Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 343 The last request, goodbye Lao Zhu!

Inside the Fengtian Hall, circles were drawn on the map one after another.

Zhu Yunhuan was in high spirits.

His Ming Dynasty is about to embark on a journey of conquering the world.

For the princes, this was not a long sea voyage at all, but rather being "exiled" overseas.

But they knew deep down that they had no choice but to accept such a heinous crime.

As Zhu Yunhuan issued one decree after another, the places where people were "exiled" were determined one by one, and everything was settled.

After dealing with the princes, Zhu Yunhuan raised his eyes slightly, his gaze as sharp as torches, and slowly swept over the other people who followed the princes into the palace.

At this moment, the hall was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, the only sound being the nervous breathing of the crowd.

Prince Ning Zhu Quan was the first to come out. He was wearing court robes. His usual elegance and composure were gone, replaced by a face full of guilt and fear.

"Your Majesty, I am guilty!"

Zhu Quan knelt down with a plop, his voice trembling a little.

"Just now when they were accusing Your Majesty and slandering You, I should have stepped forward to help Your Majesty resolve his worries and difficulties."

"But I was cowardly and retreated. This is my great disloyalty."

"I request Your Majesty to issue an order to punish me!" After saying this, he fell to the ground and kowtowed, his forehead pressed against the cold floor tiles.

When everyone in the hall heard this, their hearts tightened.

Today's events are like surging waves, one after another, and the speed of development and change is so fast that it is hard to keep up.

When the emperor first heard that Prince of Zhou Zhu Su and Zhu Gaoxu were plotting rebellion, they all thought the opportunity was ripe, and he immediately summoned all the princes to discuss countermeasures.

Afterwards, the princes attacked the emperor and listed the emperor's so-called crimes one by one.

Later, the rebellion was miraculously quelled, Zhu Gaoxu was arrested, and the princes instantly changed their faces, kneeling down to beg for mercy and confess their crimes.

Such a dramatic change made everyone's heart hang in their throat and feel uneasy.

When they followed the princes into the palace, they still had the intention of asking the emperor for punishment.

When the princes accused the emperor, he, as a subject, remained silent and did not say a word in defense of the emperor.

Now that the princes have been convicted and exiled overseas, what should they do?

Ning Wang Zhu Quan seemed to have made up his mind. He kowtowed again and said loudly: "I am also willing to go overseas to expand the territory for the Ming Dynasty and protect my overseas people. I only ask Your Majesty to give me a chance to atone for my sins!"

"Approved!" Zhu Yunhuan's majestic voice echoed in the hall.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Zhu Quan felt relieved and kowtowed heavily, leaving a bruise on his forehead.

With Prince Ning taking the lead, the other ministers could no longer sit still. They all knelt on the ground and shouted in unison: "We are guilty, and we shall die!"

Zhu Yunhuan glanced at everyone coldly, his eyes like cold knives.

The emperor's majestic and cold voice sounded: "If that's the case, then take them all away and punish them!"

In his heart, the reason why he did not kill the prince was because he was his uncle after all and had a blood relationship with him.

Killing one's uncle will always cause huge criticism no matter which dynasty or generation, and will set a bad example for future generations.

Besides, if he really had to kill so many princes, he would not be able to explain to Zhuge Liang.

Furthermore, the princes are still of great use.

His national policy of overseas development and expansion required the princes to take the lead in charging into battle.

Valuable chess pieces should not be discarded easily.

As for these ministers, their death was inevitable from the moment they followed the princes into the Fengtian Palace.

Keeping someone who is unfaithful to you is a disaster.

When has the imperial court ever lacked people who want to be officials?
Do you really think that he, the emperor, is a compassionate clay Buddha who will not kill people?

At the command, the guards filed in and quickly escorted the ministers away.

The hall was filled with a suffocating silence, with only the sound of footsteps during the escort striking at everyone's heart.

At this time, Zhu Yunheng glanced casually and his eyes fell on the Minister of Rites Chen Di.

Completely different from the people around him who were frantically begging for mercy, Chen Dishen neither begged for mercy nor confessed his guilt from beginning to end. He just stood there quietly.

Zhu Yunxun's mind moved slightly, and he said, "Chen Di, don't you want to say something?"

Chen Di moved slowly, and his old body looked even thinner under the light and shadow.

He slowly raised his head, his eyes deep and calm, and bowed deeply, saying loudly: "Your Majesty is a king unprecedented in the history."

"Under your Majesty's governance, the Ming Dynasty will surely become more and more prosperous. This is something that this old minister firmly believes in."

He paused, then slowly knelt down and bowed deeply.

"I beg for death, and only wish to enter the palace before I die."

These words instantly plunged the hall into deeper silence.

Everyone looked at the old minister in horror.

The meaning of the word "enter the palace" is self-evident.

There had been rumors before that the old emperor seemed to be imprisoned in the harem by the new emperor.

When the princes forced the emperor to abdicate in such chaos, even Zhu's sons did not mention it.

Or perhaps the rebellion was quelled too quickly and never developed to that stage.

Or maybe everyone had their own ulterior motives and no one cared about the old emperor.

The rebellion had been quelled at this moment, but Chen Di suddenly asked to enter the palace, which shocked everyone.

Zhu Yunhuan sat high on the dragon throne in the Fengtian Hall, his dragon eyes like torches, falling directly on Chen Di who was kneeling below.

His gaze was as deep as the sea, as if he could see through Chen Di, but he did not speak.

For a moment, the hall was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop, with only the tense and suppressed breathing of the crowd echoing faintly in the air.

In this dead silence, there seemed to be a faint dragon power.

It spread silently and slowly, covering every inch of space in the hall.

The wrath of the emperor is like the power of heaven.

The anger that Zhu Yunhuan was suppressing at this moment was just like the thunder in the sky that was madly gathering energy.

Although it hasn't hit us with a loud bang yet, it's already terrifying.

That heavy feeling of oppression weighed heavily on everyone's heart, more frightening than the shock brought by the actual thunder.

The ministers had been arrested long before this. They left the hall with their heads down and staggering steps, escorted by the guards.

Upon seeing this, all the princes saluted tacitly and quietly left the Fengtian Hall.

Soon, in the huge Fengtian Hall, which was originally bustling and filled with clashes between various forces, only Chen Di was left kneeling quietly alone.

Zhu Yunhuan raised his head slightly and sighed softly. The sigh echoed in the empty hall, filled with many complex and inexplicable emotions.

He then spoke slowly, his tone calm but with a hint of inquiry in it: "Why bother?"

Chen Di, who was kneeling on the ground, trembled slightly, as if these three words touched the deepest obsession in his heart.

He slowly raised his head, his eyes firm and resolute, staring directly at Zhu Yunhuan above him, and said:
"I am an old minister of the old emperor. When the old emperor was buried that day, I begged to see his remains and then I wanted to follow him."

"But your majesty rejected me, and I felt that I deserved to die. The reason I have lingered on until now is that I hope the princes can force the truth out of me."

"Now, they have failed too." Chen Di's voice was extremely calm, as if he was telling a story that had nothing to do with him.

But his slightly trembling hands still revealed the turmoil in his heart.

He continued, "Your Majesty is the emperor of this day, gifted with divine power. Since taking office, you have pacified Japan and crushed foreign threats with the force of thunder."

"Sweep the grasslands and make sure those nomadic cavalry dare not invade our borders easily again."

"The emphasis on reform has given the court a new look both inside and outside."

"The great achievements he made are beyond the reach of any vassal king."

"It was expected that they would lose."

"But I never expected that they would be defeated so quickly and could not even shake Your Majesty in the slightest."

Chen Di paused for a moment, as if trying to calm his turbulent emotions, and then added: "I also firmly believe that Your Majesty will become a wise ruler and lead our Ming Dynasty to create an unprecedented prosperity."

"The people will always be grateful to your majesty for his grace."

"Thousands of years from now, your majesty's achievements will be praised by countless people."

"Those who support and assist Your Majesty today will all become loyal ministers of the Ming Dynasty and their names will go down in history."

“It is indeed the lifelong dream of every scholar.”

"It is a blessing for a minister to be able to follow an emperor like Your Majesty and realize his ambitions."

Chen Di kowtowed three times again.

His forehead hit the cold and hard gold bricks of the Golden Throne Hall, making a crisp and decisive sound.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

When he raised his head, there was a bump on his forehead, with a few strands of blood slowly seeping out, making his face look even more resolute and weathered.

Chen Di seemed to be completely unaware of the pain and continued, "I am already old and have no extraordinary abilities. I cannot help Your Majesty reform the corrupt system with my literary skills, nor can I help Your Majesty expand the territory with my military skills."

"As the Minister of Rites, I only remember the word 'ritual'."

"I cannot be a loyal minister to your majesty, nor a loyal minister to the Ming Dynasty. I only wish to be a loyal minister to the old emperor."

"I beg Your Majesty to grant me a favor and allow me to enter the palace to take another look to resolve the doubts in my heart. If so, I will die without regrets."

After saying this, he kowtowed heavily once again and fell to the ground, unable to get up. His whole body was trembling slightly, as if he was waiting for the judgment of fate.

Zhu Yunhuan sat on the dragon throne, quietly looking at Chen Di who was lying on the ground below. Suddenly, the anger on his face disappeared and he laughed softly.

The laughter seemed particularly abrupt in the empty hall.

Ever since Zhu Yuanzhang voluntarily confined himself to the harem and deliberately leaked the news, Zhu Yunhuan had always felt a little disappointed in his heart.

He ascended the throne so smoothly that even though the civil and military officials in the court had some doubts in their hearts, no one stood up to stop him or question him.

Instead, the matter gradually became a taboo that no one dared to mention or ask about.

He couldn't help but think to himself that if everyone was so "afraid of death", the scholars of the Ming Dynasty would really disappoint him extremely.

Is there really no minister who is willing to risk his life to stand up for Zhu?
And today, there is finally such a person.

Coincidentally, he needed just such a person at this moment.

Shang Xingyu has already entered the harem disguised as Empress Ma.

Zhu Yunhuan was really worried about the real situation of Old Zhu. He wanted to go and check it out in person.

Now that Chen Di has appeared, he can help him test it out.

Let Zhu's "loyal ministers" go and see him again.

If so, Old Zhu, who is addicted to "acting" and "sweet dreams", can be awakened.

Although he felt that the probability of Lao Zhu being fascinated by someone was very small.

But he couldn't afford to take this risk.

"Okay, come with me."

Zhu Yunhuan put away his smile, his expression became serious, and he spoke lightly.

Then, he slowly stood up from the dragon throne with an upright posture.

Chen Di hurriedly got up from the ground. The pain in his knee caused his body to sway slightly, but he quickly steadied himself, followed closely behind Zhu Yunhuan, and walked out of the Fengtian Hall.

The doors leading to the harem were opened one by one, and Zhu Yunhuan took Chen Di and slowly walked into this restricted place on weekdays.

……

In the courtyard of the harem, the sunlight shines through the mottled leaves, forming patches of light and shadows.

Shang Xingyu was holding a freshly baked pancake and sitting next to Lao Zhu. She was dressed in plain clothes, with a gentle face and a gentle smile. She gently tore off a piece of pancake, slowly fed it into Lao Zhu's mouth, and asked softly, "Is it delicious?"

Old Zhu looked at Shang Xingyu, his eyes full of fondness, that look seemed to be able to melt people.

He nodded repeatedly and said with a smile: "Delicious!"

While chewing the pancake carefully, he slowly reached out his hand, gently brushed the hair on her forehead, gently stroked her face, his eyes full of affection, and said: "Sister, you are still the same."

Shang Xingyu also looked at Lao Zhu, smiling slightly, his eyes seeming to contain thousands of words.

It seemed as if time had stopped at this moment, and a special kind of warmth flowed between the two of them.

Yoshigaki, who was standing aside, had a worried look on his face, his brows were furrowed, and he kept looking at the two of them.

His eyes were full of vigilance and uneasiness, and his hands were unconsciously clenched together, making him look extremely anxious.

Old Zhu seemed unaware and was still extremely happy.

That wrinkled face was always smiling, and he looked as happy as a child.

He stretched out his hand and held Shang Xingyu tightly in his arms, murmuring, "Sister, let's never separate again!"

Just at this moment, Zhu Yunhuan and Chen Di walked in and witnessed this scene.

The moment Chen Di saw Lao Zhu, his eyes suddenly widened.

Before this, Zhu Yunhuan only said that he would enter the harem together, but did not mention Zhu's life or death at all.

When he came in, his heart was in turmoil and he was extremely uneasy.

I wonder what I will see when I enter the palace this time?
Old emperor, is he really still alive?
Or will the news of his death finally be confirmed?
At this moment, Chen Di finally saw Lao Zhu with his own eyes. He could not help but run forward quickly, knelt down heavily with a "thump", and cried out in tears: "Your Majesty!"

Old Zhu raised his eyes slightly and glanced at him, with a hint of barely perceptible surprise flashing in his eyes. Shang Xingyu in his arms seemed to be frightened and subconsciously hugged Old Zhu tightly.

At this time, Chen Di's eyes noticed Shang Xingyu standing beside him.

His pupils first shrank slightly, then suddenly dilated, and he stood there in a daze for a moment, as if he had seen a ghost.

If Zhu Yuanzhang was still alive and that was Zhu Yunhuan's way of "hiding the truth from the world", then why was Empress Ma also here?

This sudden scene made Chen Di's brain go blank in an instant, as if it had crashed, and he was at a loss for a moment.

"Ma... Ma... Queen Ma?" Chen Di kowtowed again subconsciously and said in a trembling voice: "Your Highness the Queen!"

However, as soon as he said this, he suddenly realized something was wrong. The Queen had passed away long ago, so how could she be here?
Chen Di pointed at Shang Xingyu and stammered, "Who... who are you?"

Immediately, he suddenly changed his tone and said sternly, "Where did this witch come from? How dare you pretend to be Empress Ma and deceive Your Majesty? What crime should she be punished for?"

……

(End of this chapter)