The Ming Dynasty: Transmigrating to Zhu Yunwen's era, I start by asking for exile!

Everyone looked at Zhu Yunwen.

Zhu Yunwen panicked; he was not the same person he was in the thirtieth year of the Hongwu reign.

A lot can happen in five years.

The debate between Zhu Yunwen and Lao Zhu five years later can be considered a classic.

Zhu Yuanzhang thought his enfeoffment was perfect, but Zhu Yunwen dared to question him.

Zhu believed that by entrusting the task of resisting the barbarians to his sons, the borders would be absolutely secure, and Zhu Yunwen could then rule the country with peace of mind.

Zhu Yunwen immediately countered, "If the border barbarians are restless and the princes suppress them, then who will suppress the restless princes?"

Zhu Yunwen's words left the old Zhu speechless.

Old Zhu didn't answer, but continued to ask what he would do if the princes were really restless.

Zhu Yunwen's answer was excellent.

The first step is to try to persuade and stop him with moral principles and etiquette. If he still doesn't listen, then reduce the size of his fiefdom.

If they still don't listen, then relocate them to another piece of land and let them reflect on their actions.

If that doesn't work, then we should launch an attack.

Old Zhu nodded, agreeing that what Zhu Yunwen said was the best solution.

The following year, Old Zhu passed away.

As for this Q&A session, Zhu Yunwen also simplified it, going straight to the final procedure, no!

Having served as the Crown Prince for four years, he must have learned something along the way.

But Zhu Yunwen is still a greenhorn, and this is a real problem.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, it is the Zhou Emperor who has lost his virtue."

"King Zhao attacked the innocent, King Li silenced the people, and King You mocked the feudal lords."

"If the emperor acts this way, the feudal lords will lose their hearts."

"The Eastern Zhou emperors were often biased, causing the feudal lords to become disloyal, which was the failure of the enfeoffment system."

"If the emperor is virtuous, the feudal lords will not dare to act recklessly."

This kid is really studying!

Although Zhu Yunwen read this book very deliberately, he truly absorbed a lot of it.

"That's right, they really did study."

"Yunwen, what do you think? What do you think of what Yunwen said?"

"Reporting to Grandfather."

"If this is a teacher, then this is a very good answer, and it also provides some reasons."

"But if it is a grandson of the emperor favored by the emperor, then such words are simply shameful."

"It looks good, but it's all just empty talk."

"What exactly was said? Nothing at all, and what was said was said without any thought."

"I'll just mention one thing: the story of the feudal lords being amused by the beacon fires."

"Zhu Yunwen had never seen the smoke of war, but his grandfather had."

"The capital of Zhou was located west of present-day Chang'an. Guanzhong was the territory of the Zhou dynasty, and the feudal lords were mostly located in the east of Guanzhong."

"The feudal lords of Guanzhong were all feudal lords of the royal domain."

"If we set off smoke signals, they can only be seen within a hundred miles at most. How could all the feudal lords possibly see them?"

"This is nothing but slander against the emperor."

"The core of the feudal system lies in the land."

"If you're going to seal it off, you have to do it on the ground."

"The emperor of the Western Zhou Dynasty personally leading an expedition was a necessary measure because it was to grant fiefdoms."

"After the world was settled, King Wu divided the land among the meritorious officials, the royal family, the two kings, and the three honored guests."

"At this time, the whole country is a territory that can be sealed off."

"When it came to King Cheng, King Cheng also had sons, and the Cheng Dynasty also had meritorious officials, so they still had to divide the spoils."

At that time, the land under heaven was still relatively prosperous.

"King Kang ascended the throne following the same procedure, but by then the land under heaven was already in dire need of resources."

"The royal domain has no more land to be granted as fiefdoms."

"During the reign of King Zhao, having already conquered all of the land, he had no more land to grant, so he attacked the Jingman people along the Han River."

"When King Zhao died, King Mu succeeded him and began to march north, eventually reaching the territory of the legendary River God."

"When the King of Gong ascended the throne, he could only make verbal promises and owed the fiefdoms."

"The reason why Prince Yi was able to ascend the throne was because there was no more land to be granted, which led to dissatisfaction among meritorious officials and members of the royal family."

"It was from this point that the king's authority began to be lost."

"It's not that the king has changed, it's that the king can't provide land, so the meritorious officials and members of the royal family only have resentment."

"With enfeoffment, the country will only accumulate wealth."

"The world is only so big, and it will be completely sealed off sooner or later."

"If there is nothing left to seal off, then the emperor can only seal off the territory he actually occupies in order to maintain the status quo."

"If we don't seal it off, there will be an immediate riot."

"This vicious cycle eventually left the Zhou emperor with only one city."

"It may seem that the world belongs to the virtuous, but in reality, it belongs to the one with the strongest army and the most powerful horses. This is an age-old truth."

"As the father's de facto eldest son, you should consider issues based on these realities, not on those slogans."

"I heard that you highly value the Zhou rites, so I wanted to hear your opinion, but I was very disappointed."

"He has absolutely no brain when it comes to thinking about problems."

"It's fine for you to study Huang Zicheng's scholarship."

"But you need to change your identity."

"You are your father's actual eldest son; he is his subject."

"Different identities lead to different ways of thinking about problems."

"What the people desire is to live and work in peace and contentment, and for the world to be at peace."

"What the Emperor desires is that all officials are dedicated to their duties, the people are at peace, and the world is at peace."

"Most officials think about bringing glory to their families and blessing their descendants."

"Huang Zicheng can say these things because this is indeed a cautionary example."

You can't think like that.

"You need to bypass these things and think about what's behind them."

"Your grandfather and father have been very supportive of you, so you cannot think from the perspective of a subject."

Emperor, ministers, and common people.

The relationship between these three is quite peculiar. As long as it is a normal emperor, the interests of the people and the emperor are aligned.

The emperor hoped for lasting peace throughout the land and for his family to remain emperor for a long time.

The people hope for peace and tranquility. They would rather be a dog in times of peace than a human in times of chaos. Only in times of peace can one have the chance to live.

A subject is different.

During the era of powerful families, they exploited both the emperor and the common people; emperors came and went, but powerful families remained constant.

During the imperial examination era, they patronized the emperor and exploited the people, harming the country but not the cultural heritage.

Of course, abstract figures like Yang Guang are an exception.

Such people treat everyone equally, whether commoners or high-ranking officials, exploiting them to the bone.

"Very good, Yun-huo said it well."

"Yunwen, you should learn from this. Yunwen said something good: you can't think from the perspective of a minister."

"You can learn knowledge, but you need to think about problems from a different perspective."

"Yun Tong's studies will not be studied further."

"You all heard what Yun-hu said, and you should think like this from now on."

"Yunwen, you should hurry up too. Zhou Ji's case is indeed progressing too slowly. Your Majesty has ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to assist you."

"Now we must hurry."

Zhu Yunwen quickly stood up: "Yes, Yunwen obeys."

"Yun-hu gave me a pleasant surprise in my studies today. You should all take Yun-hu as your role model."

"Yun-tong also brought out two good things, a sweet potato and a chicken."

"Your Majesty is in a good mood today, so your studies will not be examined. They will be examined again in October."

"Back then, it wasn't that simple."

When Lao Zhu said this, everyone was delighted. No matter the era, not having to take exams can bring happiness.

"Yun-hu has nothing to do right now."

"In that case, come to the East Pavilion tomorrow."

屮!

Zhu Yunwen felt a chill run down his spine; the East Pavilion was no good place!

Zhu Yuanzhang abolished the position of prime minister and personally handled all memorials to the throne (called "zou zhe" in the Qing Dynasty).

After court, one would go directly to the room to the east of Fengtian Hall to conduct official business; this was the East Pavilion.

Going to the East Pavilion means becoming a beast of burden.

"Your Majesty, I must diligently study the teachings of the sages early this morning..."

"That's enough for today, Yun-hu, you can go back now."

"Come to the East Pavilion first thing tomorrow morning."