Good morning Daming

Chapter 1100: Setting Rules for the World
People are selfish.

Everyone's selfishness is engraved in their genes, it's just that the way it is expressed is different.

The emperor's selfishness is reflected in many aspects, among which his attitude towards the royal family is disgust yet reluctance, caution yet closeness.

Especially towards his own children and grandchildren, except for the crown prince, he had the above attitude.

The reason for the disgust is that the royal family is just parasites, and they will turn against us if we are not careful. Such lessons are everywhere in history.

Therefore, nations with too long a history carry too heavy a burden, and those burdens come from the countless lessons that have occurred in history.

All history is contemporary history, and the only thing mankind has learned from historical lessons is that mankind does not learn lessons from historical lessons.

The Western Han Dynasty had a feudal system, and Lao Liu's original intention was good. He felt that they were all his children and grandchildren, and they should be enfeoffed in different places to guard the Han Dynasty, and they would be more loyal than the ministers.

But before his body was cold, the kings were ready to take action.

Is this a lesson?
During the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang also introduced a feudal system, enfeoffing his sons to various places, especially the border areas, under the pretext of having the royal family guarding the country.

This decision has its specific historical background. At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang was dissatisfied with his ministers.

The civil servant has ulterior motives, damn it, he deserves to be killed!

The general is ambitious, damn! He deserves to be killed!

The Ming Dynasty has a vast territory, and its civil and military officials are unreliable. Who should I rely on to guard the border?
Old Zhu turned his eyes and looked at his children and grandchildren, and his heart moved.

It’s them!

Outsiders are unreliable, but relatives are reliable.

So Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and appointed his sons to various places on the border.

Sure enough, most of the kings made great achievements on the frontiers, especially the King of Yan.

When Zhu Yuanzhang kicked his feet and Emperor Jianwen came on the stage, he felt a chill down his spine when he looked at those uncles.

Damn!

These uncles all command a large number of troops. If they cause chaos...what should I do?
Huang Zicheng and others also took the opportunity to suggest: Your Majesty, the greatest threat to the Ming Dynasty today is not the corrupt officials or the remnants of the Mongols, but the ambitious kings!

The Western Han Dynasty is a lesson for us!

Let’s reduce the power of the feudal lords!
Emperor Jianwen was an indecisive and weak-willed emperor, and when he was instigated by this, he slapped his thigh.

Damn!

Cut off the vassal!

What followed was the Jingnan Campaign that everyone is familiar with. Emperor Jianwen disappeared, and Prince of Yan Zhu Di successfully counterattacked and ascended the throne as emperor.

The Prince of Yan was one of the very few vassal kings who had successfully counterattacked. After he ascended the throne, he became more and more wary of the other kings.

But his methods were much stronger than those of Emperor Jianwen and his gang. He used both soft and hard tactics to disarm the kings.

Only kings who are no longer a threat are good relatives.

If nothing changes, the kings will have a pretty good life.

But King Ning was unwilling to be lonely, so he raised his flag and started a rebellion!
Do not!
Qingjun side!
With a loud bang, Saint Wang made a brilliant appearance.

Prince Ning was slapped to death.

The emperor and his ministers reflected on the matter and finally came to the conclusion that the royal family must be strictly restricted.

Then just keep them in a pigpen!
The king and his subjects reached a tacit agreement.

From then on, the princes became prisoners and their fiefdoms became cages.

Damn!

Are you treating me like a pig?
The princes were furious, but they had no soldiers, so they could only stare and sing a song of tears behind bars.

Since there is no hope for the future, just enjoy yourself while you can.

Drink and have fun, then sleep after drinking too much, and have children after sleeping...

A bunch of kids are born, and each one costs money from the moment they are born.

We follow the ancestral system... the princes report to the court, and the court rewards them and gives them money and food on time.

At first, it was fine, but one day, the Ministry of Revenue suddenly exclaimed, "What the hell! So much money and grain is spent on the royal family every year?"

When everyone looked, they found it was true.

After some calculations, the Ministry of Revenue reported: Your Majesty, there are too many people in the royal family and the Ministry of Revenue can no longer support it!

If the emperor is selfless, he should provide a solution.

As for the royal family, the emperor wanted to slap them to death. But slapping them to death is easy, but if he killed the royal family, what would he do when it was his children and grandchildren's turn?
Your attitude towards the royal family is to let them fend for themselves, so... the prince is also a royal family member! Your Majesty!
The one who started making figurines has no descendants!

So the emperor had no choice but to hold his nose and muddle through.

After Emperor Jiajing ascended the throne, he also wanted to take action against the royal family, but ultimately failed.

It’s still for the sake of one’s own children and grandchildren.

"The emperor is selfish!"

Jiang Qingzhi said quietly in his duty room in Zhilu.

His previous suggestions were brushed off by the Taoist saying that I need to think about it.

Zhu Xizhong drank his tea and said nonchalantly, "The Ministry of Revenue has its own urgent business. Why are you in such a hurry?"

"The feudal lords have been annexing lands in various places with reckless abandon. If there is no restraint, the trend of annexing lands will inevitably reignite."

Jiang Qingzhi sighed, "If it has nothing to do with me, I'll just ignore it. But once it has something to do with me, fuck it!"

In Yongshou Palace, the Taoist priest sat quietly for a long time.

Huang Jin was a little frightened. Just before, Jiang Qingzhi said forcefully: "It may seem like a good thing to make the royal family rich and powerful for generations, but Your Majesty has forgotten that there is no free benefit in the world. The more benefits you get now, the greater the price you will pay later!"

These words imply that if the royal family is not restrained, the Ming Dynasty will not last long. Huang Jin further savored these words and found another meaning.

"That idiot is hinting to me that if the Ming Dynasty is destroyed, my children and grandchildren will not have a good ending."

Your Majesty, it’s not that it won’t be good, but it will be very tragic!
Huang Jin felt that this was what Jiang Qingzhi meant.

But if Jiang Qingzhi's advice is followed, the royal family will be in turmoil. Those people cannot be beaten or killed. Once they start to make trouble, the scholars will take advantage of the situation and take action...

The world will be in turmoil.

In the eyes of ambitious people, the royal family is a banner.

If someone uses the name of the royal family, no, puts forward a royal family member as a representative, and raises the banner of the Jingnan Rebellion, or the banner of the Qing Dynasty...

Huang Jin didn't dare to think about it.

"This matter..." The Taoist pondered for a long time, and finally sighed softly.

……

"You are rushing this matter."

At Bo's Mansion, after Jiang Qingzhi returned home, he was in a depressed mood, so he asked Xia Yan to drink with him.

"The royal family spends more and more money and food every year!" Jiang Qingzhi took a sip of wine and said dissatisfiedly, "Your Majesty turns a blind eye to it."

"You only see the money and food consumed by the royal family, but you don't see what situation Your Majesty will be in if the royal family is touched." Xia Yan ate pickled broad beans and looked at Jiang Qingzhi leisurely.

"You mean..."

"The emperor claims to be alone, but if he is really alone, who can he rely on when something happens?" Xia Yan picked up the wine glass, took a sip, and savored it happily. "In the late Han Dynasty, if there were no royal family, would those vassal states be concerned about the young emperor?"

Xia Yan was suddenly startled, and slowly looked at Jiang Qingzhi, "You always like to keep a back-up plan when doing things. You are so eager... This doesn't seem like your method. Let me guess."

Jiang Qingzhi took out the medicinal cigarette and paused on the table.

"If the royal family members become commoners, it may seem that the burden has been reduced, but it will also weaken the emperor's arms. How can an emperor who is alone fight with his ministers? The king's authority will gradually fall away... The ministers will become more powerful than ever before."

There was more horror in Xia Yan's old eyes, "You want to... Xu Jun!"

Jiang Qingzhi lit the incense and squinted his eyes, as if he was looking at history through the smoke.

"I overheard you talking to Xu Jie. If this person is capable, it would be fine. But a dragon gives birth to nine sons, and each one is different. Who can guarantee that his descendants will be wise for generations?"

Jiang Qingzhi smiled.

"You kid!" Xia Yan couldn't help but sigh when he saw that he didn't deny it. "With His Majesty's intelligence, if he didn't trust you too much, he would wake up sooner or later. Aren't you afraid of being..."

"Lord Xia, for an emperor, is the fate of the country more important, or is power more important?" Jiang Qingzhi asked.

"It depends on the person." Xia Yan said cautiously: "Some people value power, and some people value the country's destiny."

"I bet your majesty values ​​the country's prosperity!"

"What if you lose the bet?"

"If I lose the bet, I will take my wife and children out to sea."

"What about Ming?"

"I am just one person, and my biggest supporter is His Majesty. If he sticks to the old ways, what's the point of the new policies?" Jiang Qingzhi laughed at himself, "Even if it seems to be successful, it will eventually go the same way as the old way of the government."

"So you want to be a nominal emperor, but don't you know the attitude of the ministers towards the new policy?"

“So we need to contain it.”

"balance?"

"Yes, redistribute power, check and balance each other, and achieve a new balance based on the foundation of a nominal monarch."

Xia Yan took a deep breath, "You are trying to reshape the Ming Dynasty, almost rebuild it. What a grand plan. If you fail, you will die. Aren't you afraid of bringing disaster to your children and grandchildren? Yes, with the support of His Majesty, you dare to give it a try. If His Majesty doesn't support you, you can give up."

"Yeah!" Jiang Qingzhi nodded slightly.

This is the top-level design, and is also the result of Jiang Qingzhi's planning in his study for countless nights.

“Be profit-oriented!”

Every transition from the old to the new is accompanied by a redistribution of benefits.

What Jiang Qingzhi needs to do is to break the old interest structure first and then redistribute the interests.

"The new policy targets Confucianism and the royal family, which is to break the old interest structure." Jiang Qingzhi raised his glass and drank it all. Xia Yan couldn't help but pour him a glass and urged him, "What's next?"

Jiang Qingzhi said: "Under the new interest structure, the power structure should be reshaped according to the future development direction of Ming Dynasty."

"After the emperor becomes a deity, how can the ministers suppress him?"

"You may be a hypocritical lord, but a king is not just for show!"

"The king's desire for power is like gluttony. Once they have enough power, they may relapse at any time." Xia Yan warned.

"I know, so this structure must be solid enough. The emperor is high above, just like a referee... an arbitrator. The power of each department must be able to check and balance each other. With power in hand, the ministers will be wary of the emperor, and the emperor will also be wary of the ministers..."

"In this way, the ruler and his subjects are in balance."

"This is a framework," Jiang Qingzhi said. "Within this framework, power cannot go beyond the limit. In this way, the monarch and his subjects are like dancing in shackles. They lose the opportunity to expand their power, and they will involuntarily look outward..."

"What are you looking at?"

"Since power cannot be expanded, then expand the territory. In this way, the quantity will change!"

Jiang Qingzhi lowered his voice, "Quantitative change leads to qualitative change. The sweetness of enjoying power... remains unchanged."

“This requires a strong discipline.”

"So, in my mind, the ultimate goal of the new policy is to set rules for this world!"

(End of this chapter)