The Ming Dynasty: The opening scene features Zhu Di angrily accusing him of illegitimate succession.

At the residence of the Korean envoy at the Huitongguan, Ha Lun, Jo Bo, and Yi Ji sat facing each other with solemn expressions.

"You all saw the scene at Fengtian Hall just now." He Lun held his teacup but did not drink, his fingertips trembling slightly.

"That official named Lin Yue denounced the emperor as a usurper and even demanded that His Majesty execute us. Fortunately, the Ming court ministers remonstrated and stopped him."

Zhao Pu interjected, "I know a little about this person. He was known as Mad Dog Lin in the Ming Dynasty and often said astonishing things."

However, with a new emperor newly enthroned, the court was already unstable. Although Lin Yue was arrogant and unruly, he was not necessarily acting alone in his rebellion.

In my opinion, this seems more like a deliberate gesture by the Ming Dynasty to demonstrate its supposed adherence to rules and regulations, while simultaneously testing the level of submission in Joseon.

Li Ji deeply agreed and gritted his teeth, saying, "Exactly! Back then, the late emperor's alliance with the Mongols angered the Hongwu Emperor, and the Taizu Emperor only appointed him as the acting governor. Although the Jianwen Emperor officially appointed him as the emperor, if the Yongle Emperor does not agree now, there may be unforeseen changes."

After discussing for a long time, the three of them unanimously concluded that it was a tactic by the Ming Dynasty to intimidate others.

He Lun said urgently, "We should act quickly and find a way to smooth things over."

"I have heard that Prince Zhu Gaochi, the eldest son of Emperor Yongle, is a kind and benevolent man, well-respected by the court officials, and on good terms with the Minister of Revenue, Xia Yuanji. We can prepare generous gifts and visit him to earnestly request that the Minister speak well of him before His Majesty and facilitate the investiture."

Li Ji thought for a moment and shook his head, saying, "Minister Xia is indeed on good terms with the Crown Prince, but Zhu Gaochi is only the Crown Prince of Yan now, not the Crown Prince. If we want to make this happen, I think we should find Minister of Rites Li Zhigang. He is a meritorious official of the Jingnan Campaign and is highly favored by Emperor Yongle."

The others nodded in agreement, all agreeing that seeking out Minister Li was a better option.

The following day, the Korean envoy requested an audience with Li Zhigang.

Amidst the upheaval in the imperial court, Lin Yue was imprisoned for his remonstrance against the investiture of Joseon. Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi believed it was time for him to make his mark, so he decided to personally visit the prison to hear Lin Yue's true thoughts.

However, he was not the only one with this idea.

Inside the imperial prison, Lin Yue leaned against the wall. Hearing heavy footsteps, he looked up and cursed, "Your Majesty, your appointment of Li Fangyuan as ruler is a treacherous act that will bring ruin to the country and its people!"

However, Lin Yue felt somewhat embarrassed when he saw who it was.

The newcomer was dressed in ordinary clothes, tall and arrogant, and was none other than Zhu Gaoxu, the second son of the Yongle Emperor.

"Lin Gejian does care about our father, huh? Hahaha."

Zhu Gaoxu stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at him.

"I'm actually quite curious. You're willing to risk your life for the sake of so-called primogeniture and legitimacy. Is that thing really that important?"

Upon seeing that the visitor was Zhu Gaoxu, he abandoned his deliberate act of remonstrating to the death.

Lin Yue chuckled lightly, his meaning unclear, and slowly sat up straight.

"Whether it is legitimate or illegitimate, elder or younger, is neither important nor unimportant."

In your eyes, Zhu Gaochi, the eldest son of the legitimate wife is an obstacle to the struggle for the throne. But have you ever thought that you yourself only have the possibility of inheriting the throne because you are the eldest son of the legitimate wife?

In Li Fangyuan's eyes, the primogeniture order and legitimacy were merely a fig leaf for usurping the country. As someone who killed his brother and imprisoned his father, he naturally could not be considered the eldest son.

Therefore, gaining the recognition of the Ming Dynasty is crucial. If the Ming Dynasty were to officially recognize him as the King of Joseon, he would have legitimacy and could greatly suppress other ambitious individuals.

Zhu Gaochi was somewhat surprised by this. He countered, "So you're saying that for the surrounding vassal states, whether the succession is legitimate or not is unimportant; gaining the Ming Dynasty's recognition is the most important thing?"

"Is there anything so hard to understand about this?" Lin Yue looked up at Zhu Gaoxu.

"What difference does it make to the people of the world who is the king or who is the emperor?"

"It'll be good enough as it is. With a vassal king recognized by the Ming Dynasty, at least when facing rebellious officials, one can say a few words about how great the Celestial Emperor is, and that's enough to give one legitimacy."

These words were clearly heard by Zhu Gaochi, who had just arrived at the imperial prison.

Zhu Gaochi's expression changed slightly, and he stopped in his tracks. As the eldest son of the legitimate wife, he had always considered himself the rightful heir. Lin Yue's remarks were tantamount to denying his most fundamental advantage.

He was about to continue into the imperial prison when Ji Gang stopped him.

It turned out that Zhu Di had been eavesdropping in the cell next to the imperial prison.

Emperor Yongle stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

Lin Yue's words gave him a completely new perspective. He had been trying to legitimize the Jingnan Rebellion and was anxious about the legitimacy of the throne.

However, looking back now, it seems that the people of the world really didn't care who became emperor. From the moment he ascended the throne, the real resistance came from the old officials of Jianwen. The common people and officials at the grassroots level didn't really have any attitude of resistance.

Inside the imperial prison, after listening to Lin Yue's words, Zhu Gaoxu pondered for a moment but gained no insight.

Then he asked again, "Why did Lin Gejian stop the Emperor from bestowing a title upon the King of Joseon? Following your line of thinking, bestowing a title upon Yi Bang-won doesn't seem so bad."

"If Li Fangyuan is not granted a title, it might destabilize Liaodong."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yue looked at Zhu Gaoxu with some surprise. Was this what he truly thought, or was it a test he deliberately uttered after much deliberation?

If it's only the first level, then Zhu Gaoxu seems to have a slightly low level of intelligence.

But it doesn't matter, no matter which floor it is, Lin Yue has decided to detonate it.

The Ming Dynasty was too concerned about saving face, which was a moral disadvantage. Lin Yue was shameless. His consistent judgment on whether to attack vassal states was that they should be attacked if necessary.

If the cycle of rise and fall of dynasties cannot be avoided, then it is better to make the greatest expansion during the most prosperous period.

Lin Yue said calmly, "I didn't expect Your Highness to be so pragmatic. Li Fangyuan is a usurper, but that is not the main reason why I oppose the investiture."

As I said before, what the people care about is being able to cultivate the land, eat the food, pay less heavy taxes, and seek redress for their grievances. If Li Fangyuan can enable the North Korean people to live and work in peace and contentment, he will easily gain the approval of the North Korean people.

But the problem is, he is the King of Joseon, and I am a citizen of the Ming Dynasty. Yi Bang-won is too capable and not respectful to the Ming Dynasty. I am afraid that he will become a threat to the Ming Dynasty.

Even if a king were to be appointed in Joseon, he should not be appointed to the title of Yi Bang-won.

Next door to the imperial prison, Zhu Di stood with a somber expression, Zhu Gaochi stood with his head bowed, his brows furrowed, and Ji Gang remained expressionless, as if asleep.

Every word spoken in the next cell was clearly audible to the three of them.

"Is Li Fangyuan really that capable? I think he is quite respectful to the Ming Dynasty, otherwise he wouldn't have sent an envoy so quickly to discuss the investiture." Zhu Gaoxu asked.

Lin Yue sneered and began to talk at length about the threat posed by Li Fangyuan.

"Does Your Highness think I am exaggerating?"

Do you know how ruthless Lee Bang-won was? After ascending the throne, he purged the Joseon royal family of dissidents within three years, immediately reorganized the Joseon military system, established the Three Armies Offices modeled after the Ming Dynasty's garrisons, and secretly took in the remnants of the Northern Yuan and learned the Central Plains' smelting techniques to forge firearms.

If he truly submitted, why would he need to prepare for war? Such a person wouldn't be an exaggeration to call a powerful ruler; he's hardly a docile vassal.

Seeing Zhu Gaoxu's surprise, Lin Yue pressed on.

"Not to mention that during the Hongwu era, Joseon illegally seized medicinal herbs and ironware from Ming Dynasty merchant caravans. After Yi Bang-won came to power, he not only failed to rectify the situation but also tightened border trade, sending only ginseng and furs to appease the tribute.

I also heard that the King of Joseon sent envoys to meet Arughtai in the northern desert, and under the pretext of marriage, he gradually encroached on the land of the Jurchens in Liaodong, establishing four prefectures in the northwest and six towns in the northeast, pushing the border of the country step by step to Liaodong.

Their wolfish ambitions are blatantly obvious!

Lin Yue's voice suddenly rose, and he quickly uttered all sorts of shocking and exaggerated statements.

"If we allow him to declare himself king today, he will covet Liaodong tomorrow."

If we allow him to encroach on our land today, he will join forces with the Northern Yuan to invade our territory tomorrow.

Today you bestow upon him an imperial decree and a golden seal, tomorrow he will set up his own household.

Li Fangyuan is a fierce tiger; tolerating him is like raising a tiger to cause future trouble.

In the dark room, Zhu Di's breathing became labored.

Zhu Di spent most of his life fighting against the Mongol Yuan dynasty, and what he feared most was the potential threat from the Northern Yuan and the Liaodong border.

If what Lin said is true, then North Korea really has no choice but to handle the situation with caution.

Zhu Gaochi looked worried and subconsciously glanced at his father, thinking to himself.

This statement is not entirely wrong; North Korea may have had some ulterior motives, but Lin Yue certainly exaggerated.

Inside the imperial prison, Zhu Gaoxu was astonished. He had no idea that Li Fangyuan had done so many wicked things. He really did sound like a wolf in sheep's clothing.

However, many things are not accepted by those in power simply because they are reasonable or sound plausible.

For example, Zhu Gaochi was a stubborn and self-willed person.

He retorted, somewhat unconvinced, "Didn't King Taejo first bestow titles upon Yi Seong-gye? Why was Yi Bang-won the only one he couldn't tolerate?"

Zhu Yuanzhang initially conferred the title of King of Goryeo upon Yi Seong-gye. However, after Yi Seong-gye colluded with the Mongol Yuan dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang renamed Goryeo as Joseon and only granted him the power to manage state affairs, as a minor punishment to serve as a warning.

Lin Yue snorted coldly and shouted, "How could the Great Ancestor Emperor be so wise and tolerant as you claim?"

In the past, Yi Seong-gye usurped the throne as a subject, and only appointed him as the acting governor of state affairs, without giving him the official golden seal of the king. He also left the descendants of King Gong-ryang of Goryeo to keep him in check!

This is a check and balance, not indulgence!

As Lin Yue got into the conversation, he started talking about some sensational topics.

"As for Emperor Taizu himself, he used the reign title of Longfeng and honored Xiaoming Wang as the ruler. But when Xiaoming Wang became an obstacle to unifying the world, didn't Liao Yongzhong drown him in the Guabu River?"

Your Highness should understand the ambition of those who covet more than Longyou. If you lightly pacify Korea, it may one day become a scourge to the descendants of the Ming Dynasty!

It's hard to say whether Liao Yongzhong and Shen Xiaoming were ordered by Zhu Yuanzhang, but in any case, Liao was later promoted.

However, using this topic to provoke Zhu Gaoxu would definitely be extremely effective.

With a whoosh, Zhu Gaochi swayed, his plump, ruddy face turning pale in an instant, and he subconsciously looked at Zhu Di.

Ji Gang was so frightened that he lost his balance and pressed himself against the wall, not daring to make a sound.

The dark room was silent. Zhu Di's face was grim, and his eyes were blazing with anger.

Lin Yue, from the ditch, dared to slander the founding emperor; this is utterly treasonous!

He patiently endured it time and time again, even secretly eavesdropping on the speeches, hoping to hear some insightful opinions, and all he got was this?!

Zhu Di stepped out of the dark room, strode into the imperial prison, and angrily rebuked.

"You brat! How dare you speak ill of the founding emperor! You deserve to die a thousand deaths! Do you know your crime?!"