously. "Dad, look at this memorial. It was handed over by my second brother."

After saying that, the third prince Zhu Gaosui bent down and took out a memorial from the boot page and handed it to Zhu Di.

Zhu Di nodded expressionlessly and opened the memorial.

The memorial begins with Zhu Gaoxu describing how he was meditating hard in prison. One day, he dreamed that his imperial grandfather, Zhu Yuanzhang, entrusted him with a dream, saying that the vassal system was the three lifelines our family left to future generations, and should not be touched lightly.

Zhu Gaoxu's behavior of taking credit was not unexpected by Zhu Di. After all, his second son was a martial artist and always liked to brag about how great his achievements were.

However, as he continued to read the memorial, Zhu Di's brows furrowed tightly.

After reading to the end, he angrily slapped the memorial on the desk with such force that the small pile of memorials on the edge almost fell into a landslide.

"absurd!"

"As long as I give him the troops and horses of the three major battalions, he can flatten all the vassals and save me countless expenses for future generations?"

"Does he want to lead troops to reduce the vassal state, or does he want to have another Xuanwu Gate incident?!"

Next to him, the third prince Zhu Gaosui hurriedly knelt down and said.

"Father, calm down. Although my second brother has a strong personality, he is loyal to his father and will not do this."

Zhu Di interrupted him angrily: "He just wants to rebel!"

As soon as he finished saying this, the originally quiet hall fell into an eerie silence.

After a long time, Zhu Di regained his composure and took a deep breath.

"Third brother, I know that you and your second brother have always been close. What do you think I should do?"

Zhu Gaosui's forehead was covered with beads of sweat. He hesitated for a moment and then said: "Haier suggested that the second brother be put under house arrest in the imperial edict first. A team of soldiers will be sent to guard the second brother and no one is allowed to visit the second brother."

Zhu Di shook his head and exhaled slowly.

"Please step aside first and go to the harem to see your mother and pay her respects."

"yes!"

Zhu Di did not even tell Dao Yanming that the vassal system he had established to "peacefully reduce vassals and support the clan" actually had his own selfish motives.

That is Zhu Di, as a father, he wants to compensate his second and third sons who are destined to be unable to inherit the throne!

If anyone else had dared to tell Zhu Di to give him the three camps, Zhu Di's butcher knife would have been thirsty.

But not to mention that tigers are poisonous and do not eat their children. Compared with his father, Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Di tried his best to protect his own people. At this point, Zhu Di did his best to protect his second son Zhu Gaoxu, who worked hard to help him ascend the throne. I feel guilty.

During the four years of peace, Zhu Gaoxu made great contributions.

In the Battle of Baigou River, Zhu Gaoxu killed the Confederate General Qu Neng in the midst of millions of troops and decapitated his father and son; in the desperate situation of Dongchang, Zhang Yu died in battle, and Zhu Gaoxu led the cavalry to rescue Zhu Di who was almost captured alive; Jiahe Minced Meat When the battle situation was tense, Zhu Gaoxu led his army to break the formation; in the bloody battle of Gaocheng, Zhu Gaoxu took the lead in resisting the emperor, and King Yan's emperor and his double-layer armor were shot into hedgehogs; in the decisive battle of Lingbi, he led the heavy cavalry to defeat him with one blow. The rear of the Southern Army determines the ownership of the world.

After the battles were fought, without Zhu Gaoxu, who was recognized as the "reincarnation of King Xiang" and the most powerful general in the world, who repeatedly led the Yan army's heavy cavalry to charge bravely to break the deadlock at critical moments, Zhu Di would not have been able to leave. to this location.

Therefore, in the final analysis, Zhu Di set up such a strategy to reduce the feudal vassal.

It was also for the sake of his two sons that he would be granted the title of vassal king in the future so that he and his descendants could have better treatment.

But now, Jiang Xinghuo only needed a chessboard and told him clearly.

He was wrong!

If calculated based on the current clan salary, it would only take two hundred years for the Ming Dynasty's finances to be completely crushed!

Unable to feed the army, unable to pay salaries to officials, unable to deal with any famine or rebellion!

Without Jiang Xinghuo's unexpected reminder, I am afraid that by this time today, my decree to peacefully reduce the vassal state would have been promulgated. By then, it would have meant that the national destiny of the Ming Dynasty had been shortened by decades by myself!

Zhu Di will never allow this to happen!

But no matter what, he never thought of a better way to solve the problems of the vassals.

It was impossible for Zhu Di to raise a butcher's knife against the feudal vassals like Zhu Yunwen did.

Fengtian Jingnan forced his nephew to seize the throne, which already made him bear the same stain as Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty who killed his brother and imprisoned his father.

If he kills all his brothers and nephews, then Zhu Di will not only have no face to see Zhu Yuanzhang.

I'm afraid that in the history books, he will become an eternal thief!

Become a tyrant even more cruel than Jie and Zhou!

"What should I do?"

Zhu Di looked at the portrait of Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang hanging in the empty and solemn Fengtian Hall, and murmured to himself.

"Everything in the world actually depends on man-made things, right, dad?"

The slightly drunken warm wind passed through the hall, and the portrait of Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, fluttered gently.

At this moment, the sound of rapid footsteps came.

A tall, beardless eunuch in scarlet robe appeared at the door of the hall.

"Your Majesty, Master Daoyan has something to say."