For the Huaixi military generals and nobles group, it is actually a huge obstacle for anyone in power.

Even if Crown Prince Zhu Biao had not died of illness, and even if the Lan Yu case had not happened because of Zhu Biao, the Huaixi military generals and nobles group would still have ended up in ruin.

Don't think that Zhu Biao is always kind. You should know that during the Hu Weiyong case, many people were handled by Zhu Biao personally.

As for the change that would have happened if Zhu Biao had lived, according to Zhu Yuanzhang's character, Lan Yu would probably have been held accountable and punished, but his crime would not have been punishable by death because of his relationship with Zhu Biao.

Not more than 10,000 people would die, but the entire Huaixi class would be destroyed. That was a historical inevitability.

The influence of the Huaixi noble group was too great. They followed Zhu Yuanzhang in conquering the world, and then continued to occupy the top positions of the entire Ming army.

Whether it is training soldiers, cultivating farmland, or commanding troops to fight, they cannot be avoided.

Even when Zhu Yuanzhang split the Grand Marshal's Office into five military marshal's offices, it had little impact on the Huaixi nobles.

Because almost all the generals in the army are like them, no matter how you remove them, they are there. Even as an emperor, you can't just remove them.

The reason why Lan Yu was so arrogant and domineering back then was because of his great contribution in conquering Buir Lake and his extremely high status among the Huaixi nobles.

To give a brief description, among the thirty-six guards stationed in the capital, at least 80% of the military commanders were like Lan Yu, or in other words, they were all members of the Huaixi nobles.

When Lan Yu forced his way through the pass, Zhu Yuanzhang could only change the Duke of Liang to the Duke of Liang, instead of holding Lan Yu accountable and throwing him into the Tianlao.

This has already touched the emperor's bottom line.

Perhaps from that time on, Zhu Yuanzhang had already been planning to get rid of the Huaixi noble group. The death of Crown Prince Zhu Biao was just an opportunity, or it strengthened Zhu Yuanzhang's determination to kill Lan Yu as well.

Now that Zhu Ying is in power, he also wants to destroy the Huaixi noble group.

But his methods are completely different.

Since ancient times, no matter which dynasty the emperor wanted to fight for military power, it would start with the generals.

In other words, they would promote generals they trusted, and then form an interest group centered on the emperor to compete for military power.

This approach would easily lead to a problem, that is, the emperor's trusted confidant would eventually turn from a dragon slayer into an evil dragon, and then the emperor would train new confidants.

Moreover, after the death of the previous emperor, the new emperor has to be trained again to seize power.

This cycle repeats itself over and over again.

This is what is called a new emperor, new ministers. Every change of power often brings about bloody events.

Zhu Ying did not follow convention. Instead, he followed the experience of later generations and came up with a completely different path from ancient times to the present.

That is the training of middle-level officers.

The Ming Dynasty Imperial Military Academy is just the beginning.

The instructors in military academies in various places were all transferred from the Ming Dynasty Military Academy. The middle-level officers trained in military academies in various places have completely different ideas from the current Ming Dynasty officers.

This is Zhu Ying's emphasis on guidance and education in terms of knowledge, culture, and beliefs.

Therefore, after these students graduate and enter the garrison, they will inevitably have conflicts and contradictions with the previous middle-level officers.

These contradictions and conflicts are conflicts between ideas and beliefs.

For example, the way soldiers are treated, the adherence to discipline, etc.

Often, in a garrison, not just one student would be left alone. They supported and supervised each other. If someone was found to be involved in corruption, he would be accused and held accountable by other students.

Some were completely assimilated, but this was rare. What was more common were intense conflicts between new and old officers.

From the perspective of fairness and justice, there is no doubt that these students in the military academy are more upright.

The behaviors that once took people for granted and ignored the law have suffered the greatest impact.

Zhu Ying then sent three divisions to conduct an investigation, and these middle-level officers were easily removed from their posts, and more positions of general flag officers and centurions were provided to the graduates of the Military Academy.

It is impossible for these commanders of the Five Military Commanderies to go against the crown prince for the sake of the general flag and the centurions. Moreover, regardless of the military laws or the laws of the Ming Dynasty, they are not in the right. At most, they can save their lives, but they will definitely lose their official positions.

It was this method of boiling a frog in warm water that made the Five Military Commandery helpless in doing anything. After all, such incidents were caused by their own dirty deeds.

If the top beam is crooked, the bottom beam will be crooked too. The dukes and marquises headed by Lan Yu have seized the land of the people, so of course the people below are also corrupt.

A few years passed, and military academies were established in various provinces of the Ming Dynasty. More and more students graduated, and the impact on officers of the old forces became greater and greater.

In this way, without bloodshed, Zhu Ying gained deeper and deeper control over the army.

The commanders-in-chief of the Five Military Governorates had actually noticed it, but what could they do? Should they rebel? That was impossible.

So I could only watch.

Until today, when Zhu Ying recalled all the princes before the Northern Expedition, the governors of the Five Military Governorates had an excuse.

Even though the commanders of the capital's guards are still from the Huaixi faction, as long as Zhu Ying issues an order, they can be easily removed and replaced seamlessly later.

Moreover, the students who graduated from these military academies may not have as much experience in fighting as them, but they are all literate and understand tactics. Their ability to lead troops is not much worse than those illiterate commanders who cannot read or write.

After all, Zhu Yuanzhang was the leader of a peasant uprising, and most of the generals who followed him to conquer the world were from the bottom of society. They just became skilled after fighting for a while.

It was only after the establishment of the Ming Dynasty and the stabilization of the country that the class transition led to the emergence of a nouveau riche mentality, where people acted recklessly and trampled on the law, relying on their past achievements.

The next day.

Duke Lan Yu of Liang had no choice but to go to the capital to seek an audience with the Crown Prince.

As the leader of the Huaixi noble class, he had no choice at this time.

In fact, by today, Lan Yu has already known very clearly in his mind that the Crown Prince no longer needs the Five Military Commandery, and he was originally supposed to be the biggest troublemaker.

But after being manipulated by Zhu Ying several times, he no longer had any hostile thoughts.

Of course, this is also related to the relationship between Lan Yu and Zhu Ying.

In Lan Yu's eyes, the Crown Prince was his nephew, and he had suffered ten years outside. Lan Yu would definitely support his actions.

And because of the death of Crown Prince Zhu Biao, Zhu Ying was Lan Yu's only choice.

Apart from Zhu Ying, there was no possibility that Lan Yu would support anyone else.

Before Zhu Ying appeared, when Zhu Yuanzhang appointed Zhu Yunwen as the crown prince, Lan Yu actually had great objections, because Zhu Yunwen had no blood relationship with him, and he felt that Zhu Yunhuan should be appointed as the crown prince.

However, from a legal point of view, Lu was already the second wife of the Crown Princess, and Zhu Yunwen had also become a legitimate son from a concubine's son. She was also older than Zhu Yunhuan, so there was nothing wrong with him making Zhu Yunwen the crown prince.

After Zhu Ying appeared, Lan Yu supported him without any second thought.

As for the authenticity, I have never checked it, I just support it.

Lan Yu took the lead in supporting, and naturally the entire Huaixi noble group supported it. When Zhu Ying first entered the palace, he gained the support of the two largest forces, Zhu Yuanzhang and the Huaixi noble class.

This was also the key reason why Lu asked Zhu Yunwen not to fight after seeing the situation clearly.

Because Zhu Yunwen had no maternal background, he had no other power in the court except for some assistant ministers arranged by Zhu Yuanzhang.

However, Zhu Ying had the support of the Huaixi noble group, which even Zhu Yuanzhang was wary of.

In other words, even if Zhu Yunwen was really canonized as the crown prince, Zhu Yuanzhang did not canonize him as the crown prince because he doubted Zhu Ying's authenticity, then the Lan Yu case would not have happened.

Because even if there were doubts, Zhu Yuanzhang knew that his eldest grandson needed protection, so he kept Lan Yu and his men.

In this case, what does it matter if Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne after Zhu Yuanzhang's death? It was just a Jingnan Rebellion initiated by Zhu Ying.

Zhu Yunwen had no ability to fight back against the Huaixi noble group. What role could the civil servants who supported Zhu Yunwen play at this time? Could they rely on their mouths to resist the army? Zhu Ying could stride into the palace and take away Zhu Yunwen's throne without bloodshed.

In Kunning Palace.

Lan Yu and the Crown Prince sat opposite each other.

Next to him was Guo Zhong making tea.

Steam rose from the tea, and the surrounding stoves brought warmth.

The weather in February still carries the remnant chill of winter.

"Duke Liang was ambushed by Siam when he went to Zhenla before. This trip to Ayutthaya is a relief."

"It was all thanks to the care of the Crown Prince. I never thought that Siam was so bold that it even dared to attack our Ming Dynasty envoys."

"Siam is a good place, but it's not easy to start now. After the Northern Expedition, we should have an arrangement for the Southeast Asian countries."

"What the prince means is..."

Zhu Ying smiled and said, "Nanyang will definitely belong to the Ming Dynasty. There is more food there than in Huguang."

"With the high taxes imposed on Jiangnan in recent years, many people in the Suzhou and Lake Suzhou areas have converted their fields into mulberry trees to avoid the imperial court's collection, and many places have turned to industries mainly based on silk and cotton spinning."

"My fifth uncle has not returned yet. He is still in Huguang. Recently, I heard that there has been another important discovery about rice. I just sent someone to pass on the message to him and did not dare to urge him."

"It is said that if Huguang is prosperous, the whole world will be prosperous. This is inseparable from the efforts of my fifth uncle. However, even Huguang does not have the unique advantages that Nanyang has."

"Do you know how much grain Annan sent to our Ming Dynasty last year?"

Lan Yu was just a military general, so why would he care about these things? He just shook his head.

Zhu Ying smiled and held up three fingers.

Lan Yu hesitated and guessed, "Three million stones?"

Zhu Ying smiled and said, "It's 30 million shi."

Lan Yu immediately took a breath of cold air.

What does 30 million stones mean?

One shi is about 150 jin, and 30 million shi is equivalent to 4.5 billion jin of grain.

At present, the price of one stone of grain in the Ming Dynasty fluctuates around one guan of banknotes. In other words, it is equivalent to the rice equivalent of 30 million taels of silver that Annan paid to the Ming Dynasty as tribute last year.

Before that, the annual revenue of the Ming Dynasty was less than 50 million taels of silver.

However, today, the small country of Annan can actually supply so much food to the Ming Dynasty.

If these words had not come from the mouth of the Crown Prince, Lan Yu would definitely think it was nonsense.

You should know that even though there is a saying that if Huguang is well-fed, the rest of the world will have enough food, the current grain output in Huguang is only around 70 million shi.

The reason why it is so small is that Huguang has not been fully developed yet. It was not until after the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty that the annual grain output of Huguang reached about 300 million shi.

However, although Huguang produced so much grain, it was impossible for all of it to be paid as taxes to the imperial court. The people still needed to eat. Moreover, grain had to be transported from the south to the north, and the northwest region needed to rely on Huguang's grain to survive.

As for Annan, the country would first ensure the food reserves in the local area, and then pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty with the surplus.

Compared with this, the exact amount of Annan's production is not known yet, but it is definitely more than that of Huguang.

Of course, this has a lot to do with the fact that Annan rice is harvested three times a year.

In previous years, the grain output in Huguang was actually even lower. In recent years, since Zhu Su went to Huguang and moved the Agricultural School there, the improvement and maturity of production technology have led to an increase in Huguang's grain output every year.

Although Zhu Ying had not yet established the Ministry of Agriculture, in fact, all matters related to agriculture had basically been handed over to Zhu Su.

Zhu Su was also a man of great talent.

A few years ago, Zhu Su decided to go to Huguang to develop an agricultural school because Zhu Ying told him about his idea of ​​hybrid rice.

Hybrid rice is about finding better seeds and thus improving rice yields.

Zhu Ying could only give a direction, as he was not an agricultural expert. It was for this direction that Zhu Su decided to go to Huguang and devote himself to the research of hybrid rice.

This is not something that can produce results in a short period of time. It took decades for later generations to complete the task. Zhu Ying did not know whether Zhu Su would be able to produce excellent hybrid rice varieties throughout his lifetime.

But this will surely benefit future generations.

You never know if it will work. After all, in experiments, luck is often a very important factor.

Compared with Zhu Su's research on hybrid rice, Zhu Ying was certainly more inclined to occupy Southeast Asia.

Now, Annan alone can pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty with so much grain.

If we conquer the entire South Seas, will the people of the Ming Dynasty still be worried about not having enough food to eat?

This is a path that is currently visible and tangible.

"Siam has so much food. I should have asked for more food earlier." After being shocked, Lan Yu said with some regret.

Zhu Ying smiled and said, "He may not have that much. After all, the Ayutthaya Dynasty has been at war for years, and there has not been much improvement in agriculture."

"The reason why Annan had so much food was that many Ming merchants became plantation owners and bought a large number of slaves from the West to cultivate the land, which made the amount of fertile land in Annan increase several times compared to before."

Lan Yu nodded when he heard this.

But I feel a little anxious.

He came here to discuss the participation of the Huaixi noble group in the Northern Expedition. He originally planned to have a brief chat and then turn the topic to the Northern Expedition, but now he didn't know how to start.

After hesitating for a while, Lan Yu could only change the subject somewhat stiffly: "With so much food, I think we don't have to worry about logistics for the Northern Expedition."

Zhu Ying knew what Lan Yu was thinking.

Yesterday’s gathering at the Duke of Liang’s mansion, their conversation had already been laid out on Zhu Ying’s desk.

This time, more than 20 commanders of the imperial guards went, which was equivalent to involving most of the stationed troops in the capital. Of course, the Jinyiwei had to track and record the whole process.

As long as there is any discussion about anything that may involve rebellion, those palace guard commanders who drank yesterday will not be able to go home.

I'm afraid that as soon as he leaves the Duke of Liang's Mansion, he will be taken to the Sky Prison.

For this purpose, the Jinyiwei dispatched more than a thousand people to prepare.

Zhu Ying's expression became calm, holding the teacup but not drinking it, he said: "I heard that yesterday at the Duke of Liang's Mansion, there were 21 palace guard commanders, almost all the commanders of the Five Military Commands' Office, and several marquises of my Ming Dynasty. I don't know what they were discussing."

Lan Yu broke out in a cold sweat.

It sounds like everyone is suspected of rebellion, which is a big taboo.

Facing Zhu Ying's preemptive strike, Lan Yu was completely unable to resist and immediately said, "Reporting to the Crown Prince, the commanders of the various military governors and the commanders of the imperial guards gathered yesterday to discuss the Northern Expedition."

"Everyone has made great contributions to the Ming Dynasty. Now, they all want to contribute to His Majesty and the court in such a major event as the Northern Expedition to the Grasslands. However, there has been no news yet, so they are anxious to find me and want me to ask the Crown Prince to agree to let them go to the war for the country."

At this point, Lan Yu dared not to hesitate and just told everything.

Zhu Ying put down the teacup in his hand, and a smile appeared on his calm face. He said, "They all want to share the country's worries. This is a good thing. It shows that they are loyal to the court. But gathering together like this is too easy to be misunderstood. Don't do this next time."

"But you're asking the wrong person this time. Grandpa is ready to lead the army in person. All matters concerning the general are handled by Grandpa, so I can't get involved."

"Let's go and explain it to them. Anyone who is dissatisfied can directly report to Grandpa and ask for a fight."

Lan Yu was stunned for a moment.

Your Majesty is seventy-three years old this year. Do you still want to lead the army in person?

He immediately said, "I heard a few days ago that Your Majesty has caught a cold and is feeling unwell. I'm afraid it's not appropriate for you to lead the army in person."

Zhu Ying replied, "Grandpa is the commander of the Central Army. With the convenience of trains, it only takes about ten days to go back and forth. It's easy and comfortable. There is no big problem. Moreover, the Northern Expedition to the grasslands is Grandpa's wish. This time he can accomplish it personally, which is a good thing."

Lan Yu had also taken a train before, so he certainly knew the functions of trains. He couldn't see anything wrong with it after hearing this.

Previously, everyone thought that the Northern Expedition would definitely be led by the Crown Prince, but unexpectedly it was His Majesty. If the Huaixi nobles participated in the Northern Expedition, it would be troublesome.

Everyone knows His Majesty's temper. He kills people without any hesitation.

If His Majesty thinks that they are trying to force the emperor to abdicate, I'm afraid the entire Five Military Commandery will be taken down.

Zhu Ying said at this moment: "Actually, as you get older, you should be more content. Duke Ying sent a letter a few days ago, saying that he was unable to do his job and wanted to resign."

"They are all founding heroes who have made great contributions to the Ming Dynasty. The court has not treated them unfairly. We should leave opportunities to the young people, right?"

"Duke Liang is well versed in military affairs and should know that now is the time for military reform and everyone should enjoy a peaceful life."

Zhu Ying's words basically set the tone for the Huaixi nobles.

That means the imperial court must take back their military power.

If you are sensible, then just cooperate obediently, and at least you can get some wealth and glory.

If you don't understand the situation, you might think that your good days are over.

After hearing this, Lan Yu completely understood Zhu Ying's thoughts.

There is no room for negotiation on this matter.