I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 108 Unreliable Father

The Daming East Palace refers to the area within the Donghua Gate of the Forbidden City, with the Wenhua Hall as the main body. It is separated from the Xiyuan by the Forbidden City.

Zhu Yijun sat in a sedan chair, circled in front of the Meridian Gate, and arrived in front of the Donghua Gate. He handed over his nameplate and had his badge checked as per the rules before entering the Donghua Gate.

Walking into the main gate of the Eastern Palace, Wenhua Gate, the Eastern Palace eunuch Wanfu was waiting at the door.

"Your Highness, the Crown Princess asked me to wait here."

"Eunuch Wan is thoughtful."

"Grandson, the Crown Princess asked me to tell you that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is in Wenhua Palace."

"What is father doing in Wenhua Hall?" Zhu Yijun was a little curious.

Ever since his fourth uncle, Prince Jing Zhu Zaizhen, passed away, his father Zhu Zaigui was made the crown prince. After his position as heir to the throne was no longer in doubt, he no longer had the heart to meet with the several tutors on a regular basis.

In the past, such regular gatherings were called "Lectures on the Meaning of Scriptures", but in reality they were for discussing current affairs and maintaining one's position.

Now that his father's position as crown prince is secure, and Gao Gong, the person he trusts the most and relies on the most but is also a little afraid of, is no longer around, he has no time for these meaningless things and devotes his whole body and soul to enjoying himself.

Wenhua Hall is where the emperor lectures on Buddhist scriptures. It has now become the most leisurely place in the entire Eastern Palace. Today, my father actually went there.

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation.

No wonder my mother specially arranged for Wanfu to wait at the door and inform me.

Zhu Yijun followed Wanfu into the front door of Wenhua Hall, walked up the side steps, came to the platform outside the hall, walked around the door and went to the left.

As soon as he turned the corner, Zhu Yijun saw a figure.

His father Zhu Zaigui was wearing an ochre-yellow round-necked robe with five dragons on it and a Yishan crown on his head. He stood with his hands behind his back and looked up at the Forbidden City not far away.

Walking up to him, Zhu Yijun bowed and said, "I greet your Highness the Crown Prince."

Zhu Zaiqi turned around and saw Zhu Yijun, a smile appeared on his face: "The boss is here, stay here with me for a while."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Zhu Zaigui glared at Zhu Yijun and said, "The Eastern Palace has become our home now. There is no need to be so polite at home. You are my biological son and I am your biological father. Why should we be polite to each other?"

"Yes, great father."

"By the way, if you continue to be polite and pretentious, I will send you back to the West Garden." Zhu Zaigui then let Zhu Yijun go and turned to continue looking to the west.

Looking at his back, Zhu Yijun felt that his father was very different today.

what happened?
Zhu Yijun was patient and waited quietly.

He knew that his father Zhu Zaigui was not someone who could keep secrets.

"Jun'er, do you know where that is?" Zhu Zaigui pointed his mouth towards the west.

"Father, it's the Forbidden City."

"Yes, it is the Forbidden City. I was born there, lived there for a few years, and then left. Until now, I can only look at it from afar through this red wall."

Zhu Yijun stood beside Zhu Zaigui, with his hands in his sleeves, his head slightly tilted, looking up at the majestic and towering Forbidden City.

Wanfu looked at the figures of the father and son, narrowed his eyes slightly, and quietly stood a few steps back.

After standing there side by side with Zhu Yijun for a quarter of an hour, Zhu Zaigui spoke.

"In fact, I always remember those years in the Forbidden City. Those were probably the happiest years of my life. I was much younger than you are now, about the same age as you were when you entered the Western Garden.

At that time, the fourth child and I were both followers of the second child. The second child was my second brother, Prince Zhuangjing. He was one year older than me, and was very smart since he was young. He took us to have fun in the Forbidden City.

Zhu Zaigui stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the Forbidden City, with a smile emerging from his memories on his face.

"At that time, our favorite game was the soldiers fighting the northern barbarians. My second brother was the commander, I was the deputy commander, and the fourth brother was the soldier. We put on cloaks, broke off two branches and used them as swords and guns, and killed and charged with a sound of "Yiyi".

I remember that the fourth child had short legs and his cape dragged on the ground. When he ran, he would step on his cape. Bang, he fell down, got up and ran just two steps, and then he fell down again. Haha, I laughed to death. "

Zhu Zaigui suddenly lowered his head and wiped his tears with his hands.

Zhu Yijun watched carefully from the side.

He knew that the tears his father shed were not only the laughter in his memories, but also the sorrow in his memories.

"At that time, we all knew that the second brother was the crown prince and that the Ming Dynasty would belong to him in the future.

I told him, "Second brother, if you can make me the King of Liao, or the King of Ningxia, I will train the most powerful cavalry in the Ming Dynasty, travel across the desert, be granted the title of Langxu, and carve a stone in Yanran." The fourth brother was running his nose, biting his fingers, and babbling behind me, saying, "Second brother, then you can make me the King of Wu, and the third brother will go to the north to fight, and I will go to the south of the Yangtze River to help you raise food and grass."

The second brother laughed loudly, stood on a high place with his hands on his waist, waved his hands and said with great courage, "No problem, when I become the emperor, I will make you the King of Sai and the fourth the King of Wu. One of us will train the troops and the other will raise food. Together, the three of us will destroy the Northern Tartars."

Zhu Yijun listened quietly.

So what if he's a prince? He's also a human being, and he had his share of idiotic moments when he was young.

It is not surprising that my father, second uncle and fourth uncle had such thoughts when they were young.

Zhu Zaigui's expression gradually changed from joy to sadness.

"What a pity! My second brother only has the posthumous title of Prince Zhuangjing, and now the fourth brother is gone too. Even if I return to the Forbidden City one day, I will be left alone."

This time, Zhu Zaigui did not wipe his tears, but just stared at the Forbidden City for a long time before turning to look at Zhu Yijun, "Today I received a report that my Ming Jizhou Border Guard Army won a great victory outside the Great Wall.

20,000 people were beheaded, and Altan Khan's eldest son, Xinai Huang Taiji, was captured. I knew at a glance that you must have been the one behind this."

Having said this, Zhu Zaigui put his hands behind his back and walked along the corridor outside the hall.

Zhu Yijun followed closely behind.

"Your grandfather didn't have the courage to do this twenty years ago. The ministers in the court, from the Prime Minister Xu Jie on down, either only care about the position under their buttocks and do whatever they can; or they argue for some bullshit justice and justice, and they don't know what to do."

Zhu Zaiqi put his hands behind his back and shook his head, "I never thought that I, Zhu Laoer, who had been a coward for more than 20 years, would give birth to a son like you.

Counting from the Zhengtong era onwards, who would have the guts to do this, using 6,000 new troops as bait to chop off the heads of 20,000 real Tartars? "

At this point, Zhu Zaigui turned around and gave Zhu Yijun a thumbs up: "Jun'er, you are awesome!"

This scene completely frustrates Zhu Yijun.

Zhu Zaigui turned around again and continued walking with his hands behind his back. Although he was in his twenties, he managed to look like a man in his forties or fifties with a weathered look.

"After receiving this good news, I couldn't help but think of my childhood and the promise I made to my second brother."

Zhu Zaigui stood there, facing the void, gesticulating and saying: "Second brother, you be the crown prince, and I will be the king of the frontier. I will help you train an invincible cavalry to wipe out the northern Mongolians and seal the Wolf's Lair."

After saying that, he looked into the distance, his face showing an expression of whether he was crying or laughing. Finally, he sighed deeply, put his hands behind his back, and continued walking.

“But this sentence has been gradually erased since I was moved out of the Forbidden City and lived in Prince Yu’s Mansion.

"Jun'er, if you were in my position, what would you do?"

Zhu Yijun replied: "Live in a muddleheaded state, eat and wait for death."

Zhu Zaigui smiled, "The Crown Princess said you are sensible, and you are indeed sensible. You know how to comfort me with words, which makes me feel relieved. Jun'er, I have such a father and a son like you. Do you think I am lucky or unlucky?"

"It depends on what father thinks. If father still has the same ambition as when he was young in the Forbidden City, it would be unfortunate; if father is like the Prince Yu, it would be a great blessing."

Zhu Zaigui pointed at Zhu Yijun vigorously with his right finger, "You are so smart, so clever, so smart that sometimes I doubt whether you are my biological son?

Could it be that during your serious illness in May of the 38th year of the Jiajing reign, a star descended to earth and possessed my Jun'er? My dear father, who prays for blessings and practices Taoism every day, should be here with you?"

Zhu Zaigui approached Zhu Yijun and whispered mysteriously, "Tell me, which god in heaven are you? It's just the two of us now. If you tell me, it will go into my ears and never out of my mouth."

Zhu Yijun smiled bitterly and said, "Father, how can I answer you?"

Zhu Zaigui stared at Zhu Yijun for a while, then waved his sleeves, "Okay, okay, you don't have to say anything. Anyway, you are my child, and this cannot be changed.

Jun'er."

"Father."

"I know that people with great ambitions are decisive in their actions. I have known your methods for a long time."

Zhu Zaiqi looked at Zhu Yijun and hesitated for a while, but finally said: "In the future, please look after your father's face and take good care of your brother. Don't be like me and your fourth uncle, who played so well together when we were young, but became so estranged when we grew up."

"Father, why do you have to say that?"

Zhu Zaigui shook his head. "I saw it all. You pushed me to the position of Crown Prince step by step. Now, your position as Crown Prince is more stable than mine.

But in this world, you can't just stop fighting if you don't want to. There are always people who want to fight hard, and the prince is their bargaining chip. It used to be like this between me and your fourth uncle, and it will be you and your brother in the future.

It’s not that the Heavenly Family is heartless, but that the world doesn’t allow them to be affectionate.”

Zhu Yijun looked to be in his twenties, but he looked like his father Zhu Zaigui, who had experienced decades of vicissitudes. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.

(End of this chapter)