Zhu Di: My fourth son is a great emperor of all time?

Chapter 32: Those who advocate moving south, behead them! Yu Qian makes his appearance!

At this point, Yang Shiqi couldn't stand it anymore.

Approaching Zhu Di, he cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, these remarks are truly absurd. The people of the world will not believe them. Please do not take them too seriously."

Yang Shiqi simply didn't want Zhu Di to care too much about this matter.

The current Zhu Di is completely unlike the Yongle Emperor; instead, he is as happy as a child, especially in front of his civil and military officials.

Yang Shiqi naturally had to step forward and tell Zhu Di to restrain himself!

Zhu Di naturally realized this as well.

The smile on his face disappeared instantly.

On the surface, it has returned to a state of dignity.

But deep down, he was overjoyed.

He doesn't need the approval of the people in the world right now.

But in the eyes of later generations, he was the successor to the throne and the second emperor of the Ming Dynasty!
At the same time, the three brothers who had been waiting in the main hall also came out.

Seeing the smile on their father's face, they were also very happy.

Over the years, because of Jianwen's situation, my father has often been very strict with them.

If the succession order is indeed confirmed in future generations, the old man will definitely be very happy, and they will certainly not be beaten and scolded so often in the future.

Especially the second child.

Thinking that if the old man was in a good mood, he might give the military power back to him.

"Although Zhu Di's life was full of controversy, overall he was a very good emperor, especially in terms of achievements. Among the emperors of the Ming Dynasty, he was one of the top."

"As for what some friends just mentioned about Zhu Di's sons, I can tell you about them now!"

"The eldest son, Zhu Gaochi, was the strongest crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Renzong. He was a good emperor who valued the people of the world more than himself. If he had been given time, the illnesses left by Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di would have been cured in his hands. But unfortunately, Emperor Renzong only lived for seven months."

Zhu Di clearly remembered that it was ten months.

How come it's suddenly become seven months now?

Was he murdered by the second son?

Zhu Di recalled the news that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had been sending back these past few days: his eldest son, Zhu Gaochi, had been indulging in excessive eating and drinking.

It seems his health is deteriorating, and he's living even less.

He was immediately enraged: "Your Highness!"

This roar made the chubby Zhu Gaochi's legs go weak involuntarily, and he almost knelt down.

But he was held back by the second and third brothers next to him.

This was in the imperial court, in front of a large audience, so Zhu Gaochi naturally could not kneel down easily.

Zhu Di clearly realized this as well, so he simply said solemnly, "Your Highness, please take care of your health!"

As for the second son, Zhu Gaoxu, he was roasted like a pig, and the third son, Zhu Gaosui, was imprisoned for life!

"As for the fourth son, Zhu Gaoshuo, there's no need to say more. He is our fascinating ancestor, the Ming Zhongzu!"

Sure enough, he did not make any changes and allowed the third prince to oversee the country.

That means history has not been changed.

Ultimately, it returned to the original story.

The fourth prince continued his rebellion and became the Zhongzu Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Di felt somewhat exhausted, having tried twice before without success.

But he soon perked up.

Judging from the previous instances of the sky screen, it seems that the fourth brother was not actually rebelling.

Instead, they turned the tide and prevented the Ming Dynasty from collapsing.

The three brothers looked at Zhu Gaoshuo, feeling utterly speechless.

Why did all three of them meet such tragic ends, while the fourth one always seemed to be the victor?

They're all born of the same father, so why are they so different?

[“At that time, our ancestor Zhu Gaoshuo was just an insignificant prince who was eventually sent to Xunzhou to assume his fiefdom. He disappeared without a trace, and the Ming court even forgot about this prince.”] Zhu Di nodded slightly.

This is the story from the original timeline.

At first, he thought that the fourth son had rebelled against his eldest grandson.

Now it seems very likely that it wasn't his eldest grandson at all, but rather his useless great-grandson.

The thought of soon seeing news about Zhu Qizhen again gave Zhu Di a splitting headache.

The good news is that he might be able to learn how the fourth prince governed the Ming Dynasty and brought this crumbling dynasty back to its peak.

"Emperor Xuande (Zhu Zhanji) was severely wounded in the Battle of Mobei and never fully recovered. Therefore, in the third year of his reign, he began to cultivate future emperors for the Ming Dynasty. During his ten years on the throne, he left behind the prosperous era of the 'Rule of Renxuan'!"

Zhu Di's eyes flashed with a cold light.

The reign of Renxuan!

May the good grandson be able to serve three generations.

It turns out there really were only three generations.

As it turns out, his judgment was correct; choosing the eldest son's family was the right decision.

Both the eldest son and his eldest grandson were good emperors.

But unfortunately, their family produced Zhu Qizhen, who almost ruined the fate of the entire Ming Dynasty!
"Since Zhu Qizhen was only nine years old, Zhu Zhanji chose five regents: Zhang Fu, Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, Yang Pu, and Hu Ying! He thought that with these five people assisting in the government, there would be no accidents in the Ming Dynasty, so he left with peace of mind."

"In reality, the lives of ordinary people during that period of the Ming Dynasty were indeed very happy. There was no need for the emperor to make decisions; Empress Dowager Zhang maintained the governing policies of Emperor Renzong and Emperor Xuanzong, and the Ming Dynasty's national strength grew increasingly prosperous."

"Is everything destined to decline after reaching its peak?"

Although it was only a few short sentences, Zhu Di could already see that the Ming Dynasty was definitely in its golden age.

The most important thing an emperor should do is to govern the country with benevolence.

In fact, it wasn't just the eldest brother; he remembered that after the fourth brother took over, he also chose to recuperate and rebuild his life.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di's resolve wavered.

After all, Tianmu's assessment of him just now was that the national treasury was empty and depleted!

"What a pity, this golden age of the Ming Dynasty was only short-lived!" Zhu Di glanced at Zhu Zhanji.

The anger that had been burning in his eyes was gone.

It's really not the eldest grandson's fault; the Ming Dynasty was truly unlucky to have encountered Zhu Qizhen.

The subsequent words from the heavens were exactly the same as before.

The Ming army was defeated, the capital was left vulnerable, and the people were filled with anxiety.

The Ming emperor fell into enemy hands and even helped the Mongols knock on the door.

The humiliating scene resurfaced.

The difference this time was that Zhu Di heard more details.

"With the Mongol army pressing in, the officials were terrified, fearing for their lives. As a result, many considered migrating south. After all, the Song Dynasty had survived in the same way. If they migrated south, they would still be high-ranking officials with high salaries. In any case, the Ming Dynasty had a lot of territory, and the Mongols could not completely occupy it. At most, they could only take away a few rich lands!"

"However, just as the Ming Dynasty was about to suffer the humiliation of Jingkang again, a hero stepped forward and roared: 'Those who advocate moving south shall be executed!'"

"He is a national hero recognized by later generations, and the respect and admiration people have for him is like looking up at a towering mountain!"

Zhu Di was very much looking forward to it.
He knew that this was the former Minister of War.

But he never expected that later generations would hold him in such high regard.

Who is this person?

Zhu Di was now eager to know.

"He is Yu Qian, the Junior Guardian of the State, a selfless national hero who saved the Ming Dynasty from disaster!"

"The capital is the foundation of the nation; if it is disturbed, the entire situation will be lost!"

"Moving south would mean handing over half the country to others, and the glory of the Ming Dynasty would never exist again. Isn't the lesson of history bloody?"

"To be open and honest, shining as brightly as the sun and moon—this was Yu Qian's lifelong pursuit!"

(End of this chapter)