The Ming Dynasty: The most ruthless imperial grandson, Old Zhu begged me not to kill him.

Chapter 263 Reforming the System of Succession of Feudal Princes
"Uncle, don't worry. I naturally believe that none of my uncles would do such a thing. However, I'm not sure whether the next few emperors will be able to do such a thing. Moreover, only the centralized power of the Ming Dynasty can exert its greatest strength. If there is large-scale enfeoffment, once the situation of the ruler being like a city wall will occur, I'm afraid that the situation of warlords dividing the country during the Warring States period will reappear. This would be extremely disadvantageous for our Ming Dynasty!"

"What's more, have you even considered the Twelve Books? This generation of the Emperor has twenty or thirty princes, and they will all be granted the title of king!"

"When the next generation comes along, the main line of these twenty or thirty kings will still be princes, while the other sons of concubines will all be granted the title of dukes!"

"But the princes of this main line will also have sons. When that time comes, our Great Ming will have a continuous stream of princes and marquises!"

"Leaving aside those who inherited titles at a lower rank, just consider how many hereditary titles are passed down without any change of status?"

"My Great Ming Dynasty may be able to support you now, but when that time comes, my Great Ming Dynasty will have thousands upon thousands of kings!"

"By then, even if we emptied the treasury of our Great Ming Dynasty, we still wouldn't be able to support these people!"

The twelfth prince, Zhu Bai, looked extremely grim. He had never thought about this issue before, but now that he thought about it carefully, it seemed to make sense.

At this moment, the twelfth prince, Zhu Bai, picked up a pen and began to calculate. After some calculation, he also confirmed that if things continued like this, it wouldn't be long before there were countless princes with the surname Zhu in the Ming Dynasty, and it would be difficult for chaos to occur at that time.

The motherboard of the twelfth prince had a complicated expression.

"I never imagined they would ultimately become a burden on the Ming Dynasty," Zhu Bai said firmly.

“You’re right, this system definitely needs to be changed, otherwise our descendants will definitely run into trouble!”

Of course, there is another version of events that Zhu Bai did not mention.

Perhaps Zhu Biao and Zhu Xiong Ying wouldn't have reduced the power of the princes when they were alive, but no one can guarantee that their descendants won't do so in the future.

If their descendants do this, it will surely lead to infighting within the Zhu family itself.

This is something they don't want to see.

Zhu Xiong Ying nodded in satisfaction upon hearing this. With the support of the twelfth prince, Zhu Bai, this matter would likely be much easier.

After Zhu Xiong Ying returned, he immediately summoned all the princes.

The princes were extremely surprised to hear that Zhu Xiong Ying had summoned them to the Hall of Diligent Governance, and they had no idea what it was about.

Soon, several princes arrived at this place, namely Prince Zhu Shuang of Qin, Prince Zhu Gang of Jin, Prince of Yan, and the newly enfeoffed Princes of Zhou and Chu.

When everyone saw the older brothers arrive at this place, they all gathered around them.

"My brothers, do you know what has happened? Why has our nephew gathered us all together?"

Prince Qin, Zhu Shuang, shook his head and looked at Prince Jin, Zhu Gang, who was standing to the side.

Prince Zhu Gang of Jin was utterly speechless. How could he know things that even they didn't know? Although he had done some things with Zhu Xiong Ying during this period, it didn't mean that he knew everything.

Prince Zhu Gang of Jin shrugged.

"Don't ask me about this, I don't know what happened!"

He then turned his gaze to Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan.

Prince Yan, Zhu Di, felt even more wronged. During this time, he had been following under Duke Wei, Xu Da, seeking his advice on military strategy, and was extremely busy every day.

The newly enfeoffed kings, King Zhou and King Chu, were even more unaware of this.

Just then, someone appeared here.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out that the man was none other than the twelfth prince, Zhu Bai.

Upon seeing the Twelfth Prince Zhu Bai arrive, everyone crowded around him. "Twelfth Brother, what happened? Why did Xiong Ying summon us all here? Is there something important?"

Upon hearing this, the twelfth prince, Zhu Bai, immediately felt somewhat embarrassed.

Although he felt that the issue of reforming the system for these vassal kings was indeed urgent, he didn't know what to say when the words came to his lips.

Thinking of this, he looked at his older brothers with a complicated expression.

"My brothers, there's no need to rush. Xiong Ying will be here soon, and he'll tell you the details!"

At this moment, all the princes were shocked to see that the twelfth prince, Zhu Bai, had not revealed the specifics of the matter. Could it be that this matter was so important that even the twelfth prince dared not speak of it?

At this time, some of the younger princes were even more uneasy.

Not long after, Zhu Xiong Ying arrived at the main hall, looked at the people gathered together, and said with a smile.

"How have you uncles been lately?"

"Is Second Uncle's injury fully healed?"

Upon hearing this, King Zhu Shuang of Qin burst into laughter and patted his chest.

"It wasn't anything serious to begin with, and after resting for so many days, of course it's completely healed!"

Zhu Jiongying then inquired about the other princes.

After feeding them all, the princes looked at Zhu Xiong Ying eagerly and asked him questions.

"U.A., you've gathered us all in one place. Is there something important you need us to do?"

Everyone turned their attention to Zhu Xiong Ying.

Zhu Xiong Ying had previously entrusted the tasks to Prince Qin (Zhu Shuang), Prince Jin (Zhu Gang), and Prince Yan, and among those ministers was the twelfth prince, Zhu Bai. Did Zhu Xiong Ying also intend to use them? These people were very excited, as this meant they might have to leave Yingtian Prefecture and go to their respective fiefdoms.

Some people felt that after leaving Yingtianfu, there would be no more jurisdiction over Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma, and then it would be a time when fish could leap freely in the sea and birds could fly freely in the sky.

Some princes had a look of confusion in their eyes, unsure of what to do next.

At this moment, the Crown Prince Zhu Xiong Ying looked at the princes and said...

"I have invited you all here today to discuss something extremely important, something that concerns the very survival of the Ming Dynasty!"

Everyone was surprised after hearing this. It was indeed no small matter. If Zhu Xiong Ying dared to say that, then it meant that this matter was really very important.

Everyone turned to look at Zhu Xiong Ying, who took a deep breath and said...

"I intend to change the current system of enfeoffing princes and implement a new system of succession for princes!"

Zhu Xiong Ying then shared all her thoughts.

The princes looked extremely displeased after hearing Zhu Xiong Ying's words.

They were originally vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty.

Although it's nothing in Yingtian Prefecture, once they return to their respective fiefdoms, they become people far removed from the emperor's reach.

However, if we follow Zhu Xiong Ying's logic, it's uncertain whether they will be able to inherit this position in the future, and where they will end up.

(End of this chapter)