Goryeo had always been a tributary state of China throughout history, and the Ming Dynasty had been established for more than 20 years.
Ever since Zhu Yuanzhang became emperor, he had already issued an imperial edict informing the king of Goryeo that the Central Plains now belonged to the Ming Dynasty.
The king of Goryeo at the time immediately sent envoys to pay homage to Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty.
They once expressed their willingness to continue to submit to the Ming Dynasty and recognize the Ming Dynasty as their suzerain state.
To put it bluntly, it's like the country of China has changed masters, but it's still the father of the Goryeo Kingdom.
Goryeo doesn't care who this father is, they just need to acknowledge him as their father.
At this moment, an envoy from Goryeo arrived to pay homage, which puzzled Zhu Yuanzhang, who muttered to himself:
"It's not time to pay tribute yet, and the New Year is still a long way off. What are you doing here to pay homage to us at this time?"
Zhu Yunwen fell silent for a moment, and after thinking carefully, he recalled some historical events.
He knew far more about history than Zhu Yuanzhang, whose History of Ming basically only described some major events that would happen to the Ming imperial family and the country.
Zhu Yunwen, on the other hand, was quite aware of many events that were happening in the Ming Dynasty.
In his memory, a few months after the death of Zhu Biao, the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, a coup occurred in the vassal state of Goryeo. A minister of Goryeo gained great power and forced the puppet emperor at the time to voluntarily abdicate in favor of the minister.
This minister was none other than Yi Seong-gye, the founding king of the Joseon Dynasty.
After thinking about this, Zhu Yunwen smiled and said:
"It seems something big has happened in Goryeo. I suppose you've come to report this to your grandfather."
Zhu Yuanzhang asked with some doubt:
"What major event has occurred? What major event?"
Zhu Yunwen said, "It should be that the original Goryeo Kingdom has been destroyed, and a minister has successfully rebelled and wants to establish a new dynasty. So he sent an envoy to ask for the Emperor's opinion. At the same time, he may also want the Emperor to issue an imperial edict to give him a title."
This is not surprising, because the kings of Goryeo were not positions that anyone could simply choose to hold.
Even if you inherit the throne, rebel, or seize the throne of Goryeo through some means.
You can only be considered to have proclaimed yourself the king of Goryeo.
To obtain a legitimate title, one needed to send envoys to the Ming Dynasty or other dynasties before it to request official recognition and rewards.
Simply put, they hoped to gain the recognition of the Chinese emperor.
Only when the Chinese emperor acknowledges you and issues the next imperial edict appointing you as the king of Goryeo will you have a legitimate title.
After all, it was a vassal state!
Therefore, the King of Goryeo was essentially a subject of the Ming Dynasty, and they could not make decisions on their own, otherwise they would be attacked.
Zhu Yuanzhang was somewhat puzzled, wondering why Zhu Yunwen was able to make such a guess about this matter.
However, he didn't ask any further questions, simply assuming that Zhu Yunwen was well-informed.
In any case, Zhu Yuanzhang had no precautions against Zhu Yunwen. The more powerful and influential Zhu Yunwen was, the better it was for Zhu Yuanzhang.
Ideally, this grandson would outshine him; that would be even better.
Zhu Yuanzhang hoped that his descendants would become more and more capable, and not like the history books he had read, where each generation was worse than the last, which would be disastrous.
So he didn't press the matter further, and instead said to the Vice Minister of Rites:
"Let them come. Your Ministry of Rites is responsible for receiving them. Whatever the matter, just report it to us and we'll handle it. Alternatively, you can report it directly to the Crown Prince and let him decide."
These words surprised the Vice Minister of Rites. Logically speaking, the matter of a vassal state was not a trivial matter, but Zhu Yuanzhang actually said that it was fine to leave it to Zhu Yunwen to decide.
This demonstrates his approval of Zhu Yunwen and his recognition of Zhu Yunwen's abilities, including his trust in Zhu Yunwen.
The Vice Minister of Rites gave Zhu Yunwen a deep look. He realized that Zhu Yunwen was now somewhat unfathomable and his position was becoming increasingly secure.
The thought of how Zhu Yunwen had so easily stripped his superior, the Minister of Rites, of his official position filled the Vice Minister of Rites with trepidation. He quickly bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yunwen, saying:
"Your subject understands. I shall take my leave."
With that, he turned and left.
At this moment, the Vice Minister of Rites also made up his mind that no matter how much Zhu Yunwen rallied, he would never do anything for Zhu Yunwen.
Instead, they must stand firmly on Zhu Yunwen's side.
This is the wisest choice right now.
After the Vice Minister of Rites left, Zhu Yunwen got up to take his leave and returned to the Eastern Palace.
He first played with his two younger sisters for a while, and then began to plan what to do next in the imperial court.
Although he is now the crown prince, he has not yet completely won over many civil and military officials.
In other words, Zhu Yunwen's own strength has not yet been greatly improved.
Therefore, we must continue to build up our own power.
Otherwise, even if he were highly regarded by Zhu Yuanzhang, he might not be able to manage the country and control the court well after Zhu Yuanzhang's death.
So he set his sights on the Ministry of War, which was a fairly powerful department among the Six Ministries.
They wield considerable power and control many matters closely related to the military.
Taking control of the Ministry of War would greatly benefit my ability to gain more military power and control over more generals in the future.
Therefore, Zhu Yunwen decided to take action against Qi Tai.
Qi Tai is a capable person, but sometimes he's not very bright.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
