Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1224 Power Control
Although "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is just a fictional story, there is a reason why this book has become one of the four great classical novels of later generations. Although many contents have been rewritten by the author and are different from the original history, it is still based on the history of the Three Kingdoms and has many merits.

Otherwise, Nurhaci wouldn't have used this book as the military treatise of the Later Jin and regarded it as a classic. Moreover, it wasn't just Nurhaci who read it; his sons and the generals of the Later Jin all read it, which shows that the principles in the book are indeed true.

The advice Lu Su gave to Sun Quan in the book is also true. Just like the fall of the Ming Dynasty in history, after the Zhu family lost the country, no matter if you were a member of the royal family or the imperial clan, you would not benefit. However, the officials were different. They changed masters, bowed down and shaved their heads into queues, and could still serve as officials in the new dynasty. It did not affect their families and descendants at all.

Therefore, in Zhu Shenzhui's view, while civil officials are necessary for governing the country, all power cannot be handed over to them. There must be checks and balances on the civil official group, not only in the court but also in the military. If the ruler does not have these, he cannot defeat the civil official group with just the Directorate of Ceremonial. The Ming Dynasty has given a profound lesson in this regard over the past two hundred years.

While supporting nobles and members of the imperial family, Zhu Shenzhui also revived the enfeoffment system originally established by Zhu Yuanzhang. However, considering the actual situation of the Ming Dynasty at that time, he adjusted the enfeoffment system, no longer enfeoffing within the Ming territory, but instead enfeoffing overseas, just like the current Prince Song, Zhu Mincheng, and Prince Chongzhen's son, Zhu Cizhao, who were directly enfeoffed overseas.

In this way, the impact of enfeoffment on the internal affairs of the Ming Dynasty could be resolved, and opposition to enfeoffment from the court could be avoided. In addition, the enfeoffment method could be used to expand overseas, and the strength and influence of the royal family and the imperial clan could be preserved, thus becoming a backer for the Ming royal family when necessary.

Another key aspect was elevating the status of the military. Due to the decline and suppression of the nobility, the situation of civil officials being valued more highly than military officials in the Ming Dynasty became increasingly severe. It's important to remember that at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, military officials were valued more highly than civil officials, but this situation began to change drastically in the mid-Ming period. The status of civil officials rose higher and higher, while the status of military officers declined, especially after the Ministry of War seized most of the powers originally belonging to the Five Military Commissions, thus controlling the lifeline of the army and causing the status of military officers to plummet.

By the Chongzhen era, the status of military officers had plummeted to an extreme. A high-ranking second-rank general was expected to fawn over sixth- or seventh-rank civil officials, and even high-ranking officers like deputy generals and brigade commanders were forced to kneel and pay homage to seventh-rank civil officials—a truly absurd situation. With the military, including its officers, in such a lowly position, civil officials treated soldiers like dirt, frequently resorting to beatings and verbal abuse. How could such an army be of any use?

As Zhu Shenzhui elevated the status of nobles and military generals, and then implemented sweeping reforms to the military system, especially stipulating that the cabinet must include military members, the status of military generals gradually recovered. But this wasn't enough. Zhu Shenzhui knew all too well the character of these civil officials; they were the type to take advantage of any opportunity, and would seize it without hesitation. Therefore, the fundamental solution lay in addressing the system itself. This is why the General Staff was established. By establishing the General Staff, the original powers of the Five Military Commissions were gradually restored, thus restraining the Ministry of War from consolidating military power in the emperor's hands—this was absolutely essential.

Aside from these, there was the establishment of the Zongli Yamen (Office of Foreign Affairs). Nominally, the Zongli Yamen was a special department established for foreign affairs and trade. However, from its inception, Zhu Shenzhui set up a complete series of internal departments within its structure. These departments almost corresponded to all the ministries of the imperial court. Therefore, the Zongli Yamen is sometimes referred to as a "mini-court." While this term is not entirely wrong, it also carries a deeper meaning: ultimately, the Zongli Yamen was intended to be on par with the Grand Secretariat.

Zhu Shenzhui also considered the current issue of overseas expansion when he entrusted foreign affairs to the Zongli Yamen (Foreign Ministry). Although he adopted a feudal system for overseas expansion, while this system could solve some problems, the key to the Ming Dynasty's expansion ultimately depended on the Ming Dynasty's own national strength.

Especially now, due to the rebellion in Shading Prefecture, Yunnan, Zhu Shenzhui intends to restore the Three Xuan and Six Wei system of the Yongle era, even including control and influence over the vassal states in the entire South China Sea region. To achieve this, the prestige of the Ming Dynasty alone is insufficient. Over the years, the attitudes of many vassal states towards the Ming have changed. Moreover, with the advent of the Age of Exploration in Europe, countries like Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, and even France and England have successively arrived in the Far East, occupying territories and colonizing various parts of the South China Sea. This has led to the collapse of the suzerain-vassal system that originally revolved around the Ming Dynasty, and many countries have broken free from its control.

To restore the Three Xuan and Six Wei regions and recreate the previous system, military force is essential. While conquering by force is not difficult—even if it cannot be done in the short term, given the current strength and development of the Ming Dynasty, it will certainly be achievable in a few decades—maintaining it afterward is extremely challenging. Moreover, the Ming Dynasty lacks the resources to directly incorporate these regions into its own territory, as evidenced by Annam. Although the Ming Dynasty forcibly occupied Annam, it lost it within a few decades, incurring heavy losses and a significant decline in prestige.

Zhu Shenzhui's proposed policy was neither the previous policies of the Ming Dynasty nor the colonial policies of Western countries. Instead, he adopted a policy similar to that of the United States in later times, outside the feudal system. This involved restoring the Three Proclamations and Six Pacifications system to establish military institutions in various locations—essentially, the right to station troops overseas. He would then leverage the Ming Dynasty's influence and power to influence these countries, bringing them back into the ranks of Ming vassal states, thus forming a unified alliance centered on the Ming. If this were successful, the Ming Dynasty would inevitably return to its peak, and it would greatly benefit its future development. In implementing this plan, Zhu Shenzhui also intended to bypass the imperial court, including the Ministry of War, by establishing separate governor-general offices and organizing armies overseas through the Zongli Yamen (Foreign Ministry). These governor-general offices and armies would not be under the jurisdiction of any imperial department but would be directly controlled by the Zongli Yamen, i.e., the emperor. This was somewhat similar to the colonial department of the British Empire in later times. The Prime Minister of the Zongli Yamen would also act as a colonial minister, assisting the emperor in handling these affairs.

After confirming Zhang Xianzhong as the Governor-General of Dagong, Zhu Shenzhui summoned Zhang Xijun to discuss the matter. Zhang Xijun was now the Prime Minister of the Zongli Yamen (Foreign Ministry). He was very clever, and after hearing Zhu Shenzhui's brief explanation, he understood the emperor's intention and immediately agreed.

Zhang Xijun not only agreed to set up a governor-general in Dagong, but also to select suitable candidates from retired military personnel to go overseas to form garrisons. Furthermore, Zhang Xijun proposed that an institution similar to the imperial court could be set up in the overseas governor-general's office. Of course, this institution would be much simpler than the imperial court's, but it would be complete even though it was small. Moreover, the Ming Dynasty already had a set of procedures for establishing a government office, including the procedures for military nobles and imperial princes to establish their own offices. These procedures could be adapted to suit the needs of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Shenzhui agreed to the suggestion and instructed Zhang Xijun to write a detailed memorial for him to review before implementation. Zhang Xijun readily agreed, confidently declaring that the matter was entrusted to him. In Zhang Xijun's view, establishing a governor-general's office overseas was a golden opportunity for the Zongli Yamen (Foreign Ministry) and a chance to further elevate his position as Prime Minister. How could he possibly miss it?
"Where is the Crown Prince now?" After discussing the matter of Myanmar with Zhang Xijun, Zhu Shenzhui casually asked this question.

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has already set off for the capital and should arrive in about half a month," Zhang Xijun replied hastily. The Emperor had entrusted him with the task of having the Crown Prince, Zhu Minlan, go south for inspection. As the Prime Minister, Zhang Xijun was nominally the Crown Prince's superior, so he knew the Crown Prince's situation in Shanghai better than anyone else.

Not only Zhang Xijun knew this, but Zhu Shenzhui was also aware of it, receiving news about the Crown Prince every day. Zhu Shenzhui was more concerned about the Crown Prince's trips to Jiangnan and Shanghai than anyone else, and secretly dispatched the Imperial Guards to protect him. However, the Imperial Guards were very discreet, only providing covert protection without showing their faces, so the Crown Prince himself was unaware that his whereabouts and actions were being watched by Zhu Shenzhui.

It has been almost half a year since the Crown Prince went south. After being away from the capital for so long, not only Zhu Shenzhui missed him, but the Empress and the Crown Princess in the harem were also very worried. In addition, the grandson of the emperor, who can now talk and run, has not seen the Crown Prince for so long, so how could he not hope that he would return soon?
However, the Crown Prince's trip south was for important matters. This trip to Jiangnan and Shanghai was also a test and training opportunity for the Crown Prince by Zhu Shenzhui. Judging from the current situation, the Crown Prince did well in Jiangnan and Shanghai. He not only successfully completed the tasks assigned to him, but also used his position in Shanghai to do many things that surprised even Zhu Shenzhui. Of course, these actions were not bad, but rather good. Moreover, under the Crown Prince's intervention, several local officials were dealt with, and the restless forces in Jiangnan were severely cracked down on, clearing obstacles for the opening of Shanghai as a treaty port and enabling the matter to proceed smoothly.

"I wonder if that brat will be smug when he comes back, or if he'll be more composed than before?" Zhu Shenzhui thought to himself with a smile as he thought about the Crown Prince.

Just then, the eunuch Lu Jiude suddenly came to report that the Second Grand Secretary Wang Jinwu and Zhou Anmin had arrived and requested to be allowed to enter the palace for an audience.

“Your Majesty, in that case, I shall take my leave…” Zhang Xijun rose and bowed.

"No need. We don't know why the Vice Minister and the others are here. You're not an outsider, so stay and listen in." Zhu Shenzhui waved his hand and then told Lu Jiude to let Wang Jinwu and Zhou Anmin in. Soon the two arrived at the side hall.

(End of this chapter)