Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 42 Who is the traitor? A critical moment!
"May I ask Your Highness, King Wu, do you want to rebel?"

It was a simple sentence, yet it seemed so strange.

The King of Wu is the biological son of the late Crown Prince and the grandson of the current Emperor.

He lived in the deep palace for many years and did not have much interaction with the civil and military officials in the court.

Until recently, when he made shocking remarks in the court and was named King of Wu by His Majesty, he became known to people outside.

How could such a person rebel?
Even if he really rebelled, how many people in the court would support him?

However, considering that not long ago, he openly demanded the position of crown prince and the Ming Dynasty in the court, it seems somewhat reasonable.

After all, it involves a fight for the throne.

The higher the rank of a prince or a grandson of an emperor, the more likely he is to do something improper.

Wang Bi came on with great force, and as soon as he opened his mouth, he was labeled as righteous.

His eyes swept over Lan Yu and Fu Ye, and seeing that they were both tied up, his face became even angrier.

Wang Bi followed Lan Yu in his battles for many years, and had a deep friendship with Lan Yu and was extremely loyal to him.

Upon hearing that Zhu Yunhuan led the Embroidered Uniform Guards to surround the Duke of Liang's Mansion without an imperial edict, Wang Bi immediately contacted a group of nobles and generals in the capital, led the servants and guards of each mansion, and attacked aggressively.

Among the nobles and generals in Jinling City, which family does not have hundreds of servants?

Moreover, most of these servants are retired veterans who have fought on the battlefield for many years.

Just a few dozen homes of nobles and military generals can gather thousands of people.

The only drawback is that, except for the generals, the servants have no armor.

There are also various types of weapons, including spears, broadswords, and steel forks...

The Ming Dynasty government prohibited private possession of armor by the public, but did not ban swords and other weapons.

The clothes they wore were all different and looked very messy.

But these people are not ordinary people, they are full of momentum.

Wang Bi could not bear to see Lan Yu arrested, so he had to find a way to rescue him.

Although Zhu Yunhuan did not have the imperial edict in his hands, he had sufficient reasons to act.

Even if His Majesty tacitly approves this matter, you can pretend not to know.

As long as enough military generals and nobles are involved, the law cannot hold them all responsible. Even Your Majesty will be afraid to act rashly, and the matter will end up in nothing.

Lan Yu will also be saved because of this.

Only after he made up his mind did he lead the crowd here.

Zhu Gaoxu immediately jumped up and shouted, "Brother Wu Wang, you don't really want to rebel, do you?"

"How can you be worthy of Grandpa Huang?"

"That's right. Brother King Wu has always wanted to be the crown prince and ascend the throne as soon as possible. This is known to everyone in the world."

"Brother Wu Wang covets the Ming Dynasty."

"But, Brother Wu Wang, you can't rebel!"

"Hurry up and surrender, and apologize to Grandpa Emperor!"

"Grandpa Emperor has always loved you and will definitely not punish you severely."

Zhu Yunhuan looked at him deeply.

No wonder Zhu Gaoxu rebelled later.

Judging from his personality, it is obvious that he has been a naughty child since childhood.

Seeing Zhu Yunhuan's gaze, Zhu Gaoxu immediately shouted, "Brother Wu Wang, you are not going to kill me, are you?"

"I'm just trying to advise you out of kindness!"

"If you rebel now and try to seize the Ming Dynasty, you will definitely not be able to defeat Grandpa Emperor!"

"It would be better to surrender early and let Grandfather Emperor deal with you, so as to reduce your guilt!"

He ran towards Wang Bi again, shouting, "I am the second son of the King of Yan, Marquis Dingyuan, please save me!"

Such behavior even shocked Zhu Gaochi who was standing next to him.

With no other choice, he had to follow Zhu Gaoxu and run out.

Wang Bi laughed out loud when he saw this.

He rode up to the two of them and said, "Please rest assured, my two young princes, I am here to protect your safety."

He looked up at Zhu Yunhuan and shouted, "Your Highness, the rebellion has been exposed. I am leading thousands of nobles and military officers in the capital to suppress the rebellion. Why don't you turn back and surrender?"

Then he turned to Jiang Li and other Jinyiwei and said, "You Jinyiwei are the personal soldiers of His Majesty. How can you join the King of Wu in rebellion?"

"Do you know that the laws of the country are clear? Now quickly lay down your weapons and capture the King of Wu. His Majesty may show leniency to you."

Hearing these words, the Jinyiwei suddenly became agitated.

They certainly wouldn't believe that His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu was rebelling.

However, it was the King of Wu himself who admitted that there was no order to surround the Duke of Liang's mansion and capture Duke of Liang Lan Yu.

How should we determine the nature of this matter?

Would it be a big taboo for Your Majesty if the Jinyiwei followed the King of Wu?

Many people have doubts in their hearts!
At this moment, after hearing Wang Bi's shout, he became even more hesitant.

Will this action really be charged as a crime of "rebellion"?
After all, they had all heard about the King of Wu openly asking for the position of crown prince.

If you arrest Duke Liang without authorization now...

Whether or not to punish, and how to punish, all depends on Your Majesty's decision.

If your majesty allows it, then everything will be fine. If your majesty is unhappy and blames the king of Wu for doing this, then...

Will these people be unlucky?

The Jinyiwei soldiers couldn't help but feel a little nervous at this moment.

Only the leader Jiang Li was calm.

Judging from the time, the person who went to the palace to report the news should have delivered the letter long ago.

If Your Majesty intends to stop it, then the person who delivered the order should have come by now.

But there has been no response so far, which means that Your Majesty is deliberately ignoring it and acquiescing to the King of Wu's self-willed behavior.

Thinking about the fact that His Majesty had already issued an order for him to follow the orders of the King of Wu, Jiang Li was naturally calm.

Seeing the Jinyiwei beside him in commotion, he quickly shouted: "Don't listen to Wang Bi's nonsense. It's clear that he gathered a crowd to surround the Jinyiwei and wanted to do something that was not against him, but he wanted to turn the tables on them."

"Your Highness the King of Wu is the grandson of the Emperor. How can we tolerate his nonsense and slander like this?"

"Your Majesty has already ordered us, the Jinyiwei, to follow the orders of the King of Wu."

"Anyone who disobeys orders is disobeying the order!"

After hearing the commander's words, the Jinyiwei calmed down a little.

Since the commander-in-chief has spoken so decisively, if His Majesty really holds them accountable in the future, it will have nothing to do with them.

After all, they were just following orders.

Wang Bi said coldly: "The two children of His Royal Highness Prince Yan have seen through His Royal Highness Prince Wu's evil ambitions. As the commander of the Jinyiwei, how could you not see it, Jiang Li?"

"Now they are deliberately confusing the public. It is obvious that they are colluding with them and intending to rebel. Don't blame me for being ruthless."

As soon as his voice fell, the large group of people behind him followed suit and moved forward again.

The sudden change shocked everyone watching.

Fang Xiaoru was extremely delighted.

When he saw Lan Yu surrender without resistance, he was filled with hatred and blamed Lan Yu for being so spineless.

Unexpectedly, Wang Bi brought a group of sons of nobles and military generals in the capital to rescue Lan Yu.

This caused a much bigger commotion than if Lan Yu had directly rebelled.

After this incident, no matter what the outcome, what can Zhu Yunhuan use to fight for the position of crown prince?
Fang Xiaoru smiled proudly.

His beard trembled, as if he saw the scene of Zhu Yunhuan being deposed.

At this time, Zhu Yunhuan walked forward from behind Jiang Lin.

His expression was very calm, without any trace of panic, as if everything was within his expectations.

"Wang Bi, you said that arresting the Duke of Liang without my permission was a rebellion."

"But you brought so many people to besiege me and the Jinyiwei. Did you have the emperor's order?"

"If there is no decree, I'm afraid you are the ones who are rebelling, right?"

Wang Bi laughed loudly on horseback and said, "As the Marquis of Dingyuan of the Ming Dynasty, I have the responsibility to quell the rebellion."

"This is an urgent matter. I don't have time to report it to His Majesty. It is my duty to lead the people to quell the rebellion first."

"After the rebellion is quelled, I will go to the palace and personally plead guilty to Your Majesty, so Your Highness will not have to worry about it."

"Your Highness was deceived by a demon today and committed an illegal act. If I sit back and do nothing, I am unworthy of being a loyal minister of the Ming Dynasty!"

"All soldiers, listen to my orders. Follow me forward to rescue the Duke of Liang and capture the King of Wu!"

Give an order.

In the rear, the sons of nobles, military generals, and their personal guards and servants suddenly started fighting and killing.

They shouted loudly and rushed towards Zhu Yunhuan.

Seeing this, Jiang Li suddenly drew his sword.

"Jinyiwei listen to your order, Dingyuan Hou Wang Bi is plotting a rebellion, we swear to protect His Royal Highness the King of Wu until our death!"

"brush!"

"brush!"

"brush!"

……

A series of sword-drawing sounds rang out one after another.

The sky was already getting dark, with only a few traces of sunset glow remaining. A slightly cool night breeze suddenly arose, and the battle between the two sides was about to break out.

Zhu Gaoxu shouted excitedly: "Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! The more the better! Kill until blood flows like a river! Kill until heads roll like a river! Traitors, all traitors, kill them all, not one will be spared!"

He clapped his hands and cheered, his face, which still retained some of its childishness, was beaming with a bright smile, looking very happy and proud.

Zhu Yunhuan's expression remained unchanged.

Apart from briefly reprimanding Wang Bi just now, he did nothing else.

Even though a war between the two sides was about to break out, he remained extremely calm.

He seemed to be confident and everything was under control.

"Stop it!"

Sudden.

A roar sounded like thunder.

(End of this chapter)