The Great Ming Demon Pill: Your Majesty, please address me as the Crown Prince!

He looked at Zhu Zhanjun with a somewhat blank expression.

"Zhanjun, what did you say?"

"Ming, how could he have perished at the hands of his imperial grandfather?"

Zhu Zhanjun, with his hands behind his back, shook his head and said.

"Grandfather, I ask you, have you been weakening the power of the princes all these years?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di glanced at him.

"You little monkey are quite interested in politics."

"That's right, Grandfather is indeed reducing the power of the feudal lords."

"However, unlike Jianwen, the Emperor was unwilling to force everyone to a dead end, and he treated them very well."

Have you heard the story of Emperor Taizu of Song releasing his military commanders from power over a cup of wine?

"My grandfather was the same."

"Forcibly weakening the power of the feudal lords will inevitably lead to more wars in the Ming Dynasty."

"The people are suffering."

"For the sake of the Ming Dynasty and for the harmony among the royal family members, my grandfather went to great lengths to reduce the power of the princes."

Zhu Zhanjun pursed his lips.

"Grandpa Emperor, you probably just didn't want to leave a bad name in history books for slaughtering your relatives, right?"

"After all, they've already rebelled. If they were to slaughter the royal family and relatives over the issue of reducing the power of the princes, wouldn't that make them infamous tyrants?"

[Ding! You have obtained a golden treasure chest!]

Zhu Di: "!!!"

Although what you said is true, could you be a little more tactful?

The smile on his face was somewhat stiff.

"Zhanjun, why do you ask about the purpose of reducing the power of the regional military governors?"

Zhu Zhanjun's big, dark eyes darted around.

"Grandfather, reducing the power of the princes may benefit you, but for the Ming Dynasty, it has fatal consequences!"

Zhu Di's eyes widened, his rugged face filled with astonishment.

"Little monkey, don't talk nonsense."

"Reducing the power of regional military governors can only bring benefits; where are the drawbacks?"

"Does it have to escalate into a rebellion of seven kingdoms or eight princes for it to be considered good?"

Zhu Zhanjun said solemnly.

"Grandpa, look, he's in a hurry again."

Zhu Di: "..."

Zhu Zhanjun coughed lightly.

"Grandpa, let me ask you first."

"How did the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty enfeoff the various princes? Where were their fiefdoms located?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di replied without hesitation.

"To the north, from west to east, are the Prince of Su, the Prince of Qing, the Prince of Dai, the Prince of Gu, the Prince of Ning, the Prince of Liao, the Prince of Han, the Prince of Shen..."

Before he could speak, Zhu Zhanjun snapped his fingers and said with a piercing gaze.

"Grandfather, what if the fiefdoms of these vassal kings were combined?"

Zhu Di was taken aback upon hearing this.

Although he didn't have a map in hand, he had fought on the battlefield for many years, and maps were already deeply imprinted in his mind.

He immediately said.

"When connected, it forms a line... along the Great Wall."

After saying this, Zhu Di frowned, as if he had noticed something.

He looked at Zhu Zhanjun with some surprise.

Zhu Zhanjun said with a smile.

"Grandfather, which princes were enfeoffed along the Yellow River?"

Zhu Di narrowed his eyes.

"Along the Yellow River, the King of Qin was stationed in Xi'an, the King of Jin was stationed in Taiyuan, the King of Zhou was stationed in Kaifeng, and the King of Lu was stationed in Yanzhou."

Zhu Zhanjun smiled.

"What about the Yangtze River?"

Zhu Di said in a deep voice.

"King of Shu, King of Xiang, King of Chu."

Zhu Zhanjun nodded, his little face full of emotion.

"Emperor Taizu, with his foresight, divided the princes' fiefdoms into three lines of defense: the Great Wall in the north, the Yellow River, and the Yangtze River. These three lines were the lifeline of the Ming Dynasty!"

He turned around, his dark eyes fixed on Zhu Di: "Grandfather, you are an expert in leading troops into battle."

"Grandson asks you, if you were the leader of a rising foreign tribe in the north, commanding a powerful army, and wanted to march south to capture the dragon and strike at its heart, could you break through these three lines of defense in one fell swoop?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di shook his head almost without hesitation: "As difficult as ascending to heaven."

"The Great Wall defense line stretches from Gansu to Liaodong, with numerous passes, steep mountains, and fortified cities."

"Not to mention the border troops in various towns, just look at the princes along the border—Prince Su, Prince Qing, Prince Dai, Prince Gu, Prince Ning, Prince Liao… Which of these border princes didn't hone their skills on the frontier from a young age, and each commanded capable soldiers?"

"To break through this line, unless there is internal turmoil or the enemy forces outnumber us several times over and we defeat them one by one with overwhelming force, it is absolutely impossible to break through in one fell swoop."

"Even if they manage to break through one point, the other kings can quickly coordinate to cut off their retreat and trap them in an encirclement."

Zhu Zhanjun nodded with a smile.

Zhu Di continued to ponder.

"The Yellow River defense line is also a tough nut to crack."

"Xi'an, Taiyuan, Kaifeng, and Yanzhou are all located in the heart of the Central Plains, with strong fortifications and abundant food supplies."

"If foreign cavalry were to cross the Great Wall, they would be exhausted and worn out."

"The kings of Qin and Jin, who are stationed here, can wait in comfort and rely on the strong city walls along the Yellow River, which is enough to wear them down and destroy them."

"The Yangtze River defense line is bordered by the Shu King in the land of abundance, and the Xiang King and Chu King in the region of Jingzhou. The Yangtze River is a natural barrier, crisscrossed by waterways, which is not the forte of the northern cavalry."

"Even if the first two lines of defense are lost, we can retreat to the south of the Yangtze River and defend it from there, thus continuing the dynasty's rule along the river."

"Southern boats and northern horses; cavalry that have crossed the Yellow River will lose three-tenths of their fighting strength by the time they reach the Yangtze River."

"The three kings of Shu, Xiang, and Chu are capable of fighting on both land and water, which is enough to maintain half of the country."

Zhu Zhanjun chuckled.

"Grandpa Emperor was a military strategist, and his analysis was both reasonable and well-founded."

"Emperor Taizu was a top strategist of his time. He envisioned the Ming Dynasty lasting for ten thousand years, which is why he enfeoffed many princes here."

"Even if the northern barbarians become powerful one day, the Ming Dynasty, with these three lines of defense, will never perish!"

"As for the issue of rebellions by regional princes..."

Zhu Zhanjun remarked with emotion.

"His wish was for the Ming Dynasty of the Zhu family to last for ten thousand years."

"He doesn't care who becomes emperor, as long as the emperor's surname is Zhu."

"Grandfather, if you reduce the power of the vassal kings, and if future emperors are incompetent, our Great Ming will surely be in danger if the powerful enemies in the north invade the south."

"Furthermore, I've heard that Your Majesty is considering moving the capital to Beiping?"

"If the capital is moved to Beiping, future emperors will personally guard the northern frontier."

"The advantage is that it's under the emperor's nose, so the military will inevitably be strong."

"The downside is that if the emperor is incompetent, the country will be destroyed if the country loses the war."

"So, Your Majesty, you said that the Ming Dynasty was effectively destroyed by Zhu Di. Is there any explanation for that?"

[Ding! You have obtained a golden treasure chest!]

Zhu Di was speechless.

After a long while, he spoke slowly.

"I conquered the northern deserts and defeated the northern barbarians so badly that they could not raise their heads."

"The emperor a hundred years from now shouldn't be this incompetent, right?"

Zhu Zhanjun's lips twitched.

Damn it, if he could prove it, he really wanted to tell Zhu Di about the deeds of the Oirat students.

Then again, it won't even be a hundred years from now.

The capture of Mingbaozong and the defense of Beijing took place more than 20 years later.

Zhu Zhanjun couldn't help but say.

"Grandpa, what do you think?"

Zhu Di shook his head and said self-deprecatingly.

There will never be a shortage of idiots.

"What emperor is wise forever?"

"Zhanjun, you're right."

"If the Ming Dynasty is destroyed by northern barbarians, my grandfather will also bear responsibility."

After saying that, he fell silent.

After a long while, Zhu Di said somewhat dejectedly.

"Does this mean my decision to reduce the power of the feudal lords was a mistake?"

"Could it have brought about the downfall of the Ming Dynasty?"

Zhu Zhanjun offered words of comfort.

"Grandpa, please don't blame yourself too much."

"After all, this isn't the only thing you've done that led to the downfall of the Ming Dynasty."

"Huh?" Zhu Di looked completely bewildered.