Daming: Grandpa Emperor, please get up and sit on my throne!

At the same time, without giving it much thought, the two of them immediately took a step sideways, unwilling to be outdone, and bowed in unison, saying, "I second the motion!"

But as soon as these words were spoken, Zhan Hui and Fu Youwen came to their senses: Is there... something wrong?

And soon, they realized something was wrong.

"Your Highness, I hope Your Majesty will think twice before acting on this matter!"

"These vassal kings were bestowed by the late emperor to defend the northern border against the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty and protect Yingtian Prefecture. It's only been three months since the late emperor's passing, and Your Majesty is so eager to reduce their power. This is somewhat inappropriate."

The person who spoke was Ren Hengtai, the Minister of Rites, who was also one of the six heads of the ministry.

In fact, he rarely showed up on weekdays, not for any other reason, but because... he knew that the late emperor was still alive! Although the late emperor was cruel and murderous, that was only limited to outsiders. He was very trusting and tolerant towards his own people, especially the prince under his knees.

On the one hand, Ren Hengtai felt that he could not remain silent on the issue of reducing the power of the vassal states, otherwise the late emperor, who was hiding in some corner at this time, would definitely be displeased.

On the other hand, for the new emperor who had just ascended the throne, it would be easy for him to cause trouble if he was so anxious to reduce the power of the princes.

This was not only something that Ren Hengtai had considered. Other court officials had also thought about it, and naturally they all stepped forward to offer their advice:

"Your Majesty, what Lord Ren said makes sense! I also think this move is inappropriate."

"Now, each of the major vassal states has its own army to defend against foreign barbarians. If we rashly reduce the power of the vassal states, I am afraid it will be detrimental to the stability of our Ming Dynasty, Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty, please take back your order!"

"..."

Not only Ren Hengtai, but also the Left Vice Minister of War Ru Chang, the Minister of Punishment, the Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate Yuan Tai, and the Secret Censors of various ministries... all came forward to advise and remonstrate.

Some people even pointed out directly and secretly that the princes had more troops, and they were just short of saying things like "It will be easy for the princes to rebel if you do this."

To know.

The situation in the 25th year of Hongwu was completely different from that in the 31st year of Hongwu when Zhu Yuanzhang was in power. There was a gap of six years between them. Historically, Zhu Yuanzhang also planned for Zhu Yunwen for six years.

For example, he dealt with famous generals such as Feng Sheng, Fu Youde, and Wang Bi, and from time to time he would draw elite troops from the prince's personal guards under various pretexts to fight against foreign tribes, jointly prepare for border defense, and so on, in order to weaken the military strength in the hands of the princes in disguise. This is why there is a saying in history that "Zhu Di started his rebellion with only 800 troops."

None of the current vassal kings can be underestimated.

Almost anyone with a discerning eye can see this, and they also know that what was discussed at the court this morning cannot be dealt with casually.

Even the Huaixi nobles looked at each other in bewilderment.

Others don’t know.

They have not forgotten how Zhu Yunhuan analyzed the court situation and the dangers posed by the border princes with them on the night the late emperor passed away!

But what kind of people were the Huaixi nobles? Ruthless, brave, fearless: so what if they were border vassal kings? So what if they commanded a large army? If they couldn't win, they'd just fight! They'd fought countless battles, big and small, so what were they afraid of?

In fact, they actually welcomed the reduction of power.

As long as the vassal kings could be reduced to power, the threats and risks they represented would no longer be necessary to consider. So, what were they afraid of? — Wouldn't this only bring them one step closer to their ultimate goal?

So after a brief hesitation and confusion.

The eyes of the Huaixi nobles suddenly lit up, and their fighting spirit was rising: "Your Majesty wants to reduce the power of the vassal states, then do it! If anything happens, we will take the lead for Your Majesty!"

"That's right, I haven't exercised my fists or feet for a long time!"

"..."

The Huaixi nobles present exchanged glances and spoke angrily.