Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 308: Father-Son Relationship! Analysis! Five Possibilities!

"What did you say?"

Zhu Su rushed over and grabbed the eunuch's clothes: "Impossible, absolutely impossible, how could my father suddenly pass away?"

The eunuch's neck was strangled by the collar, and he was a little breathless. This frightened him greatly, but he dared not not speak, but became more nervous and stuttered:

"Really...really...really, although the court hasn't sent anyone to announce the death, your highness...your highness...the spies in Nanjing have sent fast horses to deliver the information urgently, so it must be correct."

Snapped!
Zhu Su threw the eunuch forward with force and pushed his body out.

The eunuch staggered, took a few steps back, and sat down on the ground.

He didn't care about the pain and quickly turned over and got up, knelt on the ground, and cried "woooo woooo" with his head down.

Zhu Su's expression was somewhat dull.

Although he had many dissatisfactions and even resentment towards Lao Zhu, after all, he was still his biological father.

When I was a child, I had a very deep affection for my father and never thought about what would happen if he died.

When I heard the bad news, I was overwhelmed with sorrow and didn't know what to do.

Local officials of higher ranks would arrange their own scouts in the capital.

So that you can get the news first when there is any disturbance in the court.

This was strictly prohibited by the imperial court.

But throughout the dynasties, including Zhu Yuanzhang's, this ban was ineffective.

Almost all local officials have arranged people in the capital to gather information.

Or simply send personnel from the local areas to stay in the capital permanently.

Of course, this is not because Zhu Yuanzhang is incompetent and unable to restrain the officials.

But this kind of thing is essentially unsolvable.

Even in later societies, when management levels had improved countless times, it was impossible to prevent local officials from snooping into the affairs of the court.

In later societies, local governments would still send people to the capital to gather information.

Even the local officials had arrangements made, so as a vassal king, Zhu Su certainly could not fail to arrange his own spies in the city of Jinling.

Other news may be wrong, but the emperor's death will never be wrong.

"Father!" Zhu Su shed two lines of hot tears, his body went limp and he almost fell down.

Fortunately, Feng Sheng next to him reacted quickly and supported him.

"Your Highness, please accept my condolences!" Feng Sheng advised gently, and before he knew it, his own eyes became moist.

After all, he is the "big brother" he has followed for more than 40 years.

They were brothers who had gone through mountains of swords and seas of arrows together and shared life and death.

Although Zhu Yuanzhang has become more suspicious since he became emperor, the "brotherly" relationship is no longer the same as before.

Feng Sheng even had a "rebellious heart" and wanted to support King Zhou Zhu Su to become emperor.

If he cannot be made the crown prince, then when the time is right, he will launch an uprising and seize the world.

With his prestige in the army, plus the guards of King Zhou, and the alliance with other vassal kings, he might not be completely powerless to compete.

But when I suddenly heard the news of Lao Zhu's death, I couldn't help feeling a little lonely and sad.

Brother, let’s go!
It took away the memories we had together, as well as the glorious years when we could call the wind and rain and conquer all over the world.

He is also very old!

Zhu Su sat down dejectedly on the armchair, looked at the eunuch who was kneeling on the ground and trembling, and asked: "Where is the messenger? Let him come in. I have something to ask him in person."

The eunuch felt as if he had been pardoned. He quickly crawled back a few steps, did not say a word, kowtowed quickly, then got up and ran out in small steps.

After a while, a strong man covered in dust walked in hurriedly.

He must have rushed all night, and his face was still full of fatigue.

His eyes were bright and his breathing was full of energy. He was obviously a strong and healthy martial artist.

"Greetings to His Majesty King Zhou!" The sturdy man stopped five steps away, knelt down and kowtowed.

Zhu Su wiped his tears with his hand and said, "Tell me, what happened? I haven't heard the news that my father is seriously ill yet, how come he passed away all of a sudden?"

"Your Highness, the Emperor was angered to death." The first words the sturdy man said were earth-shattering.

"What?" Zhu Su suddenly stood up from the armchair, his eyes were red with anger, and he pointed at him and said, "Hurry up and tell me everything clearly and plainly."

The sturdy man immediately brought back Zhu that day and broke into the Ming Academy of Sciences, causing misunderstanding. Then he went to the East Palace and chased Zhu Yunhuan with a spear, shouting and killing him, but was persuaded to stop by the officials.

How he fainted later, and how the officials outside argued with Yang Shiqi, Yao Guangxiao and others.

Until the Crown Prince came out and summoned the imperial physician... and announced his death, he explained everything in detail.

"Father!" Zhu Su couldn't help but burst into tears after hearing what he said.

After a while, he asked fiercely, "Has Zhu Yunhuan, the unfilial descendant who angered my father to death, been arrested and punished?"

The strong man kowtowed and said, "After the death of the previous emperor, he was elected as the new emperor by the ministers in front of the previous emperor's spirit."

"How ridiculous!" Zhu Su slapped the ground and hit the table hard.

boom!
The palm strike was a bit harsh, with too much force.

The table was slammed loudly.

Zhu Su suddenly felt a burning pain in his hand and subconsciously wanted to pick it up to have a look, but suddenly he found someone standing in front of him, so he quickly put it down.

"He angered his own grandfather to death, yet he was still supported by the ministers to become the emperor. This...isn't this too ridiculous?"

Feng Sheng said solemnly, "He is the crown prince appointed by His Majesty himself. When His Majesty dies, the ministers will naturally support him to ascend the throne."

Zhu Su's face twisted, and he said angrily: "If we follow this reason, doesn't it mean that even if he kills my father with a knife in front of all the ministers, those ministers will still support him as emperor?"

"How can there be such a ridiculous thing in the world!"

Feng Sheng sighed softly and said, "Now that things have come to this, Your Highness Prince Zhou should think carefully about how to respond."

"It's a pity that the person that His Royal Highness Prince Zhou spent so much effort to train has no place to use his talents."

Shang Xingyu is only useful to Lao Zhu.

It can bring back Lao Zhu’s memories.

For others...if Queen Ma were still alive, perhaps they could still make the fake look real.

For example, falsely conveying Empress Ma's imperial decree.

This can play a huge role at critical moments.

But Queen Ma is no longer in this world. When others see Shang Xingyu, they will only be frightened at first sight, but will soon understand what is going on. He cannot fool anyone.

In this way, Shang Xingyu will be of no use anymore, which is a pity.

Zhu Su said angrily: "The officials in the court are afraid of him like a tiger and dare not do anything to him, but my brothers will not do that."

"My father was pissed off to death by him, and not only did he get away with it, he even ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor."

"I can't swallow this."

"I think my brothers can't swallow it either."

"The hatred for killing my father is irreconcilable."

"We, the brothers who are enfeoffed outside, should rise up and take revenge."

"I immediately wrote to his other brothers, inviting them to join the uprising."

Feng Sheng thought for a moment and said, "This is a serious matter. Your Highness, please think twice before acting and do not act hastily."

"Now we can make some preparations."

"I will also contact my friends in the army to find out the specific situation in the capital. Don't act rashly."

Zhu Su said anxiously: "We don't have much time left."

"The emperor has passed away and the new emperor has ascended the throne. I believe the court has already sent messengers to various places."

"When the messenger arrives at the Prince Zhou's palace, should I accept the order or not?"

"Besides, the officials in the palace and the local officials in Henan may not all listen to me."

“Before that, a decision must be made.”

The spies he arranged in the capital immediately sent someone to bring back the message after receiving the news of the emperor's death.

But the imperial edicts came much slower.

In order to prevent trouble from occurring in local areas after receiving the news.

Many times, the imperial court would deliberately suppress the news.

After making emergency preparations, the news of the emperor's death will be conveyed to the local area.

But this time will not be delayed too long, and an imperial order should arrive soon.

At this time, the strong man kneeling on the ground suddenly said: "Your Highness, there are actually some rumors about His Majesty's death in the capital, but they have not been confirmed." "What rumors?" Zhu Su asked hurriedly, and then said: "If it is too ridiculous, there is no need to say it."

Zhu Su had also heard some of the rumors among the people.

Most of the time, they can say that the stone lion in front of the palace is a golden lion, the golden lion is a living lion, and the living lion is a cheating lioness.

Finally, the lion becomes the one who has an affair, and then the King of Zhou has an affair with the lioness...

In short, the more absurd and bizarre it is, the more people will talk about it.

Spreading secretly and flying all over the sky.

Those who know the inside story can only smile bitterly.

Because people don’t believe the “truth” you tell, let alone your “rumor-busting”, but they firmly believe in those incredible and absurd rumors.

As the saying goes, rumors stop with the wise.

But how many ordinary people in this world can be called "wise men"?

After all, most people are ignorant and stupid.

With the existence of these people, rumors are naturally flying everywhere.

Even with severe punishments, it is difficult to ban it.

Zhu Su knew this very well, so he spoke out to explain it.

Compared with ordinary people outside, the spies he planted in the capital can certainly find out more detailed insider information, and it is easy for them to judge which rumors are completely unreliable.

"Your Majesty is wise. There are indeed many absurd things said, but some of the rumors are not completely nonsense."

Feng Sheng, who was standing next to him, originally had a somewhat sad expression on his face, but he suddenly perked up, with two rays of light shooting out of his eyes, which fell directly on the sturdy man.

Zhu Su also showed curiosity: "Oh?"

The sturdy man said in a serious voice: "One rumor is that the old emperor was fine, he just fainted, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince took this opportunity to order the imperial physician to poison His Majesty to death."

Zhu Su's expression suddenly changed again, his anger rose, and murderous intent emanated from him.

The sturdy man continued, "Another rumor is that the old emperor has not actually passed away, but has been imprisoned in the harem by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Without waiting for King Zhou to ask, he immediately added: "Speaking of which, there are indeed a few strange things, not just rumors."

"The first one was that after the new emperor ascended the throne, when preparing for the old emperor's funeral, he claimed that the late emperor had left a will, and that he did not want people to see his face distorted due to the pain before his death, so he put a special mask on him."

"The second incident was that the palace maids and eunuchs who washed the old emperor's body, as well as the four imperial doctors who treated him, all mysteriously disappeared later."

"The third is that the new emperor, because he missed the late emperor and couldn't bear to destroy his former residence, issued an order to seal off the harem. All the maids, eunuchs, and concubines in the harem were not allowed to leave the palace."

"He also ordered the craftsmen to build the wall overnight, blocking all the entrances and exits of the harem. The only remaining doors were also locked. All supplies were supplied through a specially built small passage."

“There is no communication between inside and outside personnel.”

"There are also rumors that the palace maids and eunuchs who washed the late emperor's body and the imperial doctors who treated him were actually secretly sent into the harem."

Zhu Su and Feng Sheng looked at each other and saw solemnity and doubt in each other's eyes.

If this is true, then this matter is indeed a bit strange and abnormal.

The sturdy man looked up and saw that King Zhou and Duke Song were both in deep thought, so he said, "I was in a hurry to come back to report the news. I left the capital early, and there should be new news later."

Zhu Su nodded and said, "You have worked hard all the way back to Kaifeng. Go to the storehouse to collect the reward of three hundred taels of silver. Work hard in the future, and I will not treat you unfairly."

Upon hearing that there was a reward of three hundred taels of silver, the strong man was immediately overjoyed.

His Royal Highness Prince Zhou is really generous!

But when you think about it, it seems normal.

It’s different in the past.

The news sent back this time is too confidential and important.

Even if His Highness wants to bribe me, he will give more reward money.

"Thank you, Your Highness! Thank you, Your Highness!" He kowtowed repeatedly, then stood up and walked away.

After the man left and there was no one else in the yard, Zhu Su asked seriously, "What do you think of this, father-in-law?"

Feng Sheng thought about it without saying anything.

After a while, Fang said, "We can analyze it now. First of all, the current situation is nothing more than two possibilities. One is that His Majesty has really passed away, and the other is that His Majesty has not passed away."

This is kind of like bullshit.

Zhu Su couldn't help but frown.

But he knew that Feng Sheng had led troops in battle for many years and was a famous general with outstanding military achievements.

Since ancient times, those who are good at using troops all know the principle that all is fair in war.

They also know how to analyze the situation, extract the correct information from extremely complex battlefield intelligence, and make judgments based on it.

Only in this way can you become a famous general.

Warriors are reckless and unwise; this is just a slanderous word thrown at them by scholars in order to elevate themselves.

Of course, there are many reckless people among the low-level military officers, which forms a sharp contrast with the relatively calm and composed literati.

But once you reach the level of senior generals, there are no longer those who are brave but not wise.

If one is brave but not wise, he will never be able to climb to such a high position.

Even if there are occasional generals who become high-ranking generals due to their family background or other special reasons, their true colors will be revealed after fighting a few battles.

After all, going to the battlefield requires real skills, and bayonets are a matter of life and death.

Without strategy, brains, and analytical and reasoning abilities, he would have been killed by the enemy's generals long ago.

Feng Sheng was a man who had fought wars all his life.

The fact that he is still alive and has become the Duke of Ming Dynasty has already proved that his strategy and intelligence are far superior to those of ordinary people.

Zhu Su did not respond, but waited for Feng Sheng to continue.

"If your majesty passes away, there are two situations."

"The first scenario is that Zhu Yunhuan killed the emperor, but was afraid of being exposed, so he did not allow anyone to see the emperor's remains, and hastily dealt with the imperial physicians, palace maids, and concubines in the harem."

"Another possibility is that His Majesty did die of a sudden illness on the spot, or that although he was killed by Zhu Yunhuan, he had already made all the necessary preparations."

"Putting a mask on His Majesty's body was done intentionally to arouse suspicion."

"The same goes for treating palace maids, eunuchs, imperial physicians, and concubines in the harem."

"The purpose is to see who in the court supports him and who opposes him, so as to draw out those who oppose him and then catch them all in one fell swoop."

Zhu Su's breathing stagnated slightly and his eyes flickered, but he had not thought of this.

After listening to what Feng Sheng said, I realized that I had really thought too simply.

Feng Sheng's logic was clear, and he continued to reason:
"If your majesty is not dead, there are three possibilities."

"One is that Zhu Yunhuan imprisoned Your Majesty because he still had blood ties with his family and couldn't bear it, so he imprisoned Your Majesty in the harem and provided You with good food and drink."

"He thinks he has enough control over the situation and doesn't need to kill His Majesty."

"The second scenario is that Zhu Yunhuan also imprisoned Your Majesty, but he may not have been thinking of the blood relationship in his heart."

"Instead, he wants to use Your Majesty as bait to lure out those who oppose him, especially you vassal kings."

"Just imagine, if your majesty is no longer here, the opponents may hold back for the time being and lurk in secret."

"But if everyone knew that His Majesty was imprisoned by him in the harem, they would definitely find ways to rescue him."

"First, it is out of loyalty to Your Majesty. Second, as long as Your Majesty steps out of the harem and raises his arms to make his deeds known to the world, Zhu Yunhuan will surely be defeated."

"The princes and ministers who oppose Zhu Yunhuan will definitely not miss such an opportunity."

"We will definitely find ways to achieve this goal."

"And this is exactly the trap he set."

“Let all opponents come out and catch them all in one fell swoop.”

Feng Sheng's eyes flickered slightly, he took a deep breath, and said, "There is a third possibility."

Zhu Su frowned and his thoughts stopped.

I just felt that what Feng Sheng said had already exhausted all possibilities, and I couldn't think of anything else.

When he was confused, Feng Sheng said in a deep voice: "The last possibility is that His Majesty has not passed away, nor is he imprisoned by Zhu Yunhuan."

"Your Majesty voluntarily moved into the palace, but ordered him to spread false news of his death! He hid the truth and deceived the whole world!"

"Your Majesty wants to use this opportunity to help him on his final journey."

Snapped!
Zhu Su was so excited that he unconsciously swung his hand forward, knocking the cup off the table. The cup fell to the ground and broke into pieces in an instant, spilling tea all over the floor.

But he didn't care at all and just looked at Feng Sheng with shock on his face!

……

(End of this chapter)