ebookland Chapter 221: Clearing the Imperial Court and Preventing the National Disaster
Chapter 221: Clearing the Imperial Court and Preventing the National Disaster
"No way, absolutely impossible."
If there was anything in this world that Zhu Yunwen firmly believed in, apart from the fact that his grandfather Zhu Yuanzhang was the greatest emperor of all time and that he was the chosen son of heaven and the man of destiny, it was the military power and strong physique of Prince of Yan Zhu Di.
Before becoming the Crown Prince, he had a little-known interaction with Zhu Di.
That happened when his short-lived father Zhu Biao was still alive.
For some reason, at the instigation of his father and uncle, Prince of Jin Zhu Gang, he was inexplicably "instructed" by Prince of Yan Zhu Di.
He will never forget the fighting competition that seemed like a joke and the pain of falling to the ground time and time again.
He remembered that the King of Yan was still seriously ill and his injury was so severe that his shoulder was almost split in half.
With such a King of Yan, do you think he will never recover from his illness?
Ha ha.
Besides, it’s bad enough that Prince Yan himself is sick, but even the Crown Prince and the Third Son are sick as well. There isn’t even a single man in the entire Prince Yan’s Mansion who can help with the matter?
He, Zhu Yunwen, is the crown prince and the next emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Does he look so gullible?
Therefore, Zhu Yunwen did not hesitate and immediately selected a minister named Zhang to go to Beiping to investigate.
As soon as he sent the minister, his advisers arrived.
Qi Tai advised, "Whether the King of Yan is really ill or faking it, Your Highness must make arrangements as soon as possible and cut the Gordian knot to avoid future worries."
But Huang Zicheng had a completely different view. He bowed and said,
“I think it’s too early now.
Your Highness is the chosen one of heaven, and you should practice the kingly way when doing things. If you use the army to wipe out the King of Yan at this time, I am afraid that people will criticize you, which is not justice. "
Compared with Qi Tai, Zhu Yunwen has always preferred Huang Zicheng's advice.
Qi Tai was loyal to the country, loyal to Zhu Yuanzhang, and loyal to orthodoxy. The suggestions he made were only "correct", but not as good as Huang Zicheng's love for him.
He is a man chosen by heaven, and he was brought up under the influence of Confucianism, so the way he conducts himself and does things must always demonstrate the "right way".
Therefore, Zhu Yunwen pretended to ask, but in fact he had already made a judgment in his mind.
"What do you think we should do?"
“In my opinion, we should first weaken the titles of several princes who are already in the capital, and then punish Zhu Di for his disobedience, unfilial sonship, and disloyalty as a minister. We should simply send the Ming imperial guards to Peking to execute him.
But all of this has to wait until you ascend the throne, otherwise it would be unreasonable and a bit hasty, which is not what a gentleman does."
"good."
Huang Zicheng's ideas coincided with Zhu Yunwen's.
After sending this minister named Zhang out, he never thought of letting him come back alive.
The purpose of deliberately arranging him to monitor the Prince of Yan's Mansion in Beiping for a long time without specifying a return date was for this purpose.
The Prince of Yan was so bold that he executed the imperial envoy privately. It would be natural and reasonable to start with such a crime and then list the crimes higher up.
"Just as you said, I will take action after I ascend the throne.
Cut the Gordian knot and leave no chance for Prince Yan's Mansion to breathe.
Commanders, do you have any recommendations?"
Just like this, consistent with history, the three "literati" began to study war and began to study the reduction of feudal lords.
But if scholars could be invincible in the world just by talking about military affairs on paper, Mr. Zhuge would not be remembered for thousands of years and called a god.
Ma Qing also noticed all these developments, but he did not make any arrangements and did not want to remedy the situation at all.
How could she have achieved such cultivation without fighting and without deaths?
She was not worried that this group of people would harm her in the future. In the face of absolute power, all conspiracies and tricks were as vulnerable as a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
So, she just needs to accumulate strength.
After the Jingnan Rebellion, these people no longer need to live, and she doesn't care about the open and secret struggles of these small characters.
What is the world of literati? What is fighting for the rights of literati? What is the division between the north and the south? What is the orthodoxy of the Han Dynasty?
Looking at their current carnival from the perspective of a future person, Ma Qing is also very glad that he is a complete outsider.
As always, she put on a mask of indifference and played the role of a decent Crown Prince's Consort.
That's enough.
*
Zhang Bing was assassinated by his servants.
Zhang Bing was the "minister named Zhang" sent by Zhu Yunwen to monitor Zhu Di.
Early this morning, Zhu Yuanzhang passed away. The whole country was in mourning and the news was rushed to Peking over 800 miles.
That night, Zhang Bing died impatiently.
Zhu Di, who had made arrangements in advance, naturally caught the criminals red-handed. Except for the fact that he "failed to rescue" poor Zhang Bing in time, everything was under control.
The army assembled outside the city, using smoke signals and previously inconspicuous post stations and peaks as starting points, and moved step by step toward Daning, Guangning, and Kaiyuan.
Not only that, there were responses from Xuanfu, Datong in the south, and even near Qingzhou.
It is hard to judge whether Zhu Yunwen wanted to attack the rebel Zhu Di or the orthodox Zhu Di wanted to maintain the orthodoxy of the Ming Dynasty based on the reputation of the troops raised in just one hour.
The people in the city watched as Zhu Di led his troops to surround the government office, where they caught the real culprit who assassinated the official and got the truth out through torture.
——It was Zhu Yunwen who wanted to frame Zhu Di
——Zhu Yunwen deliberately did not allow Zhu Di to return to attend the funeral
——Zhu Yunwen wanted to use this as an excuse to send troops to attack Zhu Di and destroy Beiping
"A tyrant! A tyrant in power!"
Gradually, shouts began to emerge from the people.
Never before had any war made them feel such an immersive sense of crisis.
It is all empty talk that every citizen has a duty to his country and his society. For ordinary people, it is a great joy to have enough food to eat and warm clothes to wear. How can they be so noble in moral integrity?
But it's different now.
They truly felt that they were part of Peking. Under the leadership of Yan Wang Zhu Di, they had enough food and clothing, their children could go to school and support their families, and they could even get rewards more useful than memorial archways, and the only price was to be good people all their lives!
Now, the emperor's son is plotting to harm Prince Yan and ruin their hard-earned good days!
Is the person who was killed the King of Yan?
This killed the entire family!
Surrounded and cheered by the elders, fellow villagers, and even women and children, Zhu Di put on his armor, mounted his horse, and left the city.
Outside the city, three thousand soldiers were already waiting.
At the same time, a total of 38,000 soldiers and horses were rushing from the northeast, and the two northwestern prefectures had an army of 50,000. Among them, the Mongolian army that had established itself as a vassal of Prince Ning in Daning had already been in the hands of Prince Yan's Palace.
At this moment, Zhu Di stood on horseback, with the people of the city behind him and a number of soldiers in front of him.
He reined in his horse and stood in the center. The sound of the horse neighing faded away, and Zhu Di's full-throated voice shouted,
"The late emperor personally wrote the Imperial Instructions for Ancestors of the Ming Dynasty. It says that if there are no loyal ministers in the court and there are traitors within the court, we must raise troops to punish them and purge the emperor's entourage.
The Crown Prince Zhu Yunwen had long been bewitched by treacherous ministers, and had controlled the government with Qi Tai, Huang Zicheng, Fang Xiaoru, Lian Zining, Chen Di... a total of 27 people. He committed the crime of murdering the regicide, his grandfather, and his uncle, which was the most unfilial act in the world!
Poor Prince of Xiang, he was surrounded and burned to death in his mansion by Zhu Yunwen's imperial guards!
That's his uncle, my younger brother!
My father just passed away early this morning!! "
Zhu Di took a deep breath, suppressed the grief that everyone present could see, and drew his sword and pointed it to the sky when he spoke again.
"On this trip, you and I will clear the emperor's entourage and pacify the country!"
"The Qing Dynasty will be in trouble for the country!!"
"The Qing Dynasty will be in trouble for the country!!"
There were incessant shouts and at the same time, the wind was howling and the sky was sending down several loud thunders towards the south facing the city gate.
Yao Guangxiao, wearing a black monk's robe, walked out of the crowd and laughed,
"This is real, it's commanded by heaven!"
yes! !
God sends down thunder to drive away all evil spirits!
They are clearing out the corrupt officials, saving the Ming Dynasty, and enforcing justice!
Yao Guangxiao's performance was not over yet. He took out the empty bowl that he had prepared long ago and raised it high towards Zhu Di.
"I have made wine with the coming rain to bid farewell to the King of Yan and all the warriors. I hope you will return victorious!"