Ming Dynasty: pacifying the rebellion and defending the border, dominating the world

Chapter 106: Secret Conversations between the Emperor and His Ministers, Zhu Houzhao’s Thoughts

Issue a proclamation to the whole country and quell the rebellion.

This was the slogan shouted by Emperor Taizong before the Jingnan Campaign.

It was somewhat inappropriate for Zhu Jinzhen to shout that there was no problem, but he still said it. However, at that moment, he clearly noticed that Zhu Houzhao's whole body tensed up.

But soon, Zhu Houzhao relaxed.

Once words are spoken, they are hard to take back.

Just like Zhu Jinzhen, he is the same.

What's more, this is the truest thought in Zhu Houzhao's heart.

"If that day really comes, I will dispatch troops, as the Emperor requests, and issue a proclamation to the entire nation to quell the rebellion."

"but not now."

After Zhu Jinzhen helped Zhu Houzhao up, he turned around and sat back in his original position.

The latter obviously knew what Zhu Jinzhen meant. Although the four border military towns stationed troops in Yinchuan, it was still unknown whether they really colluded with the Mongols. At present, it was just Zhu Jinzhen's personal opinion and speculation.

Today's Ming Dynasty is peaceful and stable.

The undercurrent hidden in the open has not yet surfaced.

Now Zhu Jinzhen sent troops, especially when Emperor Zhu Houzhao was still in Tiance Palace, which was not a legitimate reason. He was likely to be accused of treason and the same as Cao Cao, who intended to hold the emperor hostage to control the princes.

Zhu Houzhao casually found a chair and sat down, then asked, "How long do we have to wait?"

Zhu Jinzhen's eyes flashed with surprise, but he quickly suppressed it and replied seriously, "What if I have to wait until you, the emperor, die before sending troops?"

"What did you say?"

Zhu Houzhao jumped up as if his butt was on fire, pointing at Zhu Jinzhen with an expression of disbelief.

Zhu Jinzhen met his gaze calmly and said with a smile, "From the first moment I saw you, I could tell your luck was crumbling. It wasn't going to last long. You could only hold on for a year at most. And just now, when I saw you again, guess what I saw in you?"

Zhu Houzhao was a smart man. When he heard Zhu Jinzhen's words, how could he not guess the meaning behind them?

His expression was terribly gloomy. For a moment just now, Zhu Houzhao did mistakenly think that Zhu Jinzhen wanted to kill him, or wait until he, the emperor, died and the country was in ruins before coming out to turn the tide.

Now it seems that this is obviously not the case.

"You mean, I'm going to die soon?"

"I don't know much about destiny, but I can see that the destiny that represents the emperor in you has dimmed. If we were to extrapolate from before, you could live for a year, but now the maximum is... half a year."

Half a year! !
Zhu Houzhao was struck by lightning, staggering and almost falling.

He was in his prime, at the height of his career. How could he suddenly only have three months left to live?
Zhu Houzhao asked in a trembling voice, "Could it be that the Mongols conquered the Ming Dynasty in just six months and blasted open the gates of the capital?"

"impossible."

Zhu Jinzhen shook his head decisively: "No matter what conflicts we have, I will never ignore the Mongols who crossed the Nine Borders Defense Line, burned, killed, and looted on Ming territory, causing great suffering to the people of Ming Dynasty, and then sent troops to repel the enemy."

"You have witnessed the power of Tiance and Cangyun, so you should understand. If I send troops to sweep across the world, I can completely defeat the Mongols in less than half a month, unless I attack the capital."

Speaking of this, Zhu Jinzhen showed a strange look.

I vaguely guessed why the emperor's luck plummeted and his life was in danger.

Zhu Houzhao looked at the strange expression on Zhu Jinzhen's face and was shocked. He also guessed a similar answer.

"I would like to ask Prince Su a question first."

"Yes."

Zhu Jinzhen answered in the affirmative without waiting for Zhu Houzhao to ask. "I don't need to imitate Cao Cao and use the emperor to control the princes. It's just that the rumors in the capital and the intelligence from the Mongols have made me uneasy for the time being, and I want an answer. I have never considered imprisoning the emperor or using the emperor to control the princes."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houzhao looked as if to expect it.

For a moment I didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

Zhu Houzhao's expression was gloomy and full of worry: "Since Prince Su will release me, and my fate is on the verge of collapse, and it's not caused by an external enemy, then there is only one possibility left."

The threat comes from within the Ming Dynasty.

He will die suddenly within six months for some reason. It's unclear whether it was his uncle Zhu Wusi's doing or someone else's palace.

Or some kind of accident?
Zhu Jinzhen glanced at Zhu Houzhao with a strange expression: "You guessed it right."

Zhu Houzhao sighed helplessly: "I, can I not leave?"

Although he had no freedom staying in Tiance Mansion, at least his life was not in danger. He had made it so clear before, and he was just short of abdicating.

Zhu Jinzhen never wanted to kill him as the emperor, either before or now.

In the future, as long as he doesn't do something stupid enough to challenge Zhu Jinzhen's bottom line, his life will not be in danger.

Zhu Houzhao suddenly had an absurd illusion. The world was so big that there was no place where he could feel safe. Only the Tiance Mansion gave him a damn sense of security!
"Who do you think will attack me, Prince Su?"

Zhu Houzhao still asked the questions that he was more concerned about.

Without waiting for Zhu Jinzhen to refuse, Zhu Houzhao said directly: "I will draft an edict to purge the emperor's court later and put it in your hands as a token of my sincerity."

Zhu Jinzhen: “.”

Yan Yimei: “.”

Is this emperor out of his mind?

How big is the difference between delivering the imperial edict to purge the imperial court to Zhu Jinzhen and directly handing over the throne to him?

Seeing the strange expressions on Zhu Jinzhen and the Cangyun female general's faces, Zhu Houzhao couldn't help but guess what they were thinking. He sighed helplessly and said, "Now that things have come to this, Prince Su really doesn't understand what I'm thinking?"

"Guessed some."

Zhu Jinzhen nodded, feeling even more strange.

Indeed, he ordered the three armies to perform a military exercise and specially invited Zhu Houzhao to watch, which was indeed intended to intimidate and guide them.

But Zhu Houzhao obviously misunderstood.

He actually wanted Zhu Houming to understand that the power of Prince Su's Palace was too strong and that he, as the emperor, could not threaten or control it, so it would be best not to have any evil thoughts or do anything weird.

As a result, Zhu Houzhao mistakenly believed that Zhu Jinzhen was using the general trend to force him to bow his head and make him face reality.

That’s why we had that conversation just now.

"Besides the safety of the Ming Dynasty, there's another thing that made me make up my mind..." Zhu Houzhao simply laid it all out, sighing, "I've been on the throne for fourteen years, and still have no heir. Even if there were no Prince Su Palace, even if I could suppress everything and take back the military power, to whom could I pass this empire in the future?"

This was the key to Zhu Houzhao's final decision.

Otherwise, no matter how powerful the Prince Su's Mansion is, or how strong and terrifying the army is, even if the entire Ming Dynasty were to unite, they would not be able to fight.

Zhu Houzhao had no biological brothers to inherit the throne.

In the end, the throne was destined to fall into someone else's hands.

Zhu Houzhao figured this out, and coupled with the fact that mobilizing troops from all sides would leave the border defenses empty, it would likely be an opportunity for the Mongols to take advantage and endanger the Ming Dynasty. The Cabinet, the Ministry of War, and the Five Military Commanderies took advantage of his absence and directly exerted the emperor's full power, which is why they repeatedly requested Zhu Jin to revitalize the rebellion.

The biggest reason why his intention to abdicate the throne was almost written on his face.

(End of this chapter)