The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 67 Jianwen is guilty
Upon hearing this, Fang Xiaoru and the other two immediately paled. Who would dare to associate themselves with Qin Hui's reputation? Their names in history would be ruined in an instant.

However, the King of Yan was not being unreasonable. There were scholars around who recorded the events, and the eyes of his ministers and the common people were not blind. Getting entangled in this matter would not be of any use.

Fang Xiaoru didn't understand what had happened. Why did the Prince of Yan suddenly seem like a different person? Just that day in the camp, he had been refuted by Fang Xiaoru with a few words and became angry.

It's Li Qi!
Fang Xiaoru's gaze fell on Li Qi, who was standing beside Zhu Di. He suddenly realized that the Prince of Yan's style today was too much like Li Qi's, always standing on the moral high ground, leaving no room for argument.

So, what is the punishment today?

A chill ran through him.

"In the thirty-first year of the Hongwu reign, what crime did I commit?"

Zhu Di, gripping his sword, looked around and said angrily, "Since I am innocent, then the guilty ones are you treacherous officials who frame loyal ministers, sow discord within the imperial family, and seek to eliminate the court's powerful vassals."

Below the high platform, among those who had remained silent, was a man named Huang Guan, a brilliant scholar who had achieved the highest honors in six imperial examinations and three top honors. Historically, his entire family had died for Emperor Jianwen.

Seeing that Fang Xiaoru and the other two were speechless, he became anxious and immediately took a few steps forward, loudly questioning, "Yan Ni, do you think that by dwelling on the past and trying to punish the officials, you can cover up your crimes of raising an army in rebellion and forcing the emperor to commit suicide?"

Throughout the world, everyone knows that the phrases "purging the emperor's corrupt advisors" and "pacifying the country" are merely pretexts.

The Emperor and Empress's self-immolation in the Fengtian Hall was all caused by your arrival in the capital. This is a sin you can never wash away, a sin that will never be erased throughout the ages!

Huang Zicheng and the others were greatly encouraged. They had been preoccupied with the Prince of Yan and had forgotten that Zhu Di was the one who murdered the emperor.

"Excellent! That's exactly what I wanted to say!"

Zhu Di looked at Li Qi and said, "Jinghe, you are a renowned scholar of the world. I have some classic texts I wish to ask you about."

"Your Highness, please speak."

"Did Tang exile Jie, and King Wu attack Zhou? Is that true?"

Upon hearing Zhu Di's question, Huang Guan and the others' expressions changed drastically, and they looked at Zhu Di with disbelief.

Even a student could not possibly be unaware of this dialogue between King Xuan of Qi and Mencius, which is recorded in Mencius!

Li Qi said, "It is mentioned in the biography."

Zhu Di then asked, "Is it permissible for a subject to murder his ruler?"

Li Qi solemnly said, “Those who harm benevolence are called thieves, those who harm righteousness are called cruel, and cruel and thieves are called mere men. I have heard of the execution of a mere man, Zhou, but I have never heard of the murder of a ruler.”

When these words reached the ears of the court officials, almost everyone gasped in shock. Even Huang Guan was speechless, never expecting that Zhu Di would use these words to refute him.

Even if there were matters to be questioned, Fang Xiaoru and others never thought they could reverse the decline. They just wanted to annoy Zhu Di before they died, to make him live a life of unrest, and to make him bear the infamy of a traitor!
Everyone knows that no matter the outcome of the interrogation, Prince Yan, Zhu Di, is destined to become the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Yet now he is using Mencius's discourse on the relationship between ruler and subject, which was deleted by the late emperor, to refute him! Doesn't Zhu Di know that today's interrogation is an extremely serious political occasion, and the words spoken during this interrogation are related to the construction of the underlying political logic of the future Ming Dynasty?

Today, the Prince of Yan used Mencius's theory of ruler and minister to construct the foundation of the Ming Dynasty on this occasion, and he will inevitably be constrained by this theory in the future!
This is the principle that "a ruler who rises by this will also fall by this!"

He couldn't possibly be unaware of this, yet he still included Meng Sheng's theory on the relationship between ruler and subject, which inevitably shocked them.

Why would Zhu Di agree to utter Mencius's discourse on the relationship between ruler and subject on such an important political occasion, a statement that seemed detrimental to the monarch?

It was because of Li Qi's words: "Your Highness believes that if the situation in the world has reached the point where Meng Sheng's words are needed to define it, then does it make any difference whether these words are spoken or not?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Di understood that the statement itself was of little use. Just as he had already led his army into Yingtian, regardless of whether there was an excuse to cover up the regicide, Jianwen was going to die.

The most important thing now is to establish the legitimacy of his regime, and in this era, after the emperor was forced to commit suicide, there is no more appropriate statement than this!
Meng Sheng's position was high enough to suppress all injustices.

The transfer of imperial power to the people is enough to quell the unrest among the populace. After all, it's just a matter of words. Who could possibly seize imperial power based on this?
It was impossible two thousand years ago, and it's even more impossible now.

After this statement was made, the most irrefutable charge of regicide could be directly set aside, and the focus of the debate would then shift to whether Jianwen was wrong or not, and whether he was a ruler like Jie and Zhou!

On this point, Zhu Di understood that he had a huge advantage.

Therefore, after Li Qi explained this set of political logic to him, he agreed almost without hesitation.

What Zhu Di could think of, Fang Xiaoru and others could not have thought of either. The death of the Prince of Xiang was a matter that could not be ignored no matter what.

The criticisms of His Majesty are mostly due to this. Under normal circumstances, this might not be a big problem. After all, which emperor doesn't have a few innocent people killed? Even wise rulers like Emperor Wen of Han and Emperor Taizong of Tang have unjustly killed loyal ministers.

However, everyone in the world has their own scale. It is ultimately dishonorable for an emperor to suspect his ministers. Once it is brought out into the open, such as when Zhu Di used the rhetoric of punishing a tyrant to force the emperor to weigh himself, it means that the emperor's status is disregarded, and only right and wrong are considered.

As for who is right and who is wrong, this was already the conclusion reached when the King of Yan asked him what crime he had committed: the King of Yan was innocent!

If the Prince of Yan is innocent, then is it the Emperor who is guilty?!

"Your Majesty is a descendant of Emperor Gaozu, naturally benevolent, close to the virtuous and fond of learning. The late Emperor praised you as benevolent. How can you criticize Your Majesty like this, even comparing you to Jie and Zhou?"

That being said, it is clear to all that when Prince Yan, Zhu Di, made a desperate gamble by placing imperial power under the moral principles of Meng Sheng, the principle of the relationship between ruler and subject upheld by Fang Xiaoru and others became ineffective. When the enemy was exhausted and we were still strong, we were already running out of steam.

The King of Yan, brandishing his sword, roared again, "Why can't we criticize it?"
I am the eldest son of the late Emperor Gao. By the thirty-first year of the Hongwu reign, all my elder brothers had passed away, and I was the eldest son of the family. Can I not speak about the affairs of this clan?

"Since the thirteenth year of the Hongwu reign, I have been enfeoffed in Beiping. For eighteen years, I have guarded the borders of the Ming Dynasty, accumulating numerous military achievements without any fault. If it weren't for Jianwen's suspicion, why would I have raised an army in Beiping, risking everything? I would have enjoyed wealth and honor in Beiping. Isn't that the right path?"

Whether officials or commoners, everyone below the steps spoke in unison. When the Prince of Yan raised his army, no one thought he could succeed. Even when he won a series of victories in Hebei, no one thought he could conquer the capital.

The consensus of the people is that the Prince of Yan would not have rebelled unless he was forced into a corner!
(End of this chapter)