Zhu Di: My fourth son is a great emperor of all time?

Is Chapter 63 about the eldest grandson encouraging the eldest son to rebel?

Tianmu's words left all the civil and military officials present dumbfounded.

The princelings, in particular, felt ashamed, as they had previously criticized Zhu Gaochi for disregarding the stability of the Ming Dynasty.

Now it's Zhu Gaochi's turn to rebel.

"The boss has rebelled too?"

Zhu Di's good mood vanished instantly. He had originally thought that his second and third sons would finally behave themselves during this time in the celestial realm.

The brothers should work hard and build the Ming Dynasty into a dynasty that lasts for a thousand years.

But their joy didn't last long.

Tianmu told him directly that the second brother wasn't rebelling, but the eldest brother was.

Previously, the eldest son was always the heir apparent, regardless of the circumstances.

Aside from dying young, Zhu Di had nothing to complain about.

He could be said to have governed the Ming Dynasty very well, but now he has become a rebellious traitor.

So, does that mean our whole family are traitors?

Zhu Gaochi was so frightened that his plump body trembled and he almost fell to the ground. If such a huge body were to hit the ground, he would be half-dead or even killed.

It was the second son, Zhu Gaoxu, who reacted quickly and helped Zhu Gaochi.

"Boss, I knew your usual demeanor was all an act. Turns out you'd rebel even if you weren't the crown prince!"

Zhu Gaochi regained his balance and managed to stand firmly.

Faced with Zhu Gaoxu's questioning, he had nothing to say.

In fact, Zhu Gaochi also felt very strange, even though he felt in his heart that it didn't matter if the fourth prince became emperor.

Why would we rebel in the future?

But regardless of what Zhu Gaochi thought.

Zhu Gaoxu was overjoyed.

The old man has been scolding him these past few days for always rebelling and asking if he can just shut up. He has no answer.

As a result, the eldest son lost his position as crown prince and, like him, chose to rebel.

Zhu Gaoxu wanted to see what the old man would say this time.

"Zhu Gaoxu, look what you've done! Even the eldest brother is following your example and rebelling."

Zhu Di was eager to vent his anger, and just then he saw Zhu Gaoxu's smug look, which immediately made him unhappy, and he started cursing loudly.

"Father, how can you blame me for this?" Zhu Gaoxu retorted.

Zhu Di's eyes flashed with coldness: "Otherwise, who's to blame? The eldest son originally had no objection to the fourth son's regentship; it must have been you who secretly instigated it!"

Zhu Gaoxu was speechless.

He looked at Zhu Gaosui, hoping that the third brother could speak up for him, but Zhu Gaosui, fearing that he would get into trouble, simply pretended not to see him.

Finally, Zhu Gaochi stepped forward and said, "Father, it was I who wanted to rebel, so don't blame the others!"

Zhu Gaochi spoke up.

Zhu Di's eyes were filled with heartache, regretting that he had removed the eldest son from the position of regent so quickly.

The eldest son was not only the eldest son born to the woman he loved most, but also had exceptional administrative abilities.

If it weren't for the fact that the eldest brother held off Li Jinglong's 500,000-strong army in Shuntian Prefecture, the Jingnan Campaign would not have succeeded.

The eldest brother is very capable, but unfortunately he ran into the fourth brother.

Zhu Di thought about his sons. Even if the third son was less capable, it depended on who he was compared to.

He was far superior to a mediocre talent like Jianwen.

Even if Zhu Gaochi had lived a few more years, he still wouldn't have wanted to pass the throne to Zhu Gaoshuo.

Look at how the eldest brother died young. In this respect, he was exactly the same as his elder brother, Zhu Biao.

Zhu Biao died young, and his eldest brother also died young.

He launched the Jingnan Rebellion, and as a result, his fourth son, Zhu Gaoshuo, later also launched the Jingnan Rebellion.

The Zhu family seems to be cursed; history keeps repeating itself.

Suppressing his complex emotions, Zhu Di walked to Zhu Gaochi's side, patted him on the shoulder, and comforted him:

"Boss, losing the throne isn't so bad. At least you'll live longer than before, so it's a blessing in disguise."

"Father, I understand!" Zhu Gaochi nodded.

Zhu Di's attention was entirely focused on Zhu Gaochi, and he didn't notice his beloved grandson Zhu Zhanji at all, whose face was now extremely ugly.

In fact, Zhu Gaochi was a very capable person. He started managing the Prince of Yan's mansion when he was just a few years old, and he managed it very well.

Later, he served as regent for over a decade. It could be said that it was Zhu Gaochi, not Emperor Zhu Di, who truly handled the major affairs of the court. As a result, most of the court officials were subordinates of the crown prince!

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di was slightly taken aback, but did not become angry.

Because that is indeed the case.

He was busy fighting campaigns in the south and north, conquering vast territories for the Ming Dynasty, and had no time to govern the country.

However, this also made the eldest son increasingly adept at governing the country.

This is why Zhu Di was so determined to support his eldest son as his successor.

With Zhu Zhanji, a virtuous grandson who could bring prosperity to three generations, it was most suitable for the eldest son to become emperor.

Therefore, it was Zhu Di's idea to have the eldest son support a group of loyal princes in the court, in order to completely eliminate the second son's ambition to become emperor.

It can be said that Zhu Di suffered countless grievances for the sake of this holy grandson who could bring prosperity to three generations.

As a result, the other party gave birth to such a useless son.

Thinking of this, Zhu Di became even more furious.

Zhu Gaochi's rebellion was actually a last resort; he had no choice but to rebel at the time!

have no choice?

Are rebellions always driven by desperation?
Zhu Di shook his head. Although he seemed to be forced by Jianwen back then, he had actually harbored rebellious intentions for a long time. He would rather die on the road to rebellion than die a miserable death as the Prince of Yan.

That's why Zhu Di didn't believe there was any rebellion out of desperation.

He just didn't understand what had changed the boss's mind.

At least before, the leader didn't want to rebel.

Before Zhu Gaoshuo officially became regent, in the minds of the civil and military officials of the Ming Dynasty, the three sons born to Empress Xu were the legitimate heirs and the most likely to inherit the throne.

The three were essentially locked in a battle between the eldest and second eldest sons, but in reality, the defeat of the second eldest son, Zhu Gaoxu, was already predetermined. Zhu Gaochi was far from being as weak as he appeared on the surface.

On the contrary, Zhu Gaochi was actually a very cunning person. Zhu Gaoxu seemed to have great prestige and control over the army, but in reality, Zhu Gaochi had already placed many people around him, yet he was completely unaware of it!

"Who says I don't know!" Zhu Gaoxu roared. "I told you long ago that the boss is a hypocrite. Now you know I wasn't lying!"

Zhu Gaoxu glared at Zhu Gaochi, his eyes conveying a sense of blaming his elder brother for arranging people around him.

Zhu Gaochi smiled but did not reply.

These were all said by Tianmu. As long as he doesn't admit it, then this incident never happened.

[Originally, Zhu Gaochi was certain of victory, but then Zhu Gaoshuo appeared, making the situation unpredictable.]

[For Zhu Gaochi, being able to relinquish the heavy responsibility of regent was actually a relief; he could finally rest more. Moreover, Zhu Gaochi recognized Zhu Gaoshuo's abilities and felt that with him in charge, the Ming Dynasty would not descend into chaos.]

However, Zhu Gaochi did not expect that his son Zhu Zhanji would be very dissatisfied with him, feeling that Zhu Gaoshuo had no right to compete with their family for the throne.

At first, Zhu Gaochi was able to comfort him, explaining that Zhu Di was trying to maintain a balance of power, since the second son was far inferior to them.

Every day that Zhu Gaoshuo served as regent was agonizing for Zhu Zhanji. His father had lost his position as regent, and he, the beloved grandson, could no longer be the crown prince.

(End of this chapter)