Palace of Prince Zhongshan.

"Duke Wei, Minister Ru said that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has agreed to the request for a battle. As long as Duke Wei makes a little effort, he will surely be able to lead the army."

"The Duke of Liang has gone to Zhenla to work for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. We don't know how long it will take for him to come back. Now, our Five Military Command Office has only the Duke of Wei to follow its lead."

Zhu Shou was granted the title of Marquis of Zhulu in the 20th year of Hongwu's reign and served as the assistant commander-in-chief of the Central Military Commandery.

Historically, he was implicated in the Lan Yu case and died, but now he is still alive and well because of Zhu Ying.

At this moment, he was persuading Xu Huizu, Duke of Wei, in the Palace of Prince Zhongshan.

Xu Huizu was the Left Commander-in-Chief of the Central Military Commission, and naturally Zhu Shou's direct superior.

Hearing this, Xu Huizu, who was eight feet five inches tall, shook his head slightly and said, "How can I compare with the Duke of Liang, but I can certainly fight for it when I go to Tubo."

"But you also know that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's military academy is full of talented people, and he may not choose me."

Xu Huizu naturally wanted to go, but his title was hereditary and his achievements were too few to convince the public.

The fact that he was able to become the Left Commander-in-Chief of the Central Military Commission was due to the influence of my father.

Apart from his experience in training troops, the only one who could be considered to have made contributions was Aruttemur of the Prince of Yan's Mansion, who had other intentions and was captured and killed by him.

The power of the Five Military Commanderies has fallen into the hands of others, which is very different from the past. Except for Lan Yu who is familiar with the Crown Prince, the others are very different.

"Duke Wei, please don't say that. Everyone knows that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is extremely fond of Concubine Jin, who even gave birth to a son for him. As long as Concubine Jin asks, who can compete for the position of commander?" Zhu Shou said with a smile.

Xu Huizu nodded slightly.

The entire Xu family has always been proud that their sister was able to marry the crown prince.

Today, the Xu family can be said to be the top noble family in the Ming Dynasty and true royal relatives.

The eldest sister Xu Yihua married the Prince of Yan, and the second sister was the Princess of Dai.

For the Xu family, the most important person is the third sister Xu Miaojing. Although she is the concubine of the crown prince, her status is far higher than that of the eldest sister and the second sister.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is too powerful. In many aspects, he even surpasses Your Majesty, which is why people feel this way.

"Okay, I will find a way to deal with this matter. If I can go, I will bring Zhu Chenshi with me." Xu Huizu promised.

Zhu Shou was overjoyed when he heard this. He stood up, bowed and said, "Thank you, Duke Wei first."

In the yard.

After Zhu Shou left, a man wearing a silk robe walked out of the room. It was Xu Huizu's second brother Xu Yingxu.

"Brother, Tibet is far away and remote, and it's exhausting. Why bother going there? Isn't it better to stay in the capital and enjoy yourself?"

Xu Yingxu walked to the pavilion in the courtyard, picked up the tea, took a sip and said.

He had been eavesdropping in the room before.

Xu Huizu shook his head and said, "Today is different from the past. Our Xu Mansion looks extremely noble, but you already know roughly what the situation is."

"The Crown Prince holds military power and has reformed the military and political system. Since the establishment of the Capital Military Academy, his authority has become even greater, and no one dares to disobey him."

"The current Five Military Commandery is in an extremely awkward position, it can neither go up nor down."

"According to the rules set by His Majesty, your position as the Minister of the Imperial Treasures should be promoted. It won't be a problem for you to become a deputy governor in the Five Military Governor's Office."

"But now my Central Military Governor's Office has not yet been fully staffed, but the Ministry of Personnel has no intention of approving it."

"I thought things would get better after my third sister married His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, but in reality, nothing has changed."

The Shangbao Siqing was in charge of imperial seals, talismans, and stamps, and was a fifth-rank official.

For ordinary people, this is naturally out of reach. He is a real high-ranking official, but it means nothing to the Xu family, not to mention that the Xu family has Xu Da, the King of Zhongshan, who is also a military family. How could it be that he, the second son of the Xu family, holds a civil servant position which is considered an idle position?

Xu Yingxu didn't care.

"I think Shangbao Siqing is pretty good. He doesn't have much to do on weekdays. He is very free. He drinks a little wine and listens to some music. It's very comfortable."

"Brother, I think sometimes you think too much. Everyone in the Xu family gives us some face. Why do we have to fight for it?"

"Not commanding troops is also a good thing. At least it won't cause fear."

Xu Huizu shook his head: "This has nothing to do with fear. It seems that my Xu family has received great favor, but in fact, it has been gradually marginalized."

"The influence of my father has gradually run out. If my Xu family does not have any more military achievements, then only the empty title of Duke of Wei will remain."

"Don't think that being hereditary will do anything. If my Xu Mansion is of no use to the court, then the title of Duke will only make the Crown Prince think that I am a parasite, wasting government money."

"Some time ago, there were rumors that an official proposed to cut the salaries of princes and nobles. Do you think it is groundless?"

Xu Yingxu could not help but reply: "Didn't His Majesty rebuke this matter and reject it?"

Seeing his second brother was helpless, Xu Huizu could only say: "Since the ban on rumors and reports, those censors have been much more obedient now."

"But even when they were at their most arrogant, they would never say anything about the salary. They are not fools. How could they offend others for no reason and not even gain any reputation?"

Xu Yingxu's eyes widened: "Brother, you mean, what happened next is..."

Xu Huizu waved his hand: "Just know it in your heart, no need to say it out loud."

"That's what makes me worried."

Xu Huizu clearly remembered that at the court meeting, the censor came out and listed in detail the salaries of various nobles and princes. The total amount was more than hundreds of thousands of strings of cash per month, which was nearly two million strings of cash per year.

This is more than the total number of ministers in the entire Ming Dynasty.

The reason why it is so high is, of course, related to the salary reform of the crown prince.

It may not be considered high for a single prince or nobleman, but when added together it is quite astonishing.

In fact, salary is nothing. If the court only reduces the salary, no one will care.

Before this, the salary of Duke of Wei in Xu Mansion was 5,000 dan, which was also the highest among the dukes. This was naturally because of Xu Da's contributions.

After the salary system was reformed, it was converted into 25,000 strings of silver coins, and rice, silk and the like were no longer distributed.

However, these are small amounts of money.

The bulk of the money lies in land and real estate.

Even though a lot of land was handed over in the past few years because of the relationship with the Crown Prince, there are still at least nearly a thousand acres of fertile land under the Xu Mansion.

There are even more real estate.

Nowadays, just the rent of the shops in the capital can bring in tens of thousands of treasure notes every month, not to mention the business transactions in which the Xu family is involved, which is even more.

Even if they did nothing, the Xu family conservatively estimated that their annual revenue would be nearly one million strings of cash.

The reason why it is so high is naturally related to the current development of the Ming Dynasty.

But Xu Huizu knew very well that these could be said to be accessories of power.

Duke is just a title, but his real power lies in his position as Left Commander-in-Chief of the Central Military Governor's Office.

Although he is not as majestic as before, this is only reflected in the Crown Prince. Compared with other officials, he is not on the same level at all.

At least this makes Xu Huizu worthy of being the minister of various ministries.

There is no problem with this generation, but what about the next generation?

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's current behavior is not as cruel as His Majesty's, but it is still like cutting flesh with a blunt knife.

The nobles had more money but less power.

No matter whether it is other nobles or the Xu family, if they have no contribution to the court, what is the difference between them and drawing salaries without doing anything? Can they still keep such huge wealth?

In history, it is not uncommon for the wealth of noble families to be swallowed up by others after they fall into decline.

Xu Yingxu may not care, but as the current leader of the Xu family, Xu Huizu naturally has more things to consider.

"I will go to the palace to see my third sister tomorrow and ask for advice on the Tubo issue." Xu Huizu said in a firm tone.

Xu Yingxu spread his hands and said, "Brother, it's up to you to decide."

Xu Huizu looked at his good-for-nothing second brother and felt quite helpless.

My fourth brother Xu Zengshou followed Prince of Yan Zhu Di to Japan. I guess this is almost the same as dividing the family. Without special permission, it will probably be difficult for him to come back in the future.

But it’s also good, at least the Xu family can expand in Japan.

…

The news of Timur's invasion of Tibet has been reported in the capital's gazette.

Most people didn't have much idea about Tubo, they just knew it was very far away.

As for who Timur was, that is even more unknown.

But this did not stop the people from being angry.

There was a lot of discussion in the pubs and teahouses.

"Where did you come from, you little jerk? How dare you offend the Ming Dynasty? You must have drunk too much horse urine and don't know who your father is."

"I guess they are so poor that they want to come to Ming Dynasty to get money, just like the barbarians in the past. But then again, where is Tubo? I don't think I have ever heard of such a place in Ming Dynasty before."

"Tibet is not small. I heard it is bigger than any provincial government in the Ming Dynasty. But the place is very poor, similar to Yunnan, and there are only barbarians there."

"Don't underestimate it. The court report said that they need to mobilize 300,000 soldiers and ask the Northern Yuan Dynasty to send troops. It is estimated that it will be a major war."

If it were in the past, people would naturally be very frightened when they heard the news of war.

Because it means military service.

But now it is completely different. They have no worries about the current Ming Dynasty at all. Even things like Timur and Tubo will become their after-dinner conversation.

Even though there are now many more entertainment activities than before, caring about national affairs is still a hobby of many people.

No one would have thought that Timur's invasion of Tibet would have such a great impact on the Ming Dynasty.

Especially now, the capital city has become a place where all nations have come to pay tribute, which makes the people have a strong sense of belonging and pride in the Ming Dynasty.

Of course, although the deployment of troops has been announced, it will actually have to wait until the beginning of next spring.

It's winter now.

Sending troops depends on the season. Generally speaking, small wars are not a big deal, but large wars are concentrated in the spring and autumn seasons.

This is how the military review in autumn on the battlefield was described.

Climate is very important for the army, not to mention places like Tubo, where the temperature difference between day and night is extremely large.

Moreover, Tubo also has a very serious problem, which is altitude sickness.

The reason why Zhu Yuanzhang did not directly rule Tibet had a lot to do with altitude sickness.

After the envoys entered Tubo, many of them suffered from vomiting and diarrhea, and suffered from severe nausea and dizziness.

This is not to mention ordinary soldiers. In this situation, let alone fighting, even survival is a problem.

The passage of 300,000 troops was also a screening process.

In fact, it is already good enough to have 200,000 soldiers unaffected, and the rest basically serve as logistics.

Among them, the garrisons of U-Tsang will be the main force.

At present, the candidates for the commander-in-chief and generals of the army have not yet been decided, but they will mostly be young generals.

It is not suitable for older people to go to Tibet.

In the palace.

Xu Miaojin is massaging Zhu Ying's shoulders.

"Tell me, what's the matter?" Zhu Ying asked with squinted eyes while half lying down.

Xu Miaojin deliberately sent the palace maids away and did the work herself, and Zhu Ying knew that something must be wrong.

"Oh, I just want to give you a massage. You seem to have been busy these days." Xu Miaojin replied coquettishly.

Zhu Ying smiled and said, "I don't know you yet, tell me quickly, or you won't be allowed to tell me."

Xu Miaojin had no choice but to say, "Well, my eldest brother came over yesterday and wanted me to ask you to let him go to fight against Tubo."

Zhu Ying didn't expect that Xu Huizu wanted to go to Tibet, which was not a good place.

"Tibet is far away and life is difficult. Are you sure you want to go, brother-in-law? It's not an easy job. Didn't you try to persuade him?" Zhu Ying asked.

Xu Miaojin said: "I want to persuade him, but unfortunately my eldest brother is going to go. What can I do?"

Zhu Ying didn't care about the choice of people to go to Tibet.

Then he said, "Okay, since my brother-in-law wants to go, let's go."

Xu Miaojin didn't expect Zhu Ying to agree so readily.

Her elder brother told her a lot yesterday, especially about the Xu Mansion, which made Xu Miaojin feel as if Zhu Ying was planning to target the nobles.

Now it seems that my brother was thinking too much?

"Then I would like to thank you on behalf of my eldest brother, hehe." Xu Miaojin was very happy. After all, her eldest brother was still her family member. It was of course a good thing for her to be recognized by the Crown Prince.

In fact, Zhu Ying still has a lot of good feelings towards the Xu family.

But Xu Huizu was not wrong. Zhu Ying was planning to target the noble class.

It cannot be said that they are taking action, but they just want to weaken their power to a certain extent, especially in the area of ​​hereditary succession.

There is nothing wrong with hereditary succession, but it can only be a title, not power.

Now that the seeds of capital have gradually blossomed, Zhu Ying does not want any huge aristocratic families to emerge within the Ming Dynasty.

If you want more, go outside and get it with your own ability.

For example, a system similar to the Ming Ocean Trading Chamber of Commerce would naturally not be a problem.

Recently, Zhu Ying has been thinking about driving all the second-generation nobles of the Ming Dynasty out.

For example, Southeast Asia, or even further away.

These things cannot be said openly. Right now, the Ming Dynasty's economy is booming and construction is extremely rapid, especially in the capital and the provincial capitals across the country.

Compared to the Ming Dynasty, other countries are simply a barren land. Currently, most nobles and aristocratic families send people to the sea to make money, and actually very few of their own direct descendants go there.

For example, the Xu family, that is, Xu Zengshou, had a good relationship with Zhu Di and ran to Japan.

If Xu Yingxu was sent to Southeast Asia, the influence of the Xu family on the court would be greatly weakened.

Zhu Ying suddenly thought that this was a good idea.

By sending the sons of noble families overseas, their influence in the Ming Dynasty was weakened.