Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 342: Abolish the feudal system! Abolish the title! A legacy for generations to come!

The court, which was bustling with noise just now, was suddenly filled with dead silence.

The princes seemed to have their bones and muscles pulled out. They twisted their necks slowly and with difficulty, and looked at each other, their eyes full of panic and confusion.

He looked as if he had lost his soul, and there was no trace of his previous majesty.

They really could never have expected that the rebellion launched by the alliance between Prince Zhou and Zhu Gaoxu would be crushed and quelled so quickly by the imperial army.

At this moment, fear gripped their hearts and everyone was secretly regretting.

But can I take back the words I just said?

Zhu Yunhuan simply glanced at them, then looked away, looking at the general who came to report, with a calm expression: "Yes, this mission was done very well."

Zhu Yunhuan was not at all surprised that the rebellion was successfully suppressed.

After all, the Ming Dynasty's new army was firmly in his hands.

Even the elite internal guards directly under the Ministry of Justice and the capable armed forces of the Anti-Snatching Bureau were forces he had carefully cultivated.

Even if Zhu Gaoxu racked his brains, he could not instigate them to rebel.

The princes only brought their own guards, although they were numerous, but they had never practiced how to fight with hot weapons.

He even tried to rely on Zhu Gaoxu's reputation to swindle some guns, ammunition and plot treason again. How could such an easy thing be possible in this world?
After that, he asked, "My fifth uncle, how is the King of Zhou doing now?"

The general hurriedly replied: "Your Majesty, after Zhu Gaoxu was defeated, King Zhou took advantage of the chaos to escape."

"Duke Wei once said that the King of Zhou is your Majesty's fifth uncle, a royal relative. If you pursue him too hastily, if something unexpected happens, it may damage your Majesty's reputation for benevolence and filial piety."

"So I didn't dare to make the decision on my own and could only let him go."

Zhu Yunhuan looked calm and said, "You did a good job. It's inevitable that it will rain and my mother will marry."

"If King Zhou wants to escape, let him escape."

In his heart, he didn't believe that King Zhou could escape for long.

The general reported again: "Your Majesty, there is a matter that Duke Wei would like to ask Your Majesty to make a decision on."

"Although the rebels who attacked the bullet factory have been pacified and the bullet factory is safe and sound without any damage, the rest of King Zhou's personal troops are still there."

"They did not participate in this rebellion and are still stationed in the same place."

"Duke Wei would like to ask Your Majesty how to deal with this matter?"

Zhu Yunhuan waved his hand slightly and said, "Confiscate their weapons and keep them under arrest. If anyone disobeys my order, they will be killed without mercy."

"In addition, all other princes also participated in the rebellion, and the troops they brought with them were also arrested."

"As for how to deal with it, I will issue another order."

The general bowed his head and said, "As you command!"

Then he hurriedly retreated.

Inside the hall, all the princes stared at his departing back in a daze.

Suddenly, someone burst into tears, then knelt down in front of Zhu Yunhuan and said with tears streaming down his face:
"Your Majesty, I was deceived by a treacherous villain and listened to slanderous words, which led to my actions that offended Your Majesty. It was not my deliberate intention to rebel!"

"I hope Your Majesty will spare my life for the sake of our blood relationship!"

After saying this, he bowed his head to the ground and cried loudly, filled with remorse and grief.

The other princes looked at the person on the ground and could not help but look at each other in confusion again.

Soon, they all knelt down.

"Your Majesty, I was deceived by others and said such treasonous words to Your Majesty. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty, I really deserve to die. I shouldn't have said nonsense to your Majesty. I know I was wrong!"

"Your Majesty, I will never dare to do that again. Please have mercy on me!"

"Your Majesty, from now on, if I show any disloyalty to Your Majesty, I will be struck by lightning and die a miserable death!"

……

The princes cried, admitted their mistakes, and knelt down to beg for mercy. The scene was extremely unbearable.

This made Zhu Yunhuan have a new understanding of their shamelessness.

I originally thought that they would at least have some respect for their reputation and hold out in public.

But I didn't expect them to be so despicable and have no sense of shame at all.

If Old Zhu saw his sons in this state, I wonder how heartbroken he would be.

Zhu Yunhuan's gaze slowly shifted to Prince of Qi Zhu Gui, who was still slumped on the ground.

He was still staring at the scene in front of him in amazement, his eyes full of fear and disbelief, as if he still had not recovered from this sudden change of situation.

Finally, Zhu Yu came to his senses and burst into tears, saying, "Your Majesty, I...I...I have also been deceived by the King of Zhou."

"King Zhou, he really deceived me!"

"I shouldn't have said those disrespectful words to Your Majesty just now. I deserve to die... I deserve to die!"

After saying this, he slapped his mouth vigorously left and right, his appearance and actions showing his humility.

Zhu Yu was really scared.

Although he had thought about rebellion before, he had never thought deeply about how to end it after failure.

At this moment, when he heard that Zhu Gaoxu was defeated and captured, and King of Zhou Zhu Su fled in panic, he suddenly felt a chill on his back.

The person sitting on the dragon throne now is no longer his biological father, Old Zhu, but Zhu Yunhuan.

When Old Zhu was alive, at least he would not easily kill his son.

But would Zhu Yunhuan let his seventh uncle go out of consideration for the relationship between uncle and nephew?
The more Zhu Yu thought about it, the more terrified he became.

As a vassal king, he has always enjoyed all the wealth and glory in the world, so how could he bear to die like this?

In order to save his life, he has already thrown aside all his face and dignity as a vassal king.

Seeing this, Zhu Yunhuan sighed quietly in his heart. These sons of Old Zhu were really too unbearable.

"Forget it, stop crying."

Zhu Yunhuan raised his hand and waved, and the crying of the princes stopped abruptly. They all looked up at Zhu Yunhuan sitting on the dragon throne in panic.

"So, the charges you just listed against me are all nonsense?" Zhu Yunheng asked with a smile.

"It's all nonsense! It's all nonsense! It's all nonsense!" The princes hurriedly responded.

"What about the crime of slandering the monarch and plotting treason?"

Upon hearing this, all the princes were silent and dared not say anything more.

Zhu Yunhuan looked solemn and said in a deep voice: "You are all my uncles. Although you have committed such a serious crime, it is not my wish to have you killed by swords and axes."

He paused for a moment, looked around at everyone, and continued, "If the people of the world saw me killing you, they would definitely accuse me of being too cruel, for not being able to tolerate my own uncle, and for ignoring the kinship of our flesh and blood."

"Besides, the main culprits of this disaster are Prince Zhou and Zhu Gaoxu. You are just deceived and are just accomplices."

Zhu Yunhuan raised his head slightly, and said in a slower tone, "I can spare your lives!"

When the princes heard this, they were immediately delighted and kowtowed repeatedly, shouting in unison: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace!"

"However, you are so bold and reckless, and have committed such a heinous crime. Although I can consider our family relationship and not pursue you, the court has strict laws and cannot go without punishment." Zhu Yunhuan suddenly changed the subject and coldly spat out four words: "Remove the fiefdom and abolish the title!"

It was like a bolt from the blue. The princes froze in an instant and stood there like a fool.

The imperial court has always had the "Eight Discussions" system, which is a privileged regulation that has been passed down for thousands of years.

That is, discuss relatives, discuss old friends, discuss the virtuous, discuss the capable, discuss the meritorious, discuss the noble, discuss the diligent, and discuss the guests.

According to this system, people of these eight identities who commit crimes can all be given lighter sentences according to the law.

If the crime of treason is committed by an ordinary citizen, he will be cut into pieces and his family members will be exterminated.

But if it happens to a member of the royal family, especially the uncle of the current emperor, the worst punishment is death.

Moreover, public execution is absolutely impossible. After all, the royal family's reputation cannot be damaged lightly.

Now that their rebellion has failed, they have been suppressed. According to convention, they should have been demoted and imprisoned for life.

Zhu Yunhuan's proposal to abolish the fiefdom and title at this moment was not forgiveness at all, but clearly the most severe punishment!
It seems that the reason why Zhu Yunhuan didn't kill them was not because he was soft-hearted, but because no one wanted to bear the stigma of killing their uncle in this era where "filial piety" was respected and filial piety came first in everything.

Therefore, when the princes heard this, they instantly realized that their previous tearful pleas were all in vain.

Zhu Yunhuan casually picked up a file that had been prepared long ago, locked his eyes with the King of Qi, and sneered, "King of Qi, when you angrily rebuked me just now, you spoke passionately, and your words were righteous and solemn!"

He passed the file aside and said, "Zhao Rui, read the contents to everyone."

Zhao Rui hurriedly took it, unfolded the file, and then read aloud.

Among Zhu Yuanzhang's many descendants, Prince of Qi Zhu Yu was famous for his absurdity, domineeringness, cruelty and ruthlessness.

Compared with Qin Wang Zhu Chong, he is even worse.

His fiefdom had long been tainted by evil deeds and the people were filled with resentment.

In his eyes, killing is just a common thing.

Since Zhu Yunhuan established the reporting system, the Censorate has received a large number of letters reporting the King of Qi and his subordinates and family members.

In addition, the Investigation Department conducted secret investigations.

All the bad deeds of the King of Qi were recorded clearly.

But when the imperial court wants to convict someone, they require ironclad evidence.

Especially when it comes to the princes, there is no room for any negligence.

Of course, letters of denunciation and information obtained through inquiries cannot be used directly as the basis for conviction.

Therefore, he was not held accountable for this.

But everyone knows clearly in their hearts that these things are most likely true.

At this moment, Zhao Rui read them out one by one, and the body of King Zhu Yu of Qi, who was kneeling on the ground, shook more and more violently.

Although no matter what crimes he had committed before, they were not as serious as the crime of treason today.

But now Zhu Yunhuan has laid out his other evil deeds one by one, obviously intending to severely punish him.

How could Zhu Yu not be terrified?
After Zhao Rui finished reading, Zhu Yunxun glanced at everyone and said, "I have a few more here, all of which are the 'deeds' done by other uncles. Do you want to read them all out?"

"Your Majesty, please spare my life. We are guilty!"

Even though the princes were extremely desperate, they still begged desperately at the top of their lungs.

The princes have been spoiled since childhood, so who among them doesn't have some shameful things on their hands?

Seeing that the time had come, Zhu Yunhuan slowly stood up, paced to the front of the platform, and said with great sorrow: "As my uncles, I can still forgive you after you make mistakes."

"However, how can the people forgive you for treating the people like this and doing such things that are outrageous to both humans and gods?"

He frowned slightly, and changed the subject again, his tone becoming slightly lighter: "However, you have also guarded the borders and made great contributions to the court. I know all of this."

Zhu Yunhuan sighed and said, "At this point, it is imperative to abolish the feudal fiefdom and the title."

He paused for a moment and glanced at everyone: "But if you are willing to atone for your sins, there are ways out."

When the princes heard this, they were as happy as if a long drought had finally brought them rain. They hurriedly said, "If Your Majesty has any orders, we are willing to go through fire and water!"

Zhu Yunhuan stood with his hands behind his back and spoke eloquently: "In the past, the Zhou emperor granted fiefs to various kings, and all of their fiefs were in remote and barbaric places. He ordered the kings to expand their territory, conquer the barbarians in all directions, and manage the land carefully, which led to the fertile land of the Central Plains today."

"Han people are spread all over the world, and our Ming Dynasty has a vast and beautiful country."

"Now, our Ming Dynasty wants to expand overseas, aiming to create a huge empire where the sun never sets."

"If you are willing to expand territory for your country and atone for your sins, perhaps one day you can regain your title of king."

As soon as the voice fell, the princes below rushed to shout: "We are willing!"

"I am willing to serve your majesty and expand the territory!"

If one can still sit firmly on the throne of the Ming Dynasty vassal king, no one would be willing to go overseas.

This was largely the reason why they rebelled before.

But compared to being stripped of his royal title, becoming a commoner, and being imprisoned for life, going out to sea became his only chance of survival.

These people will always be a trouble as long as they stay in the Ming Dynasty.

It would be better to make use of the waste and let them go.

To conquer the overseas world, you don’t need someone who is extremely capable or powerful.

In the Western Age of Exploration, colonies were established all over the world, relying on groups of pirates and missionaries...

The role of the princes is to take the lead and set an example.

If they unfortunately died somewhere overseas, the Ming Dynasty would have a legitimate reason to "avenge" them.

"Okay!" Zhu Yunhuan clapped his hands and said loudly: "Come here, show us the world map!"

The door of the hall slowly opened.

Eight eunuchs carried a huge world map and walked slowly into the hall.

This map was carefully drawn by Zhu Yunhuan based on his fragmentary memories, after repeated carving and modification, and integrating a lot of information he had gathered.

The huge map placed in the hall exudes a majestic aura.

"The nobles and wealthy merchants of the Ming Dynasty have already set sail."

"Uncle Jin, the third uncle, also left a step earlier."

Zhu Yunhuan walked to the map and stroked it gently with his hand.

A sense of heroism suddenly arose in my heart.

He is now the emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

And in the future, he will become the captain of Blue Star.

The King of Qin unified all of China, but what he unified was only the Central Plains.

And I, Zhu Yunhuan, will truly sweep the entire world!
This achievement is unprecedented and will never be surpassed in the future!
Zhu Yunhuan said loudly: "This world is vast and boundless, and the territory is vast. We urgently need people to go out and guard it to protect the rights and interests of our Ming people overseas."

"Today, we will settle this matter and divide the territories that each of us needs to develop and defend."

……

(End of this chapter)