The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 16: Initiative to Confer a Kingship and Establish a Nation
Emperor Zhu Zhonglin promoted everyone in Zhu Jianxuan's laboratory by one level based on Zhu Jianxuan's suggestion.

Then the head of the clan affairs office, the nominal head of the royal family, the oldest surviving uncle of the emperor, Prince Zhu Boyuan, suddenly spoke:

"Your Majesty, these inventions in the Sixteenth Prince's laboratory will be of great use to the country and the people.

“All the craftsmen have been rewarded, and the Sixteenth Prince, as the chief officer of the laboratory, should be rewarded even more.

“I think that since the Sixteenth Prince is gifted, mature at a young age, and has made outstanding achievements.

"Then there is no need to wait until he is ten years old to crown the Sixteenth Prince as a king and establish a kingdom, and to set up guards.

“You can start planning ahead now.”

Zhu Boyuan's suggestion is completely in line with basic political logic.

Zhu Jianxuan's subordinates all received rewards, so Zhu Jianxuan himself, as the chief officer, of course also received rewards.

But as soon as Zhu Boyuan proposed the reward method, the already strange atmosphere at the scene became completely quiet.

Crown Prince Zhu Jiancan couldn't hold back at all and instinctively glanced at his great uncle, his heart filled with shock and surprise.

When I came here, I had just discussed with Zhanshi Qi Xu and was preparing to find someone to make similar suggestions.

But Zhu Jiancan and Qi Xu had not had time to contact and prepare.

How come this uncle has already brought it up?

Could it be that the royal family is also worried about the same thing, worried that their father will consider deposing the eldest son and enthroning the youngest son?

Deposing the eldest son and enthroning the youngest son is tantamount to a coup d'état and will inevitably cause great turmoil in the entire court.

Those royal family members who don't want a vassal state and want to lie low certainly don't want to see that kind of chaotic situation.

So they also wanted to test whether the emperor had this idea.

As a result, the approach coincided with Qi Xu's?
When Crown Prince Zhu Jiancan was thinking about this in his heart, Emperor Zhu Zhonglin looked over with a faint smile:
"Boss, you are the crown prince and Xuan'er's eldest brother. What do you think of your great uncle's advice?"

Everyone at the scene also looked at Crown Prince Zhu Jiancan.

Zhu Jiancan almost couldn't hold it in.

This problem seems simple, but it is not something that ordinary people can get involved in.

Even if most of the ministers do not want the old emperor to depose the eldest son and enthrone the youngest son, what if the old emperor really has this idea?
If I suggest that Zhu Jianxuan be enfeoffed as a vassal ahead of time, won't that make the old emperor dislike me?

Even the crown prince Zhu Jiancan tried to avoid him.

As the crown prince, if I take the initiative to raise such suggestions or questions, doesn't it clearly show that I am worried that my father does not trust me?

This is clearly an attempt to test the emperor.

That's why Qi Xu suggested that Zhu Jiancan ask the old gentleman in the court to raise the issue.

Instead of letting Zhu Jianxuan raise it himself.

As a result, the emperor now asked the question directly and forced the question onto the prince himself.

How should I answer to satisfy my father?

This question came very suddenly.

The Crown Prince Zhu Jiancan did not know his father's true mindset. The key point was that he himself was in a state of confusion.

There was obvious panic and confusion.

However, Zhu Jiancan had been the crown prince for thirty years after all, so he quickly got rid of his state of confusion and completed basic decision-making analysis.

No matter what my father's true mentality is now, as long as I oppose giving my brother rewards in advance, my father will be disgusted.

This might make his father feel that he is not good to his younger brother, and he will not take care of his younger brother when he becomes emperor in the future.

If my father intends to change the throne, my opposition will only strengthen his tendency.

If the father had no intention of deposing the eldest son and enthroning the youngest son, your opposition might prompt him to consider changing the throne.

So I could only agree and show that I love my younger brother very much.

If the father intends to change the throne, seeing that I care about my younger brother, there is a chance that his idea will be weakened.

This will also make your father happier if he has no intention of changing his throne.

What's more, he also hoped in his heart that this matter could be decided as soon as possible, so that his younger brother could be turned into a vassal king as soon as possible.

And then confirm whether the emperor's father has the intention to change the throne.

So Zhu Jiancan said respectfully:
“I think what the Imperial Uncle said makes sense. My brother Xuan’s great achievements are enough to make him a king and establish a country, and it should not be an ordinary title.

"We should choose a land that is as rich and fertile as possible, and provide sufficient guards to develop and guard it, and wait for Brother Xuan to go there when he reaches the age of twenty."

Zhu Jiancan lowered his head while speaking, and everyone around him also lowered their heads, waiting for Emperor Zhu Zhonglin's response. Only Zhu Jianxuan raised his head and secretly glanced at his father, and found that he seemed very happy.

Zhu Zhonglin smiled and nodded gently:

"What the uncle said makes sense, and what the prince said is also in line with my opinion.

"Draft an imperial decree, to confer the title of Prince of Wu to the sixteenth son of the Emperor, Jian Xuan, and to establish a three-member guard of the prince in Hangzhou.

"The Zhejiang Provincial Government will be made a vassal state, and the prince will be made a vassal when he reaches the age of 20."

Everyone at the scene was listening attentively, and after the emperor spoke these words, many people almost forgot to breathe.

Zhu Zhonglin's arrangement of these few short sentences can be said to be outrageous.

Why did the emperor bring out the King of Wu?
There were a total of three Kings of Wu in the Ming Dynasty.

The first one is Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang himself, who proclaimed himself King of Wu before ascending the throne.

The second one is Zhu Su, the youngest son of Zhu Yuanzhang, the youngest son of Empress Ma, and the younger brother of Zhu Biao and Zhu Di from the same mother.

In the third year of Hongwu's reign, he was conferred the title of King of Wu, and it was planned that guards would be set up in Hangzhou. In the eleventh year of Hongwu's reign, he was changed to King of Zhou.

In the 14th year of Hongwu, he was enfeoffed in Kaifeng and used the former site of the Song Dynasty Imperial Palace as his residence. His status was the highest among all the kings, and he had the most descendants among all the clan members.

The third one is Zhu Yunhuan, the youngest son of Prince Yiwen Zhu Biao’s first wife, Chang. He is also Zhu Xiongying’s brother from the same mother and the grandson of Chang Yuchun.

After Zhu Yunwen succeeded to the throne, he named Zhu Yunhuan the King of Wu, but he did not go to the fiefdom. After the Jingnan Campaign, he was demoted to a commoner by Zhu Di.

Therefore, for the Ming Dynasty, the title of King Wu was very good. After all, it was the title of the king before Taizu ascended the throne. It was even good to the point of being sensitive.

The only one who can be compared to him is the Prince of Yan, who was used by Zhu Di before he became emperor.

It’s hard to say, but the last King of Wu was the son of Zhu Di’s eldest brother Zhu Biao, and his descendants were always called Wu Shuren.

The current Ming emperor is a descendant of Prince of Yan Zhu Di.

As for setting up guards in Hangzhou and making Zhejiang a vassal state, this request is even more outrageous.

The Ming Dynasty was now a feudal system, and Zhejiang was one of the richest tracts of land directly under the jurisdiction of the Ming central court.

By dividing this area, the court's tax revenue was greatly reduced.

Moreover, emperors since the Chongzhen Dynasty have basically not established vassal states in their original territories.

They are all used to escort people to explore overseas.

Zhu Zhonglin is going to change this unspoken rule.

Crown Prince Zhu Jiancan was in an extremely complicated mood and didn't know whether he should be happy or not.

It seems that his father really has no intention of changing the throne.

However, the title of King Wu and the entire arrangement of Zhejiang were too exaggerated and the cost was too high.

The key point is that Zhejiang is too close to Nanjing. The prince of Zhejiang has three guard corps at his disposal. The emperor of Nanjing must be unable to sleep at night.

Zhu Jiancan instinctively wanted to object, but he immediately realized that opposing this arrangement now would easily anger the emperor.

Because I had just made it clear that I would give my brother the richest place and a full quota of guards.

Now that my father has made the decision according to my advice, if I stand up to oppose it, I will find myself in an uncertain situation.

Therefore, even if you feel that it is inappropriate, you cannot object after you have expressed your attitude.

So Zhu Jiancan lowered his head and turned his head, looking intently at the ministers around him, hoping that someone would stand up and oppose him.

At this time, someone actually spoke up, and it was the Minister of Taxation who took the lead:

"Your Majesty, this proposal is inappropriate. Hangzhou, Zhejiang is an important tax collection area for the imperial court. It is not appropriate to divide it into vassal states and it does not conform to the ancestral system since Chongzhen..."

Emperor Zhu Zhonglin immediately asked back:

"My dear minister, do you think that the decision made by me and the Crown Prince is inappropriate? My dear minister, do you think that my son Jian Xuan should not be crowned a king and establish a country?

The Minister of Taxation immediately defended himself:

"I am terrified. I dare not do that. I absolutely do not mean to do that..."

The Emperor immediately followed up with another announcement:

"Jian Xuan has made great contributions to the country and the people. There is no other way to reward him except to establish a state in the Jiangnan region.

"I have made up my mind to establish a guard in Hangzhou and establish a vassal state in Zhejiang."

(End of this chapter)