The First Prince of the Ming Dynasty

The Zhu father and son were having a great time chatting.

Just when Zhu Chenhao thought his son was about to reveal some grand plan, Zhu Yixian changed the subject and asked him, "I hope Father will entrust someone to me."

"Who is it? Just say it!" Zhu Chenhao said generously.

At this point, in his view, it was not only possible to negotiate with his son for a person, but also to give up his own life.

The aspirations of four generations of the Ning Prince's family may very well be realized in his generation. How could he not be excited?

Zhu Yidao: "Tang Yin."

Zhu Chenhao's expression visibly froze upon hearing the name.

This was clearly a thorn in his side.

"Father must be angry at his two-faced nature, his disregard for the Ning Prince's Mansion, and his failure to live up to Father's expectations?" Zhu Yi said.

Zhu Chenhao waved his hand and said, "Even if I am made a fool of by him, I can swallow this anger. As long as he is really helpful to the great cause of the Prince's Mansion, what's wrong with me apologizing to him? It's just that... I think he has a reputation but no intention of accomplishing great things. He is really... short-sighted and hopeless."

Zhu Yixin said, "You're absolutely right. Tang Yin was a short-sighted nobody, a representative of the incompetent scholars of the past thousand years."

Zhu Yi said, "Isn't his greatest value precisely his fame?"

"This..." Zhu Chenhao was momentarily confused about his son's approach.

However, he did admit one thing: the reason he invited Tang Yin to Nanchang at great expense was because he valued Tang Yin's reputation and hoped that Tang Yin would attract a group of scholars to come to Nanchang.

In fact, the desired effect has been achieved.

Historically, it was precisely because Tang Yin had lost his usefulness that Zhu Chenhao released him.

Zhu Yi said, "His reputation can not only attract scholars to the Ning Mansion and earn my father a reputation for respecting and valuing talent, but it can also be like a vat, directly stuffing in many seemingly impossible things."

"My son, what does this mean?" Zhu Chenhao was completely baffled.

Zhu Yi laughed and said, "Didn't Father say that if I were to present my prophecies about the next few years to the Emperor, it would reveal my identity as someone from hundreds of years in the future? Why don't we just say that Tang Yin actually deduced these things because he understands the secrets of heaven? Let him take the blame?"

"What?" Zhu Chenhao was genuinely surprised.

Zhu Yi said, "Even those poems that my son copied can be attributed to him. This will make people believe that he can really see things several years or even decades into the future. Once this reputation spreads, Tang Yin will be put on the spot, and he might even end up on our side, unable to get off."

Didn't Tang Yin refuse to submit to the enemy even at the cost of his life?

Sorry, but I'll use your ability to predict the future to tie you to this pirate ship.

You can't just not get on a pirate ship if you don't want to, nor can you just jump off whenever you want.

"But he's never been on our side. Aren't we afraid he'll betray us and expose us?" Zhu Chenhao was clearly seriously considering the feasibility of his son's suggestion, while also raising his concerns.

"hehe."

Zhu Yi wore a sly grin of triumph. "Father, wasn't your previous assessment of him just that he was short-sighted? He was cowardly and afraid of trouble, preferring to feign madness and embarrass himself in front of others rather than dare to tell you he wanted to leave. Historically, after returning, he didn't expose the secrets of the Prince's uprising, and ultimately ended his life in a state of distress and confusion. Is it really necessary to worry about such a cowardly person standing up for himself?"

Zhu Chenhao said, "If we force him onto the ship, he might just do it."

Zhu Yi laughed again: "But even if he says it, who will believe him? If he tells outsiders that I come from five hundred years in the future, they will only think that his madness has worsened, right? This illness is not something we gave him; it's something he brought upon himself. We are just going with the flow."

"Ahem!"

Although Zhu Chenhao currently dislikes Tang Yin, after hearing his son's words, he suddenly felt...

This is a very underhanded tactic.

We'll pin the "reputation" of your ability to predict the future on you, whether you like it or not. If you dare to turn against us, the hidden dangers you created by pretending to be crazy will come to fruition. We'll just need to take this opportunity to give you a good treatment and let you know what it means to fall into our hands and not have a good ending.

"We said he was crazy. In his madness, he could say many things about the future. We had no way to verify them, but we had to take them seriously. So we reported his words to the emperor verbatim," Zhu Yi said.

Zhu Chenhao said, "Do you think that brat Zhu Houzhao would believe that?"

Zhu Yi laughed and said, "Father may not know Emperor Wuzong's character. This emperor was very superstitious. Historical records mention that he heard that the Living Buddha of Ü-Tsang could know about the three lifetimes, so in November of the tenth year of Zhengde, he sent the Grand Eunuch Liu Yun to welcome the Living Buddha to the capital. As long as the information we give him is verifiable, he has no choice but to believe it."

Zhu Chenhao asked, puzzled, "What news can confirm this? The Tatar prince's incursion into the border?"

"Not only that..." Zhu Yi said, "There is one more thing right in front of us. Historically, Duke Zhang Mao of Yingguo will die suddenly on the 29th of this month due to chest pain."

"Twenty days later?" Zhu Chenhao was surprised.

"Yes, we will tell the court in Tang Yin's name that he has discovered that a high-ranking official in the court will fall ill and die a violent death on the 29th of this month, and then send someone to deliver medicine to the capital to deal with it at any time. At first, no one may care, or even laugh at this matter. We can also find people in the capital to spread the word and make this a joke... But once the incident occurs on the day, even if our medicine cannot save old Zhang, the people in the court will be amazed, and our reputation will be established immediately."

Zhu Yi explained the first step of the plan.

Zhang Mao died at just the right time, perfectly fitting into a part of the plan.

To cultivate the persona of a "celestial master," one must be quirky and sensational to arouse discussion among others, and then confirm the occurrence of events amidst the ridicule of others.

This is a tactic used to manipulate news and public opinion.

Zhu Chenhao's eyes lit up as he said, "If we can save them..."

Zhu Yi chuckled and continued, "If this happens to save that old scoundrel Zhang's life, even if he doesn't show gratitude openly, he'll still remember the favor in his heart. Wouldn't that give us a breakthrough in Wu Xun's scheme? Besides, we're not directly trying to bribe him; we're just using a prophecy from Tang Yin. The court can't accuse us of having ulterior motives, can they?"

"Good." Zhu Chenhao nodded approvingly. "To win over important military officials in the court without giving anyone cause for criticism, there really is... no better method. I just wonder if this is accurate?"

"Doesn't Father believe me?" Zhu Yi asked.

"No, I just feel that if we really save Zhang Tingmian, but then let Tang Yin take the favor, it would be really..." Zhu Chenhao would feel that he was giving Tang Yin a huge favor for nothing.

Zhu Yi smiled and said, "Isn't this a perfect opportunity to bring him on board? And has Father considered what to do with Tang Yin if we don't use him? If he disappears in Nanchang, there will surely be a lot of gossip. If he can still receive the respect due to the Prince's Mansion despite his illness, wouldn't that further demonstrate Father's magnanimity?"

Zhu Chenhao said, "If we really build a reputation for him, I'm afraid the court will take him away, and the emperor will treat him as an honored guest."

"Isn't that great?" Zhu Yi continued with a wicked grin. "Put him on a high pedestal, leaving him stuck in a limbo, unable to expose the truth, since speaking out would be tantamount to deceiving the emperor, a capital offense. Given his cowardice and weakness, he'll be forced to turn to us again, asking us to provide him with more prophecies for the future so he can maintain his persona. In the end, he'll become our pawn."

Zhu Chenhao smiled and sighed, "When there are any more rumors about the Ning family that are not good, Zhu Houzhao will ask for his opinion, and he will speak on our side. This will further dispel the emperor's doubts... My son, your plan is very clever."

Zhu Yi thought to himself, "My cheap father, I've gone to great lengths to maintain the relationship between you two as a couple."

However, it is precisely because Tang Yin is famous that he deserves the title of "charlatan".

"Then, Father, this person..."

"I'm leaving it to you to handle," Zhu Chenhao said generously. "Whether you kill him or torture him, it's up to you. Also, I'll put Gongsun Jin under your command. If you really want to eliminate those obstacles, you'll need someone to help you."