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

Chapter 1045: I, the Ming Dynasty, am awe-inspiring

After we conquer Annan, will you let me go to Fengmingzhou? Zhu Su's mind immediately became active, and even his back straightened a little.

When a vassal king is enfeoffed, it usually means that the emperor is far away, he is free and unfettered, and he is the only one in power within his fiefdom. Not to mention that the vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty are generally far away from the Central Plains. That is really a way to claim to be the king and dominate the world. Even if he makes a big fuss, no one can stop him.

For example, the fourth son, Zhu Di, is now preparing his army on the grassland, thinking about conquering the West and surpassing Alexander. If this happened in the Ming Dynasty, he would definitely be impeached by various censors for "warmongering". But in his own fiefdom, I'm sorry, censors, you can only control the heaven and earth within the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and you can't control me, the Prince of Yan, making trouble in my own fiefdom.

Perhaps the life of a foreign vassal is indeed a little bit colder and not as prosperous as that of China. But no matter how hard it is, the prince will not suffer! Even in the most backward Fengmingzhou, Tie Xuan has already built a residence in Jinshan Fort waiting for Zhu Su to come. Not to mention that as long as Zhu lets him go to the vassal state, he will not be able to control where he goes. Whether he drives a treasure ship to Europe in this era to "open his eyes and see the world", or travels around the world earlier than Magellan, it is all his freedom.

At this stage, he thinks it would be a good idea to lead the treasure ship fleet to travel around Europe and "purchase" some Western cultural relics, such as the murals of Notre Dame and the sculptures of the Papal Palace. He would cut them all up and ship them to the Ming Dynasty, and then build a "Da Zhong Museum" so that the descendants of Westerners will have to buy tickets to see their own cultural relics in the future. This would be a very happy thing.

What's more, if you feel tired, you can always go back to Ming Dynasty! As long as you accept the fiefdom, there will be no threat to the position of the prince in law, and there will be no mad dogs like Fan Xianzu to bite you. No matter which one you choose, it means that your hard days are coming to an end, and the days of peace and leisure are waving at you.

"This... Father, it's too early to say this. I only want to contribute to the construction of the Ming Dynasty..." Although he was very happy, Zhu Su's tone was still as steady as an old dog. Old Zhu could see his expression and kicked him again, angrily saying, "You are pretending to be like me here!"

"My eyes are almost narrowed into slits because of my happiness! Get lost! We don't have an unfilial son like you who just wants to stay out and be lazy all day long..."

"You're right, I'm not not coming back." Zhu Su said with a smile. "Don't worry, I will make sure everything goes well for you in Annan!"

Since Old Zhu had already made the final judgment on Zhu Fu and others, even if Zhu Fu and others had any extraordinary abilities, they would not be able to open the coffin this time. Zhu Su simply handed the matter over to the Ministry of Justice, which would make sure that these people were properly dealt with.

The incident in Annan happened by chance, which made Zhu Su not want to bother with these insects. As for the bandits on the sea, Zhu Su also decided to put them aside for the time being. Once Annan was taken, the navy would have a key base in Nanyang, and it would naturally be able to sweep the Nanyang world with overwhelming force; but if Annan was not taken, even if this group of bandits was eliminated, there was no guarantee that a second or third group of bandits would not appear in a few years.

A few days later, the Annan envoy really came to Yingtian. It was still that Li... Oh, now he changed his surname to Hu, and it was still that brother Hu Jibai who had a "long-standing friendship" with Zhu Su. He had listened to Zhu Su's lectures in Wuqu and often called himself Zhu Su's disciple. Before going to the court to meet the emperor, he also went to the Zhou Palace to check with Zhu Su. Seeing that Zhu Su politely accepted the gifts prepared for him by the Hu family, he felt at ease to submit his application to meet Zhu.

When Zhu Yuanzhang notified him that he would meet him at the Wangri court meeting, Brother Ji Bo was still complacent, thinking that it was because of the relationship with His Royal Highness Prince Zhou that His Majesty had already known about Hu's substitution for Chen, and that he would publicize it at the court meeting and stand up for Hu with great fanfare.

"If you have something to say, please report it. If you don't, please dismiss the court." As expected of a court meeting in the Celestial Empire, even the eunuchs' voices are more majestic than those in Dayu (i.e. Annan). Hu Jibai looked curiously at the Fengtian Hall, which was renovated by Zhu Yuanzhang after he became rich, and thought with envy.

"Your Majesty, the Annan envoy Hu Jibai has led an Annan delegation to our court and said they have important matters to report to Your Majesty. They are now waiting at the steps." An official from the Ministry of Rites and the Honglu Temple stepped out and said.

The court officials seemed to have known the news long ago, and all looked at Hu Jibai, which made Hu Jibai's legs weak. He just thought it was the majesty of the Celestial Empire. Remembering that he had the support of Prince Zhou behind him, he could not help but straighten his body, walked in front of Old Zhu, and flattered him prostrately: "Now there is the Great Ming, which has cleared the Central Plains, the sun and the moon are shining again, and the mountains and rivers are rebuilt. The envoy of the lower country, Hu Jibai, kowtows and reports to His Majesty the Great Emperor of the Great Ming:"

"My country, Annan, is a vassal of the great country and is not conquered. The rulers of the country, the Chen family, have passed down the throne from generation to generation for a hundred years. The kings of the Chen family should respect the Ming Dynasty from generation to generation and be its subjects forever."

"However, there are unexpected events in the world. The bloodline of our Chen clan leader has withered. Until now, there is no heir. The Supreme Lord is helpless, so he follows the example of our Chinese saints Yao and Shun and entrusts the Hu clan to carry on the prosperity of our Annan."

"I hope that the Supreme State will understand the situation of Annan and read the will of our Supreme State Lord, and appoint Hu's minister Ji Xi as the ruler of Annan. If so, Annan will be very fortunate. All the people of Annan, fathers and brothers, must face north and bow to pay homage to the Holy Grace of the Great Emperor of the Ming Dynasty!"

"Oh?" On the throne, Old Zhu's face was still a little pale, but his voice was as loud as a bell, and he said with a bit of joking: "The Annan Chen family has died out? Chen Yang (Chen Yizong's full name) abdicated the throne to Hu Jinyi before his death? Such a big thing actually happened in your Annan?"

"Yes." Hu Jibai's face was sad. Of course, it was unknown whether he was already happy in his heart because the Hu family was about to take over the country. He only cried and said, "I, the Grand Master of the Chen family, did not want to do this. It is true that the Chen family has been passed down for a hundred years. Now, the bloodline is dying. For the sake of the people of Annan, I have no choice but to choose a wise minister to abdicate."

"I also ask His Majesty the Great Emperor of the Ming Dynasty to understand the difficulties of Annan and enthrone Hu Jibai, the son of the Hu family, as the king, so that Annan can continue to respect His Majesty and serve as a shield for the Ming Dynasty!" Hu Jibai prostrated himself.

"Hu, hum, Hu..." Old Zhu hummed a few times, but just like that, Hu Jibai, who was lying on the ground, was sweating through his clothes and shivering uncontrollably. He secretly complained that the emperor of the upper country was too powerful. It was just a formality, why did he have to act like this?

Then the emperor said, "You, Hu, said that the Chen family had no descendants, so Chen Yang had no choice but to abdicate to him... But I heard that it was Hu Jinyi who massacred the descendants of the Chen family and plotted to steal the country?"

"Your Majesty, this is absolutely not true!" Hu Jibai was sweating profusely, and he raised his head to deny it. He said, "Your Majesty, the Chen family is indeed small in number, and there are no descendants to continue the family... Hu is a minister of the Chen family. If there are still descendants of the Chen family alive, how dare Hu claim to be the head of the country?"

"Really? What a coincidence." Old Zhu said. "Your Madam Hu said that the Chen family has no descendants, but here someone just happened to send a son of the Chen family... Take a look, is this person a descendant of Chen Yang?" After saying that, he said to the eunuch beside him: "Go, call Chen Tianping. Let these Annan people carefully identify whether he is the descendant of their king."

As soon as the three words "Chen Tianping" came out, the people in the Annan delegation couldn't help but start to stir. When a cowering young man was led into the Fengtian Hall by the eunuchs, many of the Annan envoys showed expressions of shock. Some even couldn't control themselves and knelt down in front of Chen Tianping, shouting "Your Highness" in Annan language.

Hu Jinyi's becoming a powerful official and Hu Jinyi's usurping the throne to become emperor were two different concepts for the Annan nobles. When he was a powerful official, the Annan nobles could think that he was just controlling the government. Even if he excluded dissidents in the name of new learning, it was just an academic dispute, which was within the rules and acceptable.

However, when Hu Jinyi directly usurped the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, the Annan nobles could not tolerate it. This was an act of breaking the rules. The interests of the nobles were based on a stable rule. If you play by this rule, even if you win first place, it can only be said that you are really good at playing the game.

But you suddenly want to overturn the plate. All the chips in Xuancheng belong to you. What you give us is ours. Don't let us snatch them... You were playing with us at the same table just now and asked me to be your support. Now you want to overturn the table and become the banker yourself, riding on my head. Why?
After Hu Jibai proclaimed himself emperor, he had not had time to win over and consolidate these noble families, so some of these noble families still had feelings for their former master. Some people also realized from Zhu's tone that the Ming Dynasty did not support the Hu family, so they quickly changed their stance... In short, many ministers in the Annan delegation saw Chen Tianping as if they had seen their own father, hugged Chen Tianping's clothes and cried wildly in the hall, making Hu Jibai's face turn blue and white.

"Hu Jibai, is this person a descendant of the king of Chen family of Annan?" asked Old Zhu.

Hu Jibai's teeth chattered, wanting to deny it, but under the gaze of Old Zhu, a tyrannosaur, he really couldn't muster up the courage. After a long time, he finally managed to say, "Your Majesty... Where did your Majesty find this person?"

"It was General Ruan Duofang of your country who sent people to escort this Chen Tianping to our Ming Dynasty." Zhu Su stepped out of the line and answered Hu Jibai on behalf of Old Zhu. "General Ruan is really a loyal minister. He heard that most of the Chen family's children died for no reason, so he spent a lot of money to preserve this Chen family bloodline for your country... Lord Hu, look at your eyes, are you trying to say that this Lord Chen Tianping is actually a fake?"

Seeing Zhu Su step out, Hu Jibai was sure that he had been tricked by the King of Zhou. He felt sorry for the gold, silver and jewels sent to the King of Zhou's palace, and said with gritted teeth: "Why do you say that, Your Highness? My Hu family is also loyal to the Great Ming State. It must be no less than General Ruan..."

The implication is that my Hu family is deeply bound to you, King Zhou. What is your mind, King Zhou, speaking for Chen at this time? At this moment, Hu Jibai even thought that King Zhou might have a brain problem. If Hu succeeds in becoming the ruler of Annan, with the support of Hu, a foreign country, his influence in the Ming Dynasty will also rise steadily. Even if he wants to seek a higher position as the crown prince, it is not impossible. But he actually gloated at this time...

Zhu Su ignored Hu Jibai's words and continued to ask whether this Chen Tianping was real. Hu Jibai hesitated for a long time and said, "I don't have many friends in Annan, so I don't know His Highness Chen Tianping."

"Well... can we invite His Highness Chen Tianping back to our country to identify him? Then the truth will be revealed."

He rolled his eyes, thought for a long time, and came up with this high-sounding excuse.

"What else is there to identify? The attitude of the people in your Annan delegation has already explained everything!"

"You, Hu, have evil ambitions. This is clearly an attempt to usurp the throne, and you even dare to claim to be abdicating!"

"Hu Jinyi is not a human being, Your Majesty, what else can you say? The Hu family is trying to deceive Your Majesty, and this is humiliating our Ming Dynasty. If this humiliates us, we will send troops! Defeat the Hu family!"

"Destroy the Hu family!"

For a while, throughout the Ming court, there was a constant stream of calls to send troops to suppress the Hu family. Hu Jibai was speechless and after explaining this side, he couldn't suppress the other side. His already wet clothes became even wetter with sweat.

"Please stop talking for now." Zhu Su raised his hand to stop the riot of the Ming officials, and then said: "Our Ming Dynasty is a country of etiquette. How can we easily send troops to conquer a vassal state?"

Then he turned to Hu Jibai and said, "Hu Jibai, since you said that Hu Jili ascended the throne by abdication, then if Chen still has descendants, will Hu return the throne to Chen?"

"...maybe...yes." Hu Jibai was forced to do so and hesitated for a long time. Seeing the murderous intent in Old Zhu's eyes, he had to nod.

"Then it will be easy." Zhu Su said with a smile. "In this case, the Ming Dynasty can send our Ming Dynasty army to escort Chen Tianping to Annan."

"You, Hu, can return the throne to the Chen family, and the matter will be resolved. No fighting, no harm to the harmony, isn't it wonderful to live in harmony?" Zhu Su said.

All the ministers also nodded.

"In this way, everyone is happy. Your Highness, this is a great idea!"

"It should be like this, it should be like this!"

With just a few words, he agreed to this matter on behalf of Hu Jibai.

"Father," Zhu Su turned to face Old Zhu and said, "I think that our Great Ming should send a general to escort Chen Tianping to Annan to accept the throne of the king and help the Chen family to regain control of Annan. This will be in line with what our Great Ming Dynasty should do."

"Please give your orders, Your Majesty." After saying this, he bowed down.

"Approved." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded without hesitation. The father and son and all the officials in the palace agreed and decided the matter of Annan. Hu Jibai was left at a loss, not knowing what to do.

(End of this chapter)