Ming Dynasty: Charge, Emperor Yongle!

Chapter 75 A Land of Unpredictable Changes and Rising Stars: One Act Ends and Another Begins!

At the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), the setting sun sinks below the horizon, everything becomes hazy, and the sky and earth turn a dim yellow.

The Henan Provincial Government Office was brightly lit, and a large group of figures dressed in crimson official robes with round collars and wide sleeves, wearing black gauze hats, leather belts, and black boots stood in front of the gate, craning their necks to look ahead.

The official robes were first established in the early years of the Hongwu reign. For the time being, there were no rank badges on the official robes. Officials of the first to fourth ranks wore scarlet (red), officials of the fifth to seventh ranks wore blue, and officials of the eighth to ninth ranks wore green. This gathering brought together high-ranking officials from the entire Henan and Jiangbei provinces of the Ming Dynasty, and it was no less grand.

"Da da da! Da da da!"

'

In the distance, the dull sound of horses' hooves drew everyone's attention.

"They're here! They're here!"

A commotion arose in the crowd, all focusing on the source of the sound. Sure enough, a group of horsemen galloped towards them. The two leading figures were dressed in red official robes with round collars and narrow sleeves, and red robes with round collars and narrow sleeves with dragon patterns. Behind them were a group of elite armored soldiers.

An invisible, menacing aura emanated from the army, causing the Henan officials' expressions to change drastically. The Prince of Yan's army truly lived up to its reputation as a battle-hardened force.

"Whoa!!!"

""

Zhu Di arrived at the yamen gate first, tightened the reins, dismounted, and Li Jinglong followed closely behind.

"Greetings, Your Highness Prince Yan!"

Upon seeing this, all the officials prostrated themselves in homage.

In the fourth year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty, there was a system that stipulated that a prince was one rank below the emperor. All officials, including dukes, marquises, and ministers, had to kneel and kowtow when they met a prince, and could not perform the same bow. This was Zhu Yuanzhang's way of giving his sons an honorary status that was no less than that of the crown prince.

"No need for formalities, please rise."

Looking around at everyone, Zhu Di said calmly.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

The officials present stood up one by one, their eyes fixed on the young man before them, filled with doubt, fear, confusion, and reverence.

At the age of thirteen, Prince Yan Zhu Di accomplished something that no one in history had ever done before: he destroyed the Northern Yuan, sealed the Wolf Mountain, and established the two great protectorates of Mobei and Beiting, pushing the territory of the Ming Dynasty to the edge of the Gobi Desert and the side of the Tianshan Mountains. This was something that many dynasties had dreamed of.

"My visit to Kaifeng is simply to see the scenery of this largest city in the Central Plains."

"I don't want you all to know that such a large-scale operation has made me uneasy."

"Your Highness is the Great General of our Ming Dynasty, and it is only right that we wait here to greet you."

Xu Xiuchuan, the Left Chancellor of Henan, smiled so broadly that wrinkles appeared on his face, and he spared no praise.

"I said, shall we go inside and talk?"

"The master didn't even eat dinner in order to enjoy this feast."

Li Jinglong patted his stomach, looking like a carefree playboy.

All the officials from Henan noticed the heir of the Duke of Cao, and their expressions varied.

"Your Highness."

Xu Xiuchuan looked at Zhu Di and asked for his opinion.

"Since Jiujiang is hungry, let's have a meal first."

Zhu Di strode into the Henan Provincial Government Office, and Li Jinglong followed with a grin.

.......

Those who witnessed this scene were all amazed by the close friendship between the Prince of Yan and the heir of the Duke of Cao.

"Where is Lord Tu? Why hasn't he arrived yet?"

Wang Bing, the Right Chancellor of Henan, stopped the head of the Zhaomo Office.

"This, I do not know either."

The official in charge of the inspection office hesitated for a moment before replying, "The letter has indeed been delivered to Lord Tu."

Wang Bing frowned. Not only was Tu Jie, the Provincial Judicial Commissioner, absent, but Cao Zhen, the Commander of the Imperial Guard, was also absent, which made people somewhat suspicious.

"You wait here, I'm going to keep His Highness Prince Yan company."

"Yes."

The official in charge of the grinding station looked distressed and could only stand there like a statue, watching Wang Bing leave.

"Go to Yingtian Prefecture and hand this over to Prime Minister Hu."

"Let's go now."

At this time, in the Henan Provincial Judicial Commissioner's office, Tu Jie handed a letter to his attendant.

"Yes."

Without a word, the attendant turned and left.

Tu Jie straightened his clothes before striding out of the yamen.

"Ouch."

"My Lord Tu, my Brother Tu."

"The provincial government is waiting for us, but you're taking your time."

When Cao Zhen, the commander of the Xingdu Guard, saw him come out, he stomped his feet anxiously.

The Provincial Secretariat was the largest government office in Henan and Jiangbei. The Left and Right Chancellors enjoyed the same power as the Left and Right Chancellors of the Central Secretariat in the local area. Moreover, the people he was hosting were Prince Yan Zhu Di and Li Jinglong, the heir of the Duke of Cao. How could he not be flustered?

"General Cao."

"Going later isn't necessarily a bad thing."

"What?"

Cao Zhen looked at Tu Jie with a surprised expression. As night fell, Tu Jie's figure seemed to be shrouded in a layer of mist, making it impossible to distinguish between reality and illusion.

"Let's go."

Tu Jie waved his sleeves and got into the carriage.

Alright!

'

Without giving it much thought, Cao Zhen rode his horse and galloped away.

Meanwhile, inside a side room of the inn.

Tie Xuan was wearing a gray monk's robe and holding a cornbread bun in his hand. He was eating it with plain porridge, but he couldn't eat it at all. He felt very heavy-hearted.

"Yo."

Yao Guangxiao twirled the prayer beads in his hand, glanced at the wanted poster, and joked, "A reward of five hundred taels of silver and one hundred and fifty bolts of silk."

Ten horses.

"An ordinary spy would be lucky to get a reward of 5 taels of silver."

"Ding Shi, look at your worth."

"Master, please stop making fun of me, Tie."

Tie Xuan wiped away the hot tears in his eyes, a testament to his mixed feelings of worry and fear.

"Okay, okay."

Yao Guangxiao straightened his posture and solemnly asked, "What do you want?"

'

"To pay homage to His Majesty or His Highness the Crown Prince, or to seek revenge."

"Isn't this the same thing?"

Tie Xuan looked at Yao Guangxiao with a confused expression in his eyes.

"They're different, of course they're different."

""

Yao Guangxiao shook his head, saying inscrutably, "His Majesty is His Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince is His Highness the Crown Prince, and the Prince of Yan is the Prince of Yan."

"You want to see them, but you don't have the same goal."

""

'

I would like to hear the details.

Tie Xuan took a step back, stood up, and shot Yao Guangxiao deeply.

"Do you know that the Jiangbei Henan Province is the largest province in the north and a bulwark for Yingtian Prefecture?"

"Why have these matters not been disclosed to His Majesty?"

"After all, the Jiangbei Henan Province is only separated from the capital by a large river."

""

"master."

Tie Xuan looked at Yao Guangxiao with a puzzled expression.

"The current emperor has established provincial-level administrative offices, military command offices, and judicial commissioner offices in various localities."

"The one that issued the arrest warrant was the Provincial Judicial Commissioner's Office, and the one that arrested you was the Commander of the Capital Garrison."

"The two colluded to cover up the truth."

"Although the provincial administration held great power over a province, no one intervened in this matter."

"Because it was the powerful and influential families of Huaixi who were rampant in encroaching on farmland and oppressing the people in Jiangbei, Henan, that were doing so, not just one family or one person."

""

"If they try to stop this, they will face retaliation from Kengoku Junnishi."

"The current Left Chancellor of the Imperial Secretariat, Li Shanchang, and the Left Chancellor, Hu Weiyong, both come from the Huaixi faction."

"Moreover, Your Majesty relied on the sons of Huaixi to conquer the country. Who can guarantee that if this matter is brought before Your Majesty, Your Majesty will punish him severely?"

,

Yao Guangxiao reminded Tie Xuan that the struggles in the court were never about one person wielding a knife and another shooting a gun, but rather about open and covert battles, where no blood was seen on the surface, but the underhanded dealings were utterly despicable.