Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 91 Evidence! Great move!

The autumn breeze blows gently.

The water in the glass pool in the palace is rippling and clear.

But above the water, the lotus leaves have withered and the lotus pods are drooping.

A few remaining lotus leaves sway gently.

The withered lotus leaves listen to the wind and hear the chirping sounds.

There are fish in the pond swimming in the interweaving of light and dark shadows, occasionally jumping out of the water, exhaling lightly, creating layers of ripples.

The three of them sat in the pavilion beside the pond, each with different thoughts.

Fang Xiaoru and Huang Zicheng naturally had no idea what Zhu Yunwen was thinking.

What they didn't know was that he had secretly set up another killing plan.

The two were still discussing matters of state.

"He currently holds the power of regent and has the power to decide the life and death of all civil and military officials. We are naturally in a very passive position."

Huang Zicheng said with a slightly cold tone, "If God wants him to die, he will make him crazy."

"The more arrogant he is, the faster he will perish."

After a short pause, he continued, "We have painstakingly compiled the thirty-six charges against the King of Wu, but the situation in the court changed dramatically that day, which was beyond our expectations."

"These charges and related memorials were temporarily suppressed."

“But what we do is by no means in vain.”

"When the time comes, you can present it to Your Majesty again."

"Time was tight at the time, and the indictment was very crude and had many inaccuracies that could not withstand scrutiny."

"Afterwards, I repeatedly reviewed and supplemented the evidence, and made it very solid and reliable, without any loopholes."

"Based on his actions over the past few days, three more serious crimes have been added to his charges, bringing the total to thirty-nine crimes, all of which are very serious."

"All we have to wait for now is an opportunity."

Zhu Yunwen came back to his senses while thinking, and said, "We had people spread the rumor before that we should make King Wu the crown prince and let him ascend the throne so that the world can prosper. Now it seems that this is not appropriate."

"Judging from Grandpa Huang's words and actions in front of His Highness that day, Grandpa Huang will most likely not doubt him because of this."

"Maybe I'll be happier."

"He has gained a good reputation for nothing, and has gained the emperor's favor because of it. This plan cannot be implemented any further."

"It's too late to stop now!" Fang Xiaoru shook his head and said, "After the news spreads, people in the market will spread it everywhere with exaggerations. Even if we stop doing it, they will continue to spread it."

“One person tells ten people, ten people tell a hundred people, a hundred people tell a thousand people, a thousand people tell ten thousand people.”

"During this period of time, there are probably hundreds of thousands of people in Jinling who know about this rumor."

"It is impossible for us to publicly come out and refute the rumors about this matter, so how can we stop it?"

Zhu Yunwen's expression changed suddenly.

I and others have been planning for a long time and have spent a lot of time and energy.

But the result is to prepare wedding clothes for Zhu Yunhuan?
Even though he knew that Zhu Yunhuan would definitely die at the hands of himself and his mother, he still felt indignant when he thought about it now.

"Pa!" Zhu Yunwen slammed his palm onto the stone table in the pavilion.

He used too much force this time and felt an extremely painful hand for an instant. He didn't dare to scream out and could only endure it, his expression becoming extremely painful.

"The temperament of our Majesty is indeed beyond our previous expectations."

Huang Zicheng sighed slowly, "Since ancient times, the royal family has no selfish feelings. As an emperor, there is no one who does not suspect the crown prince."

"However, your Majesty is different from others and cannot be judged by common sense."

"Perhaps it is because Your Majesty was born in a humble family and lacked family affection since childhood, so he places special importance on me."

"However, I think our previous trick may not be a bad idea."

Huang Zicheng looked at the fish swimming in the pool and said calmly, "Your Majesty has a good relationship with him at this moment. These rumors will only make Your Majesty happier and make him believe that he is the heir chosen by God."

"But if one day, Your Majesty develops a rift with him, things will be reversed."

"At that time, these rumors will become evidence of his intention to rebel and become the knife that kills him."

"We don't necessarily have to make wedding clothes for him, so there is no need to regret it."

These words made Zhu Yunwen feel a lot better.

Huang Zicheng asked again: "Your Highness, when you went to the Prince of Wu's mansion today, did you carefully observe the Prince of Wu's injuries? In your opinion, is the Prince of Wu really seriously injured, or is he pretending?"

Fang Xiaoru also looked over here.

Zhu Yunwen hesitated for a moment, then said, "Forgive me for my incompetence. I am not completely sure."

"However, even if his injury is real, it should not be as serious as he shows."

Fang Xiaoru nodded gently and said, "Although this boy is young, his scheming is unfathomable and far superior to that of ordinary people."

"Besides, even a miracle doctor can hardly tell the real from the fake when it comes to head diseases."

"Of course, we have no way of judging."

He paused here and asked curiously, "Who was the person who sent someone to assassinate him that day?"

Zhu Yunwen then said, "I think it must be my second uncle, the Prince of Qin."

"Now that his father is gone, he feels that he is the next in line to inherit the Ming Dynasty."

"Now that Grandfather the Emperor wants to make Prince Wu the crown prince, how can he not be angry?"

"It is only natural for him to order someone to assassinate him."

"The Emperor's grandfather gave him a severe beating on the pretext of something, and it must be because of this matter."

Fang Xiaoru's eyes changed as he said, "The King of Qin is indeed the most suspicious."

"However, the King of Qin is a vassal king and has lived in other places for a long time, not in Nanjing."

"I came back only because of the Crown Prince's funeral. It didn't take long to get to Jinling."

"And the group of assassins were the remnants of the Park family."

"How did the King of Qin, who was thousands of miles away, get in touch with the Park family?"

"If they only contacted each other after returning to Beijing, then their relationship progressed too quickly."

"How can we trust each other after such a short contact time? Are we not afraid of leaks?"

"No matter how you look at it, there's something weird about this."

Huang Zicheng laughed and said, "This is something that King Wu needs to worry about. We don't need to guess."

"Although King Wu seems to be in great glory now, his foundation in the court is very shallow and he has made countless enemies."

"This assassination is just the beginning. The crises he will face in the future will only increase."

Fang Xiaoru picked up the teacup, gently stirred the tea with the lid, blew on it, Fang Xiaoxiao took a sip, put down the cup, and said:

"Speaking of which, Your Majesty has handed the case of Wang Bi and others' treason to Brother Huang for trial, but I wonder how Brother Huang is doing with the trial?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yunwen's eyes suddenly lit up and he became excited. He said, "Yes! Wang Bi and others are the confidants of Lan Yu, the Duke of Liang. They will obey Lan Yu's orders."

"Lan Yu firmly supports Zhu Yunhuan. If Wang Bi and others are charged with treason and their entire family is executed, Lan Yu will lose his right-hand man and his power will be greatly reduced."

"Without Lan Yu and other military generals and nobles to support him, what capital does Zhu Yunhuan have to compete with others for the throne!"

"Even if the Emperor gave it to him, can he keep it?"

Unexpectedly, when Huang Zicheng heard these words, he just shook his head slightly.

Fang Xiaoru was shocked and asked, "Why? But we can't find any evidence to convict Wang Bi and others?"

His expression changed, and he said seriously: "In fact, Wang Bi and others besieged the King of Wu that day, which was already a serious crime."

"It doesn't matter whether other evidence can be found or not."

"Besides, since this case has been handed over to you for trial, for the sake of national affairs and the Ming Dynasty, Brother Huang must not be rigidly bound by the rules and regulations." "Although my generation has studied and acted uprightly, at this critical moment, we also need to be flexible."

"If there is no evidence of his guilt, just make one or two for him and put them on!"

Huang Zicheng still shook his head. In the puzzled looks of Zhu Yunwen and Fang Xiaoru, he smiled and said:

"In fact, what I thought in my heart at the beginning was exactly the same as what His Royal Highness Prince Xian and Brother Fang just said."

"But then I thought about it and I felt like something was wrong."

"Although Wang Bi and his men led the people to besiege the King of Wu, it was a serious crime, indeed it was a serious crime."

"But Wang Bi is Lan Yu's man. Not only do we know this, but your Majesty also knows this."

"The King of Wu has no foundation in the court. He relies on a group of military generals and nobles headed by Lan Yu."

"I was the one who reported Wang Bi and the others."

"Your Majesty has handed Wang Bi and others over to me for trial. Isn't it obvious that you want me to sentence them to death?"

"Why did His Majesty do this?"

Zhu Yunwen's pupils suddenly dilated, and he slapped his thigh fiercely, saying, "Teacher Huang means that Grandpa Huang wants to kill Wang Bi and others to help Zhu Yunhuan establish his authority?"

Fang Xiaoru immediately denied his opinion and said, "If that were the case, your majesty would have handed the case over to the Prince of Wu instead of you."

Huang Zicheng smiled slightly, stroked his beard with his hand, and said with a proud look on his face, "I thought hard and finally figured out the mystery."

Fang Xiaoru and Zhu Yunwen both turned their eyes to him, waiting for his next words.

Huang Zicheng was not in a hurry. He picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea before slowly speaking: "There are two possibilities!"

"First, His Majesty wants to kill them."

"The reason is very simple. Lan Yu has too much power in the army."

"The situation was so tense that day that even the King of Wu and his Royal Guards couldn't suppress it. But Lan Yu was able to make thousands of people retreat obediently with just a few words."

"If we don't reduce the power of such a person, who will be able to control him when Your Majesty is gone?"

"Killing Wang Bi and his gang would naturally weaken Lan Yu's power, and would also affect the King of Wu."

"But on the other hand, without the support of Wang Bi and others, Lan Yu's power will be greatly reduced. Will it be easier for the King of Wu to control him?"

"Lan Yu's power has been weakened, but the power of the King of Wu has not only not weakened, but has grown stronger."

"If I sentence them to death and kill Wang Bi and others, I will actually help the King of Wu."

Zhu Yunwen nodded and was about to say something when Huang Zicheng continued speaking.

"There is another possibility, that His Majesty does not want to kill them."

"So hand the case over to me for trial. When the final verdict is reached, the King of Wu will intervene and give Wang Bi and others a lighter sentence, or even grant them extrajudicial mercy and not charge them with any crime."

"The King of Wu holds the precious sword bestowed by His Majesty himself, and has the power to command all officials. Moreover, he is currently the regent."

"If he intervenes, I will have to obey."

"In this way, Wang Bi and others will be saved."

"They will surely be filled with gratitude to the King of Wu and will be loyal to him from now on."

Zhu Yunwen clapped his hands in praise, saying: "Teacher is truly a man of extraordinary talent."

"This analysis is absolutely correct! The students have learned a lot!"

"In that case, we can't kill Wang Bi and the others anyway, so we might as well release them all without guilt and not give Zhu Yunhuan any chance."

"He wants to show favors to win people's hearts, but he has no idea where to start."

But after hearing his words, Huang Zicheng still shook his head.

"It's not that simple!"

"I was the one who participated in their conspiracy."

"Now that they are acquitted, it means that I was wrong and I should be punished."

"Now, I have no way out!"

He sighed lightly, stood up, took two steps, and said, "Besides, if we really let them go like this."

"Those generals and nobles will think that we are afraid of them."

"People outside will think that His Royal Highness Prince Xian is also afraid and no longer dares to go against the King of Wu."

Huang Zicheng looked up at the white clouds floating across the sky and sighed, "If this is the case, people's hearts will be scattered!"

"Who in the court will dare to support you and compete with the King of Wu for the position of crown prince in the future?"

"I'm afraid no one else would dare to do this except the two of us!"

"In this round, we have no way out, and we cannot retreat!"

Zhu Yunwen's expression changed again and again, and he thought that things seemed to be very troublesome.

He was a little irritable and asked, "What should I do?"

Huang Zicheng turned back and smiled faintly: "I have come up with a solution."

Zhu Yunwen was immediately overjoyed and said, "Teacher is indeed resourceful and resourceful, comparable to Zhuge Liang's reincarnation."

Huang Zicheng's smile grew wider, and he seemed to enjoy the flattery very much.

He said slowly: "My method is very simple, that is to delay!"

"Since the case is under my jurisdiction, I can find enough reasons to delay it."

"The case of Wang Bi and others' conspiracy to rebel is of great importance and complicated. It will take a long time to try it clearly."

"This is also very reasonable and no one can find fault with it!"

"I will keep Wang Bi and the others in jail forever."

"These people have complicated connections in the military and their roots are deep."

"They have been imprisoned for a long time, and their lives and deaths are uncertain. There are countless generals in the army who are afraid that something will be found out and they will be implicated. They will have trouble sleeping all day long."

"Wang Bi and others would also think that King Wu and Lan Yu and others did not help, and thus resent them."

"Lan Yu will ask King Wu to deal with it as soon as possible."

"But the case is still unclear. If the King of Wu intervenes by force and lets them go, it will not win their hearts and minds."

"They will think that they are innocent and do not need the King of Wu to save them."

"The King of Wu cannot win their hearts."

"On the other hand, if the King of Wu kills them all before we have thoroughly investigated the case, he may be able to establish his authority, but the case is unclear and the evidence is insufficient, which means he is killing people without any guilt."

"When the news gets to the army, what will the soldiers think?"

"Will the King of Wu still want his soldiers to support him in the future?"

"If this is true, everyone will stay away from King Wu in the future."

"There are many soldiers in the army who will hate the King of Wu from now on."

"The best thing for King Wu is to wait until I report the results of the trial."

"Then I'll just keep dragging it out!"

"This is a critical moment when the King of Wu is about to be officially appointed as the crown prince. We can afford to waste time, but he can't."

"If we keep dragging on like this, all the plans of your majesty and the King of Wu will be in vain, and we can turn the passive situation into the active one."

Zhu Yunwen raised his thumb and praised repeatedly: "Great! Great! The teacher is really amazing! With the teacher's help, all problems can be solved!"

The three people in the pavilion looked at each other, then raised their heads and laughed.

……

(End of this chapter)