Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

Chapter 226 The Emperor is Quietly Watching You

"Father, what exactly is going on?"

How did it suddenly become like this?

Zhu Xian rushed home, looked at his father and asked him questions, his heart filled with anxiety and surprise.

The plan was for his father to go to Guangzhou to oversee the overall situation, guard against the southwest, and prepare for future attacks on the southwest.

How come it's suddenly Feng Sheng now?
Where is my own father?

Upon hearing this news, Zhu Xian felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

He couldn't have been happier after learning this news from his father.

Sometimes, just thinking about it makes me so excited that I can't sleep at night, and I walk with a gust of wind.

I felt that life was full of sunshine and that the future was bright.

At times, he even considered himself a future duke.

Who would have thought that I would suddenly receive such news today?

For him, it was a complete shock!
This completely baffled Zhu Xian.

Zhu Xian was originally playing with Hu Tianci and others, but after hearing this news, he lost all interest in playing.

He quickly said he had an upset stomach and needed to go home.

I rushed back all the way because I wanted to find my father as soon as possible to ask him about this matter and confirm it.

Zhu Liangzu's face was extremely ugly, darker than the bottom of a pot, so gloomy it looked like it could drip water.

In front of him was a teacup, smashed to pieces.

He has been sitting here for quite some time.

But no maids or servants came to tidy up.

Not wanting, but not dare.

At this time, the Marquis was truly terrifying, making people hesitant to appear before him for fear of incurring his wrath.

If the Marquis really grabs you and chops you with a knife, there's no one to reason with; you're just dead.

Zhu Liangzu attended the morning court session today and received firsthand information, much earlier than Zhu Xian.

Like Zhu Xian, Zhu Liangzu's mood has also been soaring recently.

I felt this was a sure thing, that it would definitely be me, and that nothing unexpected could happen.

Under these circumstances, they suddenly heard the emperor announce in court that Feng Sheng would be sent to Guangzhou to work, and that Tang He would be transferred to Feng Sheng's original location to replace him.

He felt as if thunder had struck him.

I was completely stunned, and the disappointment in my heart reached its peak at that moment.

He knew almost nothing about what happened after that; the only thing that echoed in his mind was the appointment.

I felt completely out of it, and the sense of loss and distress was indescribable.

Even now, he hasn't calmed down.

Zhu Xian's reaction upon hearing this news was still like this.

It's easy to imagine how he, as the person involved, would react.

"I want to know what happened! How the hell would I know what happened?!"

Zhu Liangzu said angrily.

He was furious at the time, and he didn't give his son a kind look.

Zhu Xian, who had been rushing about, immediately shrank back.

He visibly calmed down considerably and was no longer as impatient as before.

"Father, could there be something fishy about this?"
It seems like it should be Dad who does all the work.

Why was Feng Sheng transferred there all of a sudden?
Moreover, Tang He was sent to replace Feng Sheng.

What was the emperor really thinking?

This is completely different from what I expected!

Zhu Liangzu felt a bellyful of anger with nowhere to vent it.

After hearing what his son said, he still wanted to argue back.

But when the words were about to come out, he took a few deep breaths and forcefully suppressed his emotions, his voice softening considerably.

"I don't know either. The emperor didn't give any warning and just appointed Feng Sheng as his general. He didn't mention me at all."

I still haven't been assigned any position!
Zhu Yuanzhang didn't give anyone a chance to discuss this matter at all.

Zhu Liangzu's expression was extremely unpleasant.

As he said this, he couldn't help but clench his fists tightly, and the veins on the back of his hands bulged.

"Zhu Hongwu was biased; I think he just wanted to promote Tang He."

That's why I did all these things!

Zhu Xian spoke these words through gritted teeth, filled with boundless resentment.

Zhu Liangzu didn't speak again, but judging from his expression and the way he seemed to hate the heavens and the earth, as if he wanted to tear a hole in the sky.

This shows that he agrees with what his son said.

"Father, how about... how about you go and see Hu Weiyong again?"

Ask Hu Weiyong what exactly happened.

He had initially discussed this with his father, but now that such a huge accident has occurred, he can't stand idly by; he has to give an explanation!

Zhu Liangzu nodded after hearing his son Zhu Xian's words.

“You’re right, we have to find Hu Weiyong about this and get an explanation from him to see what really happened!”
He gave me hope, and then suddenly it all vanished. How does that make sense?

Zhu Liangzu was filled with resentment; all the admiration he had previously held for Hu Weiyong had vanished by this moment.

Instead, it turned into a lot of dissatisfaction, and even resentment.

"I'll go find him right now!"

Once such thoughts arose in his mind, Zhu Liangzu couldn't bear it for even a moment longer and was unwilling to wait any longer.

He then stood up, straightened his clothes slightly, and strode out, heading straight for Hu Weiyong…

"What a load of bull! He's utterly useless. He thought he was capable, but this is all he's got?!"

After Zhu Liangzu left, Zhu Xian couldn't help but start cursing.

They directly attacked Hu Weiyong.

While cursing Hu Weiyong, he also lost the desire to go out and play with Hu Tianci again.

Lately, I've been pampering Hu Tianci in every way, letting this idiot play with me, which is exhausting for him and makes him feel disgusted.

I used to think Hu Weiyong was quite capable and worth befriending, so I could tolerate doing things that disgusted me.

But now that he's discovered Hu Weiyong is such a scoundrel, why should he keep fawning over someone like Hu Tianci?

……

Did Zhu Liangzu do it?

Upon hearing this news, Hu Weiyong was not surprised at all.

He knew Zhu Liangzu would come looking for him.

However, unlike Zhu Liangzu's fury, Hu Weiyong appeared quite calm and composed.

This matter is not directly related to his interests, and may even be beneficial to him, so he can naturally have this mindset.

He got up and went outside to personally greet Zhu Liangzu.

As he crossed the threshold, the smile and nonchalant expression on his face vanished without a trace.

He looked like he was in a heavy mood.

"Marquis of Yongjia".

He looked at Zhu Liangzu and spoke first.

Zhu Liangzu was originally furious, wishing he could twist Hu Weiyong's head off.

But when they actually met Hu Weiyong, they could only suppress these emotions and dared not actually do it.

After all, the other party is the Prime Minister. If he were to actually twist his head off, the impact would be enormous, and he wouldn't expect to get away with anything afterward.

Their heads would definitely be twisted off by the emperor.

No matter who it is or what their status is, anyone who dares to do such a thing at this time will only face death.

"Prime Minister Hu."

Zhu Liangzu nodded, his voice and attitude much colder than when he had met Hu Weiyong before.

Hu Weiyong seemed completely oblivious to all of this.

"Lord Yongjia, come this way."

As he spoke, he personally led the way.

Zhu Liangzu didn't say much and followed Hu Weiyong.

Before long, they arrived at a house.

"This matter is my fault; I spoke recklessly beforehand."

He spoke eloquently with the Marquis of Yongjia before, but when it came down to it, such a big deviation occurred.

"It's all my fault. Marquis Yongjia is upset and blames me; I admit it."

After Hu Weiyong took his seat, he personally poured tea for Zhu Liangzu and said the following words.

His attitude was very proper; he admitted his mistakes when he should, without the slightest air of a prime minister.

Zhu Liangzu, a man who came from the sofa in the army, has a personality that is somewhat resilient to strong opponents and doesn't respond well to force.

Hearing Hu Weiyong's words, his anger subsided considerably.

He did not continue to criticize Hu Weiyong.

"Prime Minister Hu meant well. Seeing that I was idle in the capital and had nowhere to go, he explained things to me."

Moreover, Hu Xiang's analysis at the time made a lot of sense to me. Hu Xiang only discussed this matter with me; the one who actually made the decision was not Hu Xiang, and we cannot really blame Hu Xiang for all of this.

I, Zhu Liangzu, am not an ungrateful person.

If we don't blame Hu Weiyong, then who else can we blame?
Zhu Liangzu didn't say it, but the two people present understood.

"Now that you say that, I feel even more ashamed."

I really couldn't help with this.

If I didn't tell you these things, you could be more at peace with yourself.

Now that this has happened, it is truly my fault.

Hu Weiyong was pleased inside, but outwardly he admitted his mistake.

With just a few words, he had already got Zhu Liangzu under his control.

It is evident that he had already made corresponding preparations regarding Zhu Liangzu's personality and how to deal with him.

Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to handle things so effortlessly like I do now.

He easily transferred Zhu Liangzu's resentment towards him to the emperor.

"Actually, I wasn't wrong at the beginning."

It really is going exactly as I guessed; the emperor is indeed planning to transfer you, Marquis of Yongjia, to Guangzhou to oversee things.

Xu Da, Deng Yu, Li Wenzhong, Feng Sheng, and others all have things to do. Of the remaining people, you, Marquis of Yongjia, are the most suitable.

Hu Weiyong lowered his voice, as if he wanted to say something behind closed doors.

These words immediately made Zhu Liangzu's gaze sharpen, and he was deeply moved.

Sure enough, by coming to see Hu Weiyong, one could obtain some inside information from him.

This matter is indeed not as simple as I suspected.

"Was it Feng Sheng or Tang He who tampered with things?"

He looked at Hu Weiyong and asked a question.

He prefers Tang He.

After all, Tang He had been following Zhu Yuanzhang for a long time, and he was Zhu Yuanzhang's henchman, very loyal to him.

His status with Zhu Yuanzhang was even higher than that of Xu Da.

However, to date, Tang He has not been granted the title of Duke.

This was mainly because when Tang He led his troops to attack Ming Yuzhen of the Xia Dynasty, who occupied Shu, he did not do a good job as the commander-in-chief and his poor command almost caused a disaster.

Therefore, when it came time to reward those who had contributed, Tang He only received the title of Marquis, not Duke.

Of course, some people speculate that another reason why Zhu Yuanzhang granted Tang He a marquisate was to use Tang He to suppress the discontent of many others who had been granted marquisates.

Even with Tang He's merits and his relationship with the emperor, he was still not granted the title of Duke.

So many people who were granted the title of Marquis and felt that they had made great contributions and should be granted the title of Duke would have nothing to say.

Even with Tang He in charge, Liao Yongzhong was still dissatisfied that he could not be granted the title of Duke.

Later, they caused even more trouble.

This seems to confirm the claim.

However, almost no one doubted that Tang He would be granted the title of Duke in the future.

On the one hand, Tang and his seniority are truly impressive.

He played with Zhu Chongba naked since he was a child, and even when Zhu Chongba went to join the army, it was Tang He who wrote him a letter to call him over.

If it weren't for Tang He, Zhu Chongba, that beggar, might not have achieved his current status.

Tang He himself was capable, though not as good as Xu Da and Chang Yuchun, but not too bad either.

With these things in place, even if Zhu Yuanzhang had the opportunity to promote him in the future, he would have promoted him to the position of Duke.

It's impossible that Tang He was left out.

It's perfectly normal to do this at this time.

His resentment and anger had somewhat subsided.

If it was to make way for Tang He, then it would be understandable why he was treated this way by the emperor.

It's not that he was being unfair; after all, Tang He had been working for Zhu Yuanzhang for a long time.

"It's neither Tang He nor Feng Sheng."

Was my thinking wrong?
Zhu Liangzu seemed surprised by Hu Weiyong's words.

"What happened?"

Zhu Liangzu inquired.

"It was Crown Prince Zhu Biao who said that the Marquis of Yongjia was not suitable for this position."

The responsibility of being stationed in Guangzhou to defend the southwest, and to attack the southwest in the future, is of great importance and concerns the very foundation of the nation.

We need to send reliable people over there to ensure everything goes smoothly.

Therefore, His Majesty changed his mind and made this transfer.

Hu Weiyong lowered his voice even further.

"what?!"

Zhu Liangzu was taken aback, and his mind immediately became unsettled.

Although Hu Weiyong's voice was not loud when he said this, it sounded like thunder to Zhu Liangzu.

This gave him a complete shock.

It was Zhu Biao?
Did he ruin his own plans?
Why does he look down on me like that?!

That one sentence cost him his title of Duke!
He was deeply shaken, and while he was angry and annoyed, he also felt that Hu Weiyong had not lied to him and that what he said was the truth.

This matter is exactly as Hu Weiyong described.

Everyone knows how highly Zhu Biao, this "pig cub," held in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart.

One sentence from him is worth ten thousand sentences from others.

Moreover, Zhu Biao is getting older, and Zhu Yuanzhang intends to involve him in more of the government.

Therefore, in this matter, it would be reasonable for Zhu Yuanzhang to listen to Zhu Biao's advice, make arrangements, and give what originally belonged to him to Feng Sheng, letting Feng Sheng do this task.

Moreover, it was only Zhu Biao who offered such an opinion that made the emperor change his mind so quickly.

No one else can do these things!

Zhu Biao! It was Zhu Biao!

"Thank you, Prime Minister Hu, for informing me of this news. Otherwise, I would still be in the dark!"
Hu Xiang's analysis is correct; someone is interfering, which led to this situation.

Hu Weiyong waved his hand repeatedly, signaling Zhu Liangzu to stop saying that.

He said in a pressured voice, "Let me tell you about this, and you'll know what I'm talking about."

You must not harbor resentment, and you must not say anything disrespectful.

That is the Crown Prince, the future Emperor of our Great Ming Dynasty!

If he wants to make arrangements, then we can only let him make them and obey.

Haven't you noticed that I've been following Your Highness's lead all this time and have never disobeyed you?

That is the emperor, we are his subjects, and even the crown prince is the emperor.

Hu Weiyong offered Zhu Liangzu some kind words of advice.

"What kind of 'lord'? He's just a kid who hasn't even grown all his hair yet!"

"If it weren't for people like us helping his father conquer the country, how could he be a ruler?"

Zhu Liangzu immediately became angry and his words became even more impolite.

Most of these military generals who emerged from chaotic times had a lot of flaws and were unwilling to submit to anyone.

While founding emperors like Zhu Yuanzhang could keep them in check, they subconsciously looked down on the younger generations who followed.

“Be careful what you say! Be careful what you say! Don’t do that, Marquis Yongjia. If you continue like this, I will not dare to associate with you.”

If anything happens to you, don't drag me into it!

Hu Weiyong repeatedly tried to persuade him.

After hearing Hu Weiyong's words, Zhu Liangzu took a deep breath and said:
"What Prime Minister Hu said is right. After all, he is the emperor, and we are his subjects."

Even if they risked their lives and fought to the death back then, they were still subjects.

They could only be manipulated by others, and even if they suffered great injustice and unfair treatment, they could only endure it.

I will remember Prime Minister Hu's kindness.

"I am relieved that you think this way. We should look at things in a positive light, considering your achievements and status."

Even if you don't get anything this time, there will definitely be plans for you in the future; you can't just sit idle forever.

After talking with Hu Weiyong for a while, Zhu Liangzu bid farewell to Hu Weiyong and left.

When he arrived, he was full of dissatisfaction with Hu Weiyong.

As he left, he was still resentful, but he had transferred all of that resentment onto Zhu Biao.

I wish I could kill Zhu Biao with my own hands!
After seeing Zhu Liangzu off, Hu Weiyong returned to his room and sat down in his chair again, once more appearing relaxed and carefree.

It's done!

In fact, his previous words to Zhu Liangzu, analyzing the situation for him, were not in vain.

If the analysis is accurate, then it will naturally win Zhu Liangzu's favor.

If the analysis is inaccurate, things will be more favorable to him.

For example, right now, they've so easily led Zhu Liangzu, a founding marquis, to harbor deep hatred for Zhu Biao.

That pig Zhu Biao dared to seize my power; I'll teach him a lesson he won't forget!
……

About three hours later, a secret letter was delivered to Zhu Yuanzhang's desk...

(End of this chapter)