The Ming Dynasty: Starting with taking Old Zhu on a journey to the future

"Misunderstanding? The palace is on fire, and the city is filled with smoke."

"How could what we saw with our own eyes be fake?!"

He witnessed Zhu Di's rebellion firsthand.

How could there be a misunderstanding?

Lan Chen then slowly said, "It is true that the Prince of Yan rebelled, but he did not rebel because he wanted to become emperor."

He made a mistake, but he's not entirely to blame.

"In the thirty-first year of Hongwu, after your death, the Jianwen Emperor ascended the throne, and the first thing he did after ascending the throne was to reduce the power of the princes."

Cutting off vassalage?

Although Zhu Yuanzhang was somewhat surprised, he was not taken aback.

"The fourth prince had always harbored rebellious intentions, so Yunwen was right to reduce the power of the princes."

"If Your Majesty knew the whole story, perhaps you wouldn't think that way."

The whole picture?

The whole picture he saw was Zhu Di's rebellion.

The crime of treason, regardless of the reason, is unforgivable.

Seeing Lan Chen's confident gaze, Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly, "Fine, let's see what the full picture is, and whether he can clear his name of treason!"

"After ascending the throne, Zhu Yunwen believed the words of the officials around him and decided to reduce the power of the princes and eliminate the threat posed by them."

"In less than a year after your death, Zhu Yunwen successively stripped five princes, namely the Prince of Qi, the Prince of Dai, the Prince of Zhou, the Prince of Xiang, and the Prince of Min."

"Moreover, they were all reduced to commoners, either imprisoned or exiled."

"The Prince of Xiang, Zhu Bai, could not bear the humiliation and set himself on fire in the palace."

"May I ask Your Majesty, it is understandable that Zhu Yunwen stripped princes with military power, but stripping Prince Xiang... Your Majesty knows better than I do what kind of person Prince Xiang is."

Prince Zhu Bai of Xiang was a rare prince from the inland region.

Military power poses no threat whatsoever.

Yet Zhu Yunwen still forced the Prince of Xiang to his death, a prince who posed no threat whatsoever.

Even if the other vassal kings did not intend to rebel, they had to rebel in order to save their lives.

"Your Majesty is well-versed in history and knows that during the Qin Dynasty, Hu Hai killed his own brothers and even his sisters in order to consolidate his imperial power."

"How is Jianwen any different from Huhai, who forced his own uncle to commit suicide?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's body trembled slightly.

"That's impossible."

"The knife is already at your throat. If the Prince of Yan does not rebel, he will suffer the same fate as the Prince of Xiang, the Prince of Qi, and the others."

"If we rebel, we can still fight for a glimmer of hope."

"If it were you, would you rebel?"

Zhu Yuanzhang said in a deep voice, "That's enough."

He couldn't accept that he had done something wrong.

Jianwen's mistake was Zhu Yuanzhang's mistake.

Because Zhu Yunwen was the one he chose.

He chose this successor, defying all social norms and the doubts of everyone.

She was the most perfect successor in his heart after Zhu Biao's death.

But this perfection has been shattered today.

He couldn't accept it for a while.

"Your Majesty, I haven't finished speaking yet."

Zhu Yuanzhang said coldly, "Boy, we're old, not stupid."

"You think we can't see through your little scheme?"

"Your father's treason case cannot be overturned with just words."

What Lan Chen wanted to say.

It was simply that he killed all the meritorious officials, leaving the civil officials without checks and balances, and Zhu Yunwen was so easily misled that he became confused and disoriented, leading to widespread rebellions.

Civil servants discover problems, ignite them, but are powerless to stop them.

In short.

If Lan Yu were alive, Zhu Di would certainly not be able to rebel.

That's a good idea.

But with Lan Yu alive, Zhu Di couldn't rebel, though the emperor might no longer bear the surname Zhu.

The Song Dynasty's experience was to use civil officials to control the military.

Although the Song Dynasty was barely surviving, the fact that it lasted for several hundred years demonstrates that the system of using civil officials to check and balance military generals had its merits.

He will not change his mind until a new system is established to replace it.

The Ming Dynasty also had to implement a system of civil administration controlling the military.

To achieve this outcome, Lan Yu and the others must die.

After all, if Lan Yu and the others were alive, no matter how capable the civil officials were, they couldn't suppress a group of founding heroes.

If he intends to kill Lan Yu, then he will not only kill Lan Yu.

If we're going to kill, we have to kill them all, leaving no future troubles. As Lan Yu's eldest son, Lan Chen naturally has to die as well.

Lan Chen looked at Old Zhu, his mind racing with thoughts.

This shrewish Zhu hasn't given up on killing Lan Yu.

That won't do.

If Lan Yu dies, I will surely be buried with him.

Even though he was able to travel through time, his foundation remained in the Hongwu era.

As long as one lived during the Hongwu reign, one could not escape Zhu Yuanzhang's grasp.

Seeing Lan Chen deep in thought, Zhu Yuanzhang spoke up.

"Although we will not let your Liangguo Duke's Mansion go right now, we have not said we will let them go either."

Zhu Yuanzhang slowly stood up, his eyes filled with overwhelming killing intent.

"Boy, was Bai'er... really forced to immolate himself?"

Prince Zhu Bai of Xiang was the most talented, meaning he was the most cultured.

Perhaps it is because we desire something the more we lack it; Zhu Yuanzhang's affection for Zhu Bai was quite special.

Just like Zhu Biao, Zhu Gang, Zhu Di, Zhu Quan, and others.

Zhu Biao's words were filled with high hopes and affection, expressing a desire for him to take on the responsibility. This was a very special and serious sentiment.

Zhu Gang, Zhu Di, Zhu Quan, and others hoped that the princes could protect the borders of the Ming Dynasty and build a Great Wall.

Zhu Bai, on the other hand, has the potential to become a great Confucian scholar.

Zhu Yuanzhang disliked Confucian scholars unless the scholar was his own son.

"He was of fierce temperament and burned his entire family to prove his innocence."

"We need to confirm this ourselves."

Upon hearing this, Lan Chen helplessly spread his hands: "Your Majesty, we can have some trust in you."

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at it and said calmly, "I don't trust anyone; I only trust what I see with my own eyes."

"The man who was ordered to lead troops to surround the Prince of Zhou's residence and arrest Prince Zhu Su was Li Jinglong."

"I don't know who arrested Zhu Bai, but they should be his confidants, most likely Li Jinglong."

Zhu Yunwen truly trusted Li Jinglong without reservation.

Although Li Jinglong misplaced Zhu Yunwen's trust, he was still disloyal.

Zhu Yuanzhang understood his meaning and immediately ordered, "Go and fetch Li Jinglong's blood; he should be in the capital."

When Zhu Biao died, Li Jinglong, as a member of the imperial family, naturally had to return to the capital to attend the funeral.

They are currently still in the capital and have not yet left.

……

The Duke of Cao's Mansion.

Li Jinglong looked worried and sighed six times after sitting in the main hall for only a short while.

Basically, one sigh every five breaths.

Seeing his elder brother looking so melancholy, Li Zengzhi asked, "Brother, why are you sighing?"

Li Jinglong sighed again: "Alas, the Duke of Liang's rebellion may implicate my Duke of Cao's mansion."

Implicated?

Li Zengzhi was puzzled.

"Duke Lan Yu of Liang was arrested for treason, and our Duke Cao's mansion was not involved, so why are you worried?"

Li Jinglong shook his head slightly and sighed again.

"Oh, you just don't understand."

"Before his death, my father said that His Majesty was very suspicious."

"Although I am not close to Lan Yu, I know his character. Although he is arrogant, he does not have the guts to rebel."

"The Crown Prince died, and Lan Yu was suddenly accused of treason. This is not the way to eliminate traitors."

"But His Majesty wants to remove the stumbling blocks on the Crown Prince's path."

"The essence is that His Majesty is wary of the Crown Prince's inability to control this group of arrogant and fierce soldiers."

"This is a purge of the meritorious officials, and as a leading figure among them, how can I not be worried?"

"Alas, sometimes being too outstanding is really not a good thing," Li Jinglong sighed, looking up at the sky.

Li Zengzhi was stunned.

For a moment, I didn't know what to say.