Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

Chapter 199 What?! Biao'er died before becoming emperor?! Chongba, an old man, outlived his son?!

"Chongba, where's our Biao'er? How many years has our Biao'er been emperor?"

In the Kunning Palace, just as Zhu Yuanzhang was about to steer the conversation back to the messes Zhu Yunwen had made and the events surrounding the fourth prince's rebellion, Empress Ma's voice rang out once again.

They inquired about the Crown Prince Zhu Biao.

Upon hearing his sister's words, Zhu Yuanzhang's heart skipped a beat.

What he fears most is his own sister asking this question!

My own daughter is so sensitive and so smart!
Even though she had tried her best to steer the conversation toward Zhu Yunwen.

But his own sister had already noticed a lot of things in this short period of time.

"Is it because Biao'er... didn't reign as emperor for very long?"

Upon seeing Zhu Yuanzhang, he opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word for a moment.

Empress Ma immediately brought it up, her heart sinking slightly.

Sometimes, you don't need to say much; you can guess a lot from Chongba's subtle reactions.

It's worth noting that her question about how many years her son, Biao'er, had been emperor was not unfounded.

According to Chongba, Xiong Ying did not become emperor; it was Zhu Yunwen who became emperor.

After Zhu Yunwen became emperor, he implemented a policy of reducing the power of the princes, and his fourth son even rebelled.

At this point, the fourth son should not be particularly old.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to handle a rebellion.

According to Chongba, he lived until the thirty-first year of the Hongwu reign, reaching the age of seventy-one.

Under these circumstances, I fear my son Biao'er's lifespan won't be long, and he won't be emperor for more than a few years.

Seeing the change in Chongba's expression at this moment, Empress Ma immediately realized that her guess was true.

As expected, Biao'er did not remain emperor for long.

When Chongba became the King of Wu, he made Biao'er his heir.

Immediately after ascending the throne, he made Biao'er the crown prince.

Chongba was certain and never wavered about Biao'er being his successor.

However, the successor whom Chongba had carefully groomed actually died after only two years as emperor.

How can this not be regrettable and heartbreaking?
Not to mention, Biao'er is her own son, and she values ​​him just as much.

If Biao'er hadn't died so young, the chaos of Zhu Yunwen's reduction of the power of the princes probably wouldn't have happened...

"Sister, Biao'er... Biao'er didn't become emperor."

He...he went ahead of us.

Zhu Yuanzhang looked at his sister, hesitated for a while, and finally decided to tell her the truth.

what? !

When Empress Ma heard what Zhu Yuanzhang said, she was completely stunned and utterly bewildered.

It felt like being hit hard.

Her heart was already heavy, and at this moment it sank even further to the bottom.

How could this be?
How could this be worse than the worst-case scenario I imagined?!

The worst-case scenario he imagined was that his son, Biao'er, would die a few years after becoming emperor.

But the truth was... he actually passed away before Chongba!
How... how could this be?

How could he die so young?!

His own lifespan was shorter than he had imagined!
"Chongba, what... what's going on?"

Why did Biao'er leave so early?

Empress Ma was somewhat incoherent.

Zhu Yuanzhang held Empress Ma's hand tightly and comforted her, "Sister, don't get excited, don't rush."

These things happened in my past life, and of course they won't happen again in this life.

Let me tell you about it!

Zhu Yuanzhang emphasized this point, which greatly relieved Empress Ma.

It's a bit like having a nightmare, then suddenly waking up to find it was all a dream, and the things in the dream weren't the kind of surprises that actually happened.

"Okay, I'm not excited, go ahead."

Empress Ma took two deep breaths to calm herself down before looking at Zhu Yuanzhang and speaking.

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Sister, our Biao'er died in the twenty-fifth year of Hongwu."

The 25th year of the Hongwu reign?!
Does this mean that Biao'er only lived to be thirty-eight?

This is too young!
"Zhongba, how did Biao'er die?" Empress Ma's voice unconsciously became serious when she asked this question.

He also exudes an aura of authority without needing to be angry.

A mother's heart is connected to her son's, especially since her son, Biao'er, was passing away at this time. He was her eldest son and the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty!
It's clear that if Zhu Yuanzhang heard from him who was plotting against Crown Prince Zhu Biao and who had taken such drastic measures, he would understand.

Empress Ma will definitely erupt.

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Sister, Biao'er died of a cold."

"A cold?!"

Empress Ma, who was prepared to lash out, was stunned upon hearing this result.

"Zhongba, you...you're not wrong, are you?"

Every year, colds claim many lives, a fact that Empress Ma was well aware of.

The vast majority of those who die from colds are from poor families who have no money for treatment and can only tough it out on their own.

Even while they were sick, they still couldn't get enough to eat or wear.

Ke Biao'er is the crown prince, so he will naturally have no worries about food and clothing.

As for seeing a doctor, that's naturally not a problem either.

The people in the Imperial Medical Academy are not just for show.

But now, it turns out that Biao'er has been killed by a mere cold...

"Girl, it really is a cold, but that can only be considered a contributing factor."

A cold was the direct cause of Biao'er's death, but not the root cause.

The root cause is that our Biao is too tired, and we've given him too many tasks.

And our Biao'er is a strong-willed person by nature. He's a very responsible and righteous person, and he's so sensible!
In my past life, in the thirteenth year of the Hongwu reign, we abolished the position of Prime Minister and the Secretariat.

Let these six departments report directly to us.

Even without the prime minister and the Secretariat, the workload did not decrease; people still had to do the work.

In other words, my son and I, in addition to the duties that the emperor and crown prince were originally supposed to do, also took over the duties of the prime minister and even the entire Secretariat.

We're fine, and full of energy.

I think we can handle it, and Biao'er can handle it too.

Biao'er is even younger than us.

But... we later learned that not everyone is as energetic as we are.

We're the odd ones out; most people need plenty of rest and shouldn't overwork themselves.

If you follow our pace, most people won't be able to keep up.

Even if we had given Biao an extra hour of rest every day in our past lives, it still wouldn't have worked.

Long-term hard work, coupled with numerous national and family affairs, has left our Biao'er physically and mentally exhausted, causing him to lose his health.

Not only was he burdened with official duties, but his brothers were also a source of worry.

Especially that bastard, the second son.

In the twenty-fourth year of the Hongwu reign, we received news that the second prince had done many more outrageous things.

We ordered Deng to be executed.

In addition, we plan to take a look at Luoyang and Guanzhong to see if they are still suitable as capital cities. If they are, we plan to move the capital there.

So, let Biao take a look for us.

At the same time, it was also to get Biao'er to personally bring back that beast, Lao Er.

After this trip, Biao'er fell ill and caught a cold..."

When he said this, Zhu Yuanzhang was filled with remorse.

If only I hadn't done that in my past life.

My son Biao wouldn't have died before me at such a young age.

Perhaps the Ming Dynasty itself could lead to a completely different path.

"After Biao'er caught a cold, we immediately sent people from the Imperial Hospital to treat him."

But as a result, no matter how they tried to treat it, it couldn't be cured.

In the end... in the end, after being sick for several months, our Biao passed away, leaving us behind..."

Zhu Yuanzhang's voice involuntarily became low and deep.

Scenes from his past life flashed before his eyes, incredibly clear and unforgettable.

Especially in the final moments, seeing her beloved Biao'er so terminally ill, and after Biao'er passed away, lying there unresponsive no matter how she called him... she personally officiated at his funeral...

These things are truly heartbreaking!

Although I know that I will never let this happen again after I am reborn.

Unable to contain her grief, her eyes reddened and her voice became slightly nasal.

"Girl, we really deserve to die! We really shouldn't have given you such a heavy burden."

We didn't expect it to turn out this way.

From this perspective, it's our fault, girl!

We've let Biao down, and we've let you down too!

“Chongba, don’t be like this, Chongba! You only meant well.”

Anyone can see how much you love Biao'er. You do this so that Biao'er can grow up quickly, receive good training, and do a good job as emperor in the future.

Who would have thought this would happen?
Besides, isn't this something that happened in a past life?

"We've started over in this life. Biao'er is still here, there's still plenty of time, everything can be done!"

Empress Ma held Zhu Yuanzhang's hand tightly and embraced him closely.

Now it was her turn to comfort Zhu Yuanzhang.

Empress Ma knew all too well how much her son, Chongba, doted on Biao'er.

And how much effort has been poured into Biao'er?

But now, his own son, Biao'er, has died because of this.

It's hard to describe how Zhu Yuanzhang, as a father, felt.

This kind of discomfort cannot be described in words.

"Girl, you're right, girl, those are things you experienced in your past life."

If we could start over in this life, we certainly wouldn't let Biao'er go down the same old path!

No one can take the prize away from us again before it's even taken away!

Zhu Yuanzhang wiped away his tears forcefully and spoke in a firm voice.

At the same time, I felt somewhat ashamed.

He was worried that his younger sister would be heartbroken and unable to bear hearing about Biao'er's situation.

But who would have thought that I would behave like this at this moment?

"So, Chongba, you're having Biao'er teach him the Eight Vajra Skills every day, and you're also making sure Biao'er gets more rest than before, so you're always careful not to let him get too tired and to ensure he gets a good rest. Is that why?"

At this moment, Empress Ma suddenly understood many things.

Now I understand why my son, Chongba, has undergone such a significant transformation.

Especially in the matter of benchmarking, it doesn't seem like the style of the previous Chongba.

So that's why!

"Yes, sister, we absolutely cannot repeat the mistakes we made before!"

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded vigorously.

Empress Ma nodded vigorously.

"I will definitely not go down the same old path again! Your experience, Chongba, is truly unprecedented."

And since you care so much about Biao'er, under these circumstances, Biao'er will definitely be fine.

"From now on, I will surely be able to inherit the throne from you peacefully and steadily, and I will not disappoint your expectations. I will manage the Ming Dynasty exceptionally well."

At this moment, Empress Ma had some other thoughts.

That was his own son, Chongba. After returning home, he quickly encouraged his fifth son to study medicine, and later even set aside a portion of his money to support the Imperial Medical Academy.

We recruited outstanding physicians from all over the country to join the Imperial Medical Academy.

They also began building a medical school to train more people who love medicine.

Besides the fact that Chongba witnessed various miraculous medical techniques hundreds of years later and saw the extent to which medicine could advance, a large part of the reason was probably also related to the successive deaths of so many people such as Biao'er, Tiande, and Xiong Ying.

“Zhongba, do you think there were other reasons for Biao’er’s death?

Just like the eldest daughter-in-law and Xiong Ying, someone is pulling strings behind the scenes, trying to kill Biao'er.

Or perhaps this person is a member of the Lü family, or some kind of scholar?

Empress Ma suddenly looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and said these words with a serious expression.

Empress Ma would never have thought of such things or harbored such dark thoughts.

But the eldest son's wife, Xiong Ying, was harmed like this.

Now, my own son, Biao'er, also passed away a long time ago due to a cold.

She couldn't help but think about it.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head and said, "Sister, you are right to think this way."

We later had some doubts about this matter, and there was a similar saying in modern times.

It is said that Biao'er was secretly harmed by the Lü family or some civil officials.

The reason we did this is because those people want to retaliate and are unwilling to be suppressed by us so ruthlessly.

Although our Biao'er was taught by Song Lian and others from a young age, it can be said that he was greatly influenced by Confucianism.

However, Biao'er is getting old after all, and besides, he's not the kind of fool who can't distinguish right from wrong and can be manipulated by others.

It will not allow Confucianism to do whatever it wants.

It was precisely because they realized these things that those people couldn't help but take action against Biao'er.

These worthless literati want their Confucianism to revive faster, to achieve instant success.

Compared to Biao'er, an adult with his own ideas, being emperor, it's definitely easier to control and manage those who are younger.

Therefore, they used some means to secretly kill Biao'er and make Zhu Yunwen the emperor.

Later, the series of foolish things that Zhu Yunwen, such a fool, did after becoming emperor seemed to prove this statement to be true.

That guy is really stupid. His position as emperor was made specifically for civil officials and Confucian scholars.

They are mere yes-men of those civil officials.

He believed whatever the civil officials said, even if they said excrement smelled good.

This argument seems reasonable at first glance, but girl, I've thought about this for a long time.

Moreover, these are all things we've personally experienced.

I think this claim can be largely ruled out. This is our Hongwu era; those people wouldn't be so lawless or have such powerful connections.

We believe the biggest reason for Biao'er's death was that he was overworked, physically and mentally exhausted, and under too much pressure, which led to a depletion of his health.
Being in a state of constant tension has severely depleted Biao'er's physical strength.

In the end, he couldn't hold on any longer; the taut string snapped.

Empress Ma nodded upon hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words.

There wasn't much debate on this.

She was just speculating about it and didn't think those people had the ability to do such a thing to Biao'er.

That vicious woman, Lady Lü, should have no suspicion of involvement in Biao'er's affair.

After all, she is already the Crown Princess, and when Biao'er becomes the Emperor, she will be the Empress.

As for her foolish son Zhu Yunwen, he has naturally become Biao'er's eldest son.

After Biao'er's death, Zhu Yunwen will become emperor.

She had no reason to do such a wicked thing again.

"However, sister, although the possibility of this is not high, there is one thing you said that is not wrong."

Those were the civil officials; they were truly audacious and acted recklessly.

It wasn't conspicuous enough at first, but later, after several emperors, it completely reversed the Heavenly Gang.

Look at our Ming Dynasty generals now, aren't they amazing?

Empress Ma nodded and said, "Of course it's powerful."

In the present Ming Dynasty, military officials are valued more than civil officials. In terms of status and power, civil officials cannot even come close.

The Ming Dynasty was generally martial.

"But after this continued for decades or even centuries, things changed. Civil officials became completely dominant, and they started to bully military officers."

Even a hero like Qi Jiguang, an undefeated general and an extremely capable fighter, had to bow down and be subservient when facing civil officials.

They even went so far as to call themselves his lackeys!

Empress Ma was stunned upon hearing this.

This was a sight she had never expected.

"This...doesn't this mean that our Ming Dynasty will end up like the Song Dynasty?"
But Chongba, this doesn't make sense either. You didn't do what Emperor Taizu of Song did—releasing military power over a cup of wine.

They would not be like Zhao Er, who was extremely incompetent, unable to defeat external forces, and instead began to suppress military generals internally.

How could things have turned out like this a hundred years later?

Empress Ma was truly puzzled by this matter.

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Sister, there are many reasons why this happened."

For example, that scoundrel Mingbaozong lost many elite troops and nobles in one battle, severely damaging the military's morale.

However, these are not the most important factors in our view.

The most fundamental reason is that after the world was at peace, there were fewer wars.

There was only one founding war, and that was when military generals shone brightly.

At this time, many military heroes emerged who made outstanding contributions in battle.

However, later on, such opportunities became unavailable.

But civil officials are different. In the future, the imperial examinations will be held, and every three years, a steady stream of people will be drawn to them.

As a result of this ebb and flow, military generals naturally became weaker and military officials became more numerous, ultimately leading to this situation.

Upon hearing what Chongba said, Empress Ma felt as if she had suddenly understood.

The way my own son, Chongba, summarized this matter is truly unique and insightful.

This was something I had never thought about before.

"Girl, the arrogance and domineering nature of this civil official group doesn't stop there."

They dare not, and cannot, lay a hand on the crown prince of our Great Ming Dynasty.

But do you know how arrogant these people will be a hundred years from now?

"How outrageous! Could it be that they've made a move against the Crown Prince?"

Empress Ma revealed her biggest guess.

"It's not just the crown prince; it's that they killed the emperor!"

Empress Ma: ? ? ? !!!
(End of this chapter)