As a martial artist, Lan Yu naturally has his own pursuits, and it's clear that he is not satisfied with his previous achievements.
Xu Huizu was naturally aware of Lan Yu's or Fu Youde's thoughts, but those matters didn't seem to concern him much, and he didn't need to rush to compete with those two veterans for an opportunity.
He was a descendant of the Prince of Zhongshan, a fact that alone was enough to make him stand out in the court. Moreover, he was the Crown Prince's maternal uncle, which made his status even more distinguished and somewhat sensitive.
In fact, over the years, he had fought in many battles, even if he only served as a deputy general. He was basically leading a large army and making achievements. He only needed to carry out the tasks assigned by the emperor. Being dutiful was his most important quality.
Therefore, if Xu Huizu sees any sign of rebellion from the landlord class, he will crush it without mercy.
It wasn't just about upholding the emperor's policies, but also about demonstrating the Xu family's loyalty. He didn't care about his own reputation or the power of the landlord class; in fact, being perfect wouldn't be a good thing.
With Xu Huizu on the military side, plus the continuous efforts of the two major secret service agencies, the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot, Zhu Yunying knew that even though many members of the landlord class were dissatisfied, they didn't seem to dare to show any signs of rebellion.
After all, the Ming Dynasty had been established for more than 30 years. Now the country was peaceful and prosperous, the nation was rich and the army was strong, and it had won many wars, both domestic and foreign. This was the most prosperous period of the Ming Dynasty in terms of military virtue. Smart people knew that they should not have any messy thoughts at this time.
Besides these powerful violent institutions, it was also due to the strength of the ruling class of the Ming Dynasty.
The official system of the Ming Dynasty had long been established, and the officials in various regions were basically trained by the Ming Dynasty.
Under such circumstances, Zhu Yunying didn't need to worry about his decrees failing to be transmitted. At least in this era, it was relatively easy for him to do things.
After the Hongwu Emperor's reign of strict control over civil and military officials, the atmosphere of officialdom improved significantly. Although there were some setbacks in the first few years, once Zhu Yunying demonstrated the severity of imperial power over corrupt officials, those officials knew they should restrain themselves.
Even if such things cannot be completely eradicated, the overall governance has indeed improved considerably.
All of this gave Zhu Yunying confidence, and now when he implements policies, the resistance is naturally much smaller.
That's because the civil and military officials had a sense of awe for the imperial power. They knew that the emperor was incredibly powerful, and they knew that the emperor of the Ming Dynasty didn't care about those who only knew how to shout. The emperor would use the sword in his hand to make those who resisted submit.
A strong personality was arguably the most prominent characteristic of the Ming Dynasty emperors, and they certainly had the right to be so proud. Without sufficiently powerful means, it would be impossible to make certain people obedient.
Zhu Yunying had reason to feel proud and satisfied, after all, he was now governing a beautiful country without so many messy things, so he didn't need to spend too much energy on it.
Now is clearly the most opportune time for Zhu Yunying to forcefully implement certain policies. After all, if he were beset by a series of internal and external troubles, he would not be able to calmly carry out these tasks or concentrate his efforts on major undertakings.
These things are clearly not just empty words; everything that Zhu Yunying is doing now is easy to accomplish.
Without sufficient national strength, neither preparing for a major war with the Oirats nor undertaking Ma Sanbao's voyages to the Western Ocean would be easy.
If the emperor didn't have enough power, he wouldn't have been able to withstand the pressure to move the capital and implement the land tax reform. Moreover, there were massive projects like managing the Yellow and Huai Rivers—no simple tasks, and these were the best indicators of a dynasty's strength.
Since we have such a good hand, we can't let this opportunity slip away, otherwise it would be truly unjust.
Work hard; that's what Zhu Yunying should be doing now. No one can stop him from implementing policies, and no one can stop him from moving forward to realize his beautiful vision.
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