Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 125 Encouragement and Reprimand of the Prince

"Be flat!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Below the majestic palace square.

As Zhu Yuanzhang raised his hands, civil and military officials stood up one after another.

Today is the New Year celebration of the first year of Yongle, which has strict etiquette and rules.

Generally speaking, in the morning the emperor would accept congratulations from all officials, meet with many courtiers, and then go to the Fengxian Hall to worship his ancestors.

And there are not only civil and military officials, but also envoys from all directions.

Now is the congratulations stage.

After the grand worship was over, Zhu Di went up first and kowtowed to everyone one by one.

He brought his wife Empress Xu, his three sons, daughters-in-law, grandsons, and all his family members to the top of the imperial steps and kowtowed again, saying, "I wish my father, the emperor, and my mother, a happy new year and good health and happiness."

"I wish my grandpa and grandma a happy new year and good health and happiness."

The rest of the people below also kowtowed.

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Old Fourth, since you have become the emperor, I will not blame you. I only have one request for you, that you take good care of this country for me."

"Yes, Father."

"Gao Chi, my grandson."

"Grandpa Huang."

"You have always been kind and filial, and have the qualities of a wise ruler, but you are too fat and may die young. You should follow the Zhu family tradition and be diligent in martial arts and not slack off."

"Yes"

Zhu Gaochi looked helpless, he had been a quiet person since childhood and didn't like to move, he liked reading books and didn't like to learn martial arts, as a result he became fat. His uncle had talked about it to him, and now his grandfather the emperor also said that it seemed he had to lose weight.

"Gao Xu, my grandson of Gao Sui."

"Grandpa Huang."

"I know you covet the throne, but since ancient times, there has been an order of seniority. Liu Sanwu advised me in the same way, so I established the unworthy grandson Zhu Yunwen. Originally, Zhu Yunwen was unworthy, so I should establish a virtuous one. But your eldest brother is not only the eldest son, but also very virtuous. The throne should be his, and it is his. Don't worry about it. Be a good vassal king, be friendly to your brothers, and when Gao Chi ascends the throne in the future, he will also love you. Remember, don't have any other thoughts, so as to avoid trouble in the future."

Zhu Yuanzhang gave a solemn instruction.

But he knew that Zhu Gaoxu was a very uneasy guy. He thought he had made many military achievements in the Jingnan Rebellion and was very dissatisfied with Zhu Gaochi being made the crown prince. He thought he would rebel in the future and was eventually killed by Zhu Zhanji.

Although Zhu Gaoxu brought this upon himself, the crime of treason and rebellion is unforgivable.

But Zhu Yuanzhang had already experienced the fratricide between his son and grandson, and now he had to experience it again between his grandson and great-grandson, which was really exhausting for him.

Therefore, we must take precautions before it happens.

"Yes, Grandpa Huang."

Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui looked at each other and nodded their heads helplessly.

With what Zhu Yuanzhang said, they will never have a chance to become emperor in this lifetime.

After all, no matter how great your contribution was in the Jingnan Rebellion, the Ming Dynasty was conquered by your grandfather, the Emperor.

Even whether his father can become emperor is up to the emperor's grandfather. What can he do?
"Ah."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Go down."

Zhu Di went down with his family.

The next one is the fifth one, King Zhu Su of Zhou.

Zhu Su was very thin.

Zhu Yunwen's reduction of the power of the princes was a heavy blow to him.

From being the King of Zhou, he was reduced to a prisoner, moved to Yunnan, and lived a displaced life.

Although his title was restored after the Jingnan Rebellion, he lost his fighting spirit and spent all day in the palace studying medicine and other subjects.

At this moment, he came in front of Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma and said hoarsely: "Your son pays homage to the emperor and the queen, and wishes the emperor and the queen a long life and happiness."

"Old fifth."

When Queen Ma saw him like this, she felt very distressed. She stood up from her chair, pulled him up from the ground, grabbed his rough hand, and trembled as she said, "How did you become like this?"

"Ugh."

Zhu Su sighed and said nothing.

Zhu Yuanzhang said in a deep voice: "This time in Yunnan, you have experienced hardships, which is much better than your stupidity back then."

In his early years, Zhu Su was demoted to Yunnan for two years for reflection because of several illegal acts, including shooting and killing the captain of the royal palace's ceremonial guard and sending the head guard to buy goods on post boats and post horses.

After returning to Nanjing after spending two years in Yunnan, Zhu Yuanzhang once asked him about the size of the prefectures and cities in Yunnan, the ruggedness of the mountains and rivers, and the customs and habits of the people.

As a result, Zhu Su knew nothing about anything, which made Zhu Yuanzhang so angry that he scolded him, "There has never been anyone so stupid since ancient times."

Obviously, this reduction of his power had a great impact on him, at least much better than the last time he was demoted to Yunnan.

Zhu Su was scolded by his father, so he could only nod and say: "Yes, father, I know I was wrong. This time when I go to Yunnan, I will look at the mountains and rivers, search for herbs, and plan to compile them into a book."

"Well, it's a good idea of ​​yours."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Stay in Henan and take good care of the people's livelihood. Don't do anything illegal. If you see local officials abusing the people, you should report it to your fourth brother for punishment. Don't worry, I'm here, no one will persecute you anymore."

"Thank you, Father."

Zhu Su suddenly felt that he had someone to rely on, and his mood improved a little.

God knows how depressed he was when Zhu Yunwen sent people to arrest him. He felt that fate was unfair.

"Go down."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand.

Zhu Su left with his family.

Next came the sixth son, Zhu Zhen.

Zhu Yuanzhang had seen him as a child in the morning. When Zhu Zhen came up, he saw a middle-aged man in his 40s with a weathered face coming over. He knelt down and kowtowed, saying, "I greet my father, the emperor, and my mother, the empress."

"Well, Lao Liu, you have done a great job in Jingchu. You are wise and worthy of being my son."

Zhu Yuanzhang still liked the sixth son very much.

After all, Zhu Zhen was a famous wise king, and his reputation was second only to the Shu scholar Zhu Chun. When half of the Zhu family were beasts, as the outstanding descendant of the other half, of course it was a great honor for him.

Zhu Zhen said happily: "Thank you, father, for the compliment."

"Manage Jingchu well, be diligent in warfare and farming, and promote education."

"Yes."

"Go down."

Zhu Yuanzhang tried his best to help him.

soon.

When the seventh son Zhu Yu came up, Zhu Yuanzhang's face became very long.

It's almost the same as the shoe-horn face in the portrait.

The sons he gave birth to were of two extremes, half were excellent descendants, and the other half were beastly descendants.

If Zhu Chun, the King of Shu, and Zhu Zhen, the King of Chu, are representatives of outstanding descendants, then Zhu Yu is one of the representatives of beastly descendants.

Although he was not among the four great evil men of the early Ming Dynasty, he was not much different. His notoriety was second only to that of Zhu Chong, Prince of Qin, Zhu Tan, Prince of Lu, Zhu Gui, Prince of Dai, and Zhu Yi.

So Zhu Yuanzhang was always unhappy.

When Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma came to greet them, Zhu Yu sternly scolded them, "You evil son, you pretended to be wise when your father was alive, but your true nature was revealed when your father died. You are arrogant, lawless, vicious and violent. Do you think that no one can discipline you after I die?"

Zhu Yu was horrified and kowtowed hurriedly, saying, "Father, I know I was wrong. I know I was wrong. Please forgive me, please forgive me."

"forgive?"

Zhu Yuanzhang stood up, pointed at him and angrily shouted: "Who will forgive the people whose families you have ruined? Who will forgive the innocent people you have killed?"

Zhu Yu trembled terribly and knelt on the ground, not daring to make a sound.

His wife and children behind him were also terrified.

Seeing this, Empress Ma grabbed Zhu Yuanzhang and said, "Well, on this auspicious day of the New Year, don't be so angry." "Humph, Zhu Zhen."

Zhu Yuanzhang shouted.

Zhu Zhen hurriedly trotted up and said, "Father."

"Demote him to a commoner, confine him to the clan house, and let his eldest son inherit the title."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his sleeves and said, "You, the Zongzheng, should also take up your responsibilities. If the kings of various places do anything illegal, you should discuss it with Lao Si and punish them severely! You must not be partial to them."

"Yes."

Zhu Zhen responded helplessly.

The job of being the Zongzheng was an offensive one. Although he had no real power, Zhu Yuanzhang's words gave the Zongrenfu the power to monitor the princes of various places.

He will be very busy in the future.

Zhu Yu wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said with a sad face, "I obey your order."

It was good enough that he was not moved to Yunnan. Zhu Su did much less bad things than him. He was just demoted to Yunnan for accidentally killing a captain and occupying some post station resources. At least his eldest son could inherit the title, and this lineage was not abolished.

"Go down, don't get in my way here."

Zhu Yuanzhang sat back in his seat. When he thought about the other half of his beastly sons that he would have to deal with next, he felt a little upset.

But when the next person came up, I felt a little better.

Because by the end of December 1402, the eighth brother Zhu Zi, the ninth brother Zhu Qi, and the tenth brother Zhu Tan had all died.

So the next one to come up is the eleventh one, Zhu Chun.

Zhu Chun was a famous wise king who loved reading classics and history. After he went to Bashu, he was not only diligent and loved the people, and was able to fight wars to quell rebellions of barbarians, but he also promoted literary and cultural education and advocated education in Shu.

This resulted in him having a very good reputation, as he had never done anything bad, which brought great honor to Old Zhu.

Seeing him coming up, Old Zhu said with a smile: "My Shu scholar is here."

Zhu Chun came up with his family, respectfully lifted up his skirt and knelt down to say: "I pay my respects to the Emperor and the Empress. I wish you eternal happiness and longevity."

"Yes, Not Bad."

Old Zhu smiled and said, "Get up."

"Thank you, Father, and Mother."

"You have done very well in Shu, and I am very pleased. But you should not be proud and learn from your second and seventh brothers to be diligent."

"Yes."

"Take a closer look at the local customs and habits, and help the people solve their problems. Don't think you are a vassal king and are high and mighty. The people support you, so you should love them even more."

"Yes."

Zhu Chun listened to his teachings carefully.

Old Zhu encouraged him a few more times before letting him go.

After Zhu Chun passed away, the next in line should have been the twelfth brother Zhu Bai, but he committed suicide, so the thirteenth brother Zhu Gui was the next in line.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face suddenly fell again.

This is fucking great.

It's like a world of ice and fire.

No sooner do you meet a wise king than the next one turns out to be a beast.

The seventh one is pretty good.

Old Thirteen is also one of the four evil men.

Compared with Zhu Gui, Zhu Yu is considered a law-abiding citizen.

Zhu was furious when he thought about this guy who levied heavy taxes and levied heavy taxes in his fiefdom, and beat and killed civilians at will, causing public resentment.

"Your son pays respects to your father, the emperor, and your mother, the queen."

Zhu Gui came up trembling with fear.

He also made great contributions in his early years and guarded the border with great bravery.

However, after the border gradually became stable, he began to let himself go, living a life of luxury and debauchery, and treated the people in his fiefdom no different from pigs and dogs.

In the past, Zhu Yuanzhang did not care about his past contributions and at most issued an imperial decree to reprimand him.

But it is obvious that Old Zhu can no longer tolerate it.

Even the seventh brother was abolished.

Can he run away?

really.

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at him for a long time, then uttered two words after a long while: "Beast!"

"I know I was wrong. I know I was wrong."

Zhu Gui was so frightened that he kowtowed repeatedly with tears streaming down his face.

"You have made great contributions in the past. Even if you have committed illegal acts, I have tolerated them. I only issued an edict to advise you, but you turned a deaf ear to my words. What do I want from a son like you who is so unkind, unjust, disloyal and unfilial?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said coldly: "Depose him as a commoner, and the eldest son will inherit the title!"

"I accept your order."

Zhu Gui laughed bitterly, looking unwilling.

But what can I do no matter how unwilling I am?
The Ming Dynasty belongs to his father, and no one can resist his father, not even his fourth brother who has become the emperor!
After that, Zhu Yuanzhang's mood finally improved a little.

Because the following princes were all pretty good, Prince of Su Zhu Jian, Prince of Liao Zhu Zhi, Prince of Qing Zhu Zan, and Prince of Ning Zhu Quan, were all relatively wise princes and had no evil deeds in history.

Therefore, Lao Zhu was kind and tried his best.

It was not until Prince of Min Zhu Yu and Prince of Gu Zhu Tan came up that old Zhu felt disappointed again, because they were two beasts again.

really.

It's really like ice and fire.

You can be happy one moment and angry the next.

Looking around, he saw Zhu Yunfeng and Ji He laughing secretly, which made Zhu Yuanzhang even more angry. He scolded Zhu Xun and Zhu Tan and demoted them to commoners, and let his son inherit the title.

The following Prince of Han Zhu Song, Prince of Shen Zhu Mo, and Prince of An Zhu Ying were mediocre vassal kings.

I haven't done anything bad, and I haven't achieved anything.

And the most important thing is that these princes were just born when Zhu Yuanzhang was young, they were still babies, so there was no relationship to speak of.

So Lao Zhu just said a few words of encouragement.

After them came Zhu Gao, King of Tang, Zhu Dong, King of Ying, and Zhu Yi, King of Chu.

Among these three, Zhu Dong was a mediocre prince, Zhu Gao was extremely licentious, and Zhu, needless to say, was one of the four evil men.

But Zhu Yuanzhang had a complicated expression.

Because the three are relatively young, one is 16 years old, two are 14 years old, none of them have yet been enfeoffed, and have not done anything bad, so he can't say anything.

And most importantly, their mothers were ordered by Zhu Yuanzhang to be buried alive with them.

Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't start scolding directly, so he could only say a few words in a lukewarm manner to end the vassal king's congratulations.

After that came the nobles and the civil and military officials.

Seeing that even their own son was demoted to a commoner for committing evil, many nobles and civil and military officials were horrified, knowing that the bloodthirsty Taizu had returned again.

This time, even his own sons were not spared. If they don’t behave well, I’m afraid all nine clans will have to play Candy Crush Saga.

Therefore, everyone went up to congratulate and pay their respects trembling with fear.

Of course, Old Zhu was not so bored as to come to the Yongle Dynasty and start killing people indiscriminately, so as long as they were not big villains, he would basically have a good chat with them in a friendly manner.

As for ministers like Mei Yin and Tie Xuan, he also praised their loyalty and instructed Zhu Di not to persecute them.

A full hour passed like this. After he had met with the main princes, nobles, senior ministers and envoys from all directions, the morning's celebration finally came to an end.

(End of this chapter)