Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 1035 Fear
"Oh, that's it." Zhu Su suddenly remembered the purpose of his visit to court today. After organizing his words in his mind, he told Zhu Biao, the Crown Prince Regent, about the affairs of Dong Ji and Zhu Fu, as well as his speculation on the cause of Abigail's death.

"Are you saying that someone in my Ming Dynasty is secretly colluding with pirates?" Zhu Biao frowned, a hint of anger on his face. "How dare you, a mere merchant, be so bold?"

"That's right." Zhu Su said. "The Maritime Silk Road can provide at least tens of thousands of taels of silver in commercial taxes to the Ming Dynasty's finances every year, not to mention the porcelain, silk, cloth, tea and other products that are popular in the West, which support countless tea and artisan households in the Ming Dynasty."

"Many people already make their livings on this trade route. If the trade route is lost, it will affect tens of thousands of people in our Ming Dynasty."

"Yes." Zhu Biao nodded, "This matter is of great importance, and we cannot handle it lightly."

"I will discuss with the ministers in the cabinet and see how to deal with him... First, let's arrest Dong Ji and put him in the imperial prison."

"The charges against the others still need further interrogation. But Dong Ji deliberately deceived you. In any case, he has committed an unforgivable crime."

Zhu Su frowned and wanted to say that there was nothing to discuss, but after thinking about it, he decided not to say anything more.

He was just a prince, and if he acted arbitrarily, the worst that could happen was that he would be accused of being arrogant... But Zhu Biao was the crown prince who was the regent, so he did need to act with caution.

Not to mention...his father was in such a situation again, Zhu Biao had no choice but to be careful and cautious.

The two brothers stayed in Zhu's bedroom for a while. Zhu Biao was busy with state affairs after all. He gave Erhu some instructions and left with Zhu Su. Zhu Su came to the palace gate. The carriage of the palace had been waiting at the gate for a long time. When Di Meng saw Zhu Su coming out, he hurriedly led the palace guards to greet him and said, "Your Highness, does His Majesty have any order?"

"Just now, when I saw the court officials leaving the palace, they were all talking about it... But what happened during the court meeting?"

"Father has caught a cold and did not attend court today." Zhu Su said. "How is the Jinyiwei doing? Have they captured Dong Ji?"

"Well, we have just received news that Dong Ji has been captured by the Jinyi Tiqi and imprisoned." Di Meng nodded. Then he asked Zhu Su, "Your Highness, what's next? Are you not going to capture Zhu Fu?"

"...I have already informed the Crown Prince of this matter. I think he will make a decision." Zhu Su said. "Go back and send Zhu Junyu to the Dali Temple. Then let our people come back."

"Are we not going to intervene?" Di Meng was stunned.

"We've already done what we should do, why should we intervene?" Zhu Su shrugged. Zhu Biao had already explained the South China Sea pirates and the cause of Abigail's death clearly, and Dong Ji and Zhu Junyu had already been captured. The matter had basically been solved. If we followed the clues, we could catch all the evil spirits and monsters... In that case, why should we intervene?

To put it bluntly. Actually, I am just a prince, and it is not right for me to take care of this matter. It is reasonable to hand it over to my eldest brother Zhu Biao.

I am also happy and relaxed.

"Let's go back home." Zhu Su said. Since he had Zhu Biao, a tall man, to take care of him, he put Dong Ji and Zhu Fu's affairs behind him. Now, he was more worried about Zhu's health. He planned to think about it after returning home to see if there was any kind of health-strengthening method suitable for the elderly. After Zhu recovered from his illness, he could improve the illness he had in his early years.

Two flowers bloom, each with its own beauty. Let's not talk about how Zhu Su summarized the method of strengthening his body after returning to the Zhou Palace. Let's first talk about how the crown prince Zhu Biao left the old Zhu's bedroom and went directly to the cabinet office. In the office, many officials were already swarming here. Everyone was talking about it, and no one had the mind to deal with the affairs. There was a deep worry on their faces.

The Hongwu Emperor had been in power for nearly thirty years and was undoubtedly the only backbone of the Ming Dynasty. His majestic image had long been deeply rooted in the hearts of the ministers. No one had expected that the mighty Hongwu Emperor would fall ill. The sudden cancellation of the court meeting this time made the ministers more or less confused.

"The Crown Prince is here!" Outside the door, a cabinet official saw Zhu Biao's figure, his eyes lit up, and he hurriedly called out loudly. When the ministers heard the voice, they all rushed out and surrounded Zhu Biao.

"Your Highness, why was the court meeting cancelled this morning? Did His Majesty give any clear instructions?"

"Your Highness, there is a lot of discussion in the court right now, and all kinds of rumors are spreading... We should immediately find a way to calm people's hearts."

"Your Highness, has anything unusual happened in the palace? As your Majesty's subjects, we should share your worries. Why do you keep it secret from us..."

The ministers were talking about the sudden cancellation of the court meeting this morning. Zhu Biao raised his hand and pressed it down, smiling gently, "Don't worry, the palace is fine, and my father is fine too."

"It's just that my father missed my mother yesterday, and after going to the Xiaoling Mausoleum to pay homage, he caught a cold on his way back to the palace at night, and he couldn't walk anymore."

"Director Dai has examined Father and said that Father needs to rest and should not work too hard. For the sake of Father's health, the court meeting has been cancelled."

After Zhu Biao finished speaking, some of the ministers looked surprised, while others had flickering eyes. However, everyone asked about Zhu's condition. Zhu Biao always had a gentle smile on his face and said, "Don't worry, gentlemen."

"I have consulted Dean Dai many times, and he also said that it is just a common cold and nothing serious."

"The reason why I have spoken to you all clearly is to stop rumors and give those who spread alarmist rhetoric an opportunity to disrupt government."

"Although the emperor has always been in good health, it is normal for him to catch a cold occasionally. There is really no need to make a fuss. Please return to your positions and perform your duties. Don't be lazy about rumors and miss important matters."

"Otherwise, if you provoke my father to get mad in the future, I won't be able to help you."

After hearing what Zhu Biao said, and seeing that there was indeed no sadness or solemnity on his face, everyone believed what Zhu Biao said. Dao Tong, one of the cabinet ministers, said loudly: "Since this is the case, all colleagues, please disperse!"

"You should put state affairs first. Your Majesty is ill, and we should handle state affairs so that Your Majesty can recover. We should not let Your Majesty get angry because of us while he is ill."

All the ministers nodded in agreement. Zhu Biao's frankness made them put aside their speculations and doubts.

Everyone returned to their posts, and some ministers who were not members of the cabinet also said goodbye to Zhu Biao and returned to their offices. The chaotic cabinet soon became as orderly as usual... No matter what these ministers had in their minds, they could only put them all away and focus on the heavy state affairs.

Zhu Biao also sat on his own seat, and then raised his hand as usual, signaling the clerks in the cabinet to bring the memorials that needed to be reviewed today. When the clerk brought the memorials, Zhu Biao suddenly thought of something and said, "Oh, just now, my fifth brother and I talked about something. Let's all take a look at it together."

After that, he relayed what Zhu Su said about Dong Ji, Zhu Junyu, Abigail's death and the South China Sea pirates to the cabinet ministers.

"This... there is such a thing?" Daotong was a righteous man who hated evil. Upon hearing this, he was the first to raise his thick eyebrows and slammed the table, saying, "How dare a mere businessman be so domineering! Your Highness, I think that this case must not be easily resolved, we must investigate it to the end and eradicate it..." Before he finished speaking, his voice suddenly paused.

Daotong looked at his colleague Fan Xianzu beside him in surprise. Just now, it was this colleague who suddenly pulled his clothes under the table and interrupted what he was saying... Fan Xianzu gave Daotong a meaningful look, then stood up and clasped his fists to Zhu Biao and said, "Your Highness, I think we should take a long-term view on this matter and not involve too many people."

"Hmm?" Zhu Biao was slightly surprised. "In Mr. Fan's opinion, what should we do?"

"Your Highness, the murder of Abigail was just a guess by Your Highness. Judging from the amount of tax silver collected from the sea in recent years, there is no shortage of tax silver for merchants, and no one has reported the discovery of pirates."

"Because of one person's one-sided statement, you insist on accusing someone in my Ming Dynasty of secretly colluding with pirates. Isn't this like calling a horse a zebra?"

Zhu Biao was a little unhappy. In his heart, he actually tended to do as Zhu Su said, to pull out these evil spirits and eliminate them together, so as to prevent them from endangering the Ming Dynasty. So he asked: "But if it was just an ordinary murder case, why did Dong Ji lie to my fifth brother? Why did Zhu Junyu appear there?"

"There must be something behind this. Do you want me to ignore it?"

"Your Highness." Fan Xianzu bowed to Zhu Biao and said, "There is certainly some truth behind this, but even if it is true as Your Highness Prince Zhou guessed, that group of South China Sea pirates will not cause much harm to our Ming Dynasty."

"After all, they are from the Ming Dynasty, and they robbed foreign merchant ships. What does it have to do with the Ming Dynasty? Srivijaya is thousands of miles away from the Ming Dynasty. Even if the court investigates this matter and tries its best to wipe out this group of pirates... who knows if there will be other pirates occupying that key point on the sea in the future?"

"If the new pirates are more vicious, not only robbing the foreigners, but also our Ming merchant ships... wouldn't that be worse than now? Are we going to station a navy in Srivijaya at any cost just for these pirates?"

Zhu Biao frowned and fell into deep thought. What Fan Xianzu said was not wrong... Srivijaya was too far away. The Ming Dynasty had already wiped out Chen Zuyi, and now another group of pirates had emerged... If this group of people was wiped out again, who knows if another group of pirates would emerge in the future?

Even if Zhu Su's guess was correct, at least this group of pirates was still under the control of the Ming people, and they had never attacked Ming merchants... Although the Ming might have lost some taxes from foreign merchants, the Ming treasury was now full, so even if there was another loss, it would not account for too much.

And if we are determined to clear the sea route... then the cost will be much higher. It is very likely that the gains will not outweigh the losses.

"Besides," Fan Xianzu saw that Zhu Biao was interested, so he continued to strike while the iron was hot, "Zhu Junyu's father, Zhu Fu, is also a distant relative of Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty usually values ​​his family the most. If you punish Zhu Fu, it will be a bit heartbreaking for Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty is in poor health right now... I think it would be best for you to take good care of yourself first."

This sentence became the last straw that broke the camel's back for Zhu Biao. In his eyes, nothing was more important than letting Old Zhu rest and take care of his health. After weighing the pros and cons, Zhu Biao agreed with Fan Xianzu's words: "Well, in this case, let's first ask the Dali Temple to thoroughly investigate the death of Abigail."

"The rest of the matters will not be investigated for the time being."

"Your Highness is wise." Fan Xianzu bowed.

……

"...Mr. Fan, why did you stop me just now!" During the lunch break, Daotong called Fan Xianzu to his duty room and questioned him with a stern face.

"The law is unforgiving. If Zhu Furuo is really in collusion with the pirates, there is no way we can tolerate him. If we allow this thief to stay in the capital, who knows what big things he will ruin in the future!"

"There is such a traitor in the country, but you do not allow me to speak frankly. What is the reason?"

"Alas..." Facing Daotong's angry face, Fan Xianzu said without any shame, "You are just such a hasty person."

"I know you hate evil, but even so, as a member of the cabinet, how can you not distinguish between the important and the unimportant?"

"Do we have to charge the Zhu family with collusion with pirates to punish them? How big a storm would that cause? As cabinet ministers, how can we not prepare for a rainy day?"

"Storm?" Daotong was startled and said, "If it's what Mr. Fan just said to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, I would naturally know it."

"But, I think, even if it is so, we cannot tolerate the evil, otherwise where is the law of the court? How can we sit back and watch the thieves do whatever they want just because the sea route is remote..."

"That's not what I meant." Fan Xianzu interrupted Daotong. Daotong was stunned and puzzled: "If it's not this, then why?"

Fan Xianzu looked outside the door mysteriously, and after confirming that no one was outside the duty room, he said to Daotong: "Even if you are upright, you should still think about the foundation of the Ming Dynasty..."

"The head of the state?" Daotong was startled again. "The current emperor is in good health...ah!"

"Your Majesty seems to be in good health now, but who knows what will happen in the future?" Fan Xianzu said meaningfully. "After all, your Majesty is getting old... It is not impossible for him to suddenly collapse like today."

"But what does this have to do with the foundation of the country?" Daotong asked in confusion. "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has been the regent for nearly ten years. Everyone in the court knows his ability. Your Majesty has no intention of replacing him. The foundation of our Ming Dynasty is as stable as Mount Tai..."

"Is it really as stable as Mount Tai?" Fan Xianzu shook his head. "I don't think so."

"His Royal Highness Prince Zhou created a new school of thought. Yang Shiqi, Xia Yuanji, and many other young officials of the same lineage were all his disciples. Ru Taisu, Song Lian... many other great scholars also had close ties with His Royal Highness Prince Zhou."

"Not to mention the military exploits, Lan Yu, Li Wenzhong, and Li Jinglong all fought alongside His Majesty the King of Zhou, and the soldiers in the army also respected the name of His Majesty the King of Zhou."

"Even the three kings of Qin, Jin, and Yan were close friends with His Majesty the King of Zhou. The Xu family of Duke Wei was the family of His Majesty the King of Zhou's wife. Yingzhou and Fengmingzhou were all recovered by His Majesty the King of Zhou."

"If His Royal Highness the King of Zhou aspires to be the emperor, can His Royal Highness the Crown Prince really sit firmly on the throne of the country?"

(End of this chapter)