My father Yongle, building a five-good family

Chapter 112 Zhu Youjie Visits

Xu Miaoyun's gaze fell on Zhu Di's face, her eyes were fixed on him, and as the time of staring increased, her brows became more and more furrowed.

But at this time, Zhu Gaoyu seemed to still be "making trouble".

He didn't know when he came to Zhu Di, stretched out his hand, poked Zhu Di's belly, and then blinked:
"Mom, look, Dad's belly is getting bigger and bigger. Alas, when men get older, they are like old daylilies. They are worthless, worthless..."

As Zhu Gaoyu spoke, he shook his head with emotion.

It looks quite decent.

Zhu Di held back and didn't punch the boy.

But Xu Miaoyun frowned, thought over and over again, and finally spoke:
"How about... let's ask a doctor to take a look? If it's really an illness, it'd be better to find out early. If the symptoms really come out, I'm afraid it will be difficult to deal with it then."

Under normal circumstances, calling the imperial physician would be just a trivial matter.

However, the current situation is turbulent. If the news of Prince Yan's illness spreads, who knows how big a turmoil it will cause.

If the worst is to be expected... Prince Yan claimed to be ill, and Zhu Yunwen used this as an excuse to keep him in the capital...

If we reduce the power of the vassal states at this critical juncture, and the Prince of Yan is not in his vassal state...

When he thought of this situation, Zhu Di frowned.

To be honest, he didn't feel sick.

As men get older, eating a lot of meat and fish all day long, it's normal for them to have a little belly.

As for the pale and yellow face, it may be due to a series of accidents that have happened in the past few days, so he looks a little haggard, which gives the illusion.

Zhu Di thought to himself, he enjoyed everything he ate and could kill many people on horseback, so how could he look sick?

He waved his hand, declining the offer.

However, Zhu Gaoyu secretly took the matter to heart. He planned to ask a folk doctor to take a good look at his father tomorrow.

Whether you are sick or not, just take your pulse to check if you are safe.

at this time.

The atmosphere at the dinner table was just right, and the family was chatting about their daily lives.

Suddenly, Zhu Gaoyu chewed some rice and asked out of the blue:
"Dad, if the feudal lords are really reduced, and the crown prince reduces the King of Zhou first, what will you do?"

气氛顿时一滞.

"Snapped!"

Zhu Laoer put down his chopsticks and became unhappy:

"What's that look in his eyes? If they want to weaken the feudal lords, they should weaken our father first. Our father is the King of Sai, with many elite soldiers and horses under his command, and he is also the leader of many feudal lords. Why doesn't he weaken us first? Who is he looking down on?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a slap landed on the back of Zhu Gaoxu's head.

Zhu Di looked at this second brother and wanted to take out a bamboo stick to spank him:

"You're fighting for first place even when it comes to reducing the power of the feudal lords! I've never seen you eat shit before! What are you so excited about?"

The second child couldn't stand up under the pressure from his father and became obedient in an instant.

However, Zhu Di was still interested in Zhu Gaoyu's question, and he asked slowly:
"Xiao Si, why do you think that the reduction of the feudal lords will start with King Zhou?"

As for why Zhu Gaoyu knew about the reduction of the power of the princes, Zhu Di was not surprised.

Although this kid is young, he becomes very smart once he gets smart. Sometimes, he can be said to be too smart.

When Zhu Gaoyu talked about this, he became very eloquent:
"Father, you are the leader of all the kings, holding great power over the military of the vassal state. And according to you, you never show your emotions when you are outside, and you don't easily show your likes and dislikes. It can be seen that you are a man with great ambitions and ambitions..."

When Zhu Di heard this, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but curl up, but he still said:

"Okay, let's not talk about this truth anymore. We all know it."

When Zhu Gaoyu heard this, he paused strangely. He obviously did not expect that when it comes to the thickness of his face, he and his father were actually on par with each other.

But after a pause, Zhu Gaoyu continued:
"For a person like Dad, if the first attempt to reduce the power of the vassal states fails, something unexpected will happen and affect the overall plan. It is better to start with King Zhou."

"This is a plan to 'cut off the brothers'. And the King of Zhou is my father's brother, so we can use this as an excuse to punish him together and then attack my father."

After hearing what Zhu Gaoyu said, the Prince of Yan's eyes changed slightly, and then he burst into laughter:
"You are the one who thought this? You are worthy of being my son, Zhu Di..."

Before he finished speaking, Zhu Gaoyu scratched his head and laughed:
"Actually... I heard it from someone else. It's not what I thought."

The King of Yan stopped talking suddenly.

Facing the gazes of everyone at the table, he coughed twice before putting on a fierce look:
"What a bunch of bullshit! In my opinion, the strategy of reducing the power of the vassal states is known to almost everyone in the court. It's just that Huang Zicheng and his scholars thought it was too easy and acted too hastily."

"It would be better to use the method of extending favors to treat the princes, reducing their tributes but increasing their favors. This way, we can preserve our reputation and also divide and disintegrate them."

The sons just sat there and watched their father's expression change.

But it must be said that although Zhu Di's operation was slow to take effect, it was safe and feasible, and indeed demonstrated his experience and cunning as the King of Yan.

However, Xu Miaoyun, seeing Zhu Di's double standards towards his youngest son and outsiders, couldn't help but laugh, and reached out to pick up another piece of celery for him with chopsticks.

Zhu Di also did it naturally. He picked up the celery in the bowl and put it into his mouth, chewing it carefully.

Suddenly, the second brother spoke again:

"But if we attack King Zhou, what excuse should we use?"

I finally got to the point that Zhu Gaoyu wanted to talk about.

He wiped his mouth, swallowed the tofu in his mouth, and then said:
"Zhu Youjie."

When this name was suddenly mentioned, Zhu Di didn't react for a while.

It was simply that he had too many brothers, and his brothers' sons were born in bunches like the Calabash Brothers.

Zhu Youjie was neither the crown prince nor the eldest son. At most, he was a legitimate son. However, Zhu Di himself had four legitimate sons, so he would not bother to take care of such a person.

Zhu Gaochi and his three brothers, however, had already sensed something was wrong. Zhu Gaochi rubbed his chin with his fingers:

"Zhu Youjie has always been at odds with his eldest brother, the Crown Prince. Would he... do something stupid just to become the Crown Prince?"

"However, he is the legitimate son of the King of Zhou and has no title. What can he do? He won't go against Zhu Youdun, right?"

Zhu Gaoxu was picking up food over there. When he heard what the boss said, he blurted out without thinking:
"What's there to not know? He can just find a random excuse and tell the Crown Prince about it. He can make up any crime of rebellion or treason. After all, this guy is the legitimate son of the King of Zhou. How can his words be false in the eyes of others?"

Zhu Gaoxu said this so smoothly.

As a result, the people at the dinner table began to look at him with strange eyes.

This kid Zhu Gaoxu...what on earth is he thinking about every day?
So much so that when I say this now, I don't stutter at all, and it even sounds quite reasonable.

Zhu Di looked at the boy deeply.

Then, the young eunuch who was waiting outside the door came in with his back bent:

"Your Majesty, King Zhou is here."

It's really like what you say comes true.

Zhu Gaoyu asked:
"Have Zhu Youxie and Zhu Youdun arrived?"

The young eunuch didn't know what this question meant, but he answered anyway:
"Both Your Highnesses are here."

Zhu Gaoyu and his brothers looked at each other, and there seemed to be a tacit understanding between them.

……

When Prince Zhou and others arrived, Zhu Di and Xu Miaoyun seemed extremely enthusiastic.

Zhu Su was fond of medicine, and after a long period of research, he had some experience in this area.

So when Xu Miaoyun saw Zhu Su, he spoke half-jokingly:
"It's just right that my fifth brother is here today. We can sit down and have a meal together."

Zhu Su waved his hand:

"No, Sister-in-law, I'm here to talk to Brother Si about something important."

After saying that, he glanced at Zhu Di. Zhu Di knew why he came, but when he thought of the speculation just mentioned at the dinner table, his heart was stirred again.

He simply put down his chopsticks and said:

"Let's go play a game of chess in the study?"

Zhu Su smiled:

"Since Fourth Brother has invited me, I naturally dare not refuse."

The adults had left and the meal was almost over. Xu Miaoyun also went to deal with the account book of gifts and favors for the interpersonal relationships in the mansion.

So all of a sudden, only the four brothers of Prince Yan, Zhu Youjie and Zhu Youdun were left in the room.

As the eldest brother and also the prince of Yanwang Mansion, Zhu Gaochi naturally entertained Zhu Youdun first.

Zhu Youjie was standing aside and saw Zhu Gaochi walk past him, greet Zhu Youdun first, and then exchange a few words with him. He felt a little uncomfortable.

That's it again.

This is always the case.

He is the legitimate son, and the eldest son is also the legitimate son. Why should he be the crown prince just because the eldest son is older, while Zhu Youjie doesn't even have a title until now, and is even worse than that little brat Zhu Gaoyu?

Among this group of people, the only one with a similar status to himself was the third son of the Prince of Yan, Zhu Gaosui.

Thinking that Zhu Gaosui was also a legitimate son, he also had no title. In fact, among his four brothers, he was the only one without a title, which made him even more miserable than himself.

At this moment, Zhu Youjie felt a little more balanced and cast a sympathetic look towards Zhu Gaosui.

Zhu Gaosui's hairs on his arms stood up when he looked at him.

He took one look at Zhu Youjie and felt that this guy was mentally ill.

What's that look in his eyes?
pity?

Pitiful?
mercy?

Does Zhu Gaosui need this guy's sympathy?

He has two older brothers, a prince and a duke, and a younger brother, who was personally conferred the title of Duke of Dinghai by the Emperor.

His father was the Prince of Yan, the leader of all the kings, his mother was the eldest daughter of the Prince of Zhongshan, and his uncle was the Duke of Wei.

As long as he could survive this crisis of reducing the power of the feudal lords, Zhu Gaosui could live a peaceful life for the rest of his life.

Why should Zhu Youjie feel sorry for him?

The more Zhu Gaosui thought about it, the more he believed this to be the case.

Zhu Gaosui's good days are still ahead!

Just as he was thinking about it, he saw Zhu Youqie leave his elder brother and come to Zhu Gaosui with a smile on his face:
"Cousin, we just finished our meal, why don't we go and digest it?"

After hearing this, Zhu Gaosui fell silent.

He looked out at the vast snowfield.

It's freezing and snowy here... go outside to digest the food?

In an instant, an idea came to him.

This kid Zhu Youjie must have been holding his fart in!

Today's first chapter

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(End of this chapter)