Spoiler History: Starting from the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 792: Really Taking the Two Hundred Gold
For Zhu Yuanzhang, his mentality was a little complicated at first.

My brother died of illness, and his ambitions were not fulfilled. How regretful is that? He could even say that he was murdered by him.

Liu Ji was murdered, but he was said to have a good end. How ironic is that? Later generations seem to have many prejudices against Hongwu.

Among the twenty-four generals of Huaixi, if we really want to say who Zhu Yuanzhang can trust with his life, the first choice would be Xu Da.

Even if we take a step back and say that the Hu Yuan Dynasty has not yet been wiped out, how could we justify cutting off our own arms?
This unworthy rumor was actually recorded seriously in the book, and judging from the later generations’ statement, many people believed it. Considering the later generations’ statement that even if Liu Ji was really poisoned, it was a good death, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately thought of:
What happened in the second half of the Hongwu era that made the Ming scholars after the Hongwu era believe such insignificant rumors?

And this question seems to have been answered in the last sentence:

This younger generation just said that Li Shan lived to be seventy-seven, but now it seems that he was convicted and executed at the age of seventy-seven.

But the turmoil caused by this short sentence is obviously not that simple.

Whenever people in later generations talk about the heroes who founded the Ming Dynasty, they always mention the great rewards in the third year of Hongwu. However, for everyone in the Huagai Palace, it was only ten years after the events of the third year of Hongwu, so such a major event can still be remembered vividly.

The most honorific titles among all the awards were undoubtedly the Six Dukes. When the Six Dukes were ranked, Li Shanchang even surpassed the great general Xu Da who had returned triumphantly at that time, and was ranked first among the Six Dukes and was regarded as the most meritorious and noble.

Therefore, the first thought that popped into Zhu Yuanzhang's mind after he recovered a little was:
We would actually kill Li Shanchang?
Then comes the second question:
For what crime was Li Shanchang executed by us?

There were many answers to this question that he could guess, but there was one thread that Zhu Yuanzhang remembered.

The iron certificate of immunity from death was specifically mentioned by later generations, and they even specifically mentioned the leniency of Li Shanchang's iron certificate. Combined with the rules of the iron list, the emperor of Ming Dynasty already had some vague guesses in his mind.

From Zhu Biao's perspective, he could clearly see the changes in his father's expression, from sighing at the beginning, to being thoughtful, and now turning to the Grand Censor with a hint of anger to question:

"Did Lord Han teach us anything?"

Zhu Biao turned his head, but was a little surprised for a moment.

Of course he was no stranger to Li Shanchang. His father had mentioned more than once that he had relied a lot on this "Xiao He" since Chuzhou. He not only said it to him, but also said it at the banquet, to all the officials, and especially to Li Shanchang.

In terms of time, Li Shanchang joined his father Hu Yuan's camp in the 14th year of Zhizheng, and he, the crown prince, was born in the 15th year of Zhizheng. It can be said that Li Shanchang watched him grow up.

This elder is calm in the face of adversities, like a good minister; and harshly speaks to his subordinates like a storm. However, he always has a confident attitude when dealing with both his superiors and subordinates, with his back straight and head held high.

At this moment, the elder's head dropped, and his shoulders slumped by three points. Facing his father's thunderous question, he seemed to tremble, and finally squeezed out a wry smile from his bitter face, took the initiative to reach out and untied the crown and held it in his hand:

"I, a guilty subject, am willing to confess my crime."

This conversation between the emperor and his ministers made everyone in the Huagai Hall hold their breath. After all, they still remembered clearly how His Majesty was severely punished for the Hu Weiyong incident last year. At that time, some people also said that Hu Weiyong was a fellow townsman and confidant of the Grand Censor, but it was eventually left unresolved. Therefore, some people speculated that the Grand Censor might have retired at that time and did not know about it, but now it seems that there is still a hidden story.

In the silent atmosphere, Zhu Biao clearly heard his mother sighing softly, which made him feel lucky for Li Shanchang. After all, in the current Ming Dynasty, if there was anyone who could go against his father's wishes, it would only be his mother, and even he, the crown prince, could not do that.

Not many people knew about this. After all, normally my mother would not be present when my father made important decisions. But today was an exception.

Sure enough, Zhu Biao could clearly feel that his father's anger had subsided a lot.

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and gave a wink, and then a Jinyiwei hurriedly put down the pen in his hand, tiptoed over quietly, and took the crown from Li Shanchang's hand.

Then Emperor Ming waved his hand and said:
"Now that Shanchang has achieved success, he should devote his love to the mountains and rivers to promote the culture of the Ming Dynasty, which may be a blessing for his family and country."

Li Shanchang didn't care that his gray hair was a little messy, and bowed his head to express his gratitude. Then he was at a loss as to what to do next. Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand impatiently, and he carefully put half of his butt on the chair.

The matter seemed to have come to an end for the time being, but Zhu Yuanzhang saw his eldest nephew Li Wenzhong looking around. When he turned his head away, he heard him ask softly:

"Mr. Li, did you really take the two hundred gold? You have always been clear-headed about major issues in the past, but why are you so confused about minor issues?"

Zhu Yuanzhang didn't look at Li Shanchang's expression, but sighed in his heart. If he could always be clear-headed about important matters, I'm afraid...

But this thought was immediately paused: Among the nobles and old followers, how many of them can really understand the major issues?

[No matter how Liu Bowen died, judging from the political situation of the Ming Dynasty at that time, it did make Hu Weiyong's position more stable.

After all, among the three people who were qualified to be the prime minister, one died, one was dismissed, and the other was our old Hu’s beloved teacher.

Apart from this, if we talk about promotion based on merit, who can compare to our First Deputy Prime Minister who approves government affairs during the day and cooks puffer fish at night?
As his position became increasingly solid, Hu Weiyong finally became impatient to taste the wine of power.

To paraphrase the emperor's uncle, I, Hu Weiyong, have worked hard all my life to get to where I am today, so can't I enjoy myself? Keep playing the music, keep dancing!
In fact, it is easy to imagine that in the structure of the Secretariat in the early Ming Dynasty, there were two prime ministers, the left and right prime ministers, two deputy prime ministers, and several assistant prime ministers who had the power to express their opinions. The main purpose of this design was to restrain and supervise each other, and jointly exercise the huge power of the prime minister.

The power that should have been shared by at least four people was held by Hu Weiyong alone. You can imagine how happy he was.

The historical records on this are also quite clear: "When it comes to life and death, promotion and demotion, sometimes they are carried out without reporting to the emperor. All the sealed reports from internal and external departments must be read first, and those that are harmful to oneself will be concealed and not reported to the emperor."

To put it bluntly, it is autocracy, and the government and the opposition are also very real. Since you, Old Hu, have the final say, why can't I come to you to pay my respects?

"The impetuous and aggressive people from all over the country, as well as the meritorious officials and warriors who failed in their duties, rushed to his house, and gave him countless gifts of gold, silk, famous horses and toys."

By this time, the conflict between Huaiyou and Zhejiang in the early Ming Dynasty had actually ended. Hu Weiyong used the sharp sword of the prime minister to declare to the Ming Dynasty inside and outside:

What about East Zhejiang, West Zhejiang, East Huai, and West Huai? In the Ming Dynasty, there can only be one person who makes decisions, and that is me, Hu Weiyong! 】

(End of this chapter)