Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 44: One wave has not subsided, but another wave has arisen!
In the distance, Fang Xiaoru was still watching the movements here.

After hearing this conversation, his eyes suddenly lit up.

He immediately turned around and ran straight to Prince Xian's palace.

Night fell little by little and the sky gradually darkened.

The once bustling streets quickly returned to their tranquility.

What happened today was too sudden and unexpected. When Zhu Yunhuan led a group of Jinyiwei and escorted Lan Yu and Fu Ye back to the Prince of Wu's Palace, the aftermath of the incident was still lingering.

Xianwang Palace.

It was already dark at night, and dozens of candles lit up Zhu Yunwen's study.

When Fang Xiaoru returned, Huang Zicheng also rushed back.

Zhu Yunwen hurriedly asked the two about the situation.

Fang Xiaoru took a sip of tea, and then told the two of them everything he had seen outside the Duke of Liang's mansion and all his experiences.

Finally, he said, "How hateful of Lan Yu! I thought he had a hot temper and couldn't tolerate any injustice. But I didn't expect that when the time came, he turned out to be such a coward. He had a chance to resist but missed the opportunity. How hateful! How hateful!"

Huang Zicheng frowned and said, "Strange, from what I know about Lan Yu, he is definitely not that kind of person."

"Why would you be so obedient?"

Zhu Yunwen thought for a moment and said, "Could it be that the two of them had colluded in private a long time ago, and what happened today was just a show for us?"

"No!" Fang Xiaoru and Huang Zicheng both shook their heads in denial.

Fang Xiaoru said: "I saw it with my own eyes. Today's situation is indeed very dangerous. If they are not careful, it will be irreversible for them."

"If Lan Yu and the King of Wu had really discussed it long ago and put on a show for outsiders to see, then Wang Bi would never have led the nobles and generals to stop it."

Huang Zicheng nodded and said, "That's true, but this matter is indeed a bit strange. Lan Yu's reaction was far beyond our expectations."

Soon, he smiled and said, "But it doesn't matter."

"Now that the King of Wu has captured Lan Yu, it has caused such a big commotion. He almost got into a fight with the military generals and nobles led by Wang Bi, resulting in a bloody conflict."

"Although the incident has subsided, the court still wants to hold King Wu accountable."

"I have already contacted the Imperial Censor and several other officials. I will report him severely when we go to court tomorrow."

"We must criticize Lan Yu for his crimes, and we must also criticize the King of Wu for his audacity."

"Using both methods at the same time, neither of them will be able to turn over."

Fang Xiaoru stroked his beard and said, "Brother Huang's method is very good. Lan Yu's arrest is just the beginning of the matter, not the end."

"Tomorrow's court session will all depend on Brother Huang."

"We must defeat both of them in one fell swoop and remove the obstacles to making Prince Xian the crown prince."

Zhu Yunwen was very excited when he heard this, and asked, "Then can we use all the methods we arranged before?"

"No hurry!" Fang Xiaoru shook his head and said, "Your Majesty has always been partial to his relatives. Even if they have committed serious crimes, you cannot bear to punish them severely."

"If we use all our methods at once, your majesty may not kill the King of Wu with one blow."

"It is better to keep it for now. Today you can submit a memorial, and tomorrow you can submit a secret report. The crime will become more serious day by day. As time goes by, the anger accumulated in your Majesty's heart will grow."

"The punishment for King Wu will become increasingly severe, leaving him no chance of recovery."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen bowed in admiration and said, "Mr. Fang is indeed a man who has read many books of sages. The method he came up with is much better than others. It is my fault for not thinking it through."

"Yes, if we follow Mr. Fang's method, we will surely kill him."

Zhu Yunwen paused, and then said hypocritically: "But if you do this, it will inevitably make Grandpa Huang sad and upset every day, which will damage his health. It would be unfilial for me as a grandson."

Fang Xiaoru quickly taught: "Your Highness Prince Xian is kind and filial, but at this moment, you must not hold back."

"After eliminating King Wu, the obstacles to your highness becoming the crown prince have been cleared. In the future, your highness will ascend the throne, take charge of the Ming Dynasty, govern the country well, and let the people live and work in peace and contentment. This will be the greatest loyalty and filial piety to your majesty."

"If you only think about how to prevent His Majesty from being sad, you won't completely defeat the King of Wu, so that he will have a chance to rise again and seize the Ming Dynasty."

"That would be a disservice to His Majesty and to the people of the world. That would be truly unfilial."

"If the Ming Dynasty is handed over to him, Your Highness will be a sinner of the Zhu family and the billions of people in the world!"

Zhu Yunwen stood up in awe and said, "Teacher, your teachings are very true. I have learned a lot from you!"

Huang Zicheng said: "The most important thing right now is how to convict Lan Yu and King Wu in the court tomorrow. We need to discuss this matter carefully."

Zhu Yunwen nodded and said, "Yes, we can't let our guard down. That day in the court, he openly demanded the position of crown prince and the Ming Dynasty, but in the end he was able to escape unscathed."

"He was the one who initiated today's incident. He must have made all the necessary preparations."

"We must not underestimate the enemy."

Fang Xiaoru smiled and said, "There is a ready-made plan. That is, we should seize Lan Yu tonight, interrogate him overnight, convict him first, make a solid case, and implicate the King of Wu." "Just say that the King of Wu and Lan Yu conspired to rebel, and the King of Wu arrested Lan Yu when he saw that the conspiracy was exposed."

"With Lan Yu's confession and accusation, it's a done deal, and no one can overturn the verdict."

Huang Zicheng was stunned and said, "But Lan Yu is in the hands of King Wu and is guarded by the Jinyiwei. How can we snatch her away?"

"Could it be possible that Brother Fang could incite the Jinyiwei commander Jiang Li to rebel?"

Fang Xiaoru smiled and shook his head, saying, "Of course that won't work."

"However, a few years ago, your majesty took away the Jinyiwei's authority to interrogate and detain prisoners. Have you all forgotten that?"

"The Jinyiwei prison is now empty. It has not been used for many years, and the torture instruments have been destroyed and have never been replaced."

"King Wu has taken Lan Yu and Fu Ye to his palace."

"In my opinion, they will discuss it tonight, and it is possible that they will even make peace again."

"The only solution now is to order the three judicial officials to come forward."

"If Lan Yu is innocent, he shouldn't be arrested."

"If Lan Yu committed a crime, according to the laws of this dynasty, he should be imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice. How can it be related to the Wu Palace?"

Huang Zicheng's eyes lit up and he stood up suddenly.

"I was so absorbed in listening to you just now that I missed this part."

"We can immediately contact the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Metropolitan Procuratorate and ask them to come forward to negotiate and order the King of Wu to hand over the prisoner to the Ministry of Justice."

"As long as he arrives at the Ministry of Justice, we can interrogate him overnight. Under severe torture, Lan Yu will have to confess whatever he is told to do!"

Zhu Yunwen frowned and said, "I'm afraid he won't hand over Lan Yu. Even Wang Bi and several thousand sons of nobles and military officers couldn't get him to hand over Lan Yu. If the three judicial officials go to negotiate, will he hand him over?"

"That's different!" Huang Zicheng said, "Although Wang Bi is under the pretext of suppressing the rebellion, everyone knows that the King of Wu is acting rashly, but he is definitely not rebelling."

"So much time has passed, and your majesty has not issued an imperial decree to stop it, which means he tacitly approves it."

"Wang Bi is not in a good position, and if he really starts fighting, no matter what the result is, he will not end up well."

"But the three judicial officials went to negotiate and asked King Wu to hand over the person and escort him to the Ministry of Justice. This is only natural and in accordance with the laws of the Ming Dynasty. What reason does King Wu have to refuse to hand him over?"

"The Ministry of Justice also has soldiers and horses to protect it. If the King of Wu can capture Lan Yu, can't the Ministry of Justice capture people?"

"If the Ministry of Justice, the Supreme Court, and the Censorate jointly negotiate and he still refuses to hand over Lan Yu, then he is harboring evil intentions in arresting Lan Yu, which is unacceptable no matter what!"

"However, this matter is of great importance. Although I know the three people, including Yang Jing, the Minister of Justice, Zhou Zhiqing, the Minister of the Supreme Court, and Yuan Tai, the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, we are not close friends."

"I'm afraid His Royal Highness Prince Xian will have to come forward in person to get things done!"

Zhu Yunwen hesitated and said, "If I come forward and Grandpa knows about this, I'm afraid he will think that we are brothers who are at odds with each other and are deliberately fighting each other. Isn't that a bad idea?"

He always paid great attention to his benevolent and filial image in Zhu Yuanzhang's mind. Even though he hated Zhu Yunhuan to death in his heart, he still acted like a friendly and respectful brother on the surface.

"No!" Huang Zicheng said, "If it's something else, Your Highness would not be able to show up."

"But let the three judicial officials make a fair judgment and transfer the person to the Ministry of Justice for detention. This is not a fight between brothers, but a brother's love for his younger brother. In order to prevent Lan Yu from having any accidents in the Prince of Wu's mansion, the Prince of Wu will not be able to explain himself even if he has a mouth full of words."

"Your Highness acts this way out of love for his brother. What can outsiders or Your Majesty say?"

This statement is somewhat self-deceptive.

Old Zhu is such a shrewd person, how could he not see through his little plan?

However, this is also the difference between Huang Zicheng and top strategists.

He thought himself to be very smart, careful, wise and capable of planning everything.

In fact, when he was holding back, he was still barely passing.

Once you start planning something big, even the slightest mistake will lead to a huge error.

In history, Zhu Yunwen was led into trouble because he listened to him.

"There is one more!" Fang Xiaoru added: "Lan Yu has been arrested, but how to convict him has not yet been determined."

"The King of Wu imprisoned him in his own palace, probably in an attempt to exonerate Lan Yu."

"But trying cases and questioning people is the duty of the three judicial departments. According to the law, Lan Yu's case should be tried jointly by the three judicial departments."

“If the Three Courts go to ask for the release of Lan Yu, and the King of Wu refuses to give it to him, he will offend the Three Courts. Then, when they try Lan Yu’s case in the future…”

Fang Xiaoru stroked his beard and stopped talking.

The meaning is obvious.

"Great!" Zhu Yunwen clapped his hands. "Then let's set off immediately without delay. We must get Lan Yu, interrogate her overnight, and make it a solid case!"

(End of this chapter)