Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 181 Return to the court! Old Zhu: We want to pass on the throne!
At this moment, Zhu Neng and Zhang Fu both looked a little dazed.

In the feudal era, social changes were extremely slow.

Whatever society is like when you are born, it will remain the same when you die.

Just like the sun that rises in the east and sets in the west every day, it remains unchanged forever.

They were born in this era and their thoughts are deeply influenced by the era.

During these few months, following Zhu Yunhuan had brought them a mental shock that far exceeded the previous twenty years of their lives.

When Zhu Yunhuan said the four words "times have changed", they suddenly realized that all these changes were created by the people before them.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is like a god who can foresee everything and understand the future, and has already planned everything.

A new fleet, new weapons, a new war mode...

Like a dream!

But how could anyone in the world create these?

Unless they are the legendary ancestors of mankind, they are mythical figures who led people from primitive savages to civilization.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, is he also such a person?
Right.

Today’s His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will be tomorrow’s Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

The Son of Heaven is naturally different from ordinary people.

Zhu Neng and Zhang Fu didn't believe this at first, but now they gradually became convinced.

If the gods had not descended to earth, how could mortals do such a thing?

Looking at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince in front of them, the two felt as if they were facing a true God, and a deep respect rose in their hearts.

From then on, no matter what situation they faced, Zhu Neng and Zhang Fu's loyalty to Zhu Yunhuan never wavered in the slightest.

At this moment, Zhu Yunhuan had no idea what the two were thinking. He was still gazing at the beautiful scenery of the sea and sky, and his thoughts had returned to the Ming Dynasty.

After a few months, the seeds that I planted in Daming should have taken root, sprouted, and even blossomed and borne fruit.

Once he returns to the court, I'm sure it will be a completely new scene.

Jinling City.

Since Zhu Yunhuan wiped out all the Japanese pirates in Wengshan County, good news has been coming in one after another.

The imperial court held a grand ceremony to present prisoners, and the Japanese pirate leader Ye Ma was paraded through the streets in public and then executed by being cut into pieces.

The news of the Ming Navy's continued victories made people from all walks of life cheer and admire.

Old Zhu is also in a particularly good mood!
There was constant laughter.

Every day I look forward to my grandson’s victorious return.

Until the news came that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was leading the Ming navy on an expedition to Japan.

It is said that on that day, the old emperor smashed everything in the room to pieces.

Since then, the palace maids and eunuchs never saw the old emperor smile again.

There was a depressing atmosphere throughout the palace, and the servants were all very cautious, fearing that they would anger the emperor.

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has returned with news!"

"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has returned with news!"

……

In the palace that day, a young eunuch was running towards the imperial study where Zhu Yuanzhang was, holding a battle report he had just received from the Intelligence Department, shouting as he ran.

In the imperial study, the old Zhu's thunderous voice rang out: "This traitorous grandson, he actually dared to disobey the order and lead the army to Japan, so don't send any news back."

"Go tell them that we don't want to see the news sent back by this rebellious grandson. Tell him not to make a fuss in the palace and not to show it to us."

"Let's just pretend we don't have this grandson."

Yoshigaki hurried out, and the eunuch who was delivering the letter had just arrived outside the door. He immediately shouted angrily: "What are you arguing about? Don't you know that His Majesty is in a bad mood? If you disturb His Majesty's rest, I will beat you to death immediately!"

The young eunuch shrank his head, not daring to shout anymore. He quickly bent down and raised the victory report in his hand, and whispered, "Eunuch Ji, the victory report from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was sent back to the Investigation Department by carrier pigeon. We just went to the Investigation Department to get it back."

Yoshigaki looked back into the house, took the battle report, and said, "Got it, you go down first."

The young eunuch ran over excitedly to report the news, thinking that he would get a good reward, but he did not expect such an ending. A trace of disappointment suddenly flashed through his heart.

But in front of Yoshigaki, he did not dare to show it and bent down and retreated.

Yoshigaki opened the victory report and took a quick glance. His face immediately showed ecstasy. He turned back and went into the imperial study, shouting, "Your Majesty, a great victory! A great victory! Congratulations to Your Majesty! Congratulations to Your Majesty!"

"What great victory!" Old Zhu roared like thunder: "The Ming Dynasty has so many brave generals, is he the only one missing?"

"Does he have to lead the army in person to win?"

"The mountains and rivers weigh heavily on his shoulders, and he just doesn't care!"

"We don't want to hear from him, take it away from us!"

Ji Yuan put on a smile and knelt on the ground: "Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that he has already set out on the return voyage, and will return to Ming in a few days!"

The imperial study fell into silence.

This time, Old Zhu did not get angry again.

After a long while, the old emperor finally asked, "What did he say?"

"Your Majesty said that the Japanese general Ashikaga Yoshimitsu not only wantonly allowed his warriors to invade the borders of the Ming Dynasty, but also killed members of the delegation sent by the Emperor twice, humiliating the Ming Dynasty's prestige and insulting the Emperor."

"As the grandson of the emperor, he could not tolerate the Ming Dynasty being humiliated in this way. He could not sit idly by and watch the emperor being humiliated, so he led his army to a distant expedition."

"We have successfully captured Ashikaga Yoshimitsu and are bringing him back to be handed over to the Emperor for questioning."

When Old Zhu heard this, he was stunned.

"He actually captured the Japanese Shogun and brought him back to Ming?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was not completely ignorant of the situation in Japan.

After all, he had sent two missions there. Zhu knew that the Shogun of Japan was the real ruler of Japan.

The Emperor of Wakoku is more like Emperor Xian of Han in the late Eastern Han Dynasty. He has only a nominal title but no real power.

Capturing the Shogun of Japan is equivalent to capturing the emperor of Japan.

It turns out that he went to Japan to vent his anger on his grandfather, the Emperor!
Our grandson still misses us in his heart.

Old Zhu's heart softened instantly, and all the blame he had given him before turned into endless longing and love.

"This kid is really reckless!" Old Zhu sighed, "He captured the Japanese general, how could Japan let it go?"

"What does it matter if we suffer a little humiliation?"

"How can you ignore the overall situation just to vent your anger on me?"

He sighed leisurely, and then said: "Forget it, wait until someone catches him and then send him back."

If the capture of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu caused Japan to continue to invade the border, this was a situation that Zhu Yuanzhang would never want to see.

Capturing and then releasing people can just demonstrate the majesty and grace of the Ming Dynasty.

With both kindness and force, Japan will surely not dare to invade the Ming Dynasty's borders again.

Old Zhu quickly made this plan in his mind.

Everything is for the sake of the Ming Dynasty.

As for the previous massacre of the Ming delegation by Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, although Zhu Yuanzhang was extremely angry, he did not want to lose the big picture for the sake of small gains and affect the overall situation.

"Your Majesty, we can't let him go anymore." Yoshigaki said softly.

"Why?" Old Zhu glared at him, his face full of dissatisfaction. Eunuchs in the palace were not supposed to interfere in government affairs, and Yoshigaki's words undoubtedly violated Old Zhu's taboo.

"Your Highness helped the Emperor of Japan to seize the power of government from Ashikaga Yoshimitsu."

"The entire family of Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was executed."

"The power of the shogun was also uprooted from Japan."

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince established two new emperors in Japan, allowing them to rule together and check each other."

"At the same time, they also brought their offspring to the Ming Dynasty."

"From now on, the emperor of Japan will be crowned by our Ming Dynasty."

Old Zhu was stunned again, and was so shocked that he couldn't speak for a long time.

"Where's the battle report? Show us."

Yoshigaki quickly presented it respectfully.

When Old Zhu took it and looked at it, his hands couldn't help but tremble slightly.

"You completely wiped out tens of thousands of Japanese troops at the harbor without causing any casualties?"

"Helped the Japanese emperor regain power and wiped out the shogunate that had controlled the Japanese government for hundreds of years?"

"Sign the Twenty-One Demands with Japan, and from then on Japan will pay millions of taels of silver to our Ming Dynasty every year?"

"Bring all the Japanese pirates who came to our country to burn, kill and loot to justice?"

"You received 20 million taels of silver as compensation from Japan?"

……

Old Zhu was stunned and even his breathing became heavier.

This battle report seems so outrageous no matter how you look at it!

However, why do we feel that it really happened?

After all, the Japanese general Ashikaga Yoshimitsu had already been brought on board the ship.

The descendants of the Japanese emperor will soon arrive in Ming Dynasty.

And the 20 million taels of silver cannot be faked!

These will all be verified soon.

There is no point in reporting a false victory.

"He still has some ability and hasn't brought shame to our Zhu family."

After reading for a long time, Lao Zhu threw the battle report casually and said something pretending to be indifferent.

But the curved curve at the corner of his mouth could not be suppressed no matter what.

Yoshigaki carefully put away the battle report and asked softly, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will soon return to the court. Does Your Majesty want to…"

"If he comes back, just let him come back. We will just pretend we don't know and we don't want to care about him."

Old Zhu thought of Zhu Yunhuan's disobedience and became angry again. He said, "Out of sight, out of mind. Let's go hide in the mountains outside the city."

"Yes!" Yoshigaki bowed respectfully and said, "In that case, I will pass on the order to ask the court not to hold a ceremony to welcome His Royal Highness back to the court."

"That won't do!" Old Zhu immediately rejected it, "Let's put this aside. The ceremony to welcome the Crown Prince back to the court must still be held."

“Not only must it be held, but it must be held in a grand manner, grander than ever before.”

"We've won such a great victory, how can we not celebrate it?"

He suddenly remembered something and continued, "Also, we need to publicize these achievements so that everyone in the Ming Dynasty knows about them. Let the Ming Daily publish them and publicize them vigorously."

"I will go and convey the order now!" Yoshigaki bent down and retreated.

Old Zhu was the only one left in the imperial study.

"I'm back, finally back safely!" He raised his head and murmured to himself, "It's time to hand over our throne to him! Otherwise he won't take good care of the Ming Dynasty and will just think about running away all day long."

"We want to pass on the throne!"

……

(End of this chapter)