Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 99 Zhu Di surrenders and has great ambitions for the country!
"When my eldest brother was alive, although I also had great ambitions, I never thought that I could compete with him."

In the square inside the palace, Zhu Di looked up to the sky and sighed.

There are clouds tonight, no moon, and the starlight is sparse.

Zhu Yunhuan had tables and chairs placed outside and torches lit around them, and the uncle and nephew sat opposite each other.

The people on both sides have all left, and the place is extremely quiet.

"My father was born in poverty, fought for decades, and won the world as a commoner."

Zhu Di said: "We are all his sons."

"As the saying goes: A good father will have a good son."

"Father has ambitions, and so do we."

"It's not just me. My second and third brothers, and even my other brothers, have quite a few ambitions."

"Since my father is just a commoner, he can sit on the throne."

"As princes, why can't we sit down?"

"Everyone actually has this desire, but some people hide it very well and don't show it."

They are always scheming and living their lives wearing masks.

There was no one around today, so it was rare for Zhu Di to express his true feelings.

Of course, this is exactly why he came here.

Zhu Yunxun smiled bitterly.

Zhu Di was telling the truth.

On the one hand, it is the power of genetics.

Lao Zhu himself is an ambitious person who is unwilling to be inferior to others.

It was only natural that his sons inherited his genes.

Like father, like son, it's not surprising.

By the time their next generation, and the next generation, will have their elders become princes, there will no longer be the idea that the kingdom belongs to my family and I have a share in it.

I would be content to be a peaceful prince.

The first generation was obviously different.

On the other hand, Zhu Yuanzhang sent nine princes to guard the border and gave his sons military power to balance the power of military generals and nobles.

This also fostered their ambitions.

Armed with a sharp blade, the murderous intention arises.

The princes guard a region and command thousands of troops. It would be strange if they had no ambition after a long time.

The reason why Emperor Jianwen was eager to reduce the power of the princes was because he saw through this point.

In fact, no matter who succeeds to the throne, the power of the feudal lords will be weakened.

How could a unified central dynasty sit idly by and allow the vassal kings to grow in power?

The only difference is how to cut it.

"However, we all know that no one can compete with Big Brother."

Zhu Di laughed at himself and said, "My elder brother is like a father. My eldest brother is a mountain that none of us can climb over."

"As long as Big Brother is still here, none of us need to fight, and it's impossible for us to win."

"But who could have expected that my eldest brother would die young?"

"The position of crown prince has not yet been decided. If anyone says that he has no desire to fight for it, you will not believe it."

Zhu Di poured a glass of wine from the table, drank it all, and said with a wry smile: "But I lost!"

"I just started the fight and I lost miserably."

"You are actually even stronger than Big Brother!"

Zhu Yunhuan smiled slightly and said, "Although Fourth Uncle lost to me in the battle for the crown prince, it's not a big deal."

"Fourth uncle is a vassal king guarding a region, commanding an army of more than 100,000."

"He has a very high prestige among the border troops."

"As long as Fourth Uncle returns to Peking, when the Emperor is gone, he will issue an order and thousands of troops will follow him. It is still unknown who will rule the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Di shook his head slightly, but said frankly: "If someone else became the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, there would naturally be hope."

"But you are the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. How can I fight for you?"

"Let's not talk about anything else."

"My two sons are now in your hands."

"I'm afraid you won't give it back to me easily."

Of course it's impossible to pay it back.

Your two sons are not ordinary people.

Without their help, even if you want to rebel, you will never have a chance of success.

What's more, they are now the sword and shield in my hands, and they are very useful.

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said nothing.

"It's my fault that I underestimated you. I shouldn't have attacked you from the beginning." Zhu Di looked distressed.

"Who would have believed that a teenager like you could not only write stunning poems and make ingenious inventions, but also have such a high level of political intelligence?"

"Yun Wen is so far away from you."

"It was indeed a wise move for Father to choose you."

"If the Ming Dynasty is handed over to you, it will be a thousand times more stable than if it is handed over to Yun Wen."

Zhu Yunxun smiled and said, "Uncle, you didn't come here today just to express your feelings, did you?"

"Of course not!" Zhu Di said with a smile, "I did deceive you that night when I said I was willing to join you, but I came here today with sincerity."

"From today on, I no longer have the ambition to seize the throne. I am willing to serve you at your service and do my best to serve you."

Zhu Yunhuan's eyes moved slightly, a sharp gleam flashed across his eyes, and he said, "How can I trust my fourth uncle?"

"I still have two sons held hostage in your hands. Even if I have other intentions, I dare not do it!"

Zhu Di said: "The old monk wrote to me, asking me to become your disciple and help you run a military academy so that I can take control of the world's military power. I agreed!"

"If you are willing to put aside the past and forget about everything that happened, then I will write a letter of greeting tomorrow and publicly accept you as my master."

Zhu Di held the wine pot with one hand and the wine glass with the other, and said, "With me, your fourth uncle, taking the lead, those relatives and elders who are too proud to lose face, and the military generals and nobles, will have no reason to obstruct you. Your plan to run a military academy can be implemented smoothly, and you can hold the military power of the world in your hands." "Your position can be truly stable."

Zhu Yunhuan was a little surprised.

I didn't expect Zhu Di's transformation to be so quick.

And willing to lower oneself to a low level.

After a moment's silence, he asked, "What are the conditions for Fourth Uncle?"

Although Zhu Di had been against him before, Zhu Yunhuan was willing to make peace with him if possible.

Politics has never been about settling scores, but the art of compromise.

Politics is about making your own people more numerous and your enemies fewer.

Therefore, Zhu Yunhuan would certainly not refuse if it could mean having one less enemy and one more friend.

"Yes!" Zhu Di said in a deep voice: "I have only one condition, help me deal with the King of Jin!"

Zhu Yunhuan was slightly stunned.

I had heard that they were not getting along, but I didn't expect that they had such a deep hatred.

"The grievances between him and me cannot be explained in a few words."

Zhu Di said: "In short, the two of us are enemies. He doesn't like me, and I also disdain him."

"Even if I don't deal with him, he will deal with me."

"Besides, I can obey you, but I don't believe he will obey you."

"He has many elite soldiers and generals under his command, and his strength is far greater than mine."

"Helping me deal with him will do you a hundred good things and no harm."

"I think if you were to ascend the throne, you would not allow such a powerful vassal king to exist."

Zhu Yunxun thought for a moment and nodded, "Okay, I can promise you."

"However, I cannot force this matter. I can only take advantage of the situation when the time is right. If there is no opportunity, then I will not take action."

The identity of Prince Jin Zhu Gang was extraordinary, and Old Zhu liked him very much.

Zhu Di nodded and said, "That's natural."

"After I go back tonight, I will write the letter of apprenticeship and present it publicly tomorrow."

He raised his glass and said, "I toast to His Royal Highness the King of Wu. I wish His Royal Highness the King of Wu can be crowned as the crown prince as soon as possible, and can take over the military power of the world as soon as possible, and as soon as possible..."

He originally wanted to say that he would ascend the throne and become emperor as soon as possible, but when the words came to his lips, he suddenly felt that something was wrong.

Old Zhu is still alive.

Isn't wishing Zhu Yunhuan to ascend the throne as soon as possible the same as wishing Zhu Yuanzhang to pass away as soon as possible?
He immediately corrected it: "Unify the power of the government and the country as soon as possible!"

After saying this, he drank it all in one gulp.

Zhu Yunhuan also drank a cup.

Zhu Di put down his wine glass and asked, "I don't understand one thing. I have known Monk Daoyan for many years. I know his character well and he will never change his allegiance easily. Why did he change his mind so quickly when he came to you?"

"Can you tell me why?"

Zhu Yunhuan smiled and said, "If I say that it is because Master Daoyan cares about the world and the people, and thinks that assisting me is better than assisting you, do you believe it?"

Zhu Di shook his head and said, "I don't believe it!"

"The old monk may really have compassion for the people of the world. If he can save the people, he will definitely do it."

"But it is unlikely that this alone will make him give up the ambition he has been pursuing for many years."

"I know what he has in mind, and that is to rebuild his country and restore order."

"As for the millions or tens of millions of people dying because of this, the old monk thinks it is a necessary price to pay."

"I am the fourth son of my father. He came to me as a disciple, but he always wanted to conquer the world with swords, not with the law."

Zhu Yunhuan smiled faintly, recalling what he said to Monk Daoyan that day, and said: "Because he and I are the real kind of people, the ones who really want to change this world, but you, Fourth Uncle, are not."

There was a gleam of light in Zhu Di's eyes, and his aura also changed slightly.

Zhu Yunxun said calmly: "You just said that the old monk has no compassion for the world, but you are wrong. The old monk does not have no compassion, but he feels it is useless."

"Everyone has desires, but many are mean and shameless, and few are morally upright."

"The old monk believes in Buddhism, so he thinks that all the suffering in the world is retribution for the suffering of the common people."

"He wants to rebuild his country and re-establish the world, so he naturally doesn't care how much blood is shed, how many people die, and how many families are destroyed."

"When prosperity occurs, the people suffer; when it dies, the people suffer."

“After great chaos, great order will come.”

“There is hope for the country to be rebuilt.”

"He came to you because he believed you could rebuild the country."

"But actually, you can't!"

"Even if you start a rebellion and overthrow the Ming Dynasty, how much change can you bring to the world?"

"The old monk followed you to rebel, just to verify whether the Yin-Yang magic he learned is really useful."

“That doesn’t really satisfy him.”

"It's just that he didn't have any better choice before!"

"But it's different for me."

Zhu Yunhuan stood up and looked up at the sky.

Above, the sky was filled with dark clouds.

The moon was not visible, and most of the stars were covered, with only a few showing, and they were not bright.

At first glance, there was endless darkness.

When you travel through time and space and come into this world, you always have to do something.

This has nothing to do with moral high or low, nor does it have anything to do with whether one has lofty ambitions, nor does it have anything to do with worrying about the country and the people, or caring about the world...

But as a time traveler who is familiar with the development of history, who would be willing to come here in vain and do nothing?

What's more, he is the grandson of the emperor and is valued by Zhu Yuanzhang. He is already the regent and is about to take charge of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yunhuan said loudly: "I will break all the conventions and bring earth-shaking changes to this Ming Dynasty and this world."

……

(End of this chapter)