Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 1017: The King is Foolish and the Ministers are Treacherous
The ancestor of Li Ji was named Hu Xianyi, who was originally from Zhejiang. He moved to Jiaozhi (the old name of Annan) to avoid war during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Because his descendants married into the Li family, this branch changed its surname to Li.

In the original history, after Le Qui Ly successfully usurped the throne of the Chen Dynasty, he also changed his surname back to Hu. However, this was not to show goodwill to the Ming Dynasty or to show his closeness to the Ming Dynasty, but to confuse people.

What does the Li family's usurpation of power have to do with me, Hu Jinli?
In order to further confuse the public, he changed his second son Li Cang's name to "Hu Han Cang" and let his second son inherit the throne, while he held the real power behind the scenes. He also submitted a petition to the Ming Dynasty in the name of "Hu Han Cang, the nephew of the Chen family", falsely claiming that the Chen family had no descendants to inherit the throne, so Hu Han Cang, a descendant of the nephew generation, had no choice but to succeed to the throne, and requested the Ming Emperor to confer the title.

How could Emperor Yongle Zhu Di know who this "Hu Hancang" who appeared out of nowhere was? After a brief investigation, he sent a letter to agree to enthrone Hu Hancang as the King of Annan.

When the remaining ministers of the Chen Dynasty of Annan came to the Ming Dynasty to ask for justice later, Zhu Di suddenly realized that this "Hu Hancang" was the son of the powerful Annan official Le Qui Ly. The whole family changed their surnames and came to cheat people in order to obtain the title of the king.

Emperor Yongle, who felt he had been deceived, was furious and directly launched the War of Annan, capturing Brother Jimao and his entire family and bringing them to the Ming Dynasty.

So, this kind of cleverness is really not advisable. In the end, Brother Jimao got into trouble.

Now, under the advice of "Fan Huai", Brother Ji Mao wanted to play tricks again. He naturally did not agree that he was a Chinese, but if it was profitable, it would not be impossible to change his surname and recognize his ancestry.

"Everyone, what do you think about Fan Huai's suggestion that I change my surname to Hu?" Li Jili sat high in the main seat and asked his many followers.

Li Ji's followers were numerous, and his advisers were headed by his confidant Fan Julun and his brother Li Jimei. When Li Ji's question was raised, Li Jimei stepped out first and bowed, saying, "Brother, I think what Fan Huai said is indeed reasonable."

"The Ming Dynasty must have ambitions for Dai Viet. However, Dai Viet is a country that the Ming Dynasty does not conquer, and the Ming Dynasty is the suzerain. If they rashly send troops to attack, they will lose the trust of all nations in the world."

"Since we cannot send troops to attack, the Ming Dynasty will definitely try to support a representative who is biased towards the Ming Dynasty to take charge of the court of Dai Viet. If we change our surnames back to our old names in a high-profile manner, those people of the Ming Dynasty will definitely think that we have our eyes on China!"

"But changing my surname can earn the Ming Dynasty's support for my family. This deal is worth it!"

After he said this, other members of the Li family, such as Li Jibai, Li Cang, Li Cheng and others, also agreed with it and expressed their support.

Many members of the Li clan knew the real ambition of Li Ji Li. Even those who didn't know had some guesses in their hearts. If the Li clan wanted to make further progress, they couldn't do it without the support of the Ming Dynasty. If the Ming Dynasty didn't support them, I'm afraid that in a blink of an eye, the Ming army would march into Thang Long City and bring disaster to the Li clan.

Therefore, the obstacles in obtaining the support of the Ming Dynasty were too great to refuse. This was not only a matter of interest, but also a necessary step that the Li family had to take in order to move forward.

In comparison, the surname "Li", which their ancestors have used for hundreds of years, is really dispensable in their eyes.

Seeing that a large group of people with the surname Li did not object, many other confidants of Li Ji's surnames naturally did not say much. Only Fan Julun thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Li, changing your surname to Hu will indeed help you get closer to the Ming Dynasty and win its support."

"However, this also means that Lord Li has publicly acknowledged his Han Chinese identity... This is bound to cause the emperor to be wary."

"Which side do you value more, the support of the Emperor or the support of the Ming Dynasty? Have you thought about it?"

Li Ji Ly was silent. What Fan Ju Lun said made a lot of sense. He had always relied on the trust of Emperor Chen Yizong, which was why he was able to rise step by step in the Dai Viet court and become a prime minister second only to the emperor.

It doesn't matter if he changes his ancestor, but if he gets the support of the Ming Dynasty, he will be suspected by Chen Yizong... Li Jili will have to think carefully.

He thought for a while, and finally made his own decision: "Hu is the surname of my ancestors. I am a descendant of the Hu family. How can I bear to not be able to pass on my ancestral surname, so that the incense is cut off and I can't rest in peace in the underground?"

"We will return to Thang Long City today and choose an auspicious day to change our surname from Le to Hu. This is not for any other reason, but to honor our ancestors. The emperor values ​​filial piety the most and will not mind it."

Since he had made his decision, Fan Julun did not say anything more. Instead, he bowed and answered with everyone else: "Yes."

Li Jizhen was very clear in his mind. He did rely on Chen Yizong to seize power, but most of the power of the court was already in his hands. He was not a paper tiger. Even if the former emperor Chen Yizong wanted to take back power, it would not be that easy.

Moreover, the former emperor was already old and had not taken care of state affairs for many years. He only wanted to abandon everything and enjoy a leisurely life.

Even if he began to doubt himself, his foundation was already solid. Could the emperor still stir up a bloody storm in the court because of this suspicion?
Having served the former emperor for so many years, Li Jili knew deeply that the former emperor did not have such courage.

Compared with the former emperor, the support of the Ming Dynasty is undoubtedly more important.

The Emperor is already an obstacle to the Li family's further progress. The Ming Dynasty is the support that the Li family needs to strive for next.

With the help of the Ming Dynasty, perhaps he would be able to reach the position he had always dreamed of faster than previously planned... Li Jili had even imagined himself sitting on the high throne, and his heart was filled with excitement.

He is not young anymore. He has been groveling and servile before the former emperor, having no dignity at all as a lackey for so many years. He can't wait to climb to that position and become the man above everyone else.

……

After Le Qui Ly returned to Thang Long City, he immediately chose an auspicious day to announce the news that the Le family would restore their ancestral surname, Hu.

The Li family made a big fuss and invited the "Hu" ancestors into the Li family's ancestral hall in full view of everyone.

In order to give himself a more prestigious background, Li Jinyi... Oh no, now he should be called Hu Jinyi, Hu Jinyi and his son and brother spent several days studying hard, and read through the few Chinese classics left in Annan. Finally, they found two people with the surname Hu who were very similar to Niu Boyi: Yu Shun and Hu Gongman. They claimed to be descendants of Yu Shun and Hu Gongman, and placed these two famous people who lived thousands of years ago in the forefront of the Hu family ancestral hall.

As for the several Li ancestors who were originally worshipped by the incense… they were naturally kicked out by Hu Jinyi and moved from the majestic main hall to a remote and crude side hall, and they were no longer worshipped. I wonder what the Li ancestor who adopted the Hu family as his adopted sons and made this refugee branch prosperous would think if he knew about this.

Anyway, Hu Ji's family had no feelings about this. A group of newly-minted "Hu" descendants were busy in the ancestral hall worshipping the tablets of Yu Shun and Hu Gongman, who had nothing to do with them, but turned a blind eye to the tablets of the Li ancestors who had really done them a favor.

It's a great filial piety, yes.

The Li family's change of surname was a grand event. After completing all the necessary ceremonial procedures, Hu Jinyao sent out many invitations, using this event as an excuse to host a banquet for His Royal Highness King Zhou of the Ming Dynasty, who was stationed in the Annan Concession, as well as many Annan nobles.

This was undoubtedly a political test by Hu Jinyi, intended to tell the Annan nobles: I, Hu Jinyi, will follow the Ming Dynasty in the future. If you go against me, you will go against the Ming Dynasty. Who among you nobles supports and who opposes what I, Hu Jinyi, say?

The news that Li Jinglong, the son of Caoguogong of the Ming Dynasty and the commander of the Nanyang Navy, went to Thang Long City on behalf of Zhou Wang Zhu Su to congratulate Hu on his return to his ancestral home quickly spread. The Annan nobles who learned of the news were keenly aware of the direction of the wind and began to present gifts to Hu Jiyi. At the gate of Hu's mansion, carriages and horses carrying gifts and congratulations were endless for days, even blocking the road to Thang Long City. Hu Jiyi was very satisfied. Just by changing his surname, he successfully won the goodwill of the Ming Dynasty and gained the support of many nobles who were still waiting.

As for Chen Yizong, the one Fan Julun was worried about, he was still happy in the palace and didn't care about Li Ji's change of surname to Hu. He thought it was just a normal return to his ancestral roots and didn't take any action. This also made Fan Julun, a counselor under Li Ji's command, breathe a sigh of relief.

Sure enough, Chen Yizong was still the same Chen Yizong, still ignorant and indulged in pleasure. Also, if the emperor had been a little alert, he would not have failed to discover that Hu Jinyi had already controlled the Annan government for so many years. This wave can only be said to be a normal performance.

Feeling that he had the support of the Ming Dynasty, Le Qui Ly began to exclude dissidents. He soon formally raised the banner of "New Learning" and, on the grounds of "academic disputes", labeled all the nobles who had not given him gifts and expressed their allegiance to him as "corrupt scholars". He then united his followers and excluded them from the small court of Annan.

The cruelty of the means used was quite reminiscent of the "Party and Faction Persecution" in the Han Dynasty and the "Factional Struggle" in the Song Dynasty.

For a while, people in Annan were in a state of panic. Chen Yizong, who was in the deep palace, even cheered for this matter: the reason was very simple. Chen Yizong had always hated Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism and believed that "Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism" was "plagiarism" and only knew how to plagiarize and plagiarize the ancients. Hu Jizhen attacked dissidents in the name of the dispute between schools of thought. He thought Hu Jizhen was like-minded with him and wanted to help him, the Chen family, to purge the corrupt Neo-Confucian scholars in Annan!
The king is corrupt and the ministers are treacherous. This is the end of the world. I can only say that Annan deserves to be destroyed.

At this time, "Fan Huai", who was still "studying behind closed doors" in Wuqu Port...

"Fan Huai." In Huang Huai's courtyard, a tall, dark-faced man in fancy clothes said to Huang Huai with an anxious look on his face.

"You'd better think of a solution for me!"

"Now that second-surnamed servant thinks he has gained the power of King Zhou, and has become more and more rampant, eliminating dissidents in the court, and making the court even more chaotic."

"I know that His Royal Highness Prince Zhou is just trying to please that slave named Hu, but if he continues like this, my Ruan family business will be emptied out by that guy named Hu!"

This person is none other than Hu Jilin's former biggest political enemy, Nguyen Duo Fang. Like Le Jilin, Nguyen Duo Fang had also previously realized the huge political power behind "Fan Huai". After realizing that "Fan Huai" was "money-seeking", Nguyen Duo Fang decisively used the secret technique of "spending money lavishly" and "successfully" won over "Fan Huai" as his secret subordinate.

However, he didn't know that this so-called "greedy" nature was actually deliberately "performed" by Huang Huai under the direction of Zhu Su. Compared with Hu Jinyi, who was more inclined to be a literati, Ruan Duofang was more like a burly military commander. He did not believe in people's pursuits and ideals, but he took the motto "Money makes the world go round" as his guiding principle.

Therefore, "Fan Huai" talked about his ideals to Hu Jili and pretended to be greedy for money to Ruan Duofang, and successfully gained the trust of both parties to a certain extent. Both sides believed that "Fan Huai" would be a "spy" planted beside Zhou Wang Zhu Su to secretly win the support of the Ming Dynasty for himself.

"General Ruan, please be patient." "Fan Huai" was playing with a gold ingot that Ruan Duofang had just sent him, with a greedy look on his face. "That man suddenly recognized a Han Chinese as his ancestor, which made my master very happy... At this time, my master would naturally not make trouble for Hu Jin'er, let alone help General Ruan to fight against Hu Jin'er."

"They also hoped that Hu Jinyi could 'naturalize' the Ming Dynasty."

"Damn it, why don't I have any Han ancestors?" Ruan Duofang scratched his head, feeling quite depressed. Hu Jin's "return to the ancestral roots" really disrupted his plan. "Fan Huai, what do you think we should do?"

"You took so much money from me and promised me that you would win the support of His Royal Highness King Zhou for me, but now you want me to be patient?"

"If you can't get the support of His Royal Highness King Zhou for me today, I will..."

"I will report you to King Zhou today!"

"General Ruan, why are you so anxious? Did I say I would abandon you?" Facing Ruan's threats, "Fan Huai" still looked calm and composed. "I have been a member of your Ruan family ship for a long time. My future prosperity and wealth will all depend on you, General Ruan."

"If General Ruan falls, what will I, Fan Huai, do in the future? Hu Jinyi is indeed treacherous, but I, Fan Huai, have already thought of a way to break the impasse for you, General..."

"Do you have a solution? Tell me now!" Ruan Duofang was delighted when he heard his words and asked hurriedly.

"Fan Huai" said calmly, "General Ruan is blinded by one thing, and he must fight to the death with Hu Jinyi in Thang Long City. Have you ever heard of the story of 'Shen Sheng died inside, Chong Er lived outside'?"

(End of this chapter)