Chapter: 6

Zhu Gaoxu pondered for a moment, twirled his beard, and replied uncertainly: "There is more in the north and less in the south?"

"More than that."

Jiang Xinghuo casually drew three lines on the sand on the ground, and pointed sideways.

"The first line, the Great Wall Defense Line. You are familiar with these. Tell me, how many vassal princes were distributed in the Great Wall Defense Line when Emperor Taizu Gao died?"

Zhu Gaoxu looked at the sand table carefully, and said: "Mr. Jiang...the feudal domains are connected and lined up along the Great Wall. From west to east, they should be King Su, King Qing, King Jin, King Dai, and King Gu. , King Yan, King Ning, and King Liao, a total of eight vassal kings."

"Mr. Jiang, I understand!"

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly realized, looked at the second line on the sand and said, "The second line is the Yellow River defense line, right?"

Seeing Jiang Xinghuo nod his head slightly, Zhu Gaoxu said to himself: "The defense line of the Yellow River is distributed with four feudal lords, King Qin, King Zhou, King Lu, and King Qi; The King of Xiang and the King of Chu, there are three vassal kings in total."

"You have led troops to the battlefield, so you must know them well, so let's talk about them on paper today." Jiang Xinghuo assumed slowly, "If you are Bei Yuan, the capital of Ming Dynasty is in Nanjing, and you want to return to the Central Plains to eliminate Daming, what can you do?"

Zhu Gaoxu stroked his beard and thought silently.

When he thought about it until his head started to hurt, he finally came to a conclusion.

——If you follow the vassal system of the Hongwu Dynasty, there is no way!

There are only three defense lines from north to south, but the Great Wall defense line, the Yellow River defense line, and the Yangtze River defense line are all natural dangers in the mountains and rivers, which are extremely easy to defend and difficult to attack.

The troops of the various vassals are all concentrated in these dangerous southern parts.

"Looking at you like this, you should have figured it out." Jiang Xinghuo continued, "Emperor Taizu Gao was the top strategist of his era. , he basically gave out a system design that can be used directly for hundreds of years.”

"The Great Wall defense line with the most powerful troops defends against Beiyuan, and the Lianghe area between the Great Wall and the Yellow River is under the direct jurisdiction of the imperial court to guard against the eight great Sailors; the Yellow River defense line with half the strength can not only resist Beiyuan, but also stop the rebellious vassal kings. The Huaihe and Huaihe regions between the Yangtze River and the Yangtze River are under the direct administration of the imperial court; the defense line in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River with the least troops can quickly serve the king along the river, and at the same time, it will not threaten the safety of the capital Nanjing."

"If there is no accident, the Ming Dynasty, whose capital is Nanjing, faces the newly emerging northern nomads such as the Khitan, Jurchen, and Mongols in history, relying on the Great Wall, the Yellow River, and the Yangtze River. The line of defense, as well as the mutual checks and balances between the imperial court and the vassal fiefs, can last until the nomads themselves become corrupt and degenerate, and their combat power drops sharply... No matter how bad it is, they rely on the Yellow River successively like in the Northern and Southern Song dynasties. It is also possible for the Yangtze River to continue the national destiny.”

"The three lines of defense are Ming's life-saving line, and now they have been completely destroyed by Jianwen's cutting of feudal vassals. King Zhou and King Qi were abolished, King Xiang set himself on fire, and the Yellow River defense line collapsed without a fight. The Yangtze River defense line was unable to support Nanjing. That's why King Yan went all the way south without encountering any vassals' troops to stop him."

"Nowadays, as a vassal king sweeping the world, he must be afraid of other vassal kings, and will certainly do things to cut down the vassals."

"Whether it is today's plan to [cut down the feudal domain peacefully], or [cut down the feudal domain by force] like Emperor Jianwen did, the result is the same."

"The three lifelines that Emperor Taizu Gao left for Daming have completely failed!"

"Today, the foundation is in the north and we have always had the ambition to wipe out the remnants of the Yuan Dynasty. We will definitely move the capital!"

"After a hundred years, the frontier army will definitely be disbanded and a foreign race will rise up, and the Ming Dynasty will surely perish!"

"Um?"

Zhu Di, who was next door, became slightly dignified.

The surrounding Jin Yiwei had already knelt on the ground in fear, not daring to make any movement.

"Maybe, will it really happen?"

Zhu Di murmured, with a slight trace of surprise in his voice.

Cutting the feudal clan means abolishing the three lifelines his father Zhu Yuanzhang left for Daming!

Ever since it was difficult for the soldiers to come, no matter how many storms and waves he encountered, Zhu Di rarely, very rarely, like today, his mood has become unstable.