I am the prince of the Ming Dynasty, I don't give up

Chapter 506 Is My Sword Sharp?
Thirteen years ago, Zhu Houzhao went south to Qizhou to invite Zhu Houxuan to Beijing;
Ten years ago, Zhu Houzhao led the Imperial Guards to victory in the Battle of Yingzhou;

Four years ago, Zhu Houzhao conquered the Northern Yuan Dynasty and became the Heavenly Khan;
Now, Zhu Houzhao has expanded the territory by thousands of miles, making the territory of Ming Dynasty the largest in history.

Thirteen years ago, Zhu Houzhao's life had completely hit rock bottom, but since then his life has been on the rise, reaching a peak that he now dares not even dream of.

Zhu Houzhao mentioned these four time points in front of his ministers to remind them not to look at him with the same eyes as before, because he is now very different from before.
The ministers also had mixed feelings. Thirteen years was neither long nor short. Zhu Houzhao was no longer the emperor who had achieved nothing in the nine years since he ascended the throne thirteen years ago and had caused refugees all over the country.
Now Zhu Houzhao's achievements, both in civil administration and military exploits, can be ranked among the top five among all the emperors of all dynasties.
But it is undeniable that many ministers still have the impression of Zhu Houzhao from ten years ago, or even thirteen years ago.
The main reason for this situation is the bizarre political power structure of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Houzhao possessed the highest imperial power, but he handed over all political power to Zhu Houchun, allowing Zhu Houchun to rule over all civil and military officials and the people of the world as the Prince Regent.

Zhu Houzhao devoted all his energy to military affairs, making himself the supreme commander of the army. For this reason, he did not stay in the capital most of the time, and even if he stayed in the capital, he had no interest in interfering in the governance of the country.

This resulted in Zhu Houzhao's unparalleled prestige in the army, but it also caused the court ministers to be less familiar with Zhu Houzhao.

After all, Zhu Houxun had been regent for ten years, and these ten years were enough for half of the old faces in the court to disappear. The new ministers had only heard of Zhu Houzhao but had never seen him in person, and were not very familiar with him. The old faces in the court had all experienced Zhu Houzhao's lowest period, which led to the ministers being a little less respectful of Zhu Houzhao.

Saying that the ministers were not respectful enough to Zhu Houzhao does not mean that they were not respectful to Zhu Houzhao, but that their respect for Zhu Houzhao did not reach a level that matched Zhu Houzhao's current achievements.

"Your Majesty, we advise you for the sake of our country. If you change the title of His Royal Highness the King of Jing to the King of Wu, it will shock the world and cause unrest in the country," Yang Tinghe said as he stepped out.

Zhu Houzhao showed a playful smile on his face, and sneered in his heart: These ministers are using these old-fashioned words to scare me again.
He said in a nonchalant tone: "Oh? Then I want to see how the world will be shaken and how uneasy it will be!"

"I want to see where you dare to shake! Where you dare to be uneasy!" Zhu Houzhao said in a calm voice.

Zhu Houzhao's voice was very calm, but everyone felt a huge pressure after hearing it.
If Zhu Houzhao had said this thirteen years ago, it would have been a sign of chaos for a tyrant, but now Zhu Houzhao is really qualified to say this.
Yang Tinghe was speechless. Yes, with Zhu Houzhao, the great military god of the Ming Dynasty with outstanding military achievements, suppressing the world, how could the world dare to cause chaos? Even if there was chaos, what kind of waves could it cause?

It seems that the words that ministers often say are not applicable in front of Zhu Houzhao.
Everyone is aware of this, and no one can refute it.
Zhu Houzhao sneered, then took out a cleaning rod to compact the gunpowder in the barrel. The friction between the cleaning rod and the barrel was clearly audible.
Hearing this voice, many ministers suddenly felt like a thorn in their backs.
"I have a question, and I hope Mr. Yang can teach me, and I also hope you can tell me the answer." Zhu Houzhao said leisurely.

Yang Tinghe, who was named, quickly replied: "Your Majesty, please ask, and I will answer you all I know." The other ministers also quickly responded.

"Good!" Zhu Houzhao smiled with satisfaction.

"My question is, if Taizu and Taizong encountered the current situation and issued an edict to change the king's title like I did, would you still oppose them like you oppose me today?" Zhu Houzhao said lightly, looking at the ministers below indifferently.

Yang Tinghe swallowed with some difficulty. Although Zhu Houzhao's question was very plain, it was extremely difficult to deal with.

The answer is obvious. Everyone knows very well what kind of emperors Taizu and Taizong were. After all, more than a hundred years is not too long ago. Various stories about the Hongwu and Yongle dynasties are still circulating today. Given the temperaments of Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di, let alone whether they dared to oppose, even if they opposed it would have no effect.

If it was Zhu Yuanzhang or Zhu Di sitting on the throne now, they would not dare to oppose it like they are doing now, as if they were forcing the emperor to abdicate.
Yang Tinghe's mind raced, but he finally said, "If it were Taizu or Taizong, he would definitely put the country first."

Yang Tinghe did not dare to answer this question directly, and could only give a vague and neutral answer.
Zhu Houzhao looked past Yang Tinghe and fell on other ministers. Other ministers also gave a more vague answer in the same way as Yang Tinghe did.
"Going around in circles again!" Zhu Houzhao snorted coldly and said with some disappointment.

"The answer is so obvious, why are you still beating around the bush?" Zhu Houzhao said softly.

Zhu Houzhao now put a lot of pressure on his ministers, so much so that no one dared to say that they were not beating around the bush.
Zhu Houzhao ignored them and stood up and said, "I was wondering why you dared to oppose me in such a group."

"I think my achievements in civil and military affairs may not be as good as those of Taizu and Taizong, but they are not far behind. How dare you oppose me like this?" Zhu Houzhao's voice and expression became gloomy.
"Is my knife not as sharp as Taizu and Taizong's?" Zhu Houzhao said softly.

Everyone was shocked by Zhu Houzhao's words.
"Or is it that my knife didn't fall on you?" Zhu Houzhao's voice was still calm, but the content of his words was chilling.
This sentence made the person's mind go blank.
He...how dare he say such things so unscrupulously? Isn't he afraid of the alienation of officials?

But the people present soon realized that Zhu Houzhao was really qualified and had the capital to say such things.
"Your Majesty." Someone wanted to argue something, but Zhu Houzhao interrupted him.
"Oh, knives are outdated. Now we use muskets." A strange smile appeared on Zhu Houzhao's face.
Then he gently raised the loaded pistol in his hand, pointed it at the ministers below the stage without hesitation, and pulled the trigger.
The flint struck the flint quickly, creating a trail of sparks that ignited the gunpowder in the firing port.
(End of this chapter)