Daming: After self-explosive time travel, Lao Zhu's mentality collapsed

"How outrageous! How can this be!" Zhu Yuanzhang was furious. "Come here! Investigate this matter thoroughly and bring the murderer to justice!"

"Your Majesty!" a voice suddenly sounded.

The crowd automatically made way for a path, and Crown Prince Zhu Biao walked out.

"Your son has something to report!" he said loudly.

"Tell me." Zhu Yuanzhang's face was gloomy.

Zhu Biao's words were sonorous: "Chu Ze abused his power and brought disaster to the country. He was radical in seeking change and had long been plotting rebellion!"

"Could it be that the theft of the blueprints is intended to leak military secrets? Could it be a coordinated attack from both inside and outside?!"

As soon as these words were spoken, there was an uproar!
"Nonsense!" Chu Ze was furious, "Your Highness, what right do you have to say that?!"

"Oh, I have long seen that you, a traitor who traveled through time, have ulterior motives!"

Zhu Biao sneered, took out a booklet from his pocket and read:

"The sword above is an extraordinary weapon. The emperor can lead the army in person to kill the rebels!"

"What is this?" Chu Ze was shocked.

"This is your diary. Some of the remarks in it are extremely treasonous and disregard the authority of the monarchy!"

"I have presented all of them to my father, please let him examine them carefully!"

"You! You traitor!" Chu Ze was so angry that he was shaking all over.

He knew that although he had no intention of rebelling, there were inevitably some sharp words in his diary.

How can I defend myself when someone took my words out of context?

Zhu Yuanzhang's face turned pale and he didn't speak for a long time.

At this moment, a loud shout came from the crowd: "Your Majesty! I am innocent!"

When everyone looked back, they saw a eunuch covered in blood.

He struggled to crawl to Zhu Yuanzhang and said in a trembling voice: "Your Majesty! I have been wronged! It was the prince who forced me to steal General Chu's diary!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the prince's expression changed.

"How dare you! What nonsense are you talking about?!"

The eunuch pointed at the broken body and cried, "Your Majesty! Those assassins are from the Prince's Mansion! The Prince forced us to sneak into the Chu Mansion and steal a lot of secrets!"

"Now that the incident has happened, he is afraid that we will leak the secret, so he killed those assassins to silence them! I was lucky enough to escape, so I dare to report to Your Majesty!"

After he finished speaking, the eunuch rolled his eyes and fainted.

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at Zhu Biao with a sharp gaze, and after a long while he managed to utter a few words from between his teeth.

"Tell me! What's going on?!"

"I" Zhu Biao was speechless, beads of sweat the size of beans appearing on his forehead.

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at him for a long time, sighed helplessly, and waved his hand: "Come here! Take His Royal Highness the Crown Prince away! Confine him to the East Palace forever!"

"Catch the thief! A huge reward!" Zhu Yuanzhang was furious and ordered a manhunt for the murderer who stole Chu Ze's secrets.

Chu Ze was shocked. He never expected that Crown Prince Zhu Biao would design a scheme to frame him in this way.

"It seems that there are more enemies in the court than I thought." He muttered to himself.

At this time, Zhao Si, Li Changji and other confidants had arrived and protected Chu Ze in the middle.

"Sir, let's go quickly. The situation is very tense right now, so it's better to avoid the limelight." Zhao Si advised in a low voice.

Chu Ze nodded, and under the protection of a group of guards, he hurriedly left the mansion.

It was late at night and the candlelight was flickering in Chu Ze's study.

Chu Ze was busy writing a long memorial to the emperor to defend himself.

"Your Majesty, I, Chu Ze, know that I am loyal to you and love my country, and I have no second thoughts."

"What the Crown Prince said is pure slander. I hope Your Majesty will look into this matter and give me a chance to clear my name!"

After finishing the last stroke, Chu Ze let out a long sigh, looking slightly tired.

At this moment, there was a sound of footsteps outside the door.

"Sir, I'm here to report!" It was Zhao Si.

"What's the matter?" Chu Ze raised his eyes and asked.

"I just received news that the prince's men are secretly collecting evidence against you, in an attempt to frame you again!"

"Moreover, they have colluded with some conservatives in the court and are preparing to jointly submit a petition to impeach your new policy!"

Chu Ze couldn't help but get angry when he heard this.

"Well, these treacherous people! I have worked so hard for the country and the people, but they are here to add fuel to the fire and stir up trouble!"

Zhao Si was also filled with righteous indignation: "Sir, we can't just sit there and wait for death! How about..."

Chu Ze waved his hand, interrupting him. "No, fighting violence with violence is not the best strategy. We must use wisdom and talent to defeat those villains!"

As he spoke, Chu Ze stood up and paced back and forth in the study, seemingly in deep thought.

"Right!" He suddenly slapped his thigh, "Since they want to find evidence against me, let's create some evidence to confuse them!"

Zhao Si was puzzled: "What does your Excellency mean?"

Chu Ze smiled without saying anything, picked up the brush, dipped it in ink, and began to write quickly on the rice paper.

At the same time, in the Prince’s Mansion.

Zhu Biao sat upright, listening to the report from his confidant.

"Your Highness, I have already sent people to set up a dragnet around Chu Ze's residence to monitor his movements at all times."

"Very good." Zhu Biao sneered, "Let's see how long he can be so arrogant!"

Suddenly, a confidant ran in in a panic.

"Your Highness, this is bad! I found this in the tree hole outside Chu Ze's residence!"

He presented a small wooden box with a few sheets of paper in his hands.

When Zhu Biao opened it, his eyes widened immediately.

"The Enfeoffment Order? The Equal Distribution Order? What...what is this?!"

There were only a few words densely written on the paper:
"Limit the imperial power and extend favors to the nobles."

"Equalize the land and benefit the people."

"This is treason, and the intention is to be killed!" Zhu Biao said in a trembling voice, "This is clearly an attempt to undermine my father and use the emperor to control the princes!"

"Come here, pass the order immediately and present these evidences to the emperor. Chu Ze must be brought to ruin and his reputation will never be redeemed!"

At the morning court on the second day, as soon as Chu Ze entered the palace, he was surrounded by a group of Jinyiwei.

"Chu Ze, you are plotting treason and rebellion, intending to overthrow the imperial court, is this true?!"

The leader of the Jinyiwei asked with a stern expression.

"What?!" Chu Ze was shocked. "That's wrong! How could I have ever done such a treasonous thing?!"

"Stop talking nonsense! We caught the criminal red-handed. What else do you have to say?!"

The leader of the Embroidered Uniform Guard opened the wooden box, took out a few pieces of paper, and shook them in front of Chu Ze.

Chu Ze took a closer look and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"I see. It seems someone is trying to frame me."

"Your Majesty!" Chu Ze said loudly, "I hope you can observe this with your divine eyes and see clearly after careful examination!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang stood up suddenly and strode down from the dragon throne with big strides.

"Show it to me!"

He took the papers and examined them carefully.

After a moment, he sighed and returned the paper to the Jinyiwei.

"Forget it, Lord Chu, you have nothing to fear if you are upright. This is clearly a deliberate frame-up!"

"That's exactly what I was saying!" Chu Ze interrupted, "Your Majesty is wise!"

"Well, then, this..." The leader of the Jinyiwei was speechless and looked embarrassed.

"Back off!" Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand, and the Jinyiwei scattered like birds and beasts.

"My dear minister!" He turned to Chu Ze, "It seems that there has been a lot of trouble in the court recently. This is all because of your new policy!"

Chu Ze sighed and said, "Your Majesty is right. I know that I have a special background and my actions may be beyond the limit, which will inevitably lead to criticism."

"But everything I do is for the future of the Ming Dynasty! If I stop here because of the slander of a villain, wouldn't I be betraying your majesty's kindness?"

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he looked approvingly in his eyes.

"Well said! I have long seen your ambition. This world has never tolerated reform, but if the Ming Dynasty wants to become increasingly powerful, reform is inevitable!"

"If you encounter any obstacles in the future, just tell me. I will support you!"

"Thank you, Lord!" Chu Ze's eyes suddenly filled with tears.

With His Majesty's trust in us, what is there to fear?

In Chu Ze's mansion, Li Changji and Li Sizheng were working hard with a group of craftsmen.

The Enterprise is about to undergo a second upgrade, switching from steam power to internal combustion engine drive.

Li Changji made final changes to the design and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

The improved "Enterprise" can reach a speed of 150 kilometers per hour, which can be called the "high-speed rail" of ancient times! (End of this chapter)