The stupid son of Chongba

Chapter 123: You can’t protect the person that Zhu Yuanzhang wants to kill! ( words)

The next day, at the hour of Mao.

It was just daybreak, when the people of Yingtian Prefecture were still sleeping, the officials had already dressed neatly, entered the Forbidden City and walked across the Jinshui Bridge.

As we all know, Zhu Yuanzhang was an extremely diligent emperor. Since the founding of the country, he had hardly ever skipped court for several years. Even when encountering violent storms, thunderstorms and earthquakes, it could not stop his determination to attend court.

For him, this is the basic skill of being an emperor.

However, this diligence made the officials in Beijing complain bitterly. For this morning court session, they had to get up at the end of the first hour, wash, change clothes, and hurry on their way...and they couldn't even have breakfast!
Otherwise, if you get an upset stomach, you’ll be in trouble if you want to poop during court.

Even if you don't poop, but just fart, it will be recorded and held accountable.

Therefore, for the ministers, the morning court was a torture. Of course, there were always people who suffered more than them.

"Teacher."

Hu Weiyong walked beside Li Shanchang with a complicated look on his face.
"I will be meeting His Majesty soon..."

"What on earth should we do?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shanchang just stroked his beard.

"Just do what you have to do. Haven't you already promised His Majesty?"

He said in a deep voice,

"Have you finished writing the memorial?"

Hu Weiyong put it in his arms twice and then nodded.

"I have already written it, but I keep thinking about it..."

He whispered,

"If this memorial is handed over, it will be like stabbing one's own people!"

"How should I deal with myself in the future?"

Thinking of what he said when he went to the palace to meet the emperor a few days ago, Hu Weiyong felt a little regretful.

At that time... I shouldn't have said it so confidently, leaving myself no room at all.

"Let's take one step at a time."

Li Shanchang patted Hu Weiyong on the shoulder and said softly,

"When necessary, I will defend you."

"Is your son feeling better?"

Hu Weiyong nodded.

"It's getting better now. With the treatment of the palace physician, I can now relieve myself."

"Where's Qi'er? Can he still..."

He was about to ask, but when he saw Li Shanchang's gloomy face, he already knew the answer.

What else can I do if my life force is removed?

Even if you save a life, what's the point? You will just live in pain for the rest of your life!
As we were chatting, several voices suddenly came.

"Prime Minister Li, Brother Hu, I heard that Lao Lu was arrested?! I heard that His Majesty killed a lot of people this time!"

A burly man who looked like a general came over and asked,

"What on earth is going on? He shouldn't be beheaded!"

When he asked this question, several generals came over.

"Yeah, what happened? You two are both involved, so tell me."

"Yes, you two should tell us the details so that we can have a better idea of ​​what happened. This will also be helpful when we go to ask His Majesty for mercy later."

"..."

The three people who came together were Zhou Dexing, Hu Mei and Wu Liang. All three of them were generals who had followed Zhu Yuanzhang in his campaigns and had made great military achievements. They were quasi-marquises of the Ming Dynasty.

"You guys... just don't ask, it's not a good thing."

Hu Weiyong couldn't help but feel impatient when he heard them grumbling, and waved his hand,
"I advise you not to ask too much about Lawrence Lu's affairs. If you get involved in this muddy water, your fame and fortune may not be preserved."

"Disperse, disperse, the court meeting is about to begin."

Hearing this, Zhou Dexing and the other two immediately became unhappy.

"Hu Weiyong, what do you mean by this? Are we afraid of trouble or what?"

Hu Mei said unhappily,
"Old Lu and I have been friends for so many years. When we were in the army, we were brothers who shared the same roots."

"Now that our brother is in trouble, how can we just stand by and watch? Just tell me! What is the matter? Maybe if we brothers work together, we can help him get through this difficult time."

Zhou Dexing also nodded and said:

"That's right. We Huaixi people are the most united. When one of us is in trouble, all sides will come to our aid!"

"Besides, I heard that this incident is also related to your son. No wonder you two can just stand by and watch. Now you tell us the whole story, which is also helping yourselves!"

Hu Weiyong's face turned dark and he didn't want to say any more to these rough guys, but Li Shanchang raised his eyebrows.

"Well, now that things have come to this, you will know the whole story sooner or later, so there is no harm in talking about it."

Li Shanchang stroked his beard and said,

"Weiyong, just tell them the whole story."

After hearing his mentor's instructions, Hu Weiyong had no choice but to patiently explain the day's situation to the three people.

“Lu Zhongheng actually suffered an unprovoked disaster because of his son Lu Xian!”

"The crime is that he secretly mobilized troops in Yingtian. You should know how serious this crime is. As long as your majesty finds the crime, he will not be able to get ten heads!"

"besides……"

The more Hu Weiyong said, the uglier the three people's faces became.

They knew the matter was serious, otherwise Lawrence Lu, a prospective marquis, would not have been arrested so suddenly.

But they didn't expect it to be so serious!

To mobilize troops without permission is a serious crime punishable by the death of nine generations of the clan!

"What should I do?"

Zhou Dexing frowned and said,
"How can we protect him when he has such a serious crime? With just a few of us, we can't protect him even if we risk our lives!"

Hu Weiyong spread his hands with an expression that said, "See, it's no use telling you."

Hu Mei and Wu Liang both looked a little gloomy.

At this moment, a voice came from the hall:
"Your Majesty is here, and all the ministers are here to see you!"

At the shout, all the civil and military officials became serious, tidied their appearance, and then joined the queue and walked towards the Qianqing Gate.

Several generals also stopped discussing and hurried back to the team.

The so-called morning court was not actually a meeting held in a hall in the imperial palace. After all, the palace was so small that it could only accommodate dozens of people at most, while there were hundreds of ministers. If they were all asked to wait outside, the court meeting would lose its meaning.

Therefore, the morning court was usually held outside the Qianqing Gate. Zhu Yuanzhang would move a chair and sit there to listen to everyone's reports. This was also called "hearing court proceedings outside the imperial gate."

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang was sitting under the canopy.

He was accompanied by Crown Prince Zhu Biao.

"Long live my emperor, long live, long live!"

All the ministers shouted "Long live Zhu Yuanzhang" and bowed to him.

"Be flat."

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his hand.

All the ministers stood up in response, and soon an official from the Honglu Temple came out to report the number of officials who had come to the capital to express their gratitude or left the capital to resign that day, so that the emperor could be informed of the progress of the appointment and dismissal of officials.

Then, another victory message from the border was read aloud:
"Since the eighth day of April, General Xu Da has been marching out of Gongchang Anding County, and stopped at Shen'eryu, where he defeated Kuyuk Timur and captured 1,865 officials including Yuan Tan Wang, Wenji Wang, Duke Yan Sixiao, Pingzhang Han Zhaer, Hulinchi, and more than 84,500 soldiers, 15,280 horses, and countless donkeys, cattle, sheep, and other livestock!"

"On May 13, Emperor Shundi of the Yuan Dynasty died! On the 15th, they besieged Yingchang City, and on the 16th, they broke into the city and captured the Yuan Dynasty's grandson Mai Dilibala, as well as his concubines, palace maids, officials, officers, and countless camels, horses, cattle, and sheep. They also seized the golden seals, precious books, and axes from past dynasties!"

"The Yuan heir fled north with dozens of cavalrymen. Li Wenzhong chased them to Qingzhou and returned. He passed through Xingzhou and surrendered more than 36,900 Yuan generals including Jiang Wenqing. When he reached Hongluo Mountain, he surrendered more than 16,000 people including Yang Sizu..."

After this complete victory report was read out, all the civil and military officials were immediately excited. Even Zhou Dexing, Hu Mei and others who were in a bad mood showed a smile.

"This is truly a great victory! General Xu is truly amazing. He actually killed Emperor Shun of Yuan Dynasty!"

"Such a great victory is unprecedented. General Xu Da can be compared with Wei Qing and Li Jing!"

"Since ancient times, there has never been a successful Northern Expedition. This is the first time in our dynasty! This is all thanks to your majesty's wisdom, the generals' bravery, and the soldiers' dedication!"

"Yes, yes, it is really cause for celebration, cause for celebration..."

"..."

The ministers were chatting among themselves, all praising Xu Da and flattering the emperor.

"it is good!"

Although he had heard this victory report several times, Zhu Yuanzhang still felt inexplicably excited when he heard it read out in front of all the civil and military officials!
"With Xu Da's victory report, the Ming Dynasty can finally be considered to be truly stable!"

He laughed out loud.
"The Yuan Dynasty, which brutally ruled the Central Plains for a hundred years, has finally been completely defeated by us!"

"Just now we heard someone say that it is a cause for celebration. That's right! This is indeed a cause for celebration! Xu Da is already on his way back in triumph. When he arrives in Yingtian, we will personally go out of the city thirty miles to greet him!"

As soon as this statement came out, all the ministers were shocked.

The emperor personally went out of the city to welcome them, the momentum was unparalleled!

It is foreseeable that after Xu Da returns, he will definitely be the number one minister of the Ming Dynasty, second only to the emperor!
Just think about it, it makes people envious!
Especially those generals who had not participated in the Northern Expedition, they all beat their chests and stamped their feet, sighing with regret... How come this great thing was not their turn? !

"Go on, what else do you want to say?"

Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to be in a good mood at the moment, stroking his beard with a smile.

pat.

Yang Xian walked out of the queue and said respectfully:

"Your Majesty, I have this memorial."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and motioned for him to continue.

"Your Majesty, since I took office as the Left Chancellor of the Secretariat, I have looked through the administrative records of the previous year and found that some of the decrees have many loopholes."

Yang Xian said seriously,
"When the decree was issued, it was hastily issued without careful consideration, which led to lawless people among officials and citizens taking advantage of loopholes and infringing on the interests of the people!"

"I have been working all night these past few days, trying my best to fill these loopholes. I have issued several revised decrees, and I hope Your Majesty will review them."

As he said this, he submitted the memorial in his hand.

The eunuch collected the memorial and delivered it to Zhu Biao, who then passed it to Zhu Yuanzhang.

Zhu Yuanzhang just looked at him for a few seconds, then suddenly snorted coldly and his eyes fell on Li Shanchang.

"There are as many as eight wrong decrees!"

He said unhappily,

"Li Shanchang, you were in charge of the Secretariat before, and you were in charge of the issuance of these decrees."

"There are so many problems. How do you explain it?"

puff.

Li Shanchang knelt on the ground, lowered his head and said:

"Your Majesty, could you please show me those decrees so that I can have a better idea of ​​what's going on?"

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand.

Yang Xian's information was delivered to him.

Li Shanchang took a closer look and couldn't help but praise:
"Brilliant! Really brilliant!"

"Your Majesty, Lord Yang is very thoughtful and has considered so many things that I, a humble minister, have not thought of. He is truly a man of great talent!"

"Young people are to be feared! I am far inferior to them."

Upon hearing this, Yang Xian's mouth corners slightly raised.

But Zhu Yuanzhang narrowed his eyes.

"Oh? You mean... you, an old prime minister, are not as good as a young man who just took office as the left chancellor?"

Li Shanchang nodded repeatedly.

"Indeed, it is not as good as it used to be! I did not see the loopholes in these decrees at the time. It was not until I saw this information from Lord Yang that I suddenly realized it!"

He said repeatedly,

"Lord Yang has a far-sighted vision, sees high and thinks far ahead. I am far inferior to him!"

"Your Majesty, I recommend Lord Yang to be the Prime Minister. With his talent, he will surely be able to lead the Secretariat and assist Your Majesty!"

Zhu Yuanzhang sneered, turned sideways and whispered to Zhu Biao beside him:
"Biao'er, did you see what an old loach is? This is an old loach."

"You are avoiding the main point and even flattering Yang Xian."

Zhu Biao smiled slightly.

Li Shanchang is indeed an old loach.

These words made his attitude clear - it was not that he made a mistake, but that he was not talented enough and did not see the loophole.

This Tai Chi is really good!
"Go back."

Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said,

"The decree came from your family. Now there are so many loopholes. You can't escape the blame."

"Fortunately, Yang Xian discovered it early, so it didn't cause a disaster. I will fine you half a year's salary as a reward for Yang Xian."

"Do you have any objection?"

"Thank you, Lord." Li Shanchang stood up and bowed deeply again.

Yang Xian was somewhat disappointed when he heard the verdict.

I worked so hard to collect so much information and spent so much effort to find the loopholes. I originally thought that even if I couldn't overthrow Li Shanchang, I could at least deal a heavy blow to his people!
Who would have thought that His Majesty would just let it go so easily!

However, he was not discouraged because he still had a powerful weapon in his hand.

"Your Majesty, I have another copy of this petition."

Yang Xian raised his head and said loudly,
"The person I want to report is the former General of the Southern Expedition and the current head of the Inspection Office, Lu Zhongheng!"

"Lu Zhongheng is a man with erratic and unruly behavior. He has committed many illegal acts in Yingtian with his friends. He once got drunk and beat someone in the street, leaving him disabled! A few days ago, he even mobilized the army in Yingtian without permission, using the patrol officers of the Inspection Office and the soldiers of the Yingtian Guard!"

"Privately mobilizing troops is a capital crime! Your Majesty, please convict and sentence this beast!"

When these words were spoken, all the ministers were shocked!

"You fart!"

Zhou Dexing was furious.

"Where did Lawrence Lu mobilize the army? He had no idea about it. It was all his subordinates who did it themselves. What does it have to do with him?"

"Yang Xian, I'm warning you not to spit bloody words at me!"

The swear words caused the inspector to frown, and he immediately made a note of it.

Zhou Dexing, swearing and roaring in the morning court!
"What does it have to do with him? You mean, his son is not his own?"

Yang Xian was not afraid of this shouting. He sneered,

"The police and Yingtian guards were dispatched because his son committed a crime in Yingtian!"

"If it weren't for him, would the patrol officers and Yingtian Guards be able to go out? According to Lord Zhou, this Lawrence Lu seems to be even more powerful. He doesn't even need to say anything, the people below will take the initiative to attack!"

"Incredible, truly incredible! He has such power even without saying anything. If he gives an order, wouldn't his men be willing to sacrifice their lives for him and rush forward even through mountains of swords and seas of fire?"

"To be more serious, what if it was the Forbidden City? Would they dare to attack it too?!"

Zhou Dexing: “!!!”

"You spit out blood!"

His face flushed and he said angrily,

"You are so sharp-tongued and only know how to frame others!"

"I'm going to tear your stinky mouth apart!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he rushed into the line of civil servants and was going to beat Yang Xian!
"Old Zhou, don't be impulsive!"

"Dexing! Don't forget where this is!"

Wu Liang and Hu Mei were frightened and rushed forward to stop Zhou Dexing.

Zhou Dexing was finally awakened by this reminder. Looking at Zhu Yuanzhang in front of him with a bad expression, he trembled all over.

Pfft!
"Your Majesty, I...I acted impulsively. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

He knelt on the ground and repeatedly apologized to Zhu Yuanzhang, but at the same time, he said sincerely,
"But Your Majesty, I still want to say that Lu Zhongheng would never dare to mobilize troops privately! This matter was really caused by the misconduct of his subordinates. I dare to guarantee it with my head!"

"Your Majesty! Lu Zhongheng worked diligently and made great contributions to the founding of the Ming Dynasty! During the expedition to the south, he was wounded in more than a dozen places, but he still insisted on fighting. He was the one who gnawed down some of the toughest bones!"

"Your Majesty, in view of his meritorious service, you... you should be lenient with him!"

"I kowtow to you!"

Bang bang bang!
His head hit the floor tiles with a crisp sound.

At the same time, Wu Liang, Hu Mei and several other generals suddenly knelt on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly!
"Your Majesty, the private mobilization of troops has nothing to do with Lu Zhongheng. I beg Your Majesty to be lenient!"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me for Lu Zhongheng's contribution to the Southern Expedition!"

"His Majesty……"

For a moment, all the generals pleaded for mercy for Lu Zhongheng in prison.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at them kowtow one by one. Although his face was expressionless, there was a hint of coldness in his eyes.

"Biao'er, look at them knelt down like this and begged for mercy for Lawrence Lu. Do you see anything from this?"

he whispered.

Zhu Biao was silent for a moment, then said:
"It is true that brothers love each other deeply. When one of them is in trouble, all will come to his aid."

"After all, they are friends who have risked their lives on the battlefield. If anything happens to Lawrence Lu, they will naturally protect him. This is... human nature, right?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang sneered.

"If something happens to you today, I'll protect you. If something happens to me tomorrow, you'll protect me."

He said coldly,

"We protect each other, it's hard for us to touch anyone!"

"You see, this is the power of forming a clique for personal gain! When they become a group, even the emperor may not be able to do anything to them!"

“In this situation, if you want to forcibly deal with Lawrence Lu, what should you do? Tell us.”

Zhu Biao fell silent again.

After a while, he shook his head helplessly.

"There's nothing I can do. If you ask me like this, to be honest... I will feel compassion."

Zhu Biao said,
“After all, what they said makes some sense. Lawrence Lu might really not know the truth, but his subordinates are just messing around.”

"If it were me, I would put this matter aside for now and investigate the case thoroughly. I would then be able to make a fair judgment."

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but sneer when he heard this. "Fairness? If everything must be fair, then why would I be an emperor? Since I'm an emperor, I must have supreme authority. What I want is never fairness, but that I can do whatever I want! No one can stop me, and anyone who stops me will die!"

He looked fierce and whispered,
"Biao'er, your bowl of water is still shallow... Watch carefully and see how we achieve our goal."

During the time when the two were chatting, the generals had already kowtowed countless times.

After all, he is a general and has a solid physique. If he were a civil servant, he would have fainted.

"Don't kowtow anymore. We all have a scale in our hearts to judge those who have made contributions and those who have not. We all have a clear idea of ​​what's going on."

Zhu Yuanzhang said in a neutral tone,
"We will not forget anyone's contribution, but we will not condone anyone without limits."

"Weiyong, you are also a party to this matter. Tell me what you think."

The generals stopped kowtowing and turned their eyes to Hu Weiyong.

They were still confident about Hu Weiyong. After all, they were all from Huaixi and were all like-minded, so they would naturally speak up for Lu Zhongheng.

However, at this moment Hu Weiyong's expression changed slightly.

What is coming will eventually come...you can't avoid it.

He stepped out of the team, bowed to Zhu Yuanzhang and said:

"Your Majesty, I think... Lu Zhongheng has committed a capital crime!"

"As Lord Yang said, Lu Zhongheng has committed many illegal acts in the streets and has a very bad reputation! I have made some inquiries these days, and his crimes can be said to be too numerous to list!"

"There were more than a dozen cases of people beating their subordinates due to drunkenness alone!"

"During the campaign to conquer the south, he also allowed his soldiers to rob food, which had an extremely bad impact and almost caused the local chieftain to surrender and then rebel again!"

"After returning to Yingtian, he still did not change his old bad habits. He forced women from decent families to marry and beat up civilians in the streets. He did not stop doing the things he had learned in the military camp. Instead, he made them worse!"

"I have listed six of his crimes, plus the private deployment of troops this time, a total of seven crimes! If he is not brought to justice for these seven crimes, it will be unjust!"

Wow.

As soon as he finished speaking, he took out the memorial that he had prepared long ago from his pocket and presented it.

"Hu Weiyong, you!"

"You bastard! I'm blind..."

Zhou Dexing glared, furious!

He couldn't help but swear again, but fortunately he was stopped by Wu Liang and Hu Mei beside him.

Otherwise, the censor will record it again! By then... maybe he will even go to jail!
"Really?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was surprised and said,

"Did you go and collect other evidence of Lawrence Lu's crimes?"

"I didn't expect this... Weiyong, you are thoughtful."

The eunuch handed him the memorial. He glanced at it casually and his face turned gloomy.

"What a great Lawrence Lu! It turns out he has done so many illegal things!"

Zhu Yuanzhang said angrily,

"So much has been uncovered, and we don't know how much has been done in secret!"

"Weiyong, you did a good job this time! You exposed the true face of this beast. If it weren't for your seven sins, we might not have the determination to deal with him! After all, he has made many contributions."

"We will not treat any of our heroes unfairly, but this does not mean that they can act recklessly and lawlessly!"

"Come on! Pass the order to put Lu Zhongheng and his son in death row!"

With just a few words, the verdict was made!

Obviously, Hu Weiyong's seven major sins were the key to nailing Lu Zhongheng to death!

However, when Hu Weiyong heard the emperor praising him, his face turned pale and he was not happy at all.

Because he felt that there were countless eyes staring at him from behind, wanting to eat him alive!
"Your Majesty, no!"

"Your Majesty, even though Lu Zhongheng has many faults, he has always been loyal to you, Your Majesty!"

"Your Majesty, what Hu Weiyong said is not true! Lu Zhongheng has always loved his soldiers like his own sons, how could he have drunk and beaten them? There is something fishy about this matter, someone must have deliberately framed him! Your Majesty, you cannot listen to Hu Weiyong's one-sided words!"

"Yes, we can't wrongly accuse good people and make our brothers feel disappointed!"

“Your Majesty!!! Wuwuwu…”

Several grown men knelt down and begged at the top of their lungs, and Zhou Dexing even shed tears!
"quiet!"

Zhu Biao ordered,
"This is the Forbidden City, not a place for you to cry and scream!"

However, his shout was of no avail. The generals were like widows whose husbands had died. They continued to cry and kowtow until their heads were broken and bleeding!
Zhu Yuanzhang's face was cold and his eyes fell on Li Shanchang.

However, at this moment, Li Shanchang lowered his head and remained silent, as if he had nothing to do with this world.

"Ah."

Zhu Yuanzhang showed some disappointment in his eyes, and stood up and said,
"If they want to cry, just let them cry."

"We won't change our mind."

"Retreat!"

After saying that, he turned and left without any hesitation.

Zhu Biao glanced at everyone and quickly followed.

"Farewell to Your Majesty."

After the ministers kowtowed respectfully, they left quickly, leaving behind only a group of Huaixi generals, who were now looking at Hu Weiyong viciously!
"Hu Weiyong, you traitor!"

"I'm going to kill you today!"

Zhou Dexing shouted loudly and rushed towards Hu Weiyong. He took two steps at a time and grabbed Hu Weiyong by the collar.

The other generals also came over and surrounded Hu Weiyong several times, cursing and shouting at him, wishing they could eat his flesh alive!

They didn't even bother to harass Yang Xian, because compared with a political enemy like Yang Xian, a traitor like Hu Weiyong was more hateful! The backstab at the critical moment was really infuriating!
"Brothers, this time it is indeed me who deserves to die, I am a bastard, I am a beast!"

"You can kill me or chop me up, I won't say a word."

Hu Weiyong closed his eyes, looking as if he was ready to be beaten and killed.

"Pooh!"

Wu Liang spat on Hu Weiyong's face and cursed,

"Who is your brother? I don't have a shitty brother like you!"

"We are all trying our best to plead for Old Lu, but you just listed his crimes! You are so capable!"

"What hatred do you have with him that you would do such a cruel thing! Hu Weiyong, oh Hu Weiyong, I am really blind. You are not worthy of being a Huaixi person!"

After being insulted, he still felt unsatisfied and raised his fist to hit Hu Weiyong in the face!
At this moment, Li Shanchang, who had not spoken for a long time, finally spoke.

"Don't beat or scold him. There are some things you don't know. You can only understand his difficulties."

He said in a deep voice,

"After all, it was His Majesty who forced him to do this, in order to cause discord among us Huaixi people."

"The more you quarrel and fight, the more His Majesty will enjoy it."

After hearing this, Zhou Dexing stopped punching.

"Li Xiang, what do you mean by this?"

"Your Majesty wants to divide us Huaixi people? Why?"

Several military generals were all puzzled. With their military mindsets, they had no idea what the emperor's motive was for doing this.

“No more nonsense, do you still want to save Lawrence Lu?”

Li Shanchang said with his hands behind his back,

"If you want, put Hu Weiyong down and follow me."

Wow.

Zhou Dexing quickly put Hu Weiyong down and said hurriedly:

"Prime Minister Li, you tell us! We will do whatever you tell us to do!"

"As long as we can rescue Lao Lu, we are willing to do anything!"

Hu Weiyong loosened his collar and looked at Li Shanchang.

"Master, do you have any solution?"

Li Shanchang remained silent, led everyone out of the palace, and then whispered:

"If you want to save him, your words don't carry enough weight."

"In our Ming Dynasty, there are only one and a half people whose words carry weight, and that one is the Empress. With just one word from her, the trouble-making King Wu was released. Haha... But we can't invite the Empress, and she won't negotiate with Your Majesty about such a matter."

"And the other half is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. His words can sometimes change His Majesty's will, but at the same time, he will not help us."

Everyone: "..."

I've been talking about this for so long, but it's the same as saying nothing!

"Fortunately, there is a group that has won a great victory and can have a say with His Majesty!"

Li Shanchang said in a deep voice.

This sentence made Zhou Dexing and others react all at once!
"Ah... I understand! It's Hua Yunlong, Zhu Liangzu and others who returned victorious from the Northern Expedition! They have won a victory and have just accumulated merits. Your Majesty will definitely listen to them! As long as we send them a letter and ask them to help plead for mercy, it will definitely work! Even if Your Majesty is reluctant, you have to give them this face!"

"Great! As expected of Prime Minister Li, he is a wise and wise man who is good at planning for the country!"

"I have a good relationship with Hua Yunlong. I'll write a letter to him!"

"I'm writing to Zhu Liangzu!"

"I……"

……

a few days later.

Inside the Huagai Palace.

Looking at the memorials piling up like snowflakes on the table, Zhu Yuanzhang's face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Zhu Biao flipped through the memorial and muttered to himself:

"This belongs to Hua Yunlong..."

"This belongs to Liao Yongzhong..."

“And Zhu Liangzu’s…all of them are pleading for Lawrence Lu! Wow, everyone is united!”

He looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and also frowned.

"Dad, what should we do now?"

Zhu Biao couldn't help but ask,
"These people are all heroes of the Northern Expedition. They all pleaded for Lawrence Lu. Even if it's you, I'm afraid you should give them some face, right?"

boom!
Zhu Yuanzhang slammed his fist on the table.

"You want me to compromise? No way!"

He said angrily,

"Look, look! The momentum of this group of people has reached this point! For the sake of Lu Zhongheng, all of them, whether they know each other or not, have come forward to file a petition together. What is this for? They are trying to drown us!"

"If you say there is no one to liaise, no one will believe it!"

"Huaixi Party, humph, Huaixi Party!"

At this moment, Old Zhu was extremely angry.

He felt a threat. A force had formed in the court, and this force could actually hinder his decision-making!

This is something he can never allow!
"Your Majesty, the general has a memorial to hand over."

A eunuch walked into the hall and delivered a memorial.

"General?!"

Zhu Biao was surprised and said,
“Could it be… that even General Xu is going to come and plead for Lawrence Lu?”

If that's the case, then no matter how reluctant Dad is, he has no choice but to spare Lawrence Lu's life.

There was no way. Xu Da’s contribution this time was too great. If he had any request, his father would definitely agree to it.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face also became extremely ugly. He quickly opened the letter and took a look. His expression eased a little.

"No."

"It's just a letter of thanks."

Obviously, Lao Zhu breathed a sigh of relief.

If Xu Da came to beg for mercy, then he really had to re-evaluate the power of the Huaixi Party. In Zhu Yuanzhang's mind, Xu Da was in the same boat with him!

"so far so good……"

Zhu Biao also relaxed his brows, then smiled bitterly and said,

"But Dad... Even if Xu Da didn't say anything, it would be very difficult to deal with Liao Yongzhong, Hua Yunlong and the others begging for mercy!"

"In fact, when it comes down to it, Lu Zhongheng did not mobilize troops privately. I later investigated in detail. On the night of the incident, Lu Zhongheng was sleeping in a concubine's room. So, although the mobilization of the patrol and Yingtian Guards was inextricably linked to him, it was definitely not initiated by him."

"So, this matter can be big or small, and it gives them a chance to beg for mercy."

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, he snorted coldly.

“If this is the only thing, we might hesitate when they ask for mercy, but Lawrence Lu’s illegal deeds are far more than just this one!”

There was a hint of murderous intent in his eyes, and he said,
"You should also know about the Fengyang incident. Lu Zhongheng, Zhu Liangzu, and Liao Yongzhong were all involved!"

"Originally, I just wanted to kill Lawrence Lu who bumped into me as a warning to others, but seeing the current situation, I think killing one chicken might not be enough. I have to kill three of them together to really have a deterrent effect!"

Zhu Biao's expression was stern.

"Mao Xiang!"

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly shouted.

A figure appeared in the side hall.

"See Your Majesty!"

"I have met His Highness the Crown Prince!"

Mao Xiang, who was released from the Heavenly Prison, now has a more restrained temperament.

"Considering your crime, we wouldn't let you out so soon."

Zhu Yuanzhang said from a high position,
"Even if I release you, I won't let you get your job back!"

"But now I have handed the Imperial Guard back to you. Do you know why?"

boom!
Mao Xiang knelt on the ground, knocked his head on the floor tiles, and said respectfully:
"I understand!"

"Your Majesty has shown great grace in releasing me. I must get to the bottom of Fengyang's case!"

"I am willing to issue a military order! Your Majesty, give me fifteen days, and I will investigate the matter thoroughly!"

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at him and raised a finger.

"Ten days."

"Before Xu Da comes back, you must find out the truth about this matter for us!"

"If you can handle this matter well, you will be rewarded for your crimes! If you can't handle it well, your crime will be even more serious. From now on, you will live in the prison!"

"Go!"

Mao Xiang was shocked.

"I obey your order!"

He stood up, bowed, and quickly left the Huagai Hall.

From this moment on, he cannot waste every minute and every second!

"Let's trust him once more, and hope he can be useful."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Mao Xiang's departing back and said sternly,
"Biao'er, in the next few days, you should make good arrangements for the process of welcoming Xu Da's triumphant return."

"Let's put things in order. Compared to the great army's triumphant return, Lu Zhongheng's matter is actually a small matter. This time, I will go to receive him in person! On the one hand, let the world see my broad mind, and on the other hand, let the world know clearly that the Yuan Dynasty has completely perished!"

Zhu Biao nodded repeatedly.

"Yes, Dad."

"I will start preparing now."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly, and then said:

"Once Xu Da comes back, the marriage between our two families should be put on the agenda."

"Since your mother is still undecided, let's just make it happen! The fourth son, Zhu Di, will marry the eldest daughter of the Xu family, Miaoyun!"

"The ages of these two are pretty suitable, what do you think?"

Zhu Biao was slightly startled.

"Fourth brother... you can, but the third brother is not married yet."

He said with some hesitation,

"The younger brother can't possibly get ahead of the older brother, right? That doesn't seem right."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled when he heard this.

"It's just an arranged marriage, just like an arranged marriage. There's no one who comes first or second. The real wedding will take place in a few years."

Old Zhu said,
"The reason why Zhu Di was chosen is that we want to find a son-in-law with a good temper for Xu Da. Although the third son is handsome, he is not as interested in military strategy as the fourth son. The fourth son likes to read military books all day long. The two of them should be able to get along well."

Zhu Biao suddenly understood after hearing this.

"I see. Dad is so wise."

He smiled and said,
"Hearing what father said, the fourth child is indeed suitable to be Xu Da's son-in-law. I have heard that the fourth child wants to join the army and fight. If they become father-in-law and son-in-law, the fourth child can also serve under Xu Da and gain some experience."

"Speaking of which, Xiaojuzi is quite optimistic about Lao Si. He thinks he has great military talent and can become a general in the future!"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked a little surprised.

"Oh? This brat has someone he admires? Is this how he evaluates the fourth brother?"

Lao Zhu asked.

Zhu Biao nodded.

"Yes, I wondered too, how did Xiaojuzi figure it out? I couldn't figure it out either."

He said with a smile.

Zhu Yuanzhang stroked his beard and said seriously:

"Let's try out Lao Si's military strategy when we have a chance. If he really has talent in this area, then we really need to train him well and let him join the army as soon as possible!"

"The borders of the Ming Dynasty are mainly Qin, Jin, and Yan. In the future, the vassal kings of these three places will have to guard the borders for you. Military capabilities are a must!"

"The fourth one is the King of Yan. Since he has been given this title, he must be able to shoulder this heavy responsibility!"

(End of this chapter)