Zhu Yuanzhang in the cellar

Chapter 68 Nanjing City in the Early Ming Dynasty

On November 19th of the twelfth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty was ill, so he let the crown prince govern the country for the first day.

In fact, the crown prince also served as regent before, but he was regent in name only and in reality he was just observing the government.

There is no right to handle government affairs, only the right to observe from the sidelines.

Except for the occasional time when Zhu Yuanzhang left Nanjing to inspect other places, there was only a short period of time when he truly held power.

But that’s all. He has no actual personnel transfers or decision-making power on major issues, so he is naturally unworthy of the title.

But today is different from the past.

Zhu Yuanzhang completely delegated power to him, the stone tablet was also moved, Old Zhu could not come back, and he is now the emperor of the Ming Dynasty!
After sending Old Zhu and the others to the modern world, Zhu Biao and Zhu Yunfeng returned to the Qianqing Palace.

According to his father's usual habit, Zhu Biao could have breakfast, review some memorials, and then summon court officials to hold an inner court meeting in the Qianqing Palace.

However, it was inconvenient to communicate with Zhu Yunfeng while eating breakfast while sitting on the dragon chair, so he changed to having breakfast in the west warm pavilion and called Zhu Di. The three of them sat opposite each other on the kang in the west warm pavilion, eating and chatting around a small table.

The breakfast was not rich, at least much worse than what Zhu Yunfeng made himself. It was just some white porridge, and the white sugar added was what Zhu Yunfeng brought from the modern times to the Shangshenjian, and then there was a plate of green vegetables and tofu as a side dish.

Zhu Biao took a sip of porridge and asked Zhu Yunfeng, "What are your plans next?"

"I plan to leave the palace to investigate."

Zhu Yunfeng said.

"Leaving the palace?"

Zhu Biao frowned and asked, "Will it be unsafe?"

"Let Mao Xiang protect me."

"But."

"It's fine."

Zhu Yunfeng waved his hand and said, "Not many people know me now, so it's a good opportunity for me to keep a low profile."

He also happened to go out of the palace to stroll around the Ming Dynasty city of Nanjing and take in the scenery of Nanjing.

Zhu Di beside him quickly said, "What about me?"

Zhu Yunfeng rolled his eyes at him and said, "You know them all, so you definitely can't come with me. I can just go alone with some guards and disguise myself."

"Well, then please be safe."

Zhu Biao did not stop him. Although he had asked Zhu Yunfeng to come over to help, it was obvious that Zhu Yunfeng had his own ideas.

Zhu Yunfeng then asked: "What are you going to do next?"

"I think my father is waiting for Tu Jie to report it before he takes drastic measures. I plan to use Tu Jie as a breakthrough point."

Zhu Biao thought, "Tu Jie is timid and cowardly. If I send someone to arrest him in advance, I can only charge Hu Weiyong with the crime of forming a clique for personal gain. Perhaps I can follow the clues and catch all his followers in one fell swoop."

"Oh?"

Zhu Yunfeng thought about it and felt that Zhu Biao’s plan was quite reliable.

Because that’s what Lao Zhu did.

But Zhu Yuanzhang directly charged Hu Weiyong with treason, which naturally escalated the situation, resulting in more and more people being killed.

Zhu Biao, on the other hand, decided to form a clique for personal gain, so that the situation would not escalate and the influence would be reduced.

The only problem is that if so many Huainan officials are treated for forming cliques, it is very likely that a large number of Huainan generals will feel insecure.

You should know that among the founding generals of the early Ming Dynasty, the Huaixi noble group accounted for the majority, and even most of the middle and high-level generals were from Huaixi.

If you talk about treason, they think that since I am not planning a rebellion, I probably won't have any other intentions.

But if you clear out the Huaixi officials, I'm afraid they won't know what they are thinking.

"Your idea is a little ill-considered."

Zhu Yunfeng expressed his opinion, and then said: "The crime of forming a clique for personal gain is based on the premise of dealing with a small group. If most of the court is this group, it will be very dangerous. Our ancestors insisted on using the crime of treason because it involves a large number of people, and it does not appear to target a fixed group, so as to prevent those people from thinking too much."

"This"

Zhu Biao was stunned for a moment, and after thinking carefully, he felt that what Zhu Yunfeng said did make sense, so he hesitated and said, "But if it is other crimes, it will be difficult to affect so many people."

"Who said that."

Zhu Yunfeng smiled and pointed to his temple and said, "There are always more solutions than problems. If you want to get rid of the enemy legally and reasonably, it is important to choose the right method."

"So what crime are you going to charge? Corruption?"

Zhu Biao asked.

"Don't dwell on the charges. The point is not the charges, but to fulfill our ancestors' request and make sure that no one can find fault with it."

Zhu Yunfeng said: "If you want to do this, you must conduct an investigation. Only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you win every battle. Any rash actions you take now will become reckless."

"Okay then, Yunfeng, I believe you. What do you think you should do next?"

Zhu Biao asked.

If his own plan doesn't work, he can only rely on Zhu Yunfeng.

Zhu Yunfeng thought for a moment and said, "You can mobilize the army."

"Ah."

Zhu Biao looked at him strangely and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Are you sure you can control the entire city's army?"

"determine."

Zhu Biao was very sure.

Zhu Yuanzhang was about to gain control of the world, so he naturally had great control over military power.

Except for the troops sent to foreign wars, all the troops in Nanjing city were under his control.

Many people say that soldiers in the Song Dynasty did not know their generals, and generals did not know their soldiers.

But in fact, the Ming Dynasty also had a similar problem. Zhu Yuanzhang set up the Five Military Commission and separated the power to mobilize troops from the power to command troops.

The power to mobilize troops is in his own hands, and the power to command troops nominally lies with the Five Military Commanders' Office, but in reality the generals do not directly command the troops and only command the troops when going on foreign expeditions.

Even though Tang He is currently training troops in Shandong, he has no authority to command the trained troops. If others privately mobilize troops, they cannot do so, and even if they do, they can only mobilize a small number of troops based on their personal prestige.

Moreover, most of the troops were fixed in various garrisons, which were similar to the garrison camps and grain camps stationed in various places by the Song Dynasty. The soldiers were controlled by middle and lower-level garrison officers.

Therefore, the Ming Dynasty was also like this: the soldiers did not know their generals and the generals did not know their soldiers.

This point was obscured by the fact that the nobles in the early Ming Dynasty were very good at fighting and could win battles even when commanding soldiers they had not trained themselves.

But by the time of the Battle of Tumu, this drawback emerged. Although the Ming army had a large number of troops, its command was extremely chaotic. The generals could not lead the soldiers well, resulting in a crushing defeat in an instant.

Because of this, later Ming Dynasty border generals no longer trusted the soldiers sent by the court, but instead raised their own private soldiers. Qi Jiguang, Li Chengliang, and Wu Sangui were all outstanding examples.

It was precisely this system that ensured that the Ming Dynasty's army was firmly in the hands of the emperor. Now that the emperor was away and Zhu Biao was the regent, all military power was in his hands.

"Since you can control the army and hold absolute power, then play the long game and catch the big fish."

Zhu Yunfeng thought about it and came up with an idea: "During this period, you should simply not hold the inner court. Just let the Secretariat report the affairs to you in the afternoon."

"what do you mean?"

Zhu Biao was very smart and quickly thought of the key point and asked, "Encouraging Hu Weiyong's ambition?"

"good."

Zhu Yunfeng nodded: "Hu Weiyong is suspected because he is too stupid. He often makes decisions on the affairs of the Secretariat without reporting to the ancestors. He is like this to the ancestors, and even more so to you, the great uncle. If you want to destroy him, you must first make him swell up, so that he will reveal more flaws."

This is the same principle as Duke Zheng's conquest of Duan Yuyan, except that the prerequisite for achieving this is firstly to have absolute power in one's own hands.

"I see."

Zhu Biao suddenly realized.

"Okay, don't be too burdened. To be honest, Hu Weiyong is just a small fry. In the face of absolute strength, even if he is the prime minister, it will be useless."

Zhu Yunfeng finished his breakfast, stood up and said, "To put it bluntly, we are just looking for a reason to kill him in a reasonable, legal and compliant manner. If we are really unreasonable and accuse him of treason like our ancestors did, the result will be no different from history, but it will be a bit ugly and will be criticized."

"Well, I see."

Zhu Biao let out a long sigh and nodded in agreement.

"Then I'll go out of the palace and take a look."

Zhu Yunfeng got down from the kang and waved his hand, saying, "Just do your own thing, don't worry about me."

After saying that, he put on his shoes and walked out of the West Warm Pavilion.

Watching his departing figure, Zhu Di couldn't help but ask, "Can Yunfeng really do it? He doesn't seem nervous at all."

"Why are you nervous?"

Zhu Biao thought for a moment and shook his head, saying, "Yunfeng is not a participant in this, and these things have nothing to do with him. Even if the two of them make mistakes, my father will personally go out to quell the unrest. I am the one who should be nervous."

This is indeed the reason why Zhu Yunfeng is in a more relaxed mood.

In his opinion, dealing with Hu Weiyong was not a big deal. With absolute power, he could deal with the opponent in a thousand ways, whether intentionally or not.

What's more, the worst outcome would be that Zhu Yuanzhang himself died, just like in history.

Therefore, Zhu Yunfeng was more open-minded and was able to act more freely.

Zhu Biao, on the other hand, was different.

This test is related to whether he can obtain the power to govern, so he cares very much about it.

At this time, Zhu Yunfeng had already come out of the Qianqing Palace, and Mao Xiang was still guarding the palace gate. When he saw Zhu Yunfeng, he quickly saluted and said, "Your Highness, Prince Wu."

"Ah."

Zhu Yunfeng nodded and said, "His Majesty has explained it to you."

"Yes, please give your orders, Your Highness."

Mao Xiang was very happy.

It turned out that it was right to show goodwill. This person's status is so special.

His Majesty has ordered that His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu be protected as we would His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, even at the cost of all the guards' lives.

"Go change into the clothes of ordinary people. We will leave the palace in disguise and not reveal our whereabouts."

Zhu Yunfeng said.

The current situation is that the enemy is in the open and I am in the dark.

Hu Weiyong had no idea that he was being targeted. Even if he had connections in the palace, there was nothing he could do.

Moreover, with Zhu's ability to govern the palace, it was not the Ming Dynasty court. Now it was impossible to get in, and if there was anyone in his palace, it would be a ghost.

So there is no need to worry about your own safety.

After hearing the order, Mao Xiang immediately made arrangements. He selected a few people to serve as his attendants and arranged a team of people to follow behind him to protect him secretly. He changed into civilian clothes and left the palace through the Shenwu Gate.

Shenwu Gate is located on the north side of the imperial palace. After coming out of the palace gate, you can see two high mountains in the distance, namely Jilong Mountain and Fuzhou Mountain, and farther away is the Zhongshan Mountain Range.

Unlike the imagined crisscrossing streets, outside the palace gate there are no bustling streets, but dense forests and lush vegetation everywhere.

The buildings that you occasionally see are not residential buildings, but government offices.

After asking Mao Xiang, I found out that this was the inner city.

The inner city is full of government offices. For example, outside the Shenwu Gate are the Palace Army, the Yulin Army, and large warehouses for storing grain. Further north, outside the Xuanwu Gate are the Dali Temple, the Ministry of Justice, and the Censorate.

As for the common people, most of them lived inside Jubao Gate. To the north of the city were official residences, temples, and guard posts, while to the northwest were military camps and craftsmen's workshops. If they wanted to go to the street, they had to go to the south of the city.

Zhu Yunfeng had no choice but to continue walking away in frustration.

Fortunately, the city of Nanjing was not very big at that time. It was less than one kilometer from Xuanwu Gate to the west, passing the Eighteen Guards Station on Taiping Street, and then south to Datong Street and crossing the Xuanjin Bridge.

Going south for about another kilometer across the Zhenghe Bridge, you will finally reach the market, which is roughly the area of ​​Nanjing Confucius Temple in later generations.

The places we passed along the way could not be described as blooming with flowers, but could only be described as the wilderness.

There are forests, rivers, wild grass slopes, and even paddy fields and vegetable plots. Only occasionally can you see some residential houses, but most of them are military barracks and official residences. It is no different from a suburb within a suburb.

It was not until we crossed the Xuanjin Bridge that we saw a few crooked streets. The streets were not that bad, at least at first glance they did not appear to be a sea of ​​low wooden houses.

There are some two- or three-story buildings with various shop signs lined up, pedestrians walking on the streets, and horse-drawn carriages and carts transporting goods back and forth.

However, it is not very prosperous.

There are fewer pedestrians on the bluestone paved road and no traffic, but it is not particularly sparse either. It can only be said that the population density is perhaps even less than the number of actors in a TV drama.

At a glance, there were probably no more than a hundred people on the entire street, and they were scattered all over the place, with a very poor business atmosphere.

Zhu Yunfeng shook his head.

Perhaps the only bright spot is the really good greening. There are towering trees and dense leaves on both sides of the road, trickling water running through the city streets, willows swaying in the wind, and a waning moon.

However, to the east of Xuanjin Bridge and in the southwest of the imperial city, there are rows of mansions. Looking east from the Imperial River, among the shadows of the bamboo forest and large trees, one can see large courtyards with carved beams and painted rafters, as well as three or four-story buildings on the opposite bank of the river, all full of luxury.

"What is that place?"

Zhu Yunfeng asked.

"That's Chang'an Street, where the high officials of the imperial court live."

Mao Xiang replied.

"Does Hu Weiyong live there too?"

Hu Weiyong?
Call the prime minister by his name?
Mao Xiang was startled.

You have to know that Hu Weiyong had great power in the Secretariat and made decisions on many state affairs on his own. Many officials acted according to his wishes and few dared to be so disrespectful to him.

However, considering the status of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu, a descendant of a royal family and someone who is deeply trusted by Your Majesty, it is understandable.

He replied: "The Prime Minister does not live on Chang'an Street, but on the south side of Datong Street, a little further north, very close to Chang'an Street, near Xi'an Gate and Xuanjin Bridge."

He pointed northeastward toward the Xuanjin Bridge and said, "It's over there."

Zhu Yunfeng looked over and saw an even more luxurious mansion in the northeast. The mansions were connected and close to the imperial city. It seemed that this old guy was very greedy.

However, it is normal for him to have a rich family fortune since he was able to take out several hundred taels of gold to bribe Li Shanchang and became an official all the way to his current power.

"Lao Mao, how old are you?"

Zhu Yunfeng suddenly asked.

"I am forty-two years old."

Mao Xiang was confused, but still answered honestly.

"What grade?"

"Second rank."

"How many?"

Zhu Yunfeng was startled.

He originally wanted to tempt Mao Xiang by offering him great achievements, but who knew that he was actually a second-rank official?

How come this guy holds such a high position?

However, what Zhu Yunfeng did not know was that Mao Xiang was actually the second generation of a military family. His father was Mao Qi, a great general in the early Ming Dynasty, who was praised by Zhu Yuanzhang as his right-hand man like Hu Weiyong.

When he was young, he had fought in wars with Zhu Yuanzhang. Only after he had made great contributions did he rise from a captain of the imperial army to a deputy commander of the imperial army, then a commander of the imperial army, and finally to a deputy commander of the Yiluansi.

As the head of the Yiluansi, he not only had a high rank, but was also in charge of the palace guards and was loyal. Naturally, he was someone Zhu Yuanzhang trusted, otherwise he would not have let him handle the Hu Weiyong case.

So Mao Xiang himself actually held a high position of power.

It’s just that Zhu Yunfeng’s starting point was too high, and Mao Xiang was usually very respectful to him, so he naturally thought that this guy was just an upper-middle-level military officer.

But they didn't know that Roaring Sky Dog was just a big white dog in front of Erlang Shen and Sun Wukong.

But in front of mortals, it is a heavenly dog!

"Second rank!"

Mao Xiang answered respectfully again.

"alright."

Zhu Yunfeng thought for a moment and said, "Do you want to be conferred a title of nobility?"

"Me? To be made a marquis?"

Mao Xiang was stunned. Even though he was a second-rank official, his father didn't even have a title of nobility.

"Well, I know you are loyal to His Majesty, so this time His Majesty pretended to be sick and let the Crown Prince govern the country just to do something."

"Your Highness, please explain clearly."

"During the Song Dynasty, the Wude Soldiers and the Imperial City Division served as the emperor's eyes and ears. Now that the country is at peace, Your Majesty is worried that corrupt officials will run rampant and oppress the people, so you need eyes and ears."

Zhu Yunfeng considered and said, "I want you to send your trusted confidants to collect intelligence and gather news. Are you willing?"

He had said before that Zhu Yuanzhang set up the Jinyiwei and forced officials and civilians to inform on each other, resulting in false accusations becoming a common practice and making officials and civilians feel insecure.

But he also always emphasized that these measures were conducive to maintaining rule and stability in the early Ming Dynasty.

This is not double standards, but we should look at the problem dialectically.

It's just that Mr. Zhu couldn't bear it and only wanted to believe that he was right. He didn't believe that everything has two sides, good and bad.

The Jinyiwei is a double-edged sword, just like the FBI and CIA of later generations. If used well, it is a good sword, but if used poorly, it can hurt others and yourself.

Therefore, Zhu Yunfeng was not against spies ruling the country, but he was against using spies in a one-size-fits-all manner, arresting officials and civilians regardless of whether they were guilty or not, which led to numerous unjust cases and widespread complaints.

If everyone arrested by the Jinyiwei was guilty, and there was solid evidence and strict case handling procedures, how could it have caused such a big impact and consequences?

of course.

In ancient times, pursuing fairness and justice in handling cases was indeed a luxury.

You cannot tell whether these records are real or fabricated by the Jinyiwei personnel in order to gain merit.

Therefore, in many cases, it is still necessary for people above to identify the authenticity of this information to see which ones are true and which ones are groundless accusations.

Mao Xiang was also startled when he heard Zhu Yunfeng's words, and asked hurriedly, "Should I consult His Majesty or the Crown Prince about this matter?"

"You can go back and ask the prince later. This is what His Majesty meant, and it is also what the prince meant."

Zhu Yunfeng said, "What I mean is that you need to get the news immediately. I don't mean to have someone plant someone in their mansion, but to directly send someone to secretly kidnap their trusted servants. The method can be a little special, scare them, and let them join the Yiluansi as a spy, and listen to the daily life and conversations of those court officials, and then check the source of their wealth. If you can do it, I promise that you can expect to be awarded a title of nobility in the future."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Mao Xiang gritted his teeth and decided to take a gamble.

"Ah, very good."

Zhu Yunfeng nodded and walked towards the street.

He planned to take a look at the situation in Nanjing City in the early Ming Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)