Ming Dynasty: The Crocodile King of Han Prince Zhu Gaoxu's Family

Chapter 182 At the Funeral Hall, the Questions from the King of Han and the King of Zhao
"Uh..." Upon hearing his father, Emperor Hongxi, say that if he did not stop his attempts to murder his two uncles, the emperor would depose him from his position as crown prince, Zhu Zhanji trembled involuntarily.

After a moment, Zhu Zhanji let out a long sigh to ease his frustration. He felt all his fighting spirit had vanished, and he silently and helplessly closed his eyes.

"Your subject obeys the decree!" After a moment, Zhu Zhanji bowed silently, as if resigned to his fate, and promised as a subject that he would no longer attempt to harm the two princes.

Meanwhile, Zhu Zhanhe, who had returned to the temporary rest room in the mourning hall, was sitting in a chair drinking tea and taking a nap. Looking up unintentionally, he saw his father, Prince Han, walking back from outside with a happy expression on his face, unable to hide his excitement.

The official seal of Beijing is in hand! Zhu Zhanhe immediately guessed the reason when he saw his father, the Prince of Han, looking so happy.

Immediately, Zhu Zhanhe silently put down his teacup and began to close his eyes to rest...

The next morning, the princes gathered again in front of the mourning hall to listen to the late emperor's last edict. Zhu Zhanhe also knelt down in the crowd to listen.

This time, the imperial edict was read aloud by Emperor Hongxi himself. It recounted Emperor Yongle's numerous achievements, including ascending the throne as a member of a minor branch of the imperial family, his five campaigns against the grasslands, the compilation of the Great Codex, and the construction of the Grand Canal. It also mentioned two things: first, that his eldest son, Zhu Gaochi, should ascend the throne, thus granting Zhu Gaochi the most legitimate legal authority.

Secondly, in his will, Emperor Yongle also acknowledged the mistakes made regarding the Jingnan Campaign and ordered a general amnesty, which included those involved in the Jingnan Campaign, and allowed them to be exempted from certain duties and return to their hometowns.

In fact, Zhu Zhanhe also felt that there was nothing wrong with the edict. It was just a general amnesty, right? It was only a few tens of thousands of people involved in the Jingnan Rebellion. Even if they were all released, they wouldn't cause any major trouble. Besides, the court and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were keeping an eye on things.

But clearly, not everyone thinks that way! For example, the enraged Prince Han at this moment!
When Zhu Zhanhe heard his uncle, Emperor Hongxi, read out the general amnesty, which included those involved in the Jingnan Rebellion, he saw the kneeling Prince of Han straighten up, grinning fiercely, his face solemn as he stared at Emperor Hongxi, who was reading the imperial edict.

"Long live the Emperor!" Finally, after Emperor Hongxi finished reading the entire contents of the imperial edict, all the princes and concubines respectfully kowtowed and shouted "Long live the Emperor!" to indicate that they had received the decree.

However, Prince Han and Prince Zhao remained motionless as if frozen in place, showing no intention of bowing to receive the imperial decree.

"Wait!" Before the princes and concubines could finish receiving the imperial decree and expressing their gratitude, the Prince of Han interrupted them.

In an instant, all eyes were drawn to the Prince of Han, who, though still kneeling, had raised his hand to interrupt the new emperor's reading of the imperial edict.

Upon hearing the words of the Prince of Han, a hint of anger and helplessness flashed in Emperor Hongxi's eyes. He had already anticipated that his second son, the Prince of Han, would cause such a scene.

Crown Prince Zhu Zhanji was originally kneeling on the ground to receive the decree, but after hearing his second uncle's words, he immediately straightened his back and his face turned murderous!
Amidst the astonished, shocked, panicked, angry, and amused gazes of the crowd, the Prince of Han rose directly from the cushion.

Prince Zhao, standing behind Prince Han, looked at his second son, who had just stood up, with a mocking expression on his face.

The Prince of Han slowly walked up to his elder brother, Emperor Hongxi. He glanced at the helpless expression on Emperor Hongxi's face, remained unmoved, and directly reached out his hand to Emperor Hongxi, indicating that he wanted to see the imperial edict.

Emperor Hongxi sighed helplessly, glanced at the Prince of Han, pursed his lips, and subconsciously wanted to pull the imperial edict back in his hand, but hesitated.

Upon seeing this, the Prince of Han unceremoniously reached out and snatched the imperial edict from Emperor Hongxi's hand. He even tossed it in his hand, a scene that sent chills down the spines of the many princes and concubines who witnessed it.

Holding the imperial edict in his hand, the Prince of Han went straight to the center of the mourning hall, took a deep breath, and felt full of enthusiasm and high spirits.

"Gentlemen, I have a few words to say before the spirit of the late Emperor today." The Prince of Han took a deep breath, raised his eyes solemnly, and swept his gaze over all those still kneeling before him, speaking in a deep voice.

Zhu Zhanji, standing below, looked at the Prince of Han in the middle of the mourning hall, his eyes filled with frost and his heart filled with regret. Why didn't he act sooner?

"The Emperor once said that today's discussion would only involve family matters, so I won't stand on ceremony!" The Prince of Han ignored the gazes of others, glanced at Emperor Hongxi, and then spoke on his own. Moreover, he cleverly framed the issue as a family matter rather than a matter of state!

"This edict is fake!" Prince Han noticed the angry look in Crown Prince Zhu Zhanji's eyes, glanced at him contemptuously, and ignored him completely. Then, Prince Han raised the edict he had just snatched from Emperor Hongxi's hands, held it high above his head, and shouted loudly.

These words immediately caused an uproar in the mourning hall. "How is this possible?"

"This is impossible!"

"what's the situation?"

……

Regardless of how much everyone had been watching the spectacle, the fact that the Prince of Han, stripped of his military power, dared to directly refute the late emperor's edict in the hands of the new emperor was something that made everyone admire his courage.

Upon hearing what the Prince of Han said, the Prince of Zhao was so happy that he almost burst out laughing on the spot.

Emperor Hongxi, standing beside Prince Han, remained composed. His furrowed brow reflected the helpless expression on his face, like that of someone watching their mischievous younger brother make another mistake.

"During this campaign beyond the Great Wall, the emperor passed away in the military camp!"

My brother and I were in the 3000-man camp, which was only fifty miles away from the emperor's main camp.

However, they were unable to see the late emperor's remains immediately!
"Why!" The Prince of Han paced back and forth in front of the mourning hall, waving his arms from time to time to express his dissatisfaction. He spoke with righteous indignation and his face was full of resentment.

"I just want to ask, how did the late emperor pass away?!"

"Why didn't you send the message to our camp immediately?!" Prince Han held the seized imperial edict, pointing it directly at Zhu Zhanji. His aim was to accuse Zhu Zhanji of concealing the late emperor's death, thereby questioning the authenticity of the edict.

"Many people have witnessed this. If you don't believe me, you can ask the returning soldiers of the Three Thousand Battalion!" Knowing that his own words were not convincing, the Prince of Han directly invoked the Three Thousand Battalion officers, whom Emperor Yongle had personally trained, trusted, and who were the most powerful in combat, as his backing.

But at this moment, none of the kneeling princes moved.

After all, those who could become princes were all shrewd and intelligent; why would they get involved in something like the struggle for the throne?

Besides, they are already princes, and it's impossible for them to advance any further, so there's no need to take such a risk.

Moreover, regardless of which of the three brothers ascended the throne as emperor, they would still remain princes. Furthermore, Emperor Hongxi was benevolent and kind, far superior to the Prince of Han. Therefore, they had no intention of getting involved and remained silent.

Seeing that the Prince of Han's words had failed to rouse everyone and had even created a slightly awkward silence, the Prince of Zhao had no choice but to take matters into his own hands.

Prince Zhao, who had been kneeling, slowly climbed up from the cushion, then plopped down on it again. He pursed his lips, looked up at the princes and concubines who were still kneeling motionless, and his eyes were full of deep smiles.

"When we went to pay our respects to the late emperor at his old camp, it was he, our current crown prince, who received our visit."

"Leading the anti-Japanese troops, they surrendered their swords and were escorted back to Beijing!" Prince Zhao, sitting on a soft cushion, lazily propped himself up with one hand to make himself more comfortable, while pointing with the other hand at Crown Prince Zhu Zhanji, who was kneeling at the doorway.

Prince Zhao's words escalated the issue once again, involving the assassination and detention of a prince from the imperial clan!

Originally, the Prince of Han said that the imperial edict was fake, a forged decree, or something to be doubted.

But at this moment, Prince Zhao's words cast a shadow over the cause of Emperor Yongle's death once again!

(End of this chapter)