Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 304: Ambitious Zhu Gaoxu! Conspiracy!
"Who did you hear this rumor from?"

Zhu Di immediately asked back.

Zhu Gaoxu hurriedly said, "Today, a clerk in the Ministry of Justice reported to Gao Wanjie, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, that Yang Rong of the Eastern Palace suddenly sent someone to the Ministry of Justice to take away a death row prisoner."

"The clerk thought this matter was against the rules, but Yang Rong was a member of the Eastern Palace and he could not afford to offend him, so he reported it to Gao Wanjie, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice."

"Gao Wanjie thought that since he had Yang Rong's handwritten letter and had guaranteed that he would not release the death row prisoner without permission and would definitely execute him, he could give Yang Rong some face and make things easier for him."

"The report was that he had died of a sudden illness. Because they were worried that he had contracted the plague, his body was transported out of the city overnight, burned and buried."

"Besides, many of the prisoners in the Ministry of Justice's death row were escorted to Beijing from outside. They don't have any family members to collect their bodies, so there won't be any problem."

After two years of hard work and growing older, Zhu Gaoxu is no longer the "naughty kid" he used to be.

Of course, a “bear” is still a “bear”.

The temper is still hot.

It’s just that compared to the “naughtiness” he had when he was younger, he is now a little more mature.

Zhu Di asked, "Did Gao Wanjie report this to you?"

"Not really." Zhu Gaoxu blushed slightly.

Although Zhu Yunhuan now let him take charge of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Justice is completely different from the Department of Taxation.

The Commissioner of Taxation was a newly established government office, and a large number of officials were selected by Zhu Gaoxu.

No matter how "bad" he is, his word is law in the tax commissioner's office.

No one dares to disobey an order.

However, even though the Ministry of Justice has undergone reform and division, its foundation is still a mature bureaucratic institution.

There are a large number of officials and clerks, and a complete operating model.

Apart from the fact that he selected the people himself and reorganized the Discipline and Anti-Theft Bureau to ensure the smooth implementation of his policies, the officials of the Ministry of Justice used the usual tactics of old-timers in the officialdom to deal with Zhu Gaoxu, the parachuted-in senior executive.

Of course, the Ministry of Justice still completed all its duties.

For example, deploying and advancing the work of clearing out martial arts sects across the country.

After all, Zhu Yunhuan ordered the process to proceed, and the officials of the Ministry of Justice did not dare to go against him.

However, for most matters, people in the Ministry of Justice reported to the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice Gao Wanjie for handling, rather than reporting to Zhu Gaoxu, the chief of the Ministry of Justice.

Of course, although Zhu Gaoxu was young, he was not so easy to be controlled by others.

He has been making arrangements in secret to gradually take control of the Ministry of Justice into his own hands.

But the time is still short, and there are still many orders in the Ministry of Justice that are secretly carried out according to his instructions.

When Zhu Di asked about this, he couldn't help blushing.

"I was eavesdropping outside and happened to hear it."

Zhu Di couldn't help but look at him meaningfully.

Although Zhu Gaoxu was not officially appointed as an official in the Ministry of Justice by the court, he was sent by Zhu Yunhuan himself to be in charge of the Ministry of Justice.

Logically speaking, he should be the one making the decisions on matters concerning the Ministry of Justice.

However, when something happened, the clerks would report it to Gao Wanjie, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice, instead of him.

It is enough to say that Zhu Gaoxu's position in the Ministry of Justice was very embarrassing.

"I find it very strange. Why would Yang Rong suddenly want to retrieve a death row prisoner?"

Zhu Gaoxu quickly continued, "So, I followed him secretly and found out that he selected the prisoners according to their size and height."

"It seems like he is picking someone to be his scapegoat!"

"Soon, I discovered that he had killed the condemned prisoners and had them secretly transported to the East Palace."

"Not long after, news came in that Grandpa Huang had passed away."

Zhu Di raised his eyebrows slightly: "Based on this alone, you can't judge anything, right?"

Zhu Gaoxu said: "But later, I heard that Grandpa was seriously ill, so I rushed to the East Palace and heard the palace maids discussing it in private."

"The person who said they were bathing was not His Majesty the Emperor, but the body of a condemned prisoner."

Zhu Di's expression suddenly changed slightly.

Zhu Gaoxu continued: "A palace maid also said that after your majesty fainted, he was transported to the palace and will be imprisoned forever in the harem."

Zhu Di's breathing suddenly became rapid: "Where are those palace maids? Have you captured them for interrogation?"

"Father is so confused." Zhu Gaoxu smiled bitterly and said, "They are the maids of the Eastern Palace. How can I have the power to do that? Even if I want to, I can't do it!"

Zhu Di was stunned.

This is a very obvious thing.

However, after hearing this, he was too nervous and blurted it out subconsciously.

"Even if we don't have power, we have to find a way. We can secretly arrest someone and interrogate him." Zhu Di said after a moment of hesitation.

"What a coincidence, I thought so too." Zhu Gaoxu said, "But then I discovered something very strange."

"What's the matter?" Zhu Gaochi, who had been listening quietly on the side, interrupted and asked.

"Because I heard their conversation, I paid special attention to where these people were going."

"After that, they also entered the palace along with His Majesty's body."

"But what's strange is that they were not assigned any more tasks to keep vigil, but were directly sent to the forbidden harem."

"Not only them, but also the imperial doctors who treated His Majesty, have entered the harem."

Zhu Gaoxu's voice became increasingly low, and he spoke nervously, "Later, I learned that the new emperor had issued an imperial decree, saying that the harem would be sealed off and that no one inside would be allowed to leave. The craftsmen had already been building the wall overnight."

"It's obvious that they are going to imprison them and the imperial physician who treats Grandpa Huang. They must be hiding something!"

"The emperor's body was covered with a special mask, and no one was allowed to see his face."

Zhu Di's face suddenly turned extremely pale.

"Dad, with so many things connected together, the truth is about to come out."

Zhu Gaoxu said: "The emperor came back today and first caused a big commotion at the Daming Academy of Sciences. Later, when he went to the East Palace, he took a sword and a spear and shouted at him to kill, which is why he fainted."

"I also heard that after sending Grandpa Huang to the bedroom of the East Palace, he did not allow the imperial doctors and ministers to enter, and stayed in there alone for a long time."

"The ministers were arguing over this."

"After he came out, he killed the chief of the guards of the East Palace and the minister who pleaded for him."

"Later, the imperial physician came in and announced that the emperor had passed away."

"Dad, there are so many suspicious points here!"

Zhu Di still did not respond. Zhu Gaochi seemed shocked by the sudden news. His face was solemn and he fell into deep thought.

Seeing that neither of them responded, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but feel anxious. He said excitedly, "Dad, this might be an opportunity for us!"

Zhu Di asked in a deep voice: "What opportunity?"

Zhu Gaoxu hurriedly asked, "Dad, isn't this obvious?"

"All the princes are still in their fiefdoms, and those who haven't returned are still young. You are the only prince in Beijing, and you are the fourth son of the emperor."

"At this time, you only need to break into the mourning hall, uncover the mask of the condemned prisoner, and expose to the world what your cousin has done."

"At that time, the ministers were very angry. How could my cousin still be the emperor?"

"Let's take some people to rescue the emperor who is imprisoned in the harem. The emperor will definitely be grateful to father."

"Doesn't this throne have to be passed on to Daddy?"

He became more and more excited and his speech speed became faster and faster.

As he spoke, he rubbed his hands.

During this period, Zhu Gaoxu worked under Zhu Yunhuan and was gradually tamed by him. He no longer had the ambition and rebelliousness he had before.

But when the opportunity came, he immediately returned to his old ways.

If my father gets the throne, then I will have hope to compete for the throne of the emperor in the future.

How great it would be to be an emperor. When Zhu Gaoxu was very young, he dreamed of becoming an emperor.

High above, ruling the world.

Once a word is spoken, no one in the world dares to disobey.

Whoops!

The cold wind is howling!

It was not known whether it was too cold or some other reason, but Zhu Di's body and face looked frozen. No matter what Zhu Gaoxu said, he did not respond at all.

"Let's take some time to think about this matter." Zhu Gaochi said.

"Brother, this is a God-given opportunity, we must act decisively!" Zhu Gaoxu retorted: "Now we have both witnesses and evidence, as long as Dad leads us into the mourning hall, we can reveal his true identity."

"Once we miss this opportunity, it will be extremely difficult to open the coffin for inspection once the body is in the coffin."

"The same is true for the imperial physician, the palace maid, and other witnesses."

"If we wait until they are all killed, how can we convince the ministers?"

"We can't hesitate any longer."

Zhu Gaochi glanced at Zhu Gaoxu and said, "But I think he has been quite good to our family. It seems a bit unfair to turn against him now, right?"

"Brother, you are still studying every day?" Zhu Gaoxu said angrily, "He treats us well because we can be used by him."

"When he had us two brothers spanked, he showed no mercy."

"It was only later that my father took the initiative to ask him to be his master, and my brother and I obeyed him, that he treated our family well."

"Besides, what if he treats us best?"

"In a fight for the throne, how can we be too soft-hearted?"

"If Dad becomes the emperor, we two brothers will be a hundred times better than we are today!"

Zhu Gaoxu became more and more excited, and his voice unconsciously increased a few decibels.

In his eyes, compared with the throne, that little friendship is not worth mentioning.

"Shut up!"

Zhu Di suddenly shouted: "Your brother is right, this matter needs to be considered for a long time."

Zhu Gaoxu stamped his feet in anger and said, "Dad, this matter is urgent and we can't miss the opportunity."

"Besides, even if you don't care about your own throne, don't you care about the safety of Grandpa Emperor?"

"He is still imprisoned in the harem. If anything happens to him..."

"Stop talking!" Zhu Gaoxu was interrupted again by Zhu Di before he could finish his words.

"Even if what you said is true, if he wanted to harm our father, he would have done it long ago when he was in the East Palace. Why would he wait until now?"

"Why do we have to go to so much trouble to put our father under house arrest in the harem?"

"How much risk does this put him at?"

"It doesn't make sense!"

"In my opinion, there must be something fishy going on."

Zhu Gaochi also agreed: "Yes, Dad is right, there must be something strange about this matter."

Zhu Gaoxu still did not agree: "This is not surprising."

"That is his royal grandfather after all."

"He just saw that Grandfather Emperor wanted to kill him, and he was afraid that his position as crown prince, or even his life, would be in danger, so he resorted to this desperate measure."

"Taking advantage of Grandpa Huang's coma, I used my power as the crown prince and regent to secretly imprison Grandpa Huang in the harem."

"As for why he didn't kill Grandpa Huang, it was because he still had some conscience in his heart and didn't want to do something that would be despised by both humans and gods and worse than pigs and dogs."

"Dad, brother, this makes perfect sense!"

He pointed to the mourning hall not far away and said, "If we just break in and propose to take off the mask and take a look, won't everything be clear? Why don't you want to do that?"

"You say to reveal it, so why should he listen to you?" Zhu Di retorted coldly.

Zhu Gaoxu said: "Dad, you are the biological son of the Emperor. When the Emperor passed away, you asked to see his remains. Isn't this natural?"

"If things really get out of hand, the ministers will support Daddy."

Zhu Gaochi said beside him: "He is now the new emperor, not His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"Even if the ministers support Dad in their hearts, they will not stand up and contradict the new emperor."

Zhu Gaoxu was stunned and said, "Dad, you are questioning me. Don't the ministers have any doubts in their hearts? Don't they want to find out the truth?"

"It's not that simple. Do you think all the ministers in the court are like a reckless man like you?" Zhu Gaochi rolled his eyes.

Zhu Di sighed softly, "At this point, even if the body in the mourning hall is really not my father's, there won't be many ministers willing to quarrel with him over this and go to great lengths to find out the truth."

Zhu Gaoxu was stunned and looked at his father in disbelief.

After all, he is still young.

Although I am smart, there are still some things that I cannot see through.

Zhu Di had no choice but to explain for him, saying, "First of all, many of the ministers were promoted and appointed by him. Since he took over the administration of the country, he has won over many people and ministers who have joined him, not to mention the nobles and meritorious officials who have supported him."

"Secondly, many ministers will be cautious and will not allow themselves to be easily involved in such disputes."

"Secondly, there are still many people who, even if they sense something is wrong, will still believe that peace and stability are more important than anything else."

"We can't start a fight for the throne because of this."

"No matter what happens, only when he ascends the throne safely can the world be stable."

"Based on this, they will try to cover it up as much as possible."

"Think about it, why when your grandfather passed away, none of the ministers asked the reason for his death, but instead hurriedly supported him to the throne in front of the coffin and kowtowed to him three times and nine times?"

"Because the country is of great importance."

"Even if he really killed the emperor, the ministers know it in their hearts, but for the stability of the Ming Dynasty and the peace of the people, they have to keep it a secret!"

"Because he is the crown prince, only by supporting him can we prevent the world from falling into chaos."

"At this moment, it doesn't matter what the reason for your grandfather's death was. Do you understand?"

"The number of people who are willing to turn the table over with him, regardless of the consequences, and poke a hole in the sky is extremely small after all."

Zhu Di's tone changed, and he continued: "Besides, if he really did what you said, how could he not be prepared at all?"

"Don't forget, he was the one who ordered the setting up of the mourning hall, and he arranged the guards around it."

"If you rush out and make a scene, can you defeat him?"

Zhu Gaoxu suddenly felt as if a basin of cold water was poured over his head.

After a while, he suddenly seemed to have thought of something, and said excitedly: "We are not completely helpless."

"Dad had previously taught at the Daming Military Academy and had taught many students."

"After the reform, my Ministry of Justice has added a lot of detectives, and they have been equipped with a lot of pistols, so they are very powerful."

"And there's the big brother Daming Manufacturing Bureau, which has hundreds of thousands of workers."

“You can also make your own weapons!”

"If the three of us join forces, we won't be afraid of nothing happening, haha..."

He could not help but burst out laughing, but suddenly he remembered that there were many people keeping vigil for the late emperor not far away. As the emperor's grandson, it was only natural for him to laugh at this time, so he quickly stopped laughing.

"What do you want to do?" Zhu Di shouted angrily, "Your Ministry of Justice?"

"Let me ask you, do the people in the Ministry of Justice really obey your orders?"

"The most powerful department in the Ministry of Justice right now should be Ji Gang's Anti-Theft Department, right?"

"Although you were the one who promoted Ji Gang, will Ji Gang still obey you now?"

"If it were an ordinary matter, Ji Gang would give you a favor, but you let him go against the emperor?" Zhu Di snorted coldly, "Believe it or not, Ji Gang will catch you first!"

"As for your brother's manufacturing bureau, it is true that it has hundreds of thousands of workers, but it is just like your Ministry of Justice. How could those workers listen to your brother and rise up in rebellion?"

"From what I know, they are extremely grateful to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"Now that the Crown Prince has ascended the throne, they can't even support him enough, but you still want them to stand up and oppose him?"

"The students of the Military Academy are crazy about worshipping His Royal Highness, so it's even more impossible for them to rebel!"

Zhu Gaoxu asked anxiously, "Are we just going to watch and do nothing? Dad, aren't you going to rescue Grandpa Huang?"

"What's the hurry?" Zhu Di shouted angrily, "If what you said is true, isn't your grandfather safe and sound? Why do you need to be so anxious?"

"Then how do we respond?" Zhu Gaoxu asked.

"We can spread some rumors first," Zhu Gaochi suggested. "By spreading the rumors, we can also see how the ministers react to it."

Zhu Gaoxu's eyes lit up: "Yes, we can also use this to test their attitude, win over a group of our own people, and wait until the time is right to launch a counterattack!"

……

(End of this chapter)