Empress Xu left very interestingly, and in the empty emperor's bedroom, only Zhu Di and Dao Yan sat opposite each other.

"Checks and balances? Counterbalances to whom? The master might as well make it clear. ”

Zhu Di looked at Dao Yan seriously, and a trace of alertness flashed in his eyes.

Dao Yan really doesn't regard himself as an outsider, so he picked up the edict that knocked on the Jing Nanxun Gui Group, and after looking at it a few times, he raised his head and asked Zhu Di.

"Your Majesty, who do you think peace and prosperity can be used to check and balance?"

Zhu Di snorted coldly, Ping An and Sheng Yong, as famous generals of the Southern Army, naturally represent the interests of the armies in some regions under the current situation where the Hongwu Founding Noble Group is declining, and Li Jinglong and Xu Huizu, the second-generation generals are not outstanding.

This means that the Battle of Jingjing was actually a national battle.

In order to defeat Zhu Di, Emperor Jianwen Zhu Yunwen transferred the Songpan elite cavalry on the western border, the Tusi soldiers of Yungui in the southwest, the soldiers and horses of Shanxi in Shaanxi in the north, and the Liaodong soldiers who were divided by the Yan army, plus the Huaixi soldiers left to him by Zhu Yuanzhang.

And the real situation of the Battle of Jingyan is by no means the "A gust of wind blew, and the originally declining Yan army won" recorded in the history books of later generations, "Another gust of wind blew, and the southern army was so fascinated that it couldn't open its eyes, and the Yan army won again".

In fact, after Li Jinglong's defeat at Baigou River and Zhu Di's attack on Jinan was frustrated, in the stage of strategic stalemate between the two armies, Zhu Di turned the balance of victory to himself step by step through continuous strategic measures.

Zhu Di first attacked the east and the west, defeated the Cangzhou battalion hanging in the north, and then annihilated the main force of the Liaodong army, which greatly reversed the strategic situation of the Yan army being attacked by the enemy on all sides.

Subsequently, Zhu Di severely defeated the Shanxi Front Army, so that the Shanxi Army did not dare to take the Datong-Xuanfu line, and went out of the Taihang Mountain to attack Beiping, ensuring complete security in the northwest, northeast, southwest and other directions.

Then Zhu Di relied on the high mobility of the Yan army, and in several bloody battles such as Dongchang, Gaocheng, and Jiahe, he paid the price of the lives of several Yan army generals and tens of thousands of soldiers, and completely hit the two heavy army groups of Zhending and Dezhou of the Southern Army.

Finally, it is Zhu Di's strategic decisive battle.

What is in the history books of later generations, "The eunuchs in the palace did not hide from Emperor Jianwen, and ran out to tell Zhu Di that Nanjing was empty and wanted to go straight to Nanjing" Yunyun, don't believe it.

Anyone who has a brain, looking at the map, knows the distance from Beijing to Nanjing, and what the concept was in ancient times.

Zhu Di led the whole Yan army to the south in a desperate way, in order to pull out the heavy army group of the Southern Army that was huddled in the two large camps of Zhending and Dezhou.

This is equivalent to the enemy hero shrinking in the upper and lower towers, and our side chooses to assemble in the middle lane to make a wave of high ground, and the enemy is forced to come down from the top to help, and is broken by each in the jungle.

Subsequently, Nanjing, an undefended crystal, had two front towers of the Huai River and the Yangtze River, and they were also in vain.

In fact, after the decisive battle of Lingbi, all the living forces of the southern army were annihilated, and it was almost only a matter of time before the Yan army crossed the river, there was no possible resistance, and it was impossible for Emperor Jianwen to turn the tables.

Defending the river must defend Huai, and in the decisive battle of Lingbi, Zhu Di has annihilated all the living forces used by Emperor Jianwen to defend the river and defend Huai.

The significance of the decisive battle of Lingbi can almost be understood with the Huaihai in later generations.

Having said that, Ping An and Sheng Yong, the two defeated generals under Zhu Di, still have some weight and prestige in today's Ming army system.

In other words, they are enough to provide a little counterbalance to the now somewhat inflated Jingnan Xungui group.

After all, although Ping An and Sheng Yong made Zhu Di grit his teeth with hatred, this also shows their ability.

"Your Majesty's edict is a warning to the Duke of Qi and the Duke of Cheng, right?"

Zhu Di was silent and did not answer the question.

Dao Yan chuckled lightly and continued to ask: "Since Your Majesty has made a choice, then in fact, Your Majesty should understand in his heart that it is useless to rely on a piece of paper alone, leaving peace and prosperity, and forgiving these two generals who were once enemies of Your Majesty, is the real way to beat Jing Nan and the nobles." ”

"What the hell do you mean? Didn't you work as a lobbyist for Chi'er? ”

Zhu Di stared sharply at Dao Yan.

In Zhu Di's cognition, Dao Yan is indeed biased towards Zhu Gaochi's side.

In any case, during the Battle of Jingyan, Dao Yan and Zhu Gaochi worked together in Beiping for four years.

During those difficult years, Zhu Gaochi, who was in his early twenties, had two teachers, one was Gu Cheng, an old general who taught him how to defend the city and defend the southern army in Shanxi and Liaodong; The other is Daoyan, who taught him how to handle government affairs, how to raise heavy grain and grass for the army, and dispatch auxiliary soldiers and people.

Moreover, only two months ago, Dao Yan had a big quarrel with Zhu Di because Zhu Di did not let Zhu Gaochi go to the class, which would cause a gap between the two princes.

Therefore, Zhu Di naturally believes that it is precisely because there is a lot of discussion between the government and the opposition now, all of them are discussing the matter of Jing Nanxun and nobles collectively clamoring for the appointment of the second prince Zhu Gaoxu as the prince, that Zhu Gaochi learned the news and asked Daoyan for help.

Otherwise, how to explain Daoyan's proposal to reuse Ping An and Sheng Yong to balance the increasingly inflated and domineering Jingnan Xungui Group?

This proposal is definitely beneficial to Zhu Gaochi.

Because of the Jingnan Xungui group, except for the old general Gu Cheng and the junior Zhang Fu, the others did not stand on Zhu Gaochi's side at all.

Dao Yan's expression was leisurely, and he calmly put down the edict in his hand.

"If that's not the case, the minister and His Majesty have been friends for many years, and Your Majesty still doesn't understand? How could a minister get involved in His Majesty's family affairs because of his position? The minister is just making a decision for His Majesty. ”

"Your Majesty should have guessed the purpose of Jing Nanxun this time, right? The clamor is fake, and it is true to express their opposition and contempt for Jiangnan Wenchen. ”

Dao Yan's words, Zhu Di knows, every sentence is true.

In fact, Zhu Di can discuss this kind of thing with others, and the only thing that can be discussed is Daoyan, who can talk about everything.

The loneliness of the emperor is nothing more than this.

And Zhu Di's luck lies in the fact that he still has a friend called Daoyan.

Of course, Zhu Di's misfortune is that Daoyan actually hides other ideas.

Zhu Di's face changed slightly, he looked at Dao Yan deadly, and only sneered after a while.

"I have expected this for a long time, but these old fellows who followed me from birth to death, including you, if it wasn't for rebellion, how could I really do anything to you?"

"Let's talk about it, Master Daoyan." Zhu Di held his forehead with his hand, "What is your strategy for this dispute?" ”

"The minister's strategy is also very simple."

Dao Yan did not call himself "Lao Gao", obviously using a very formal identity to play against Zhu Di as a monarch and minister.

"That's all there is to it."

"The first one, as Jiang Sheng said, if Your Majesty plans to appoint the eldest prince as the prince, it would be good to directly send the second prince overseas to divide the feudal domain and build the country, whether it is Luzon or Tianzhu, those who are far away from China will be at ease and will no longer be in danger of their lives."

Zhu Di shook his head, he is undecided now, the matter of Lichu is still in the tangled stage, how can he directly throw the second child overseas?

If the second child is thrown overseas, will the third child go?

Let's not talk about whether Queen Xu feels sorry for her son or not, even Zhu Di himself is reluctant.

In fact, Zhu Di really likes Ku Xiao's own Zhu Gaoxu.

Seeing Zhu Di shaking his head, Dao Yan was not discouraged and continued.

"Second, if Your Majesty intends to appoint the second prince as the prince, then the eldest prince must be abolished and imprisoned as a commoner before he can be safe."

Zhu Di glared at Dao Yan angrily.

The old monk mentioned these unreliable ones, obviously making up the number of the upper and lower three strategies.

"Third, in fact, that day in the secret room, His Majesty was thoughtful, and if he thought of it, His Majesty also thought of it, and now he is also hesitating. That is to separate the eldest prince and the second prince, one to Nanjing and the other to Beijing. ”

Zhu Di suddenly remembered what Dao Yan said at the beginning.

"If I choose the third plan." Zhu Di looked at Dao Yan and asked, "What does the master mean is to send Ping'an and Sheng Yong to the second child to take charge of military power?" ”

Dao Yan said with a smile: "It depends on whether Your Majesty is at ease or not, or in other words, Your Majesty intends to do several checks and balances." ”

"What do you mean?" Zhu Di actually already has the answer in his heart.

"If Your Majesty just doesn't want the second prince to hold the military power, in case something happens, then send Ping An and Sheng Yong to the second prince and take charge of the military power, it is enough, after all, Ping An and Sheng Yong should also know in their hearts, Your Majesty does not kill them, it is an extrajudicial grace, if they are reused, then they will definitely be grateful to Your Majesty and loyal."

Zhu Di bowed slightly, the truth is this, but he felt that Ping An and Sheng Yong had disgusted him for too long before, and now there is no shortage of generals under his command, so there is no need to leave these two people to block himself.

But if these two people are still useful, and they are of great use, Zhu Di doesn't mind keeping them for another use.

"Therefore, as long as Your Majesty reactivates Ping An and Sheng Yong, then Ping An and Sheng Yong will never be co-opted by the eldest prince or the second prince, and will only obey Your Majesty's orders. In other words, they will not be subordinate to the Jingnan Xungui or the civil official group, Your Majesty, you also know that the civil official group for the Jingnan matter, they think that the first person to be responsible for the matter of Jingnan is Cao Guogong Li Jinglong, the second person to be responsible is Sheng Yong, and the third is Ping'an. Ping An and Sheng Yong could no longer be accepted by the civilian clique. ”

"This is what it means to use peace and prosperity to balance the two princes."

"And if you still don't worry about Ping An and Sheng Yong, you can also let General Gu Cheng and Zhang Fu go together, so that Gu Cheng and Zhang Fu, who are inclined to the eldest prince, will be used to check and balance with the second prince, Ping An and Sheng Yong, and the three parties."

Dao Yan added: "Of course, Gu Cheng and Zhang Fu are just inclined to the eldest prince, in fact, they still listen to His Majesty's words. ”

After listening to Dao Yan's words, Zhu Di's eyebrows furrowed.

Dao Yan's proposal was really tempting, if he didn't consider the grievances between Zhu Di himself and Ping'an and Sheng Yong, Zhu Di was almost immediately moved, because it was too tempting for Zhu Di.

Zhu Di swallowed his saliva and continued to ask.

"Then the master thinks that the eldest should be sent to Beijing and the second to stay in Nanjing, or is it the other way around?"

"Also, no matter how it is arranged, where does the master think I should be?"

Dao Yan did not answer Zhu Di's question directly, but said tactfully.

"As long as Ping'an, Sheng Yong, Gu Cheng, and Zhang Fu can be with the second prince, the second prince will never take the extreme road. As for where His Majesty is, the minister thinks that it is not the most critical, but the most critical thing should be who should be with the eldest prince? ”

Zhu Di continued to ask: "Master Dao Yan might as well say bluntly, if it is a check and balance, who should be with the boss?" ”

Dao Yan didn't sell Guan Zi either, and said directly: "You can let Qiu Fu and Zhu Neng be with the eldest prince." ”

Zhu Di nodded, this is a perfect skill of checks and balances.

After all, if you put it bluntly, Zhu Di is not only the father of Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaoxu, but also the emperor and the monarch's father.

Zhu Di's most important attribute is his imperial power.

For the sake of his imperial power, Zhu Di must check and balance anyone who might threaten his imperial power.

Therefore, using checks and balances on one's own son is simply a normal thing for feudal emperors, and examples abound from ancient times to the present, and it is not worth sighing or being surprised or spurned.

Zhu Di thought for a moment, and then felt that Dao Yan proposed to "use Ping'an, Sheng Yong, Gu Cheng, and Zhang Fu to balance Zhu Gaoxu; It is completely feasible to use Qiu Fu and Zhu Neng to check and balance Zhu Gaochi.

"Having said that, if the eldest and the second are separated, it will only temporarily solve the dispute between the establishment of the reserve, and the matter of the establishment of the reserve has not been resolved in the final analysis." Zhu Di looked at Dao Yan.

Dao Yan turned the rosary in his hand and said lightly: "It depends on what kind of prince Your Majesty wants." ”

Zhu Di replied without hesitation: "If you can have your own opinions, you will be able to handle government affairs, you will be familiar with military strategy, and you will not be controlled by the civilian clique, and you will not become the mouthpiece of the Xungui group, and continue to be at the helm for the correct continuation of the Ming Dynasty." ”

Dao Yan nodded: "In this way, the eldest prince and the second prince are all likely to become such people." ”

Zhu Di also agrees with this.

"Actually, there is one more thing that Your Majesty has not mentioned."

A hint of brilliance flashed in Dao Yan's triangular eyes.

"That is, if Your Majesty wants to worship Jiang Sheng as a national teacher, after Jiang Sheng and the second prince are released from prison, there will be another layer of variables."

"You mean?" Zhu Di's expression was solemn.

Dao Yan said simply: "Who does Your Majesty plan to put Jiang Sheng by?" If His Majesty uses Jiang Sheng, then Jiang Sheng's way of doing things and thinking will definitely have an impact on the entire Ming Dynasty, after all, there is still more than a month, three classes to go, and Jiang Sheng will be released from prison. By now, it is time for His Majesty to think about this. ”

"Hehe, as Jiang Sheng said, there has never been an eternal enemy in the world, and there has never been an eternal friend, I believe that Your Majesty is so heroic and wise, you must know how to choose what is best for you."

Zhu Di was silent, and after a while, he suddenly said.

"His set of things, I have always been suspicious, I am afraid that it will shake the foundation of the Ming Dynasty, it is like a double-edged artifact. It seems that Jiang Xinghuo, I must go to the edict prison to see him in person. ”

(End of chapter)