Daming: I can’t kill such a greedy prince-in-law?

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and said, "Speak up now, and I'll stand up for you!"

"We can't let our old buddies who've been with us for so long suffer, can we!?"

But as soon as Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, the hall became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Wang Bi abruptly raised his head and said without hesitation, "Your Majesty the Retired Emperor is wise! We are willing!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Marquis Yongping quickly chimed in, "This old man should have gone home to enjoy his retirement long ago!"

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at them for a long time, then suddenly burst into laughter: "Good! Good! Since all of you ministers have said so, then we can rest assured."

He turned to Ouyang Lun, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes: "Ouyang Lun, you did a good job."

Ouyang Lun humbly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I dare not claim any credit; it is all thanks to the Emperor Emeritus and Your Majesty's wisdom."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded in satisfaction, then changed the subject: "However..."

His gaze suddenly sharpened as he swept over the few uneasy-looking generals at the end of the noble ranks: "We've heard some people complaining privately that this is a case of 'discarding the bow after the birds are gone'?"

The generals turned ashen-faced and knelt down with a thud: "Your Majesty, we dare not!"

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly: "It's best if you don't dare."

He slowly rose, the gold thread on his dragon robe gleaming in the sunlight: "Let's make this clear today—the Ming Dynasty will not mistreat meritorious officials, but it will not tolerate corrupt officials!"

"If someone voluntarily retires, we'll guarantee their descendants wealth and prosperity; but if someone outwardly complies while inwardly defying us..."

The old emperor's hand rested lightly on the hilt of his sword; the unspoken words were more chilling than the spoken ones.

The atmosphere at the scene remained tense for a long time.

Zhu Yuanzhang remained silent, and no one else dared to speak rashly; Zhu Yuanzhang's influence was considerable.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked down at the civil and military officials below, and finally his gaze fell on Li Shanchang.

"Li Shanchang".

"Your old minister is here." Upon hearing Zhu Yuanzhang call his name, Li Shanchang dared not slacken in the slightest and quickly stepped forward.

"Li Shanchang, you're not young anymore, are you?!"

"There are a few more. We told you to come find us, but we haven't seen you all these days."

"You are all elders of Huaixi, and we hope you will take the lead in some things!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's tone was quite calm, almost like a conversation between old brothers.

However, Li Shanchang and others sensed dissatisfaction and even murderous intent in Zhu Yuanzhang's words!
Li Shanchang managed to remain calm, after all, he had followed Zhu Yuanzhang for many years and had experienced similar scenes many times!
However, the other veteran officials of Huaixi were filled with trepidation. Although Zhu Yuanzhang did not directly name them, everyone knew who had submitted a letter of resignation and who had not.

On the contrary, the nobles of Huaixi who had already agreed to retire and return to their hometowns were unusually relaxed at this moment.

Several people who witnessed this scene even cast grateful glances at Ouyang Lun.

At this moment, Li Shanchang's mind was already racing. After a moment, Li Shanchang hurriedly said, "It's all my fault!"

"We have privately discussed retiring to our hometowns, but we still have a strong passion for the court and feel that we can serve the Ming Dynasty for a few more years, so we have decided to do so."

"If the Emperor Emeritus requires us to retire and return to our hometowns immediately, we will not hesitate at all and will write our resignation letter right away!"

Zhu Yuanzhang was naturally very dissatisfied with Li Shanchang's answer.

Saying this at this time was not Li Shanchang's true feeling at all; it was just an excuse.

Just as Zhu Yuanzhang was about to get angry, Ouyang Lun spoke up, which was quite unusual.

"If you ask me, the Korean Duke definitely didn't approve of the retirement benefits for nobles that I designed!"

"Indeed. The Duke of Han has made great contributions to the Ming Dynasty. It would be unfair to treat him with the retirement benefits of an ordinary nobleman!"

"So that's why the Duke of Han didn't take the initiative to submit his resignation and return to his hometown to the Emperor Emeritus!"

Upon hearing Ouyang Lun's words, not only Li Shanchang was stunned, but even Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao were taken aback.

Tsk tsk.

Ouyang Lun is really going all out today!
Looks like there's no need to get angry anymore!

Zhu Yuanzhang thought to himself.

Um! ?

My brother-in-law usually doesn't say a word during court meetings, so why is he being so proactive today?!

Last time, my brother-in-law pleaded for Li Shanchang, so why does he seem determined to take him down completely today?
Zhu Biao was shocked. Ouyang Lun's behavior today completely shattered his preconceived notions about Ouyang Lun.

The other civil and military officials were also quite shocked by Ouyang Lun's sudden outburst.

Those who can stand in this Taiji Hall are not fools.

Ouyang Lun's meaning was quite clear: Li Shanchang should have retired and returned to his hometown long ago, just like the other nobles of Huaixi!
They even complained that Li Shanchang asked for too much!

Such a blatant provocation would never have happened in the past; it would have been met with a torrent of spittle from the Huaixi Party and its cronies.

However, the Huai-Xi Party of today is no longer the powerful Huai-Xi Party of the past. Most of the Huai-Xi nobles have already agreed to Ouyang Lun's retirement benefits!
Furthermore, retirement benefits were controlled by Ouyang Lun, so these noble families from Huaixi dared not offend him.

In addition, the Huaixi Party has gradually weakened over the years and no longer has the resources to contend with Ouyang Lun in the court!

Just as Zhu Yuanzhang had spoken, the Taiji Hall fell silent once again.

Last time it was because of Zhu Yuanzhang, and this time it's because of Ouyang Lun!
giggle-

Li Shanchang was naturally furious at Ouyang Lun's words!
But what good is anger alone?

At this point, Li Shanchang was completely out of options.

The Huaixi Party has been dealt a severe blow this time, even though many Huaixi officials had previously refused to follow Li Shanchang.

However, Li Shanchang was still able to influence most of the Huaixi Party officials, which was the foundation of his power.

With the support of most of the nobles of Huaixi, Li Shanchang became the leader of the Huaixi Party!
But now everything has changed.

Even so, Li Shanchang is now determined to confront Ouyang Lun head-on!
Li Shanchang knew very well that he had no way out now, and only in this way could he make the Emperor Emeritus see the value of the Huaixi Party!
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this old minister does not agree with what Prince Consort Ouyang has said!"

"Even this old minister has to impeach the Imperial Son-in-Law Ouyang Lun, because he is questioning the loyalty of us old ministers from Huaixi to the Emperor Emeritus, to His Majesty, and to the Ming Dynasty!"

"If Your Majesty does not seek justice for this old minister, I will kneel and die right here in the Taiji Hall today!"

The words fell!

The other veteran officials from Huaixi gritted their teeth and knelt down as well, pleading, "Your Majesty, the Emperor Emeritus, please grant us justice!"

This forces Zhu Yuanzhang to make a comeback!
Li Shanchang dared to do this because he was forced into a corner and he was now certain that Zhu Yuanzhang would not kill him!
After all, now is the crucial time for the nobles of Huaixi to retire and return to their hometowns. Killing him would definitely not have any negative consequences!

It might even give other ideas to those nobles from Huaixi who were originally prepared to retire peacefully and return to their hometowns!
This is Li Shanchang's current trump card, or rather, his bargaining chip.

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression turned somewhat grim, and just as Li Shanchang had predicted, Zhu Yuanzhang was indeed unwilling to deal with Li Shanchang at this time.

"Li Shanchang, just by saying you want us to stand up for you, we're already a little confused!"

"Tell me the details first!" Zhu Yuanzhang said, then immediately gave Ouyang Lun a look, as if to say, "This is something you caused, and you'll have to take responsibility for resolving it later."

Seeing the look in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, Ouyang Lun rolled his eyes to the heavens.

Zhu Yuanzhang is such a wicked fellow; now he tries to push all the problems onto us!

Old Baby!!

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang did not get angry but instead asked questions, Li Shanchang knew that he had made the right bet!

His aura has returned to much of its former glory.

"In response to Your Majesty, I do indeed have reservations about the retirement benefits for nobles that the Imperial Son-in-Law Ouyang Lun has devised!"

"Your Majesty, we have followed you through thick and thin, all for the sake of wealth, honor, high office, and generous salary!"

"If ordinary officials used this retirement benefit, this old minister would have nothing to say, but are we ordinary officials?!"

"In this old minister's view, this is not a benefit at all, but more like spending a little money to buy out our honor for a lifetime!"

"This small favor has been enough to appease so many of us Huaixi nobles. In my opinion, it won't be long before these retired Huaixi nobles become ordinary people!"

"They even live worse than ordinary people!"

"If that's the case, why did we follow the Emperor Emeritus through thick and thin to establish this Ming Dynasty?!"

Li Shanchang had already rehearsed these words countless times in his mind!
Today, he finally seized the opportunity to speak out.

His words were full of pride, showing off the past glory and achievements of the Huaixi nobles!
This time, even the nobles of Huaixi who had been persuaded by Ouyang Lun showed a change in expression.

Hearing these words, Zhu Yuanzhang's face grew even more gloomy.

Zhu Yuanzhang himself did not expect that Li Shanchang would say such inflammatory words.

Even he himself felt compassion while listening to it, but who was Zhu Yuanzhang!

A person who rose from beggar to become the founding emperor naturally reacted quickly.

Zhu Yuanzhang was about to retort to Li Shanchang, but he swallowed his words and turned his gaze to Ouyang Lun.

Um! ?

What does Old Zhu mean by that look in his eyes?
You're the one who provoked Li Shanchang, and now I have to clean up your mess?
Although he had cursed Zhu Yuanzhang countless times in his heart, Ouyang Lun ultimately did not curse him in front of the civil and military officials.

Count the birds, count the birds.

For Zhu Biao's sake, let's settle this mess today to avoid it from becoming a nuisance.

Ouyang Lun cleared his throat and slowly said, "Oh! I understand what you mean now!"

"What the Duke of Han is implying is that he thinks the conditions offered by the imperial court to the nobles of Huaixi are not generous enough!"

"Just now, the Duke of Han was recounting the achievements of the nobles of Huaixi. I acknowledge that, and I think not only I acknowledge it, but all the officials and the people of the Ming Dynasty also acknowledge it!"

"History will record your achievements, but it seems that the Duke of Han has forgotten that your official positions and titles were bestowed upon you by the Emperor Emeritus!"

"Have you enjoyed less power and status over the years? Why? Isn't it because of your contributions?!"

"This is enough to show that the Emperor Emeritus has not forgotten the contributions of each of you, otherwise you would not be safe and sound today!"

"Of course, there is one thing I must remind the Duke of Han and everyone else: it is true that you have made contributions, but your power and status were bestowed upon you by the Emperor Emeritus, and that is why you have them!"

"What good are your great achievements if the Emperor Emeritus doesn't reward you?!"

Of course!

Everyone was shocked by what Ouyang Lun said, but upon closer reflection, they were speechless.

Anyone who dares to say that Ouyang Lun is wrong is questioning imperial authority, and that's simply courting death.

Even Li Shanchang was speechless.

Ouyang Lun's meaning was very clear: it's true that your Huaixi Party has made contributions, but what you've received has far exceeded what you've given, and yet you shamelessly complain that what you've received is too little!

Neither the retired emperor nor the imperial court could tolerate it indefinitely.

Li Shanchang wanted to retort, but Ouyang Lun spoke up again, "The Duke of Han, and all the nobles of Huaixi, have a title!"

"And these titles are things that others cannot obtain."

"The Ming Dynasty has been established for so many years, and you nobles of Huaixi have participated in it, reaping countless benefits."

"Let's not go into the details of the past in court. After all, if we really think about it, let alone retiring to your hometowns, the fact that you were able to leave this Taiji Hall safely is just good luck!"

"Retiring to your hometown is not only your own choice, but also a way for you to save face!"

"If you are greedy and insatiable, you may end up losing everything!"

"I don't think this is the opinion of all the noble families of Huaixi, is it?"

The most shocked by Ouyang Lun's words were not Li Shanchang, but the nobles of Huaixi who had just been provoked by Li Shanchang!
They had already agreed to Ouyang Lun's terms to retire and return to their hometowns, but after hearing Li Shanchang's words, they all had other ideas.

But now, their eyes have become firm!

That means honestly retiring and returning to one's hometown!
They even subtly distanced themselves from Li Shanchang, as if to tell everyone!

They were not with Li Shanchang.

Upon seeing this, Li Shanchang immediately realized that his first objective had completely failed.

The original plan was to bring back these Huaixi nobles who had already agreed to retire and return to their hometowns, and then put pressure on the retired emperor together to change the situation.

But it was resolved by Ouyang Lun with just a few words.

"Ouyang Lun, you...you mustn't be talking nonsense!"

"I'll follow you."

Li Shanchang fainted without uttering a single word.

"Court is adjourned for now!"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Li Shanchang lying on the ground, "Summon the imperial physician!!"

With the eunuch's shrill shouts, this thrilling court assembly temporarily came to an end.

As Ouyang Lun walked out of the Taiji Hall, the sunlight shone directly on his smiling face.

Behind me, the nobles' lively discussion could be heard:

"Old Hu, I heard your eldest son has already enrolled in business school?"

"Absolutely! That kid was calculating with me yesterday, saying that the profits from maritime trade could triple."

As Ouyang Lun listened to this conversation, his smile deepened. (End of Chapter)