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

Chapter 1084 Hongwu leaves Beijing
On March 15, the 31st year of Hongwu,

Avoid breaking ground or opening business.

It is suitable for offering sacrifices and traveling far away.

This year is the last year of the Hongwu era. When the spring of next year comes, the Ming Dynasty will truly enter the second era named "Yiwen".

"Tap, tap, tap."

On this day, many Jinwu Guards cavalrymen poured out of the Ming Dynasty Imperial City, and were ordered to clear the streets from the Imperial City to the west pier.

The streets and alleys were densely populated with many elite soldiers from the Twelve Guards of the Ming Dynasty, guarding every corner of the streets and alleys.

These twelve elite guards are the emperor's personal troops who are only under the command of the emperor. They are the most mysterious troops of the Ming Dynasty and the elite among the elite.

It is almost impossible for ordinary people to see these elite soldiers who serve directly under the emperor.

But today, it seemed as if they had all come out in droves. There was only one reason for such a momentum:
The Hongwu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty will move to Zhongdu today.

Although Emperor Hongwu Zhu Yuanzhang had repeatedly issued orders not to allow anyone to see him off today.

But today, the newly enthroned Emperor Yiwen Zhu Biao, as well as the civil and military officials from the six ministries of the cabinet and the Five Military Commanderies, still came to the west pier to see him off.

"Didn't I tell you that you don't need to come and see me off?"

"Why, I just stepped down from the position of emperor, and you are turning a deaf ear to what I said?"

Old Zhu was only wearing a bright yellow casual suit and no crown. Due to his old age, his body was even a little hunched.

But even so, the powerful majesty he had developed from being in a high position for a long time still made many officials subconsciously feel frightened.

Zhu Biao was not wearing the emperor's regular clothes. What he wore was the same regular clothes he wore when he was the crown prince regent.

Seeing this, he naturally took Old Zhu's arm and said, "Father, please don't blame these adults in the court."

"Although you said that, the gentlemen have assisted you in governing the country for so many years and have long been accustomed to having you as a towering tree supporting the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty."

"Now that you are leaving, who wouldn't feel sad to see you go?"

"Not to mention them, even I, your son..."

As he spoke, his eyes turned red.

Seeing Zhu Biao like this, Old Zhu's heart softened.

He supported Zhu Biao who was about to bow and said with emotion: "You are already old now, kid."

"Why do you keep crying? Don't forget that you are now the emperor of the Ming Dynasty!"

"How can you make a fool of yourself?"

"If possible, I would rather be a prince forever and stay in your arms forever." Zhu Biao wiped his tears, revealing his true feelings.

"Don't think that I, your son, did a pretty good job as a regent prince in the past. That's because I always knew that you were always there to protect me."

"You are leaving. I feel so empty and sad. I am afraid that I have failed your expectations..."

As he said this, tears fell on the spot.

"Boss, you idiot..." Old Zhu's eyes also turned red. If it were in the past, he would have glared at Zhu Biao and angrily scolded him.

However, today, perhaps he felt a little bleak and sad in his heart, or perhaps it was because "the 31st year of Hongwu" was a special year for him.

At this moment, Old Zhu felt extremely sorry for his son.

But in front of the ministers, he finally took a deep breath and said:

"Nonsense, we are just leaving the capital, and we will come back eventually. Why are you crying here? Do you want to make fun of us father and son?"

"If you don't shoulder the burden of the Ming Dynasty, who will?"

"Govern the country well and keep the world in mind... We will watch carefully from the side. If you don't do well, we will teach you a lesson when we come back!"

"Yes. I understand." Zhu Biao took a deep breath and said. His attitude was still the same as when he was the regent prince. Then he looked at Zhu Xiongying, Zhu Chong, Zhu Gang, Zhu Di, Zhu Su and others behind him.

"Second brother, third brother, fourth brother, fifth brother, I will leave father to your care."

"Xiong Ying... please be filial to your grandfather on behalf of your father. Your grandfather is in poor health and afraid of the cold. There is too much moisture on the river when sailing. When you accompany your grandfather, remember to add more coal to your grandfather."

"Fifth brother, Father has poor eyesight, but he always likes to read at night. In the early years when Mother was alive, she would hold his hand. Now that Mother is gone, you should remember to hold his hand more often..."

... Zhu Biao gave earnest instructions, and most of what he said were trivial matters that Zhu Su and Zhu Di, the princes who were away from home all year round, were unaware of.

No one thought Zhu Biao was being wordy. Everyone was deeply moved by the loving relationship between the father and son.

For the royal family, this kind of scene is rare to see in history.

The historian in charge of daily records standing in the corner recorded this scene that would be remembered through the ages in the annals of history.

Zhu Biao said a lot, and gave earnest instructions to almost everyone who was traveling with him. The family whispered for a long time until the director of the Imperial Observatory came over cautiously and reported that the auspicious time chosen earlier was about to arrive.

Zhu Biao then reluctantly stopped talking. He looked at Old Zhu and took a step back solemnly.

Then he bowed to Old Zhu with great ceremony and said, "Your Majesty, please take good care of your health, father."

"Father... take care!"

"Your Majesty, take care!"

All the officials followed suit and knelt down, just like in the court meetings of the past, bowing deeply to Zhu and wishing him all the best in unison.

The sound shook the sky.

Old Zhu's face showed a slight change of expression, but he finally regained his imperial dignity and just nodded slightly.

Then he said, "It's getting late... Let's get on the boat!"

"Okay." Zhu Su nodded, gave Zhu Biao a reassuring look, and then together with several brothers and nephew Zhu Xiongying, helped Old Zhu board the three-decker dragon boat parked at the dock.

At the same time, he gave orders to the twelve guards around him: "Get on board and set off!"

After Zhu Su and his entourage helped Old Zhu board the first dragon boat, a large number of soldiers and horses on the dock also came in an endless stream and boarded the second and third large ships.

……

"The last words of farewell from all the officials were really heartfelt." On the boat, Zhu Suzheng was standing on the deck with Old Zhu. The big ship had already sailed out of the dock, but Zhu Biao was still standing on the dock with all the officials, reluctant to leave.

"Father, you slaughtered officials cruelly, skinned them and stuffed them with straw. I thought those officials must hate and fear you... but in the end, there are officials who remember your kindness. Tsk tsk, I never expected it, I never expected it."

Seeing that Lao Zhu was still looking at the scene on the dock, Zhu Su deliberately made jokes to distract Lao Zhu.

"Hehe..." Old Zhu hummed a few times.

"We are skinning and stuffing the corrupt officials with straw. If they were honest officials, why would they be afraid of us?"

"If it weren't for me, those officials would have been slaves for generations under the Yuan people... As long as they have some conscience and feel grateful to me, it's nothing strange."

Although he spoke in a heroic manner, as he watched the ship gradually leave Yingtian and Zhu Biao and others on the dock gradually turn into small dots, Old Zhu finally revealed a somewhat sad look.

After staring at the scene on the boat for a while, Lao Zhu suddenly sighed and said, "Forget it, I won't watch it anymore."

"Let's go back to the cabin..."

Having said that, he was about to take a step forward.

"Grandpa Huang."

However, Zhu Xiongying, who had been looking around curiously on the side of the boat, suddenly cried out in surprise.

"You, look!"

As he spoke, he pointed in the direction of the other river bank.

"Hmm? What did the great grandson see?"

Old Zhu has always been kind to Zhu Xiongying. Although he was not very interested, he still turned around and looked in the direction Zhu Xiongying pointed.

Seeing this, he was suddenly stunned.

I saw that at some point, many people had gathered on the shore, facing the direction of the dragon boat, shouting with joy.

Even more people continued to gather from all directions in Yingtian City and join this group of people.

When Zhu Su and his companions appeared on the side of the ship, surrounded by Old Zhu, the people on the shore cheered in unison.

Then, the people knelt down spontaneously and in a mess, and kowtowed towards the location of the dragon boat.

"Farewell to the old Emperor Hongwu!"

"Old Emperor! Have a safe journey!"

"Emperor Hongwu! Remember to respond to the sky!"

"Old Emperor!"

On the shore, the chaotic shouts of the people reached the deck.

There were even cries, the emotions were so deep and touching.

Old Zhu's eyes turned red in an instant.

"Grandpa Emperor?" Zhu Xiongying looked at Old Zhu with some surprise.

"Did you cry?"

"I'm not crying...I, I'm just blinded by the wind and sand!"

Old Zhu turned around with some arrogance, wiped his eyes, and then replied.

Just now, his father expressed his true feelings, and the emperor grandfather did not lose his composure like this, so why now... Zhu Xiongying looked at his most respected fifth uncle Zhu Su with some doubt.

Zhu Su laughed and patted his shoulder.

"The recognition of the people is the most precious honor for an emperor."

"You kid, you may not understand now... but you'd better remember today."

"You must pass on what you saw. In the future, you must also make this your goal and become a good emperor that the people are willing to cry for you sincerely."

Zhu Xiongying was already a young man. He seemed to understand something, and then nodded solemnly.

These people spontaneously waited outside the city because they knew that the city was under martial law because Zhu Yuanzhang had left the city and they could not go to see him off.

Until the dragon boat left the water, there were still groups of people chasing the dragon boat on the shore to express their gratitude to Lao Zhu.

Zhu Yuanzhang drove the Tartars out of China, saving countless Chinese lives.

He reigned for another thirty years, turning the broken Chinese land into a prosperous one. He punished corrupt officials and supported the people. Countless people benefited from his kindness.

Perhaps in the minds of officials, Emperor Hongwu's imperial power was as powerful as a prison and he was an emperor who was very difficult to get along with.

But to the common people, Emperor Hongwu was the best emperor in history who was the most people-friendly and caring one.

He has the people in his heart, and the people have him in their hearts.

He was leaving Beijing, and many people were truly reluctant to see him go.

The boat sailed another thirty miles and met the boat of the Xu family, Duke of Wei, on the water. Xu Da had come here specially to wait for Old Zhu, and even Tang He, Duke of Xin, was also on the Xu family's boat.

Upon hearing the news, old Zhu, who was immersed in sadness, was overjoyed and hurriedly asked someone to call Duke Wei and Duke Xin to board the dragon boat.

Soon, Xu Zengshou and Tang Li supported Duke of Wei Xu Da and Duke of Xin Tang He to the dragon boat. Seeing these two old brothers, Old Zhu laughed and all his sadness was gone.

He repeatedly ordered people to prepare wine and a banquet, so that he and his two old brothers could drink and have fun on the boat and get drunk.

"Why are you two on the river?" asked Lao Zhu.

"Haha, I heard that Your Majesty is also going back to Fengyang. I and Dingchen (Tang He's courtesy name) thought that since we are going the same way, why not wait for Your Majesty here?"

"I haven't been back to Fengyang for a long time. It's time to go back to the old house to take a look..." said Xu Da.

"Thanks to the grace of His Majesty, our Tang family now has a piece of fiefdom. We must go back to pay homage to our ancestors... Oh, should we call him the emperor now?" Tang He said.

"Hahaha, you two old brothers, why are you acting so arrogant in front of me?" Old Zhu laughed and put his arms around the two brothers on his left and right sides.

"I am no longer the emperor, why are you still holding me back?"

"Come on, come on, serve some wine. It's been years since the three of us had a good reunion. Let's just concentrate on drinking today. If anyone calls you His Majesty or the Emperor again, we'll get angry with them!"

As he spoke, he kept shouting and urging people to drink.

"...After getting rid of the burden, Dad has become a lot more unrestrained."

In the next cabin, listening to Old Zhu talking to Xu Da and Tang He noisily like a gangster, Zhu Gang shook his head and laughed.

"Dad, you are not being unrestrained, you are revealing your true colors!" Zhu Di laughed and reached out to clink glasses with Zhu Su.

"He is just like that. He has been the emperor for so many years, but he is still restrained. It is understandable that he was happy to see Duke Wei and Duke Xin today..."

"Who can still drink and eat meat like this with his old brothers at the age of seventy?"

"What Fourth Brother said makes sense." Zhu Su said with a smile.

In the original history, Zhu Yuanzhang was deserted by his relatives and friends, and almost all of his closest relatives died. His old brothers who had fought together to conquer the world either betrayed him because of greed or were afraid of him because of his status as emperor.

Tang He fled far away and stayed in Fengyang, not daring to interfere in the affairs of the court, and died in the 28th year of Hongwu. Xu Da died young, and later generations even rumored that he killed his own brother because he was jealous.

Now that he has retired from his position, his two old brothers are waiting for him to return to his hometown in Fengyang together... Old Zhu is truly happy about this.

It is quite normal to be so young and crazy about this.

But after all, he is old, so he has to ask Xiongying to watch over the room, and ask Doctor Dai to prepare some sobering medicine to avoid hurting his body.

While he was giving instructions, a Jinyiwei suddenly came to Zhu Su outside the cabin and reported to him, "Your Highness, Prince Zhou, everything is ready."

"Okay." Zhu Su nodded, his face calm.

"My three brothers are drinking here now. I'm going to go out for a while." Zhu Su said.

(End of this chapter)