Under Zhu Xianfeng's plan, a wave of rebellion was brewing in Qingzhou.
On the other side.
The Imperial Palace was in a joyous mood.
"Great news, great news, Your Majesty!"
A servant shouted as he ran into the Hall of Heaven's Tribute.
At this moment, all the officials in the Hall of Heavenly Tribute stood solemnly.
The new emperor of Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yunwen, sat on his throne.
If it was in the past, he would definitely punish the palace attendants when they shouted.
But today was different.
When he heard the sound of 'exultation,' his face revealed a carefree and joyful smile.
For nothing else.
It was because his strategy of cutting down the vassals had already begun to bear fruit.
In just three months, four vassal kings were successfully removed and their vassal lands were taken back.
Therefore, at this moment, when Zhu Yunwen heard the good news, it was no different from hearing the sound of nature.
"Your Majesty, the Embroidered Uniform Guards have sent an urgent report from six hundred miles away. The Xiang King Zhu Bai has died of self-immolation due to his rebellion.”
The chamberlain rushed to the front of the carriage and reported with a beaming expression.
Zhu Yunwen was happy at first, but then a trace of sadness flashed in her eyes. She sighed,"Sigh, for the sake of the stability of the Ming Dynasty, I implemented the strategy of cutting the vassal state. Why did the Xiang King come to this!”
As she spoke, Zhu Yunwen actually shed a few tears.
Of course, most of these tears belonged to crocodiles, or rather, they were the tears of a fake Virgin Mary.
"Your Majesty, there is no need to be sad. The Xiang King has only himself to blame!”
Fang Xiaoru took a big step forward and walked into the hall. He cupped his hands and bowed."The Imperial Court's original intention was to strip him of his territory, but not only did the King of Xiang not know how to be grateful, he even wanted to rebel.”
Zhu Yunwen wiped her tears,"But the Xiang Prince is my twelfth uncle!"”
Seeing this, Huang Zicheng hurriedly walked out of the ranks of the officials and cupped his hands."Your Majesty, it is imperative to cut off the vassals. Your Majesty must not be soft-hearted.”
Fang Xiaoru immediately echoed," Huang Hanlin's words make sense. Now that the vassal territories of the Zhou, Dai, Min, and Xiang princes have been cut off one after another, this is enough to prove the accuracy of the strategy of cutting off vassals. It also shows that cutting off vassals is in line with the hearts of the people and in line with righteousness!”
Zhu Yunwen sighed and said,"How could I not know what the two beloved ministers said? It's just that I couldn't bear to see the Zhu family's royal family die in vain because of this, so I have to bear the name of killing my relatives."”
Huang Zicheng said," I admire Your Majesty's magnanimity. However…state affairs cannot be discussed in private. I implore Your Majesty to continue to increase the pressure and remove the two powerful vassals, King Qi and King Yan. If that's the case, the world will be free from worries!"”
Among all the officials in the court, only Huang Zicheng did not lose his mind because of the victory in front of him.
In his opinion, the most important vassals were the King of Yan, Zhu Di, who was a vassal of Beiping Prefecture, and the King of Qi, Zhu Xi, who was a vassal of Qingzhou Prefecture!
Not only did these two vassal kings have outstanding military achievements, but they also had tens of thousands of troops.
Although he didn't think that this amount of soldiers could resist the imperial court, it was more than enough to start a war.
Fang Xiaoru said," Although what Huang Hanlin said is reasonable, the general trend of cutting the vassal states is what the people want. Those who obey can survive, but those who oppose will die. A mere Yan Qi was nothing to be afraid of!”
"Grand Secretary Fang, you can't let your guard down. What if the King of Yan and the King of Qi raise an army to resist?”
"Hehe…If the King of Yan and the King of Qi dare to rebel, then they are digging their own graves!”
"No matter what, the biggest variable in cutting the vassals is in Yan and Qi!”
"Yan and Qi? The imperial court had millions of soldiers, how could two vassal states be able to resist them? Furthermore, since ancient times, which vassal king could rebel?”
He watched as the two ministers were at a stalemate.
Zhu Yunwen had to stop them,"My two beloved ministers, there is no need to fight. I have decided to send two more Jinyiwei troops to Yan Qi."”
"Your Majesty is wise!"
Fang Xiaoru and Huang Zicheng could only reply in unison.
Zhu Yunwen added,"In addition, Minister Fang must speed up the construction of the Purple Gold Villa. Don't let my uncles come to Yingtian without a place to stay."”
The so-called Purple Gold Villa was actually built by Zhu Yunwen to imprison the various vassal kings.
"This subject obeys the decree!"
Fang Xiaoru immediately replied.
……
Beiping, King Yan's Mansion.
"Father, recently, Prince Dai, Prince Min, and Prince Zhou have been stripped of their titles one after another. The poor King Xiang has also recently died from self-immolation, and all of his vassal lands have been taken back by the Imperial Court. The Imperial Court is also monitoring the King Yan's Residence day and night.”
Zhu Gaoxu walked into a secret room and told the King of Yan, Zhu Di, who was playing chess with Yao Guangxiao, about the changes in the world.
Zhu Di pondered for a moment and asked Yao Guangxiao,""Master, the Imperial Court is pressing on us step by step. What should I do?”
Yao Guangxiao placed the black chess piece in his hand on the chessboard and replied indifferently,""Since ancient times, the winner is king and the loser is the bandit. If the King of Yan is not willing to be a prisoner of Jianwen, why not follow the example of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty to reverse the chaos and create a golden age for the Ming Dynasty?”
When Zhu Di heard this, a hint of eagerness flashed in his eyes, but it immediately dimmed."Even if this king has the talent of Emperor Taizong, I don't have the foundation of Emperor Taizong!”
"Why do you say that, Prince Yan?"
"Although Emperor Taizong killed his brother to ascend the throne, his father is still alive, and he is willing to ascend the throne rightfully. If this king raises an army to cause my nephew's rebellion…the hearts of the people will probably not be able to submit.”
"Hehe…I only care about the Heavenly Dao and never care about the people's hearts. If the King of Yan did not rebel, wouldn't he be letting down the Way of Heaven?”
As Zhu Di's chief strategist, Yao Guangxiao, this monk, not only did he not have any compassion, but he was also a bit black-bellied in some ways.
Of course, his intelligence and ability were definitely top-notch.
"Only care about the Heavenly Dao and not the people?"
Zhu Di looked at Yao Guangxiao with widened eyes.
Only the black-robed monk would dare to speak such a blatant truth.
"This Penniless Monk has looked through history. Since ancient times, the winner is king and the loser is the bandit. The world is ruled by the capable. Those so-called people who win the hearts of the people will win the world. It's just a lie. As long as the Heavenly Dao is on the King of Yan, the rebellion might not be impossible!”
Yao Guangxiao continued to use his shocking words to persuade Zhu Di.
Zhu Di fell into deep thought.
On the contrary, there might be a chance of survival.
If you don't return, you'll leave Yingtian and live a lifetime.
For the ambitious Zhu Di, this was worse than killing him.
"Motherf * cker, since Zhu Yunwen is so aggressive, then this king will fulfill his wish!”
He slammed the chess table and cursed. Then, he cupped his hands and bowed to Yao Guangxiao."Grandmaster, please give me some pointers on how to plot a rebellion!”
Yao Guangxiao laughed and said," Hahaha, King Yan, don't worry. Leave this matter to me."”
Thus, the only successful rebellion of a vassal king in history began in this secret chamber.
Of course.
This was because Zhu Xianfeng was a variable.
It was hard to say whether Zhu Di and Yao Guangxiao would succeed.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]