Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

Chapter 118 Zhu Yuanzhang begins to deal with the Lü clan.

"Girl, what do you think of Lü Lan, the Crown Prince's concubine?"

Inside the Kunning Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Empress Ma and asked her a question.

It seemed like it was all very casual.

"This child is quite good, isn't he?" Empress Ma replied casually, glancing at Zhu Yuanzhang with a somewhat strange expression.

"What's wrong, Chongba? Why did you suddenly ask that?"

"Nothing much," Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head.

"Girl, tell us more about your feelings for her."

Empress Ma said, "She is gentle, sensible, very filial, respectful to her parents-in-law, and respectful to Biao'er."

He is knowledgeable and reasonable, and acts with great discretion.

She is thoughtful and considerate, able to take care of many things.

The eldest son's wife is a carefree and easygoing person.

Her personality is a perfect complement to that of the eldest son's wife.

Didn't we choose a more thoughtful and sensible woman as a concubine because our eldest daughter-in-law was too carefree?
Now, more than two years later, her performance has met our expectations.

This shows that our judgment is still quite good.

The fact that Biao'er's Eastern Palace is so peaceful and harmonious is largely thanks to the efforts of his daughter-in-law.

"That's what we think too."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded.

But my mood subsequently became heavy.

What the girl just said really resonated with him.

In his previous life, this was his view of Lü Lan, the Crown Prince's concubine.

He has always been very satisfied with this daughter-in-law.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have made her the Crown Prince's principal wife more than a year after his eldest daughter-in-law died in childbirth.

Zhu Yuanzhang was very suspicious, but this was only towards outsiders.

He never thinks much about his family, especially those he acknowledges.

Otherwise, if Lü Lan had really done those things in her previous life, Zhu Yuanzhang would definitely have found out.

It's unlikely that even until his death, he never doubted the Crown Prince's concubine, Lady Lü.

I've always felt that the deaths of my eldest son's wife due to complications during childbirth and my eldest grandson Xiong Ying from smallpox were natural deaths, with no human intervention involved.

We've arrived in the modern era, where information is highly developed, and we've seen many inferences and speculations about related matters.

The death of the eldest son's wife and the death of Xiong Ying from smallpox at the age of eight were largely due to the machinations of Lady Lü.

The purpose was for her to smoothly ascend to the throne, become the Crown Prince's principal wife, and later become the Empress, so that her son Zhu Yunwen could become the Emperor.

After seeing these inferences, Zhu Yuanzhang was deeply shaken and began to carefully recall these events.

And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that it made a lot of sense.

These inferences are very likely true.

The more I thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed.

For example, before giving birth to her grandson Zhu Yunwen, the eldest son's wife had already given birth to three children, including Xiong Ying, one son and two daughters.

Normally, women experience difficult childbirth, which is most likely to occur with their first child.

The subsequent births went more smoothly.

However, when it came to his eldest son's wife, things were different.

She had three children before she was born, and all of them were born smoothly.

When she had her fourth child, she encountered a difficult childbirth.

Although it didn't kill him outright, it left him on the verge of death and damaged his very essence.

She passed away twelve days after giving birth to Yun-hu.

Zhu Yuanzhang was very saddened by this in his previous life.

After all, she was his eldest daughter-in-law, and also the daughter of his old friend, Lao Chang.

She gave birth to the eldest grandson of the Zhu family.

He thought highly of his eldest daughter-in-law.

In my past life, I only felt that difficult childbirth was all fate, something that humans had no control over.

But after arriving in modern times, Zhu Yuanzhang discovered that things were not like that.

Difficult childbirth can also be controlled by human intervention.

One of the simplest and most direct methods is to feed the pregnant woman the best food possible during her pregnancy.

Eat more of what is nutritious and what makes you gain weight.

Let the pregnant woman rest more and avoid excessive activity.

This process will make the fetus grow exceptionally fast.

It is far larger than the normal size of a baby.

Under such circumstances, it would be difficult to avoid a difficult birth!
In the previous life, when Yun Tong's grandson was born, he weighed a full twelve pounds and three ounces according to modern weight!
With a size like that, it would be strange if there weren't complications during childbirth!

Since Lady Lü arrived at the Eastern Palace, she has been in charge of preparing the meals there.

Furthermore, this woman did indeed become the Crown Prince's principal wife, and her son did indeed become the emperor.

All of these things combined, the more you think about it, the more likely it is that this is indeed the case.

It was all the fault of the Lü family!
As for the fact that his eldest grandson, Xiong Ying, died of smallpox, Zhu Yuanzhang initially had no doubts either.

Smallpox was a real scourge.

They're all people you can't avoid, so who would dare to provoke them easily?

Aren't you afraid of dying?

However, in modern times, we have seen a lot of news about smallpox.

Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly realized that people who had survived smallpox or who had experienced the smallpox epidemic but were not infected had developed antibodies in their bodies.

We will no longer have to fear smallpox.

Just like him, who herded cattle for Liu the rich man's family since he was a child, he may have inadvertently contracted cowpox and recovered.

As a result, antibodies were developed in the body, so the person was no longer afraid of smallpox.

During the chaotic times of the past, he experienced smallpox several times, and many people were infected, but he was completely unharmed.

In the past, I thought it was my destiny to be free from these diseases.

Only after arriving in the modern world did I realize that this was not a destiny bestowed upon me.
It was clearly caused by his own herding of cattle.

If you yourself are immune to smallpox, does that mean the Lü family was also immune to smallpox?
And it was discovered that she was immune to smallpox.

Then, using this ability, he successfully infected U.A. with smallpox, thus killing him.

The year Xiong Ying died of smallpox, there was no smallpox outbreak in the capital.

Xiong Ying also stayed in the palace and did not go out.

A few people in the East Palace, as well as Xiong Ying, were infected with smallpox.

Those who contracted smallpox were thoroughly investigated, and nothing inappropriate was found.

It's quite puzzling that Xiong Ying contracted smallpox.

I had doubts about this matter in my past life.

But because they knew that smallpox was a terrible disease, they subconsciously thought that no one would dare to be so audacious as to use smallpox to harm people.

Because doing so can easily lead to your own downfall if you're not careful.

Therefore, I didn't think much about other aspects.

But the more I think about it now, the more I feel that something is wrong.

It's highly likely that it was someone from the Lü family who did it secretly.

She even made it herself!

He vaguely remembered that Lady Lü had also experienced smallpox.

They were also immune to smallpox.

Otherwise, they would have died long ago.

Or if her face was covered in acne scars, she would never be chosen by herself and her sister to enter the palace and become Biao'er's concubine.

The excruciating pain I experienced in my past life was simply too much!
Eldest daughter-in-law, eldest grandson Xiong Ying, younger sister, Biao'er, second son, third son...

These closest relatives of his had all passed away before him.

This made Zhu Yuanzhang extremely upset.

Especially in modern times, it was realized that the eldest daughter-in-law and eldest grandson Xiong Ying were very likely murdered by Lady Lü.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang was unaware of this and instead made Lady Lü the Crown Prince's principal wife. Furthermore, he later made Lady Lü's son the heir apparent, which made Zhu Yuanzhang feel increasingly distressed.
If such a thing is true, then I will never let it happen again in my life, no matter what.

If the Lü family makes any unusual moves, he will definitely deal with it immediately!
Given his temperament, he would quickly deal with the Lü family eight years after returning to Hongwu.

Whether or not the Lü family did these things is irrelevant.

This matter concerns the safety of his eldest daughter-in-law and grandson, Xiong Ying. Even if it's just a possibility or a suspicion, it's enough.

We cannot allow such a venomous snake to lurk in the East Palace, threatening the lives of the eldest son's wife and grandson.

But Zhu Yuanzhang still did not do that.

It's not that I can't bring myself to do it, nor is it because I'm sentimental.

She was just a concubine of the crown prince.

Since there's a very high probability that they'd do such a thing, then so be it if they die.

It's because their own son is standing here.

Lady Lü was someone who knew how to be humble and obsequious.

Biao'er takes after his father; he trusts his spouse very much and rarely becomes suspicious.

He had a very good relationship with Lady Lü.

He truly cared about Lady Lü.

If I, as the father, were to kill Lady Lü without saying a word...

Or tell Biao'er that Lu Shi has ulterior motives and is very likely to kill the eldest daughter-in-law and Xiong Ying in the future. In order to prevent such a thing from happening, she should be killed in advance.

What will Biao'er think?

How would you feel?

If you can't provide solid evidence, will Biao'er believe you?
That's where the difficulty lies.

That's why there's a saying that even an upright official finds it difficult to settle family disputes.

Getting rid of Lady Lü is not difficult; the difficulty lies in making Biao'er see Lady Lü's true colors.

He hoped that his father and son wouldn't develop a rift or conflict because of someone like Lady Lü, and that they wouldn't become estranged from each other.

Given Biao'er's filial nature, he actually did just that and killed Lady Lü.

Biao'er might get angry with himself for a while, but as time goes on, he'll come to terms with it and won't stay angry with himself forever.

However, it's inevitable that a big knot will remain in your heart that you can't untie.

This was definitely not what Zhu Yuanzhang wanted to see.

His desired outcome was to eliminate the Lü family while minimizing any harm to his own son, Biao'er.

This single rule determined that Zhu Yuanzhang could not be so lenient in dealing with the Lü family.

This requires extreme care and a great deal of patience...

"Chongba, what happened? Did you hear some bad news?"

Empress Ma looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and asked again.

Zhu Yuanzhang came to his senses.

"Girl, we used to think the same way about this daughter-in-law."

But lately, I've been feeling like something's not quite right.

Many of Lü Lan's actions seem somewhat fake, giving the impression of being pretentious.

She herself is probably different from what she portrays.

Empress Ma nodded and said, "That's normal. Most people are multifaceted; they have one face in public and another in private."

Show different faces to different people.

understand.

It's impossible to expect someone to be perfect or to demand perfection from them.

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "She can really pretend for a lifetime, and if she continues like this, it would be excellent."

The fear is that after she's kept up this act for a while, she won't be able to resist and will resort to some underhanded tactics.

"Competing for favor and rising to power!"

Upon hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, Empress Ma's expression immediately became solemn.

"She wouldn't dare! With you and me here, how could she dare to do such a thing?"

This time, Empress Ma unusually lost her serene demeanor.

As the mistress of the harem, the founding empress displayed her majesty.

"Looks like we need to give her a little talking-to!"

Zhu Yuanzhang stopped her, saying, "Sister, don't rush, you can't do that."

These are just my feelings, and shouldn't be taken seriously.

I think we should remain calm and do things our own way.

Then, keep a close watch on the East Palace and be extra vigilant.

If my intuition is correct, she will eventually slip up.

It's not too late to take action against them when that time comes.

"It's easy to talk to Biao'er. If we're wrong, we can clear her name."

Empress Ma nodded upon hearing this and said, "Then I will listen to Chongba."

This method is indeed prudent; if the Lü family truly harbored such intentions, they would certainly reveal their true colors.

It's best to seize upon such people's weaknesses and eliminate them completely in one fell swoop to prevent future troubles.

Giving her a warning might only alert her and make her more cautious in the future.

If you're a thief for a thousand days, how can you guard against thieves for a thousand days?
Furthermore, if Lady Lü truly had no such intentions, it would be quite unfair of me to give her a warning beforehand.

It can also easily lead to unpleasantness between Biao'er and the eldest son's wife.

It's still more prudent for Chongba to remain calm and composed at this moment...

……

"The navy prepared against Japanese pirates is indeed formidable."

"Although the Yangtze River here and the one over in the capital are the same, the scenery is quite different."

Inside the naval fortress for defending against Japanese pirates, Zhu Di stood at the bow of a ship, commenting on the surrounding scenery with a composed expression.

Wu Zhong attended to him, speaking up and introducing the scenery, fulfilling his duties as a host.

However, compared to Zhu Di's composure, he was much more reserved.

He even seemed somewhat absent-minded.

"Your Highness, what brings you here today?"

After traveling for a while, when they were about to reach the naval headquarters for defending against Japanese pirates, Wu Zhong finally couldn't help but ask a question.

"It has been a while since I last saw you, Sanjiang. I missed you terribly, so I asked my father for a favor and came to see you."

Zhu Di spoke up, his tone very sincere.

"It is truly a blessing for the Three Rivers region to have Your Highness on our side."

Even after leaving the main hall, I often thought of the princes.

He said this, but in his heart he didn't believe Zhu Di at all.

"Of course, there are also some errands to run along the way."

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhong's spirits lifted, knowing that the main event was about to begin.

"My father was furious about the Japanese pirates' invasion of Laizhou. He said he wanted me to come and see what the Japanese pirate-prepared navy was doing!"
With so many people receiving such large amounts of grain and salary from the imperial court, it's understandable that they haven't been able to resolve the Japanese pirate problem.

Now, they've even allowed Japanese pirates to invade Laizhou and commit such a heinous crime!

Let me see for him whether the Japanese-prepared navy is a complete waste.

Was it a navy prepared against Japanese pirates, or a navy that was being attacked by them?

Zhu Di's expression turned serious, and his tone of voice changed.

It's as if they're imitating the tone the emperor used when he said those words.

Wu Zhong, and the men of the surrounding naval forces preparing against the Japanese pirates, couldn't help but change their expressions.

"The Japanese naval forces did a really bad job this time; they made a huge mess of things."

Summon all the officers and commanders of the naval forces responsible for defending against Japanese pirates to the naval headquarters. I, on behalf of my father, want to ask them this very question."

These words were spoken to Wu Zhong.

His expression softened considerably.

Wu Zhong clasped his hands in acceptance of the order and instructed Li Zhu to carry it out.

"Act as the prince commands, and ensure that all officers are present within one hour!"

Seeing that Li Zhu hesitated, Wu Zhong emphasized his tone slightly.

Li Zhu then accepted the order and left...

……

"This garden is nice; let's talk here for a while."

Upon arriving at the Naval Defense Headquarters, Zhu Di did not rest in the main hall, but instead had Wu Zhong show him around.

We stopped in a garden with a wide view.

The guards belonging to Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan, stood watch at a distance on the edge.

"Sanjiang, you are about to face a great calamity. I have come here to save you."

Seeing that there was no one else around, Zhu Di's voice lowered and became solemn.

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhong's heart skipped a beat.

Forced a smile, he tried to appear natural and said, "Your Highness, you're joking. I haven't done anything wrong, so how could I be in deep trouble?"

“You really didn’t do anything.” Zhu Di nodded. “But your father and your uncle did.”

It was bad enough that the pirates invaded Laizhou, but they even secretly stole and sold a large ship worth two thousand liang to the pirates, colluding with them.

Although you didn't do these things, as their son, how can you remain unscathed?

"This... Your Highness, my uncle and my father were unaware of this matter. It was someone under their command who was incredibly audacious and did it on their own."

Wu Zhong quickly spoke up to explain.

Even though he had mentally prepared himself before meeting Zhu Di, the awe he had developed from studying at the Dabentang Academy over the long term quickly took over when he actually saw Zhu Di.

"Sanjiang, do you believe this? Do I believe it? And would my father believe it?"

A two-thousand-ton ship is no small matter; you can't just stuff it into your clothes and no one will see it.

Such a large ship could have been built without the personal intervention and secret assistance of two marquises.

"How could it be possible to transport goods from the Longjiang Shipyard to the sea undetected and hand them over to pirates?"

Zhu Di stared intently at Wu Zhong, refusing to yield an inch.

Sweat was already beading on Wu Zhong's forehead.

I was extremely panicked.

According to the message sent by Li Zhu, his father, this matter would at most stop with Liu Dabao and Chang Jinshu, and would not involve his father or uncle.

Even if the emperor knew that his father and his family were behind these actions, he would pretend not to know and would not actually break off relations.

But now... the Prince of Yan has said such things?
In his panic, he was about to speak up and explain.

But Zhu Di did not give him a chance to speak.

He risked coming here alone, intending to take control of the situation at the Japanese naval base, capture the key figures, and carry out a decapitation strike.

Whether it succeeds or not depends on Wu Zhong.

He must press his advantage, strike hard, and break Wu Zhong's spirit, throwing him into disarray and making him work for him.

“If the two marquises had only done this much, my father would certainly not have been so angry and so unforgiving.”

They would believe that they were unaware of the theft and sale of the ships.

But what they shouldn't have done was deceive my father about the Maritime Trade Office.

My father ordered the Maritime Trade Office to be shut down, as they were colluding with pirates and merchants.

They divided up all of the more than 20 million strings of cash in profits that belonged to the Maritime Trade Office each year!

Our Great Ming Dynasty is facing financial difficulties and is short of money.

The annual expenditure of at least 20 million strings of cash is of immense value to our Great Ming Dynasty. You, Sanjiang, know this without me even having to explain.

Now, all of these have been divided up!

As my father's trusted general, entrusted with important responsibilities by my father, he has committed such a despicable act.

Tell me, as the son of the Marquis of Jinghai, aren't you facing imminent disaster?!

Zhu Di's tone and pace became rapid, his voice growing increasingly heavy and authoritative.
Wu Zhong was startled and shocked, his mind reeling!
He truly had no idea that his father and uncle had secretly done such a thing!
The fact that they sold ships to pirates is shocking enough.

His father explained this by saying it was to balance the power at sea.

This explanation, though somewhat far-fetched, is still passable.

How could they collude with pirates and merchants to divide up a large portion of the Maritime Trade Office's wealth?
If someone were to do such a thing, it would truly be a heinous crime!
How could my own father do such a thing?!

"No, Your Highness, you're wrong!"

Wu Zhong, whose face was pale and whose breathing became rapid, seemed to have suddenly thought of something.

Raise your voice to refute.

"The Maritime Trade Office doesn't make any money at all. At most, it only earns 10,000 strings of cash a year. Where did it come from, more than 20 million strings of cash?"

Why doesn't the Maritime Trade Office make money?

It wasn't a large sum of money that was divided up by pirates, merchants, the two marquises, and other related people.
To facilitate smuggling and fear that the imperial court would find out about the secret, they were even unwilling to keep the already unprofitable Maritime Trade Office.

He managed to deceive his father and abolish it.

If it weren't for my father, the Emperor, recently reviewing all the records of the Yuan Dynasty's Maritime Trade Office, he would have had no idea how much money the Maritime Trade Office could actually make!

He had no idea that the two marquises had secretly accomplished something truly extraordinary!
If it were just an ordinary matter, given the merits of the two marquises, would my father have bothered to get so angry?

Sanjiang, I know you've also taken some actions here.

They wanted to take people and escape into the sea.

They had even planned to keep me here as a hostage to facilitate their decision to sail out to sea.

Wu Zhong's heart pounded wildly!

In that instant, I had an urge to flee a thousand miles away immediately, or to capture Zhu Di right away!

My legs felt weak.

In his view, these were things that were extremely well hidden and of great importance, yet His Highness the Prince of Yan already knew about them?

"I do not have."

As if he had used all his strength, he finally managed to utter a sentence.

But his voice sounded unusually dry and weak.

"But I still came, because I knew that you, Sanjiang, couldn't escape!"

Zhu Di ignored Wu Zhong's words and continued speaking.

"The Chaohu Navy has laid a tight net and will not give you any chance to escape."

The Japanese naval forces were already inferior to those of the Chaohu naval forces, and with the Marquis of Jinghai absent, they were leaderless and disorganized.

How many people can you lead with your position in Sanjiang?
If they could really break through the naval blockade at Chaohu Lake, they could really escape to the sea.
Even if you really escaped to the sea, without the Marquis of Jinghai in charge, how many of those loyal to the Marquis of Jinghai would obey you, someone who has only been in the Japanese naval forces for a few months?

The kindness of our parents will eventually be exhausted.

Therefore, even if you come to the sea, you still have no way to survive!
Sanjiang, we studied together in the main hall for more than five years.

Although I am a prince and you are the son of a marquis, our statuses are different.

However, after more than five years, they have enjoyed each other's company very much.

They weren't blood brothers, but they were much closer than ordinary friends.

I know what kind of person you are, Sanjiang, and I also know your character.

I know that you are also a person with ideals, ambitions, a strong sense of righteousness, and a desire to see the prosperity of my Ming Dynasty.

Unwilling to do anything to harm or betray the Ming Dynasty, they became the most despised people in the past.

So, here I am.

I don't want to see you, Sanjiang, take your own life; I don't want to see you, Sanjiang, become the kind of person you hate most.

These are the mistakes of our parents, and you, Sanjiang, should not have to bear them.

I have come to offer you, Sanjiang, another path, so that you may endure some painful suffering.

When my father offered sacrifices to Heaven in the southern suburbs, he said that he had a dream.

This dream is also my dream.

It is also the dream of many people in the Ming Dynasty, and it is also the dream of you, the fine men of Sanjiang!

Xiongguan Mandao is really like iron, and now it has started from scratch.

Sanjiang, how could you bear to betray the Ming Dynasty and leave us, your friends?

"At a time when the Ming Dynasty is rising and needs people like us to work for it, why choose to betray it?"

Zhu Di's voice became increasingly sincere, touching people's hearts.

He stared intently at Wu Zhong, refusing to look away even an inch.

Wu Zhong's expression kept changing after hearing Zhu Di's words.

Clearly, he was going through a fierce internal struggle.

Upon seeing this, Zhu Di reached out and unfastened the sword from his waist, holding it with both hands and presenting it to Wu Zhong.

He sighed and said, "I know Sanjiang's difficulties, and I understand your choice, Sanjiang."

Take this sword, draw it, and hold it to my neck.

Use me as a hostage and get out of here.

With me in command, those men in the Chaohu Navy dare not act rashly.

I can guarantee your safe departure from Sanjiang.

This is the last thing I can do for you, Sanjiang, considering we've known each other for so many years and were classmates.

After Zhu Di finished speaking, he closed his eyes, appearing as if he would let Wu Zhong do as he pleased.

Wu Zhong, his expression constantly shifting, looked at the sword that Zhu Di presented to him.

Then look at Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan, who is silent with his eyes closed and completely unprepared.

Stunned and lost in thought, he remained silent.

In an extremely oppressive silence, after a long while, he suddenly took a deep breath.

It seemed like they had made up their minds.

He reached out and grabbed the sword from Zhu Di's hand!

Qiu Fu, the commander of the guards of the Prince of Yan, who was standing guard in the distance, changed his expression drastically!

My heart jumped into my throat!

(End of this chapter)