Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

Chapter 274 Crazy
It's good that Hu Weiyong has gone mad; Zhu Yuanzhang was just waiting for him to go crazy!
And he would not be surprised if Hu Weiyong went mad next.

After all, one of the major reasons for Hu Weiyong's rebellion in his previous life was that his son, Hu Tianci, killed someone in a car accident and was subsequently executed.

Hu Weiyong truly loved this son to the core.

Now Hu Tianci is also dead. Although it wasn't Hu Weiyong who did it, it's still hard for him to accept.

It's perfectly normal for Hu Weiyong to go mad and do certain things because of this.

It's not enough for him to just go crazy; it would be best if Hu Weiyong rebelled.

He also believed that Hu Weiyong couldn't possibly be unaware that the person who killed his son was not one of those who conducted land surveys.

I don't believe he wouldn't suspect his accomplices in Jiangxi.

Now look what's happened, the dogs are fighting.

It's good when dogs fight each other; that's when things get exciting and entertaining!
Those people in Jiangxi thought they could use this method to completely bring Hu Weiyong down.

This led Hu Weiyong to join them in opposing the imperial court's land survey.

This plan is completely wrong.

They simply don't truly understand Hu Weiyong.

The most likely reason they did this was that Hu Weiyong would turn around and kill them.

In his past life, when he, as the emperor, dealt with Hu Weiyong's son, Hu Weiyong even rebelled against him, wanting to kill him, the emperor, to avenge his son.

In Jiangxi, it was impossible for those who were surveying land to survive unscathed.

Hu Weiyong couldn't swallow this insult!
They thought they could handle things reasonably well and that if others couldn't find any problems, everything would be fine.

Don't forget that in some matters, solid evidence and meticulously linked steps are unnecessary.

As long as you can guess the general idea and it makes sense logically, that's fine!
Things in Jiangxi are gradually becoming more interesting.

The fact that Tao Wuzhong and his ilk chose to kill Hu Weiyong's son was something Zhu Yuanzhang had not anticipated.

Next, let those people fight like dogs, let rifts form between Hu Weiyong and his loyal subordinates, and let them kill each other!
Just thinking about it made Zhu Yuanzhang eager to get started.

I really wanted to see this happen sooner.

I'd love to see Hu Weiyong rebel against him as soon as possible, because that would make things easier...

……

Back at the Secretariat, Hu Weiyong sat quietly before the mahogany table he had once dreamed of.

He stared blankly at the mahogany table, lost in thought.

A moment later, two lines of tears couldn't help but fall, dripping onto the mahogany table.

His heart was filled with endless anger and grief, which churned within him, almost bursting his chest.

He had long admired this mahogany table for who knows how long.

I've long dreamed of one day sitting here working like Li Shanchang.

He will become second only to the emperor, and at that time, who in the world wouldn't be at his beck and call?

Climbing higher and higher day by day, I finally made it to the top.

But after taking this position, I found that things were far from simple.

Most importantly, he couldn't even protect his own son!

That's his own biological son!

His only son!

Those people are really so despicable and shameless, they really are capable of doing such things!

Why not take it out on yourself instead of your own son?

Did she harm her own son?

Those bastards are so cruel!
I entrusted my son to them and asked them to take care of him!
Before this, he had given them countless benefits and thought they were trustworthy enough to entrust their wives and children to.

As a result, these are the very people who ended up killing their own son!

If anyone dares to harm their own son, then none of them should live!

"Gods! Gods! My son! My son!"

Dad's useless!
Your father couldn't protect you!
Tianci, it's your father's fault.
Father will avenge you! Father will avenge you!
Father wants them all to pay with their lives!
You'll make countless people pay with their lives!
"I'll make them all die with you!"

After sitting quietly for a while, Hu Weiyong couldn't help but burst into tears.

He said in a low, trembling voice.

After a while, he wiped away his tears and calmed himself down.

He picked up his pen and wrote a series of "kill" characters on the paper.

After finishing writing, I put down my pen and stared at the characters quietly for a while.

They then set it on fire.

After sitting there for a while, he began to call people over and make various arrangements...

The next day, numerous memorials poured into the court like snowflakes, impeaching Wu Yin for his misdeeds, abuse of power, and disregard for human life in Jiangxi.

We request that Wu Yin be severely punished.

Suspend the land survey in Jiangxi and get everything sorted out.

Zhu Yuanzhang responded that he could send people to Jiangxi to investigate the matter.

However, it is impossible to slow down the land survey.

Subsequently, he naturally sent the Minister of Personnel, whom he had prepared long ago, to Jiangxi to take up his post.

Furthermore, in the imperial court, it was directly stated that it was Hu Weiyong's son who was murdered in Jiangxi.

The Minister of Personnel should be sent there to clarify and understand this matter.

Now, many people who were still in the dark finally understood why Hu Weiyong seemed to have gone mad.

Why did the imperial court suddenly become turbulent?

The scale of the attack was terrifying.

It turns out that Hu Weiyong's own son died!
While doing these things, Hu Weiyong also sent messages to Jiangxi.

They then questioned Tao Wuzhong and others in detail about the circumstances of his son's murder.

We need their help to investigate the specific circumstances and find out who committed the evil deed.

At the same time, it also indicated that they would hold a thorough land survey with the imperial court, a fight to the death.

Let them do everything they can to stir things up in Jiangxi.

At the same time, he will also do everything in his power to push this matter forward and force the court to back down.

If soft methods don't work, we'll have to use hard methods; we have to get this done no matter what.

Hu Weiyong's real intention in making this arrangement was not to actually resist the land survey.

Instead, the plan was to use the land survey to further incite conflict between these people and the emperor, ultimately enraging Zhu Yuanzhang.
Then let Zhu Yuanzhang raise his butcher's knife and kill all of them!
Exterminate their entire family!
With the help of Zhu Yuanzhang, we can wipe out these people!
He wanted to kill these people with his own hands to avenge his son, but that was impossible; he didn't have that kind of power.

However, one can fan the flames from behind and lead them down a dead end.

Since they're courting death like this, then they shouldn't live anymore, they should all just die!
……

Five days later, a large number of people gathered at Hu Weiyong's residence.

These people are all quite extraordinary.

They all held the rank of marquis.

For example, Fei Ju, Marquis of Pingliang; Tang Shengzong, Marquis of Yan'an; Lu Zhongheng, Marquis of Ji'an; and Zhu Liangzu, Marquis of Yongjia...

Which one of them hadn't made outstanding military achievements and held great power?
In the early Ming Dynasty, none of those who were granted titles based on military merit were easily made.

They are all extraordinary individuals.

These people also share a common identity: they are nobles from Huaixi.

They had previously worked under Li Shanchang and were completely obedient to him, their elder brother.

He greatly admired Li Shanchang. After Li Shanchang was defeated by the emperor, he directly admitted defeat and sided with the emperor.

These people gathered around Hu Weiyong.

And he was gradually won over by Hu Weiyong.

At this time, in addition to this shared identity, they also shared another shared identity: they were unemployed and living in Beijing.

Furthermore, they harbored much dissatisfaction with Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang.

"Now that they've taken office, I wonder what they're really thinking!"

They are so harsh on us.

All we did was acquire some land and establish a household in places like Fengyang, that's all.

He repeatedly reprimanded us in this way.

That time in Fengyang, the people left behind there insulted us in many ways.

It's one thing that they took away so many of our industries.

Even now, they still won't let us lead the army, and we're just left idle in the capital.

This is driving me crazy!

Fei Ju couldn't help but speak up and started complaining.

"Marquis Yongjia, I thought that this time, the new ruler was going to send you to Guangzhou to work there."

In the end, you still didn't get one!

Lu Zhongheng looked at Zhu Liangzu, the only one in their group who wasn't from Huaixi, and teased him.

Zhu Liangzu snorted but didn't say anything.

However, his dissatisfaction and unease about this matter have been fully revealed.

"Gentlemen, let's leave it at that."

The worse is yet to come.

Haven't you seen that the imperial court has already begun surveying and registering land?
How big of a commotion has this happened in Jiangxi?
Even at Longhu Mountain, with such a grand scale, the fields were still cleared out.
I think that after the land survey in Jiangxi, they will quickly spread this matter all over the country.
When that time comes, our already meager businesses will suffer another huge blow.

All the family's farmland had to be cleared out.

The amount of tax payable is directly proportional to the amount of land owned; not a penny less is acceptable.

"This is not a joke, this is not nonsense?"

We have made countless contributions and fought countless battles to achieve our current status.

They dreamed of making something of themselves, bringing honor to their ancestors, and bringing blessings to their descendants.

Who would have thought that I would still be restricted and lack freedom in every aspect of life?

I live each day feeling stifled and like a grandson!
I can't do this, I can't do that, I dare not do this, and I dare not do that.

It felt like countless dog leashes were strapped to my neck, it was infuriating!

When Emperor Shengzong spoke, his words immediately stirred up a hornet's nest.

This started a conversation among everyone.

This matter has indeed touched the hearts of many people, leaving them deeply concerned.

And I felt extremely stifled.

Why would anyone risk their life to follow Zhu Chongba to the death?

Was it merely to drive away the Yuan Tartars, or simply because the world was unbearable?

No... besides that, I still want to get promoted and make money, and I want to live a good life!

But now things have turned out differently; the country has been conquered, and life has improved.

Zhu Chongba transformed himself into emperor, ruling over this vast empire.

I thought their good days were finally over.

From now on, I don't have to feel so stifled anymore.

After fighting so many battles and risking my life for so many years, I don't know how many times I've crawled out of piles of corpses.

Finally, I can enjoy myself properly and don't have to live such a hard life anymore.

But who would have thought that this scoundrel emperor would suddenly turn his back on them?

In the fifth year of the Hongwu reign, he flew into a rage and severely reprimanded some peasants for beating the Dengwen Drum.

They even erected an iron monument and imposed various restrictions.

They must all remember this well and never make the same mistake again.

He then went on to do a series of inhumane things.

That wasn't all; they went even further, demanding a complete land survey.

They must pay taxes on all their land.

They didn't give us even the slightest bit of preferential treatment!

I've never seen anyone more inhuman than the emperor!

When they were not officials, they had to pay taxes.

Even now that they've become officials and been granted titles, they still have to pay taxes.

Then wouldn't their official positions be rendered meaningless?
Is this reasonable?

This is completely unreasonable!

Then weren't they wasting their lives back then?
What is the purpose of all their hard work?
Immediately, public sentiment was aroused, and everyone who talked about the matter was filled with anger.

I couldn't help but start denouncing Zhu Yuanzhang here.

"This country belongs to us all. If it weren't for people like us risking our lives and doing these things for it..."

How could a beggar like him possibly seize the throne and become emperor?

Now that he's become emperor, he's turned his back on everyone!
If we had known he would turn out like this, we shouldn't have risked our lives for him in the first place.
Whether you follow Chen Youliang or Zhang Shicheng, things will never turn out this way!

As soon as Fei Ju said this, many people nodded in agreement, indicating that Fei Ju was absolutely right.

Even some of the more timid people, though they didn't speak, nodded secretly in agreement.

Not only Fei Ju regretted it, but many of the people on their side also regretted it.

If they had known Zhu Yuanzhang would act this way, they certainly wouldn't have risked their lives for him.

Without these people risking their lives and fighting alongside us to build this empire...

Zhu Yuanzhang, a mere beggar, could never have become emperor and ruled the country. It was impossible!

I've heard of ruthless emperors, but I've never seen one as ruthless as him!

They truly regretted it at this point.

It's obvious that his empire was won by us, so what business is it of those peasants?

As a result, after they conquered the country, the emperor favored those peasants in every way.

Isn't this just being a complete beast?
When we were conquering the world, why didn't we rely on those peasants?
"Ha ha ha ha……"

Just then, a burst of laughter rang out.

This completely silenced everyone else.

Everyone turned to look and found that it was Hu Weiyong, who hadn't said much since their arrival.

Everyone fell silent.

I want to hear what Hu Weiyong has to say.

“You lot have been cursing him day and night, and night and day, how could you possibly curse Zhu Yuanzhang to death?”
How can that change your current situation?

(End of this chapter)