The Ming Dynasty: I Fabricated Dreams for Zhu Di 50

Chapter 50: Zhu Biao’s Helplessness

Zhu Biao was quite angered by Zhu Di’s words. He knew his younger brother’s temperament: stubborn as a mule. Like their father and himself, once he set his mind on something, ten horses couldn’t pull him back.

Mu Ying, standing beside him, quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, “Your Highness, the Crown Prince, please calm down.” “Perhaps His Royal Highness the Yan King has some unspeakable difficulties.”

Before Zhu Biao could take the offered olive branch, Zhu Di responded without a second thought, “Unspeakable difficulties? There are no unspeakable difficulties.” “I simply don’t want to go to my fiefdom.” “I ask you, Brother, to convey my words to Father.”

Zhu Biao flew into a rage. “Damn it! At the beginning of the founding of the Great Ming, Father said, ‘The empire is vast, and fiefdoms must be established as a bulwark, serving the nation above and securing the people below. Now that all my sons have come of age, they should each receive a title and govern their respective states.'” “You, as a prince, enjoy the power of a prince, yet you refuse to fulfill your duties. Where in the world is there such a good thing!” “The feudal princes system is the foundation of the Great Ming’s rule. If you are granted an exception, and others follow suit, what will become of the Great Ming’s empire!”

From the very first day of the empire’s founding, the Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang had summoned his ministers to discuss the root causes of the Song and Yuan dynasties’ collapse. Zhu Biao himself was present at this discussion. Two fundamental reasons were summarized:

First, a weak emperor and powerful ministers. With the slightest carelessness, power would be usurped by ministers. The frequent changes of emperors were the root cause of the Yuan Dynasty’s downfall.

Second, strong civil officials and weak military officials. The lack of emphasis on military training resulted in a lack of strong generals and soldiers, leaving the dynasties powerless against external invasions and forcing regime changes.

The feudal princes system was established and implemented under these circumstances. At the time of the Great Ming’s founding, it didn’t rely heavily on family or clan power, resulting in fewer beneficiaries and fewer people who could maintain the stability of the dynasty. Unlike the Tang Dynasty, where Li Yuan had the entire Guanlong Group behind him—the interests of the Li emperors and the Guanlong Group were intertwined. When the dynasty encountered problems, the Guanlong Group would help the Li family maintain its rule. The enfeoffment of the princes effectively solved this problem.

Of course, a more important reason was to utilize the power of the feudal princes as a bulwark for the Great Ming, preventing a scenario like the Song Dynasty, where they were easily conquered.

Listening to Zhu Biao, Zhu Di resolutely replied, “Yes, the feudal princes system did indeed maintain the stability of the Hongwu Emperor’s reign.” “But has Father ever considered you?” “The vast military power of the feudal princes—what threat will it pose to you?” “Which prince doesn’t harbor ambitions for the throne?” “Yet Father grants the feudal princes such immense military authority. While Father is still alive, no one dares to harbor rebellious thoughts.” “But once Father passes away, with the feudal princes possessing such strong military power, what will you do then?” “The Tang Dynasty’s Crown Prince and Emperor Taizong—what a close brotherly relationship they had. But what happened in the end?” “The Xuanwu Gate Incident!”

This was his dream; he could speak freely. Mu Ying, Lan Yu, and Mu Chun, hearing Zhu Di’s words, all fell silent. At that moment, they all wished they could disappear into the ground. Were these words something they should be hearing?

Upon hearing the mention of the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Zhu Biao was shaken.

Zhu Di said with some guilt, “I don’t want my hands stained with the blood of my brothers.” Although he disliked Zhu Yunwen intensely, he had to admit…Zhu Yunwen was not wrong.

Hearing this, Zhu Biao’s tone softened slightly: “You’re worried about this, so you refuse to go to your fiefdom?” “Old Fourth, Father has considered the things you’re thinking about.” “Granting titles but not land, bestowing ranks but not governing the people, receiving salaries but not handling affairs.”

The issues Zhu Di raised—Zhu Yuanzhang had naturally considered them. These were measures to limit the power of the feudal princes, to prevent the very scenario Zhu Di described.

However, Zhu Di, as someone who had experienced it, knew that Zhu Yuanzhang’s restrictions were essentially meaningless.

Ning King Zhu Quan commanded 80,000 troops and 6,000 chariots. The Yan King Zhu Di, himself, had the authority to command border troops. This meant he could mobilize the more than 100,000 soldiers of the entire Northern Ping garrison.

The words sounded good enough.

But in reality, without controlling military power, everything was useless.

“Without restricting the military power of the feudal princes, all this is futile.” “Throughout history, which rebellious emperor didn’t rely on military power to seize the throne?” “It sounds good, but what about the reality?”

Even if Zhu Biao hadn’t died, the reduction of the feudal princes’ power would have been inevitable. After he himself had rebelled and ascended the throne, the first thing he did was to weaken the princes. He had been a feudal prince and knew how great their power was. Even if Zhu Biao hadn’t died and hadn’t undertaken the reduction of the princes’ power, his successor would still face this problem. Otherwise, over time, they would become like the Jiedushi of the Tang Dynasty.

Zhu Di continued, “Brother, don’t you really understand?” Since he had this dream, he had to change Zhu Biao’s fate. If Zhu Biao became emperor, he would certainly not rebel, and Zhu Biao would not reduce the power of the princes. But what would happen after Zhu Biao’s death? Wouldn’t that wretch Zhu Yunwen still weaken the princes? Wouldn’t the Jingnan Campaign still happen?

Even if he could prevent that bastard Zhu Yunwen from becoming emperor, even if he could save Zhu Xiongying, Lan Yu and the others wouldn’t have to die. But then, it would be the feudal princes who would die. He had witnessed Zhu Yunwen eliminating five feudal princes. Even in a dream, he didn’t want to meet such an end.

And what he needed to do was simple: don’t go to his fiefdom. As long as he wasn’t a feudal prince, he would always be Zhu Di, the fourth son. Zhu Biao would always be Zhu Biao, the eldest son. They would always be brothers.

Seeing this, Zhu Biao responded, “You’re always thinking about things that haven’t happened.” “Throughout history, no system or law has ever been perfect.” “There are advantages and disadvantages.” “Maintaining the stability of the Great Ming’s empire naturally requires sacrificing some power. What’s wrong with that?” Without the power of family clans, it’s difficult for an emperor alone to maintain rule over a vast territory. The feudal princes system is the most effective system currently available. Besides this, he couldn’t think of any other way to maintain the stability of the empire.

“Besides, we’ll deal with future matters when they come.” “For now, you must go to your fiefdom!” Everyone dies eventually. You can’t say that because you will die in the future, you shouldn’t live now.

Zhu Di remained firm, “Brother, I’ll say it again: either you kill me with a sword and have my body transported to Beiping to assume my fief, or I won’t take a step out of the Capital City.”

(End of Chapter)

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