Ming Dynasty: Regrets about the Jingnan Rebellion? I changed it in a dream!

Chapter 57 Two Close Officials from the Hongwu Dynasty
The case alone was enough to annoy him.

Now here comes another one.

"What do you think? Could it be that these two people are hiding in the tavern? That's why we can't find them?"

These people all appeared in Zhuang Mu's tavern and then disappeared.

This matter has nothing to do with Zhuang Mu.

He doesn't believe it.

Di Ping shook his head: "Your Majesty, we have checked Zhuang Mu's tavern three times inside and out."

“There’s nowhere to hide.”

When Zhuang Mu and the woman were resting at night, they would go to investigate under the cover of darkness.

However, no abnormalities were found.

Zhu Gaosui became increasingly annoyed and dropped his fist on the table.

"Damn, there's nothing here, and there's nothing there, could it be possible that they will just disappear out of thin air?"

"Where's the second brother? Any news from him?"

Hearing this, Di Ping looked a little hesitant.

"Well, there is no news from Prince Han, but I heard."

"He has been trying to find out why the Emperor and Mr. Yao often go out to drink."

Zhu Gaosui sighed slightly. As expected, his second brother was totally unreliable.

Could it be that they really want to give the position of the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard to that kid Zhu Zhanji?
……

Zhu Di returned to the Shangshu room. There was a stove burning in the room and it was very hot, so he needed to take off some clothes.

With the help of Little Nose, Zhu Di took off his heavy coat.

He walked slowly to the dragon table, raised his head and looked at the portrait of Taizu hanging behind the dragon throne.

His eyes were full of melancholy.

"Dad, what should I do..."

Zhu Di was confused.

He didn't know what to do to hide his inner guilt and not be afraid of his father's majesty.

When he was just the King of Yan, he was afraid of his father.

After becoming emperor, he became even more afraid.

Thinking back to his father's face, which looked intimidating even without anger, Zhu Di was afraid from the bottom of his heart.

He stood in front of the portrait, hesitating for a long, long time.

One hour, two hours, three hours.

Until my legs felt a little sore.

Zhu Di then collected his thoughts and spoke.

"Little Sniffle, go get the old man... go get Xia Yuanji and Jian Yi to come see me."

I originally wanted to talk to Yao Guangxiao, but I couldn’t even understand the old monk’s own heart.

So he changed his words and called them Xia Yuanji and Jian Yi.

Although the status of these two people in his heart is not as high as that of the old monk.

But he was also his close minister, just not as close as Yao Guangxiao with whom he could talk about everything.

He was emperor for sixteen years, and these two men served as the Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Personnel for sixteen years respectively.

Other Shangshu were rotated from time to time, but these two had never been rotated.

Zhu Di sat in front of the stove, quietly waiting for the two to arrive.

……

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu was in Zuixianlou on Jinchuan Street.

He drank his wine calmly, leaning against the window, not feeling the cold.

His eyes looked towards Zhuang Mu’s tavern.

Several beautiful women around him all wanted to get close to this old man, after all, Zhu Gaoxu was wearing a Qilin costume.

At least he is an official of the fourth or fifth rank.

Officials of the fourth or fifth rank may not be considered very high positions in the capital, but to people like them, they are nobles.

Zhu Gaoxu seemed a little impatient and pushed them all away with one hand.

He threw a few golden beans on the ground and said coldly, "I'm not interested in you. Get out of here."

Hearing this, these charming women naturally tactfully picked up the golden beans on the ground and left.

After driving these women out, Zhu Gaoxu sat by the window again, shaking the wine glass in his hand back and forth.

His thoughts were heavy. "Strange, why is there still no news?"

Just as Zhu Gaoxu was thinking, there was a knock on the door, and Zhu Gaoxu was about to get angry.

But what he saw was a middle-aged man with a hunched body and a mouse-like appearance, who pushed the door open.

"Sir, I have found out everything." The middle-aged man said with a smile on his face.

Zhu Gaoxu's eyes lit up and he put down the wine glass in his hand.

"explain."

"The drinks sold in this tavern are different from those sold in ordinary restaurants. The wine sold in this tavern is called Dream Wine."

"From the introduction, it seems that after drinking it, you can dream, no matter what the dream is."

Zhu Gaoxu seemed to be thinking about something.

Dreaming about wine, you can dream about anything. So can you dream about being an emperor?

He had personally experienced Zhuang Mu's special ability.

It seems that Dad values this point, which is why he often visits this tavern.

"Besides, this tavern is only open for two hours around noon. It's obvious that it won't be doing business."

"And this Dream Wine is also false advertising. Sir, why are you asking about this?"

Zhu Gaoxu stood up calmly and said, "You shouldn't ask about this. Shut up."

After saying that, Zhu Gaoxu dropped a golden bean and left Zuixianlou.

……

In the palace, at the door of the Shangshufang.

When Xia Yuanji and Jian Yi received the emperor's summons for an audience, they rushed to the palace without stopping.

After brushing off the snow on their bodies at the door, the two walked in side by side.

At a glance, he saw Zhu Di staring blankly at the fire.

Before the two of them could salute, Zhu Di spoke:

"Well, there are only a few of us here, no need to salute."

Xia Yuanji and Jian Yi were not rigid. When Zhu Di said this, they bowed and clasped their hands.

"sit down."

Xia Yuanji sat on Zhu Di's right, and Jian Yi sat on Zhu Di's left.

Then, Zhu Di said, "You two are both Jinshi of the Hongwu Dynasty, right?"

Jian Yi was the first to speak: "Your Majesty, I am a Jinshi in the eighteenth year of Hongwu."

There was some doubt in Xia Yuanji's eyes. Zhu Di should be very clear about this information, so why was he asking even though he already knew the answer?

Although I don't want to admit it, this is the truth: "Your Majesty, in the 24th year of Hongwu, I was recommended by Huguang Township to participate in the Ministry of Revenue's joint examination, but failed. Later, I entered the Imperial College and then became an official."

Zhu Di nodded.

There is no other meaning in asking these questions.

The main reason is that Jian Yi and Xia Yuanji were both officials that his father valued.

Especially Jian Yi, not only did he change his father's name, he even let him serve by his side. He could be said to be one of the important ministers around his father in his later years.

Although Xia Yuanji had no experience of serving Zhu Yuanzhang.

However, he was also promoted by Zhu Yuanzhang because he was very calm when writing an imperial edict, which caught Zhu Yuanzhang's attention. Zhu Yuanzhang then directly promoted him to the head of the Ministry of Revenue.

"Well, you have all worked for Taizu for many years."

"What do you think of my father?"

Both of them were stunned.

As Zhu Di's close ministers, they naturally knew what was bothering Zhu Di.

However, it is not the place for ministers like them to evaluate Emperor Taizu.

"I dare not comment on Emperor Taizu." They said in unison.

Zhu Di rolled his eyes and said, "I forgive you, Jian Yi, you have always been upright and honest, and my father likes you very much."

"Tell me, what kind of person is my father?"

They all named him directly, and Jian Yi had to speak up: "Emperor Taizu is naturally wise and powerful."

"what about me?"

"Your Majesty naturally has the style of Taizu."

It's meant as a compliment, but it's also the truth.

Zhu Di continued, "Then let me ask you again, if Emperor Taizu were to be resurrected tomorrow and he knew about my rebellion, what would be his reaction?"

(End of this chapter)