Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 109: Unpredictable power of heaven, suspected assassination! Shocking change!
Royal palace, royal garden.

At this season, all the trees in the north are withered.

However, Jinling City is located in the south, and although the autumn and winter are also very wet and cold, it is still different from the severe cold in the north.

At this time, most of the trees in the Imperial Garden are still full of green leaves.

The chrysanthemums are also blooming proudly against the frost.

Perhaps it’s because of his age, and the fact that he hasn’t been dealing with any government affairs for a while, Old Zhu has become more and more fond of sitting and daydreaming.

At this moment, he was sitting in the pavilion of the Imperial Garden, leaning against the railing, staring at the unique scenery in the Imperial Garden.

"His Majesty!"

Yoshigaki walked in quietly, stopped not far away, and bowed.

Old Zhu didn't even look at him, and asked, "Has today's edition of the Ming Daily been delivered?"

"Yes!" Yoshigaki responded, bent down, held his hands, and presented the "Da Ming Daily".

Old Zhu did not reach out to take it, but asked: "Have you gone to the King of Wu to get the 100,000 new banknotes that were given to you?"

"I went to get it!" Ji Yuanyin said in a slow breath, "His Royal Highness the King of Wu has rewarded me with another 100,000 new banknotes, saying that he is thanking me for my hard work during this period."

"I was thinking in my heart that I didn't do anything, and I feel guilty for receiving the reward without any merit."

"But I dare not refuse the reward from His Majesty the King of Wu."

"I was thinking that His Royal Highness the King of Wu had successfully established the Ming Bank and the new banknotes. This is a great event and should be celebrated by all."

"The rewards given by His Majesty and His Royal Highness the King of Wu should not be given to me alone. Everyone in the palace should have a share."

"I plan to divide the 100,000 new notes that Your Majesty gave me yesterday, together with the 100,000 new notes that His Royal Highness the King of Wu gave me today, a total of 200,000, among the people in the palace."

"Let everyone share in the joy of His Majesty and His Royal Highness the King of Wu."

"It can be given to all the palace ladies, but it is not something I can decide on my own. Please grant your permission, Your Majesty."

A smile appeared on Old Zhu's face, and he said, "I gave them all as rewards, what do you have to take?"

"It is a blessing that I have earned in ten lifetimes to be able to serve Your Majesty."

Ji Yuan smiled brightly and said, "I am a eunuch, what use do I have for all this money? It is better to share it with everyone."

"Everyone is happy, and I am happy to see it too."

"You, a servant, do have some knowledge." Old Zhu was in a good mood.

He had always held Yoshigaki in high regard, so he made a test move.

Now that I see that he is so sensible and worthy of being employed, I feel relieved.

"Then let's do as you say. Twenty thousand taels of new silver is enough for the people in the palace to share."

Old Zhu waved his hand and said, "By the way, let us know that the King of Wu has changed the system to use new banknotes, and the whole world will follow suit."

"We in the palace must also lead by example and set an example for the world."

"From now on, the palace will no longer use gold, silver or copper coins. We will all use new banknotes."

"Except for the gold, silver and copper coins that have been made into jewelry, we will collect them all and send them to the Daming Bank to exchange them for new banknotes, which will be distributed to them as is."

Yoshigaki quickly accepted the order.

A stone fell from my heart.

When the Emperor rewarded him with a sum of new banknotes yesterday, he was just happy and didn't think deeply about it.

After I went back, the more I thought about it, the more I felt something was wrong.

This move is very different from your Majesty's usual style.

Not to mention the new banknotes worth ten thousand taels of silver, even just giving out one thousand taels of silver as a reward would not seem like something His Majesty the Emperor would do.

Your Majesty is very frugal on weekdays.

When it comes to the palace maids and eunuchs, one can almost describe them as "stingy".

But Yoshigaki never figured out His Majesty's intention.

It was not until today when I received the reward from His Royal Highness the King of Wu that I suddenly came to my senses.

From the very beginning, His Majesty was testing him when he said he would reward him with a thousand pieces of silver.

Fortunately, Yoshigaki took the initiative to refuse the silver and requested to exchange it for new banknotes, which also passed the first round of tests in order.

But the next second round is the key.

Then, it was the third round of His Royal Highness the King of Wu.

It is both a reminder and a test.

When working for His Majesty, you must refuse money so as not to be bribed by outsiders!
Your Majesty can truly make use of him.

If he really was blinded by money and accepted this large sum of new banknotes with a clear conscience, his future in this life would be over.

After all, he has served His Majesty all his life. Perhaps His Majesty will, for the sake of their old friendship, allow Yoshigaki to take the money and live out his retirement in peace. This would be the best outcome.

But when other people come up, will they bring up old scores?

After I leave His Majesty, will all the people I offended in the past rise up against me?
Without the protection of Your Majesty, can he really live out his old age in peace?

Or will he be thrown into prison sooner or later for "committing a crime", or even be beheaded one day?

The answer is almost yes.

If he really leaves His Majesty, how can he have a good ending?

Now that I have passed the test successfully, my future prospects will be completely different.

Your Majesty's mighty power is truly unfathomable.

Yesterday I clearly saw that Your Majesty was very happy about the King of Wu's successful issuance of new banknotes.

But I didn't expect that the reward I gave casually would contain such a meaning.

And His Royal Highness the King of Wu.

At such a young age, he can actually tell the coming of events from a single leaf and guess what Your Majesty is thinking in an instant.

This grandfather and grandson are worthy of being the rulers of the Ming Dynasty. This is truly beyond the reach of ordinary people.

It was really a stroke of luck that I was able to land safely this time.

Yoshigaki secretly warned himself that he must be extra careful and think twice before doing anything in the future.

Old Zhu took the newspaper from him and flipped through it casually.

The first thing is to read his own biography, which is what Lao Zhu likes most.

Then I read the political developments and folk news.

Today's "Da Ming Daily" still maintains eight pages, and the content has increased significantly compared to the previous four pages.

It took Lao Zhu some time to finish reading it all.

At this time, Yoshigaki had already conveyed the order and returned here.

"This newspaper says that King Wu announced the establishment of the Ming Manufacturing Bureau."

Old Zhu said calmly, "We heard that the King of Wu has withdrawn 30 million taels of silver from the Daming Bank and invested all of it in the Daming Manufacturing Bureau. He also plans to use the fourth son, Chi'er, to manage the Daming Manufacturing Bureau. What do you think the King of Wu's intention is?"

Ji Yuan bent down and smiled, "King Wu is a genius, the smartest man in the world. His intentions are beyond the reach of a servant like me."

Old Zhu snorted coldly and said, "We asked you to speak, so just speak. Don't make excuses to hold back."

Ji Yuan's face changed, and he said hurriedly: "Your Majesty asked me to speak, so I have no choice but to speak."

"It's just that I am a humble servant with limited knowledge, and I'm afraid what I said is not right. Your Majesty, just take it as a joke and don't take it to heart."

Old Zhu did not respond, so Ji Yuan continued: "Logically speaking, the young prince is the eldest son of the Prince of Yan, and he will return to Beiping to be a vassal in the future. He cannot stay in the capital for a long time."

"But His Royal Highness Prince Wu asked him to be in charge of the Daming Manufacturing Bureau, which is undoubtedly an important task for him."

"I think that His Royal Highness the King of Wu may not want the young prince to go to the vassal state."

After he finished speaking, he lowered his head, looked at his toes, and didn't even dare to breathe.

"That's not what we're asking."

Old Zhu said in a serious tone: "The fourth son has more than one son. If Chi'er doesn't want to go to the vassal state, then let other sons take his place."

"I want to ask, why did King Wu spend so much money to set up the Ming Manufacturing Bureau?"

Ji Yuan smiled bitterly and said, "Your Majesty, this question really stumps me."

"I have only heard that this Daming Manufacturing Bureau is specialized in manufacturing strange things like cylinder mimeograph machines."

"But I really don't know what to do and how to do it."

"This is a new idea that His Royal Highness the King of Wu came up with."

"I have also asked around privately, but no one knows for sure."

"Even those who were selected by His Royal Highness Prince Wu to join the Ming Manufacturing Bureau couldn't explain themselves."

"Your Highness the King of Wu acts as if he were a wild imagination, like an antelope hanging its horns. It is simply beyond the imagination of the servants."

Old Zhu did not press him any further but fell into deep thought.

He also couldn't understand the Daming Manufacturing Bureau. After a long while, he sighed, "Even I can't figure out what Hu'er is thinking."

"Let him take his leave of this matter."

"By the way, if we count the days, the Daming Military Academy should be starting classes soon, right?"

There was naturally quite a gap between the time when the Ming Military Academy began recruiting students and the official start of school.

During this period of time, the establishment of Ming Bank and the issuance of new banknotes have greatly attracted people's attention.

But in fact, the Ming Daily has never lacked reports on the Ming Army Academy.

Since Prince of Yan Zhu Di publicly announced his intention to become a disciple, a large number of sons of meritorious officials and nobles, as well as military governors and generals have followed suit.

Every day, people publish their oaths of apprenticeship in the Da Ming Daily to show their respect and loyalty to His Majesty the King of Wu.

"Your Majesty, the Ming Military Academy will officially open the day after tomorrow," Wu Yuan replied.

"Is there any new development recently?" Lao Zhu asked again.

Ji Yuan bowed and said, "Generally speaking, it is calm, but I heard that the Northern Yuan Dynasty is ready to make a move and is strengthening its military preparations, preparing to launch a large-scale counterattack against the Ming Dynasty this winter."

"Oh?" Old Zhu asked back calmly, his dragon eyes narrowed slightly, and the murderous aura on his body appeared without warning.

Originally he was just a peaceful old man, but now he was like a tiger or leopard ready to catch its prey.

"Any definite information?"

Yoshigaki shook his head and said, "That's not the case. I just heard some rumors."

"The Northern Yuan Dynasty has long been defeated by our dynasty. If they dare to move south again, they will undoubtedly be defeated by our soldiers."

"But I am worried. The Ming Military Academy has just been established, and many generals will come to the academy to study."

"If the Northern Yuan army marches south at this time, I'm afraid the border will be left empty."

"But if we let all the generals leave the capital and head north at this time, it will be detrimental to the military academy that King Wu has just established."

"I'm afraid it's hard to judge the scale of this."

Old Zhu seemed to be thinking for a while before he said, "Since we don't have any accurate information, let's not worry about it."

The Northern Yuan Dynasty was defeated by the Ming Dynasty a few years ago. Logically speaking, it should not dare to move south easily at this time.

Old Zhu then asked, "The secret agents and inspectors of the Imperial Guard have been secretly investigating the assassination of Hu'er for such a long time, is it true that they have no clue at all?"

Although Zhu Yuanzhang now suspects that it was Zhu Yunwen, there is no evidence after all.

Yoshigaki knelt down quickly and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. This matter is really difficult to investigate because all the remnants of the Park family have died."

Anger appeared on Lao Zhu's face.

Yoshigaki continued, "There are some clues that are not really clues. They have not yet been summarized into a case, so it is difficult to report them."

"Since Your Majesty has asked, I will tell you first."

Old Zhu said nothing and just looked at him calmly.

Ji Yuanfang said slowly: "On the day when His Royal Highness Prince Wu assassinated, after the court session, someone quietly went to the Prince Qin's mansion."

"That was the eunuch in the palace before, Nie Huan'er."

"This person made a mistake before and was demoted to the Xianwang Palace by His Majesty."

Nie Huaner?
His figure suddenly appeared in Lao Zhu's mind.

This person was none other than the eunuch who was sent by Zhu Yuanzhang to the Prince of Wu's Palace the day before the grand court meeting to convey the emperor's order to reward Zhu Yunhuan with a precious sword.

Later, Zhu Yunhuan gave Nie Huan'er a reward, implying that Zhu had been bribed by outsiders.

At that time, Old Zhu still had a good impression of Zhu Yunwen.

Seeing that the person Nie Huan'er was "colluding" with was Zhu Yunwen, he was not severely punished, but was simply expelled from the palace and sent to serve Prince Xian Zhu Yunwen.

Later, Zhu Yunhuan gained Zhu's trust at a grand court meeting and was clearly stated to be entrusted with the throne.

At this time, Nie Huan'er had just arrived at Prince Xian's mansion.

It was also on that day that Zhu Yuanzhang and his grandson Zhu Yunhuan talked for a long time after leaving the court. Immediately afterwards, Zhu Yunhuan was assassinated as soon as he left the palace.

Who would have thought that Nie Huan'er was actually involved in the assassination of Zhu Yunhuan that day?
In Lao Zhu's dragon eyes, a sharp light flashed for a moment, and the situation changed.

The old man's breathing also suddenly became short and rapid.

Yoshigaki was also sweating in his heart.

After all, Nie Huan'er used to work in the palace, so he was still his subordinate.

Will I be implicated as well?
Yoshigaki's heart was pounding.

But when Lao Zhu asked, he dared not to tell.

"The King of Qin met Nie Huan'er and talked to him for a long time, but the place where they talked was in the square outside the King of Qin's mansion. There was no one around, so we don't know what the two talked about."

"After Nie Huan'er left, he immediately returned to Prince Xian's mansion and met Prince Xian."

"Later, he left the house in a hurry."

"He also told the gatekeeper at the palace that Prince Xian had something urgent for him to handle."

When Yoshigaki said this, he took a deep breath and continued.

"Before the remnant of the Park family assassinated His Royal Highness King Wu, they hid in a private house and did not meet with outsiders all day long."

"People outside naturally don't know who is hiding inside."

"Only one hour before the King of Wu was assassinated that day, an outsider went there."

"The Jinyiwei spies and inspectors made inquiries and found that this person looked very similar to Nie Huan'er."

"But since then, Nie Huan'er has stayed in Prince Xian's mansion and has never left the mansion."

"It's not easy for us to send people to Prince Xian's Mansion to identify it, so we're still not completely sure."

"This is all the information we have found out."

After listening to him, Old Zhu remained silent.

There was no expression of joy, sadness or anger on his face, only waves rolling and tides surging in his dragon eyes.

Ever since he summoned Yang Shiqi that day, he had always suspected that it was his son or grandson who sent someone to assassinate Zhu Yunhuan, but he never had any evidence.

Now, we have found some clues.

King Qin, King Xian... Could it be that they have joined forces?

"Prince Qin and Prince Xian, did they meet anyone before Hu'er was assassinated that day?"

Old Zhu suddenly asked again.

Yoshigaki was shocked and didn't understand what His Majesty meant.

But he was very careful in investigating the matter, so he remembered a lot of information clearly.

At this moment, he thought carefully and said immediately:
"Before His Royal Highness the Prince of Wu was assassinated, that is, after the grand court meeting that day, His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin went to the Prince of Qin's mansion and discussed with the Prince of Qin for a long time before returning."

"If we count the time, it was before Nie Huan'er went to the Prince Qin's Mansion."

"It was some time after His Royal Highness Prince Jin left the Prince Qin's Mansion that Nie Huan'er arrived."

Old Zhu's dragon eyes flickered slightly, but he still said nothing.

Prince Jin, that was one of his favorite sons.

"As for His Royal Highness Prince Xian, he summoned Huang Zicheng and Fang Xiaoru after the court session and has been discussing secret matters with them."

"But these two were originally the teachers of King Xian, and it was common for them to have long conversations."

"Besides this, King Xian probably hasn't met anyone else."

Yoshigaki's voice was very soft.

When it comes to investigations involving princes, princes and grandchildren of the emperor, and they have to be conducted in secret, we have to be extremely cautious.

Therefore, many things are very difficult to investigate.

"Okay, we all know it!" Old Zhu said calmly, "It will be Lu's birthday in a few days, and the King of Wu will deal with Lu's affairs on that day."

"You should arrest Nie Huan'er on that day."

Seeing that His Majesty was not angry, Yoshigaki felt a little relieved and replied, "Yes!"

Old Zhu stood up and said, "The Daming Military Academy will start classes the day after tomorrow. Keep a close eye on them and make sure nothing goes wrong."

"We are tired today, let's go back to the bedroom and rest first."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a eunuch rushing over from the Imperial Garden, walking up to Old Zhu and quickly handing him a roll of secret reports.

Old Zhu's eyes changed slightly, and Yoshigaki hurried forward, took the secret report, and delivered it to the Emperor.

Old Zhu unfolded the secret report and saw a line of words written in very small characters on it.

"Urgent report from the border: According to the information sent back by the spies lurking in the Northern Yuan Dynasty, the Northern Yuan army will march south in large numbers soon. I hope the court will make preparations early."

……

(End of this chapter)