Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 18 Zhu Yuanzhang wants to change the crown prince?

The room was silent. Zhu Yuanzhang did not look at Zhu Di again. He just maintained a half-smile and continued to read the family tree with his head down.

Ji He also realized that he had flattered the wrong person and shut up tactfully.

Zhu Di only felt a chill rising on the soles of his feet. He looked towards Zhu Yunfeng with a pitiful look, as if asking for help.

Zhu Yunfeng wanted to shake his head to show that he could do nothing to help, but then he thought that after all, he was also a descendant of Zhu Di and his direct ancestor, so he couldn't just stand by and watch him die.

So after a moment's silence, he said to Zhu Yuanzhang: "Ancestor, the identities of every generation are clearly recorded, including the more than 300 people in our Zhujiaping clan. We can trace them back and confirm that they are correct, right?"

"Ah."

Zhu Yuanzhang put down the family tree and nodded. He actually agreed with this point. In addition to the family tree, Zhu Yunfeng himself said at the beginning that he was a descendant of the Zhu family.

He did not reveal his identity at that time, so no one would believe him even if he said he was Zhu Yuanzhang. Therefore, it was most likely true.

Unless Zhu Cibei, the founder of Zhujiaping, forged the identity of the Zhu descendants in Zhujiaping can be confirmed.

And falsification is even more impossible.

One is to forge a identity during the Qing Dynasty, claiming to be "Chen" on the surface, but secretly leaving a secret book to show that he is a descendant of the Zhu family. This is tantamount to seeking death, as if the Qing Dynasty's butcher knife was not killing fast enough.

The second is the stone tablet.

It can be confirmed that the stone tablet is indeed from the Ming Dynasty Palace and was unearthed from that pit.

This also means that the stone tablet did go to Changsha with Prince Ji Zhu Jianjun, and fell into the hands of Zhu Cibei when Prince Ji's Palace collapsed in the late Ming Dynasty, and finally came to Zhujiaping.

This cannot be faked.

Therefore, it is certain that the more than 300 descendants of the Zhu family in Zhujiaping are all descendants of the Zhu family.

"Now that it has been confirmed, I have finally returned to my roots."

Zhu Yunfeng himself felt a little strange, but he continued: "I understand what the old ancestor is thinking. Please rest assured, I will definitely do my best to help the old ancestor, especially Zhu..."

He glanced at Zhu Di and changed his words, "Especially since the Second Ancestor is here too. By the way, the Second Ancestor must be the biological son of Empress Ma."

Zhu Yuanzhang was confused and asked, "This is natural, why do you have such doubts?"

"No, it's just that some unofficial history says that the Second Ancestor was not born to Empress Ma. Now that it's confirmed, there is no doubt about it."

Zhu Yunfeng said, "As direct descendants of Taizu and Erzu, we must go through fire and water for the Ming Dynasty. When the time comes, I will make a lot of preparations to lay the foundation for the prosperity of the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Di immediately gave him a grateful look.

Zhu Yunfeng was valued by Zhu Yuanzhang. If Zhu Yunfeng was willing to help him, then for Zhu Yunfeng's sake, perhaps Zhu Yuanzhang would not let the matter go.

But unexpectedly, Zhu Yuanzhang hesitated for a moment and said, "Let's not talk about this matter first. I have always been thinking that I have always favored Biao'er. How come the throne later fell into the hands of the fourth brother? What was the Jingnan Incident?"

Zhu Di began to feel a chill on his back again.

Zhu Yunfeng smiled bitterly and said, "This is a long story. I don't think it's the right time to talk about it. I'll explain the whole story to you later."

"hehe."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled, glanced at Zhu Di, and then said, "So who do you think is better, Biao'er or Lao Si?"

"Father, I have been raised by my eldest brother since I was young, and I have absolutely no other intentions."

Zhu Di quickly stood up and knelt down to Zhu Yuanzhang.

He was tall to begin with, and the sofa and coffee table in the living room were close to each other, so he could only curl up between the sofa and the coffee table, with his legs kneeling on the ground and his head knocking on the ground, looking pitiful.

"Okay, I didn't say anything to you, what are you afraid of? Get up!"

Zhu Yuanzhang said dissatisfiedly.

"Yes."

Zhu Di did not dare to disobey and could only behave himself. However, he did not dare to sit down and just stood there, feeling aggrieved like a 19-year-old child.

Zhu Yunfeng seemed to have thought of something, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "You don't want to change the crown prince, do you?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was a little surprised.

Zhu Di opened his eyes and looked at Zhu Yunfeng in horror.

Even Ji Hyuk looked at him in surprise.

Although Ji He didn't know much about history, he had read a lot of marketing accounts and knew that Zhu Biao was the crown prince with the most stable position in history.

Zhu Yuanzhang entrusted him with many state affairs, making him the crown prince with real power.

There is also a saying that if it was Zhu Biao who was the one who reduced the power of the princes, Zhu Di would probably not dare to rebel, but would have come to Nanjing and waited for death.

So what Zhu Yunfeng said about Zhu Yuanzhang wanting to change the crown prince was indeed unexpected.

Only Zhu Yunfeng knew that this was not groundless.

It is true that Zhu Yuanzhang did have the idea of ​​changing the crown prince in his early years, but the resistance was too great. As soon as he had this idea, he was rejected by Empress Ma and all the civil and military officials in the court, and he dared not speak of it since then.

This is clearly recorded in the "History of Ming Dynasty" and "Records of Taizu".

really.

After hearing what Zhu Yunfeng said, Zhu Yuanzhang was not angry, but asked with interest: "Do you know what I think?"

"The History of Ming Dynasty records that you had the intention to change the crown prince in your early days. Although it may be a smear in the essay written by the Second Ancestor, you and Zhu Biao did quarrel. I guess it was because when Zhu Biao was the crown prince, he always opposed you, which made you feel uncomfortable."

Zhu Yunfeng said with a smile.

This is something that can be easily guessed.

Zhu Yuanzhang was a man with a strong desire for control. He was a person who valued power above all else, a typical emperor of a feudal dynasty. He conducted spies on both officials and civilians and made them supervise each other, which shows how great his desire for control was.

Zhu Biao was different. He was gentle, kind and generous. Every time Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to kill a large number of people, Zhu Biao firmly opposed it and even quarreled with Zhu Yuanzhang many times.

This incident was recorded many times in the "History of Ming Dynasty". For example, when Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to kill Zhu Biao's teacher Song Lian, Zhu Biao threatened to jump into the river to save his teacher's life.

There is also Zhu Yuanzhang's concubine, Concubine Sun, who was one of Zhu Yuanzhang's earliest concubines and once helped Empress Ma take care of her children.

When Concubine Sun died, Zhu Yuanzhang believed that although Concubine Sun did not give birth to them, she had raised them, so he asked the princes to wear mourning clothes for Concubine Sun as if she were their legal mother.

However, Zhu Biao believed that his biological mother, Empress Ma, was still alive, and was determined not to mourn for Concubine Sun with the etiquette for his stepmother.

Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry that he wanted to draw his sword and chop him.

These two incidents also provided strong evidence for the later criticism of Zhu Biao, which led people to believe that Zhu Biao's position was not stable at all.

However, if Zhu Biao's position was not stable, Zhu Yuanzhang would not have appointed a grandson as the crown prince. If his position was not stable, Zhu Biao would not have sat on the throne of the crown prince for more than 20 years and never been deposed despite repeatedly challenging Zhu Yuanzhang's authority.

Therefore, Zhu Biao's position has always been stable.

It's just that in terms of power, he shared a team of civil and military officials with Zhu Yuanzhang, and the civil and military officials had to stand on Zhu Yuanzhang's side when they disagreed with Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao. After all, Zhu Yuanzhang would kill people, but Zhu Biao would not, so it seemed that Zhu Biao did nothing.

But even so, for a feudal patriarch like Zhu Yuanzhang, a person who always has the final say, Zhu Biao was able to jump into his minefields many times.

For this reason, Zhu Yuanzhang naturally had some complaints about Zhu Biao.

Just like today’s Chinese parents, they think they are right, so they stick to their own opinions and use their parental status and authority to oppress their children, forcing them to follow the path they choose.

Under normal circumstances, ordinary children can only accept their fate or be deceived, just like the genius child prodigy who started studying for a bachelor's degree at the age of 10, a master's degree at the age of 13, and a doctorate at the age of 16, hoping that his parents would buy a house in Beijing. He was manipulated by his parents for half his life.

But it is different for those who have already formed their own character and values. When they see a situation that is inconsistent with their values, they will naturally resist.

Just like Zhu Biao.

Zhu Yuanzhang was busy fighting wars in his early years and never took him under his wing. His world view, outlook on life and values ​​were not influenced by Zhu Yuanzhang. It was normal for him to develop a resistance to Zhu Yuanzhang's indiscriminate killing when he saw him killing people everywhere.

The result was a strained relationship between father and son, and they became alienated. Zhu Yuanzhang gradually began to think about changing the crown prince.

But behind Zhu Biao stood not only Empress Ma, but also the entire Huaixi noble group. Even his younger brothers were brought up by him. It was as difficult as climbing to the sky for Zhu Yuanzhang to change the crown prince.

It can be said that he was almost in confrontation with all the civil and military officials, nobles and all their families of the entire Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, this idea was only thought of once. It was not until Zhu Biao passed away in his later years that he recovered from the grief of losing Zhu Biao and began to select a suitable successor again.

Moreover, at the beginning he did not plan to make Zhu Yunwen the heir, but wanted to choose from among his sons.

Among them, the person he liked most was Zhu Di!
It is conceivable that when Zhu Yuanzhang had the intention of changing the crown prince from the very beginning, he had already chosen a candidate for the crown prince. Naturally, he would not be angry when talking about this now.

"Well"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Biao'er is indeed a good boy, and I have always liked him. But he never understands me. Why do I do that? It's for the sake of me and his Ming Dynasty. But he always goes against my will, which makes me very dissatisfied."

Then he looked at Zhu Di and said, "Since he was young, he has been good at both civil and military affairs, just like his younger brother, Sun Er. I love him very much. So I did think about changing the crown prince this year. Now that I heard you say that Si became the emperor and did a good job, I have another idea in my mind."

Zhu Di stood there blankly, and then a fiery look appeared in his eyes.

The throne!

That is the position of the supreme ruler.

Who doesn't want that?

Especially when he heard that he would be the emperor in the future, even if Zhu Di had no ambition, it would be aroused.

Because it originally belonged to him.

For a moment, Zhu Di looked at Zhu Yunfeng with an even more eager look.

These are my direct descendants.

If he could help brag about me a little, then...

"By the way, even if Biao'er is useless, I can't depose him. How did the fourth brother become the emperor?"

After Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, he asked another question casually.

Zhu Yunfeng simply said, "Let me make a long story short. Zhu Biao died earlier than you. You eventually made Zhu Biao's son Zhu Yunwen the crown prince. After your death, Zhu Yunwen inherited the throne. As a result, Zhu Yunwen was eager to reduce the power of the princes, forcing Zhu Di to rebel. He fought all the way from Beiping to Nanjing, overthrew Zhu Yunwen, and became the Yongle Emperor. This is the Jingnan Campaign."

Zhu Yuanzhang sat on the sofa in a daze, and said stupidly: "Biao'er, are you saying that my Biao'er left before me?"

"Yes, he died of a cold."

"It's just a cold. I've had it before in my early years. Are those imperial doctors incompetent?"

"That's not the case. That's why all the nine clans of imperial physicians disappeared later."

Zhu Yunfeng shrugged.

Although there is no record in history books that Zhu Yuanzhang killed the imperial physician who treated Zhu Biao, there is a record that he exterminated the nine clans of the imperial physician who treated his nephew Li Wenzhong.

Therefore, in the later Ming Dynasty sand sculpture animations, whenever someone in the Zhu family died, the imperial physician would suffer. As a result, "This Half Life" was not only called "The Unfortunate Song of the Ming Dynasty" and "The Happy Song of Zhu Di", but also "The Unfortunate Song of the Imperial Physician".

"Can you cure the cold now?"

Zhu Yuanzhang asked hurriedly.

Zhu Yunfeng smiled and said, "Don't you want to change your storage?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said angrily, "Although I am not happy with Biao'er's opposition to me, I was just angry for a moment and was irritated by Biao'er. Otherwise, with my temper, if I really made up my mind to change the crown prince, who would dare to stop me?"

That's true. Judging from his character and deeds, he slaughtered nearly half of the meritorious officials, dared to kill all the civil and military officials in the court and so many officials in the world, and the four major cases directly implicated more than 100,000 innocent people, if they really wanted to depose Zhu Biao, even Empress Ma probably couldn't persuade him.

After all, during the massacre, Empress Ma and Zhu Biao always wanted to protect people, but except for a few, they failed to protect most people. It can be seen that Zhu Yuanzhang was determined to do something, and no one could object.

However, the huge turmoil caused by the change of crown prince was not foreseeable. The most serious consequence was that the Ming Dynasty, which had just stabilized, was once again in turmoil.

"It can definitely be cured. In ancient times, colds could easily kill people, but nowadays they are just colds, minor illnesses. We have modern medicine, and many difficult and complicated diseases have been cured."

Zhu Yunfeng said: "Except for some terminal or extremely rare diseases, most diseases have been solved, so our average life expectancy is long."

"That's fine, that's fine."

Zhu Yuanzhang muttered to himself for a few words, then shook his head and said, "It was Zhu Yunwen. I think I chose the wrong emperor. Even if I sent vassal kings, the elite troops were still in the hands of the court. In the end, they were overthrown by a vassal king. I should have chosen the fourth one if I had known earlier."

Although the emperor he chose was overthrown by Zhu Di, the meat was rotten in the pot after all. After all, the later emperors were also his descendants, Zhu Yuanzhang, the country was still the Ming Dynasty, and Zhu Di did a good job, so it didn't matter.

Hearing his words, Zhu Di was ecstatic and a bright smile appeared on his face. Could it be that he didn't need to rebel this time and could become emperor directly?

"Tell me, if Biao'er doesn't die in the future, who would be the most suitable between him and Lao Si?"

After Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, he suddenly asked Zhu Yunfeng.

Zhu Yunfeng looked at Zhu Di with a strange look, then hesitated for a long time without speaking.

"When our ancestors ask questions, we must answer them and not hide anything."

Zhu Yuanzhang's face turned slightly cold.

Zhu Yunfeng had no choice but to say: "Although I am a filial person, it is undeniable that Zhu Biao is more suitable to be your successor than the Second Ancestor."

Zhu Di's originally bright smile froze in an instant.

Good guy.

Whose descendant are you, kid?

It’s bad enough that you don’t support your ancestors, but you still have the nerve to say that you are a filial person?
Although you did help me before, it seems that you have some filial piety.

But we can only say that he is filial.

But not much!
Your ancestors must have been pissed off to death.

(End of this chapter)