Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 25 Zhu Yunfeng’s show of force?
At the beginning of the afternoon, around one o'clock, in the Qianqing Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao, who had just finished lunch, came to the study again.

Zhu Biao took a short nap at noon. When the food was ready, Zhu Yuanzhang asked someone to wake him up.

He had just finished his meal, and due to lack of sleep and the blood concentrated in the stomach after the meal, he was still a little sleepy. He yawned while walking, and had to slap his face to force himself to stay awake.

On the contrary, Zhu Yuanzhang did not look tired at all. He had even been reviewing memorials. Although he had not had much rest since morning, he was very excited.

He was an energetic man, and now that he knew about the future, his mind was naturally full of things about the future.

This time, Zhu Biao was called over with the intention of letting him serve as regent for two days.

Because in order to negotiate with Zhu Yunfeng openly and honestly, it means that he needs to stay in modern times for a while, at least to figure out what mobile phones and the Internet are.

So it is very likely that you will be there for two or three days.

In the afternoon, the Ministry of Works will be asked to send people to repair the pit and make an underground palace, so it will not be convenient for him to enter and exit at any time.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat on his desk in the study and said to Zhu Biao, "Biao'er, I will be leaving soon. The country will be handed over to you in the next two days. Don't slack off."

"Don't worry, father."

Zhu Biao responded instinctively, then reacted and said, "Father will go over now?"

"I'm anxious."

Zhu Yuanzhang sighed: "I am now eager to understand future generations and to find a way to make the Ming Dynasty strong and prosperous."

People are always curious and eager to explore unknown things.

In fact, not only Zhu Yuanzhang, but also Zhu Biao wanted to know what the world behind the stone tablet was like.

But Zhu Biao was unusually calm and said, "Father can't go now. He has to wait at least two days."

"I know what you mean. We can't be too impatient. Otherwise, when we talk to Zhu Yunfeng, he might dominate us, which will be disadvantageous to us later."

Zhu Yuanzhang was no fool, but he added: "But I am not made of clay, so I naturally have some ways to deal with this young man."

Zhu Biao thought for a moment and said, "As the old saying goes, a good warrior takes advantage of the situation. This matter is of great importance and concerns the entire Ming Dynasty. It is better to be cautious. And I think the best way is to let him come over."

"Let him come over?"

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and said, "Use your power to suppress others? I'm afraid he will rebel."

“It’s not about using force to pressure people, but about treating them with sincerity.”

Zhu Biao explained, "I just thought a lot before I rested. I think that if we want to negotiate a condition that satisfies both parties, both parties must be frank. But if we talk about it in the future, it will inevitably make him feel that he has the advantage of time, place and people, and he is naturally invincible in his mind, which may cause conflicts. Only if he comes to Daming can both sides get along better."

"Ah."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

The common understanding of this sentence is that whoever negotiates on his own turf will have more confidence.

After all, not everyone is Guan Yu, who can go to a meeting alone.

Most people who go to the other party's territory to negotiate are naturally inferior in mentality, so the result of the negotiation is likely to be in favor of the other party.

But if you can pull the other party to your side of the discussion and you want to talk sincerely, the result will be much better.

The current situation is that Zhu Yunfeng naturally holds the initiative in the negotiations. If the timing, location and people are all favorable, then they will have no ability to resist and will be led by Zhu Yunfeng.

Therefore, in order to ensure fairness and justice, we must seize the right time, place and people, so that we can maintain a balanced and equal posture with Zhu Yunfeng.

After all, even if the negotiations fail, they have the ability to fight to the death.

After hearing Zhu Biao's analysis, Zhu Yuanzhang thought it made sense, so he said, "In that case, I will invite him to come over, and then I can have a good talk with him."

As he spoke, he revealed a meaningful smile.

He was used to being domineering, and when he went to the afterlife, he was beaten and threatened by Zhu Yunfeng, and he indeed lost a lot of momentum.

But when he came to the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yunfeng had no choice.

However, Zhu Biao said, "Father, you can't do that."

"how?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was puzzled.

"I think it's best for me to talk about this matter."

Zhu Biao said.

"Why?"

"Because the child has been praised by Zhu Yunfeng."

"Well"

Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it and understood what he meant.

He had previously told Zhu Biao everything that happened after the time travel, including that in Zhu Yunfeng's eyes, Zhu Biao was a relatively benevolent prince.

In Zhu Yunfeng's world, Zhu Yuanzhang has been labeled as cruel and bloodthirsty.

People like to be with good people and don't want to deal with cruel people.

Therefore, by inviting Zhu Yunfeng to the Ming Dynasty, the favorable conditions of time, place and people that Zhu Yunfeng originally had were transferred to them.

This will offset Zhu Yunfeng's inherent advantage of information gap in later generations and put both parties in an equal relationship.

The person who came forward was not Zhu Yuanzhang, but Zhu Biao, whom Zhu Yunfeng had a slight liking for. So even if Zhu Yunfeng came, he would not develop a rebellious mentality because he felt that Zhu Yuanzhang was using his power to suppress him.

It has to be said that Zhu Yuanzhang's meticulous training over the past twenty years has not been in vain. From the Prince of Wu to the current Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Biao has an excellent grasp of people's hearts.

Perhaps this is also the reason why he was able to remain on the throne of the crown prince for more than 20 years, winning praise from both the government and the public, and even the ambitious Zhu Di could only remain dormant in awe of him.

"If father feels there is no problem, then let's arrange it this way. Wait for two days and let the Ministry of Works repair the pit. I will personally supervise the work. It will probably be finished tomorrow. The day after tomorrow, I will go over and invite Zhu Yunfeng to come and have a talk with him."

Zhu Biao said.

He was afraid that Zhu Yuanzhang would not dare to invite others, so if he guaranteed it, Zhu Yunfeng would be very likely to be willing to come.

"Well, that's it."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and said, "Biao'er, you go and deal with the pit first. I just need to deal with the government affairs that have piled up today. I haven't attended the morning court yet, and there are still a lot of things for me to do."

"Then the boy will leave."

Zhu Biao stood up and said.

"Go."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled.

Looking at Zhu Biao's departing back, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes first showed relief, and then a hint of heartache flashed across them.

Why did such a good prince, who was smart and capable, and intelligent, and who could do everything in an orderly manner and manage the country for him, die young?

God is so unfair.

Fortunately, there is always a way out. There is a stone tablet in the pit that can lead to afterlife. Even if I get seriously ill, I can go to the afterlife for treatment.

This may be a blessing in disguise. Zhu Yuanzhang immediately turned on the workaholic mode and quickly dealt with the government affairs that were delayed this morning.

Zhu Biao came to the outside of the Qianqing Palace and urged the Ministry of Works to build the underground palace.

During most of the Ming Dynasty, the renovation of the imperial palace was not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Works. However, after Zhu Di, during the reign of Zhu Yuanzhang, it was still under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Works' Construction Office.

The reason is that after Zhu Di, the status of eunuchs began to be improved, and the work of repairing palaces was gradually transferred to the Nei Shi Jian among the Four Departments and Eight Bureaus. Later, it was successively renamed as the Shengong Jian and Neiguan Jian, which was the predecessor of the Neiguan Jian.

The Ministry of Works was responsible for other national projects, such as river repair and canal digging, and was no longer responsible for royal civil engineering projects including imperial tombs and palaces.

Now, with the order from the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, all officials of the Ministry of Works and the Construction Office had to quickly bring together all the personnel and materials, including a vice minister of the Ministry of Works to supervise the site, two chief officers, and then forty or fifty workers and craftsmen.

The pit was not big to begin with. It was just an irregular circular pit with a diameter of about four zhang, or about 13 meters. It was one zhang and thirteen feet deep, or about four meters. Not many people could stand inside.

Now, under the personal supervision of the prince, all the workers and craftsmen went in, some repaired the walls, some filled the ground, and some repaired the ground above.

There was a heavy rain last night. It was much lighter this morning and almost stopped by noon.

There was a lot of water on the ground and in the potholes, and the craftsmen were busy draining the water, filling the ground, repairing the walls, and patching the bricks. They managed to create the prototype of a basement in a very short time, and even carved patterns on both sides, which was a miracle.

Two days later.

With the craftsmen working overtime, by the afternoon of the third day, they had built a basement according to Zhu Biao's requirements.

At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang had summoned many ministers to the Qianqing Palace to discuss state affairs. When everyone passed by the pit, they were all very curious.

But even though people were curious, no one dared to ask Zhu Yuanzhang why he built an underground palace.

Hu Weiyong and Wang Guangyang had just been released, and now they were keeping quiet and didn't dare to speak. Li Shanchang and Li Wenzhong were not talkative people. Although Zeng Bingzheng was the chief of the Tongzhengsi and his power reached the emperor, he had the lowest status.

Because everyone present was of the second rank or above, the left and right prime ministers of the Secretariat were both of the first rank, Li Shanchang and Li Wenzhong were also of the first rank, and the six ministers of the six ministries were of the second rank, and he was the only one of the third rank.

The six ministers were cautious, but the Minister of Rites Zhu Mengyan was beheaded the day before yesterday. Not only the Minister of Rites, but also two Vice Ministers of Rites lost their heads.

The newly appointed Minister of Rites, Zhang Chou, was previously only a doctor in the Ministry of Rites, which shows how great the disaster the Ministry of Rites encountered this time.

Therefore, high-ranking officials were cautious and did not ask, and low-ranking officials did not even dare to speak.

Everyone asked questions about politics as usual.

In the afternoon, Zhu Biao reported to Zhu Yuanzhang that the basement had been repaired.

Zhu Yuanzhang was overjoyed and immediately dismissed everyone and asked many servants to leave his sight. Then he took Zhu Biao to the outside of the newly built underground palace.

You can see that the underground palace has been completely renovated at this time. The original pit has been repaired, the skylight above has been patched with wooden boards, and the entrance to the underground palace has been raised and a door panel has been added to prevent rainwater from entering.

After opening the door, there is a staircase tunnel from top to bottom. Palace lanterns are placed on both sides and candles are lit, illuminating the entire underground palace.

The underground palace is not large and no furniture is placed in it for the time being. The original yellow mud floor has been smoothed and paved with floor tiles. The rammed earth walls on both sides are also covered with tiles and have exquisite murals on them.

If there were no coffin placed in the middle, this place would look more like the tomb of some powerful noble rather than an underground palace.

Looking at the underground palace, Zhu Yuanzhang was speechless and said, "Does the Ministry of Works want to build a mausoleum for me?"

Zhu Biao said, "Father, please make do with it. The Ministry of Works has never built an underground palace, so this is the only way."

Zhu Yuanzhang: "."

He glanced around and noticed the corner where the stone tablet was placed.

Zhu Biao had always been keeping an eye on the location of the stone tablet, and had repeatedly warned that it must not be moved at all.

There is not even a brick wall around it. Now the stone tablet lies quietly in the corner of the underground palace, and there is even a fence next to it.

"Father, shall we go together?"

The two walked up to the stone tablet.

According to the previous plan, Zhu Biao would go over and invite Zhu Yunfeng, but Zhu Yuanzhang would not go.

But it was Zhu Biao’s first time to travel through time, so he was a little nervous and stood there hesitantly.

Zhu Yuanzhang had been there many times before, so he smiled and said, "Well, I'll take you there once, and you can come and go freely after you get familiar with it."

As he said that, he took Zhu Biao to the fence and squatted in front of the stone tablet.

He held Zhu Biao's hand and could clearly feel his son's palm stiffen. Then he heard Zhu Biao say, "I really don't know what the world will be like in the future."

"You'll know when you go and see it."

Zhu Yuanzhang gave a soothing sound, then touched the protruding ball with his right hand.

Zhu Biao even closed his eyes nervously.

however.

one second.

two seconds.

three seconds.

Nothing happened.

It was exactly the same as the situation in the Qianqing Palace before.

Zhu Biao opened his eyes and was still in the underground palace, so he wondered, "Why didn't I go over there?"

"I want to kill those people from the Ministry of Industry. They must have moved their position."

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes were filled with murderous intent and his anger level soared.

Zhu Biao said, "It's impossible. I've been watching it the whole time. My father has also come out to check it several times before and confirmed that it has not been moved. Those craftsmen didn't even dare to approach the stone tablet."

"Try moving first."

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang was like a otaku at home without internet. He didn't know whether it was a problem with the operator, the modem, the router, or the line. He kept turning off the router and the modem, or pulling out the network cables and plugging them in again.

He moved the stone tablet slightly, not daring to use too much force. When that didn't work, he moved it a little more. After struggling for nearly half an hour, the stone tablet returned to its original position.

Both the father and son were sweating profusely and their backs were cold.

The look in their eyes and expressions changed from confusion and anger at the beginning to confusion and fear now.

Because they discovered a fact.

That is, no matter how you move the stone tablet, it will not respond at all.

This means there are only two possibilities.

One is that the stone tablet here has been moved, and they can’t find its original location, so they have no way to travel to the modern era.

Second, the stone tablet on the modern side has been moved and cannot be connected to this side.

"Could it be that this is Zhu Yunfeng's way of showing us his power?"

The anger in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes became even stronger.

(End of this chapter)