The Ming Dynasty: The most ruthless imperial grandson, Old Zhu begged me not to kill him.

Chapter 139 Iron-willed and Upright, Zhu Yuanzhang's Expectations

Zhu Yuanzhang thought to himself that he was strong and healthy, and could stay in this position for another twenty or thirty years.

With these two or three decades, those corrupt officials will be able to kill them out of fear, and the national strength of the Ming Dynasty will gradually increase.

When Crown Prince Zhu Biao ascends the throne, he will surely implement benevolent policies and accumulate national strength.

Once the nation's strength has accumulated sufficiently, U.A. will ascend the throne. Given his character, he will undoubtedly be a pioneering leader.

The Ming Dynasty will be even stronger then.

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly felt that he still had too few sons and should have more so that he could enfeoff all those wild and uncivilized lands as princes of his Ming Dynasty.

"Tie Xuan, someone actually dared to assassinate you along the way. It seems they no longer care about the affairs of the imperial court. How do you plan to investigate this matter?"

Tie Xuan said with a determined look on his face.

"These people are all parasites of my Great Ming Dynasty. I will record everything that happened in Fengyang Prefecture, and arrest everyone involved. They will be dealt with according to the laws of my Great Ming Dynasty!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression was solemn.

"If any of these people are from the families of the powerful or influential, or if those powerful or influential people are involved, what are your plans?"

Tie Xuan looked righteous.

"In Tie Xuan's eyes, there are only lawbreakers and lawless people. He never considers the person's identity. If these people really committed such a crime, no matter who they are, they should be dealt with according to the laws of the Great Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Yuanzhang roared in anger.

"How dare you! These people are all meritorious officials of our Great Ming Dynasty. They have shed blood for our Great Ming Dynasty, and some of them are even our old brothers. Do you still want to arrest them?"

Tie Xuan took off his official hat and kowtowed three times to Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Your Majesty, in my eyes, if these people are oppressing the people, no matter who they are, I, Tie Xuan, will not let them get away with it. When I came from Yingtian Prefecture, I promised His Highness the Crown Prince that I would give the people of Fengyang Prefecture justice!"

"If Your Majesty wishes to protect these people, then first remove Tie Xuan's official hat. As long as Tie Xuan has a breath left, I swear I will not let these corrupt officials get away with this!"

Crown Prince Zhu Biao looked at Tie Xuan with some surprise. He had heard Zhu Xiong Ying mention in a letter that Tie Xuan was upright and incorruptible, but he had not expected him to be so upright.

He truly lives up to his name, Iron Cauldron Stone.

"Tie Xuan, do you know that these people all have imperial edicts of merit? No matter what mistakes they make, as long as it's not a serious crime like rebellion, they can be spared death once. If this continues, it will really be difficult for Father to handle!"

Zhu Biao sighed and explained in detail that these people had intricate connections with the Ming Dynasty, and if they were all captured, the Ming Dynasty would likely be thrown into turmoil.

Tie Xuan remained stubborn.

"They have rendered meritorious service to the Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty has never mistreated them. However, the justice of Heaven is clear: the people of the Ming Dynasty cannot be oppressed, and the heavens of the Ming Dynasty cannot be deceived. If their names are involved, their titles can be passed on to their innocent sons or relatives!"

"Titles are not their shield, nor are imperial edicts!"

Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't. He just looked at Tie Xuan and said...

"I hope you remember your words. Alright, you can leave now. We can talk about it tomorrow!"

After Tie Xuan left, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the Crown Prince Zhu Biao beside him and said with satisfaction, "Tie Xuan is indeed a promising talent!"

Zhu Yuanzhang favored upright and incorruptible people, which is why he valued Yang Xian, who was capable and pragmatic.

He just never expected that Yang Xian would betray him like this in the end.

Crown Prince Zhu Biao nodded in agreement, admitting that Tie Xuan was far superior to Yang Xian.

"Although this person is upright and incorruptible, he also has his own ideas. He always handles matters according to the law, but he is also humane towards those with noble titles. He is strict but not harsh, dignified but not cruel. He is most suitable to be a minister assisting a region in the future!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang slapped him.

"Look at you, and then look at Xiong Ying. All those people under your command were assembled by your father. When have you ever discovered such useful talent? Look how capable our eldest grandson is!"

"He's only been regent for a short time, yet he's not only accomplished several major tasks for us, but he's also recruited a lot of talented people!"

"And this person is the regent we've prepared for U.A. High School, you're not allowed to take him!"

Crown Prince Zhu Biao gave a wry smile. Aren't his son's things his own? Why should the father and son distinguish between them? Besides, he would be the one to ascend the throne after Zhu Yuanzhang's death. Even if the grandson ascended the throne, who knows how long that would take? He wasn't thinking about these things at all right now.

"Father, what should be done with those nobles? Should we really do as Tie Xuan said? I'm afraid it will cause unrest."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his crown prince Zhu Biao and sighed.

"Biao'er, you think too highly of them. These guys are just living off their past achievements. Even if ten of them rebelled, we wouldn't take them seriously!"

"The foundation of our Great Ming Dynasty lies in Tiande, Wenzhong, Feng Sheng, Lan Yu, and you, as well as our beloved grandson Xiong Ying!"

"As for the others, no matter who wants to oppose us, we have a million ways to suppress them. Can't those few really rebel?"

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang recalled what Zhu Xiong Ying had said to Empress Ma, and looked at Zhu Biao and said.

“Biao’er, we’ve been reading history books these past few days and we’ve discovered something very strange. Throughout history, no dynasty has ever lasted more than three hundred years. They all faced the danger of collapse in less than three hundred years.”

"What do you think is the reason for this?"

Crown Prince Zhu Biao felt his mind was a bit foggy, and after thinking for a moment, he said...

"I am guilty, but the blame lies with all the people. If all the people are guilty, the guilt lies with me. It is all because in the later years of these dynasties, there were tyrannical rulers. Please rest assured, Father, your son will definitely teach Xiong Ying well and will never allow such an unfilial grandson to ruin the future of our Great Ming!"

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head upon hearing this, clearly indicating that this was not the answer he wanted most.

"We've discovered that this is just one problem. Another very important issue is land. Whenever the world is in chaos, it's usually because the people have lost their land, and the country can't collect much tax. When the people can't take it anymore, they rebel. But here's the thing: these problems didn't exist at the beginning of the dynasty. Just like now, there's still enough land. I believe that before long, even more land will be cultivated in the Ming Dynasty!"

"You said so much land has been reclaimed, but where does it all go every time there's chaos in the world?"

"Or perhaps it ended up in someone's pocket?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Biao panicked; the thought was truly terrifying.

(End of this chapter)