Xu Huizu looked at his younger brother, slowly stood up and said, "You are indeed a son of the Xu family! You must remember this well: as long as the main army does not arrive, you must fight to the last man to hold them off! Those Tartars come and go like the wind. Although our army has cavalry, we cannot let them escape!"
The cavalry of the Ming Dynasty was quite good, but compared to nomadic peoples, they didn't necessarily have any advantage.
The main problem is that those Tartars run away when they can't win, and catching them on the vast grasslands is no easy task. We must keep them occupied before we can truly annihilate those cunning fellows.
For the Xu family, their prestigious status is also a source of pressure. They are born at the top of the pyramid, but they also bear enormous responsibilities for it, and they practically have no other choice.
Zhu Yunying was naturally unaware of these matters, and even if he had, he wouldn't have said anything.
Zhu Yunying was well aware that "a merciful ruler cannot command an army." Regardless of his brother-in-law or anyone else, he was the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and in many situations, he could not be so soft-hearted. This was his responsibility, and it was a decision he had to make.
For Zhu Yunying, he was just watching the show, waiting for the awkward moment to arrive for the Duke of Yansheng and the Kong family.
Many people have now discerned Zhu Yunying's intentions; the current emperor is very dissatisfied with the current Duke Yansheng. A collateral branch replacing the direct line is the very reason for Zhu Yunying's displeasure. Currently, there is much discussion in court and among the public, and the lineage of Kong Ne is being repeatedly promoted, which puts Kong Ne in a rather awkward position.
Kong Ne certainly didn't want to relinquish the title of Duke Yansheng. He had finally become the head of the family and the 'direct descendant,' and his descendants would benefit from it. It was impossible for him to be truly 'noble and virtuous.' When Kong Zhu relinquished the title of Duke Yansheng, it was due to pressure from the Mongols, not out of genuine compassion.
Even though they are all from the Kong family, such a large family has many members with their own thoughts and ideas, and it's impossible for them to be completely united. Moreover, being descendants of Confucius doesn't mean that everyone in the Kong family is a virtuous person inspired by their ancestor's legacy.
Even if we don't say that the title of Duke Yansheng has become a joke now, it would still be difficult to convince the public and would certainly draw some criticism if Kong Ne continued to serve as Duke Yansheng at this time.
That's fine; for Zhu Yunying, that's about enough.
As emperor, he naturally held absolute power, but he couldn't always act arbitrarily. Especially when it came to important matters, he needed to be even more cautious. Even a domineering emperor like Zhu Yuanzhang had to treat scholars well, and he only revised Mencius's works instead of removing Mencius from the Confucian temple.
Song Zhong and Wang Chengen, the two chief secret agents, were also constantly passing on messages to Zhu Yunying. As the emperor's eyes and ears, they were also paying attention to the discussions among the people and the opinions of civil and military officials and scholars.
Zhu Yunying couldn't help but laugh, and said with a hint of pride, "Grandfather laid a good foundation before, and the scholars were dealt with quite severely. Now, after the incident at the Imperial Examination, and now with the Duke Yansheng, the scholars' dignity has been completely stripped away by us."
This series of combined moves was, of course, for a reason: "Whether or not the Duke Yansheng is the Duke Yansheng is a minor matter; it will be impossible for scholars to criticize the government in the future. Unless they have official titles, the Donglin Party members need to put some pressure on them in advance."
Zhu Yunying was well aware that he couldn't possibly do everything perfectly, and many things would indeed depend on the efforts of his descendants. However, by establishing some rules now, he could make things easier for his descendants if they wanted to do certain things.
These were the things that Zhu Yunying felt he should be doing, and things he believed he could do well. These were the important matters that Zhu Yunying felt he should handle well, as they concerned national policy and required more attention.
In the first year of his reign, Zhu Yunying had much to do, even though many of his actions were continuations of existing policies, simply following the old ways. However, some changes he did make were indeed real.
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