Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 24: Find someone and conquer him!
Prince Wu's Mansion.

It was already dark.

Zhu Yunhuan was thinking hard.

Although Fang Xiaoru was handed over to Zhu Yunwen, his teacher had not yet been chosen.

This person is very important and should not be taken lightly.

Not only that, Zhu Yunhuan now received an order to publish a newspaper, but he still lacked an editor-in-chief.

Zhu Yunhuan knew his own business. With his pitiful talent, he could just copy poems, but he was still far from being the editor-in-chief of a newspaper.

Unfortunately, he had no connections among the civil servants, and for a while, he couldn't find a suitable candidate.

An editor-in-chief needs to be not only highly talented but also able to write articles with ease.

More importantly, he must have a good political mind and a keen political sense, know how to guide public opinion in accordance with the situation, and be able to cleverly avoid Zhu's taboos.

The "literary inquisition" in the early Ming Dynasty was very serious.

Zhu Yuanzhang was born into a peasant family. On the one hand, after he came to power, he began to use scholars to govern the country.

Old Zhu has great respect for talented scholars.

On the other hand, Lao Zhu was not confident about these people and was very stubborn and sensitive.

I always think that scholars look down on me, a peasant.

He also felt that scholars were good at making indirect accusations.

As a result, he was very suspicious, liked to nitpick over words, and engaged in "literary inquisition".

Many people were killed for this reason.

The newspapers and periodicals run by Zhu Yunhuan were responsible for publicizing the various events in Zhu's life and praising his great achievements.

If you are not careful enough, praise will become "attack and insult" in the eyes of those with ulterior motives.

If we pick one or two more of them, I'm afraid Old Zhu will raise his butcher knife again.

Zhu Yunhuan was very clear about this and knew that this was not an easy job.

Considering how much Zhu Yuanzhang valued and cared about family affection, as the emperor's grandson, naturally nothing would happen to him.

But it’s hard to say about other people who work in newspapers.

If you are not careful, your head and body will be separated, and your whole family will be ruined.

Zhu Yunhuan didn't want a good thing to turn into a bad thing.

Instead of pleasing Mr. Zhu, he made him unhappy.

This requires an editor-in-chief who is highly capable and has a keen political sense.

Then who should it be?
A candidate flashed through Zhu Yunxun’s mind.

The first person he thought of was the evil monk Yao Guangxiao.

Among the talented people of the time, when it comes to wisdom and strategy, I am afraid no one can match him.

Unfortunately, Yao Guangxiao had already been captured by Prince of Yan Zhu Di.

At least for the time being, Zhu Yunhuan had no hope of getting the person here.

If you want to poach people, you have to wait and look for the opportunity later.

As for the others... many of them already have owners.

What’s more serious is that even the officials in the court were mostly unwilling to serve him at this time.

Even if he extends an olive branch, no one will accept it!
Especially after he publicly proposed to compete for the throne.

Apart from the noble military generals who were naturally bound to him and the civil servants who were well-read in the books of sages, everyone wanted to avoid him.

Unless they are those talented people who are still buried in the world.

Only then will you have a chance to join him and try your luck for a bright future.

To be honest, there is not much room for choice.

Sudden.

His eyes lit up.

Immediately, Zhu Yunhuan summoned a trusted young eunuch.

"Go to the Duke of Founding's residence and visit him on my behalf."

"Ask about his injury and how it's recovering!"

After all, Chang Sheng was his uncle after all. It was only natural for him to send someone to visit him after he was beaten.

"Also, I would like to ask my uncle to help me with something."

"Tell him to send someone to Taihe, Ji'an, Jiangxi, to look for a man named Yang Shiqi."

"This person lost his father at a young age and lived with his mother. He may have participated in the provincial examination before, but unfortunately failed."

"If you find this person, bring him to Jinling immediately."

"Remember, this matter is extremely important. Tell your uncle to pay attention to it."

Yang Shiqi may not be as good as Yao Guangxiao. He has achievements in governing the country, but he also has many shortcomings.

But no matter what, he is still a talented prime minister.

At least it is more than enough to be the editor-in-chief of a newspaper.

This kind of person is also very good at court struggles, otherwise, he would not be able to climb to such a high position. He can just serve as an advisor to him.

Not to mention, at this moment, he is still in obscurity and there are few talented people who are not valued by the court.

This young eunuch grew up with the original body and is very reliable.

He received the order and went immediately.

Yang Shiqi is the most suitable candidate Zhu Yunhuan can think of at the moment.

He was a man who had served in five dynasties in history and had served as a cabinet minister for more than 40 years.

With his political acumen and academic level, he is definitely more than qualified to be a newspaper editor.

More importantly, Yang Shiqi was not well-known at that time and was not even a juren.

He is just a commoner, and not a famous scholar like Fang Xiaoru. As long as we summon him, we should be able to use him for our own purposes.

The reason why he didn't send someone to Ji'an to look for someone was because he really didn't have any reliable person around him who was suitable for traveling far away on business.

After living in the deep palace for a long time, he moved into the prince's palace and took charge of the household. It can be said that his subordinates were all makeshift people.

The only eunuch Zhao Rui and the palace maid Ling'er who had some ability were spies planted by Lu around him.

Zhu Yunhuan was also helpless.

This is not a big problem. It is mainly because we have just separated from the family that the situation is so awkward.

As long as he is given a few months, it will not be difficult to train capable, loyal and reliable confidants.

But time waits for no one, and if it needs to be done immediately, the only thing he can do is to hand it over to Chang Sheng.

First, it shows how much I respect him.

Secondly, no matter how poor Chang Sheng's ability is, with his status as a founding duke and the connections of the Chang family, it should be easy for him to find someone.

However, he should really cultivate his own confidants in the palace.

It's impossible to be a prince without even a reliable and capable servant.

Just as I was thinking about it, I saw Zhao Rui limping in from outside.

While walking, he touched his butt with his hand.

His face showed an expression of extreme pain and discomfort.

Zhu Yunhuan looked at him, smiled, and said, "This time I made a drum mimeograph machine and won the emperor's praise, thanks to your hard work and effort."

"You have made great contributions. I will reward you well."

This is the truth.

I have to say that Zhao Rui's ability to get things done is quite strong.

These days, I've been busy looking for craftsmen and materials, all thanks to him.

If it were someone else, Zhu Yunhuan's mimeograph machine would probably take a few days to produce.

"I will reward you with a thousand taels of silver. Oh, by the way, do you have any family members?" Zhu Yunxun said with a smile, "Your family members can also be brought to the palace and provided for."

For a "spy" like Zhao Rui, controlling his family means controlling his life and death.

Bringing his family to the palace in the name of reward might play an unexpected role.

Unexpectedly, when Zhao Rui heard this, he fell to his knees with a thud.

"Please spare my life, Your Highness King Wu. I dare not accept the reward!"

He cried and screamed, with tears and snot all over his face, and he was very heartbroken.

Zhu Yunhuan picked up the teacup, took a sip of tea leisurely, and said with a smile: "Is this a punishment?"

When he saw the way Zhao Rui walked just now, he guessed that he must have been beaten with a stick by Lu.

"Your Highness the King of Wu, yes!" Zhao Rui responded while crying.

When the news came out that Zhu Yunhuan presented a mimeograph machine to Zhuge Liang, Lu immediately summoned him and gave him a severe beating.

Who asked him to help Zhu Yunhuan find craftsmen and materials and serve him at his beck and call?
In Lu's eyes, this was a shameless betrayal.

The person she sent turned out to be Zhu Yunhuan's "hero", which was a slap in her face.

Poor Zhao Rui felt that he was more wronged than Dou E.

It was clearly Lu who instructed him to find ways to get the Prince of Wu to play, so that he would become addicted to entertainment and lose his ambition... Zhao Rui also thought that he had completed the "mission" very well.

But the result?

Who knew that the things that His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu played with would actually be so useful!

Can you blame him?
However, Lu didn't know the truth and beat him severely.

If he had not been required to continue monitoring the King of Wu, he would have lost his life on the spot.

When he heard that Zhu Yunhuan wanted to reward him handsomely, how could he dare to accept it!
If the news reaches Lu's ears, can he still survive?

"You are someone in this palace."

Zhu Yunhuan put down the teacup and said softly, "As long as you don't act indecisively and don't bend your elbows, then no one except me can beat you with a stick!"

"As for your family, I can also take them to the palace and have them do errands for the palace in the future. Then no one can touch them."

"If you still insist on being stubborn, I would rather die than work for others."

"If I'm in a bad mood one day, I'll find a random excuse to beat you to death, and no one will come to speak up for you."

"Think about it carefully."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Rui kowtowed heavily and cried loudly, "Your Highness, I am willing to follow you till death, and I will never have second thoughts again."

"Otherwise, I will punish you with my whole family!"

A smile appeared on the corner of Zhu Yunhuan's mouth.

"You've decided so quickly, don't you want to think about it carefully?"

"Your Highness, I have thought it through very clearly." Zhao Rui said, "In fact, from the first day I was assigned to your Highness, I knew that my life and property would depend on your Highness, the King of Wu."

"Even if it means helping Concubine Lu to bring down His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu."

"But I am still with His Royal Highness the King of Wu. If His Royal Highness the King of Wu is punished, I will be punished too."

"Empress Lu will never admit that I am a spy sent by her, let alone help me."

"To harm His Highness is actually to harm myself."

"This principle is very clear to me."

"But I dare not disobey the order of Concubine Lu!"

"If His Majesty the King of Wu does not abandon me, and is willing to take me in and protect my family, I will repay you with my own death!"

Zhu Yunxi nodded slightly.

This eunuch Zhao Rui is really a smart man. He knows all these things clearly.

Not bad!

Zhu Yunhuan admired Zhao Rui more and more.

"As long as you serve the master loyally, I will not treat you unfairly."

"You should leave tonight and bring your family to your residence overnight."

The purpose of picking him up overnight was to take advantage of Lu's unpreparedness, and secondly, to see whether Zhao Rui was sincere in his loyalty.

"Thank you, Your Highness. I will do it right away."

Zhao Rui was so happy that he kowtowed repeatedly, endured the pain in his buttocks, and walked out limping.

at this time.

Someone outside came to report again.

"Your Highness, the King of Yan requests an audience!"

(End of this chapter)