King Luhuang of the Ming Dynasty: My father, Ming Taizu

Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep breath, but the veins in his temples were still throbbing.

Showing the anger he was trying hard to suppress.

He stared closely at Zhu Biao, the heir he had high hopes for, who was now pleading with him for the sake of his other son.

He knew very well that Zhu Tan had the ability and ambition to be an emperor.

The relationship between father and son in a family has always been as thin as a cicada's wing.

"Biao'er, get up."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand tiredly, his tone revealing a hint of weakness, "I understand what you said."

Zhu Biao then stood up, lowered his head, and dared not look at Zhu Yuanzhang again.

My father's anger today was not entirely directed at Zhu Tan.

Rather, it stems from the emperor's deep-seated concerns about power and stability.

My father is old.

The old age of an emperor is the most terrifying period.

Zhu Yuanzhang turned his gaze towards Zhu Tan. The anger in his eyes faded slightly, but there was a hint of helplessness and warning:

"Tenth Brother, your elder brother is right. I see your loyalty. But some words cannot be taken back once they are spoken. I will not pursue today's matter, but you must remember that there is a difference between the emperor and his subjects, and between father and son. You must think twice before speaking or doing anything in the future!"

Zhu Tan said nothing, but just looked at Zhu Yuanzhang coldly, without any remorse in his eyes.

Since he dared to openly contradict Zhu Yuanzhang in the imperial study today, he was ready to bear all the consequences.

"Somebody come!"

Seeing Zhu Tan's attitude, Zhu Yuanzhang's anger rose again, but he finally held back:
"The Tenth Prince has offended the Holy Emperor. He will be fined for half a year and confined to the palace. No one is allowed to visit him without my permission!"

"Father!"

Zhu Biao wanted to plead for Zhu Tan again, but was stopped by a sharp look from Zhu Yuanzhang.

The guards outside the palace filed in and took Zhu Tan away.

Zhu Tan did not resist, but paused when passing by Zhu Biao and looked at him deeply.

His eyes were complicated and difficult to read, and then he was taken away by the guards without saying a word.

Only Zhu Yuanzhang and his son Zhu Biao were left in the hall.

Zhu Yuanzhang rubbed his brows, sighed, and said to Zhu Biao:

"Biao'er, please go down. I am a little tired."

Zhu Biao knew that his father needed some quiet time at the moment, so he didn't say much.

After bowing, he turned and left the hall.

Zhu Biao left the Fengtian Hall in silence all the way.

Behind him, the chief eunuch Zhao Yong carefully observed the prince's expression.

He tried to speak several times, but was blocked by the cold air surrounding Zhu Biao.

"His Royal Highness..."

Finally, when they reached the Imperial Garden, Zhao Yong couldn't help but whispered:

"Don't worry too much. Your Highness, good fortune will come to you..."

Zhu Biao paused, turned to look at Zhao Yong, his eyes sharp:
"Eunuch Zhao, you should know what I am thinking."

Zhao Yong's heart trembled, and he lowered his head quickly:

"I deserve to die. I lost my words."

Zhu Biao retracted his gaze and continued to walk forward, with a hint of self-mockery in his tone:
"Father has grown old, and his suspicions have become more and more serious. My tenth brother...sigh..."

He thought of Zhu Tan's performance in the imperial study just now. His undisguised ambition and sharpness could easily arouse Zhu Yuanzhang's suspicion.

Although Zhu Biao was the crown prince, he was kind-hearted and did not want to see his brothers become enemies.

"Prepare the horses. I need to go to my tenth brother's residence."

Zhu Biao suddenly stopped and gave instructions to Zhao Yong behind him.

"This..." Zhao Yong was embarrassed, "Your Highness, the Emperor just issued an order that no one is allowed to visit the Tenth Prince..."

"Is Gu 'anyone'?"

Zhu Biao asked coldly, "Or does Eunuch Zhao think that I don't even have the right to visit my brother?"

Zhao Yong sensed the chill in Zhu Biao's tone and dared not stop him. He could only bow and say:

"I dare not. I will go and prepare the horse now."

……

Prince Lu's Mansion.

The news that Zhu Tan was under house arrest was known to everyone in the mansion.

All the servants kept silent, fearing that they would accidentally anger the hot-tempered prince.

In the study, Zhu Tan did not show the slightest sign of frustration or decadence caused by being confined to his room.

He sat at the desk, holding a letter in his hand, with a sneer on his lips.

"Father, do you think you can trap me like this?"

Zhu Tan whispered to himself:
"The more you try to trap me in the capital, the more I want to leave here."

He threw the letter in his hand into the brazier beside him and watched it being devoured by the flames.

"Somebody come!"

Zhu Tan shouted outside the door.

A man dressed as a guard came in and knelt on one knee:
"What are your orders, Your Highness?"

"Go, invite General Lan Yu here, and tell him I have something important to discuss with you."

"Yes!" The guard took the order and left.

As soon as the guards left, Zhu Biao entered the gate of Prince Lu's Mansion.

The servants in the palace looked at each other, no one dared to stop them, and no one dared to report it.

All they could do was watch helplessly as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince stormed into the study.

"Tenth brother!"

Zhu Biao's voice arrived before he did.

The door of the study was pushed open with a bang. Zhu Tan looked up and saw Zhu Biao standing at the door with an angry look on his face. He couldn't help but chuckle:
"Brother, is this anger directed at me?"

Zhu Biao walked a few steps to Zhu Tan and said angrily in a low voice:

"What exactly do you want to do in front of the Emperor today?!"

Zhu Tan calmly poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip slowly, and then said:
"Brother, you and I have been brothers for many years, don't you know my temper? If I really wanted to do something, why would I wait until today?"

"You..." Zhu Biao was so angry at his stubborn attitude that he was speechless.

He took a deep breath, tried to suppress his anger, and asked in a deep voice:
"Then why did you deliberately provoke Father today? You know exactly what he hates the most right now!"

Zhu Tan put down the teacup and the smile on his face gradually faded.

He stood up, walked to the window, looked at the bleak autumn scenery outside, and said with a hint of loneliness:
"Brother, do you really think that I am deliberately trying to anger Father?"

"Is not it?"

Zhu Biao frowned:

"Every word you said today is challenging my father's bottom line. You..."

"I'm just telling the truth!"

Zhu Tan turned around abruptly, staring at Zhu Biao with sharp eyes: "The Ming Dynasty seems to be peaceful and prosperous, but in fact it is already in crisis! Land annexation is becoming more and more serious, the people are displaced, corrupt officials are rampant, and border wars are constant..."

"Brother, can't you see these problems?!"

Zhu Biao was silent.

It's not that he was unaware of the problems in the court, but in his opinion, these problems were not unsolvable and only required gradual reforms.

In time, the Ming Dynasty will become more prosperous.

"Solve it? How to solve it?"

Zhu Tan sneered:
"Brother, you have been familiar with Confucian classics since childhood. Don't you understand that the world is so big and there are so many problems that they cannot be solved overnight?"

He walked to the desk, picked up a book, opened a page, pointed to the words on it and said:
"Water can carry a boat, and it can also overturn it."

"Brother, do you know what this sentence means?"

Zhu Biao certainly knew the meaning of this sentence. This is a sentence from the Confucian classic "Xunzi", which means that the people can support the monarch or overthrow the monarch.

He looked at Zhu Tan, and suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart:

"Tenth brother, what do you want to say?"

Zhu Tan was silent for a moment, his eyes deep, as if he had penetrated the mist of history and seen a completely different world.

He spoke slowly, his voice low but powerful:
"Brother, have you ever thought that this world is not just the world of our father, nor is it just the world of the Zhu family?"

Zhu Biao was shocked and looked at Zhu Tan in disbelief:

"Tenth brother, what do you mean?"

The education he received since childhood was all about the books of sages, and his mind was full of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, the Three Bonds and the Five Constant Virtues.
When have you ever heard such outrageous words?

Zhu Tan ignored Zhu Biao's shock and said to himself:

"Since the Qin Shi Huang unified the country, every dynasty has been ruled by a family, with the emperor supreme. But what is the result? Dynasties change, and the people are living in poverty. Is this really what the people want?"

He walked to the desk and picked up an inkstone. It was so heavy that it seemed to hold the weight of the entire dynasty.

"Brother, do you know how many people in this world are hungry and poorly clothed? They work all day long, but can hardly even afford to eat and wear clothes, while those corrupt officials are living a life of luxury and debauchery!"

Zhu Biao opened his mouth and wanted to refute, but found that he didn't know where to start.

It's not that he is unaware of the sufferings of the people, but in his opinion, these are inevitable.

It has been like this since ancient times. Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty and brought eternal peace. Could anyone ask for more?
As if seeing through Zhu Biao's thoughts, Zhu Tan sneered:
"Brother, are you willing to let the Ming Dynasty follow the same path as the previous dynasties?"

"So what do you think we should do?"

For the first time, Zhu Biao doubted his own understanding and he urgently wanted to know the answer.

"This world should not belong to one person, but to everyone in the world!"

Zhu Tan's tone was firm and powerful.

"A world that belongs to everyone?"

Zhu Biao muttered to himself, his mind went blank. He had never thought about this question before.

"Brother, think carefully, why were those founding emperors able to gain the support of the people and establish dynasties? It's because they followed the will of the people and gave them what they wanted!"

Zhu Tan's voice was full of bewitching power.

"But now, the Ming Dynasty has been established, the world is at peace, and the people live and work in peace and contentment. Why should we change?"

Although Zhu Biao was moved by Zhu Tan's advice, years of education had made him instinctively want to maintain the existing order.

"Live and work in peace and contentment? Brother, ask yourself, do the people of this world really live and work in peace and contentment?"

Zhu Tan pressed forward step by step, not giving Zhu Biao a chance to breathe.

He walked to the window, opened it, and pointed to the busy street in the distance:
"Look, Yingtian Prefecture is full of singing and dancing, and there are a lot of people and cars, but is this really all there is to the Ming Dynasty? Brother, have you forgotten how many people are struggling on the line between life and death under this prosperity?"

The biting cold wind blew into the study, blowing away the last bit of hope in Zhu Biao's heart.

He thought of the ragged people he saw when he went on a secret visit.
I think of those displaced refugees and those people who dare not speak out.

"Tenth brother, I understand what you said, but what can we do?"

Zhu Biao's voice was full of powerlessness. For the first time, he felt confused about the future.

Zhu Tan took a deep breath, lowered his voice, and said slowly:

"Brother, you and I have been familiar with Confucian classics since childhood and have been deeply influenced by the teachings of Confucius and Mencius. But have you ever thought that Confucianism is really the golden saying for governing a country and maintaining peace?"

"This……"

Zhu Biao was speechless. He had never doubted the correctness of Confucianism.
I have never thought that there are other ways to govern the country in this world.

"Brother, Confucianism emphasizes that the ruler is the ruler, the minister is the minister, the father is the father, and the son is the son, and emphasizes that the king's power is granted by God. This is certainly helpful in maintaining the authority of the ruler, but it also puts the people in a passive position."

"If this continues, the people will be angry but dare not speak out, and the monarch will become increasingly incompetent, eventually leading to the downfall of the dynasty!"

Zhu Tan's words were like a thunderclap, exploding in Zhu Biao's ears.

He had never thought that the Confucianism, which he had believed in since childhood, had such a fatal flaw!

"Then... then according to your opinion, what should we do?"

Zhu Biao's voice was a little dry, and he felt that the beliefs he had always held were collapsing.

Zhu Tan walked to the window, opened it, looked at the vast sky outside, and said in a deep voice: "Brother, have you ever heard of the word 'democracy'?"

"Democracy?" Zhu Biao looked confused. He had never heard of this word before.

"Yes, it is democracy! This world does not belong to one person, but to all people! The monarch is not the supreme being, but should serve the people!"

Zhu Tan turned around, looked at Zhu Biao with sharp eyes, and said in a firm tone:
"Only by implementing democracy, allowing the people to have the right to participate in politics and allowing the people to supervise the monarch, can we truly achieve long-term peace and stability!"

Zhu Biao was completely stunned. He felt as if he was listening to a foreign language.

These words completely overturned the education and cognition he had received since childhood.

"This...how is this possible?"

Zhu Biao murmured to himself, "Since ancient times, how can the monarch and the people be equal?"

"Brother, things in this world are not static."

Zhu Tan walked up to Zhu Biao, patted him on the shoulder, and said earnestly:

"You and I, brothers, shoulder the heavy responsibility of governing the country. We should break the old ideas and explore new ways to govern the country!"

Zhu Biao frowned and paced back and forth in the study, his heart was in turmoil.

Zhu Tan's words echoed in his mind, impacting the cognitive system he had built up over the years.

He never thought that the Confucianism that he had followed since childhood would be a hidden danger of the dynasty's downfall.

And the new word "democracy".

It was more like a stone, causing thousands of waves in the calm lake of his heart.

"Tenth brother, what you said is too unbelievable..."

Zhu Biao stopped, his tone full of hesitation and uneasiness:

"Since ancient times, the king is the leader of the ministers, and the father is the leader of the sons. How can this be easily changed?"

Zhu Tan walked up to him and said in a low voice:

"Brother, times have changed. Sticking to the old ways will only lead to our own destruction. Now that our Ming Dynasty has just been established, there is a lot to be done. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Just think about it, if we can really achieve 'democracy' and let the people participate in the governance of the country, what a prosperous scene it will be."

Zhu Biao was attracted by the grand blueprint drawn by Zhu Tan, but he was still full of doubts:

"But...but, how can we implement it? How can we convince the people? How can we ensure that 'democracy' does not turn into another kind of chaos?"

"Brother, this matter is both difficult and easy."

Zhu Tan said confidently:
"I plan to conduct a pilot project in my own fiefdom first, and formulate a complete system to allow the people to elect representatives and participate in local governance. If it is successful, it can be gradually promoted throughout the country!" (End of this chapter)