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

Chapter 1082 Persuading Zhu Biao to ascend the throne
After he said this, the Confucian scholars were shocked, and many of them squinted their eyes and read the poem attentively.

Not many of Zhou Wang Zhu Su's writings have been circulated among the people, but after all, under the various deliberate public opinion offensives of the Zhu family and the achievement of "opening up new studies", Zhu Su can be regarded as a well-known "great Confucian scholar" in the Confucian circle. Since he is a great Confucian scholar, his writing style still has a certain market among Confucian scholars.

Moreover, Zhu Su's brush strokes were different from those of others. Although he had practiced calligraphy for many years after traveling through time, he had used a hard pen in his previous life, and the deeply ingrained writing style had not been changed for all these years. Therefore, his brush strokes always had a bit of the feeling of "writing with the butt of the pen" when using a hard pen. The strokes were very obvious in the characters, and his handwriting was actually not good. Even if someone wanted to learn his handwriting, they generally would not learn the bad habit of writing with the butt of the pen.

Therefore, after these Confucian scholars recognized this highly recognizable handwriting, more and more people began to pay attention to the "silly son of the landlord" who had just written the poem. Finally, someone exclaimed and recognized Zhu Su's face.

"He... He is His Royal Highness the King of Zhou! A few years ago, His Royal Highness once bought a piece of meat from my shop!" A fat butcher with big ears and a body shape who looked like a butcher said loudly. Then a Confucian scholar confirmed that this person had seen the King of Zhou Zhu Su himself when he was listening to music in a brothel in his early years.

When Zhu Su was released from the palace, he was like a wild horse that had broken free from its reins. He lived as a playboy in Yingtian Prefecture for quite a while, so many people in the market knew him.

After that, there was a chaotic kneeling and prostration, and a sound of "Greetings to Your Highness", which even attracted the attention of people outside the teahouse.

Zhu Su, however, smiled cunningly and said, "It is not me whom you should worship." Then he continued to drink tea.

Everyone was stunned. If they shouldn’t bow to King Zhou, then who should they bow to?

Finally, there was someone with a quick mind who thought about it and finally remembered Lao Zhu who was sitting next to him.

Just now, this old man said to His Royal Highness the King of Zhou "our son". If he dared to say that His Royal Highness the King of Zhou was his son, then he must be...

The man's eyes lit up. If Zhu Su's reputation among the people was 100, then Old Zhu's reputation was 1,000. This was the emperor who issued imperial edicts to his subjects and encouraged them to report directly to the emperor; the emperor who skinned corrupt officials and stuffed them with straw; the emperor who developed the Ming Dynasty to its current state.

It was not uncommon to meet His Royal Highness the King of Zhou. After all, whenever he was in Beijing, he would often go around the city, listen to music in brothels, or eat steamed buns at roadside stalls. But it was rare to see His Majesty the Emperor.

Every time Zhu Yuanzhang left the palace, he was always well-dressed and rarely recognized. Now that he suddenly got to see the emperor, wouldn't he seize the opportunity to take a closer look?
The emperor, this is the emperor! If you perform well and get into the emperor's eyes, you might end up like in those storytellers, being a farmer in the morning and ascending to the throne in the evening, and your whole family will rise to heaven together...

After Zhu's identity was exposed, the Confucian scholars and common people inside and outside the teahouse all "exploded" in an instant. A large group of people either kowtowed excitedly or stood there stupidly. More people wanted to squeeze forward as much as possible to see what the legendary Emperor Hongwu looked like. The scene was noisy for a while.

Zhu Su was smiling smugly. His cheap father forced him to wear this silly and stupid son costume, so he thought of a way to embarrass him a little. Being surrounded by the people and unable to move, his incognito attempt failed, this was very appropriate.

Seeing the people gathering around, Zhu Su was expecting to see if Old Zhu would show some panic, but unexpectedly, Old Zhu was still holding the teacup calmly and just glanced at Erhu beside him.

Then, Erhu suddenly took a step forward and shouted, "Silence!"

This roar was like a tiger's roar, which stunned all the people.

"We have come here in disguise to enjoy the people's happiness, and we don't want to disturb you." Old Zhu stood up and put his hands behind his back. His merchant clothes, which looked rather mercenary, actually had a bit of the majesty of a dragon robe.

"Since you have discovered me, haha, I will be your host." Old Zhu laughed and said to the stunned Tea Doctor, "Shopkeeper, I will pay for the tea in your shop today."

"How much did everyone spend in your shop today? Take the account book and go to King Zhou to get it."

Zhu Su secretly rolled his eyes. This old Zhu, his skill in cheating his son is still so perfect. The tea doctor over there was already trembling with excitement. He knelt down with a plop and said, "Your Majesty... Your Majesty's visit to my humble shop is enough to make my humble shop glorious."

"How dare I accept money from your Majesty? Today's expenses are all on my behalf. I will pay for them all!"

This tea doctor still has this superficial vision. Not to mention how much profit the poem mentioned by His Majesty King Zhou will bring to their teahouse, just the gimmick of "Your Majesty has come to my teahouse to drink tea" is enough to make their teahouse superior to all teahouses in the Ming Dynasty.

Not to mention just one day's free flower fee, even if the teahouse was free for a whole year, it would still be a huge profit. Tell this to the shopkeeper, he would be so happy that he would go crazy.

"Haha, we won't do evil things to compete with the people for profit." Facing the people, Old Zhu smiled more kindly than when he was facing his own son. "It's settled."

"I have something else to do, so I'll go back to the palace first. You wait until you have eaten and drunk well, I'll go ahead." As he said this, he took a step forward. The people did not dare to stop him, and hurriedly made way for him.

When Old Zhu walked outside the teahouse, he saw that a large group of people had already gathered outside. Many people inside and outside the teahouse had just realized how to greet him, kneeling down and shouting auspicious words such as "Your Majesty, a happy new year", "May your majesty be blessed", "May you live forever", etc. Their words were quite sincere. It was not until they turned three streets that no one recognized them anymore.

Gou'er, who was in charge of guarding, was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat. If there were any bad guys mixed in with the scene just now and disturbed the emperor, he would be guilty of a capital crime.

"You rebellious son, you actually betrayed me on purpose. If anything happens in that situation, it would be the crime of regicide, don't you know that?" Old Zhu pretended to be angry at Zhu Su.

"...Come on, do you think I don't know? At that time, at least half of the people sitting in the teahouse were Jinyiwei..." Zhu Su was out of breath after walking all the way, but he was not as healthy as the 70-year-old old man. "Didn't you trick me first? It's rude not to reciprocate. It's New Year's Day, I can't be rude to you, right?"

"Hehe, that's just making a fuss." Old Zhu said. But judging by the look on his face, he seemed quite happy to have had this experience.

"From what you were planning just now, are you trying to use those people to scare me and make me look bad? Oh, I have the people in my heart, and they will naturally love me. What do I have to be afraid of?"

"Hehe, you don't know that when the Yuan army attacked Haozhou City, we were in Haozhou defending the city and comforting the people. I don't know how many times we saw the people gather around us."

"At that time, my sister was also by my side. She was more popular among the people than I was. When the people saw her, they treated her like their own daughter... At that time, there was not even your elder brother..."

The old man likes to reminisce about the past, and the scene just now made Lao Zhu fall into memories unconsciously. The old man looked nostalgic, with a smile on his lips, but there was some sadness in his cloudy old eyes.

Afraid that he would be upset by thinking of Empress Ma again, Zhu Su changed the subject and said, "I don't know what you are so proud of. The people of Yingtian have been under the emperor's feet for a long time and naturally love you very much."

"If we go further, it's not certain. In the south or north, my reputation may be even better than yours."

"You kid, you are provoking me again." Old Zhu naturally knew that Zhu Su was teasing him with words, asking him not to care about the death date in the 31st year of Hongwu in history, and to put aside state affairs and go on a tour to recuperate. He paused, suppressed the nostalgic expression on his face, and looked at the lively people coming and going on the street because of the New Year festival.

After a long while, he finally said, "What you said is not without reason. I have ruled the world for thirty years and have seen many storms, but I have not even seen the whole of the beautiful land of the Ming Dynasty under my rule."

"Now that I'm old and have been busy all my life, it's time to let go..."

"After the New Year, we plan to give this position under our buttocks to Biao'er. We will get rid of this burden and go around our Ming Dynasty to have a look... What do you think?" said Lao Zhu.

"Of course!" Zhu Su clapped his hands in approval. "It's long overdue. You've been busy all your life, you should have retired long ago."

"After you retire, it would be great to take a good look at the mountains and rivers. Looking at your body, as long as you have a broad mind, I think you can live another 40 or 50 years!"

"Hahahaha, I don't have to live that long." Old Zhu laughed. "Well, let's step down and see how Biaoer governs the country. When we get to the underworld, we can have a good talk with the girl."

……

"What? Father wants to abdicate?" At a later gathering of the five brothers, Crown Prince Zhu Biao was shocked when he heard the news from Zhu Su. His first reaction was to shake his head frantically.

"No, no, my father is in good health. As a son, how can we rush to ask him to abdicate at this time?" Zhu Biao said. "Besides, I am still young in politics. Only with my father in charge can the Ming Dynasty be stable... Fifth brother, why do you make such a suggestion? I will ask my father to withdraw his decision..." He was about to leave.

"Brother, brother...don't be so anxious. Why are you so impatient?" Zhu Su quickly grabbed Zhu Biao and pulled him back to his seat, pouring another glass of wine in front of him. "I'm not saying anything bad about you, brother, you're already over 40, and you still have the nerve to say you're immature?"

"You are now in your prime, the affairs of state are heavy, and your father is already seventy years old. Do you have the nerve to continue to place the weight of the state on his shoulders?"

"..." Zhu Biao was speechless. He had only objected subconsciously just now, and had not thought about whether the wording was appropriate. Now that Old Zhu was protecting him from the wind and rain, he naturally subconsciously felt that he was still immature, and forgot for a moment that he was already over 40 years old. Moreover, inheriting the throne now always seemed a bit unfilial to him. Zhu Biao was a very filial person, so subconsciously he was somewhat reluctant.

"If it were any other dynasty, perhaps Father would have spread this rumor with the intention of testing your filial piety. But there is no such twists and turns in our family. He really wants to give up power... It is already the 31st year of Hongwu! The 31st year... It is rare to persuade him to put down his burden and rest for a while. You have been the regent for decades, but it is just a matter of changing the name..."

"Fifth brother, you also said to change the title... Father can leave all state affairs to me, but abdication... is really unnecessary." Zhu Biao still insisted. "I can't think of anyone other than Father sitting on the throne. If I sit on it, there might be trouble..."

"If there is a disturbance, you can calm it down. You have the skills to do so." Zhu Su advised. "It is very different whether this title belongs to you or to your father. Do you think your father can let go of this burden if he is still the emperor? It is already the 31st year of Hongwu... He should rest well and live a comfortable life for a few years."

"Brother, I think what Lao Wu said is right." Zhu Chong also said. "Emperor... Hey, being an emperor, what a hard life! Dad has been the emperor for thirty years. Now that he is old, he should live a comfortable life for a few years."

"I was counting on Dad to come to me so that I could show my filial piety to him... Ordinary people take turns to support their elderly parents!"

Zhu Chong has been gathering heroes in his fiefdom over the years and has been doing very well. He really hopes that Old Zhu can go to him so that he can show off his achievements.

Zhu Biao's face turned red... Boy, the emperor lives a hard life, so your elder brother deserves to go to hell, right?

"Brother, what the second brother said is true." Zhu Di also said. "Dad has been tired all his life, and it's time to relax. Besides, what's the difference between you being the emperor and now? It's nothing more than the title of the regent prince being replaced by the emperor. I think Dad is also consciously handing some things over to you to do."

Zhu Di's mind became more active. With Zhu Biao as the emperor, the possibility of him being a "traitor" was reduced. Zhu Di naturally trusted him more. If he trusted him, he might be willing to let go of the matter of raising an army to march west. He had been preparing for war for a long time, and that damn Ottoman Empire was about to bully him...

Zhu Gang also advised, his purpose was very simple, if Zhu abdicated, his status would rise a little, and he would be more confident to ask the Ministry of Revenue to approve scientific research funds in the future. The brothers took turns to fight, like a round-robin battle.

"Brother, it's already the 31st year of Hongwu! It's time to pass this empire down."

In the end, it was Zhu Su's emphasis that moved Zhu Biao.

In the 31st year of Hongwu, historically, Zhu Yuanzhang passed away in this year... If he could have rested well, he might have lived a few more years. Thinking of this, Zhu Biao finally nodded.

(End of this chapter)