The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 19 The dust has settled
Zhu Jianxuan's guess was basically correct.

Emperor Zhu Zhonglin, Crown Prince Zhu Jiancan, and the surrounding high-ranking officials of the Ming Dynasty court, all felt that Zhu Jianxuan was asking for exile after hearing what he said.

Many people even thought that the child took the initiative to request to go overseas in order to avoid rift with his older brother.

He took the initiative to reject the prosperous Zhejiang and go to the poor and remote Australia.

Crown Prince Zhu Jiancan couldn't help but look at his younger brother, and saw that his expression was very determined and calm.

It even caused Zhu Jiancan's heart to tremble violently.

If the other person was not a child of six or seven years old, Zhu Jiancan would even consider in his heart whether the other person was mocking him by saying this.

According to legend, Taibo, the uncle of King Wen of Zhou, Ji Chang, was originally the eldest son and heir of Ji Chang's grandfather, King Tai of Zhou.

However, Taibo's third brother Jili and Jili's son Jichang were both more wise.

In order to allow his third brother and Ji Chang to succeed to the throne, Taibo took the initiative to flee his hometown and went south to establish the State of Wu.

Later, Ji Chang's descendants established the Zhou Dynasty, which lasted for 800 years.

Now, this younger brother of mine is visibly intelligent and wise, and can be described as a natural gentleman.

As the eldest brother, I did not follow Taibo's example and voluntarily gave up my position. Instead, I forced my younger brother to flee overseas to avoid suspicion. How can I have a good reputation in the future?
On this basis, there is a legend in Taibo's descendants that the younger brother gave way to another.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, before his death, Shoumeng, the grandfather of King Helu of Wu, wanted to give the throne to his smartest youngest son Ji Zha, but Ji Zha refused to accept the throne.

Ji Li's eldest brother decided to implement the system of succession from elder brother to younger brother, and let his brothers succeed to the throne in turn, and finally pass it to Ji Zha.

As a result, when the throne was finally passed to Ji Zha, he once again refused to accept it.

Ji Zha let his third brother's son Liao succeed to the throne, who later became King Liao of Wu, Helü's father and Fuchai's grandfather.

Taibo was the King of Wu, and Jizha was also the son of the King of Wu.

What is even more coincidental is that Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty was also the King of Wu before he ascended the throne.

His father wanted to appoint this younger brother as King of Wu.

Now, his younger brother has tied the double evidence of Taibo and Jizha's wisdom to himself.

What should I do as the eldest brother?
Should he cry out in great excitement, saying that he was willing to give up his throne to his wise brother, and then immediately flee to a distant overseas fiefdom?
Zhu Jiancan was a little impulsive, and for a moment he really wanted to do it, because he felt that his brother didn't seem to be acting.

But Zhu Jiancan did not do so in the end, and did not have the courage to say that he would give up the throne.

In the end, Crown Prince Zhu Jiancan said nothing.

He could only swear secretly in his heart that after becoming emperor, he would treat his younger brother well and give his vassal state the most help and support.

Emperor Zhu Zhonglin was different. He stared at Zhu Jianxuan and ordered:
"Your Majesty's words are golden, and you cannot be picky."

Zhu Jianxuan remained stubborn:

"Please forgive me, Father. Please listen to my explanation.

"Since the reign of Chongzhen, the imperial court's policy of granting fiefs and expanding territory has been in line with the Zhou king's policy of granting fiefs and expanding territory.

"In the early Western Zhou Dynasty, the feudal lords were not given the land of the imperial court to the royal family and meritorious officials, but resources were given to support their expansion.

“During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, except for Guanzhong and the Central Plains, other areas were mostly wild and barren.

“The King of Zhou greatly expanded the reproduction area of ​​the Chinese people through enfeoffment, and gradually turned the entire north into the land of the Chinese.

"The Ming Dynasty also used similar methods to gradually develop the land in Southeast Asia.

"On the contrary, since the Qin and Han dynasties, the establishment of feudal states in the areas where the imperial court had already developed its foundation was a way to cause chaos.

"The Rebellion of the Seven Kings in the Western Han Dynasty and the Rebellion of the Eight Kings in the Western Jin Dynasty were all like this.

"Since the Song Dynasty, Jiangnan has been the base of the imperial court, and Hangzhou is an important tax collection area.

"Enfeoffment of princes in Zhejiang not only weakens the power of the central court, but also directly threatens the safety of the court.

"I only hope that the imperial court can march north to the Central Plains, recover our homeland, eliminate the feudal lords, and unify the country.

“If your father insists on establishing a kingdom for you, I will never take even a cent of the imperial court’s land.

"If I take one point, the possibility of the imperial court's success in the Northern Expedition and the reduction of the feudal lords will also be reduced by one point.

"If the central government is unable to fight against the northern invaders and reduce the power of the feudal lords because of your son's fiefdom and nation-building, I will regret it for the rest of my life.

"So please, father, take back your order and allow me to go to Australia to establish a country and open up new territory."

Emperor Zhu Zhonglin closed his eyes immediately after hearing this.

Crown Prince Zhu Jiancan and the ministers around him all held their breath at this time, staring blankly at the ground in front of them. They could no longer look directly at Zhu Jianxuan, as they had already regarded this child as a living saint.

Several royal family members and ministers had tears in their eyes.

The scene was quiet for a long time, and Emperor Zhu Zhonglin finally opened his eyes:
He took a deep look at his eldest son and youngest son, and then made the final decision:

"Draft an imperial decree to confer the title of King of Wu to the sixteenth son of the Emperor, Jian Xuan, and to establish a kingdom with the Australian continent and all the surrounding islands as its territory.

"We will select a suitable area in Australia to build a royal palace, a royal city, and a national capital, with specifications comparable to the Forbidden City, the Imperial City, and the Yingtianfu City.

“Establish five guards in Australia: front, back, left, right and center, with each guard having no fewer than 10,000 households and each guard having no fewer than 60,000 total personnel.

"Each household shall provide one male to form the main army of Wu, and the equipment and configuration shall be based on the main army of the imperial court.

“Before the revenue and expenditure of Wu State are completely balanced, Zhejiang tax revenue will be used to support Australia’s development and construction, with no maximum support period.

"The Crown Prince is to personally supervise the relevant affairs, and all civil and military officials must cooperate fully and there must be no mistakes.

"If the King of Wu has any special requests, try to meet them."

The demands put forward by Zhu Zhonglin obviously exceeded the normal standards for enthroning a king and establishing a country.

When Emperor Chongzhen again divided the royal family into fiefs, he directly referred to the prince's palace guard system in the early Ming Dynasty.

In theory, when princes and dukes are crowned kings, the court will provide three guard corps.

Responsible for carrying out armed development missions overseas, or controlling military strongholds as armed immigrants.

They were also the ruling group in the early days of the kingdom, and most of the conquered lands were directly distributed to them.

The local indigenous people basically became their slaves or tenants.

They also had to help the king maintain his rule.

A guard corps would have between 5,000 and 10,000 households, with a total population of 30,000 to 60,000 people.

All adults in the entire Guard Corps must receive regular military training and meet militia standards.

While attending school, minors must also participate in military training activities regularly and be able to use basic military equipment and obey orders.

At the same time, each guard must send out 5,000 to 10,000 people to receive complete military training and serve as the kingdom's main combat corps, directly organized into a combat division.

The three divisions formed by the three guards can directly form an army, with 15,000 to 30,000 people.

After the Chongzhen Dynasty, the main military forces of the Ming Dynasty court and the vassal kings were organized into the structure of army, division, brigade, regiment, battalion, company, platoon and squad in accordance with Emperor Chongzhen's own habits.

However, just because the regulations allow for this much, it does not mean that the full amount will be given.

Most of the guard corps are understaffed.

The key lies in whether the emperor is willing to fight for his son or brother, and whether he has the energy to argue with the court bureaucrats.

Now Emperor Zhu Zhonglin not only wants to increase the number of guards from three to five, but also requires that the quota must be reached.

That is to say, it is necessary to provide the State of Wu with 300,000 armed immigrants.

They also had to provide equipment to form a regular army of 50,000, which would be enough to conquer the indigenous people of Australia and surrounding islands at that time, and even to fight a war with the Europeans.

The imperial court also had to pay for the construction of cities and palaces, as long as the specifications did not exceed those of the capital.

He also directly selected a province to provide financial support for the construction and continue the supply until Wu Guo could make money on his own.

The key is to try to meet the personalized requirements put forward by King Wu.

These are all unprecedented.

But for other ministers, as long as Zhejiang was not established as a vassal state, no matter how exaggerated the other conditions were, it didn't matter.

Not only did it avoid the trouble of deposing the eldest son and enthroning the youngest son, but it also avoided the conflict between future emperors and vassal kings.

To make a rough estimate, the pressure these demands put on the current Ming Dynasty court may not be as great as the pressure that Prince Fu put on the court at that time.

The current Ming Dynasty court is much richer than during the Wanli period, and the handicraft industry is much more developed.

The Crown Prince and all the ministers below him finally stopped raising any opinions and responded loudly and in unison:

"I will receive the order."

Zhu Jianxuan also quickly followed suit to thank En:

"Thank you, Father, for your grace."

(End of this chapter)