Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 35 The wind is blowing and the weather is going to change!
Prince Yan's Mansion.

To be more precise, this can only be regarded as a villa of King Yan.

After all, Prince Yan's fiefdom is in Peking, where the real Prince Yan's Palace is located.

but.

After all, Prince Yan is a prince, the son of His Majesty the current emperor.

Mr. Zhu is really good to his son.

Zhu Di's residence in Jinling City was also called the Prince of Yan's Mansion, but it was not as large as the one in Beiping.

However, in the city of Jinling where every inch of land is valuable, the value of such a house located in a prosperous and important area is still unimaginably high.

At this moment, Zhu Di was fishing in a pavilion in a lake in the mansion.

The pavilion is surrounded by water on three sides, with only one corridor connecting it to the land, so it has a panoramic view all around.

Whenever Zhu Di had something important to discuss, he would talk in this place.

It is also to prevent someone from eavesdropping.

At this time, the sun was setting in the west, and the not-too-hot sunlight sprinkled on the lake, making the scales sparkle and look beautiful.

Fishing in this pavilion is quite meaningful.

Yao Guangxiao sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, rolling the rosary in his hand and muttering Buddhist scriptures to himself.

for a long time.

There was no movement in the water below.

Zhu Di seemed a little impatient and said, "Master, I am fishing here and you are chanting sutras here. How can the fish bite the hook?"

"Amitabha!" Yao Guangxiao chanted the Buddha's name and said, "The heavens are merciful and kind."

"It's because these fish are not destined to die that they didn't bite the hook."

Zhu Di said angrily: "What are you talking about?"

"God allows wolves to eat sheep and tigers to eat all kinds of animals? Is this also a virtue of loving life?"

"The tiger is the king of all beasts, so it is not wrong for the tiger to eat any beast at will."

"Humans are the most intelligent creatures in the world. They can eat everything that flies in the sky, walks on the ground, swims in the water, and everything else in the world."

"I just want to catch some fish to satisfy my appetite. What does it matter?"

His voice suddenly changed and he said, "Shh, don't talk, the fish is hooked."

On the water surface, the float flashed, and Zhu Di pulled the fishing rod and pulled hard.

Sure enough, a fish weighing about half a pound was caught.

"Hahaha!" Zhu Di held the fish in both hands and smiled proudly.

"It seems that the sutra you chanted is not working!"

Yao Guangxiao smiled bitterly and shook his head, then chanted the Buddha's name again: "Amitabha!"

Zhu Di put the fish into the bucket that had been prepared long ago, then added bait and threw the fishing rod into the water.

Fang said, "I heard that Yunxun overslept today and didn't go to the palace to study."

"It seems that he must have seen through your plan, which is why he is losing sleep!"

Yao Guangxiao said: "King Wu is very smart, and Your Highness pretended to be his disciple, so he couldn't be fooled."

"But that's okay."

"The key to this game is not whether he can see through it."

"But even if he sees through it, he won't be able to crack it!"

Zhu Di smiled and said, "I thought about it last night. Maybe he will go directly to the palace to report to his father and sue me for leaking secrets."

Yao Guangxiao shook his head and said, "It's no use."

"If His Majesty intended to change his mind, he would have summoned you to the palace and given you another order."

"Besides, what result did he want when he reported this to Your Majesty?"

"Plead for Lan Yu, or ask His Majesty to kill Lan Yu?"

"I'm afraid no matter what he does, it won't work."

Zhu Di pondered for a moment, then asked: "What exactly does father mean?"

Yao Guangxiao was still turning the Buddhist beads in his hand, his tone was bitter and calm: "This is not only a problem we have given him, but also a test from His Majesty."

"Only after passing this test will he be truly qualified to compete for the position of crown prince!"

"It is far from enough to just write two good poems, lyrics and couplets, or invent something like a mimeograph machine."

"Those are completely different from governing a country."

As the two were talking, they suddenly saw someone running hurriedly from the shore along the corridor connecting to the pavilion.

A strange look flashed across Zhu Di's face.

Every time before coming here, he would specifically instruct the servants in the mansion not to disturb him easily.

Did something big happen today?
The man walked quickly all the way to the edge of the pavilion, where he stopped and knelt down.

"Your Highness Prince of Yan, I just received news that Prince of Wu went to the Jinyiwei Yamen, and then led thousands of Jinyiwei out of the Yamen. At this time, he is heading towards the area where the nobles live in the city. It is still unclear which house he is going to. His Highness Prince of Wu did not specify it, and the Jinyiwei did not know either. There is already a sensation outside."

Yao Guangxiao's eyes, which had been tightly closed, suddenly opened, and the movement of turning the rosary in his hand also came to an abrupt stop.

"The King of Wu has made his move!" His voice was calm, yet solemn.

"Could it be that today's so-called oversleeping and missing the time, and beating a maid to death for it, was all an act?" Zhu Di was surprised and said, "He acted quite well."

"You went to the Duke of Kaiguo's Mansion this afternoon. You should have discussed countermeasures with Chang Sheng. Did you make a decision so quickly?"

He looked at Yao Guangxiao.

"Without an imperial edict or His Majesty's order, how could he mobilize so many Jinyiwei?"

With the identity of King Wu, it is not difficult to get a few Jinyiwei out to do the work.

But in Jinling City, it is absolutely impossible to mobilize thousands of Jinyiwei.

"It seems that His Majesty has already made arrangements."

Yao Guangxiao guessed the answer immediately.

"But who is he trying to catch by mobilizing so many Jinyiwei in such a high-profile manner?"

Zhu Di asked quickly: "You mean, he is acting on orders?"

"That's not necessarily the case." Yao Guangxiao said, "Your Majesty is testing him to see how he will act. There may not be a clear order."

"However, Your Majesty should have given him the power to act at his own convenience and make his own decisions."

The evil monk is an evil monk. He is as wise as an evil monk and quickly guessed the "truth".

When Zhu Di heard that it was not Zhu's order, he was relieved and said, "My nephew always behaves unexpectedly. Otherwise, he would not have openly asked for the position of crown prince in the palace."

"How audacious! How audacious!"

"I want to see what shocking thing he will do this time."

"Send more men and keep a close eye on them. Report back immediately if there is any movement."

Upon hearing this, the messenger immediately said, "Yes!"

After saying that, he turned around and left.

Yao Guangxiao suddenly shouted, "Wait a minute!"

The man stopped and looked up at Monk Daoyan.

"The two young princes have been staying in the mansion since they came to Jinling City. They have never gone out. They must be bored."

"Why not let them go for a walk?"

"Also, let the two young princes take a breath of fresh air."

The two little princes mentioned by Yao Guangxiao are naturally Zhu Di’s sons Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaoxu.

This time, Zhu Di returned to Beijing to attend Zhu Biao's funeral.

His two sons, Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaoxi, as Zhu Biao's nephews, also returned with him.

After all, it is my uncle's funeral, so of course the younger generation has to come.

In fact, strictly speaking, even Zhu Gaochi had not yet been named "Crown Prince" at this time.

However, on weekdays, people in the palace still call him the Prince.

The same was true for Zhu Gaoxu.

"Why let these two little kids go?" Zhu Di asked puzzledly, "What do they know? Why are they joining in the fun?"

Yao Guangxiao smiled and said, "It is because I don't understand that I can act according to circumstances when necessary."

“Perhaps, it can play an unexpected role.”

"There is no need to tell me what to do. The eldest prince is not young anymore. As far as I can remember, he is about the same age as His Royal Highness the King of Wu."

When Zhu Di heard what he said, he suddenly remembered that Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Yunhuan were born in the same year.

Moreover, Zhu Gaochi was a few months older than Zhu Yunhun and was Zhu Yunhun's cousin.

However, in the eyes of his father Zhu Di, the teenage Zhu Gaochi was still a little kid.

When I heard Yao Guangxiao mention it, I suddenly remembered how old my son was. He was really not young anymore.

"Okay, just notify them both to go." Zhu Di always obeyed Yao Guangxiao's words.

He also instructed: "Just ask them to watch from the sidelines as much as possible. If it's not urgent, don't get involved."

"Also, we need to send more personnel to come back and report at any time."

He paused for a moment and added, "At least come and report once every half a quarter of an hour. I want to keep abreast of the situation over there at all times."

"Yes!" The messenger reported the order and left in a hurry as fast as a meteor.

"I am really curious about what kind of surprise my nephew will bring me this time."

After the messenger left, Zhu Di stood up from his fishing stool.

At this time, the setting sun gradually faded, leaving only half of the red sun, which had not yet completely sunk.

The afterglow still remains, and the sky is filled with sunset glow.

"got windy!"

Yao Guangxiao stared at the sky and murmured, "The weather is going to change!"

……

(End of this chapter)