Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 141: Fighting Conspiracy Theories, Visiting Duke Cao [Please Subscribe]

Although Zhu Biao was also surprised by his cousin's death, he came to his senses before Zhu Yuanzhang.

He also came over and asked, "Does my brother-in-law know the exact year that cousin Wenzhong passed away? What disease did he have?"

Zhu Yuanzhang finally came to his senses after hearing this and stared at Liu Kuan, hoping to hear the answer as soon as possible.

He had already come to his senses - Li Wenzhong's death would not happen for several years after all, and now that he knew about it in advance, he could make targeted preparations to avoid this incident.

If we could learn the cause of Li Wenzhong's illness from Liu Kuan, there would be a greater chance of helping him avoid disaster.

Being stared at by both Old Zhu and Little Zhu, Liu Kuan felt quite pressured and quickly said, "I don't know exactly how many years it will be. I only vaguely remember it will be around the 10th year of the Hongwu reign—it should be between the 15th and 20th year of the Hongwu reign."

"As for the cause of his illness, it's not recorded in the historical records I've seen." Liu Kuan hesitated for a moment before continuing, "But I still remember some of the research and speculation about his death in later generations."

Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and uttered one word, "Speak."

Liu Kuan said, "First, because Duke Cao was confined at home when he fell ill, His Majesty ordered the Marquis of Huai'an, Huazhong, to supervise the imperial physician and treat him. However, Duke Cao soon became seriously ill and died suddenly."

"Historical records indicate that Your Majesty suspected Hua Zhong of poisoning Duke Cao, and ordered the execution of Hua Zhong and the imperial physician who treated Duke Cao. He also exiled Hua Zhong's family to Jianchang Guard. Still furious, His Majesty ordered the execution of Hua Zhong's family members en route."

When they heard this, Old Zhu and Zhu Biao had already understood the implied meaning and their faces became quite ugly.

When Old Zhu saw him stop, he said, "There must be something else going on, right? Don't hide it, tell us everything!"

Liu Kuan had no choice but to continue speaking.

"Based on the above historical materials, there are two theories that later generations have come up with when investigating Duke Cao's death. One is that Duke Cao truly died of illness, and Your Majesty was simply heartbroken that he died in his prime, and therefore took his anger out on Huazhong and the imperial physician who treated Duke Cao."

"The second is the conspiracy theory—some people in later generations speculated that Duke Cao was poisoned because he had done something that offended His Majesty."

"And in order to conceal the truth, His Majesty killed Huazhong, who was in charge of the execution, and the imperial physician who knew about it."

"Nonsense! Nonsense!" Zhu Yuanzhang finally lost his patience, his angry voice surging in Fengxian Hall. "After Wen Zheng's death, not counting the next generation, Wen Zhong is the only relative left from our past. How could we possibly kill him? And with such a vile method as poisoning?!"

Zhu Biao also felt that the speculation of later generations was too slanderous, so he asked: "Does my brother-in-law know why later generations slandered my father so much?"

Liu Kuan recalled and said, "There are probably two reasons. One is the precedent of Zhu Wenzheng dying suddenly after being imprisoned for several years."

"Secondly, someone has linked this incident to what Duke Cao did in Yanzhou."

"There's a story, the authenticity of which is unknown, that when Duke Cao was defending Yanzhou, he took a prostitute as a concubine and was reprimanded by Your Majesty. Later, his advisors advised him to make plans early, such as rebelling and surrendering to Zhang Shicheng, or even... replacing Your Majesty."

"Nonsense!" Zhu Yuanzhang, whose previous anger had not yet subsided, was ignited again. "Given Wen Zhong's personality, how could he become disloyal just because I scolded him a few times?!"

"If there are any staff members who try to persuade Wen Zhong in this way, they are both stupid and evil. Wen Zhong will definitely kill them!"

Seeing that Zhu Yuanzhang was so furious about the speculations of later generations, Liu Kuan was worried that he would be affected by his anger and that Zhu Yuanzhang would die of anger.

He then said, "Your Majesty, please calm down. I have said before that the Qing Dynasty revised the history of the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, even in the official history, there are some false records. As for the unofficial history, which is already full of falsehoods, there is no need to mention it."

"Besides, what I just said is just the conjecture of some boring people in the future. Your Majesty, just listen to it and don't take it to heart."

After hearing what Liu Kuan said, Zhu Yuanzhang finally calmed down a little.

But when he looked at Liu Kuan, he couldn't help but hum, "If someone slandered you like this, could you not take it to heart?"

Liu Kuan smiled awkwardly - he really couldn't help but take it to heart.

If someone slandered him or threw dirty water on him online, he would probably hold onto his keyboard and fight with them for eight hundred rounds before giving up.

Zhu Yuanzhang then said, "Regarding the matter of Wen Zhong, even if he really had ulterior motives towards us, why was it not concealed for 10 to 20 years, and why did we suddenly find out?"

"Let's take a step back and say, even if we do learn about this in 10 or 20 years, we won't kill Wen Zhong—we'll just kill the person who knows about it and completely cover it up."

"As for Wen Zhong, he is our only nephew. He followed us to conquer the world when he was young. I don't know how many merits he has made."

"Even if he truly has ulterior motives, as long as he hasn't taken action, we won't kill him. At most, we'll imprison him and stop employing him."

At this time, Zhu Biao also said, "What my brother-in-law just said about the inferences of future generations is unreasonable if you think about it for a moment - the Ming Dynasty has already been established, let alone a few years later."

"Even if Cousin Wen Zhong did something to offend Father in the past, he poses no threat to our family now and would not cause Father to be wary."

"So, as Father said, even if he really was a threat back then, why would Father kill him twenty years later? And why use such a shady method as poisoning?"

Liu Kuan actually felt that this speculation was unreliable, and had no intention of continuing to discuss this issue with Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao.

He then said, "Your Highness is right. Some people in later generations do like to fabricate nonsense. Otherwise, why would I call their speculation a conspiracy theory?"

"Conspiracy theory," Old Zhu nodded. "That's a good word. Some people just judge others by their own standards."

"Even if I'm not a gentleman, I'm still a real man, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty."

"To put it bluntly, even if we wanted to kill Wen Zhong because he had ulterior motives, we would kill him openly and honestly, not secretly by poisoning him."

Zhu Biao sighed, "It's a pity that I don't know what disease my cousin died of."

Upon hearing this, Liu Kuan changed the subject and said, "Actually, I have some guesses about the cause of Duke Cao's illness." Zhu Biao's eyes lit up when he heard this, "Oh? Brother-in-law, tell me quickly!"

Old Zhu also shifted his attention and looked over.

Liu Kuan said, "Later generations, through medical research, have learned that a person's mood has a significant impact on their physical condition. If people can always maintain a happy mood and a positive attitude, they will not only be less likely to get sick, but will also live longer."

"On the other hand, if someone is constantly depressed, frustrated, frustrated, and demoralized, coupled with the irregular lifestyle that often accompanies such conditions, they are more likely to become ill, develop a serious illness, or even die young."

"Therefore, I believe that one of the main reasons why Duke Cao fell ill and died in his prime was because he was imprisoned at home, his spirit was not satisfied, and he was depressed and suffocated for many years."

Zhu Biao always wanted to persuade Zhu Yuanzhang to lift the imprisonment of Li Wenzhong, but he never found an opportunity.

Hearing what Liu Kuan said at this time, he immediately realized that Liu Kuan also intended to help Li Wenzhong lift the ban.

Furthermore, he felt that Liu Kuan's words made sense, so he nodded and said, "Father, what later medical research has said is indeed true. Isn't it common in history books to record someone who was frustrated and died of depression?"

"My cousin used to be in such good health, but after being confined for several years, he became seriously ill and passed away. I'm afraid, as later medical research has shown, it was caused by depression."

"Since the Emperor needs to select a trusted and capable general to serve as the Left Admiral of the Naval Commandery, why not take this opportunity to release my cousin from confinement and appoint him to this position?"

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang had actually decided to lift the confinement of Li Wenzhong.

As I said, Li Wenzhong was his only nephew, a close relative. He would never kill Li Wenzhong unless he had to, and naturally he did not want him to die young.

But when he thought about how Li Wenzhong had just been appointed Grand Commander and had already been making irresponsible remarks about state affairs, and had submitted three memorials to advise the emperor before and after the Hu Weiyong case, and how the last memorial almost accused him, the emperor and his uncle, he felt unhappy again.

If Li Wenzhong's confinement was lifted just like that, not only would he lose face, but he might also become self-righteous and make irresponsible remarks about state affairs.

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang said: "It is not impossible for us to release Wen Zhong from confinement, but we cannot just let go of what happened back then. He must admit his mistakes to us."

Zhu Biao was anxious when he heard this, "Father, if my cousin had been willing to admit his mistakes, why would he have been imprisoned until now?"

"We don't care. You are responsible for finding a way to persuade him to admit his mistake!"

Zhu Biao was about to open his mouth to persuade him again, but suddenly realized something and said, "Well, I will go and give it a try with my brother-in-law."

Liu Kuan, who was watching from the sidelines, was stunned.

I thought to myself, are you and your son playing a double act in front of me?
How come I have to persuade Li Wenzhong to admit his mistake to you, Old Zhu?

I am a programmer in the future, not a psychiatrist!

Zhu Biao looked at Liu Kuan with a smile and said, "Brother-in-law, while there is still some time before noon, let's go and persuade Duke Cao. I believe that with your eloquence and knowledge, you will be able to persuade him."

Well, I won't hide it anymore.

Liu Kuan knew there was no room for refusal, so he said, "I will try my best."

Speaking of which, Zhu's nephews and nephews were both capable and brave generals.

In his early years, Zhu Wenzhen became arrogant after the Battle of Hongdu. He also felt that Zhu Yuanzhang was unfair in rewarding and punishing people. Somehow, he began to think about rebelling and joining Zhang Shicheng. After being discovered by Zhu Yuanzhang, he was imprisoned in Tongcheng and died of illness a few years later.

Li Wenzhong had different political views from Zhu Yuanzhang. During his admonition, he spoke rudely and was imprisoned by Zhu Yuanzhang. He died of illness a few years later.

In this situation, it is no wonder that some people in later generations speculated about the deaths of Zhu Wenzhen and Li Wenzhong based on conspiracy theories.

But in Liu Kuan's opinion, Zhu Yuanzhang had few relatives, and Li Wenzhong and Zhu Wenzhen, as his nephews, must have been trained as his right-hand men. It was a pity that they died young in their prime as in history.

He can't change what happened to Zhu Wenzhen.

But if Li Wenzhong's fate could be changed, it would be equivalent to adding a capable and famous general to the Ming Dynasty in this time and space. Why not do it?
···
Zhu Biao was very concerned about Li Wenzhong's affairs.

After leaving Fengxian Hall, he asked someone to bring horses, and he and Liu Kuan rode to the residence of Duke Cao.

Duke Cao's Mansion is located on Taiping Street. Its location is better than Liu Kuan's Mansion and is closer to the Forbidden City. After leaving the Forbidden City, the group soon arrived at the gate of his mansion.

Not only was the mansion of Duke Cao deserted, but there were also teams of personal soldiers "guarding" outside.

"The once glorious Grand Commander was now under house arrest. It's no wonder that Li Wenzhong died of depression."

Liu Kuan secretly shook his head and sighed.

After Zhu Biao had someone inform them, the gate of the mansion was immediately opened. Not long after, a middle-aged man who was about the same height as Zhu Biao but quite thin came out with a group of family members and bowed to greet them.

"Your Highness, Li Wenzhong, leads the entire household to respectfully welcome His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

Zhu Biao immediately stepped forward, helped Li Wenzhong up, and said with a smile, "This visit is a private one, so there is no need to be so formal, cousin."

"There is a distinction between ruler and subject, but etiquette cannot be abolished."

Li Wenzhong raised his head and said this, finally allowing Liu Kuan to see his appearance clearly.

　First update.

　　
　　
　
(End of this chapter)