Qixia Mountain, known as Sheshan Mountain in ancient times, is located outside the Taiping Gate of Yingtian Mansion. The mountain has three peaks, the east peak looks like a dragon and is called Longshan; the west peak looks like a tiger and is called Hushan; and the main peak is called Fengxiang Peak. On the west side of the mountain is Maple Ridge, with patches of maple forests. It is late autumn, and the maple leaves all over the mountains and plains are either red or orange, and thousands of trees and branches seem to have turned into torches, burning brightly under the blue sky and white clouds.
Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang and his officials were watching the maple leaves on the mountain.
"Stop and sit in the maple forest at night, the frost leaves are as red as the flowers in February." Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the beautiful scenery in front of him, and his heart was full of poetry. He thought for a long time and recited an ancient poem.
The dozens of ministers who followed him, all of whom were talented scholars who were ranked second in the imperial examination list and could compose hundreds of poems casually, were all silent for a moment.
"Your Majesty is wise. 'Spring leads a cow and autumn leaves Qixia'. Qixia's red leaves have been one of the ten scenic spots in Jinling since ancient times. It is indeed spectacular." Qi Tai, the left minister of the Ministry of War who was accompanying him, said respectfully.
Zhu Yunwen was a little disapproving. Is this a compliment to be called "wise"? I was thinking in my heart, but I didn't dare to show the look on my face.
This Qi Tai was a Jinshi in the eighteenth year of Hongwu. His original name was Qi De. He was originally just a director of the Ministry of Rites. In the 28th year of Hongwu's reign, the Jinshen Hall in the imperial palace was struck by lightning. In modern times, one might blame the person concerned for his weak safety awareness and install a lightning rod, but in ancient times, superstition blamed the emperor and considered it an ominous omen. Zhu Yuanzhang had no choice but to follow Master Hongyuan's advice and go to the ancestral temple in the suburbs to worship. Hongyuan also claimed that the accompanying officials would serve as officials for nine years and had never made any mistakes. After much selection, only Qi Tai fit the bill. Qi Tai came to the palace. Although he was only a small chief, he handled the advance and retreat appropriately, especially the border personnel situation. Zhu Yuanzhang was so happy that he named him "Tai" on the spot. After returning from the sacrifice, Qitai moved from the Ministry of Rites to the Ministry of War. In just two years, he was promoted to the rank of Left Minister of the Ministry of War (according to the previous introduction, he is roughly equivalent to the Deputy Minister of Defense, awesome, right?). He is thirty-four this year. He is in the prime of life, tall, with piercing eyes, and his speech and behavior are extremely crisp and clear.
But Qi Tai continued to say: "The grass and trees have their own intentions, and the maple leaves also know it. Now that the Holy Emperor is on the throne, the five barbarians have surrendered and the world has prospered, so the maple leaves in these years have become more lush and colorful year by year."
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the mountains in the distance, with the autumn wind blowing in his face, and sighed thoughtfully: "I am old. I have worked hard for thirty years, and finally the world is at peace."
"Your Majesty has made great contributions. First, he drove out the Mongolian Tatars and restored the country of Han Dynasty. He also governed the country well and had all the systems in place. Today's Ming Dynasty has ruled the Tang and Song Dynasties." Qitai bowed and congratulated.
"Ruling the Tang and Song Dynasties", Zhu Yuanzhang chewed these words, and a smile appeared on his old face. When reading history every day, even if Tang Taizong dare not compare, Song Taizu attacked the Northern Han Dynasty three times without success and was controlled by the Liao Dynasty. He was really inferior to himself. Looking at the prosperous Ming Dynasty today, it’s not bad at all. "Government of the Tang and Song Dynasties", not bad!
Huang Zicheng, who was on the side, saw that the emperor was happy, and said jokingly: "Holy Emperor, Holy Ming! Now the people in the world are living and working in peace and contentment, and they all praise the Holy One for driving out the Tartars and restoring our Han people's great achievements! The Mongols have now fled to a corner of the desert, and the Holy Spirit has given way. The envoys who came to discuss peace have been waiting at the post house for three days, how many more days should we let them wait?"
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded: "Mongolia is afraid of being beaten by us this time. Let them wait until they lose their temper and worry before we negotiate peace."
Zhu Yunwen smiled and said: "Uncle Yan Wang's two victories this time are really impressive."
Zhu Yuanzhang also rarely praised him: "Lao Si has been fighting for more than ten years and has his own way of dealing with the Mongols." Looking at Zhu Yunwen, he said again: "I have arranged for your uncles to guard the border against foreign enemies. It's impregnable, so you kid can just sit back and enjoy peace in the world!" Thinking of the peace and stability of the borderland, a smile filled his wrinkled face.
Zhu Yunwen bowed and thanked: "Imperial Grandfather Shengming!"
Qitai next to him moved, his mouth slightly opened.
Seeing that he was hesitant to speak, Zhu Yuanzhang asked, "What does Qi Qing want to say?"
Qi Tai bowed and said slowly: "Congratulations to Your Majesty for this great victory in the Mongolian Northern Expedition! Your Majesty, Your Majesty! If foreign enemies invade, the kings will resist them and protect our Ming Dynasty forever! But if the kings have different intentions, what should your Highness do? "After a slight pause, he finally said: "Nowadays, the kings are powerful. Even though they are close relatives, they must be on guard against them!"
Qi Tai asked suddenly, and everyone lost their countenance. Zhu Yunwen seemed confused. He looked at Qi Tai and then at Zhu Yuanzhang. Huang Zicheng looked at the emperor nervously, and the other officials were also worried.
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this question, his expression suddenly changed, and he snorted heavily: "How dare you to drive a wedge between our flesh and blood! Do you want to be Ye Boju?"
In the ninth year of Hongwu, an abnormal phenomenon occurred in the sky. The old astronomical knowledge was limited, which was called "star change". It was also blamed on the emperor, who thought it was a warning from heaven, indicating a national disaster or injustice in the world. Zhu Yuanzhang then issued an edict, requiring people from all over the world to write to the court to point out political gains and losses or unfairness and inappropriateness.
Given Zhu Yuanzhang's headstrong character, this was probably just a show of force due to pressure from public opinion. But Ye Boju, who was then the tutor of Pingyao County, had a literary name in the late Yuan Dynasty. In the early years of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, he studied Confucian classics like the Imperial College. He was an out-and-out scholar, but he believed the emperor's edict. As expected, he boldly said that tens of thousands of The book states that the world suffers from three things: enfeoffment is too extravagant, punishments are too complicated, and treatment is too urgent.
The book says: "Most of the systems of the previous kings were no more than one of the three kingdoms, with different levels of superiority and inferiority, each with its own division. Therefore, strong trunks and weak branches were used to curb the source of chaos and focus on governance. Today, the soil is divided and enfeoffed, so that each king has his own land. It punishes the Song Dynasty, isolates the Yuan Dynasty, and fails to compete with its masters." Zhu Yuanzhang was fine when he saw this, but then the conversation suddenly changed: "Qin, Jin, Yan, Qi, Liang, Chu, Wu, and Shu all have dozens of cities. Their cities, palaces, and palaces are inferior to those of the emperor's capital. The superior one is the prosperity of armored soldiers and guards." This means that the kings have many lands and houses, and there are more people than the emperor's bodyguards. Then he made a prophecy: "I am afraid that in a few lifetimes, the tail will not fall off, and then it will cut off its land and seize the power, and then there will be hope. If it happens by chance, it is impossible to prevent it." It should be said that Ye Boju was still very far-sighted. These words touched the key points of the enfeoffment system in every aspect, and even his future predictions were correct.
It's a pity that he was facing Zhu Yuanzhang, the representative figure in history of "a good bow hides a lackey and cooks". He killed all the founding heroes, was absolutely suspicious of his ministers, and only believed in his own family. It is said that Zhu Yuanzhang was furious at that time: "You are my flesh and blood, catch him quickly and I will shoot him!", and captured Ye Boju from Pingyao to Jinling overnight. The officials wanted to protect him and were sent to the Ministry of Punishment Prison. Although they were not shot by Zhu Yuanzhang's bow and arrow, they were tortured in the prison and starved to death.
At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang mentioned Ye Boju's name, and everyone knew that the emperor was extremely angry. Also, perhaps due to local human characteristics, people in Zhongdu attach great importance to protecting their children and grandchildren. In Zhu Yuanzhang's heart, he is the head of the old Zhu family. These children and grandchildren are both his responsibility and his bargaining chip, and they are the most trustworthy people. Ye Boju Qitai always doubts them, so who should Zhu Yuanzhang believe
Qi Tai knelt down with a bang: "I don't dare! I am risking my life to speak for the Ming Dynasty. Princes from all over the country are recruiting troops and horses to expand their armaments: for example, King Ning has 80,000 soldiers and 6,000 chariots and three Duoyan Mongolian cavalry; The king of Liao had 20,000 soldiers and horses, one of which was a firearms camp; there were also nearly 20,000 personal soldiers of the king, and he recruited migrant workers for unknown reasons; King Zhou of Kaifeng had just returned to his fiefdom for six years, and he also had more than 10,000 soldiers and horses; Yan The king left Daning Guard this month, but as far as I know, there are more than 12,000 soldiers in the Yan Palace in Beiping. If it is enough to deal with the Mongolian troops stationed in various places, so many soldiers have ulterior motives! May the Holy Spirit be enlightened! "Kowtow while speaking.
Huang Zicheng also knelt down and said loudly: "I'm afraid the king's tail will be too big to fall off, so I beg the Holy One to see clearly!"
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't say a word for a long time. Qi Tai said so much, but he was a little hesitant and didn't dare to say clearly: If he lives for one day, these vassal kings will naturally not dare to confront me; but he is over seventy, and he may not be around one day. His grandson Zhu Yunwen succeeded to the throne. Qitai Huang Zicheng was worried that Zhu Yunwen could not control these vassal kings.
As an emperor, life and death are still determined by fate. No matter how many times you shout "Long live", how can you really live forever? Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but feel proud when he thought of this.
After a long while, Zhu Yuanzhang asked Zhu Yunwen, "What do you think Yunwen wants?"
Zhu Yunwen smiled slightly and said: "My grandson feels that Minister Qi has been overly responsible. All the uncles have always been loyal and diligent, loyal to the Holy Father, loving father and son, and filial piety. They have also always taken good care of their grandchildren. Since the death of my late father, I have cherished the old cow licking the calf even more." Feelings."
"Oh?" Zhu Yuanzhang knew that his grandson was innocent and somewhat scholarly, so he felt happy to see him trusting his family so much.
"My grandson is young, and his literary and military skills are naturally not as good as those of my uncles. Confucius said, 'Those who convince others with force are not convinced by their hearts, nor can they support them with strength; those who convince others by virtue are happy and sincerely convinced.' If you are not talented, you should examine yourself diligently and interact with your uncles with virtue. We are all one family and everything will be fine." Zhu Yunwen said sincerely, his clear eyes shining brightly in the autumn sunshine.
"Good! What a man who persuades others with virtue! What a 'family'!" Zhu Yuanzhang has always protected his children and grandchildren, not to mention that he is old. The last thing he wants is family disputes and fratricide. Hearing Zhu Yunwen say this, he was very happy.
Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang agreed, Zhu Yunwen's confidence greatly increased, and he went on to say: "The vassal enfeoffment system of the Holy Emperor is very complete and reasonable. Apart from the royal soldiers, your uncles do not have the military power to garrison in various places. Sun'er feels that the soldiers of the palace cannot be a disaster. Moreover, the kings Regardless of local administration, the royal palace is located in an important town under the jurisdiction of the imperial court. "Everything in the world is the royal territory." Even if something happens, the imperial court can directly send local officials to deal with it. Sun'er thinks that we can put all the royal palaces in the The superiors screened and consolidated them to ensure that the imperial decrees and prohibitions were carried out."
Zhu Yuanzhang was even more happy: "Okay, very good." Then he looked at the two people kneeling on the ground: "Get up. What do you two think?"
Qi Tai stood up and felt that the emperor's behavior was considered a compromise. At least he began to take precautions against the vassal king. He immediately said: "Your Majesty is wise! What your Highness saw is indeed extraordinary. I think that the important town in the north is Beiping. The chief envoy of Beiping and The commander of the capital makes the relocation of the capital the most secure."
Zhu Yunwen hesitated and said: "Uncle King Yan has just won a great victory in the Northern Expedition. If the court immediately replaces these people, it will not be good for Uncle Yan, right?"
Zhu Yuanzhang also disagreed: "This is inappropriate. We can't let the fourth child feel cold. Let's go like this. You guys can discuss it when you go back. Those who think that various places need to be rearranged should first draw up a roster."
Zhu Yunwen, Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng agreed.
Zhu Yuanzhang asked casually again: "Is King Yan the Daning Mansion that I left this month?"
Huang Zicheng replied: "Your Majesty, King Yan is leaving Daning Mansion on the sixth day of October, and Princess Yining of North Korea is accompanying him." He paused and said, "I said he has identified his identity, Your Majesty."
Zhu Yuanzhang snorted: "These two boys are embarrassing a little girl." He glanced at Zhu Yunwen and said: "Let me tell the prefectures along the way from Peking to the capital to protect the safety of Princess Yining of North Korea. If she is robbed again, Where is the dignity of Ming Dynasty?"
Zhu Yunwen quickly agreed. Thinking of this Korean princess who had a bumpy journey, I suddenly felt a little sympathetic.
The autumn wind suddenly picked up, rustling the red leaves on Qixia Fengling. Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yunwen looked at the red leaves, silently thinking about each other.
The tree wants to be quiet but the wind does not stop. The situation is always stronger than that of people. Even if you are an emperor, how can you get everything you want