Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

Chapter 247 What?! He turned his own uncle into roast chicken?!

WTF?

Ten months? Only ten months?
Empress Ma was completely stunned after hearing what Zhu Yuanzhang said.

I was taken aback by this completely unexpected result.

Before this, she had already deduced from the various things that Zhu Gaochi had said that this grandson, who was not yet born and whom she had never met, would not be emperor for long.

But at this moment, when he heard his own son, Chongba, mention the number ten months, he was still shocked.

This is... way too short!

"Girl, how should I put it... it's actually a bit of a surprise that he lived to be over forty before passing away."

The reason is that this kid has never been very healthy since he was a child.

The fourth prince hesitated about whether or not to make him the crown prince, believing that he was in poor health and that his behavior and personality were not like his own.

He felt that his second son, Zhu Gaoxu, resembled him more.

Although he only reigned as emperor for ten months, he had served as regent and crown prince for many years before that.

When the fourth prince was alive, the direction of the Yongle dynasty was in his hands.

Even as the Crown Prince regent, he had to act according to the fourth prince's wishes.

However, in many ways and in many matters, Zhu Gaochi was actually not much different from the emperor.

In this respect, the fourth brother and I are somewhat similar.

They also trusted the crown prince completely and dared to delegate power to him.

Of course, the fourth prince's trust in Zhu Gaochi is not as great as our trust in Biao'er.

After all, from the very beginning, we decided that Biao'er was the crown prince and our successor.

Unlike the fourth son, who would scare his sons whenever he had nothing to do, treating the position of crown prince as a carrot dangling in front of them.

He hesitated quite a bit before making Zhu Gaochi the crown prince…

Upon hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's words, Empress Ma suddenly remembered something.

“Chongba, I remember you told me before that when the fourth prince was about to reach Yingtian during the Jingnan Campaign, he encountered difficulties and said to his second son, Zhu Gaoxu, that the heir apparent was often ill and that you should encourage him.”

He made many contributions during the Jingnan Campaign.

Could it be that something else went wrong behind the scenes?

The crown prince held power but had little prestige in the army, while his second son made outstanding contributions during the Jingnan Campaign.

There will inevitably be many people in the military who support him.

In this situation, things could easily go wrong if not handled properly.

Not to mention, according to Chongba, the fourth son is fond of the second son but dislikes the eldest son.

He also said to the second son, "The heir apparent is often ill; you should encourage him."

Empress Ma had no choice but to care.

"Girl, you're right, this matter has indeed caused some trouble."

His second son was ambitious and always looked down on his eldest brother, harboring ambitions for the position of crown prince.

In addition, the fourth prince is also a wicked fellow. He has been holding onto the position of crown prince and playing tricks on his foolish sons.

That really whetted the appetites of his few foolish sons.

And through this means, they could also sort out the affairs of the imperial court.

We can confirm that the fourth prince did indeed consider making his second son, Zhu Gaochi, the crown prince.

After all, once we ascended the throne, we immediately made my sister empress and appointed Biao'er as crown prince.

But he was not.

It was only some time after he became emperor that he finally established Zhu Gaochi, the original heir of the Prince of Yan, as the crown prince.

During this process, Xie Jin made a very significant remark that played a crucial role.

He said that the good saint Sun Kewang is a great man for three generations.

As for his second son, Zhu Gaochi, after being made crown prince, he was not allowed to take up his fief.

Instead, he spent most of his time in the capital.

His second son also did not give up his ambition for the throne.

Later, he was forced by the fourth prince to go to his fief.

Later, his fiefdom was replaced again, and his power was reduced.

The position of crown prince was ultimately decided upon for the eldest son in his family.

Empress Ma nodded upon hearing this, knowing that the fourth prince would not make a mistake in this matter.

Although he wasn't as decisive and resolute as Chongba, leaving no hope for the court officials and the rest of the children.

From a young age, Biao'er was chosen as the heir, and this decision has never wavered.

But the fact that the fourth brother was able to make all sorts of arrangements shows that he still has the ability to make decisions in this matter.

As parents, they were faced with their own sons, especially their second son who resembled them greatly and had made great contributions during the Jingnan Rebellion, saving their own sons many times.

It's only natural for the fourth brother to hesitate and feel guilty towards him.

Being a parent is difficult; you want to take care of each son, but in reality, it's often hard to do so.

"The fourth prince died on his way back from the campaign. Did Zhu Gaochi cause any trouble?"

Empress Ma looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and asked again, her voice filled with worry.

She has a very good memory and remembers very clearly that Chongba had said before that the fourth prince died on his way back from the northern expedition.

The transfer of imperial power is the most dangerous time, not to mention that the second son of the fourth prince is very capable in battle, comes from a military background, and the fourth prince once told him that the heir apparent is often ill, and that he should encourage him.

If they receive such news, it's hard to remain still.

Once things start moving, if things go wrong, it could easily escalate into armed conflict and fratricide.

The Ming Dynasty is about to face another period of turmoil!
Zhu Yuanzhang gave his sister a thumbs up, saying that his sister was indeed a sister, and she always managed to ask the right questions.

You can deduce a lot from just a few words you say.

"Girl, you're right, there has indeed been some trouble."

However, the trouble wasn't that big.

On the one hand, Zhu Gaochi had been the crown prince for many years and was also the crown prince regent, so he had a lot of power.

Many officials admired him.

Those who followed the fourth brother on his campaigns were also reliable in their work.

Immediately after the death of the fourth prince, news was blocked and sent to Zhu Gaochi, who remained in the capital, by fast horse.

Upon receiving the news, Zhu Gaochi made various urgent arrangements.

For example, he sent his son Zhu Zhanji to receive his grandfather's coffin.

For example, mobilizing troops and imposing martial law on the entire city.

He also mobilized other troops to guard the capital and prevent Zhu Gaochi from rebelling.

At the same time, he adopted a conciliatory approach towards his second brother, granting him official titles and ranks.

By the time Zhu Gaoxu learned of his father's death and tried to take action, it was already too late.

Zhu Gaochi had taken care of everything, leaving no room for error.

So in the end, he did not rebel, but obediently went to the capital to bid farewell to his father and pay respects to his elder brother, who had become the emperor...

After listening to Zhu Yuanzhang's account, Empress Ma nodded in satisfaction.

This is the result she most wanted to see.

Zhu Gaochi was able to serve as the Crown Prince Regent for so many years. In Chongba's words, he treated his father as his General Who Conquers the North. He was indeed capable and resourceful.

The handling of the matter was effortless, the methods gentle yet subtly incisive.

However, it prevented a potentially turbulent situation from arising in the blink of an eye.

This ensured that the country did not descend into chaos, while also taking into account family ties.

There was no dramatic scene of brothers turning against each other before the old father's body was even cold.

That's really impressive. He didn't waste his time as crown prince.

The fourth brother made the right choice in selecting him.

The only pity was that he was in poor health and had a short lifespan.

He was emperor for a mere ten months before he died.

If one could have been an emperor for a longer period of time, many things might have been different.

Zhu Yuanzhang was quite satisfied with this matter, although the fourth prince had not completely resolved the issue and had left a pitfall for his son.

But the pit wasn't actually that big.

Furthermore, Zhu Gaochi was not a useless man like Zhu Yunwen; he was very capable in dealing with such matters, eliminating them before they could even happen and preventing a turmoil.

"Zhu Gaochi reigned for ten months and did a pretty good job, so he was called Emperor Renzong by later generations."

The cabinet system was started by him.

Of course, some say he died young, and that he had always been suppressed by his fourth brother, who was his father, and that his second brother, Zhu Gaoxu, was watching him like a hawk.

He could only wind it up completely, not daring to slack off or make the slightest mistake.

Therefore, they appear humble yet resourceful.

After he became emperor, these pressures disappeared, and he gradually became lax, losing respect for officials and becoming somewhat tyrannical.

If he had been emperor for a few more years, he would have changed and would not have deserved the temple name 'Ren' (仁).

However, all we can say about this is that he was a bit too tyrannical.

There's really no need to be so polite to officials.

Those are people who, even when there are no gaps, still want to squeeze through a huge hole.

If you leave them even the slightest gap, it will be even more disastrous; it might just cause your dam to collapse.

Being kind to officials is not true kindness.

True benevolence lies in treating the people with kindness.

It is indeed a bit too reasonable to speculate about a person based on something that hasn't happened and to assume that he would do something in a certain way.

As a poem goes, "Duke Zhou feared rumors, and Wang Mang was humble and did not usurp the throne."

"If I had died then, who would know the truth of my life?" This is the very principle at play.

Empress Ma agreed with what Zhu Yuanzhang said.

Things really were just as my own Chongba had said.

Empress Ma was completely relieved and no longer worried that the death of the fourth prince would cause a major upheaval during the power transition.

There's no need to worry, like with Chongba, that a rebellion would have occurred after his death.

Comparatively speaking, the fourth prince did a better job in this regard than the eighth prince.

"However, Zhu Zhanji's ascension to the throne was not so smooth either."

Our fourth son moved the capital to Beiping in the nineteenth year of the Yongle reign.

In the same year the capital was moved, the three main halls were destroyed by fire caused by lightning.

Originally, many people were dissatisfied with the relocation of the capital, but after this incident, even more people wanted to move the capital back.

However, they were all kept in check by our fourth son and didn't go back.

In other words, from the time the fourth prince moved the capital to Beiping until his death, only a few short years had passed.

Most of those who miss the old capital and want to go back are still here.

Zhu Gaochi, who became emperor, was one of them.

Zhu Gaochi was not used to the harsh cold of the north. Having lived in Yingtian for many years and served as the Crown Prince Regent for many years, he preferred Yingtian.

Therefore, one of the important things to do after ascending the throne was to move the capital back to its original location.

He first sent his son, the then Crown Prince Zhu Zhanji, to lead the way to Yingtian.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned; Zhu Zhanji died after arriving in Yingtian..."

Empress Ma's heart immediately started racing again.

Originally, it was thought that with Zhu Gaochi's ascension to the throne and Zhu Gaoxu's submission, the matter would be over and things would be stable.

There won't be any more trouble between the brothers.

In a few more years, things will become even more stable.

After that, nothing else happened.

But who could have imagined that Zhu Gaochi would die so soon!

Even more critically, when he died, Crown Prince Zhu Zhanji was not by his side!

Here in Yingtian, a thousand miles away!

That made things dangerous once again.

Ten months ago, the person who needed to succeed to the throne was Zhu Gaochi, the eldest brother, who was also the crown prince who had been overseeing the country for many years and was a very prestigious person.

Zhu Gaoxu naturally wouldn't rebel.

But at this time, his elder brother suddenly passed away, and he would most likely not be so polite to his nephew Zhu Zhanji.

They will also feel a lot of contempt.

Furthermore, since Zhu Zhanji was not in Beiping, the matter became even more delicate.

"The news of Zhu Gaochi's death was sent by people in Beiping to find Zhu Zhanji as quickly as possible and to urge him to return."

Zhu Gaoxu was genuinely excited; after enduring for most of his life, he decided to stop.

They sent men to intercept Zhu Zhanji on his way home, intending to kill him on the way and prevent him from returning to the capital to ascend the throne.

However, due to the haste, the matter was not completed, but Zhu Zhanji still returned to the capital smoothly and inherited the throne.

But Zhu Gaoxu did not stop because of this.
In the first year of the Xuande reign, an earthquake struck Yingtian, and Zhu Gaochi, the Prince of Han, rebelled…

Zhu Yuanzhang said the news that Empress Ma least wanted to hear.

"The story of Zhu Gaoxu's rebellion is also very interesting."

He even secretly tried to win over Zhang Fu, the Duke of Ying, to be his inside man.

At that time, Zhang Fu was a prominent figure in the Ming army, holding a high position and wielding great power. He had long been a high-ranking official and had attacked Annam many times, even accompanying the fourth prince on his expeditions.

He had reached the pinnacle of his position and enjoyed all the honors one could expect.

But this guy accused him of not having any inside help, which shows he's not very bright, so his loss was well-deserved.

Zhang Fu had everything he could want; he had obtained everything a subject could possibly receive.

Even if you succeed in rebelling by following Zhu Gaochi, the Prince of Han, what will you gain?
Can it compare to now?
Therefore, he immediately arrested the person sent by Zhu Gaoxu to contact him and informed Zhu Zhanji of the matter.

Then, persuaded by Xia Yuanji and others, Zhu Zhanji personally led the expedition.

Zhu Gaochi initially appeared quite formidable. However, when Zhu Zhanji led the soldiers of the three major battalions to the vicinity of his fiefdom, this fellow surprisingly backed down.

"Abandoning their many men, they surrendered..."

This sudden turn of events left Empress Ma momentarily stunned.

She was initially worried that something like the Jingnan Rebellion might happen.

Who would have thought it would turn out like this?

However, I also breathed a sigh of relief.

That's good, it avoids a major disaster.

"Zhu Zhanji brought him back to the capital and imprisoned him, but did not do anything more egregious to him."

Empress Ma's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was now completely at ease.

"It must be said that compared to Zhu Yunwen, Zhu Gaochi, and Zhu Zhanji, the treatment of Zhu Gaoxu was quite good."

However, good times don't last forever.

Later, when Zhu Zhanji went to see Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Gaoxu, for reasons unknown, tripped Zhu Zhanji.

Zhu Zhanji was furious, then ordered a large vat to be found, Zhu Gaoxu to be placed inside, and roasted alive...

(End of this chapter)