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

Chapter 1043: Hu's usurpation of the throne
"Father, why did you come back to the palace?"

"Are you in good health?" Zhu Biao stepped forward respectfully, pretending nothing had happened, and asked about Zhu's health with a concerned look. Zhu Su was secretly impressed by his acting skills, which were like changing his face in an instant.

My elder brother has been the regent for decades, so he has become quite skilled at hiding his emotions. I cannot match his ability even if I flatter him.

Of course, Zhu Biao also wanted to keep the matter secret, lest Zhu Biao noticed something wrong and asked about it on the spot... If Zhu Biao had heard what Fan Xianzu said, it would have been strange for Zhu Biao, who had a hot temper, not to get angry.

Although Zhu had become more and more stoic in recent years and rarely got angry in front of his subjects, the thunder was hidden in the sky and it was even more frightening when it struck, not to mention that the genius doctor Dai Sigong had specifically instructed Zhu Biao not to take the risk of worsening Zhu's illness.

Old Zhu had no expression of joy or anger, and it was hard to tell what his emotions were. He did not respond to Zhu Biao's concern, but sat high on the throne and said, "When I entered the palace just now, I vaguely heard someone say that they wanted to die for me..."

"What's the matter? Could it be that our prince is immoral and did something that angered heaven and man when we went to Fengyang, causing that beloved minister to be dissatisfied?" As he said this, he glanced at Zhu Biao.

Seeing this, Zhu Biao could only bow deeply and dared not say a word. He was struck by his father's words.

"Your Majesty, I want to die in remonstrance to Your Majesty..." Fan Xianzu's face was flushed with blood, and he stepped forward from the line of ministers and officials with a heroic and proud attitude. He said with a red face: "I want to impeach His Majesty, Prince Zhou."

"Impeach His Majesty King Zhou for violating the law, setting up a private penal court, framing good people, and forming a clique for personal gain!"

As he spoke, he told Zhu Su the story of how Zhu Su "invited" those merchants from out of town, how he captured the "innocent" Zhu Fu, how he coerced those merchants from out of town into confessing under torture, and how he forced them to appeal to the Ministry of Justice against Zhu Fu, Liu Tianen and other "innocent" people, with exaggerations.

"Your Majesty, what His Royal Highness Prince Zhou has done is beyond his authority, contrary to the rules, and a violation of the law... I know that Your Majesty loves His Royal Highness Prince Zhou very much, but there is a hierarchy of seniority, and the regent is ultimately His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"I hope Your Highness will issue an edict to reprimand King Zhou. Otherwise, if this precedent is set, the kings of the Ming Dynasty will be able to frame anyone they want, disregarding the majesty of the law. In the future, the country will no longer exist, Your Majesty!"

He spoke loudly, and even cried out in a dolphin voice when he was emotional, and then slid down to his knees at the steps of Zhu's throne. His words were quite skillful, and he firmly grasped the part of Zhu Su's behavior that was not in line with the rules, and secretly pointed out that Zhu Su deliberately did this when the crown prince was regent, which was a provocation to the crown prince's authority. If he ignored it, there would be a dispute over the foundation of the country in the future.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang also favored the fifth son, he was the biggest supporter of the prince, and all the officials in the court knew this. Fan Xianzu took advantage of this and wanted to put the hat of challenging the prince's authority on Zhu Su's head. In this way, Zhu Su's actions became a test of the attitude of the officials in the court before he wanted to compete for the position of prince, which was bound to be disgusted by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Of course, he also sincerely felt that Zhu Su wanted to compete with Zhu Biao for the position of crown prince. If His Royal Highness spoke for King Zhou, it was only because he was too kind and cared about the brotherhood.

The Crown Prince is kind-hearted, but the current Emperor will not tolerate any injustice. If His Majesty believes that the King of Zhou really has the intention of threatening the Crown Prince's position as the country's foundation, then he will definitely punish the King of Zhou.

Zhu Su saw this and was disdainful. Is this old man suffering from paranoia? I am obviously making fun of myself, but he still thinks that I care about the position of the crown prince... The grass on the grave of Hu Weiyong, who wanted to support me to fight for the country, is already taller than him. Who else would be so stupid as to help me go against the crown prince... Why doesn't this old man go and keep Hu Weiyong company?
He looked at Zhu Yuanzhang with some worry. Zhu Yuanzhang should not doubt that he had the intention to fight for the foundation of the country. On the one hand, he had always shown that he had no interest in the position of the crown prince. On the other hand, in the past, he pretended to have the intention to fight for the foundation of the country and coaxed the prime minister Hu Weiyong to come and support him to compete with the cabinet. In the end, Zhu Yuanzhang wiped him out and even the position of prime minister was directly abolished... If someone wanted to support him, the King of Zhou, to be the crown prince, they would have to consider whether the King of Zhou, the sixth, was in collusion with His Majesty or the crown prince, and wanted to use fishing enforcement to lure out some unlucky reactionaries.

Although he, the King of Zhou, had a high reputation in the court and many old friends, it could be said that he was already notorious in the fight for the throne and could not be a threat to the Crown Prince Zhu Biao. Knowing this well, Zhu should not be afraid.

Zhu Su was worried about Old Zhu's health... The genius doctor Dai Sigong repeatedly warned Old Zhu not to get angry at this time. If he listened to Fan Xianzu's fierce words and got angry, and hurt his body...

Zhu Su glared fiercely at the old man who was still crying and acting in front of the imperial steps.

But to Zhu Su's surprise, there was no anger on Old Zhu's face, and he even had a faint smile on his face.

"Well, Mr. Fan is loyal, we understand. Stop crying and sit up first."

"Come on, bring a chair for Fan Qing."

A pleasant look.

Seeing this look, his two sons Zhu Su and Zhu Biao were so surprised that they couldn't help but look at each other: It is true that an emperor should not show his emotions, but when did their father cultivate to such a level?

Zhu was indeed a man of deep thoughts, and his emotions were not revealed on his face, but he would not show such emotions when he was angry... He was the founding emperor, and his prestige and majesty far surpassed any other emperor. He was not like the emperors of later generations who had many fears and constraints. Even if all the civil and military officials were replaced, this iron-blooded emperor had no worries. Tricks like sweet words and sharp swords were not necessary for him.

Even Fan Xianzu was confused by Zhu's trick. The old man stopped howling abruptly and stared blankly at a few eunuchs who brought him a chair with a brocade cushion. He looked up at the emperor in astonishment and felt a sudden chill in his heart.

This... Is this something that His Majesty is saying on purpose? Are you going to kill me in the next moment? Fan Xianzu suddenly thought.

However, looking at the emperor's appearance, it seems that he has no such intention. Fan Xianzu, who was confused, had to thank the emperor for his grace and sat down with a look of panic. Old Zhu dispelled the tension and anger in the hall with a few words, and then said to Zhu Su: "Old Fifth, I know you are angry, but you should do less of this kind of forced confession in the future."

"Now that it has happened, we should think of ways to remedy the situation. Our Ming Dynasty is so powerful that we will not be afraid of those so-called Western countries."

"You have the Ming Dynasty backing you up, so why are you panicking? Fengmingzhou is vast, and if there is a war in the future, we will just fight back and drive all those barbarians into the sea!"

"Huh?" Zhu Su was stunned, his face bewildered, his eyes wide open helplessly.

Dad, what are you talking about? Western countries, Fengmingzhou, barbarians...are they talking about the same thing?
Looking at Old Zhu's determined expression, Zhu Su even began to doubt himself for a moment.

Who am I and where am I? Why can't I understand what he is saying?
Fortunately, Zhu soon solved the mystery himself. He took out a memorial and said to Fan Xianzu: "Mr. Fan, you keep saying that Zhu Fu and others are innocent. Take a look at this first."

After saying this, he asked someone to pass the memorial on.

Fan Xianzu also took the memorial with a bewildered look on his face. After reading it, his expression changed drastically, "This!"

"Is this true?"

"Master Fan, I will investigate this matter personally." The person who answered was Tie Xuan who was standing among the ministers. After Tie Xuan helped Zhu onto the throne, he consciously stepped down the steps and stood in the queue of ministers.

Now he stepped out and made an impassioned speech: "Every single one of these is backed by solid evidence, and every word is true. If there is any injustice, please chop off my head."

Fan Xianzu was speechless. Crown Prince Zhu Biao took the memorial from him, looked at it and handed it to Zhu Su. Zhu Su took it and checked it. He found that it said that Zhu Fu, Liu Tianen and others took advantage of the trade to sell contraband items at high prices, sold sea charts privately, colluded with the indigenous tribes of Fengmingzhou, and even sold all kinds of secrets of the Ming Dynasty. It was hard to list them all. They were really bold and presumptuous.

"So, the fact that the natives of Fengmingzhou were able to use weapons as mentioned earlier was also due to these merchants?" Zhu Biao frowned.

"Yes." Tie Xuan bowed to Zhu Biao respectfully. "The thief Zhu Fu and others coveted the wealth of Fengmingzhou of our Ming Dynasty, colluded with the barbarians, and set up a base in Fengmingzhou. Because of the shortage of manpower, they joined forces with the local indigenous tribes to forge iron weapons and enslave the indigenous people to serve them..."

"He also stole our Great Ming secrets for the foreigners, such as cannons and muskets, which have been circulated in the West. He also sold all kinds of knowledge from the Imperial Academy of the Great Ming to Western countries at high prices... A few years ago, Western countries learned about the 'theory of the round earth' and began to explore the sea route from Europe to the west of Fengming Island, which was also closely related to these merchants."

So that's it! The ministers looked at Zhu Su and understood immediately. Fengmingzhou was the private land given by His Majesty to His Royal Highness King Zhou. The Ming Dynasty had always had an absolute monopoly on the Fengmingzhou route. But now this monopoly had been sold to the Western Barbarians by those ignorant merchants. No wonder King Zhou was furious!
Amidst the chorus of realization, some people lamented that these merchants were truly shameless. It was one thing for them to use the Ming Dynasty's money to support the barbarians, but on one hand, they cooperated with the Western barbarians, and on the other hand, they pretended to be pirates and robbed them... They made both white money and black money. How dark of a heart must they have?

Given the temper of His Royal Highness the King of Zhou, it was good enough that he didn't expose those merchants. What's the point of forcing people to give evidence and frame them?
No one thought that His Royal Highness Prince Zhou was taking advantage of His Majesty's absence from the capital to test the Crown Prince's authority.

Zhu Su looked at the memorial with his eyes slightly narrowed. He admitted that after reading the memorial, he really wanted to promote Zhu Fu and others.

He didn't know that these merchants had kept this a secret from him, and was still wondering why many Western countries stopped fighting when they were supposed to fight to the death. It turned out that they had set their sights on Fengmingzhou, the new continent, and were eager to get a piece of the pie from the Ming Dynasty!

Moreover, this incident actually happened when the Ming Dynasty just opened up Southeast Asia, and none of the small merchants took the initiative to confess this incident. It can be seen that cooperating with Western barbarians is already a common thing in the business circle.

Even in this age without intellectual property rights, they may not have realized that selling route maps, the theory of the spherical earth, etc. to other countries was actually digging into the Ming Dynasty and narrowing the generation gap between the Ming Dynasty and other countries.

"But... Your Majesty..." Zhu Yuanzhang directly defined this incident as a counterattack in anger because Zhu Su's vassal interests were damaged. This made Fan Xianzu, who was obsessed with the struggle for succession and wanted to take advantage of the situation to weaken the power of the so-called Zhou Wang Party, extremely unwilling. He wanted to say something else, but Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand to interrupt him, saying, "Fan Qing, please don't speak yet. I haven't finished what I want to say yet."

Since the emperor had said so, what else could Fan Xianzu say? He had to sit down again in dismay.

"The reason we returned to the palace this time was not because of a trivial matter like punishing a few merchants who did evil things, but because we received intelligence from the Jinyiwei." said Old Zhu.

He first glanced at Zhu Su, which made Zhu Su confused, and then finally, with a look of joy on his face, he told the news that shocked the court.

"The Hu family of Annan usurped the throne."

……

"Hu family usurped the throne? How could it be so fast? Logically speaking, Chen Yizong should still have a few years to live. After he dies, the young ruler of Annan will take over the throne, and then Hu family will have a chance."

After announcing the big news in Annan and telling all officials to prepare for the situation, Zhu Yuanzhang dismissed all his officials. Fan Xianzu knew that his plan was hopeless, so he could only return to the cabinet in dismay. Annan was in trouble, and Ming, as the suzerain state, had to prepare for the situation. In the face of such foreign affairs, if he continued to think about internal struggles, Zhu Yuanzhang would definitely rebuke him. Instead of doing this, it is better to be patient for the time being.

All the ministers withdrew, and Zhu Biao and Zhu Su were called by Zhu to the inner hall for a secret meeting. Zhu Su, who was puzzled, asked the above questions.

Old Zhu laughed, glanced at Zhu Su, and said, "Isn't it because you helped me so much?"

"Hu Jinyi received support from the new school of thought and started a dispute between schools of thought in the court. The dispute between the new and old schools of thought in Annan became increasingly fierce."

"Countless Annan nobles who were at odds with Hu Jinyi were labeled as old-school by him. The dispute between schools of thought was the most intense. Once someone was labeled as old-school, a group of noble families who attached themselves to the new school of thought, as well as a group of young officials and students who could not distinguish between good and bad, the Annan court and the people, all took advantage of the situation. In addition, Hu Jinyi, the most powerful one, openly took sides. Soon, in the Annan court, it was his Hu family that had the final say."

(End of this chapter)