Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 95: The collapsed Zhu Di! The desperate Prince of Yan!
October 1st, the 25th year of Hongwu.

King Xian informed King Wu of the secret, and the officials of the Tongzhengsi neglected their duties and suppressed the memorials of court officials without reporting them.

The King of Wu was furious and ordered Yang Shiqi, a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy, and Zhu Gaoxu, the son of the King of Yan and the emperor's grandson, to go to the Tongzhengsi with the imperial sword to arrest the officials who committed the crime.

From the Minister of Public Security down, all were executed.

On that day, Zhu Gaoxu brought a group of Jinyiwei and a box containing the heads of many officials from the Ministry of Public Administration, and went from house to house, showing it to all officials of the fifth rank and above in the capital as a warning to future officials.

When the news came out, the whole court was shocked.

On the one hand, he was surprised by the ruthlessness of the King of Wu's methods.

It is unbelievable that at such a young age and having just taken over the position of regent, he dared to kill all the officials of the Ministry of Public Security, both big and small.

This courage is truly amazing.

On the other hand, what shocked the officials in the capital even more was that the King of Wu, the King of Xian, and the King of Yan actually joined forces!

This……

Many people couldn't believe the news at first.

How is this possible?
But later on, we did hear that King Xian had personally visited the King of Wu's palace, and there were rumors that he drank boys' urine to cure illness.

In addition, the person who came with the Jinyiwei was indeed Zhu Gaoxu, the son of Prince of Yan, so the officials had to believe it.

This change came too suddenly and was too unexpected.

It seemed as if the entire political situation had undergone earth-shaking changes in just one day.

Officials were running around secretly, discussing whether it was time to change sides.
How can we support Prince Xian when he has already stabbed us in the back?
When Zhu Yunwen heard the news, he was so angry that he vomited blood on the spot and almost fainted again.

……

Prince Yan's Mansion.

"What? Xu'er took the sword given by his father and went to kill the officials of the Ministry of Public Administration?"

Zhu Di found it hard to believe his ears.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible. Although Xu'er is naughty, he is also sensible and knows the seriousness of the matter. He would never act like this."

Zhu Di grabbed the chest of the person who brought the news and asked, "Did Xu'er get coerced by Yang Shiqi?"

His eyes flashed with ferocity, and he said, "Yang Shiqi is so bold that he dared to threaten the emperor's grandson. Does he really think that I am easy to bully?"

The servant who reported the news had never seen the King of Yan so angry before, and was immediately trembling with fear, but he dared not fail to report the truth, and said:
"According to reports from eyewitnesses at the scene, the young prince was holding a precious sword and shouting, 'Kill, kill, kill them all.' He looked extremely excited and showed no signs of being held hostage."

"When he went to other officials' houses, he was also very proud and domineering, with a bit of... a sense of showing off. He looked very happy and did not seem to be forced by anyone."

"boom!"

Zhu Di pushed the man hard, and he fell to the ground.

Immediately afterwards, his own body staggered.

A few days ago, Zhu Di received a letter from Yao Guangxiao.

In the letter, Monk Daoyan first apologized to him.

Tell him that destiny has changed and what he planned before will no longer be possible.

At the same time, he boasted about Zhu Yunhuan's abilities to the utmost.

He also advised Zhu Di to abandon evil and turn to good, stop before it is too late, and be content to be a vassal king from then on, and no longer think about seizing the throne.

He was even asked to break secular etiquette, worship Zhu Yunhuan as his teacher, and help him establish a military academy to show his loyalty.

When Zhu Di first received the letter, he was completely confused.

He and Yao Guangxiao have known each other for many years and they have a deep relationship, and they can be said to be very open-hearted.

On weekdays, he tells us everything he knows.

He always obeyed the advice given by the old monk.

But he never expected that the old monk, who had always been loyal to him, would betray him after just a few days in Prince Wu's mansion.

Fortunately, before the old monk left, he swore that he would never betray himself.

Even if he went to the Prince of Wu's palace, he would definitely be in Cao's camp but his heart would be with Han.

Maybe he will even go undercover for me and report the King of Wu's every move.

As a result, they rebelled after just a few days!
Zhu Di was so angry that he tore the letter from the old monk into pieces on the spot!

Unexpectedly, even his own son started to act up.

Yang Shiqi is going to kill someone. You are my son, Prince of Yan Zhu Di. Why are you following him?
It would be fine if you just followed them, but you also had to shout and yell, showing off, as if you were afraid that others didn't know how great and amazing you are.

Are you afraid that others don't know that you and Zhu Yunhuan are standing together and wearing the same pants?
You are my son. What should I do if you do this?
I can’t describe how terrible it is!

Cheating!
Zhu Di was filled with distress and had no place to vent.

At this time, the servant was terrified again and said timidly: "There is one more thing..."

Before he finished speaking, Zhu Di's pair of murderous black eyes looked over at him.

The servant knelt down with a plop and said, "Your Highness Prince Yan, please spare my life. I won't say anything more."

"Speak up, why not?" Zhu Di roared, "Do you still want to hide something from me?"

"Say it!"

"If you don't tell me, I will chop off your head right now."

The servant was even more frightened, but he dared not say anything, and stammered, "The young prince also... still... still... peed... peed... today..."

Zhu Di was angry and amused, but his expression was much calmer. He said, "I thought it was a big deal, but it turned out to be just a pee."

"Is this kind of thing worth your special report?"

He suddenly stopped, feeling something was wrong, and asked, "Could it be that Xu'er went to the Tongzhengsi and urinated inside the government office, which was disrespectful?"

Then he waved his hand again and said: "If it were an ordinary person, this would naturally be a serious crime."

"But he is my son, your Majesty's biological grandson."

"Even if he is a little naughty, it's not a big deal."

"Just give him a scolding and tell him not to do it again next time."

Zhu Di didn't care at all. He just felt a little overwhelmed by the fact that Zhu Gaoxu had killed people with Yang Shiqi and then took the heads to the homes of officials in the capital to show off.

As for peeing, even if it happened in the government court, it was no big deal.

The servant said timidly, "The young prince did not scatter it in the government office."

"Not in the government office?" Zhu Di raised his eyebrows and asked, "Could it be that he took the chopped heads to the officials' houses in Jinling City and scattered them around someone's house while showing them to the officials?"

The servant shook his head gently and said, "No!"

"Young Prince, he...he...he sprinkled it on His Royal Highness Prince Xian's face!"

"What?" Zhu Di roared, like thunder in the sky, exploding loudly.

It made the servants' ears buzz.

Zhu Di's body swayed and he almost fell to the ground.

The servant was quick to step forward and support Zhu Di.

After a while, Zhu Di came back to his senses and asked, "This... this... what's going on?" "Why did Xu'er pee on Prince Xian's face?"

"Are you sure the news is true?"

"How could such a ridiculous thing happen?"

The servant said, "Your Highness, this is absolutely true. Today, the young prince is showing off this to everyone."

Show off everywhere?

"This rebellious son!" Zhu Di was furious.

Are you thinking that you are not dying fast enough, or that the trouble you have caused is not big enough?
"Your Highness, please calm down!" the servant advised hurriedly.

Zhu Di stroked his forehead with his hand and felt a headache coming on.

Don't be fooled by Zhu Yunwen's usual appearance of being filial, humble, loyal and honest.

Zhu Di knew very well that he was a venomous snake who was extremely good at disguise.

This matter will never end here!
He asked the servant about the situation again, and the servant told him the whole cause and effect of the matter in detail.

"Fortunately, Xu'er was also trying to save people!"

After listening to him, Zhu Di felt a little better.

But soon I realized something was wrong.

Given the situation at the time, it seemed that Zhu Yunwen was just pretending to be unconscious.

Zhu Yunhuan probably did not intend to save Zhu Yunwen at all, but rather to take the opportunity to deliberately humiliate him.

Instructing Zhu Gaoxu to urinate was to see how Zhu Yunwen would respond.

As a result, Zhu Yunwen was slow to react and did not wake up quickly...

Correct!
That's probably the truth.

Zhu Di was also an extremely smart man and quickly guessed most of what was going on.

What Xu'er did would definitely be remembered by Zhu Yunwen, and he would hate her to the core.

What's more, it happened in public.

For Zhu Yunwen, this was a great humiliation!
What's more, Xu'er is now spreading this matter everywhere without knowing the consequences and is proud of it.

It would be strange if Zhu Yunwen didn't hate him to the point of gnashing his teeth!
If he seizes the throne, he will never give up.

If things go wrong, the entire Prince Yan’s Mansion will be uprooted.

The more Zhu Di thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong, and the more scared he became.

Originally, Zhu Di's idea was that if he could not win the position of crown prince, he would lend a helping hand to Zhu Yunwen.

the reason is simple.

Zhu Yunhuan is so awesome.

If he ascends the throne and becomes emperor, these vassal kings will never have a chance to rise.

They could only allow Zhu Yunhuan to control them, and he would reduce the power of the princes when he wanted to and punish those who wanted to be punished when he wanted to.

There is not even the slightest power to resist.

Who will succeed to the throne, the King of Qin or the King of Jin?

That's absolutely not possible!

There is no need to talk about Prince Jin. Although he is his third brother and biological brother, the two brothers have always been at odds with each other since childhood.

Now, they are like enemies.

If Prince Jin ascended the throne, I'm afraid the first thing he would do is chop off Zhu Di's head.

As for the King of Qin.

That's not a good guy either.

The relationship with Zhu Di was also very bad.

Plus his cruel and inhumane character.

If he ascended the throne, Zhu Di would be in trouble.

After all the calculations, it would be slightly better for Zhu Yunwen to be the crown prince and ascend the throne as emperor.

Although I know that he is only honest on the surface, he is also very cruel at heart.

But, he has the weakest ability!

Weak ability meant that Zhu Yunwen needed to use all his strength to maintain the stability of the court, and had no energy to deal with the vassal kings guarding the border.

He even had to curry favor with the princes to help him stabilize the government.

Therefore, under the premise that he could not be appointed as the crown prince and inherit the throne, supporting Zhu Yunwen was the best option.

In fact, Zhu Di’s judgment cannot be said to be wrong.

In history, the reason why Emperor Jianwen dared to reduce the power of the princes was because Zhu Yuanzhang raised his butcher knife before his death and killed all those who might pose a threat to Emperor Jianwen.

Otherwise, with Emperor Jianwen's ability, just dealing with court officials and military generals and nobles would be enough to overwhelm him, and he would not even need to think about reducing the power of the princes.

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang had not yet started a massacre, so Zhu Di certainly could not predict what would happen next.

Even if he knew that Zhu wanted to kill Lan Yu.

But Lan Yu was not the only military general and nobleman in the court.

After killing Lan Yu, there are still many more.

Feng Sheng, Fu Youde... and Tang He who has returned to Fengyang to retire, and there are countless other marquises.

It is not easy for Zhu Yunwen to control these people.

Only with the help of vassal kings from outside can we balance the military generals and nobles.

Based on this point, Zhu Yunwen should not touch the vassal kings.

This is Zhu Di’s current judgment.

At least for now, it seems that Zhu Yunhuan is too powerful and unfathomable. He also has an unusual relationship with military generals and nobles. He may not necessarily use the princes to balance the power of military generals and nobles.

If he ascends the throne, it will be hard to predict the fate of himself and all other vassal kings.

Helping Zhu Yunwen to ascend to the throne is the best choice.

However, Zhu Gaoxu's actions left him, the Prince of Yan, with nowhere to go.

Is it too late to support Zhu Yunwen now?

When Zhu Yunwen becomes emperor in the future, will he be able to forget today's shame?

What a traitor!
This rebellious son is such a traitor to his father!
The more Zhu Di thought about it, the angrier he became.

If Zhu Gaoxu was in front of him, he would have to...

But now that things have come to this, what else can we do?
Sitting in the armchair in vain, Zhu Di thought hard for a long time, and finally sighed deeply and ordered: "Go, invite Mr. Yuan to me!"

……

(End of this chapter)