The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 294 Estrangement
"Cousin."

"It's been a long time since we parted ways in the capital."

Li Xianmu spoke gently with a smile.

The Prince of Han was bound and held in front of Li Xianmu, twisting his body, trying to stand up.

Upon hearing Li Xianmu's two sentences, he was immediately enraged and embarrassed.

Cousin?

He kept calling me "brother," but why did he kill me with so much force?

haven't seen you for a long time?

Who reminisces like this? It's disgusting and humiliating!
"Li Xianmu, don't you know that a king cannot be insulted?" Zhu Gaoxu roared angrily as he struggled.

Everyone around him lowered their heads slightly and remained silent, a scene that only fueled Zhu Gaoxu's arrogance.

"The king cannot be insulted?"

Li Xianmu repeated softly, "But cousin, you are no longer a king, but a commoner, a wicked child."

In this world, silence is the highest form of contempt, and asking a question intentionally is the sharpest form of pain.

Li Xianmu's words were calm, but they carried a strong sense of sarcasm and ridicule, which instantly aroused Zhu Gaoxu.

"Hold him down and gag him."

Li Xianmu waved his hand, and Zhu Gaoxu was instantly pressed to the ground. A rag was stuffed into his mouth, leaving him quite disheveled. Li Xianmu sat steadily in his chair and said calmly, "Han commoner, if you can speak properly, then be quiet. Otherwise, I will wait for you here."

You don't need to worry about me torturing you. After all, you are the son of Emperor Taizong. But being pinned to the ground and losing face is probably not a pleasant feeling either.

Humiliating you is not my intention.

If you understand, then please be quiet.

The words carried a subtle threat, the meaning being simple: although they wouldn't kill you or use torture, they had plenty of ways to humiliate you.

Historically, there have even been instances of monarchs being drowned in latrines.

Zhu Gaoxu was somewhat unwilling, but he was also worried that Li Xianmu would really use those methods to humiliate him. After all, in his heart, Li Xianmu was a ruthless and black-hearted sesame seed.

In Zhu Gaoxu's heart, one sentence probably echoed all the time: "How could Li Xianmu be so wicked!"

Everyone could see with their own eyes that Prince Zhu Gaoxu of Han had truly quieted down, and they were all taken aback. The Grand Secretary's power was truly too strong; even a proud, arrogant, and conceited person like Prince Zhu Gaoxu could be suppressed.

"It seems my cousin is willing to listen to me."

Li Xianmu was very satisfied, and his voice became a little lighter, "I was ordered to come and quell the rebellion, and today I can say that I have succeeded."

My late father left me a few words about you, and I will tell them to you now.

Zhu Gaoxu was stunned. Li Zhongwen? Uncle?
The others also looked up, their faces filled with doubt. Why would Li Zhongwen leave words behind at this point?

Li Xianmu said softly, "Do you remember when your father was seriously ill, you went to see him once? At that time, your father advised you to go to Annam to take up your fief. Even if you were far away from China, you would still be the ruler of a great country two thousand miles away. But you didn't listen and took a desperate gamble to seize the throne."

Although that was more than 20 years ago.

But Zhu Gaochi would never forget that from that day on, he and Li Shi were completely on opposite sides. For twenty years, Li Shi had repeatedly thwarted his plans and supported his elder brother and nephew as they gradually ascended to the throne.

But he became a prisoner, a complete joke.

Sitting at the head of the table, Li Xianmu's slightly lowered gaze made him feel as if he were seeing his uncle Li Qi from twenty years ago.

Looking back now, there was a hint of regret in Li Qi's eyes, as if he regretted not being able to prevent a tragedy of brothers killing each other.

original……

He once had another choice!
"Now that you've come to this end, have you felt even a trace of remorse?"

Regret?
Zhu Gaoxu asked himself honestly. If he said he had no regrets at all, that would be a lie. But if he said he regretted it a lot, that wouldn't be true either. If he didn't try, the resentment and regret would erode his heart and torment him every moment of the past.

“You are a general, but not one who can be an emperor. Today you are a prisoner. You should let go of the resentment in your heart. Otherwise, today will not be your final end. You will fall into a deeper abyss and never see the light of day again.”

"Did you say this? Or did Lord Li Zhongwen leave it to me? Is this the reason why Lord Li Zhongwen did not choose me?"

Li Xianmu fell silent upon hearing this. He had offered so much advice, but Zhu Gaoxu had only heard the first half of the assessment.

After a long silence, he slowly said, "Even now, is this what you want to ask?"
"This is what I said, because I'm about to take you back to the capital to meet the Emperor, and I don't want His Majesty to suffer any bad reputation because of your stubbornness."

“Cousin, you are truly a loyal subject. It’s a pity you can’t be used by me, otherwise the throne of this world might very well belong to me.”

Even Li Xianmu felt a bit of a headache. Zhu Gaoxu was quite stubborn and completely immersed in his own world, refusing to listen to anyone else's advice.

"Let's go back to Beijing."

In the end, Li Xianmu stopped arguing with the Prince of Han and ordered the army to return to the capital. He did not see the look of confusion that flashed in the eyes of the Prince of Han, Zhu Gaoxu.

……

"Your Majesty, this is what I said to Han Shuren later. I still think that even if you want to kill him, it is best not to do it too obviously. Of course, I still suggest not to kill him, otherwise it will not look good."

Before the war began, Li Xianmu and Zhu Zhanji obtained an imperial edict promising the title of duke or marquis if they killed the Prince of Han. However, it was just a show to demonstrate their power and intimidate all sides.

Of course, on the battlefield, swords have no eyes; if he were to actually kill someone, it would be the King of Han's bad luck.

Now that they have been captured alive, they should try their best to keep them alive, otherwise the reputation of killing his uncle will not be good for Zhu Zhanji.

After listening, Zhu Zhanji pondered for a moment, then nodded. "I never intended to kill him. He's just a prisoner. Killing him would only dirty my hands."

Li Xianmu did not relax upon hearing this.

Zhu Gaochi had a problematic personality. He was genuinely afraid that the Prince of Han would bring about his own downfall, which is why he gave the Prince of Han some advice before returning to the capital.

Now, he only hopes that the King of Han will heed his words.

...Imperial Prison.

Zhu Zhanji and Zhu Gaoxu stood facing each other. Due to the bloodless struggle for the throne during the Yongle era, the relationship between the uncle and nephew was naturally not good. Now, facing Zhu Gaoxu, who was a prisoner, Zhu Zhanji naturally had to ridicule him.

Unexpectedly, before Zhu Zhanji could finish speaking, Zhu Gaoxu proudly declared, "You are just lucky. When I followed Emperor Taizong to quell the rebellion and seize the throne, you were still playing in the mud!"
Even your father only succeeded in becoming the crown prince by stealing my credit and by luck gaining Li Qi's favor!
If Li Xianmu hadn't protected your father time and again, do you think your family would have been able to sit on the throne?

"Like vines clinging to a tall tree, you still have the nerve to come here and mock me for not standing as high as you? Isn't that the most ridiculous thing in the world?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Zhanji's expression suddenly changed. Zhu Gaoxu looked at him with a hint of a smile in his eyes. Just as he was about to speak again, he heard his nephew say in a deep voice, "Yesterday, my teacher said that when I came to see you, you might try to sow discord between us. I didn't believe it, but I didn't expect it to come true today. Your heart is truly vicious, like that of a tiger or a wolf."

"If you..."

"Enough!" Zhu Zhanji said angrily, then exhaled heavily. "If you are a tree growing independently, then I am a giant tree that blocks out the sky. If you say I am a vine, then you are a weed on the ground."

Whether a vine clings to a large tree or stands firmly rooted in the ground, I have my own judgment. There's no need for you, Uncle Wang, to worry about the country and its people here.

A commoner.

What a rebellious scoundrel!
The towering walls of Fengyang, where the sun never shines, will be your final resting place!

After saying this, Zhu Zhanji turned and left. Zhu Gaoxu stood straight in the prison, laughing wildly and roaring, as if he were not quite mentally sound.

Stepping out of the prison, the warm sunlight fell upon him, and Zhu Zhanji paused for a moment. Just now, in the prison, when he heard Zhu Gaoxu's divisive words, he desperately wanted to kill Zhu Gaoxu because he felt Zhu Gaoxu's hatred. For this hatred, Zhu Gaoxu even knew that the matter was futile, but still wanted to do it.

Zhu Gaoxu simply did not understand that in Zhu Zhanji's mind, the good relationship between him and Li Xianmu was one of the most important rules for maintaining the stability of the Ming Dynasty.

Li Xianmu was the most important and indispensable piece in Zhu Zhanji's political puzzle. In order for Li Xianmu to shoulder heavy responsibilities, he even gave Li Xianmu more power several times in succession, and even used the empress's relatives and the imperial concubine's relatives as stepping stones for Li Xianmu.

How could such an important governing partner be so easily alienated by Zhu Gaochi with just a few words?

The only thing that can drive a wedge between two people is a change in their interests.

……

"The only things that could lead me and His Majesty astray are differing political views and interests." With a sigh, Li Xianmu said to the core officials of his faction, "I am His Majesty's ally, and as long as I am, I will hold power."

Upon hearing this, Wang Gen hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

"What does Senior Brother want to say?"

"No two leaves are the same, just as no two people are the same. People will always have disagreements."

"Then someone has to compromise."

Will my junior brother be accommodating?

"Between heaven and earth, heaven is above and earth is below, so the earth must yield to heaven. In the relationship between husband and wife, the husband is the head, so the wife must yield to the husband."

Li Xianmu calmly said, "The ruler is the guide for the subject, the husband is the guide for the wife, and the father is the guide for the son. As a subject, one should naturally yield to the ruler. This is the great way."

The room fell silent for a moment; no one spoke. The Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues were meant for the common people and were advocated by Neo-Confucianism, but these were masters of the School of Mind, and they didn't follow that doctrine.

Why is Li Xianmu saying these words now?

This is just making conversation for no reason, talking nonsense.

What was Li Xianmu thinking?

The weak submit to the strong; that is the truth. If the emperor has greater power, then one must naturally obey the emperor. If one day the ministers have greater power, then one must listen to the ministers. This has always been the case since ancient times.

After a moment of silence, Wang Gen nodded solemnly and said quite seriously, "What you say, junior brother, is truly insightful."

Yang Rong looked at Wang Gen in astonishment upon hearing this. In his impression, Wang Gen was a very traditional scholar, but now he could actually accept Li Xianmu lying through his teeth.
Seeing Li Xianmu's completely unsurprised expression, he was immediately alarmed. It seemed that he still lacked a proper understanding of this leader of the orthodox school of Neo-Confucianism.

Since the former Minister of Rites left the capital to serve as governor, Yang Rong replaced him and became the supreme leader of the outsider faction of the School of Mind. In the School of Mind party centered on Li Xianmu, he firmly occupied an important position no less important than Wang Gen.

Most of the time, the two obeyed Li Xianmu and worked together against external forces. However, even when working together against external forces, they would compete for resources within the School of Mind. In particular, after Li Xianmu became the Minister of Personnel and gained the power of personnel appointments, the competition between the two became even more intense.

Based on countless historical precedents involving different schools of thought, once Li Xianmu passed away, these two schools would immediately split, and then different factions would emerge due to their differing interpretations of the philosophy of mind.

The reason why no other schools of thought of the mind have emerged among the common people is because Li Xianmu's status is too strong; otherwise, Wang Gen alone would not have been able to maintain this foundation.

After Wang Gen finished speaking, he fell silent with an air of composure. This was not his usual personality, but since his position had changed, he naturally had to change his behavior as well.

Within the School of Mind today, the orthodox faction is already at a disadvantage. Yang Rong is a Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, deeply trusted by the emperor, and has high-ranking officials both inside and outside the court. The orthodox faction has far fewer prominent figures than the outsiders.

Fortunately, the orthodox faction has a successor, and Yu Qian has a bright future, enough to take over his mantle. If he can rise all the way to the position of Left or Right Censor-in-Chief, he can at least maintain his current position.

Wang Gen had spoken flattering words, and Yang Rong naturally wouldn't parrot what he said. After pondering for a moment, he asked again, "Prime Minister, now that the rebellion of the Prince of Han has been quelled, you should take this opportunity to once again enhance your prestige. The Ministry of Works is now in our hands, and the time is right to reform it. There shouldn't be any major obstacles."

So what should we do next?
I worry that His Majesty will still harbor some doubts about you; after all, human nature is unpredictable.

The people in the room nodded in agreement. Even if a scheme to sow discord fails, it will still be unpleasant, especially between a ruler and his subjects, who can never be truly close.

Unless Li Xianmu is willing to voluntarily relinquish some of his power, which is impossible, relinquishing power would mean giving up on reform, so Li Xianmu would rather step down directly.

"Then let's do something to please His Majesty the Emperor, so that he can feel that we stand with him and understand his feelings."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked over in confusion, "What did the Grand Secretary say?"

"Judging by the days, it shouldn't be too long before Consort Sun gives birth."

Li Xianmu looked up at everyone and said slowly, "I think His Majesty values ​​Consort Sun's child very much. If it is a boy, he will probably be made the crown prince directly."

His Majesty has never had a son. If he were to have an eldest son, I think it would be very appropriate to make him the crown prince. If His Majesty were to seek our advice, we would naturally offer our opinions impartially. What do you all think?

Speak impartially and fairly.

That means agreement.

“What the Grand Secretary says makes sense. Only by choosing an heir early can the country be stable. If what the Grand Secretary says is true, we will certainly follow His Majesty!”

The group exchanged glances and then spoke in unison.

(End of this chapter)