Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 341: The fierce questioning and...scared me!

The voice was as sharp as a knife, and every word was piercing, echoing in the Fengtian Hall.

Although everyone came prepared to attack Zhu Yunhuan.

But the other party is the emperor after all, and he holds the righteous position.

Everyone still has some concerns in their hearts.

No one expected that Zhu Yu's words would be so fierce as soon as he opened his mouth.

The bayonet stabbed and blood was drawn!
For a moment, many people's expressions changed slightly.

However, with Zhu Gui taking the lead, the other princes no longer had any concerns.

Dai Wang Zhu Gui moved and took a big step forward, and his resonant voice echoed in the hall: "Seventh Brother is right!"

He raised his chin slightly, glanced at everyone, and then his expression became stern and he looked righteous.

"The emperor is entrusted with the fate of the country and the people. His every move is like a huge rock thrown into a lake. A single move affects the entire body and is related to the rise and fall of the fortune of the Ming Dynasty."

"Throughout the ages, whenever a wise emperor performs a good deed, Heaven will grant him auspicious blessings and protect the country and the people."

"On the contrary, if one makes the slightest mistake or does something unjust, the heavens will look at him with anger and send disasters as punishment."

At this point, Zhu Gui paused and asked in a deep voice, "Now that the emperor has just ascended the throne and his foundation is not stable, your uncle and cousins are plotting rebellion together. In my opinion, isn't this a warning from heaven?"

Prince Su Zhu Li was not willing to be left behind, so he took a step forward, cleared his throat and said, "As the saying goes, there is no smoke without fire. Everything happens for a reason."

"I'm sure you all know that Fifth Brother has always been kind-hearted and friendly to others. He is obsessed with medicine and does not pursue fame or fortune."

"I only hope to use my Chinese medicine skills to save the world and save the people from danger."

"How could such a person who is indifferent to fame and wealth and has a kind heart go against the grace of heaven for no reason and commit such a treasonous act?"

The other princes also echoed each other.

Someone said: "Yes, everyone in the world knows the reputation of Fifth Brother's kindness."

"He is always kind and caring to everyone."

"Now even he has been forced into a desperate situation and forced to rebel. How much injustice and persecution must he have suffered behind this!"

Someone replied indignantly: "If someone hadn't done something that was outrageous to both humans and gods, and angered the heavens and the people, Brother Five would never have taken this step."

For a moment, the Fengtian Hall seemed to be in chaos.

The voices of accusation from the crowd rose one after another, and all of them were directed at Zhu Yunhuan who was sitting on the dragon throne.

Every question was questioning and every sentence was pressing.

However, in the midst of this noise, the court ministers who came with the princes just stood there like wooden sculptures or clay figures, and no one spoke to agree with the princes.

But in this feudal era where the traditional concept of "when the king worries, the ministers work hard; when the king humiliates, the ministers die" is deeply rooted, their silence at this moment has already made their attitude clear.

As subjects, they chose to stand idly by and watch when the monarch was openly criticized like this. The meaning is self-evident.

Zhu Yunhuan sat upright on the dragon throne, his deep eyes quietly gazing at the people below, his face as calm as water, as if all this trouble had nothing to do with him.

Amid the noise, his eyes quietly swept across the crowd and suddenly caught sight of a rather special figure - King Ning Zhu Quan.

Although Zhu Quan is Zhu Yunhun's uncle in terms of seniority, he is only a few months older than Zhu Yunhun in terms of age.

At this moment, although Zhu Quan had already been crowned king, he had not yet been enfeoffed.

This time, Zhu Yunhuan issued an edict to summon all the princes to come to the Fengtian Hall to meet him, but he was not mentioned in the edict.

But he came uninvited like those ministers.

However, in stark contrast to the aggressive and menacing attitude of other princes, Zhu Quan seemed to deliberately hide among the crowd and try not to attract attention.

His lips were tightly shut throughout, and he said nothing.

He just stood there quietly, with his head slightly lowered, listening to everyone's words while seeming to be thinking about something.

Inside the hall, the voices condemning Zhu Yunhuan grew louder and louder.

The eunuch Zhao Rui, who had been waiting and serving beside Zhu Yunhuan, could no longer hold back his anger.

His cheeks flushed red, veins popped out on his forehead, he took a step forward, pointed a trembling finger at the princes below, and shouted angrily:

"You...you are too presumptuous. How dare you be so arrogant and disrespectful in front of His Majesty? Do you know what crime this is?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the noisy sounds in the hall stopped abruptly.

Everyone looked at him in surprise.

When Prince Zhu Yu of Qi came to his senses, he found that it was just a eunuch. His eyes widened with anger, and he roared loudly like an enraged lion: "Who do you think you are?"

"How dare a mere eunuch speak nonsense and interrupt in the court?"

"When my father was alive, he had already issued a clear order to strictly prohibit eunuchs from interfering in government affairs."

"If you dare to say another word, I will sentence you to death today."

"I want you to know that this court is not a place where just anybody can act recklessly!"

The other princes also echoed the words, each with a look of contempt on their faces.

"Yes, a rootless eunuch dares to interfere in the national affairs we are discussing!"

"Bah, such a lowly thing, even worse than a dog. We are all worried about the affairs of the country, and he dares to make noises beside us, barking like a street thug. It's really outrageous!"

"Humph, if the top beam is not straight, the bottom beam will be crooked. He dares to be so bold today, isn't it because he has a master who favors and trusts him?"

……

Since Zhao Rui joined Zhu Yunhuan's army, he has always been trusted and valued by Zhu Yunhuan because of his shrewdness, capability, and steady and efficient work.

When he was walking outside on weekdays, everyone who saw him would be very respectful. He had never been insulted and humiliated like this.

At this moment, he felt a surge of hot blood rushing to his head, and he was so angry that his whole body was shaking. His lips trembled, and he wanted to refute, but he was so angry that he was speechless for a moment:
"You...you...you guys...you guys are behaving like this, how can you be a subject? Even if I have offended you today, the emperor will make the final decision. It is not your turn to interfere and interfere in other people's affairs."

Zhu Yu snorted coldly and took a step forward, his face full of arrogance and disdain: "We are the uncles of the current emperor and his elders. If he pampers you and indulges you, a eunuch, to do whatever you want and break the rules of our ancestors, we, as close relatives of the royal family, will naturally have to discipline you and punish you for your crime."

"Correct!"

"That's the truth!"

The princes were so aggressive that they seemed ready to capture Zhao Rui and bring him to justice on the spot.

Seeing this, Zhu Yunhuan frowned slightly, glanced at Zhao Rui, whose face was red with anger, and said softly, "Don't argue with them for now, just leave for now."

After he finished speaking, his eyes suddenly turned, sweeping towards the people below like cold stars: "You keep accusing me of not being a king like Yao or Shun."

"They said that I was lacking in virtue and had done bad things, which led to the punishment from heaven, causing the King of Zhou to rebel."

"In that case, I would like to ask you, what evil things have I done and what unforgivable sins have I committed?"

"You might as well explain everything clearly today."

The reason why these people were deliberately allowed to jump out is naturally to find out their background.

Zhu Yunhuan sat upright on the dragon throne, his face as calm as water, but he sneered secretly in his heart. However, he was not in a hurry at all and watched the performances of the princes in front of him quietly.

Prince Zhu Yu of Qi snorted coldly and said with disdain: "What did the emperor do? Don't you know it in your heart?"

He raised his chin slightly, with a hint of provocation in his eyes.

"In that case, Uncle Qi will help you count."

After saying that, he first looked at Zhu Yunhuan with a cold gaze, and then slowly looked around.

His eyes seemed to be announcing his dissatisfaction and resentment to everyone, and then he spoke: "First of all, you did not follow the family rules of our ancestors and made changes at will. This has undermined the foundation of the country. This is the first point."

As he spoke, he waved his arms with a little excitement.

"Look, now in the territory of Daming, whether it is a town or a village, there are merchants everywhere."

"The people are no longer like they used to, farming peacefully. Instead, they just want to go out to do business and make money, or work in factories." "If this continues, won't people become restless?"

"The world is going downhill!"

"If this continues, what will the country do?"

"Does the Ming Dynasty no longer need the people to farm?"

The King of Qi paused for a moment, as if remembering something important, and raised his voice and said, "Look at the current situation. The price of grain is so low, but the labor cost is ridiculously high."

"The wages people earn from a day's work can buy several times more food than before."

"If things continue like this, everyone will go out to work and earn money. Who will be willing to farm?"

Zhu Yunhuan listened to the King of Qi's accusation, smiled slightly, and asked in return: "So, Uncle Qi thinks that letting the people earn more money and be able to afford more food is a bad policy rather than a good policy?"

Prince Zhu Yu of Qi was stunned.

He opened his mouth, but no words came out for a long time.

Only then did Zhu Gui realize that he had inadvertently gotten himself into trouble.

The reason why he was always brooding over this matter was that he had a large amount of land in his own fiefdom.

A large part of the palace's income comes from the rent collected from these fields.

And the rent paid was all grain.

Now that food prices are low, the palace’s income has naturally been greatly reduced.

Furthermore, the increase in wages made him even more miserable.

The cost of hiring craftsmen to repair houses or do other things in the palace has increased much more than before.

Therefore, Zhu Gui was always dissatisfied with this.

When listing Zhu Yunhuan's "sins" at this moment, this is the first thing that comes to mind.

After being asked this question by Zhu Yunhuan, he realized the inappropriateness of his words.

"Cough! Cough!" Upon seeing this, King Dai Zhu Gui immediately stood up and coughed lightly a few times, trying to rescue King Qi.

Zhu Yu waved his hand in anger and said, "Anyway, if you keep doing this and no one farms in the future, I want to see how you end it."

Zhu Yunhuan asked again: "Have many fields in the world been abandoned because of this?"

This question caused the hall to fall into silence instantly. The princes looked at each other, but no one could answer.

Seeing this, Zhu Yu had no choice but to clear his throat and deliberately avoid the question, and continued: "Second, you are lustful and have been having fun with the beauties in the harem all day long, indulging in lust day and night."

"You also blindly believed the words of the witch and searched for beautiful women from the countryside to bring into the palace for your own enjoyment."

"Throughout history, have I ever seen a king as lustful as you?"

"Even Jie and Zhou are inferior to you. You are even worse than Emperor Yang of Sui."

The King of Qi became more and more excited as he spoke, his voice gradually became louder, and his face looked very righteous.

"Third, you built a palace on a large scale to satisfy your own selfish desires."

“It’s a scale that has never been seen in thousands of years.”

"This has wasted countless manpower, material resources, and financial resources, and has left the people overwhelmed and full of complaints."

"Fourth, you favored those treacherous ministers, causing the loyal and upright people in the court to be persecuted."

"Take Yang Shiqi and Yang Rong for example. They are all villains who only know how to flatter and curry favor. They are in collusion with each other in the court and have made the court a mess."

"What's worse, Yao Guangxiao is just an evil monk, and you actually appointed him as a minister of state?"

"For thousands of years, has there ever been a monk who could be a high-ranking official and command ministers? This is simply absurd!"

The more Qi Wang Zhu Yu spoke, the angrier he became. His speech speed and volume kept getting faster and higher.

The sound echoed in the hall, making everyone's eardrums buzz.

"Fifth, you are disrespectful to your elders and harm the royal family."

"Do you dare to say that the death of the King of Qin has nothing to do with you?"

"You also exiled the King of Jin overseas!"

"Now, even the King of Zhou has started a rebellion, and the King of Yan, who has always been loyal to you, has also rebelled with his son."

"According to the situation, it will be our uncles' turn next, right?"

"You have committed many evil deeds, too numerous to mention."

When the King of Qi said this, his face turned red and the veins on his forehead were bulging.

"My father has long said that when there are no upright ministers in the court and treacherous people are rampant, we, the princes, should send troops to suppress them and eliminate the evil around the emperor."

“Today, we stand up for this.”

After listening to the King of Qi's long speech, Zhu Yunhuan just said "Oh" indifferently, and then asked slowly: "So, you are all like the King of Zhou, and you are also going to rebel?"

"That's right!" Zhu Hu admitted without hesitation: "To tell you the truth, the troops we brought with us this time have already been outside to cooperate with King Zhou's troops. We are just waiting for the order to attack Jinling City together and eliminate those treacherous ministers to clear the emperor's side!"

As he spoke, he winked at the other princes with a smug look.

Upon seeing this, the other princes immediately agreed.

"Yes, I will issue an edict of repentance!"

"Issue a confession of guilt!"

"Execute Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, and Yao Guangxiao, and depose Queen Gu Panjun."

"I hereby decree that the feudal lords will never be reduced."

"Appoint the kings as regents to discuss state affairs. Your Majesty, you should first learn how to govern a country."

"It's not too late to issue an edict now. If we wait until the army breaks into the city, it will be hard to say."

For a moment, the noise in the hall became louder and louder, the threatening words became increasingly severe, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

Just then, there was a burst of dense footsteps suddenly coming from outside.

The sound was very rapid and orderly, obviously the sound of an army marching. There must be troops entering the palace.

The princes were suddenly surprised and delighted.

It’s so fast?

This King Zhou is really powerful.

They were able to reach the palace so quickly and without bloodshed.

Soon, the door of the hall was slowly opened.

tread!
tread!
tread!
A general dressed in a mighty military uniform walked in with firm steps.

Everyone's eyes couldn't help but fall on him.

The general's face was as gloomy as water, and his eyes revealed a sense of majesty.

He walked all the way to the palace, knelt down and reported loudly: "Duke Wei was ordered to lead the army to suppress the rebellion. He has successfully quelled the rebellion. Zhu Gaoxu has also been arrested and brought to justice. I have specially sent him here to ask the emperor to convict him."

"impossible!"

King Zhu Gui of Qi pointed at the general in disbelief, his face full of shock.

He staggered back a few steps, and with a plop, he sat down on the ground, his eyes filled with despair and fear...

(End of this chapter)