Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 9: How the Jingnan Campaign Came About [Seeking Follow-up Reading]

Liu Kuan looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "Given your Majesty's character, after Zhu Xiongying's early death and His Highness's early passing, you will still insist on the eldest legitimate heir to the throne, right?"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned slightly, as if thinking about something, then nodded and said, "Not bad."

Liu Kuan continued, "Therefore, those who lean towards conspiracy theories believe that the ones who benefited the most from Zhu Xiongying's death were the prince's second son, Zhu Yunwen, and the Lu family."

"In addition, after Chang's death, Lu became the mistress of the Eastern Palace. She was in charge of all the internal affairs, and Zhu Xiongying was also taken care of by her."

"So, Lu had both the motive and the means to commit the crime. Given this situation, it's hard not to suspect she was involved in Zhu Xiongying's death."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned even deeper and asked, "Is there any record in later generations that we dealt with Lu after Xiongying's untimely death? Or is there any record that Lu suddenly died of illness shortly thereafter?"

Zhu Biao's heart was in great fear.

He didn't even want to see his brothers fighting against each other for the throne, so naturally he didn't want to see Lu killing his eldest son in order to fight for the throne for his second son.

Zhu Yuanzhang's question made him understand that if there was really a problem with Xiongying's death, it would be investigated thoroughly.

If it is found that he is related to the Lu family, even if it is a family scandal and they do not want to make it public, they will definitely find a time to execute the Lu family.

Therefore, most historical books would record that Lu suddenly died of illness shortly after Xiongying's death.

Under Zhu Biao's gaze, Liu Kuan shook his head, "Not really—after the Crown Prince's death, His Majesty appointed Zhu Yunwen as the Crown Prince. A few years later, Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne as Emperor Jianwen, and Lü became the Empress Dowager."

Zhu Yuanzhang said: "In this case, Xiongying's death is most likely not related to the Lu family."

Zhu Yuanzhang now had several adult sons, so he had many daughters-in-law, but the late Crown Princess Chang and the second concubine Lu were people he had seen often, so he knew them relatively well.

Lu came from a scholarly family and, in his opinion, had good character—otherwise, she would not have been chosen as the Crown Prince's concubine.

In addition, although Zhu Biao's relationship with Lu was not as good as his original wife Chang, it was also good.

The most important thing is that Zhu Yuanzhang has confidence in his own "hands and eyes" - if it is really Lu who killed Xiongying, he will definitely be able to find out.

Liu Kuan also saw Zhu Yuanzhang's confidence.

Liu Kuan did not know Lu and had no intention of targeting him, but there were some things he had to say.

He said: "It is precisely because Your Majesty did not punish the Lu family that the conspiracy theory of Zhu Xiongying's death did not become mainstream in later generations."

"However, some people believe that even if Lu did not actively plot to murder Zhu Xiongying, he should still bear the primary responsibility in this matter."

"She is the Crown Prince's successor and the mistress of the Eastern Palace. She is in charge of internal affairs and is also responsible for taking care of His Highness's children."

"Zhu Xiongying is the eldest son and the crown prince, and should have been the focus of care. Given the royal family's conditions, the probability of him dying young should be relatively small."

"As a result, Zhu Xiongying died young. As a step-concubine and stepmother, she seriously failed in her duties."

"Also, His Highness died young, and as the Crown Princess and his wife, she also bears a certain responsibility. If anyone in this world knows His Highness better than His Majesty and Empress Ma, I'm afraid she's the only one who understands him better."

"Your Highness died of a cold in his prime, which means his body was already weak, or at least not healthy. But Mrs. Lu seemed unaware of it, or at least did nothing about it."

"Compared to Empress Ma, she not only raised your Majesty's many children to health, but also freed your Majesty from worrying about harem affairs. Your Majesty's ability to live to the ripe old age of seventy is also inseparable from Empress Ma."

Liu Kuan spoke at great length, and his speech was filled with hidden agenda.

Perhaps Lu was innocent, but in Liu Kuan's opinion, she did not play a positive role in Zhu Biao's life.

If we look at Zhu Yunwen's later performance, her qualification as a mother also needs to be questioned.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly after hearing this.

He felt that what Liu Kuan said made a lot of sense.

Even if Lu did not take the initiative to murder Xiong Ying, he still bears important responsibility for the incident and is also responsible for Zhu Biao's early death.

Compared with his "sister", Lu did a rather poor job as the next Crown Princess.

Zhu Biao also felt that Liu Kuan's analysis made sense, but he was worried that Zhu Yuanzhang would punish Lu because of it, so he said, "Your Majesty, Lu is just an ordinary woman, weak and unable to take care of herself. It is inevitable that she will make some mistakes in managing the internal affairs of the Eastern Palace. I hope Your Majesty will not blame her."

Liu Kuan saw what Zhu Biao was thinking and said, "What I just said is all speculation from later generations. Besides, Zhu Xiongying is still alive, so there is a chance to change this matter. Therefore, I believe that with your majesty's wisdom, you will not blame others for what I said."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao looked at Liu Kuan with gratitude.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Biao and said, "We certainly won't punish Lu based on speculation, but Xiongying must not be taken care of by her anymore."

"Let's have Xiongying sent to the harem later, and I'll let my sister take care of him. Also, Biao'er, you should also choose two more concubines who are considerate and caring."

Although Zhu Yuanzhang did not punish Lu, he obviously had no good feelings towards her.

Zhu Biao smiled bitterly.

He knew that this was probably the best result he could achieve for the Lu family.

"You said that after us, Yunwen ascended the throne as emperor, and you also said that a few decades later, our Ming Dynasty moved its capital to Yanjing. Could it be that the transfer of the throne occurred during Yunwen's reign?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked again.

Liu Kuan was slightly surprised. He didn't expect Zhu Yuanzhang to be so perceptive and to have figured out what was going on right away.

He sighed and said, "After your majesty appointed Zhu Yunwen as the crown prince in the 25th year of the Hongwu reign, you spent the last six years of your life teaching him by words and deeds. In addition, to help him eliminate potential dangers, you even killed many meritorious officials and generals, including Lan Yu."

"Unfortunately, Zhu Yunwen was influenced by Confucian scholars since childhood. By the time he became the Crown Prince, this influence had already penetrated his bones and was difficult to change."

"After ascending the throne, he immediately changed many of Your Majesty's policies. First, he eased punishments, reduced prisons, lowered taxes, and cut redundant officials. Second, he restored the old system of laws and regulations, primarily by changing the names of various government offices, official positions, and buildings."

"Regarding the first point, we, the people of later generations, believe it was the right decision, because your majesty's criminal law was indeed too harsh in the eyes of later generations."

"As for the second point, we later generations believe that Emperor Jianwen was simply influenced by the Confucian scholars around him and his actions were of no practical benefit other than disrupting state affairs."

Having said that, Liu Kuan stopped and observed the expressions of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao.

Zhu Biao had a complicated expression and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Zhu Yuanzhang only frowned slightly, showing no emotion. Perhaps thinking Liu Kuan had finished speaking, Zhu Biao couldn't help but sigh, "Yunwen is new to the throne, and although he's a bit immature, he knows how to be lenient with punishments, reduce prisons, and reduce taxes. He's done quite well."

Hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang snorted and said, "Have you ever considered that in my final years, I deliberately left these things for him to do while helping him eliminate hidden dangers? Or have you ever considered that this was the first thing I instructed him before I died?"

Zhu Biao was slightly stunned.

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "Your Majesty is wise. In fact, we, the people of later generations, do have such views. Compared to your Majesty's previous years of governance, the last few years have seen far too many criminal cases, and people's livelihoods are not as good as before."

"In addition, the most important and significant thing Emperor Jianwen did after ascending the throne was actually to reduce the power of the feudal lords."

Reduce the power of the feudal lords?

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao frowned even deeper.

Zhu Yuanzhang was not unaware of the disadvantages of enfeoffing princes as local officials and giving them certain military powers. After all, there were historical events such as the "Seven Kingdoms Rebellion" of the Han Dynasty and the "Eight Kings Rebellion" of the Jin Dynasty as examples.

Some of his ministers had advised him against this matter.

Zhu Yuanzhang still insisted on establishing fiefs, and he certainly had his considerations.

Firstly, he selfishly thought that since he had worked so hard to build up this vast empire, it was natural that his children should share in the benefits.

Secondly, compared with military generals from other families, he naturally trusted his sons more.

Third, he was worried that the Ming court would be plagued by treacherous and powerful officials in the future, and the Zhu family's rule would be in jeopardy.

At that time, the princes who hold military power outside can help the emperor and regain the Zhu family's territory.

Of course, in order to avoid the "Seven Kingdoms Rebellion" and "Eight Kings Rebellion" in the Ming Dynasty, he took some preventive measures.

For example, the princes were not allowed to travel privately, and the princes had to come to Beijing one by one, etc.

"Alas, judging from what Liu Kuan said about the Ming History, my good intentions and numerous arrangements have probably not had much effect."

Liu Kuan continued, "Although Emperor Jianwen was unwise in reducing the power of the vassal states upon ascending the throne, judging from the records passed down to later generations, it was inevitable that the Ming emperors who followed Your Majesty would choose to reduce the power of the vassal states."

Zhu Yuanzhang thought that the later generations Liu Kuan mentioned also denied his feudal policy, and asked, "Why do you say that?"

Liu Kuan said, "When His Majesty passed away, he enfeoffed more than a dozen princes, all of whom held military power, especially the nine great princes who were responsible for guarding the northern border."

"Take Ning Wang Zhu Quan, who was in charge of guarding Daning, for example. He had '80,000 soldiers and 6,000 leather chariots'; Yan Wang Zhu Di even had the power to 'control the troops along the border' and, upon his first court visit after Emperor Jianwen ascended the throne, he did not bow."

"Also, while Your Majesty appointed Zhu Yunwen as the Crown Prince during his lifetime, he was actually dissatisfied with his character and had expressed the idea of ​​appointing another Crown Prince, but was ultimately dissuaded by the ministers."

"We, the descendants of the past, have speculated that Your Majesty may have considered appointing Zhu Di as the crown prince, considering the significant military power Your Majesty granted to Zhu Di before his death."

"Under such circumstances, it was normal for Emperor Jianwen to choose to reduce the power of the feudal lords after ascending the throne. These circumstances must have made him unable to sleep or eat."

Having said this, Liu Kuan stopped again.

He wanted to give Zhu Yuanzhang time to think.

As the saying goes, "No one is perfect," Zhu Yuanzhang's rise from a beggar to the founding emperor is certainly a legend, but he also made many mistakes in his life.

In Liu Kuan's opinion, Zhu Yuanzhang should bear major responsibility for the Jingnan Campaign.

Zhu Yuanzhang was speechless for a moment, but his expression became obviously ugly.

Obviously, he also realized that he had an unshirkable responsibility for Emperor Jianwen's reduction of the feudal system, which led to the subsequent infighting within the Zhu family.

Zhu Biao couldn't help but say, half in a persuasive, half in comfort: "Father, no one is perfect."

Zhu Yuanzhang was a little overwhelmed by his son's words. He said angrily, "We know it, you don't need to tell us! Master Liu, please continue!"

Liu Kuan smiled and said, "Although the vassal kings are powerful, with the strength of Emperor Jianwen at the time, it was actually possible to reduce their power."

"Unfortunately, not only was he young and immature, but he also surrounded himself with a group of unreliable Confucian scholars. This group repeatedly made foolish moves in the matter of reducing the power of the feudal lords, which ultimately gave Zhu Di his opportunity."

"According to common sense, given Emperor Jianwen's absolute advantage, he should have taken the difficult measures first and then the easy ones, using drastic measures to directly take down Zhu Di and other Sai lords he feared the most."

"However, Emperor Jianwen chose to start with the easy ones and then move on to the difficult ones, picking the weak ones and first deposing the five weaker and more problematic princes, namely the Prince of Zhou, the Prince of Qi, the Prince of Xiang, the Prince of Dai, and the Prince of Min."

"Emperor Jianwen didn't kill the princes directly when he was reducing the power of the feudal lords, but Prince Zhu Bo of Xiang, unable to bear the humiliation, burned himself and his family to protect his reputation."

The whole family burned themselves to death!

These four words hit Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao's hearts like a heavy hammer.

They both thought of Zhu Bo today - Zhu Bo is only ten years old now, smart and sensible, and has already made up his mind to assist the country and save the people when he grows up.

Zhu Biao couldn't help but tear up when he thought about how his lovely twelfth brother ended up with his entire family burning themselves to death in history.

He did not blame others, but blamed himself more and more for his short life.

It is believed that if he had not died young, such a tragedy would not have happened.

Liu Kuan seemed unaware of the strange emotions of Old and Young Zhu, and continued, "Although Emperor Jianwen was most wary of Zhu Di, Zhu Di had done nothing wrong at the time, and he did not want to be accused of persecuting his uncle."

"So, he had Zhu Di's three sons brought to the capital as hostages, and also sent people to monitor Zhu Di both openly and covertly, preparing to find Zhu Di's weakness before taking action."

"In order to save his son's life, Zhu Di pretended to be crazy, which allowed his son to return to Peking."

"Although the elite border troops that Zhu Di originally controlled had been transferred elsewhere, he only had 800 guards at his disposal, and the imperial court had a large number of troops stationed outside the city of Beiping."

"But after his son returned, Zhu Di acted decisively. He first eliminated the spies who were spying on him in the Prince of Yan's palace, then suddenly sent troops to seize control of Beiping City. Under the pretext of 'clearing the imperial court and pacifying the national crisis,' he launched the Jingnan Campaign!"

　Please collect it and read it.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)