Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 188 Lao Zhu’s will and arrangements!

Zhu Yunhuan was slightly stunned.

Civil and military officials looked at each other in bewilderment.

Did His Majesty the Emperor have a quarrel with his grandson and ran away from home in anger?

They didn't dare to say anything about this matter. They all looked at the subject with their eyes and their noses with their hearts, restraining their gazes and not daring to even take a peek.

Zhu Yunhuan was a little amused and said, "Excuse me, sir, do you know where the emperor went to recuperate outside the city?"

Old Zhu was in a bad mood, and he could only try to coax him.

The eunuch immediately said, "His Majesty has told that unfilial grandson not to come outside the city to see us, so we won't see him either."

"Okay, let me ask you where your royal grandfather went outside the city." Zhu Yunhuan glared at the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict in annoyance.

The eunuch who was delivering the imperial edict quickly changed his expression, bent down and smiled: "Your Highness, please forgive me. I am only delivering the imperial edict."

"Your Majesty also said that if that traitorous grandson wants to apologize to us, let him govern the Ming Dynasty well."

"His tax commissioner has caused chaos everywhere, and they are just waiting for him to come back and deal with it."

"We are already so old, do we still need to help him do it?"

"If he dares to leave Jinling City without my permission again, I will just pretend that he is not my grandson and cut off all ties with him."

The corner of Zhu Yunhuan's mouth twitched slightly.

Old Zhu's temper...

After delivering the decree, the eunuch bent his waist to 90 degrees, with a smile on his face as bright as a lotus flower, and said, "I entered the palace at a young age, lonely and helpless. It was Eunuch Ji who appreciated me and promoted me."

"When Eunuch Ji accompanied His Majesty the Emperor out of the palace, he specifically asked me to pass on a few words to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Yoshigaki's confidant?
Zhu Yunhuan's eyes flickered as he stared at him intently.

The eunuch took a few steps closer and whispered, "Eunuch Ji said that His Majesty intends to pass the throne to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to become the Emperor Emeritus."

"Your Highness, there is no need to rush to apologize to the Emperor. Just follow His Majesty's orders, stay in Jinling City, and handle state affairs well. There will be good news within a few months."

Old Zhu wants to pass on the throne and become the emperor emeritus?
Zhu Yunhuan was stunned. This surprise came so suddenly.

But if that was true, then Old Zhu wasn't actually that angry, he was just a little embarrassed.

"There is one more thing." The eunuch continued, "Before His Majesty left, he wrote an imperial edict."

"It was placed on the desk in the imperial study."

"Eunuch Ji said that this decree is extremely important, and asked His Royal Highness to go to the Imperial Study to get it and have it announced to the whole country."

The imperial edict left by Lao Zhu?
Zhu Yunhuan vaguely guessed something, nodded, and said with a smile: "Thank you for your help, eunuch."

The eunuch hurriedly asked, "What are you talking about, Your Highness?"

"These are all my duties, but I cannot bear the word 'trouble' from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

He paused, and then continued, "I have finished delivering the decree, and will go outside the city to serve His Majesty. Your Highness, is there anything else you want me to convey?"

Zhu Yunxun thought for a moment and said, "Wait a moment. I will write a letter of apology. When you return, present it to Grandpa Emperor."

Old Zhu didn't want to see him and wouldn't let him leave Jinling City. It seemed that they would be unable to meet in the short term, so he could only write letters.

He immediately asked someone to bring paper and pen, wrote it quickly, and handed it to the eunuch.

The eunuch took the letter, and Zhu Yunhuan said, "This Japanese general Ashikaga Yoshimitsu once killed members of the Ming envoys and humiliated the envoys sent by the emperor."

"We captured him and brought him back just to avenge Grandpa Huang."

"Go to the outside of the city to see Grandfather Emperor, and bring Ashikaga Yoshimitsu with you."

This is also done to show one's filial piety and to make Old Zhu calm down as soon as possible.

"As you command!" The eunuch bowed and then had Ashikaga Yoshimitsu escorted away.

Zhu Yunhuan walked into the palace and went straight to the imperial study.

Sure enough, there was an imperial edict on the desk.

Perhaps in order to prevent him from seeing it, the imperial edict was not even rolled up, but was spread out directly on the table.

Zhu Yunhuan walked over and saw that it was actually an imperial edict to reform the royal family system and expand overseas.

Before going on the expedition, he advised Zhu Yuanzhang that the Ming Dynasty's royal family system had serious flaws and must be reformed.

Otherwise, it will become a major hidden danger for future generations.

Old Zhu said that it would be officially implemented after the Japanese pirate rebellion was quelled.

Now that he had returned from the expedition to Japan, Zhu had indeed written the imperial edict.

A warm feeling flowed through Zhu Yunhuan's heart.

Even though Old Zhu is now angry with him and refuses to meet him, his care and love for him have not diminished in the slightest.

On a sudden thought, Zhu Yunhuan remembered the words that Yoshigaki had asked someone to bring to him.

Old Zhu wanted to pass the throne to him and become the emperor emeritus.

Leaving in anger at this time might be to make careful preparations for the formal succession of the throne.

……

Outside Jinling City.

On the newly built cement avenue, a team of nearly two hundred people was moving slowly forward.

They were not wearing the uniforms of the imperial court, but rather the clothes of ordinary people.

Such teams are not uncommon in this era.

When many businessmen go to other places to do business, they will call their friends or invite good friends in the same industry to go on the road together.

We can take care of each other.

Similar caravans may have as few as 20 to 30 people or as many as 100 to 200 people.

The same is true for their team.

To outsiders, it is easy to mistake it for a caravan of merchants, but if you pay a little attention, you can still find the difference.

Because everyone in the team was strong and agile, their eyes were bright, and they all had swords on their backs.

Although it was wrapped in cloth, it was still vaguely visible.

The one riding at the front of the team was none other than the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Jiang Lin.

Behind him, many guards were tightly guarding a carriage, scanning the occasional passers-by with extremely vigilant eyes.

Inside the carriage, Old Zhu was playing with a new gun that he had just taken out from the Ming Manufacturing Bureau.

Yoshigaki knelt beside him and served him.

"This time, we relied on rapid-fire cannons and flintlock rifles to achieve an unprecedented victory." Old Zhu looked left and right with the rifle in his hand and asked, "Tell me, how did that rebellious grandson come up with such a clever device?"

Yoshigaki smiled and said, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince is a genius, and his intelligence far exceeds that of ordinary people, so he can create such a magical object."

Old Zhu glanced at him and said, "What's the difference between what you said and what you didn't say? You just flatter that rebellious grandson."

Yoshigaki lowered his head and smiled, but did not respond.

At this moment, several fast horses, escorting a prison cart, came galloping from behind and caught up with the team.

The man on the horse quickly dismounted.

One of them was the eunuch who had previously conveyed the imperial edict to Zhu Yunhuan.

Old Zhu ordered the carriage to stop, and the eunuch stepped forward: "Your Majesty!"

"I've told you not to address me like that outside. You should call me Master," said Lao Zhu dissatisfiedly.

"Yes, sir!" the father-in-law quickly changed his words.

"I have done everything the master asked me to do."

"Here is a letter from Tai..."

He wanted to say "Your Highness the Crown Prince", but quickly changed his words when he was about to say it.

"It's the master's grandson, who asked me to give it to the master."

Old Zhu snorted coldly and said, "That rebellious grandson is kind enough to write to us."

He took it, opened it and had a look.

"Grandpa Emperor, I was wrong. I shouldn't have disobeyed you and led the army to Japan without authorization."

"I have made Grandpa Emperor worry about me. I am unfilial and I deserve death!"

"Grandpa Emperor, please don't be angry with your grandson."

"Grandpa Emperor, I promise you that I will never lead an army into battle again."

"Grandpa Emperor, your grandson will sit in Jinling City and govern the Ming Dynasty well. The fighting will be left to the generals on the front line."

"Please rest assured, Grandfather Emperor. I will definitely put the country first and will never venture into danger again."

"Grandpa Emperor, I have captured the Japanese general Ashikaga Yoshimitsu who disrespected you, so that you can vent your anger. I hope you will like this gift."

"Grandpa Emperor, I haven't seen you for several months. I miss you so much."

"My grandson wants to meet you as soon as possible and apologize to you in person."

……

Old Zhu finished reading the letter and then read it again from the beginning.

He put the letter down after a while and remained silent for a long time.

"Master!" Yoshigaki advised, "Since the young master has admitted his mistake, why don't we just go back now?"

Old Zhu glared at him and said, "Do you think I'm fighting with him? Do I look like that kind of person?"

Is not it?
Yoshigaki secretly wanted to laugh in his heart, but he didn't dare to show it on the surface.

Old Zhu said earnestly: "We came out this time because we have something to do."

"We need to go to Suzhou and see the living conditions of the people there."

Yoshigaki was shocked and said, "This is absolutely impossible! From Jinling to Suzhou, it is more than 400 miles. How can your body withstand such a long journey?"

Old Zhu disagreed: "What are you afraid of? Isn't this a cement road? The carriage is not bumpy at all when it is on the cement road."

"The manufacturing bureau also added some spring shock absorbers to our carriage. It's pretty good! It's very comfortable to sit in."

"What's the point of traveling so long?"

"At worst, we can just walk slower, sixty miles a day, and rest when we get to the post station."

Yoshigaki was puzzled and asked, "Why must the master go to Suzhou?"

"First of all, I don't want to see that rebellious grandson." Old Zhu was still angry and said, "If we stay near Jinling City, I'm afraid I can't help but see him."

"That won't do. We have to teach that rebellious grandson a lesson. We can't see him easily."

"Secondly, I heard that the tax commissioner is causing complaints everywhere, so I want to go and see if it's true!"

"See how Nisun plans to solve this problem."

"Thirdly, if we don't stay near Jinling City and don't look after that rebellious grandson, he won't run around."

"After defeating Japan, the next step is to defeat the Northern Yuan Dynasty."

"We don't want to see him run out and lead the army again."

"If something unexpected happens, how can we face Biaoer?"

"Fourthly, it's time for him to be the head of the family. Let's go out for a walk and let him experience what it's like to be the head of the family. When he comes back, it will be the end of the year."

"It's just right for the change of era and system. Starting next year, let him be the head of the family!"

……

(End of this chapter)