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

Chapter 282 Understanding the Prince of Han

"Yes!" Looking at the scroll in his hand, and recalling the series of astonishing actions of the Third Prince Zhu Zhan'an just now, Xia Yuanji suddenly felt a little nervous. But after hearing his son-in-law tell him to read the scroll, Xia Yuanji thought seriously for a long time, his expression changing several times. Finally, Xia Yuanji made up his mind and decided to read the contents of the document in his hand.

When Xia Yuanji saw the striking characters on the scroll, his pupils dilated in shock. He held the document in his hands, stunned for a moment, then glanced at his son-in-law out of the corner of his eye. Seeing that his son-in-law's expression was calm, Xia Yuanji took a deep breath, suppressing the chaotic thoughts in his mind and forcing himself to calm down.

Then, Xia Yuanji slowly unrolled the document in his hand. In an instant, Xia Yuanji's eyes widened like copper bells once again.

However, after taking another deep breath, Xia Yuanji's eyes, like those of an emotionless machine, focused intently on the first chapter, the second, the third, and finally the twelfth. He read with great care and attention, offering no questions or doubts, simply observing intently.

Furthermore, Xia Yuanji reviewed and examined every possible improvement measure recorded in the document repeatedly. During the process, Xia Yuanji would even stop, furrow his brow, and ponder for a long time before continuing to read.

Finally, Xia Yuanji finished reading the document in his hand, which was as heavy as Mount Tai!
"Your Highness, this is... something you wrote?" It took Xia Yuanji about half an hour to finish reading the entire scroll of "On the Demise of a Nation." After reading the document, Xia Yuanji looked up at his son-in-law, his face filled with shock, astonishment, and disbelief, and asked.

After all, the marks of force and incision visible between the lines of the document in his hand clearly indicated that the author was none other than his son-in-law, His Highness the Crown Prince of Han! But it was precisely because of this that Xia Yuanji was so shocked and bewildered. Could such a document, so clearly a plan for the eternal prosperity of the Ming Dynasty, truly be the work of his son-in-law, who was not yet twenty years old?

If this were true, how unbelievable it would be!

"Yes, this is the document I just wrote these past few days! It's specifically for you, Father-in-law." Zhu Zhanhe told his father-in-law without any hesitation, "This is the document I just wrote, and its purpose is for you, Father-in-law."

"Your Highness, what do you mean by 'this is a newly written document'?"

"Could it be that Your Highness wrote one before?!" Xia Yuanji's focus was clearly different from Zhu Zhanhe's. Zhu Zhanhe was concerned that the document contained the content he had written. But Xia Yuanji, upon hearing his son-in-law's words, was focused on the fact that since His Highness said this one was newly written, it meant that His Highness must have written or seen another identical old document before this one!
The crucial question that Xia Yuanji was now concerned with was: where was that old document? Had it fallen into the hands of bad people? This was the real issue! Such a shocking document, capable of affecting the fate of the Ming Dynasty, if even a single word were leaked, would be a daily disaster! It would be a bolt from the blue for the Ming Dynasty!
Furthermore, if such a document fell into the hands of a rebellious figure like the Prince of Han, wouldn't that lead to utter chaos? If the Prince of Han's uprising failed and this document were to be circulated, it would absolutely cause widespread chaos and misery among the people! This was the key issue that Xia Yuanji was concerned about!
"Yes, I did write the same document before." In response to the question, Zhu Zhanhe clearly told his father-in-law, "I did write this document before, but only one time, no more!"

"Your Highness, where is that document?!" Xia Yuanji asked anxiously, fearing that such a document might fall into the hands of criminals!

Zhu Zhanhe was speechless for a moment when he saw his father-in-law looking nervous. He had never seen his father-in-law so nervous before.

"Back then, before my grandfather's fifth expedition to the grasslands, I wrote that document in front of my father, the Prince of Han. It was also the first document of its kind."

At that moment, my father and the prince were completely terrified.

So, my father, armed with a knife, took me and that document with him, and stormed into the palace. Anyone who dared approach him, except for me, was killed on the spot!
I then had my eldest uncle, the grandson of the emperor, and my third uncle summoned. Of course, the Venerable Daoyan was also present. In the dead of night, we woke up my sleeping grandfather. We were in my grandfather's bedroom at the time, and we discussed this one document for two whole days and three nights.

In addition, I had someone prepare medication for treating phlegm-induced delirium and several buckets of ice in advance.

The scene then was just like it is now, with closed palace gates.

To this end, Grandpa also had his third uncle create a palace fire, which killed more than a thousand palace maids and eunuchs.

Therefore, Grandpa even skipped court for several days. Zhu Zhanhe, with a look of recollection, slowly recounted the scene. He had directly told his father-in-law that the document was in the palace, and that many people had died because of that unknown document!

"Is that document in the palace?" Hearing his son-in-law's words, Xia Yuanji breathed a long sigh of relief. After all, that document was so important; unless the current emperor was a fool, he would never allow its contents to be leaked!

"The monk Daoyan passed away in the palace!" Suddenly, Xia Yuanji remembered the rumor that the monk Daoyan had passed away in the palace, leaving only relics to be taken out of the palace. Now it seemed that the old monk had indeed passed away in the palace, and because of his son-in-law! Thinking of this, Xia Yuanji broke out in a cold sweat again.

Zhu Zhanhe did not hesitate to answer his father-in-law's question. He simply nodded to his father-in-law and said that things were as he thought. The monk Daoyan died in the palace after he learned about this matter, and his body was burned. No one even sent him away!

"No wonder the Prince of Han is unwilling to accept this!" At this moment, Xia Yuanji's thoughts slowly returned to normal. However, looking at his son-in-law before him, Xia Yuanji suddenly thought of the Prince of Han, who was far away in Jinan, raising an army in rebellion. For some reason, Xia Yuanji, who had never looked down on the Prince of Han before, suddenly understood the Prince of Han's unwillingness to accept this.

After all, regardless of anything else, the contributions made by the Prince of Han and the Crown Prince in the matter of the twelve arguments for the fall of a kingdom alone can be described as immense!
Not to mention that the Crown Prince of Han possesses a ten-foot-long alligator dragon, and the Prince of Han commands an army of hundreds of thousands. Given this situation, it's unlikely anyone would willingly relinquish the throne.
Moreover, the Prince of Han also has the support of the entire Ming Dynasty military conglomerate!

Given this situation, who would be content without taking a gamble? Especially with the successful deeds of the late Emperor Yongle still in sight!
To be fair, after reading this letter on the fall of the nation, even Xia Yuanji felt deep down that the Prince of Han and the Crown Prince of Han were the most suitable successors to the throne after the Yongle Emperor.

After all, with the twelve treatises in hand, the most pressing problems of the nation had become apparent. In Xia Yuanji's view, to solve the problems outlined in the theory of national subjugation, the Ming Dynasty could not remain stagnant and had to choose to expand outwards, just like the current Crown Prince of Han! As for Emperor Renzong and Emperor Xuande, who succeeded Emperor Yongle, they were both rulers who focused on defending the country and lacked expansion. In Xia Yuanji's mind, it would be difficult for them to implement the measures outlined in the theory of national subjugation.

Not to mention, Emperor Renzong passed away less than a year after ascending the throne, leaving a host of problems for the young and impetuous Emperor Xuande. The crucial issue is that, to date, Emperor Xuande still has no son! If something were to happen to Emperor Xuande himself, the consequences would be unimaginable!

(End of this chapter)