In the dead of night, Zhu Yuanzhang was in a small courtyard of the Commander's Mansion.

Ma Xiuying brought a jar of wine and placed it gently on the table. She glared at Zhu Yuanzhang and then at Wang Ming.

"Yuanzhang, let's put the wine here. Drink it whether you like it or not, but don't show off your authority at home."

"Brother Wang Ming, you must have a few drinks with Yuan Zhang."

Wang Ming smiled lightly and said, "Sister Xiuying, don't worry, I won't let Yuan Zhang drink more."

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly and said: "We said yesterday that we would give up drinking for ten years! Girl, I don't know how to drink, not even one drink!"

Ma Xiuying also hummed and said: "You like to drink or not, I don't care if you are angry or not, but don't vent your anger at home. Also, let me tell you, Xu Da is your brother who has been through life and death, so you can't

Punishing him for that little thing is too much."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hands angrily: "Okay, okay, I have my own opinion, you don't need to worry about it."

"Sister, please leave quickly. I have to talk to Brother Ming about something serious."

After Ma Xiuying left the courtyard, Zhu Yuanzhang picked up the wine jar with a sigh and poured two bowls of wine on his own.

As soon as he finished the action, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly remembered his vow to quit drinking, and he gave it up angrily.

"We have said that we will give up drinking for ten years. Brother Ming, you should drink. I can't drink."

Wang Ming smiled when he saw this: "Okay, as a king, you should keep your word. If you say you will give up drinking for ten years, you will give up drinking for ten years. This is a good thing."

"Brother Ming, tell me, what should we do about Xu Da?"

Wang Ming laughed.

"Xuda drank too much and came to toast you. If you didn't drink, he poured wine on you."

"To put it more seriously, this matter is disrespectful to you, the commander-in-chief, and undermines the dignity of your commander-in-chief."

"You are now the Lord of Jinling. If your majesty is damaged and you are worried that it will be difficult to govern and serve the people, I can understand. This is public."

"But as my siblings said, if this matter is taken as a small matter, then Xu Da is your brother who grew up and died with you. If you are punished too severely for such a trivial matter, it is indeed too inhumane and selfish."

"How to deal with this between public and private matters is indeed a difficult problem."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said distressedly: "Yes, that's what worries us. It won't work if we don't punish Xu Da, and it won't work if the punishment is severe."

"We don't know what to do."

"Brother Ming, do you have any good ideas?"

Wang Ming smiled and did not answer directly, but said this:

"Actually, this question is not difficult. Even if you don't ask me, there are at least two people who can give you good ideas."

Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed when he heard this.

"Two? Which two?"

"One is Xiuying's sister-in-law, and the other is Li Shanchang."

"Both of them, one is smart and thoughtful, the other is well-read and has a deep scheming mind. They will both have good answers."

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he looked slightly bitter and shook his head.

"Forget it, sister, she is angry with me. She feels that I have become more and more assertive after becoming the Lord of Jinling. She has been showing no face to me these days."

"This is also the wisdom of my sister-in-law. She tells you from another angle not to be too arrogant."

"Gone with the wind? What does this mean? Brother Ming, you always say some words that I can't quite understand, but we can roughly understand them. Doesn't that mean we shouldn't be too complacent recently?"

Wang Ming smiled and nodded: "If you can realize this, it means you are not drifting."

"I saw you right, Yuan Zhang, you have the qualifications to be a great emperor!"

Although Zhu Yuanzhang was still in his thirties, when he heard Wang Ming's praise of "emperor's qualifications", he couldn't help but blush slightly and became shy.

"Ahem, Brother Ming has given me the prize, I have given him the prize, cough... let's talk about Li Shanchang."

"Brother Ming, you said that Li Shanchang can give me good ideas, I believe it, but..."

"But what? Don't worry about me. Although Li Shanchang has a bad character, he does have some talent and learning."

"The reward you gave this time has been given to everyone else, but not to him. Firstly, you did it to show me, and secondly, you did it on purpose, to give him a beating."

"If you abandon Li Shanchang because I don't like him, this is not what a king should do."

"A king must know how to use people well, and then he will be kingly."

"Although Li Shanchang is not a good character, he is talented and can do things. This is enough."

"Yes, what Brother Ming said is true. We understand. We will ask Tang He to invite Li Shanchang over for a drink tomorrow, ask him to give me some advice, and then give him an official position to ensure that he returns to us.

I will work harder from now on."

"No, you don't have to ask Li Shanchang about this matter."

"Ah? Why is this?"

"Because I have a better way. The ideas Li Shanchang gives you can only help you solve the problem on the outside, but not the inside."

"Outside? Inside?"

"What does this mean?"

"I can guess the ideas that Li Shanchang can give you. With his Confucian thinking, punishments are based on human nature, moderation, spirituality and other levels. Let Xu Da not suffer the slightest physical pain, but it is better than beating him with a military stick.

It would be even more uncomfortable, for example, punishing Xu Da to stand guard in front of the Marshal's Mansion for ten and a half months, so that the soldiers who come in and out every day can see him, which would make him feel worse than death."

After Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, his eyes lit up and he nodded.

"Yes, yes, this is a good idea. Ah, no, I mean, Brother Ming, you are right. This is indeed very similar to the idea that people like Li Shanchang would come up with. It does not require a military stick, but it is more difficult than using a military stick.

Xu Da feels uncomfortable."

"After I keep it, that boy Xu Da will never dare to be disrespectful to us again."

"Brother Ming, you also said there is a better way, what is it?"

Wang Ming smiled lightly and asked Zhu Yuanzhang:

"Yuan Zhang, have you ever thought about what the nature of power is?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned, and his brows suddenly tightened.

"The essence of power? Power is power. Essence. What is the essence? Isn't the essence just that I order the whole army? No one dares to disobey?"

Wang Ming replied: "The essence of power is actually a concept. Any ability of individuals, groups, organizations, etc. to obtain the obedience of others through various means is power."

"These means include violence, coercion, persuasion, inducement, inheritance, and other methods."

"Yuanzhang, all the power you have is one of the most direct and violent powers, that is, military law, which means that superiors are superior and subordinates are inferior. That is, you give orders to the entire army. No one dares to disobey!"

"This is also the largest and most direct power among mortal powers, so it is also the most terrifying power."

"However, this kind of power is also the power that is most easily out of control."

"You, the Grand Marshal, yesterday used the greatest power to reward your subordinates with relatively small powers, such as Tang He, Xu Da, Chang Yuchun and other marshals, as well as the generals and subordinates below the three of them.

Will."

"With this, you have completed the maximum power distribution from top to bottom to rule the entire army."

"This process is the process of power distribution."

"However, the distribution of power is to better control the entire army."

"So, after power is distributed, what you are most afraid of is that if the people you assign power to are not under control, they will do the same thing."

"This creates a potential crisis."

"So, the essence of the problem this time is not the severity of Xu Da's punishment, but how to best control all the people you assign power to!"

"This problem is faced by everyone, not Xu Da alone, even if he is your life and death brother."

"After the power is distributed, he is no longer your brother, but someone you must control. If that doesn't work, then either kill him or take back his power."

"The distribution of power is the most interesting, complex and dirty thing in mortal wisdom."

Speaking of this, Wang Ming laughed.

"This is mortal wisdom, mortal power, the most interesting and boring thing."

"The greatest power a mortal can possess is power!"

"Power can command ten people, a hundred people, a thousand people, ten thousand people, or even tens of millions of people! This power is so huge that there is almost no upper limit."

"The greater the power, the more difficult it is to control and control."

"Yuanzhang, I believe you have also felt it. After you occupied Jinling, your territory became larger, your troops became more powerful, and your power became more and more powerful, but your control over the rebels became smaller and smaller."

"With the qualifications of a great emperor, you are very sensitive to this crisis."

"Xuda's matter is just an introduction, a small matter. In the past, you wouldn't have cared about it at all."

"But now, you have to punish it."

"Because the power you possess, the power that is increasingly difficult to control, is forcibly controlling you, forcing you to punish it, otherwise, you will inevitably experience its backlash!"
To be continued...