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

Jin Zhong was a strategist in the Jingnan Campaign and was well aware of the difficulties of border defense and military operations. He bowed to Zhu Di and said loudly.

"Your Majesty! Our Great Ming Dynasty, as the superior nation, must uphold the suzerainty and not lightly start a war to disturb our vassal states!"

Annam and Champa have long submitted to the emperor and paid tribute every year. How can we take over these vassal states by raising an army under the pretext of changing the title of a relative?

Forcibly relocating the princes to their fiefdoms would be a breach of faith, a loss of popular support, and a damage to the prestige of our Great Ming Dynasty.

"Looking at the Western Regions, although Hami has trade routes, it is only a tributary state. The tribes of Huozhou and Khotan each have their own chieftains, and barbarians live together. The Onon River area in the northern desert is the nomadic land of the Tatars and Oirats. Our Great Ming is currently trying to pacify them, and they have not yet submitted."

Jin Zhong bowed deeply and said sincerely, "Not to mention that raising an army to seize the land of a vassal state is not justified or proper, the difficulty of relocation alone makes it absolutely impossible."

The princes and guards led their troops to distant lands, a journey of thousands of miles. The northern deserts were bitterly cold, while the southern seas were humid and malaria-ridden. Due to the unfamiliar climate and water, many of their troops would surely die or be injured!

Conscripting laborers to build roads, ships, and transport grain is extremely wasteful, and the treasury is not yet full. Such extravagance is truly unacceptable!

Turning to look at Lin Yue, Jin Zhong's eyes were sharp: "This change of title is a vicious scheme to drive our relatives into a desperate situation. It is an unjust act against the Ming Dynasty and an act of filial impiety against His Majesty!"

The vassal states have their own order. When the princes arrive with heavy troops, rebellions break out again in the vassal states. If the court tries to rescue them, it will be powerless. If it does not rescue them, the imperial clan will be in danger.

"Raising troops to re-establish vassal states will only make the surrounding barbarians suspect our Great Ming of being untrustworthy and unrighteous. The vassal states will become increasingly disloyal and alienated. This move will be counterproductive, only increasing internal and external troubles. It will not only fail to bring peace to the country, but will also destabilize the realm and bring disaster to the imperial family. It is absolutely unacceptable!"

As soon as Jin Zhong finished speaking, Jian Yi, the Minister of Personnel, also stepped forward slowly, echoing him with a solemn expression: "Minister Jin is absolutely right. Lin, the Supervising Secretary, has made a foolish and misguided plan. I believe it is inappropriate."

Jian Yi was also a meritorious official in the Jingnan Campaign and was in charge of the selection of officials. He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the Imperial Ancestral Instructions of the Ming Dynasty clearly stipulate that princes shall not be relocated unless they have committed a serious crime. The princes have been enfeoffed for a long time, and their residences, lands, and officials have all been established."

The sudden change of fiefdom to a foreign land required the reconstruction of the royal palace, the reorganization of officials, and the appeasement of the people and their families, the amount of manpower and financial resources required was incalculable!

The two high-ranking officials spoke up in rebuttal, their words hitting the nail on the head, and the officials on Fengtian Gate immediately echoed their sentiments.

He told Zhu Di, "The two ministers' words are wise and insightful! The policy of granting fiefdoms to foreign lands is not feasible. I beg Your Majesty to consider this carefully!"

Lin Yue was somewhat surprised, but it was just a matter of changing the title of a vassal king, why the big reaction?

When he criticized the emperor before, not many people chimed in.

Faced with opposition from a host of officials, Lin Yue not only did not back down, but instead loudly refuted them.

Don't think he only criticizes the Yongle Emperor; he criticizes all of you Ming Dynasty civil officials without hesitation.

Lin Yue angrily rebuked: "You gentlemen only know how to stick to the old ways and don't know how to adapt!"

Your Majesty is a man of great talent and ambition. You will surely be able to sweep away the northern deserts, subdue the Western Regions, and stabilize the South Seas in the future. Changing the fiefdom is a way to achieve multiple benefits in one fell swoop!

"The princes leading their troops to expand their territories can not only stabilize the border defenses but also achieve self-sufficiency. In the long run, this is far more cost-effective than being confined to the Central Plains and wasting public funds!"

"You brat, spouting nonsense!" Jin Zhong was furious. "Expanding the borderlands is not something that can be accomplished in a day. Emperor Taizu Gao spent decades managing the Northwest before achieving any significant results. Your Majesty has only recently ascended the throne, and the country is just beginning to be at peace. How can you be so eager for quick success?"

Changing the fiefdoms of princes would harm the country and its people; it is absolutely unacceptable!

The civil and military officials either fawned on He Zhong or whispered among themselves. Jian Yi frowned and shook his head repeatedly, while Lin Yue stood in the center and debated with the ministers, speaking with extreme bluntness and even aggression.

The court was thrown into chaos, filled with curses and shouts.

Seeing the chaotic scene in the hall, Zhu Di's expression grew increasingly grim. He abruptly raised his hand and shouted, "Enough! This matter can be discussed another day. Court is adjourned!"

At the Emperor Yongle's command, the imperial guards immediately sprang into action, while the officials fell silent, bowed, and withdrew in turn.

As soon as Lin Yue left Fengtianmen Square, he felt countless strange gazes, mostly of disdain, surprise and contempt, and no one came up to talk to him.

No one wanted to mess with a madman who publicly defied the emperor and berated the minister.

Other remonstrating officials were at most hotheads, but Lin Yue, this supervising secretary, was a mad dog who dared to bite anyone.

Lin Yue paid no attention to the strange looks from the courtiers, and instead hummed a little tune in a cheerful mood.

It would be perfect if he wasn't accepted by the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty. That way, if he were to completely anger Zhu Di one day, no one would speak up for him, and he could die a quick death in the name of the country.

With death looming and victory in the argument, Lin Yue was in high spirits. He wondered if he should take the opportunity to visit the entertainment venues in Nanjing to conduct an on-site "investigation" of the entertainment industry in the Ming Dynasty, so that his time-travel trip wouldn't be in vain.

I didn't mean anything by it; I just wanted to appreciate classical art.

But after taking only a few steps, a young eunuch quickly stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Remonstrator Lin, please wait. His Majesty summons you to the Qianqing Palace."

"Summon me?" Lin Yue looked surprised, then overjoyed.

Was it because his advice was too wise and his criticism too harsh that Zhu Di finally couldn't bear it and decided to kill him?

If not, it doesn't matter; we can just criticize Zhu Di a bit more later.

Lin Yue followed the eunuch towards the West Warm Pavilion of the Qianqing Palace.

Zhu Di was a very diligent emperor who would often privately summon his ministers to understand the actual situation.

However, no matter how diligent Zhu Di was, he could not compare to Zhu Yuanzhang, the superman of the Ming Dynasty. After a few years, Zhu Di felt physically exhausted and still needed to use college students from the cabinet to assist in handling government affairs.

The Qianqing Palace was quiet and still, with only two incense burners burning. Zhu Di, dressed in casual clothes, sat at his desk with several maps spread out in front of him.

Seeing that Lin Yue hadn't bowed for a long time after entering, but instead looked like a staunch and upright official ready to die, Zhu Di gave him a death stare.

After a long silence, Zhu Di finally chose to back down.

Forget it, it's pointless. I won't argue with an idiot. This Lin Yue seems to have a serious illness.

Zhu Di said calmly, "Lin Yue and Lin Boyan, what exactly were your intentions in causing such a disturbance in the court today, and what were your words and remonstrances?"

Lin Yue bowed deeply, his face instantly switching to an upright and dignified expression.

"Your Majesty, every word I have spoken comes from the bottom of my heart, without a trace of selfishness, solely for the long-term peace and stability of the Ming Dynasty!"

"The ills of the imperial clan and the disasters of moving the capital—if we do not speak frankly today, they will lead to great calamities in the future, and then it will be too late to regret!"

Zhu Di remained noncommittal, putting down his vermilion pen: "You are indeed loyal to the country, but your words are arrogant and you don't respect anyone."

It's as if you're the only loyal and upright minister in this court. Does it mean the Ming Dynasty will perish and its people will be wiped out if it doesn't listen to you?

If we look at it from a historical perspective, the Ming Dynasty did indeed eventually perish, and its people almost faced extinction.

The only step that could break the backbone of the Han people was abolishing Chinese characters. Once Chinese characters were abolished, their thousands of years of history would be difficult for ordinary people to understand.

Reviving Chinese characters is even more difficult, as they would argue that Chinese characters are feudal elements of feudal society, that they are not Chinese characters but rather Shang Dynasty characters, Tang Dynasty characters, or characters used by the nobility—in short, they are not something belonging to the Han people.

They would also try to replace Chinese characters with Manchu script, saying that those were Qing dynasty Chinese characters, or new Chinese characters.

Thoughts raced through his mind, and Lin Yue sighed, "It's hard to say."