Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 904: Xie Jin's Revenge

"Old Master Ru, be careful with your words!" Ru Hong was so frightened that his soul flew out of his body. He and Ru Taisu were also from the same clan. Seeing that the old master's words implied that the emperor was not doing things clearly, he hurriedly stood between Old Zhu and Ru Taisu. On the surface, he was scolding Ru Taisu, but in fact, he was blocking his expression so that Old Zhu could not see the expression on Ru Taisu's face.

Moreover, Ma Ye is a relative of Empress Ma, and Empress Ma died not long ago. His Majesty is still feeling sad, and he must love Ma Ye and his family. If he directly rebukes Ma Ye at this time, what if His Majesty gets angry...

Unexpectedly, Ru Taisu's stubborn temper came up again. He pushed Ru Rong aside, looked directly at Old Zhu and said, "Your Majesty, what is Shuixi guilty of? If you let Ma Ye go, how can the court maintain long-term stability without law and order?"

"Moreover, the tribes in the southwest are close to the Han family. If we start a war without authorization, wouldn't it push the thousand-year-old relationship between the tribes and the Han family into a situation of hostility?"

"Even if the Ming army is extremely powerful and invincible...if the tribes hide in the mountains or use the terrain to defend themselves, how can the Ming army defeat them in one fell swoop? The former Mongolians were so powerful that they were defeated at Diaoyucheng. Even with the bravery of Duke Song, can the Ming army guarantee that it will be able to sweep the southwest in a short period of time?"

"..." Feng Sheng's eyes were gloomy and he kept silent.

"Even if it is possible," Ru Taisu turned a deaf ear and continued to speak. "How many soldiers and civilians will the court need to deploy to wipe out the chieftains in the southwest? How many of our Ming Dynasty men will die on the battlefield?"

"Even if we can kill all the chieftains in the southwest and turn the southwest into a wasteland, how long will it take before they can revive?"

"What good would it be for the Ming Dynasty to take over a lifeless southwest?"

"Our Great Ming is so powerful, how can we allow a few thieves to blaspheme? If they are really loyal to our Great Ming, how dare they do such a thing?" Feng Sheng said coldly. "If it is up to you, do you want to let them do whatever they want?"

"Of course we shouldn't just let it go." Facing the Duke Feng Sheng, Ru Taisu also spoke in a stiff tone. "Your Majesty, when His Royal Highness Prince Zhou was in Lianzhou, he used the profits from the market to connect with the chieftains and make them accept the Ming officials to take over."

"This is a safe plan. If we start a war without authorization, there will be troubles. The purpose of building Guiyang is to use it as a market and win the hearts of the people in Guizhou. Why don't we continue to follow this method? Without spending a single soldier, we will be able to recover the southwest in the future and make it part of the heartland of China..."

"Hmm..." Old Zhu stroked his short beard, thought for a moment, and said, "Forget it, you guys can leave first."

"This matter involves many people. Let's think about it first and then make a decision..."

The emperor had said so, so the civil and military officials could not say anything more. After they bowed, they all left. When the military heroes turned around, they first glared at Ru Taisu fiercely, and then they waved their sleeves and left.

Soon, all the ministers withdrew and sat in the hall. Except for Emperor Hongwu, only Crown Prince Zhu Biao was left.

"Biao'er, what do you think about this matter?" Old Zhu asked Zhu Biao.

"Replying to Your Majesty." Zhu Biao's eyes flashed with brilliance, and without any hesitation, he said: "In your opinion, what Censor Ru said is a mature strategy for the country."

He said: "It is imperative to change the native system to the Han system, but we should not rush it, and we must not use military force to force it... Otherwise, the southwest will be corrupted and the court will also fall into the quagmire."

"Then, using benefits to lure them and slowly taking action is the best strategy. And with education, the southwest will surely become the homeland of China, just like the heart of the Central Plains."

"Yeah." Old Zhu nodded and said, "You have your own ideas, that's a good thing. But..." He narrowed his eyes and tapped the jade ruyi in his hand. "Slow down, slow down... I think it's too slow."

"Father!" Zhu Biao was anxious and said, "Father has done enough. I wonder if there is anyone in history whose achievements can be compared with Father's?"

"Father is a wise and wise man, and he has always been dedicated to his descendants. As descendants, how can we bear to see our father take on all the consequences of hundreds of generations?"

At this point, Zhu Biao said emotionally: "Father, I know you want to solve all the problems in the world within one generation... But if this matter is urgent, it will be difficult to achieve the best of both worlds. If you use military force, it will leave a huge hidden danger for future generations."

"You have done enough. You can share the remaining work with your descendants. You can't let them become useless rulers who can't do anything..."

"After the Queen Mother passed away, you worried too much and there are many white hairs on your temples... If this continues, how can I bear it if something happens?"

When it comes to Empress Ma, Zhu couldn't help but feel a little sluggish. He sighed and said, "Forget it. This country will be yours after all. Since you insist, why should I argue with you?"

"But this matter is not as simple as the chieftains in the southwest... Do you know the intricacies involved? Can you really handle it properly?" Old Zhu said to Zhu Biao.

"Please rest assured, father. I know what's going on." Zhu Biao nodded.

He naturally knew that this matter involved not only Ma Ye's forcing the chieftain to rebel, but also the fact that the power of military heroes in the Ming Dynasty court was too great and was about to be out of control.

After the founding of a country, due to the need to govern the country, the power of civil officials has always been growing, while the power of military generals has been shrinking, to the point that civil officials are more important than military officials, and civil officials are more important than military officials. This is a warning for all generations. When the Ming Dynasty was first established, there was also such a situation, so Zhu Yuanzhang killed many times and punished civil officials, killing the power of civil officials to the point that they dared not expand recklessly.

But later, the Ming Dynasty began to implement the national policy of expanding territory, and military merit became popular again. The status of military generals was repeatedly improved, and they even had a tendency to become too powerful to be eliminated in the court.

According to Zhu Yuanzhang's opinion, even if the power is too great to be eliminated, it doesn't matter. He can just send a fief to the outer borders. The generals in the remote areas of the outer borders will inevitably rely on the support of the Central Plains dynasty.

Thousands of years later, the local area will become China. If there is still rebellious intention... it will not be able to take care of that far away.

However, at present, the power of military generals has far suppressed the civil officials, and even has a certain influence on the emperor's power. Military generals everywhere have expressed doubts about the court's national policy of recuperation.

Military generals must not be abolished. As a prince, he must maintain closeness with the military generals. But in the Yunnan incident, he must suppress military merits.

How to suppress military honors while still getting the support of military honors and generals, maintain the balance in the court, prevent the literati from becoming too powerful, and successfully resolve the issues in the southwest? This is a test of Zhu Yuanzhang's ability to balance the forces in the court.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince." As Zhu Biao was leaving the imperial city, a eunuch came up to greet him.

"Go, invite Xie Jin, who is under my fourth brother's tutelage." Zhu Biao said. Then he laughed at himself: "I never thought that one day, I would have to use the same methods that my fourth brother used..."

(End of this chapter)