Ming Dynasty: Traveling through the harem, Zhu Yuanzhang was dumbfounded

Chapter 126 There is always a way to deal with him

In the study room.

Hu Weiyong, dressed in brocade clothes, sat in front of an old man who looked like he was in his twilight years.

The faces of the two were illuminated by the flickering candlelight.

The old man had a head full of silver hair and a beard that grew to his chest. He had kind eyes and looked at Hu Weiyong with a smile.

"Weiyong, I've heard about everything. A new young man has come to the capital, and he's been promoted very quickly.

Ningming County is a small county under the jurisdiction of Zhenjiang Prefecture. Yang Chen grew up eating at other people's houses. His background is clean and it seems that he relied on his own abilities to enter the capital and thus rose to prominence.

Some time ago, the matter of his marriage with the little daughter of Mu Ying's family caused a sensation among all the three generations in the capital.

Even my youngest child is talking about it privately.

Your Majesty is suspicious by nature. He must have something extraordinary to have caught your attention and won the favor of the Crown Prince.

According to the investigation and surveillance by my men, there are many secret guards arranged by His Majesty guarding around his mansion.

If I didn't know very well how much His Majesty loves the Queen, taking a concubine requires the Queen's consent.

I'm afraid I'm beginning to suspect that he's one of His Majesty's illegitimate children."

Li Shanchang naturally knew why Hu Weiyong came to see him today.

At the same time, he did not forget to send someone to find Yang Chen's information.

When piles of information about 'Yang Chen was born in Ningming County' appeared in front of Li Shanchang, he concluded that this young man was the aide that Zhu Yuanzhang was looking for outside the officialdom to serve Zhu Biao.

Li Shanchang, who followed Zhu Yuanzhang and was older than him, thought he could clearly guess what the emperor was thinking.

So after knowing Yang Chen's identity, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He was very worried that Yang Chen's appearance was to eliminate their lineage.

Even though Hu Weiyong is now in an important position due to his recommendation, the imperial court is a murky place with no clear bottom and things could change at any time.

It’s like the businessman Lu Buwei who grew up beside Qin Shi Huang and taught Ying Zheng to become an emperor of all ages.

In terms of political skills, Lu Buwei can be said to be at the absolute ceiling level.

During his growth, Ying Zheng assisted Qin in becoming the country with the deepest roots among the surrounding powers.

By the time Ying Zheng came to power, Qin had already possessed the strength to destroy the six kingdoms.

Even so, Ying Zheng still tried his best to get rid of him.

The reason is very simple. In Ying Zheng's view, Lu Buwei's contributions were so great that there was no limit to the rewards and titles he could receive.

Since ancient times, great achievements have been no less than treason, especially when the newly crowned emperor is very young.

Hu Weiyong assisted Zhu Yuanzhang for many years. During these years, his achievements seemed mediocre, but he was still moving forward in a steadily rising stage.

For this reason, many officials took the initiative to seek out Hu Weiyong, wanting to become his most loyal subordinates, so that they could go further in their official careers.

Otherwise, if they did not become people around Hu Weiyong, at least 80% of the officials would have their careers stagnant.

Hu Weiyong remained calm, but said with a sinister look in his eyes:
"Master, His Majesty is under the jurisdiction of the Empress, and he would definitely not dare to let the news of his illegitimate child spread outside.

I saw that Yang Chen and the prince got along happily with each other, and their conversation was more like that of close friends rather than half-brothers.

From this it can be seen that he has absolutely no blood relationship with Your Majesty, and is definitely not a relative of Fengyang.

At the grand court meeting some time ago, I listened to him speak repeatedly and there was no Fengyang accent at all.

I have no family relationship with you, but I am still important to your majesty. Could it be that your majesty wants to give up on me?"

Hu Weiyong had some ability to become the prime minister.

He knew that Old Zhu had taken a fancy to him, but he was not so obsessed with it that he was confident that he would not be killed.

At least I don't have that intention now.

However, Yang Chen's repeated appearance caused him to develop a sense of crisis, and he always felt that someone was trying to snatch his position.

On this point, he would never allow anyone to compete with him.

Li Shanchang thought for a moment and sighed:
"Weiyong, you can rest assured about this. Yang Chen is no match for you in age, experience, or skill. His Majesty will never give up on you because of a young man.

No matter how talented he is, his age is there, so what does he count for?
Sometimes, being young is a good thing, but it can also be a bad thing.”

Hearing this, Hu Weiyong raised his eyebrows and said with a smile:

"What does Master mean?"

"You and I were both young once, how many talented people in this world can resist the temptation of beauty?

Yang Chen is less than 25 years old this year, and is a young man full of vigor and vitality. Isn't he the Censor of the Capital?

Since ancient times, this position has been very convenient, and you are worried about him.

Why not find an opportunity to try it out?

If he can pass the test, it means that this boy has a very good character and is qualified to be your opponent.

Since you are my opponent, I won’t ask you how to fight. You can decide for yourself.

But if he fails, it means that human nature still exists. As long as human nature exists, do you still worry that you can't deal with a young boy?"

"If that's what you say, Master. I want to see if Yang Chen is worthy of His Majesty's attention."

Hu Weiyong smiled knowingly and said that Li Shanchang's words could be said to be spoken very openly, with basically no intention of hiding anything.

Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, many capable people have demonstrated the pride that an honest and upright official should have.

But they don’t know that these proud characters are vulnerable in the face of reality.

Especially when there are old and young at home, and there are too many things to worry about, sometimes the things you want to do become more and more troublesome.

Yang Chen seemed to be lonely and helpless, with no weaknesses. However, in the eyes of an old hand like Hu Weiyong, he, a man who grew up eating at many people's homes, actually had more weaknesses.

As long as he found its weakness, he could defeat it in one fell swoop. By that time, the entire court would be under his control.

He has secured the title of the First Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty!
Hu Weiyong stood up, bowed and said:
"Master, I am very grateful for your advice. I will definitely be more respectful to you in the future and will never forget your guidance."

Li Shanchang stroked his beard and laughed:
"Haha, why do I need your respect now, Weiyong? I am a little older than you.

Let me give you a piece of advice: sometimes you should remember not to stay in the muddy waters of the court for too long.

The position of prime minister is fascinating. The longer you hold the position, the more likely His Majesty will become suspicious of you.

In my opinion, this young man Yang Chen is nothing more than a trigger. Even if he is not there, there will be others who will appear in the future.

From now on, you must be extremely careful in your every move in the court and must not arouse His Majesty's suspicion of you.

Given His Majesty's suspicious nature, if he suspects you, it would be extremely difficult for you to escape unscathed."

Li Shanchang is now in his sixties.

I have witnessed too many things in my lifetime.

Therefore, he could see through many things. When Yang Chen appeared, he could smell something unusual.

It doesn’t matter what it is. What matters is that his appearance must be the result of Zhu Yuanzhang’s careful consideration.

If Hu Weiyong doesn't wake up next, he will definitely be in danger.

Li Shanchang said this because Hu Weiyong had used his cleverness to help him.

It's just a pity that Hu Weiyong was stunned for a moment, then chuckled and said:
"What my mentor said, I will naturally keep in mind.

I am sorry to disturb your rest today. It is getting late, so I will go back first. Please take care of yourself, Master."

This was all he had to say. Whether the other party understood or not, Li Shanchang could only close his eyes and sigh.

When the sound of Hu Weiyong's footsteps gradually faded away, he opened his eyes, looked into the candlelight and talked to himself.

"Our Majesty is too suspicious after all. Weiyong, ah Weiyong, I hope you can successfully overcome the calamity this time."

Harem.

After dealing with today's government affairs, Old Zhu supported his tired body and returned to the palace where Empress Ma lived.

As soon as he sat down, he saw Empress Ma, wearing a phoenix robe, walking towards him with a smile on her face.

Seeing his wife so happy, Lao Zhu asked curiously:

"Sister, are you happy to see me here?"

Empress Ma sat down and poured herself a glass of water. Just as Zhu Yuanzhang was about to reach out to take it, Empress Ma drank it herself.

Only Old Zhu was left with his hands in the air, looking awkward everywhere.

"No, sister. I just finished my work today. It would be fine if you didn't pour me a glass of water, but why did you pour me some water and drink it yourself? Isn't this too undignified for me as an emperor?"

Queen Ma just glanced at him, then raised her hand and pointed at the children's laughter outside.

"So what if you are the emperor? I am still a queen.

You don't think that I, a queen, have nothing to do in the harem all day? As a queen, I am responsible for managing the entire harem and preventing the concubines in your harem from making any noise in order to compete for your favor.

If it weren't for me, the queen, keeping watch, who knows that your concubines would have set the entire harem on fire just to gain your favor.

Also, apart from these trivial matters, I also need to teach Xiong Ying. Now Yang Chen has become Xiong Ying's teacher.

As a grandmother, I cannot be completely ignorant. Yang Chen taught Xiongying every day, and Xiongying came back to teach me, and then we began to practice to seek the truth.

In this way, Xiong Ying can master the knowledge taught by Yang Chen more quickly.

Even now, Xiongying already knows why kites can fly into the sky and why apples fall down. "

After Empress Ma ridiculed him, Zhu Yuanzhang could only nod his head repeatedly. When she finished speaking, he stood up and massaged her shoulders and back.

"I know that my sister is working hard, but I, the emperor, am also very tired.

This is the time to come back to see you, just to take a break."

"Yang Chen appeared after those ministers, what's going on now?"

Knowing why Zhu Yuanzhang came here, Empress Ma closed her eyes and enjoyed this rare service.

In the whole world, perhaps the only person who could be treated like this by Old Zhu was Ma Xiuying.

Old Zhu did not stop his actions and said:
"Ever since Yang Chen showed up, the ministers have been on the alert, especially Hu Weiyong, who initially stayed at home, but just now, he went to Li Shanchang's residence in person.

As for what to do, I think I know. I just hope Li Shanchang can understand what I mean this time. Otherwise, I don’t want to attack this old friend.”

Upon hearing this, Queen Ma couldn't help but frown, and a trace of sadness emerged.

"Chongba, no matter what, Li Shanchang was the hero who helped you conquer the world. If you want to deal with him, I hope you won't be too harsh.

If you are accused of killing a meritorious official, you will be criticized by future generations. What should you do then?"

You see, the person who knows Zhu Yuanzhang best in this world is Empress Ma. She can guess what he is thinking from his words and actions.

She knew very well that competition in the court was always cruel, but she didn't want these things to happen to her family.

Hu Weiyong was bound to die, but Empress Ma would not feel sad or even upset.

But Li Shanchang and other veterans were different. They were brothers who had fought together in the past.

Empress Ma really couldn't bear to do that to him.

Lao Zhu took a deep breath and said in a deep voice:

"That's why I said I hope Li Shanchang will be smart and not get involved."

"Forget it, let's not talk about this. Sister, has Xiong Ying learned any similar methods of class differentiation from that bastard Yang Chen these days?

Last time we learned how to unite friends and distinguish enemies. Now when I go to court, I can tell who is of the same mind as us and who cannot be used by us just by looking at them.

If we are allowed to come here a few more times and integrate them in the future, we will surely be able to keep the Ming Dynasty in our hands forever."

Old Zhu was very ambitious. To be more precise, no emperor had less ambition.

Just as he said, distinguishing between classes is like a strong medicine for him, which allows him to see scenery that he has never seen in this world and distinguish between good and evil.

Upon hearing this, Empress Ma turned away from Old Zhu's attention and said jokingly:
"I was wondering why you came to me, and it turns out you have other intentions.

What? Now that you have figured it out, do you plan to learn from Yang Chen?"

She knew her husband came to discuss something with her, but she didn't expect that Lao Zhu was talking about this matter.

In Lao Zhu's eyes, Yang Chen has always been a nobody, but now, he actually wants to take the initiative to learn these skills which he considers to be dragon-slaying techniques.

Faced with his wife's playful eyes, Lao Zhu admitted it honestly.

“Sister! You’ve learned to unite your friends and defeat your enemies, you can’t just disappear like this, right?
Cheng Yaojin has three axes, but we have only learned one. It is not enough, totally not enough.

In my opinion, Yang Chen must spit out all the ink in his stomach and show us whether the dragon-slaying skills learned by the later generations are really useful. "

What Zhu Yuanzhang said made Empress Ma slightly stunned.

Historically, those who have rebelled have always been farmers. I have never heard of businessmen causing trouble.

If Yang Chen could teach more, no matter what period of time the Ming Dynasty is in the future, it would not suddenly cause the Great Xia to collapse and become irretrievable.

After thinking for a moment, Queen Ma sighed and said:

"Okay, in that case, how about we go to Yang Chen's residence in person tomorrow and have him explain everything to you in detail and clearly?"

Upon hearing this, Lao Zhu immediately sat down and hurriedly stopped him:
"No, no, no! Sister, please don't do anything reckless. Yang Chen, that little bastard, knows that I never treat him well and I almost killed him by coercing him before.

If he knew that I wanted to give in to him now, wouldn't my dignity as the Hongwu Emperor be gone?"

"You once threatened him and almost killed him?"

Empress Ma did not know what happened on the night Yang Chen was kidnapped by Zhu Yuanzhang, and was surprised by this.

(End of this chapter)