Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 72 Yang Shiqi's Plan
The room was silent.

Just now, Yang Shiqi had repeatedly checked the outside, including the next room, and ordered the guards to guard the outside tightly.

Not to mention a human, even a fly wouldn't be able to fly in.

Seeing that he was very serious, Zhu Yunhuan said, "What is your plan? How can we use it? Mr. Yang, why don't you just tell me directly."

Yang Shiqi considered, "Your Highness has been frightened this time, do you want to take revenge?"

"Of course I thought so." Zhu Yunxun said, "If I knew who the real murderer was, I would kill him as soon as possible."

Now that others are coming to kill him, of course he can't be merciful.

If someone wants to kill you, you will feel uneasy if you don't kill him.

Even if that person is really Qin Wang Zhu Chong!

So what if he’s your uncle?

He didn't even go easy on me, so why should I go easy on him?

I heard that Prince Qin Zhu Chong has always been cruel and vicious to the servants in his mansion. Perhaps that was the opportunity to kill him.

Yang Shiqi's eyes flickered, and he was silent for a while before he said, "If Your Highness were an ordinary person, or a chivalrous knight, he would be able to take revenge as he pleased."

"But Your Highness is about to take charge of the country and shoulder the responsibility of the Ming Dynasty, so it is best to put away such emotions."

"Sometimes, those in power cannot have ordinary human emotions, ordinary love, hate, and vengeance, but must serve political interests in everything they do."

Zhu Yunhuan was stunned and looked at him in surprise.

Yang Shiqi said: "Wang Baobao of the Northern Yuan Dynasty led his army to stop our Ming Dynasty's northern expedition many times, and led his army to defeat the Ming army and killed countless of our soldiers."

"Your Highness, do you think His Majesty hates him?"

"However, His Majesty ordered the King of Qin to marry Wang Baobao's sister Wang Yuemin and made her the King of Qin's principal wife."

"This is how we can form a marriage alliance with Wang Baobao."

"Your Highness, why do you think His Majesty would do this?"

His voice fell and the room became very quiet.

Zhu Yunhuan did not answer.

Because the answer is obvious.

for a long time.

Zhu Yunhuan said, "You mean that those in power should abandon their personal emotions, love, hate, and grudges, and do everything only for political gain."

"But if a person has no emotions, what's the difference between him and a walking corpse?"

"Grandpa Emperor, he is also a man of temperament, not a cold-blooded person."

He knew that what Yang Shiqi said was right, and it was true in theory.

But if that is the case, then what is he?
A ruthless political machine?

Are you still human?

Yang Shiqi laughed and said, "Humans are not plants or trees, so who can be heartless?"

"I am not advising Your Highness to abandon emotions. Your Highness can certainly follow your own emotions and do what you like."

"I want to tell Your Highness that as a superior, you should restrain your personal emotions when necessary, such as now!"

Zhu Yunxun said coldly: "Even if I can let him go, he wants to kill me."

"It's not important!" Yang Shiqi shook his head gently and said, "If Your Highness is just a commoner and someone wants to kill Your Highness, then Your Highness should naturally take the initiative and find a way to get rid of the other party. This is correct."

"If you are afraid to take action, you will be in an extremely disadvantageous situation."

"Kindness to your enemies is cruelty to yourself."

"But your highness is not a commoner."

"As a person in a higher position, it is perfectly normal for someone in this world to want to kill you."

"As a superior, Your Highness will always have countless enemies!"

"As a superior, it is impossible to eliminate all enemies no matter what."

"Your Highness is protected by someone. As long as you are well prepared, they will not be a threat to Your Highness."

Zhu Yunhuan frowned slightly.

What Yang Shiqi said was absolutely correct.

As a person in a high position, you are bound to have countless enemies.

There are losers in the political struggle, people whose interests are damaged by various policies, and all kinds of opponents in the country...

There are also hostile countries, hostile forces, etc. abroad.

How can the people in power of a country be without enemies?

As long as you are in power, there will be countless open and covert attacks.

No matter how good a ruler is, there will always be people who are dissatisfied with him.

It's just a matter of different proportions.

For example, a tyrant may displease 90 percent of the people.

However, for a wise ruler, only 10 percent of the people may be dissatisfied with him.

That's the difference.

It is obviously impossible for a superior to satisfy 100% of the people.

No one can have 100% support rate!

"So, someone wants to kill Your Highness, but it doesn't really matter!" Yang Shiqi said.

"All your Highness needs to do is strengthen your defenses."

"If something like this happens again, we can either find out before they take action, or we can subdue them as soon as they take action, so that Your Highness will not be unnecessarily frightened."

“This is what needs to be done.”

“Nip problems before they happen!”

Zhu Yunhuan was silent and thoughtful.

A long time passed.

He suddenly remembered something and asked, "The secret agents of the Jinyiwei and the Jianxiu are all over Jinling City. Any disturbance in the city cannot be hidden from them."

"But this time, they didn't have any warning."

"Mr. Yang, what do you think is the reason?"

Yang Shiqi smiled and said, "I know that Your Highness suspects that there is a traitor among them, or that they have been bribed."

"However, in my opinion, this possibility is not very high."

"Your Majesty is a man of great talent, and has a firm grasp on the Imperial Guards and the Inspectors. You will never allow such a thing to happen."

"The most likely scenario is that they really didn't find out."

"The Park family are all fugitives, so they must be extremely secretive."

"Although the Jinyiwei spies and the inspectors are omnipresent, they are not omnipotent after all."

"One hundred secrets and one sparse!"

"It is normal that information is occasionally missed."

"No matter how powerful they are, they are still human beings, not gods."

“It is impossible for a human being to have no omissions, and it is impossible for a human being to never make mistakes.”

Zhu Yunxun was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses.

Yes.

Sometimes I have preconceived ideas and over-glorify the Jinyiwei spies and inspectors in my heart.

They are indeed omnipresent, but it is impossible for them to know everything.

Jinling City is so big that there are always some things that are missed.

In the future, the Skynet system will be everywhere and the surveillance will be dense, but there will still be omissions.

Not to mention that in this era, there is no high-tech means to add, everything depends entirely on manpower.

After another moment of silence, Zhu Yunxun asked, "What exactly do you want to do with this incident?"

"Tracking the real murderer!" Yang Shiqi smiled faintly.

Zhu Yunhuan's pupils shrank slightly, and he said, "You just told me not to think about revenge and to control my emotions."

Yang Shiqi nodded slightly and said with a smile: "Yes, revenge or not, it's not important."

"It doesn't even matter who the real culprit is."

"Because even if we want to investigate, it's not easy to find the real culprit."

“It is very possible to waste a lot of time and energy for nothing.”

"But it is important to use this matter in a clever way and track down the real culprit!"

These sentences seem a bit confusing.

But the meaning is actually very clear!

When his voice fell, he looked at Zhu Yunhuan again and added a few more words.

"If the real culprit is found by accident and the situation permits, no unnecessary harm will be caused to Your Highness."

"I will not stop Your Highness from taking revenge today."

"But right now, our most important thing is to make a big fuss about this matter, help His Highness defeat the enemy, and gain benefits."

Zhu Yunhuan looked at him, a gleam of light flashing in his eyes.

He shifted slightly on the bed and asked, "Then in your opinion, who should we use this incident to deal with?"

When Yang Shiqi heard this, the expression on his face became somewhat hesitant.

He opened his mouth, but stopped talking.

Zhu Yunhuan couldn't help but smile and said, "Mr. Yang, although we just met yesterday, I will open my heart to you and tell you everything."

"Don't doubt people who are suspicious of you, don't doubt those who are employed."

"Since I employ you, I won't have any doubts about you."

"Sir, if you have anything to say, just say it directly. There is no need to be cautious."

Yang Shiqi looked at him, his expression gradually firming, and said, "Since Your Highness has said so, I will tell you everything I know."

After he finished speaking, he paused, as if considering how to start.

half an hour.

Then he said, "As the saying goes, 'distant relatives cannot separate close ones'. There are some things that I, as an outsider, really shouldn't say, but I have to say them."

He spoke slowly.

"Your Highness was in the court today and received the promise from His Majesty, but he was assassinated as soon as he came out."

"It also shows that the situation His Highness is facing is not very good."

"Instead, you are surrounded by powerful enemies, all of whom are eyeing your Highness with eagerness."

"As long as Your Majesty does not officially issue an edict to appoint Your Highness as the crown prince and make it known to the world, Your Highness must not relax for a single day."

“This is the final moment.”

"Those who don't want Your Highness to become the crown prince will definitely fight back desperately."

He quickly continued, "Even if a formal imperial edict is issued and Your Highness becomes the crown prince, you still cannot relax."

“A journey of a hundred miles begins with a single step.”

"As we get closer to the final moment, we must be more alert and not let our guard down for even a moment."

"Just like what happened today, everything went smoothly, but once you leave the palace, you suddenly encounter a big change."

Zhu Yunhuan listened to his words and also took a deep breath.

The world only sees the smugness of those in power. Only when you are in the middle of the situation can you understand the thrilling and murderous intentions in it.

"Whether the King of Qin is behind this is still unclear."

"But no matter if it's him or not, your Highness's biggest enemy right now is not the King of Qin."

Yang Shiqi's expression became more and more serious. He stared into Zhu Yunhuan's eyes and asked:
"I heard that Your Highness lost his mother when he was young, and it was Concubine Lu who raised him, so he has a deep relationship with her. Is this true?"

Uh……

My predecessor must have had deep feelings for Concubine Lu.

I was fooled by her and played around by her.

After selling it, I'm afraid I'll have to help her count the money.

Zhu Yunhuan thought secretly and laughed: "In the past, Gou Jian slept on firewood and tasted gall, and twenty years later, he conquered Wu with only 3,000 Yue soldiers."

"King Zhuang of Chu was silent for three years, but when he did, he shocked the world."

"I was still young at that time, and all matters, big and small, were handled by others."

"She raised him since he was young. If she wanted to create an accident and kill a little kid without anyone noticing, it would be easy for her to do so."

"If I hadn't shown that I had deep feelings for her, I'm afraid I would have died a long time ago."

"Now that times have changed and I am no longer under her control, I have established my own residence. Things are no longer the same as they were before."

Yang Shiqi's face was full of surprise and shock.

He looked at Zhu Yunhuan deeply, his expression full of admiration, and praised: "It turns out that your highness was born different. He has understood the principle of dormancy since he was a child."

"It is I, Yang, who underestimated Your Highness."

"Your Highness is truly a man of God!"

Zhu Yunhuan remained calm and accepted his flattery while lying down.

Yang Shiqi said: "Since Your Highness already knows it well."

"Then it will be much easier for me to say."

"Since your Highness stepped forward that day to fight for the position of crown prince, what your Highness has been blocking is the path of King Xian."

"I'm afraid he already hates your Highness to the core."

Zhu Yunxun smiled and said, "That's for sure."

"However, my second brother has been good at acting since he was a child. He likes to pretend to be gentle, polite, filial and humble."

"People who don't know him might think he's really a gentleman."

"Even Grandpa Huang was almost fooled by his fake face."

"Although he hates me deep down, he won't show it on the surface."

Yang Shiqi sighed softly: "Who in this world doesn't want to act?"

He stood up, took two steps, turned around and said, "Your Highness's biggest rival right now is not the King of Qin, not the King of Jin, and certainly not the King of Yan."

"Although these princes hold great power, guard one side, and can command thousands of troops."

"But none of them pose as much of a threat to Your Highness as your second brother."

When Zhu Yunhuan heard this, he couldn't help but think of the strong support of the civil service group for Zhu Yunwen.

Zhu Yunwen's identity is actually very special.

Her mother, Ms. Lu, was the daughter of Lu Ben.

Lu Ben was a civil servant who had served as the Minister of Personnel and the Minister of Rites.

The Minister of Personnel is a celestial official who is in charge of official information, personnel evaluation and appointment. He can decide the promotion of many officials and influence the careers of a large number of officials.

Although the Minister of Rites was in charge of matters such as etiquette, sacrifices, banquets, etc. in the court, he also had a crucial power.

That is to be responsible for the imperial examination held every three years in spring, so his students and former officials are spread all over the country.

A person who has served as the Minister of Personnel and the Minister of Rites must have very deep connections in the court.

It is worth mentioning that although Lü Ben was a civil servant, he was from Fengyang.

He is a fellow villager of Zhu Yuanzhang.

The political forces in the early Ming Dynasty were divided into civil and military forces, but more importantly, they were the Huaixi nobles and the Zhejiang East Group.

The Huaixi nobles were the first people to follow Zhu Yuanzhang in his conquest of the world, and they had great influence in the court.

Although a large number of people were executed after the "Hu Weiyong case", there were still many people like Lan Yu and Feng Sheng who still had a strong foundation.

Among them, most were military generals and nobles, and there were very few civil servants.

The Zhejiang East Group is different.

The Zhejiang East Group was headed by Liu Bowen, and was basically composed of civil officials, with very few military generals.

Although Liu Bowen has passed away long ago, other leaders have either been demoted, executed or exiled, or have become sick and old.

But at the same time, their power is still there and there are still people to succeed them.

After all, the imperial court relies on scholars to govern the country.

Zhu Yuanzhang also had to balance power within the court.

What makes Lu Ben special is that he should have been one of the Huaixi nobles.

However, because he was a literati himself, he had close relations with the literati of the Zhejiang East Group.

One can imagine how deep his network of contacts is for such a person who is so popular and powerful.

Moreover, Lu Ben had no sons, only an only daughter, Lu.

Although Lü Ben is no longer with us, all the political resources he once accumulated were naturally left to the Lü family.

Lu was Zhu Yunwen's biological mother.

This is why the civil service group gave Zhu Yunwen their unstinting support.

Yang Shiqi said in a deep voice: "The threat that Prince Xian poses to Your Highness is not because of his power or ability, but because of Concubine Lu standing behind him."

"And Concubine Lu is probably the biggest threat that Your Highness will face next."

His voice was low, deliberately hushed.

Even though he had personally checked the situation outside and the guards were guarding the place tightly, he still subconsciously spoke in a low voice for fear of any leak.

But this sound, which was only faintly audible, became extremely loud when it entered the ears.

It’s just because what was said was too shocking.

The candlelight flickered in the room, illuminating Yang Shiqi's face.

The solemnity is clearly visible.

Zhu Yunhuan coughed twice lightly.

Once again he moved his lying body.

"Your Highness relied on the word 'filial piety' to win today's court battle."

"But Concubine Lu raised Your Highness since he was a child, and she was appointed Crown Princess by His Majesty's personal decree."

"According to etiquette, Your Highness must serve her like your own mother."

"Your Highness, be filial!"

"Then she is naturally at a great advantage. It would be easy for her to use this to blackmail Your Highness."

"Perhaps, His Majesty saw this clearly, and immediately found an excuse to confer the title of King of Wu on Your Highness after Your Highness stood up to compete for the position of crown prince, and ordered Your Highness to build an independent residence."

Does Lao Zhu really have this intention?

Zhu Yunhuan was not sure either.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang has always been a shrewd and calculating person, so it is not surprising that he really has such an intention.

When Zhu Biao was alive, he asked Zhu Biao to treat his concubine as a mother.

Zhu Biao refused to accept this, so Zhu chased him and beat him.

Lu had already been made the legitimate wife by Zhu Yuanzhang's order, and she had raised him for more than ten years.

Although she is not his biological mother, he cannot escape the mother's duty.

Yang Shiqi continued:

"If Your Highness is still in the East Palace and has not moved out, I am afraid that a big mistake has been made and it is difficult to recover."

"After all, His Highness is only in his teens and has not yet performed the coming-of-age ceremony."

"As a mother, it would be easy for Concubine Lu to frame a child if she wanted to."

"Even though Your Highness is now the King of Wu, and has been designated by His Majesty as the future successor to the Ming Empire, he still cannot escape the word 'filial piety'."

"Filial piety is greater than heaven!"

Yang Shiqi's tone was short and powerful: "The other party raised the word "filial piety" and Your Highness had no power to fight back at all, and it was even difficult for him to defend himself!"

He was a scholar and was well versed in Confucian etiquette.

But it is precisely because of understanding that we realize how terrible it is.

Zhu Yunhuan suddenly remembered Tie Xuan who guarded Jinan during the Jingnan Campaign.

This man relied on hanging Zhu Yuanzhang's portrait on the city wall and inscribing a large number of Zhu Yuanzhang's spirit tablets, which prevented hundreds of thousands of Yan troops from daring to attack, and thus he defended the city of Jinan.

To later generations, this seems ridiculous.

When two armies are at war, how could they not dare to fire because of a painting?

But in the eyes of people of this era, it is taken for granted.

After all, in this era, filial piety is more important than anything else!

No one dares to bear the stigma of being unfilial!

What's more, Zhu Yunhuan has not yet performed the coming-of-age ceremony.

In later times, he was a minor and Lu was his guardian who could help him make decisions and make decisions for him.

He has no autonomy!

Although this era is a little different.

After all, he was the King of Wu appointed by His Majesty himself. Even though he was only fourteen or fifteen years old, he could decide many things on his own.

But if Lu personally stepped forward, he could also make the decision for the young boy, and even his rebuttal would be useless!

It is only natural for a mother to make decisions for her son who is fourteen or fifteen years old!
If the mother wanted to harm her son, she would have countless ways to do it!
"Your Majesty was born in poverty, and both his parents died when he was young."

"Therefore, the ties between blood and family are even more important."

"Your Highness, even if you win a hundred times in a duel with King Xian, it will be difficult to completely defeat him."

"Your Majesty will not allow it."

"He is, after all, the son of the late crown prince."

"But as long as Prince Xian and Concubine Lu are still around, their feud with Your Highness over the throne cannot be resolved."

"They will always be the biggest threat to Your Highness!"

"Even if Your Highness is appointed as the crown prince and filial piety is the most important thing, he still cannot escape this threat."

"Unless His Highness ascends to the throne!"

"Or after Your Highness reaches adulthood and has his coming-of-age ceremony, it will be difficult for Concubine Lu to use her mother's name to pressure you again."

"Your Highness still has five or six years to go before your coming-of-age ceremony."

“It’s definitely not easy to get through this period smoothly.”

"But there is no other way except this!"

"unless……"

He stopped, then looked at Zhu Yunhuan, with two rays of light shooting out of his eyes.

Yang Shiqi said calmly: "Unless the person who assassinated you today was the mastermind behind the scenes, Prince Xian and Concubine Lu."

(End of this chapter)