Chapter 21
Zhu Yunwen's Shocking Moves
"Does filial piety lead to power?"
The moment those four words were uttered, everyone across time and space was stunned.
What does fighting have to do with "filial piety"?
Inside the Hongwu Hall, Li Wenzhong trembled violently, a sense of foreboding washing over him.
He suddenly looked up at the sky, his lips trembling.
This unfilial son... what on earth did he do?!
Above the sky, Zhu Dijun didn't keep anyone in suspense and revealed the answer directly.
"Family members, the 'filial piety' here doesn't refer to being filial to one's parents, but rather to being 'filial' to one's adversary, to 'filial' to Uncle King Yan!"
"After the defeat at Zhengcunba, our war god Li Jinglong was not punished, but continued to lead the army."
"And our war god Li Jinglong, through this battle, has completely secured his position as the 'Number One Hero of the Yan Army'!"
silence!
All of time and space fell into a deathly silence!
Everyone was stunned by Li Jinglong's series of actions.
This isn't just being an undercover agent; this guy has "I'm the mole" written all over his face!
The first year of the Jianwen reign.
Zhu Yunwen sat blankly on the dragon throne, his face ashen.
He finally understood.
Why did later generations refer to them, the emperor and his ministers, as the "Four Fools"?
With such a "war god" leading troops outside, if they weren't stupid, who would be?
Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng, who were standing next to him, were also pale-faced and unable to utter a single word.
They finally realized that what they had been relying on was not a promising son from a military family, but a good-for-nothing!
However, just when everyone thought that the root of this farce was Li Jinglong's incompetence and stupidity, Zhu Dijun's tone suddenly changed, becoming serious and profound.
"Family members, after reading this, don't you think Li Jinglong is just a complete incompetent good-for-nothing?"
"At first, that's what I thought too."
"But as I delved deeper into that history, I discovered that things weren't that simple."
"Li Jinglong certainly has an incompetent side, but more likely it is a helpless act of self-preservation."
"Because the court and the emperor he serves are forcing him to 'give in' in a suicidal way!"
Zhu Dijun's voice, like a heavy hammer, struck the hearts of everyone.
"The root of all this lies in a national policy implemented by Emperor Jianwen, Zhu Yunwen, after he came to power—"
"[Place culture over martial arts]!"
Above the sky, the scene changes again.
A scene appears where the young Emperor Jianwen is seen having a cordial conversation with civil officials such as Qi Tai, Huang Zicheng, and Fang Xiaoru in the imperial court.
Meanwhile, those battle-hardened generals and nobles were left out in the cold.
"Family members, Zhu Yunwen, this benevolent ruler, was deeply influenced by Confucianism."
He believed that the Hongwu reign was harsh because military men held power and there was excessive killing.
"Therefore, as soon as he came to power, he couldn't wait to start a 'ideal state' dominated by civil servants!"
Zhu Dijun's voice carried a hint of cold sarcasm.
"First, drastically increase the status and power of civil servants!"
"He established the 'Recommendation Law,' which allowed civil officials to recommend their protégés and former subordinates for official positions. To put it bluntly, it gave them the legal power to form cliques and cultivate their own factions!"
"He drastically increased the number of civil officials, even raising the rank of the six ministers from the second rank to the first rank! Equal to the founding dukes!"
He relied on Qi Tai, Huang Zicheng, and Fang Xiaoru—three pure scholars with no military or political experience—as his confidants, listening to their every word, and making decisions on all matters of state!
"Secondly, military decision-making is completely civilianized!"
"Family members, do you know who planned such a large-scale military operation as the reduction of the power of the feudal lords?"
"It's Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai!"
"Throughout the entire planning process, not a single military officer participated! Not a single person assessed the military risks! It was all done by these two scholars, pointing and gesturing on the map, engaging in armchair strategizing!"
"What does this look like?"
Zhu Dijun's voice resonates throughout all time and space.
"Isn't this just a replica of the 'Song Dynasty'?!"
"Using civilian officials to control military affairs, putting a group of scholars who know nothing about warfare in command of battle-hardened generals!"
"From Emperor Chezong and Emperor Luzong onwards, how did the Northern Song Dynasty become known as the 'weak Song'? Isn't it because of this?"
"Family members, now, please put yourselves in Li Jinglong's shoes."
"You are the son of a founding hero, a descendant of a military family. Yet your emperor trusts a bunch of bookworms."
"They pushed you onto the battlefield to fight against the empire's most capable general—your own uncle, Zhu Di."
"If you win, the credit will go to the emperor and those civil officials, and you might even be suspected of 'overshadowing the emperor with your merits'."
"If we lose, you'll take the blame. You'll be the number one culprit and die a horrible death."
"This battle, from the very beginning, wasn't about winning, but about sending you to your death!"
"In such a desperate situation, what would you choose?"
Judy's question caused all of time and space to fall silent instantly.
Inside the Hongwu Hall, Zhu Yuanzhang's anger gradually dissipated, replaced by a bone-chilling cold.
He got it.
He understood everything.
His worst fears came true.
He encouraged his grandson to be close to civil officials in the hope that he would become a benevolent ruler, a sage king.
But he never expected that this grandson would turn the civil official's "benevolence" into a "blade" against the military general!
He's destroying his own foundation!
In the fifteenth year of the Yongle reign, Zhu Di let out a long sigh.
He looked at the sky, a hint of pity flashing in his eyes.
That pity was not for Li Jinglong, but for his nephew Zhu Yunwen, who sat on the throne but personally pushed himself into the abyss.
"madness……"
Zhu Di muttered to himself.
"That's really, really stupid."
Above the sky, Zhu Dijun's voice grew increasingly cold.
"The policy of emphasizing civil affairs over military affairs has already shaken the morale of the army."
"What truly chilled all the noble generals to the bone was Emperor Jianwen's attitude toward his own uncles."
"Especially, something he did after he forced Prince Xiang, Zhu Bai, to his death!"
"That incident completely shattered the last shred of loyalty and illusion that any military commanders still held for him!"
"And so, a terrible suspicion quietly surfaced in the minds of all the former officials of the Hongwu Emperor..."