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

Chapter 462 Is cultivation true or false?
The next morning, Zhu Youjian pushed open the door and saw Lin Yi, Lin Yan, and Wang Chengen standing at the door, protecting him. Everyone looked at him with strange eyes, as if they had seen a monster.

"What were you doing last night? Why do you all have dark circles under your eyes?"

Lin Yan chuckled: "What else? But I have to warn you, practicing too much will have a great impact on your cultivation."

"Don't tell me you didn't sleep all night." Zhu Youjian touched his head. He was indeed very sleepy that night.

"We can eat, but we can wait for you here all night. My uncle is waiting for you here!" Wherever Lin Yan pointed, a long sword flew over, but he didn't see anyone. It was not until the sword stopped that he saw that it was Mo Yuan standing on the sword.

Mo Yuan jumped off the sword and walked towards the crowd. "Your Majesty, I am not waiting for you here all the time. I am just going to take a look around. I haven't left this world for a long time. It is quite interesting to walk around in this bustling city."

Zhu Youjian noticed something was wrong with the two of them and continued:

"It wasn't me. I analyzed the Wang Gongchang case last night and found out that there was a man named Liu Hu involved in the incident. He was the former director of Wang Gongchang. And he happened to be the person Wei Zhongxian trusted the most!"

"After the outbreak of Tianqi, Liu Hu was moved out of Kyoto by Wei Zhongxian. I sent Shen Lian and others to capture him last night!"

"The Wanggongchang case is actually very simple. The course of events is very clear. Wei Zhongxian's men hid explosives in Wanggongchang, and then the craftsmen made a mistake, causing a huge explosion."

Mo Yuan's expression changed, and he stretched out his hand to press Zhu Youjian's shoulder: "I still want to remind you that women are taboo on the road to immortal cultivation!"

Before Zhu Youjian could react, Lin Yan raised a finger at him and said, "If you want to practice, get rid of this thing as soon as possible!"

Lin Yi added: "After all, you are my junior sister. If you want to practice, I suggest you don't touch her!"

Chen Fan: “…”

Is cultivation true or false?

Zhu Youjian's gaze fell on Wang Chengen. Wang Chengen avoided his gaze, while Zhu Youjian kept looking at him with his own eyes.

Wang Chengen really had no other choice but to bow his head and whisper, "I don't understand. Matters between men and women, matters of cultivating immortality, are too difficult for me!"

Wang Chengen took a short rest, and then saw the sun rising. He said, "Your Majesty, it's getting late. Today should be the day for you to enter the court!"

"Change your clothes!" he ordered.

Zhu Youjian didn't say much. He had previously told his ministers that they should do their best and fulfill their responsibilities. After all, they should not break their promises.

……

Wei Zhongxian took a bath in the room of the chief steward of ceremonies. After the bath, he stood up, walked out with his upper body naked, and said to a group of maids:
"Change your clothes!" he ordered.

Keshi was also standing nearby, and Wei Zhongxian was talking to her:
"The old emperor suddenly has to go to court today. He is just being lazy. Let me handle this matter."

"When it comes to diligence, Zhu Youjian is indeed not as good as me."

Ke Shi rolled her eyes at him and said, "You are diligent and talkative, but my son is much more diligent!"

Wei Zhongxian's face darkened: "Good news? He is too diligent, which is no good to me!"

Ke Shi asked jokingly, "Are you afraid that Jian'er will punish you?"

Speaking of this, Ke Shi's heart tightened.

Wei Zhongxian chuckled: "What a joke! Absolutely not! What can a mere Zhu Youjian do to me?"

"A 17-year-old boy who hangs out outside all day, practicing, picking up girls, and fooling around. What does he know?"

Wei Zhongxian looked at Keshi who had suddenly become so anxious, smiled slightly, and said:

"You care about me that much?"

Keshi's brows were still furrowed as she said, "I always feel like something is wrong."

Wei Zhongxian waved his hand, still smiling brightly: "Are you afraid of this? Your old lover is so cunning, how could he be tricked by your son?"

……

This was the first time that Zhu Youjian saw the emperor's throne in the Fengtian Hall.

Gold, gold. Zhu Tan fell into deep thought, his hands gently stroking the chair, with a question in his mind.

Is this throne really made of gold? What is that?
How many gold coins would this chair be worth based on the current gold price?
……

Zhu Youjian seemed to be lost in thought. The golden chair was very comfortable. He was high up and had all the civil and military officials in the court below him. He had a sense of control over everyone.

That's why so many people are obsessed with imperial power.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

Wang Chengen called out softly, pulling Zhu Youjian back from his wild thoughts. Zhu Youjian then realized that all the civil and military officials in the court were kneeling on the ground. His vision suddenly became blurred and a little heavy.

All of this is so unreal.

Zhu Youjian managed to stand up straight and was fully alert. Perhaps because he did not sleep well, his mind was still a little hazy.

He slapped his head, thinking that he was really exhausted from fighting all night.

"Long live your majesty!"

The ministers spoke in unison, as if they were paying respect to their own students, giving people the feeling of being in a classroom.

"Please stand up, sir!"

The ministers at the steps stood up and saluted the emperor.

Zhu Youjian's face was covered in sweat, perhaps because he was too nervous. It was Zhu Tan's first time to attend a court meeting, and his status was so high.

He used to be a stay-at-home and was born with social phobia. He always felt weird when being stared at by so many people.

Zhu Youjian managed to keep his emotions in check, cleared his throat and said, "My dear ministers, please submit your memorials!"

The civil and military officials held the memorials in their hands and looked at each other. Just as one of them was about to speak, an official walked in from behind.

"Your Majesty! I have something to say!"

"Please speak!" said a middle-aged man.

Zhu Youjian said that he could guess what Ning Que wanted to say without him saying anything. This official was Fang Lang, also an official of the Donglin faction. What he wanted to talk about was naturally Wei Zhongxian.

At this moment, Wei Zhongxian was standing beside him, looking nonchalant.

"You said! Today is my first day in court, I have been waiting for it!"

"As you command, Your Majesty!" Wei Lang said in a deep voice, "I would like to report Wei Zhongxian!"

He raised his hand and pointed at Wei Zhongxian:
"Wei Zhongxian was extremely evil. He committed countless crimes. He ranked second to the emperor, called himself the 9,000th Emperor, built a temple, despised the court, and was corrupt."

"I beg you to execute Wei Zhongxian!"

Fang Lang became more and more excited as he spoke, and by the end his voice was trembling!
Zhu Youjian turned around to look at Wei Zhongxian, only to see that Wei Zhongxian was still leisurely.

"Wei Zhongxian was equal to the emperor. He had my permission to call himself the 'Nine Thousand Years Old' and built a temple. I have punished him. As for his contempt for the emperor and his corruption and bribery, do you have any evidence?"

Zhu Youjian said that he understood his intention. Those ministers had no evidence to support their accusation and could not do anything to Wei Zhongxian.

"I, I don't have any evidence!"

"You are slandering me without any evidence! Do you know what crime this is?"

"me--"

Fang Lang was shocked. Something was wrong!

But why did Zhu Youjian help Wei Zhongxian?

It was obvious that it was Zhu Youjian who instructed him to come and make a report. Otherwise, how could he, alone, have the courage to compete with such a powerful person as Wei Zhongxian?

At this time, Wei Zhongxian slowly stepped forward, bowed to Zhu Youjian, and said: "Li.

"Your Majesty, you deserve to die for framing others!"

Wei Zhongxian's words shocked everyone, especially Fang Lang, whose face turned pale and his legs were shaking.

Fang Lang knelt on the ground and said, "I know I was wrong, Your Majesty!"

Wei Zhongxian paused and continued, "Your Majesty, since Fang Lang has confessed his guilt, please let him live!"

Zhu Youjian winked at Wei Zhongxian, thinking that this man really was not afraid of him.

Look at Fang Lang next to him. It didn’t take long before he was knocked down?

Yes, Zhu Youjian asked his father-in-law to tell him last night to report to Wei Zhongxian. This was his conspiracy.

Who would have thought that in just a few moves, Fang Lang was actually frightened by Wei Zhongxian.

Finally, Zhu Youjian sighed, came down from the throne and looked into the distance.

The ministers were puzzled and looked in the direction, but found nothing in the distance.

Not long after, four guards came over from a distance. When the four guards came closer, the officials realized that the person the four guards were holding in their hands was indeed Liu Hu.

Seeing this scene, Wei Zhongxian finally felt something was wrong. He was sweating profusely and felt weak all over.

Liu Hu was pinned to the ground by a group of guards. When Liu Hu saw this, he fell to his knees with a plop: "Your Majesty, I am guilty! I shall be executed!"

"Damn it? Just do as I say!" Liu Hu whispered, "I deserve to die! Wang Gongchang has contraband goods. I just want to make them into fireworks and then sell them to merchants in Jiangnan. I will definitely sell them out and will never have any intention of colluding with foreign enemies!"

"Tell me, who is standing behind you?"

Liu Hu shuddered, then saw Wei Zhongxian, and immediately crawled to Wei Zhongxian's side and grabbed Wei Zhongxian's legs tightly.

"Uncle, uncle, help! Help!"

Wei Zhongxian pulled Liu Hu away and said, "Liu Hu, who is your uncle? Tell the emperor quickly that I didn't ask you to do anything!"

Liu Hu knelt down with a thud and said, "Your Majesty, I am not a worker of the Wei factory, but I acted on my own initiative, so I did this!"

Fang Lang stepped forward: "How dare you say that he is not my father? I think it is Eunuch Wei, and you are still making excuses here!"

"Your Majesty, I had no evidence to support my claims before, but now the evidence is overwhelming. Wei Zhongxian's corruption and abuse of power are laid before me!"

Wei Zhongxian then realized that he had been tricked by a thief. He had jumped into the Yellow River and had no chance of getting up. He fell to his knees on the ground with a plop:
"Your Majesty, he is not a servant!"

After saying this, Wei Zhongxian saw that all the civil and military officials in the court had the same expression on their faces, and he couldn't help but break out in a sweat. He grabbed Liu Hu by the throat and said:

"Liu Hu, you made such a big mistake, and you still want me to clean up your mess? Huh?

Tell the emperor, I am not him! I didn't! It's none of my business! "

Liu Hu's face turned red, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted. In just half a minute, he died.

Wei Zhongxian was startled and let go of Liu Hu, who fell to the ground and could not get up again.

Shen Lian took a step forward, sniffed his breath, and then said, "Your Majesty, the person is gone."

Wei Zhongxian collapsed to the ground with his eyes wide open. This action further confirmed his guilt.

"Your Majesty, I am really innocent, I am really innocent!"

Wei Zhongxian's heart was broken.

Zhou Yanru and others mustered up their courage and stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I agree. I request that Your Majesty execute Wei Zhongxian!"

Chapter 25

Zhu Youjian also shouted angrily.

"Wei Zhongxian, do you have anything to say this time?"

"I really don't know! Your Majesty, please investigate thoroughly!"

Wei Zhongxian kept kowtowing and prostrating himself on the ground.

At this moment, his heart was filled with fear and worry. His face was distorted, and even his hat was a little askew, revealing a few strands of white hair, looking a little miserable.

This is a grave sin!
He thought he had left the palace safely, but he didn't expect that he would still be defeated by Zhu Youjian.

Turning his gaze to Wei Zhongxian, he found that he was trembling all over one second, and his eyes were dull the next. Zhu Youjian just said:
"Your Majesty, I have nothing to say. We are willing to obey your Majesty, no, the ministers, in everything."

When Wei Zhongxian said this, all the civil and military officials in the court were furious and came forward one after another. Wen Tihen said bluntly:

"Wei Zhongxian has confessed. According to Ming Dynasty law, the illegal sale of weapons is a crime punishable by the death of nine generations of his clan. Your Majesty, he has been imprisoned and will be tortured to death!"

When Zhu Youjian heard the words "kill nine generations of the clan" and "lingchi execution", he couldn't help but shudder.

For people in modern society, such punishment is too cruel.

Compared with Zhu Youjian's suspicion, Wei Zhongxian was beyond everyone's expectations. He was not afraid at all, but found it funny instead.

He looked at his ministers with murderous intent in his eyes.

"You are right, why don't you kill all ten clans and let all the other clans perish? Then you can chop me into pieces and torture me to death!"

Wen Tiren said angrily: "You! You are so brave, do you think the emperor is afraid of you?"

Wei Zhongxian ignored the civil and military officials in the court and turned to Zhu Youjian: "Your Majesty, if you must punish me, go ahead and kill all my clans! Then I will punish you severely."

Zhu Youjian's heart skipped a beat. This Wei Zhongxian was really cruel. It was said that he killed nine clans and wiped out ten clans. Now a hundred clans have come. Doesn't it mean that all the ten clans and the hundred clans should be grateful to him?
If hundreds of tribes are exterminated, wouldn't hundreds of thousands of people be implicated?
Shen Lian said angrily: "Wei Zhongxian, be careful with your words. How dare you threaten the emperor?"

Zhu Youjian woke up and didn't know why he had been distracted so easily.

His eyes met Wei Zhongxian's, but Wei Zhongxian seemed unconcerned and paced in the court.

"I'm not threatening you, but I think if you want to kill someone, you have to see the truth."

Wei Zhongxian was sure that Zhu Youjian would not punish him. On the one hand, Wei Zhongxian had a lot of powerful forces behind him, and on the other hand, he had a master to help him.

Zhu Youjian and Wei Zhongxian looked at each other. Zhu Youjian remained indifferent, but Wei Zhongxian was full of murderous intent. It seemed that at Zhu Youjian's command, the master behind him would immediately jump up and start killing.

Wei Zhongxian didn't know how long it had been, but he suddenly sneered, then raised his head and laughed out loud:
"Every generation has its own talented people! Your Majesty! I am willing to serve you!"

When Zhu Youjian heard this, he sensed a murderous aura emanating from Wei Zhongxian. Many men in black gathered on the rooftops nearby, waiting for an opportunity to take action.

wonderful!

I love watching this kind of tit-for-tat scene the most. It is becoming more and more interesting.

"Your Majesty! Absolutely not!"

Zhu Youjian was about to speak when he saw a woman in a palace skirt rushing over. When Shen Lian was about to stop her, the woman started screaming at the top of her lungs.

The person who came was none other than the wet nurse Keshi. Shen Lian listened to Zhu Youjian's words and let her go. She struggled and hugged Wei Zhongxian's arm.

She cried and said to Zhu Youjian: "Your Majesty, please spare Wei Zhongxian!" "Wei Zhongxian devoted his life to the Ming Dynasty, and he worked until his death! He has no merits, but he has also made achievements, Your Majesty!"

"If the emperor really wants to kill Wei Zhongxian, I will accompany him to the end."

Zhu Youjian had a blank expression on his face. He hesitated but could not make up his mind.

Keshi then advised Wei Zhongxian, "Zhongxian, you should go and apologize to the emperor. Why don't we resign and return to the countryside?"

Wei Zhongxian stretched out his hand and pinched Keshi's face, smiling and said, "How could you be so foolish? If you come to court openly, we will prove our affair, and my crime will be even greater."

He turned to look at Zhu Youjian and said, "I have committed an unforgivable crime. There is no reason to forgive me!"

When Wei Zhongxian said this, the ministers were shocked and remembered that Wei Zhongxian and Keshi had an affair.

Fang Lang stepped forward and rebuked Wei Zhongxian and Ke Shi, saying, "Your Majesty, he is a eunuch, but he had an affair with your wet nurse. This crime is more serious and should be punished together!"

The ministers took a deep breath and agreed with Fang Lang's words. Zhou Yanru said: "I agree!"

Zhu Youjian looked at all the civil and military officials in the court, said nothing, and walked towards his throne step by step.

No one could see his expression, so no one could guess what Zhu Youjian was thinking.

The emperor's grace is unpredictable, which is exactly what Zhu Youjian wanted.

Some people in the cabinet originally thought that Wei Zhongxian would definitely be killed this time, but Zhu Youjian's actions made them feel uneasy, and for a moment, they didn't know what to do.

"I think this matter could be a big one or a small one. The Ming Dynasty is now in a life-and-death crisis. The Golden Tiger and Wolf Army is in the northeast, and Jinzhou is in danger. I thought this matter could be discussed later!"..."

Zhu Youjian sat down on the emperor's throne with a calm and peaceful voice.

At this moment, a Minister of War suddenly spoke.

"Your Majesty, there are more than 200,000 soldiers in the Later Jin Dynasty. Jinzhou is running out of food and is in urgent need of money!"..."

"Is it so dangerous? I wonder if you have any way to deal with it. Can you allocate some money to help the soldiers on the front line?"

Wei Zhongxian heard the hidden meaning in Zhu Youjian's words and knew that he was going to release him.

Keshi pulled Wei Zhongxian's clothes, and Wei Zhongxian knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. I request to resign and donate all my property to the frontline military affairs. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me and let me make up for my mistakes."

Zhu Youjian laughed and said, "Okay, that's settled. I'll help you then!"

Ke Shi was so moved that she shed tears and also knelt on the ground: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for sparing my life."

This action stunned everyone.

Isn’t this too outrageous?

Why is this?

It is better to eradicate it now.

Wen Tiren and Fang Lang were the first to step forward: "Your Majesty, please think twice. How can Your Majesty let this matter go so easily!"

Zhu Youjian smiled imperceptibly:
"Although Wei Zhongxian has committed serious mistakes, he is also a man of merit and a capable minister entrusted to me by the emperor. I should spare his life."

Having said this, Zhu Youjian looked at everyone present.

"If you have a better way to resist the foreign enemies and donate more silver to the front, I can agree to it, and I will also give you a huge reward!"

For a moment, the ministers were speechless.

Liu Ruo, Feng Yuxiu, and Xu Changnian were all ready to go. They drew their swords and were determined to fight to the death with the masters behind Wei Zhongxian.

Zhu Youjian had already drawn his sword and stood in front of him.

(End of this chapter)