The Emperor Zhu indeed intended to test Zhu Jianying.
Some say all roads lead to Rome, and some are born in Rome. The problem is, people like Zhu Jianying are not merely born in Rome, but Rome itself belongs to their family.
Changing the fact that Rome belongs to the Zhu Jianying family often requires paying the price of millions, even tens of millions, of lives.
Either the Central Plains dynasties would change hands, or Italy would manage to defeat the Great Ming.
Before that, almost no one could change the fact that Zhu Jianying was the next master of Rome.
As Emperor Zhu's first son, the eldest prince of the Great Ming Empire, Zhu Jianying's position in the martial world of the Great Ming was very similar to that of Prince Zhu Biao during the Hongwu era—in terms of the father-son relationship, Zhu Biao was Zhu Chongba's first son, and Zhu Jianying was Zhu Jinsong's first son; in terms of relationships with nobles and ministers, Zhu Biao was watched over by the Huai Xi nobles as they grew up, and Zhu Jianying was watched over by the Menglianggu nobles and ministers as they grew up; in terms of backing, Zhu Biao had Empress Ma to rely on, and Zhu Jianying also had Empress Li to rely on.
Simply put, as long as Emperor Zhu did not intend to establish another Crown Prince, Zhu Jianying was the tacit Crown Prince for all officials and nobles in the Great Ming court.
Based on this premise, if Zhu Jianying had no other intentions, it would be fine. However, if Zhu Jianying wanted to stir up some trouble, it was likely that a large number of ministers and nobles from the Menglianggu era would stand by Zhu Jianying's side.
This had nothing to do with right or wrong, but was a matter of human nature.
To the ministers and nobles who had followed Zhu Jinsong in rebellion since the Menglianggu era, Zhu Jianying was like their own nephew, while Emperor Zhu's later princes were simply princes. The closeness and distance were vastly different.
For example, Liu Yezhu was very powerful, right? Even Mr. Desheng mentioned Qin Emperor and Han Emperor when writing poems, but when Liu Yezhu went mad, Prince Li Liu Ju could lead tens of thousands of troops to fight Liu Yezhu's men in the streets of Chang'an!
It was precisely because of this that Emperor Zhu had specifically come to test Zhu Jianying.
And Zhu Jianying did not disappoint Emperor Zhu.
"The saying that doing well means the emperor has the foresight to recognize talent, and doing poorly means the cabinet is incompetent, is itself a paradox."
Zhu Jianying said slowly, "Only when the country exists does the emperor's existence have meaning. If the country no longer exists, then the emperor's existence or non-existence naturally has no meaning."
"Just like the Jiashen Calamity—Emperor Chongzhen worked day and night, but in the end, he was described as incompetent and foolish. Although Yuan Thieves secretly colluded with the Jian Yi, it became ironclad proof of Emperor Chongzhen's stubbornness. Although Yuan Thieves deceived first, it ultimately became a testament to Emperor Chongzhen's suspicious nature. In short, all mistakes ultimately fell on Emperor Chongzhen."
"The fundamental reason is that Emperor Chongzhen lost his power. He could neither check the cabinet nor restrain the military, and his orders could not even leave the capital."
Emperor Zhu smiled and nodded, then continued to ask, "Emperor Chongzhen killed many Grand Secretaries back then, and even Yuan Chonghuan, the Governor of Liaodong, was executed whenever he wanted. How can it be said that he lost his power?"
Zhu Jianying bowed and said, "The Grand Secretaries at that time were merely puppets elected by the Jiangnan gentry, and there was even talk of selling the position of Grand Secretary at a fixed price. No matter how many Emperor Chongzhen killed, it could not change the overall situation, and those gentry naturally did not care."
"As for Yuan Thieves, they were killed in the capital. Apart from Yuan Thieves, Zu Dashou fled upon receiving the decree, and only Yuan Thieves' personal letter could summon him back. This is clear proof that Emperor Chongzhen had lost the power of the military."
Emperor Zhu smiled and nodded again, then continued to ask, "If it were you, what would you do?"
Zhu Jianying said, "If it were me, I would not have killed Wei Zhongxian, nor would I have disbanded the Eunuch Directorate and the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Without Wei Zhongxian, there would be no one to restrain the officials in the court. Without the Eunuch Directorate and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the emperor would become a blind and deaf man without ears and eyes, naturally allowing himself to be fooled by the officials."
At this point, Zhu Jianying suddenly hesitated, "Does it mean, from what Father said, that you plan to implement a constitutional monarchy?"
Emperor Zhu nodded, gave a sound, and then slowly began tapping the table.
For any emperor or monarch, choosing an heir is a matter that requires extreme caution.
If the right heir is chosen, the country can continue to prosper for decades. If the wrong heir is chosen, it is very likely that there will be a second dynasty extinction like the Qin and Sui dynasties.
After thinking for a while, Emperor Zhu simply continued to ask, "If the Great Ming were to implement a constitutional monarchy, what would you do?"
Being asked this by Emperor Zhu, Zhu Jianying fell into thought.
Frankly speaking, is there any Crown Prince in this world who is willing to be a mere figurehead?
Especially when his own father is a de facto emperor with absolute power, who can make a country prosper or perish with a single word, who is blessed by heaven and whose decrees are followed. Which Crown Prince can refuse such temptation?
However, Zhu Jianying also understood that since his father had asked this question, it meant his father already had the idea of implementing a constitutional monarchy, and discussing it with him was not to prepare him psychologically in advance.
After carefully considering, Zhu Jianying bowed and said, "If the Great Ming is to implement a constitutional monarchy in the future, your son believes that countermeasures should be prepared in advance. Once the cabinet or the military has problems, the emperor must have measures to deal with them."
Only then did Emperor Zhu truly smile happily.
It's good, this son is not stupid, and he knows to leave countermeasures.
The later Great Britain is a good example—on the surface, the British royal family seems to have handed over all its power, and every day they just do charity, hold receptions, etc. When there are merits, everyone shares; when there are mistakes, the cabinet bears the blame. In reality?
In reality, the British royal family has no less power, and they gain no less benefit!
For example, the British royal family has the right to interpret parliamentary acts and appoint the prime minister—whether to use them or not is another matter, but whether they exist is another matter entirely.
Emperor Zhu smiled and patted Zhu Jianying on the shoulder, saying, "Remember, governing without ruling, but still having countermeasures, this is the correct way for the royal family to survive—whether the emperor exists or not depends first on whether the country exists. If a fool appears among the descendants, and the Great Ming cannot be preserved, what is the use even if your emperor's hands still hold real power?"
Just as Zhu Jianying was pondering the deeper meaning of Emperor Zhu's words, Emperor Zhu continued, "Alright, don't think about those messy things for now. I brought you out this time to broaden your horizons, not for you to study the systems of constitutional monarchy or absolute monarchy."
In fact, Emperor Zhu himself had not figured out how to solve these messy problems.
Could the approach of governing without ruling be implemented?
Of course, it could be implemented.
The question is, what is the significance of the governing without ruling approach?
If the emperor does not retain countermeasures, the court and the military could lose control at any time.
If the emperor retains countermeasures, does it mean that the emperor can rule at any time?
Completely abolish the emperor?
It is certainly not a problem to completely abolish the emperor, but the difficulty of abolishing the emperor in the Central Plains dynasties is basically the same as re-fighting the entire country, or even more so—when the Central Plains dynasties abolished the emperor, the last emperor of the Jian Yi abdicated and then ascended the throne again, Yuan Datou also ascended the throne. After such repeated tossing and turning, and after completely tarnishing the imperial throne, only then was there no soil for the emperor to survive.
Trying to do so in the Great Ming today would be almost like talking nonsense. It might even lead to the worry of Prime Minister Cao: I don't know how many people will claim kingship, and how many people will claim emperorship.
Precisely because he could not think of a good idea for a while, Emperor Zhu took Zhu Jianying out for a relaxing trip.
However, Zhu Jianying was also a bit annoyed—his unreliable father had only brought him out to have fun, but he hadn't told him where they were going to have fun!
Emperor Zhu tapped the table with his fingers and looked at Zhu Jianying, asking, "Guess where we are going?"
Zhu Jianying reached out and grabbed the globe, fiddled with it for a while, and then tentatively asked, "Since we are going south, we definitely won't be going to see Second Uncle and Third Uncle. So, are we going to the Ottoman Empire first?"
Emperor Zhu nodded and smiled, "Then guess, why are we going to the Ottoman Empire first?"
Zhu Jianying said, "For the Ottoman Empire's oil?"
Emperor Zhu nodded, then continued to ask, "Anything else?"
Zhu Jianying was stunned for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Is it to provoke an alliance between the Ottoman Empire and the Sand Goose and their allies?"
Emperor Zhu laughed heartily again, "That's right, it's to provoke an alliance between the Ottoman Empire and the Sand Goose and their allies, and incidentally, to teach those barbarians a lesson and let them know who really rules this small world."
Hearing Emperor Zhu say this, Zhu Jianying couldn't help but calculate in his heart.
Emperor Zhu's travel was naturally aboard the flagship Tianzi Hao. The Tianzi Hao was the most powerful flagship among the many fleets of the Great Ming. If the escort fleets were also included, the combat power of the Tianzi Hao formation was enough to match the combined strength of the East Sea and South Sea fleets.
With such a fleet at hand, and sailing along the coast without venturing into the deep sea, the safety of his father did not need to be overly worried about.
On the contrary, it was those barbarians who should be trembling with fear.
Of course, such a fleet alone was slightly insufficient. After all, even the most powerful fleet could only dominate at sea. To fight ground wars, the army was still needed in the end.
Thinking of this, Zhu Jianying bowed and said, "Your son thinks, should we notify our Great Ming's overseas military bases in advance and ask them to prepare?"
Emperor Zhu waved his hand with a smile, "Why notify them in advance? Remember, even with the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, you must see with your own eyes and hear with your own ears."
"This is not to say that the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard are not to be trusted, but rather that the emperor's writ does not run far—our Great Ming has over seventy overseas military bases, each thousands of miles away from the Great Ming. The commander of each military base can be considered a local lord. Moreover, with the constant turmoil in this world, it is inevitable that the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot will sometimes be careless."
After casually giving Zhu Jianying a few pointers, Emperor Zhu smiled and asked, "What should we do when we reach the Ottoman Empire?"
Zhu Jianying said, "For the Ottoman Empire, we can be either civil or military. Civically, we can summon the ruler of the Ottoman Empire, praise him a few times, and bestow some gifts. Militarily, we can mobilize the troops from the military bases surrounding the Ottoman Empire and destroy it in one battle."
Emperor Zhu nodded, and then asked, "Then, in your opinion, should we be civil or military?"
Zhu Jianying said, "We should be civil. Although the Ottoman Empire is colluding with countries like the Sand Goose, now is not the opportune time to eliminate the Ottoman Empire. After all, the barbarians have only been provoked but have not yet acted. If we eliminate the Ottoman Empire now, the other barbarians will inevitably be vigilant or even scared to death."
This was also a problem that had been bothering Emperor Zhu.
For the Great Ming, dealing with the Ottoman Empire was naturally easy and pleasant, and they didn't even need to deploy their own troops. Simply mobilizing the vassal troops of those short and stout倭奴 (wōnú, derogatory term for Japanese) would be enough.
The crucial point was what to do after dealing with the Ottoman Empire. If the Ottoman Empire was finished, it was uncertain whether the Sand Goose would be scared to death, but George III, that unlucky fellow, would definitely be scared, and Franz II of the Habsburg family would probably also be half-dead with fright.
If these guys were scared into not causing trouble anymore, what excuse would the Great Ming have to cause trouble for them? If they didn't cause trouble for them, where would the Great Ming recruit the laborers it needed?
Moreover, England, the Habsburg family, and the Sand Goose all had some reputation in this world. What did the Ottoman Empire have besides the title of the Sick Man of Western Asia?
Abusing the Ottoman Empire did not demonstrate the strength of the Great Ming. It was far more effective to abuse England and the Sand Goose to deter this world.
Therefore, how to scare them without completely terrifying them to death, and even giving them a glimmer of hope, had become a matter of great skill. It could neither be too light nor too heavy.
Zhu Jianying's suggestion of summoning Mahmut II to provoke the anti-Ming alliances was a way, but it was still slightly insufficient. What if the anti-Ming alliances started fighting amongst themselves first? Who would the Great Ming use as a warning to others?
After thinking for a moment, Emperor Zhu opened his mouth and asked, "If we want to establish our authority by dealing with England or the Sand Goose, what should we do?"
Being asked this by Emperor Zhu, Zhu Jianying fell silent again.
Zhu Jianying was not unaware of the matter that Emperor Zhu had discussed with Zeng Cheng, Liu Heming, and others about using a monkey to kill a chicken as a warning, and he also agreed with this plan from the bottom of his heart.
However, the key issue was that Zhu Jianying had not figured out how to lure the monkey to jump out and court death first.
Just as Zhu Jianying was pondering how to stimulate England or the Sand Goose to jump out and oppose the Ming, Emperor Zhu smiled and said, "Some things don't necessarily have to be done by oneself."
Zhu Jianying's eyes lit up, and the words "倭奴" (wōnú) blurted out. Emperor Zhu also smiled and nodded, saying, "That's right, it's the 倭奴 (wōnú). Although those short and stout fellows can't do anything decent, they should be able to stir up trouble and provoke England or the Sand Goose into going mad."