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

Chapter 908: Forced to be righteous
"Have there been any unusual movements from the two Ru turbans from the Censorate and the Ministry of War in the past few days? Has the prince seen them?" Two days before the court meeting, at the Mansion of Duke Song, Feng Sheng asked the steward beside him while sipping a bottle of fine Western wine.

The Feng family was a wealthy family at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Feng Sheng and his brother Feng Guoyong saw that the world was in chaos, so they took out their family wealth to recruit soldiers and build a stronghold to protect themselves. Later, they met Zhu Yuanzhang, and the two brothers joined Zhu Yuanzhang. Therefore, compared with other founding generals of the Ming Dynasty, Feng Sheng always has a more noble air. Nowadays, the generals in Yingtian Prefecture respect him, and he is regarded as a military stabilizer left by Zhu Yuanzhang in Beijing. At this time, he sipped the wine lightly, and he had a more demeanor that everything was under control.

"My Lord, Ru Hong and Ru Taisu are still the same as before, constantly inviting officials and holding literary gatherings. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is still staying in the cabinet every day. Although Ru Hong and Ru Taisu have also requested to see him, the Crown Prince has not granted their permission."

The steward of the Feng family was also from the military. Although he was wearing a colorful robe, he still had a military temperament. He sneered, "These big headscarves are so ignorant. They really think they can compete with you, the Duke... Ma Ye is a relative of the Queen, and the Emperor can't tolerate any sand in his eyes. Could he really listen to that woman's one-sided words and allow these disasters to hide in the southwest?"

"Not necessarily. Your Majesty has let the Crown Prince make the decision on this matter. The Crown Prince's actions are crucial in the court meeting." Feng Sheng said. "Fortunately, although the Crown Prince is close to the civil officials, he is generally biased towards us nobles. As an emperor, we seek balance. If our military power is strong, we can be granted titles in the outer borders, but if we become disloyal, how can the Crown Prince and Your Majesty suppress those literati?"

Feng Sheng saw clearly the essence of the struggle between civil officials and military officials. In a well-governed country, the status of literati would rise rapidly. Therefore, the emperor suppressed literati, investigated corruption, and prohibited the relatives of literati from doing business. These were all means to suppress literati. However, governing a country is inseparable from literati.

If you want to control the literati, you need military men. Because only when the military power is in the hands of the emperor can the emperor punish the literati in any way he wants. The emperor has repeatedly committed major crimes, but the country has remained calm. The reason is that the military power is always in the hands of the emperor. The emperor's prestige in the army is unmatched.

Although Crown Prince Zhu Biao was not born in the palace, his prestige in the army was far different from that of his father. The Ming Dynasty had already decided to expand its territory in the future. Although they could temporarily stop the war and rest, the trend would be unstoppable after the rest. This was the overwhelming public opinion... Did Crown Prince Zhu Biao really have such courage to turn away from the military for the sake of the civil officials?
Agree to the request of military nobles, and use this as an opportunity to let the military generals cede some interests to the civil officials to balance the power of both sides and make everyone happy... This is what a qualified prince should do.

Moreover, Ma Ye is a relative of the Queen. Given the Emperor's temperament and the current strength of the Ming Dynasty, it is unlikely that the Emperor will tolerate Southwest autonomy. Now that such a righteous cause has been bestowed upon him, even if the Crown Prince is trying to understand the Emperor's intentions, he should be biased towards the military commanders.

"So, is there anything unusual happening in the market?" Feng Sheng asked.

Xie Jin secretly met with Fang Xiaoru and Luo Guanzhong. Others did not know or pay attention to this, but Feng Sheng was very concerned. He always attached great importance to and was wary of the fifth prince Zhu Su. In the past, he even thought of marrying his daughter to Zhu Su to make the most of the rare treasure.

As for Zhu Su's retainer Xie Jin, others did not take him seriously, but Feng Sheng took him very seriously. Several people that Zhu Su valued, such as Tie Xuan, Zhang He, Lan Yu, Yang Shiqi, Luo Guanzhong, etc., have now either made great military achievements or become important officials of the court, showing extraordinary abilities in some aspects. Xie Jin was a scholar that the fifth prince specifically asked to take with him when he went to the southwest. This time, he traveled thousands of miles to accompany the woman named Liu Shuzhen back to the capital. Feng Shengru would never believe that he did not have any important responsibilities.

As soon as Xie Jin met with Fang Xiaoru and Luo Guanzhong, Feng Sheng's heart was immediately alarmed. In the past, Zhu Su used public opinion offensives to attack Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism and promote new learning. If Xie Jin, under the guidance of the Fifth Prince Zhu Su, used the same old tricks again, using newspapers, storytelling and opera to manipulate public opinion and discredit their military generals and nobles, they would really be a little afraid.

"My Lord, I haven't heard of any movement in the market." The steward of the Duke Song's mansion said. "No one has slandered us warriors. I guess those storytellers and newspaper editors are all cunning. If they really dare to make up some rumors and spread rumors about us, aren't they afraid that we, the big soldiers, will hit them with our big fists?"

Feng Sheng also laughed when he said this. Yes, newspapers and novels can work for scholars, but they can't deal with warriors... When a scholar meets a soldier, he can't explain his reason clearly. Warriors don't care about the dignity of scholars. When they get angry, they will really beat you up.

"Master, Master." Suddenly, a family member outside shouted, accompanied by the sound of hurried footsteps with joy. Then, Feng Sheng's most beloved wife, Mrs. Sun, rushed in hurriedly.

Feng Sheng frowned slightly and scolded, "How can you yell so loudly?" He waved his hand to signal the manager to leave, and then said, "What's the matter? You are making so much noise, aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"

"Who would come to laugh at my own backyard?" Mrs. Sun was not afraid of Feng Sheng at all. She rolled her eyes at Feng Sheng coquettishly and continued, "Master, do you know what I found when I went to the teahouse today?"

"What?" Feng Sheng asked.

"I've discovered... nowadays, teahouses in the streets and alleys are actually spreading your good name, Master!" Madam Sun said in surprise, and even her gaze towards Feng Sheng was full of affection. "Storytellers all over the city are talking about your great achievements in recovering Shanxi and conquering Gongchang, praising you as a pillar of the country and a famous general in the world!"

"Spread my good name?" Feng Sheng was delighted at first, then frowned, feeling that things were not that simple.

Teahouses and storytellers were the means of public opinion that the Fifth Prince used most in the past. In the past few days, Xie Jin had a secret meeting with Fang Xiaoru, Luo Guanzhong, etc. Could this be the result of their secret meeting in the past few days?
But...why should I spread the good name for people like me?

"Madam, what did you hear?" Feng Sheng asked. "Tell me in detail!"

Since the other party has taken action, it is impossible that he has done it without a purpose... Could it be that he wants to praise Feng Sheng to a level where his achievements surpass his master's, so as to kill him?

(End of this chapter)