Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 297 The Transformation of Power! Old Zhu: I must kill Zhu Yunhuan today!
East Palace.

After letting Yang Rong leave, Zhu Yunhuan came to the meeting hall.

During this period, he always believed that he was in power.

However, when the alarm sounded, Zhu Yunhuan felt unprecedentedly uneasy.

Although I strongly suspect that it is Lao Zhu, I still have to be prepared for the worst before it is confirmed.

When there were no sudden changes in the country, the Ming Daily was an extremely effective public opinion machine, and the Ming Bank controlled the country's economic lifeline.

The combination of public opinion and money is almost everything for a civilian government.

But once there is a change in the country, people will immediately find that what they can really rely on is the army and the machine of violence.

Although the Ming Military Academy was founded by Zhu Yunhuan, there are countless students in the academy who admire him.

Many people were willing to die because of his words.

But most of them were low-ranking officers, and there were not many senior generals who could really be used.

The most important thing is that it may not be reliable.

The human heart is a very complicated thing.

People who are usually loyal may not be so when faced with big changes.

There is a famous saying in later society: Never test human nature.

But he is the crown prince and the future emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Ordinary people don't need to test human nature because, at the very least, they still have the social system and the country to back them up.

The state will make laws to ensure that everyone abides by a certain bottom line.

Human nature is always bound by the law and does not need to be tempted or tested by ordinary people.

However, when a country faces a crisis or a "test", it has no "law" to rely on.

This is the ultimate test for those in power!

Power is an extremely illusory thing.

The officials and generals below have the backing of the imperial court, so they feel that their power is stable and they have nothing to worry about.

But the superiors have nothing!

There is only the fear of the unknown.

Only by being truly there could Zhu Yunhuan truly feel that this was a completely different feeling from keyboard politics or historical discussions.

Being caught in the middle of it, I don’t know who is reliable and who is not.

I don’t know which link went wrong.

No wonder even a man of great talent and strategy like Zhu Yuanzhang is so sensitive to power. If anyone is touched or makes him feel uneasy, he will kill him immediately.

Because the emperor truly has no one to rely on.

The world the emperor faced was a world without order and constraints.

This feeling is like a person entering the world of "beasts".

There is no law or order here, only power. You must be wary of all the "beasts" around you and be ready to fight at any time.

This is the emperor.

This is the supreme power!

If you want to wear a crown, you must bear its weight.

Emperors have been suspicious since ancient times, and it is not just the incompetent ones. In fact, any wise and powerful emperor is more suspicious than the other.

Because of the emperor's domain, they are truly alone and helpless.

To possess supreme power means to lose the most important weapons of law and order for ordinary people.

If an ordinary person is killed for no reason, there will be laws to seek justice for him, and there will be social order to punish the killer, or at least make him pay the price.

If the emperor is killed by a powerful minister, the law will be of no use.

Maybe even after he dies, he will be cursed for eternity.

The life of an emperor is full of thrills!

How can I not be suspicious?
However, this feeling also made Zhu Yunhuan truly begin to examine the power he held.

I began to truly feel that handing over power to others and becoming a lazy king myself would not work.

No matter how loyal the other party is at the beginning!

But human heart is the most unreliable thing in the world.

Parents, spouses, and brothers all become enemies and kill each other, let alone outsiders?

He must delegate power, impose constraints, and take more charge himself.

Looking back to the past, when he led the Jinyiwei to capture Lan Yu and faced thousands of palace guards led by Wang Bi, he was not afraid at all.

Because at that time, he still had someone to rely on.

Don't worry about anyone betraying you.

Because Lao Zhu was standing behind him.

But now that he began to truly rely on himself, he discovered that it was a completely different feeling.

The power struggles in the court are all based on a certain "order".

You can present evidence, facts, reason, and plot conspiracies.

The power of the emperor, however, carries with it a deep sense of uncertainty.

The "order" that is prevalent in the world does not work here.

Evidence, facts, reason, conspiracy... none of them matter!
What matters is violence, pure violence!

This psychological change had a great impact on Zhu Yunhuan's later life.

However, at this moment, he did not think about these things, but was just calculating silently.

The capital's public security and military strength were scattered among the Imperial Army, the Ministry of Justice, Yingtian Prefecture and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Among them, the original power of Yingtian Prefecture and the Ministry of Justice was very weak.

However, the reforms during this period greatly strengthened the power of the Ministry of Justice, especially the Anti-Theft Bureau led by Ji Gang, which, in a sense, has become a paramilitary agency.

The Yingtian Prefecture government also has personnel dedicated to maintaining stability, and its combat capability should not be underestimated.

Of course, compared with the Jinyiwei and the Imperial City Army, they are still weak.

There should be no problem with the loyalty of the Jinyiwei.

There is no way they could betray Lao Zhu.

He was also the crown prince designated by Zhu Yuanzhang.

The same should be true for the Imperial City Military Department, and it is impossible for them to betray the Ming Dynasty.

However, compared with this, Zhu Yunhuan still trusted more the cadet soldiers he had trained personally.

They are the most loyal people.

It seems that I will have to reorganize the Imperial City Military Department and assign more of my trusted aides to it.

However, his doubts and worries did not last long.

Soon, hundreds of Jinyiwei soldiers arrived outside the Eastern Palace.

Next are the Imperial City Military Department, the Ministry of Justice, and Yingtian Prefecture.

They all dispatched troops to the Ming Academy of Sciences, while at the same time sending troops to the Eastern Palace and the Imperial City to protect His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

Many nobles in the capital also mobilized their own servants to come.

Soon, tens of thousands of people had gathered outside the Eastern Palace, guarding the entire palace tightly.

In the conference hall, generals kept coming to see the emperor and ministers came to "protect the emperor".

Zhu Yunhuan's heart finally settled down completely.

If it was really a "coup" or "rebellion", the other party would have been defeated without a doubt by this time.

"Your Highness!"

Yang Shiqi walked in quickly: "I'm glad that your highness is safe. Please rest assured that the treasury of the Ming Bank has been prepared to ensure that nothing will go wrong."

Zhu Yunhuan nodded slightly.

In an emergency, banks cannot afford to panic.

As soon as he finished speaking, a loud voice was heard outside.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, I am here to protect your uncle."

"Anyone who dares to harm His Highness must first pass the test of Chang Sheng."

The sound was like thunder, making people's eardrums buzz.

A figure wearing heavy armor and holding a long sword appeared in front of the meeting hall.

As soon as he saw Zhu Yunhuan, he rushed over quickly, looked him up and down, and immediately said with a smile on his face: "I'm glad that your highness is okay, I'm glad that you are okay."

Then he added, "Who on earth is this bastard who dares to cause chaos in the capital? I will tear him into pieces."

As soon as these words came out, everyone in the hall immediately expressed their opinions. "Yes, what kind of traitor is it? So bold?"

"Is it Zhang Shicheng, the remnants of Chen Youliang, or the evil White Lotus Sect? Only they have the guts to do this."

"Who cares who he is? Anyone who dares to cause chaos in the capital will only seek his own destruction."

"The imperial court must eradicate these people completely!"

"Confiscate the family and destroy the clan, eradicate the roots!"

……

Just when everyone was filled with indignation, another tall figure appeared outside the meeting room.

Yao Guangxiao was wearing official uniform and an official hat. He no longer looked like the usual black-robed monk, but walked into the hall like a normal court official.

Amid the clamor, he bowed and said loudly, "Your Highness, what happened today was just a misunderstanding."

"The Ministry of Investigation has received news that His Majesty went on an incognito tour to the Ming Academy of Sciences."

"The guard at the gate of the Academy of Sciences was blind and blocked His Majesty's carriage. He was arrested by His Majesty's order. However, this scene happened to be discovered by the soldiers on the high tower who were observing the security situation in the capital, and the warning was mistakenly transmitted."

The curses and shouts of killing in the hall came to an abrupt end.

The whole hall was silent.

Everyone looked at each other, too shocked to speak.

Although the fact that Yao Guangxiao was in charge of an intelligence agency had never been made public, it was impossible for court officials to be unaware of such a large organization.

Everyone knows about the existence of the Investigation Bureau, but they don't know its specific operations and personnel.

But since he said so, he shouldn't be wrong.

The man who was shouting for war and killing just now now wished he could swallow his own tongue.

What are you chewing?

"You monk, you...you...you are not making a mistake, are you?" Chang Sheng asked stutteringly.

"That's absolutely correct." Yao Guangxiao said with a smile, "When the alarm was first sounded, the Investigation Department received the news, but they were afraid that there was an error, so they delayed a little bit."

"We have received information from different people, which can be mutually confirmed and cannot be wrong."

He bowed and said, "Your Highness can rest assured."

Zhu Yunhuan's expression did not improve, but became more nervous and uneasy.

It’s really Old Zhu!
Go to the Daming Academy of Sciences angrily... I hope Yang Rong can calm down the anger in Lao Zhu's heart.

Everyone in the hall was still looking at each other.

For a moment, the atmosphere became extremely weird.

"Report!"

Someone came running over, knelt down and said, "Your Highness, the carriage that is heading to the Daming Academy of Sciences today is your Majesty's, and there are no traitors. Please rest assured, Your Highness."

There was silence in the hall.

There is only the breathing and heartbeat of the people.

"Report!"

"Your Majesty has boarded the carriage and is on his way to the East Palace."

Another person came to report the news.

"Hahaha!" It was Chang Sheng who first broke the awkward atmosphere in the hall.

"It turns out that His Majesty has returned. What are you all still standing there for? Go and welcome him."

All the ministers came to their senses immediately.

"Yes, welcome, welcome."

"Welcome!"

"Welcome!"

……

As for what he had just said and what attitude he had expressed, everyone automatically forgot about it and didn't mention it.

According to the rules, Zhu Yunhuan, as the crown prince, should stand at the front of all the ministers.

However, he was full of worries at this time.

He retreated to the back without making a sound.

Although the ministers found it strange, since His Majesty had not arrived yet, and perhaps His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had some urgent matters to deal with, no one asked any questions.

Only Chang Sheng, seeing this, hurried forward and grabbed Zhu Yunhuan.

"Your Highness, the Emperor left the capital because he was angry with you."

"Now that His Majesty has returned, Your Highness should stand at the front and run out to greet him, to show your filial piety and to ease His Majesty's anger."

Zhu Yunhuan glanced at him, and immediately came up with a plan. He smiled and said, "Grandpa Emperor was just angry with me. Now that he has calmed down, he will naturally come back."

"It doesn't matter."

"It's you."

Zhu Yunhuan lowered his voice and said, "Uncle, you just shouted at Grandpa Huang to kill him. If someone with ulterior motives spreads this to Grandpa Huang's ears in the future... Sigh... I'm afraid Grandpa Huang will..."

He paused, sighed deeply, and didn't say anything else.

"I...I...it was just a misunderstanding...a misunderstanding." Chang Sheng was a little anxious: "Didn't I know it was the Emperor before? Otherwise..."

Before he could finish what he was going to say, Zhu Yunhuan stretched out his hand to make a gesture to silence him and said with a smile, "Stop, stop."

Then, he said earnestly: "Of course I know that my uncle just misunderstood."

“But others may not see it that way.”

"Especially some sinister villains."

"They will definitely go to Grandpa Emperor and slander you, saying that you actually have a guess in your heart, but pretended not to know, and insulted His Majesty... Uncle, can you explain it clearly?"

Chang Sheng's expression suddenly changed, and he asked hurriedly: "What should we do?"

Zhu Yunhuan gave him some advice: "This is your chance."

"Grandpa Emperor has not returned for a long time, and you haven't seen his face for a long time either."

"You miss him more and more..."

"Well, you have to behave yourself."

"Let Grandpa Huang know how much you miss him, and show your loyalty to him."

Chang Sheng seemed to be thinking about something, and seemed to agree with what Zhu Yunhuan said.

Zhu Yunhuan struck while the iron was hot: "Grandpa Emperor was angry with me before, and now he has come back on his own initiative. He must be a little embarrassed."

"You should hold Grandpa Huang's hand and comfort him so that he can have a way out."

"Even if Grandpa Huang beats you and scolds you, he will definitely still remember your kindness and your contributions in his heart."

"In this way, even if someone slanders you in the future, Grandfather Emperor will not blame you."

Chang Sheng clapped his hands and praised: "Good idea, then I, uncle, will stand in front."

"Your Highness, please wait in the back to see which way the wind is blowing. Wait until His Majesty has calmed down before you come forward to apologize."

After saying that, he ran happily to the front of the crowd.

Zhu Yunhuan breathed a sigh of relief.

No one knew what Yang Rong had said to Lao Zhu, or whether Lao Zhu was still angry. He actually left the Daming Academy of Sciences and headed straight for the East Palace.

At this moment, he was very uneasy.

With Chang Sheng as an insurance, protecting him from the attack, at least he can get a little comfort.

……

Outside the East Palace Gate.

Lao Zhu's carriage slowly approached.

All the ministers stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, we respectfully welcome you back to the court. Please pay your respects to your Majesty!"

A large group of people knelt down in the dark crowd.

The carriage slowly stopped, the curtain was lifted, the door opened, and Lao Zhu got out of the carriage.

"Your Majesty, I haven't seen you for several months. I hope you are in good health! I miss you day and night and look forward to your early return!" As soon as Chang Sheng saw Zhu's figure, he burst into tears.

Old Zhu glared at him angrily, but did not respond. He asked in a trembling voice, "Where is that bastard Zhu Yunhuan?"

"Why don't you come out to us?"

"We must kill him today!"

As he spoke, he picked up a spear from somewhere and rushed in angrily with it.

"Oh no! Your Majesty is still angry with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" Chang Sheng rushed over, hugged Old Zhu's legs, and cried, "Your Majesty, calm down!"

……

(End of this chapter)