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

Zhu Tan's words were light, but they seemed to carry a tremendous force, making it hard for everyone to breathe.

"madman!"

"This King Lu is really a madman!"

Everyone was terrified and looked at Zhu Tan as if he was a monster.

Is the King of Lu really not afraid of anything?

Kong Xianglin was a great scholar in Shandong and a leader of the literati. His students were spread all over the world, and his number of former students and officials was innumerable.

To offend Kong Xianglin is to offend all the scholars in Shandong!
Isn't the Prince of Lu afraid of being criticized by scholars all over the world and impeached by the censors of the Censorate?
Isn’t he afraid of being blamed by the emperor?
However, looking at Zhu Tan's cold eyes, no one dared to refute.

Everyone knows that His Royal Highness Prince Lu is not a good person.

He is a god of war who emerged from a sea of ​​blood and corpses, and his hands are stained with the blood of his enemies.

Moreover, he is the most beloved prince of the current emperor and is deeply favored by him.

If you offend him, you will suffer the consequences.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the entire front hall became extremely depressing, and you could hear a pin drop.

Zhu Tan looked at everyone, a sneer appearing on his lips.

"What, you're not talking anymore?"

"I thought that you scholars who usually talk about benevolence, righteousness and morality would stand up for your Confucius, the sage."

Upon hearing this, everyone lowered their heads, not daring to look Zhu Tan in the eye.

"Humph!"

Zhu Tan snorted coldly, his eyes swept across the crowd, finally landing on Kong Xianglin who was kneeling on the ground.

"Kong Xianglin, do you have anything else to say?"

Kong Xianglin was so frightened at this point that he dared not say anything more.
He just kowtowed desperately, begging for mercy:

"Your Majesty, please spare me! Your Majesty, please spare me!"

"I know I was wrong, I won't do it again!"

Zhu Tan felt disgusted when he saw Kong Xianglin's cowardly look.

"Are you aware of your mistake?"

Zhu Tan sneered, took out a stack of letters from his sleeve and threw them in front of Kong Xianglin.

"Look for yourself what these are!"

Kong Xianglin picked up the letter tremblingly, and after just one glance, his face suddenly turned as pale as paper.

These letters are all ironclad evidence of his collusion with officials from all sides, corruption, abuse of power, and even cruelty to the people!

"This this……"

Kong Xianglin was so terrified that he couldn't utter a word.

"What, you have nothing to say?"

Zhu Tan smiled coldly and said:

"Kong Xianglin, as a great scholar from Shandong, you should be a role model and educate the people."

"But what about you? You have done all the things that a thief and a whore do!"

"You took bribes, bullied the people, and even murdered people!"

"You are simply a scum of the cultured and Confucian schools!"

"Today, I will enforce justice on behalf of Heaven and clean up the mess!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Tan kicked Kong Xianglin in the chest.

"boom!"

There was a dull thud and Kong Xianglin screamed. He flew backwards like a kite with a broken string and fell heavily to the ground.

"puff!"

A mouthful of blood spurted out, and Kong Xianglin felt a sharp pain in his chest, as if all his bones were broken.

"Your Majesty, please spare me! Your Majesty, please spare me!"

Kong Xianglin struggled to get up, but was stepped on the face by Zhu Tan.

"Spare your life?"

Zhu Tan sneered and said:

"Have those wronged souls of yours ever spared you?"

"I, King Lu, never follow rules when doing things!"

"If I find evidence of your crimes, I won't listen to your explanations!"

After saying that, Zhu Tan raised his feet and started punching and kicking Kong Xianglin.

"Bang bang bang!"

"Ahhh!"

In the front hall, screams and the sounds of punching and kicking were intertwined, like hell on earth.

Everyone watching this scene was so frightened that they turned pale and remained silent.

They finally understood that King Lu was really crazy!

He actually dared to beat Kong Xianglin violently in front of them!

This is Kong Xianglin!
He is the leader of Shandong scholars and a disciple of the saint!
But now, the King of Lu was trampling on him like a dog and humiliating him at will!

This... this is simply lawless!
Zhu Tan stopped talking and just looked down at Kong Xianglin, who was lying like a dead dog at his feet.

Kong Xianglin was still twitching slightly, and an indistinct whimpering sound came from his mouth, intermittently, but it sounded like he was saying "spare me".

But Zhu Tan knew that this was not what he was talking about. What he was talking about was "Saint...Saint..." This old guy was still thinking about his Saint Confucius until his death.

"Hmm, saint?"

Zhu Tan showed a cruel smile, "Today I will clean up the mess for the Saint!"

After saying that, he suddenly drew out the sword from his waist. With a flash of cold light, a stream of blood gushed out from Kong Xianglin's neck.

There was a dead silence in the front hall, and you could hear a pin drop.

No one dared to make a sound, they just stared at the scene blankly, as if they were watching an absurd drama.

Kong Xianglin's body twitched a few times on the ground, and then there was no movement at all.

Zhu Tan didn't even look at the corpse on the ground. He threw the sword to the guard behind him, wiped the blood off his hands with a silk handkerchief, and said lightly:
"Dirty."

Then, he raised his head, glanced at everyone, and the harmless smile returned to his face, as if the person who had just killed so decisively was not him.

"My Lords, today's incident was just me clearing the house. It has nothing to do with today's banquet. Please don't take it to heart."

He paused and said in a relaxed tone:

"The main reason I invited you all here today is because of the new policy."

After finishing speaking.

He turned and walked towards the banquet hall as if nothing had happened.

Everyone looked at each other, and no one dared to move for a moment.

They looked at Zhu Tan's back, their hearts filled with fear and confusion.

This King of Lu was moody, eccentric, and completely unpredictable.

They saw what happened today with their own eyes, but it seemed so unreal to them, as if they were dreaming.

It was the Governor Wang who reacted the fastest. After all, he was a veteran in the officialdom and had experienced many ups and downs, so he quickly calmed down.

He looked at Zhu Tan's back and said to everyone in a low voice:
"Since the prince has said that he is here to discuss the new policies, then we should just listen to him. What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and follow us!"

Everyone then woke up as if from a dream, and hurriedly followed Lord Wang towards the banquet hall.

The banquet hall was already filled with sumptuous food and wine, with everything from fine wine to delicious food.

Zhu Tan had already sat down in the main seat, eating his food without any airs of a prince at all.

As he ate, he mumbled:

"Why are you all standing? Sit down! Use your chopsticks. Why aren't you eating? You'll have the energy to work only when you're full!" No one dared to actually eat.

Everyone sat trembling in their seats and only took a few bites of food symbolically.

I put it in my mouth and chewed it slowly, but I couldn't taste it.

Only Zhu Tan, as if nothing had happened, continued to eat heartily without paying any attention to the people around him.

He ate in a rough and voracious manner.

In a short while, most of the dishes on the table were swept away like whirlwind.

After eating and drinking, Zhu Tan burped, patted his stomach with satisfaction, threw a few booklets on the table, and said to everyone:
"This is the new policy I have formulated. Take it back and read it carefully. Implement it as soon as possible!"

Everyone quickly picked up the booklet and began to read it carefully.

The booklet was filled with densely written text, all of which were reform measures regarding taxation, corvee labor, land, etc.

There's even something about street management.

For these officials and gentry.

It's totally a fantasy!

Zhu Tan looked at everyone, a sneer appeared on his face, and said:

"These new policies are all for the benefit of the people, and also for the benefit of our Ming Dynasty. You must do your best to implement them for me. If I find out that any of you are pretending to obey me but actually disobeying me, or are just doing things perfunctorily, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will do my best to implement the new policy!"

Everyone quickly stood up to express their opinions.

"Well, that's good."

Zhu Tan nodded with satisfaction, then stood up, put his hands behind his back, paced in the banquet hall, and said:
"I don't like empty talk. I only look at the results. After the new policy is implemented, I will go on a private visit in disguise and personally check it out. If it's not done well..."

He deliberately prolonged his voice, and a cold light flashed in his eyes, which made the officials present feel a chill down their spines.

……

As night fell, Gunzhou was shrouded in an eerie silence.

The city, which was brightly lit in the past, now seems unusually deserted.

In a mansion in the east of the city, several gentlemen dressed in silk and satin were sitting together.

His face was gloomy and the atmosphere was so depressing that it seemed as if water could drip out of it.

"This King Lu is simply crazy! Crazy!"

The speaker was a famous wealthy businessman in Gunzhou, his surname was Qian, and he was also known as Qian Bancheng.

At this moment, he no longer had any of his usual shrewdness and tact, and was only filled with panic:

"What kind of bullshit new policy is this? It's simply driving us to death!"

"you do not say!"

Another man with a goatee, Mr. Zhou, who claimed to be a famous scholar, also sighed:

"The streets must be clean? There must not be beggars? That's unheard of! We have been teaching poetry and etiquette for generations, and writing poetry is the right way to go. Who would care about these trivial matters?"

"Not to mention the legal management, it's just ridiculous!"

An official with a fat body and a face full of flesh slammed the teacup heavily on the table and said angrily:
"How can we, as scholars, who have been familiar with the books of sages since childhood, be constrained by such brutal laws?"

This man was named Zhao De and was the Tongpan of Gunzhou. He relied on his power to oppress the people.

Now that he sees Zhu Tan’s new policy, he is naturally the first to jump out to oppose it.

"In my opinion, this King Lu clearly wants to force all of us into a dead end!"

Qian Bancheng gritted his teeth and said, "We can't just sit there and wait for death. We have to think of a way!"

"Yes! We must write a joint letter to impeach Prince Lu!"

Mr. Zhou echoed, "Just say that he is cruel and inhumane, killing innocent people indiscriminately, and is not worthy of being a vassal king of the Ming Dynasty!"

"That's right! We should also report the matter of Kong Xianglin!"

Zhao De said viciously, "I don't believe that Your Majesty will allow him to do whatever he wants!"

Everyone was talking at once, becoming more and more excited, as if they had already seen the scene of Zhu Tan being brought down and ruined.

Similar scenes are taking place in several luxury homes in Shandong.

"This King Lu is clearly trying to force us to death!"

Mr. Li was sitting in the study at this moment, his face was ashen, and the teacup in his hand was creaking as he squeezed it.

"A restaurant needs to be clean? Then how can we, the business owners, survive? And what about the legal management? It's just nonsense! We spent so much money to manage it, didn't we just want to make things convenient? Now, everything has been ruined by King Lu!"

Mr. Li became more and more excited as he spoke. A mouthful of phlegm got stuck in his throat, making his face turn red.

"Master, calm down and don't let your anger get you in trouble."

Next to him, a charming woman gently stroked his back, her voice so tender that it made one's bones go soft.

"Humph, this is something I cannot swallow!"

……

On the other side, an elegant middle-aged man was sitting in the study, holding a book in his hand, which was Confucius' "The Analects".

He is Kong Xianglin's father, the current patriarch of the Kong family, Kong Linghui.

There was no trace of anger on Kong Linghui's face, only endless sadness and hatred.

"Xianglin, my son! You died so tragically!"

He slowly put down the book in his hand, and a hint of determination flashed in his eyes.

"Prince Lu, you killed my beloved son. This hatred is irreconcilable! I, Kong Linghui, will never forgive you!"

He stood up, walked to the desk, picked up a pen, and began to write quickly.

He wanted to write a memorial, a memorial accusing Prince Lu of crimes, and he wanted to make Prince Lu's evil deeds public.

He wanted to let everyone in the world know what a cruel and cruel villain the King of Lu was!
……

Several memorials, filled with raging anger and overwhelming hatred, were sent to the capital overnight.

At this moment, in the center of the storm, Zhu Tan knew nothing about it.

He was lying on the bed, hugging Princess Lu and snoring.

……

A few days later.

early morning.

Golden Palace

Zhu Yuanzhang sat upright on the dragon throne, old but still majestic.

He looked at the kneeling Imperial Censor in the palace, and listened to him eloquently accusing Zhu Tan of "atrocities" in Shandong.

“Your Majesty! His Royal Highness Prince Lu… He is simply reckless and oppressing the people! He forced merchants to clean up their shops and even beggars were not spared. This is simply…”

When the Imperial Censor was so moved, he burst into tears:

"This is simply a disgrace to society. Where does this put the laws of the Ming Dynasty?"

He knelt on the ground and presented the memorial impeaching Zhu Tan with both hands.

Zhu Yuanzhang listened calmly, but a sneer arose in his heart.

This group of imperial censors usually look down on themselves and claim themselves to be moral role models, but now they are standing up for a few merchants and beggars?

As soon as the censor finished speaking, a buzz of discussion suddenly arose in the hall.

Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a moment and asked the eunuch to bring the memorial over.

He took the memorial and opened it slowly.

The handwriting on the memorial is so strong that it can be seen through the back of the paper, which shows the deep resentment in the heart of the person who wrote it.

He glanced through it quickly, and a complicated look flashed in his eyes.

"This kid is really bold!"

Zhu Yuanzhang thought to himself. (End of this chapter)