Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 36: Lao Zhu's Real Assessment
From ancient times to the present, the people of the capital have always been very concerned about the affairs of the court.

After all, this is the land under the feet of the emperor and the best place in the country. How can one be worthy of such a high status if he does not talk about the important affairs of the court and the secrets of the palace?
How can you puff out your chest with pride in front of these country bumpkins from outside?

Therefore, all kinds of secrets and rumors have always been flying around in the capital city.

I don’t know how many of them are true and false, false and true.

Basically, Zhang San told Li Si that the matter must be kept secret and must not be passed on to a third person, otherwise, his property would be confiscated and he would be beheaded.

Li Si turned around and told Wang Wu, and reminded Wang Wu again that he must never leak the information to anyone.

Wang Wu then told Zhao Liu...

Gradually it became a "big secret" known to everyone.

As for how much exaggeration and misunderstanding there was in the process of transmission, it is hard to say.

After all, if the same thing is passed on verbally by three people, it will definitely be different from the true nature of the matter.

The more people spread it, the more it becomes, and the more bizarre things become.

What happened today was spread so quickly that it is unprecedented in history.

After all, when the Jinyiwei were deployed on such a large scale, everyone knew that something big was going to happen!

Who wouldn’t be curious?
For a time, all kinds of speculations and rumors were spreading.

Different from ordinary people.

The kings, dukes, ministers, nobles, and officials appointed by the court have always kept their distance from rumors in the market.

They all know that words can cause trouble, and they will be more concerned about their status and position. They will not spread rumors easily or ask too many questions in order to ensure safety.

It's none of your business, just hang it up high.

But today, all the officials, princes, and nobles in Jinling City are closely watching the movements of the Jinyiwei led by Zhu Yunhuan.

They are more anxious than ordinary people and more eager to understand the situation.

The Jinyiwei were dispatched in large numbers, so it was definitely not possible that they were targeting civilians.

Those people naturally worry whether they will come to their own homes or to the homes of some relatives or friends and cause trouble for themselves.
At this moment, it was not just King Xian and King Yan who were attracted.

All the princes, nobles, ministers and officials in the city were watching nervously.

Zhu Yunhuan sat in the carriage, and Jiang Lin rode on horseback beside him, asking from time to time about the direction to go.

His Royal Highness the King of Wu did not tell us the destination, but led the way directly.

"tread!"

"tread!"

"tread!"

The large group of Jinyiwei marched forward in silence.

The crowd watching did not dare to point fingers casually.

The discussions all took place in private, secluded places.

Many people watched from afar, feeling the strong murderous intent revealed by the Jinyiwei soldiers, and their hearts began to become nervous.

Is the imperial court going to launch another massive crackdown?
Who will it be this time?

How many more heads will fall?

The group of people walked all the way to an extremely luxurious mansion, and Zhu Yunhuan ordered the team to stop.

"Split half of the people to surround the mansion, and the other half to follow me into the mansion to capture the person."

Jiang Lin looked up and saw the plaque hanging above the house.

On the plaque, a few large characters were clearly visible - Duke Liang's Mansion!
The characters are written in very neat regular script, which is not strange, but it seems as if there are thousands of soldiers and warriors.

The murderous aura came rolling in.

Since the death of Xu Da and Chang Yuchun, the person with the greatest military achievements and the greatest fame in the world was Duke of Liang Lan Yu.

No one expected that His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu would bring a large number of Jinyiwei to the Duke of Liang's Mansion to arrest someone.

Even Jiang Li was shocked and at a loss for a moment.

"Your Highness, this is the Duke of Liang's Mansion."

He quickly reminded in a low voice.

Zhu Yunhuan turned to look at him and said, "Is there any problem?"

Jiang Li bent down, lowered his head, and whispered in his ear: "The Duke of Liang has a very important status and position. He is also your great-uncle. If things get too awkward, it will be embarrassing for everyone."

"If Your Highness wants to go to his mansion to arrest someone, you only need to send someone to deliver a note stating the reason. Then the Duke of Liang's mansion will arrest the person and hand him over to us."

"This way, we won't offend Duke Liang too much, and it will save everyone's face. What do you think, Your Highness?"

Zhu Yunxun said in a serious tone: "This king feels bad."

"Because the person I want to arrest today is none other than my great-uncle, Duke of Liang, Lan Yu!"

Wow!

Jiang Li's body tilted and he almost fell off the horse.

"Your Highness, this is absolutely unacceptable!"

He hurriedly advised loudly: "What kind of status does the Duke of Liang have? How can you arrest him at will without the order of your majesty?"

"An imperial decree?" Zhu Yunhuan said calmly: "Hasn't the Emperor already issued an edict asking you to obey my orders? What? Do you want to disobey the order?" Jiang Lin was stunned again.

Your Majesty did give him an edict, otherwise, he would have refused when Zhu Yunhuan first came to transfer the Jinyiwei.

But Jiang Li didn't know how broad the scope of your Majesty's authorization was, and whether the King of Wu could do whatever he wanted in anything.

Capturing the Duke of Liang is no small matter.
"I dare not!" Jiang Li said, "May I ask why Your Highness wants to arrest Duke Liang? Do you have any solid evidence that he has committed a crime?"

Zhu Yunhuan looked coldly at the gate of the Duke of Liang's mansion and said, "You don't need to ask any more questions. Just follow my orders."

"If the sky falls, I will hold it up for you. It is not your turn, Jiang Li, to bear the responsibility."

Jiang Li took a deep breath and spoke again: "Your Highness, our Jinyiwei have surrounded the Duke of Liang's mansion. Even if the Duke of Liang had wings, he would not be able to escape."

"Why don't we go to the palace right now and report to His Majesty, and let His Majesty make the decision?"

Zhu Yunhuan looked at him deeply, then looked up at the setting sun in the sky and said, "The sun is about to set."

"At this hour, the palace will soon be closed."

"Grandpa Emperor is old, he should rest early at night."

"It is very wrong to enter the palace at this time and disturb his rest."

"Long nights and many dreams."

"I don't know how many eyes are watching from outside at this moment."

"Now that the Jinyiwei have been dispatched, they should capture the criminals with the force of thunder and lightning."

"How can we stop halfway and let people make false comments and make the government and the people uneasy?"

"You don't need to say anything more. Follow me into the palace and take the person away immediately."

After saying that, Zhu Yunhuan jumped off the carriage and strode towards the gate of the Duke of Liang's Mansion.

Seeing this, Jiang Li hurriedly found someone and ordered, "Hurry up and go to the palace immediately to report what happened here to His Majesty."

Upon receiving the order, the man immediately jumped on his horse, whipped the horse hard, and galloped towards the palace gate.

Zhu Yunhuan saw it from the corner of his eye, but did not stop it.

After Jiang Li finished his instructions, he followed.

He just said so much and tried to dissuade people in every way, but in fact, it was just for others to see and hear.

Leave a testimony.

It was His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu who insisted on acting on his own will. As the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he had fulfilled his duty to advise him.

In this way, if His Majesty becomes angry and holds him accountable, his guilt will be much lighter, or even completely exempted from responsibility.

Therefore, he lowered his voice to advise at the beginning, but after knowing that the person Zhu Yunhuan wanted to arrest was Lan Yu, he even deliberately raised his voice a few degrees.

Jiang Li vaguely felt that His Majesty had issued an edict to him specifically to allow the King of Wu to do as he pleased. If he were to stop him again, he would be truly disobeying the Holy Will.

But capturing the Duke of Liang involves too many issues, and he is not sure about the emperor's intentions, so he can only make as many preparations as possible.

In this way, he can stand firm regardless of success or failure.

At this time, Zhu Yunhuan had already walked to the door.

He took a deep breath.

Didn’t Prince of Yan Zhu Di tell him that the Emperor intended to deal with Lan Yu?
As the King of Wu, Yu Zhong, he has to relieve His Majesty's worries.

As the grandson of the emperor, Yu Xiao has to help his grandfather the emperor solve problems.

Lan Yu was his great uncle and the closest to him among the royal children.

If the Emperor wants to capture Lan Yu, then he should take the lead and do it for the Emperor, so as not to put the Emperor in a dilemma!
In this way, he can be a good grandson of the emperor who is both loyal and filial!

Only in this way can he truly "save" Lan Yu and at the same time resolve the unsolvable situation he is facing!

And this is exactly what Lao Zhu is really testing him against!

That night, he was first asked to kill someone to tell him how cruel the things those in power would face were.

Then, the Jinyiwei commander Jiang Lin pretended to surrender.

This is not a simple temptation.

Instead, this action was to remind him that Lan Yu had the ability to do evil things!
He has a significant influence in the army and is unruly, which makes him a potential threat.

If he really has rebellious intentions and there are people who collude with him, the consequences will be disastrous.

The problem of Lan Yu, as well as the problem of military generals and nobles, had to be solved by Zhu Yunhuan himself.

Otherwise, we can only kill them like the people who killed the Park family.

Those in power cannot be merciful and must kill when necessary.

Old Zhu needed him to prove that he, Zhu Yunhu, could really control this group of meritorious officials, arrogant soldiers and generals after Old Zhu's death!
Only in this way would Zhu Yuanzhang not slaughter the generals and nobles headed by Lan Yu, and only in this way could Zhu Yuanzhang be assured of entrusting the country to him.

If not.

No matter how many good poems and lyrics he wrote, or how many groundbreaking inventions he made, it was all in vain!
Whether one can control civil and military officials and govern the country is the most important thing.

If he doesn't understand this, he will soon lose the qualification to compete for the position of crown prince!

The thought is made up.

Zhu Yunhuan stretched out his hand and knocked on the door of the Duke of Liang’s Mansion!

(End of this chapter)