Ming Dynasty: Traveling through the harem, Zhu Yuanzhang was dumbfounded

Chapter 10: Submission of a National Strategy
The next day, before the sky began to brighten, things started to get busy in the palace.

Three o'clock in the morning.

The ministers who needed to attend the morning court all got up, bathed, changed their clothes, put on formal wear, and then began to cross most of the capital to wait at the Meridian Gate.

When the time came, a bell rang on the city wall, and the ministers who were discussing the latest political events began to tidy up their appearance.

Let each other see if there is any problem with their body.

After making sure that there were no minor issues with etiquette or facial features, they began to line up. The palace gates opened at five in the morning and all officials entered one after another.

The morning court was held at Fengtian Gate. After the ministers entered the palace, they began to line up according to their rank. Civil officials entered from the Zuoye Gate and military officials entered from the Youye Gate.

Soon they arrived at a huge square, where the ministers knelt down and kowtowed three times, and then waited for the emperor to arrive.

Soon, Zhu Yuanzhang came out from the side accompanied by two maids and ascended the throne.

From here you can see clearly every move of the officials below the stage, and any small movement of anyone can be seen clearly.

At the same time, Zhu Biao also stood between the two sides.

The Crown Prince Regent was on the second level during the morning court session. Generally speaking, Zhu Biao was personally responsible for anything the ministers said, until something came up that he could not handle clearly.

Finally, the decision will be made by Zhu Yuanzhang.

According to the previous custom of the morning court, the civil officials soon spoke first.

At this time, the civil service was headed by Hu Weiyong, who served as the Left Prime Minister.

Basically, the things that could be presented were small matters, and Zhu Biao could handle them personally.

What is important is the memorials from military generals.

Offstage, Mu Ying cupped his hands and said:
"Your Majesty! Ever since we launched our northern expedition a few years ago, the former Northern Yuan army has begun to stir up trouble again. According to reports from soldiers on the border, over the past year, a nomadic group has been testing our position every month.

In my opinion, the shadow of Beiyuan Duke Tuohuochi must be behind this, and in addition, there is also the support of Privy Councilor Ai Zu and other forces.

They may be planning to gather their forces in Horqin, and may be planning to invade the south."

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but frown.

Since he took office, he has launched two Northern Expeditions.

The first Northern Expedition was in the third year of Hongwu, that is, in 1370. He ordered Xu Da, who was then the right prime minister, as the general of conquering the enemy, Li Wenzhong as the left deputy general, Feng Sheng as the right deputy general, the imperial censor Deng Yu as Li Wenzhong's deputy general, and Zhongshan Hou Tang He as Feng Sheng's deputy general.

This team can be said to have assembled the strongest military force of the Ming army at that time.

Then, with overwhelming force, they defeated the Northern Yuan forces in one fell swoop, shattering their daydream of moving back south.

This battle killed tens of thousands of Northern Yuan troops and captured nearly 10,000 former Yuan militiamen alive.

What followed was the second Northern Expedition in the fifth year of Hongwu.

The Second Northern Expedition was still launched with the same lineup as the First Northern Expedition, but unfortunately, due to strategic errors, it ended in failure.

However, it also achieved the purpose of severely inflicting damage to the opponent, making him afraid to approach for a short period of time.

Unexpectedly, after only a few years, the former Northern Yuan army began to get restless and wanted to launch a war on the border again.

Since the establishment of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to restore the reputation of the Han people. He wanted to tell the whole world that the so-called invincible nation on horseback was also defeatable in his opinion!
Hearing Mu Ying's report, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned, looking very unhappy, and said in a deep tone:

"These barbarians who eat blood and drink meat can't even live a good life on the grassland, but they actually want to covet our Central Plains. If that's the case, then fight us!

Mu Ying! When you return later, prepare to gather your troops and tell the soldiers guarding the city to be on guard at all times to prevent a surprise attack from these Tartars!"

"Minister! Understood!"

Mu Ying's eyes were full of passion. Any military general, as long as he had an ideal in his heart, would definitely want to realize his own value through war.

He was considered a relatively young general among the Ming Dynasty's military commanders. Compared to Xu Da and other dukes, he had less experience.

If he could succeed in the Northern Expedition this time, he believed that he would definitely become a military general comparable to a duke.

Apart from this matter, the rest of the ministers basically had some trivial matters.

There were even people who wanted to ask the court for money because disasters occurred in the areas they managed and the local finances were insufficient to support them.

We need help from the imperial treasury.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang rejected this request on the grounds that the national treasury was also in a tight situation.

The morning session does not end until the sun rises.

"Okay, if you have anything else to say, you can leave your memorial for the Crown Prince to handle."

According to past custom, Zhu Yuanzhang began to announce the end of the morning court and that there would be food to be served later.

After all, these ministers started waiting every morning. Zhu Yuanzhang would prepare a meal for them after the morning court session, and they would leave the palace only after they had eaten.

Initially, the food was given every day, but as the treasury became increasingly depleted, the grant of food was gradually changed to once every three days. By the end of the Hongwu period, the grant of food had become three times a month.

"Your Majesty! I have two things to say."

Just as the minister was about to bow and leave, Zhu Biao stood on the second step and raised his hand to salute him.

Sitting upright on the throne, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his son curiously. He did not expect that he would speak to him at this moment.

"Okay, since the prince has something to say, then we'll grant it."

Hearing this, every minister below smiled.

They knew best how much the emperor loved the prince.

It can be said that all that is left is to pass the throne to the other party, and now it is just a test of the prince's experience.

When the opportunity arises in the future, the throne will definitely be inherited by Zhu Biao.

After getting permission, Zhu Biao told him what he had prepared yesterday.

“Your Majesty, I have discovered a loophole in the Imperial Ming Dynasty’s ancestral precepts that will harm the foundation of the Ming Dynasty and could easily cause a major problem for the Ming Dynasty that will last for a hundred years.

If the changes are not made in time, it may cause great harm to the Ming Dynasty in the future, and may even lead to the destruction of the country!"

Zhu Biao didn't waste any words and went straight to the point, stating the seriousness of the problem.

He knew his father's temper well, and if he didn't know the seriousness of the problem, he would definitely not take it seriously.

Sure enough, when he mentioned the possibility of the country's destruction, Zhu Yuanzhang instantly became alert.

The Ming Dynasty had just been established for twelve years when he suddenly realized that there were problems in the ancestral precepts he had created. He immediately corrected his attitude and took it seriously.

At the same time, the officials below began to talk among themselves.

Especially those from the Ministry of Rites.

"Imperial Ming Ancestor Instructions" was compiled under the leadership of Zhu Yuanzhang. Writing began in the second year of Hongwu, and the book was completed in the sixth year of Hongwu. It was printed by the Ministry of Rites and revised again in the ninth year of Hongwu.

It has been collected now.

This ancestral precept was used to consolidate the existence of imperial power, and the entire Ming Dynasty knew how much effort Zhu Yuanzhang put into it.

Now Zhu Biao actually said that there were policies in the ancestral precepts that would lead to the demise of the Ming Dynasty, which of course caused a lot of discussion.

(End of this chapter)