Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

This winter, November.

There was a rare light snowfall in Nanjing.

Although it only lasted a few hours, this ancient and prosperous city was covered with a layer of silver.

There are few people in the palace, and occasionally a few maids can be seen hurriedly walking past with their heads down.

Queen Xu looked at the snowy scene outside the emperor's chamber through the window with a calm expression.

Queen Xu, who took the initiative to come, had been sitting in the room for almost half an hour. Zhu Di was still correcting the piled memorials at his desk.

Even so, these memorials have been screened by the cabinet led by Zhu Gaochi.

The spices burning in the bronze furnace were swaying, and the tea set placed on the table had tea prepared by Empress Xu herself, but Zhu Di had no intention of tasting it.

Since Zhu Di came back from prison a few days ago, he has become worried.

This obvious change is obviously related to the two people in prison.

Jiang Xinghuo, Zhu Gaoxu.

According to her past habits, Queen Xu thought it was Mr. Jiang who said something like "The Ming Dynasty is going to fall!", which irritated Zhu Di.

Usually Zhu Di would recover from such things in a few days. Anyway, what Mr. Jiang said were the reasons that would lead to the demise of the Ming Dynasty in the future. If the Ming Dynasty was to fall, it would not be done now.

But Queen Xu just asked her third son and got an answer that was somewhat beyond her expectation.

——Mr. Jiang didn’t say anything scary.

What I talked about this time was nothing more than oceans, diplomacy, the pros and cons of moving the capital, and a few weird things that cannot be verified.

Some of the things here may be very important to Zhu Di and others.

But for Queen Xu, she didn't care at all.

The harem should not be involved in state affairs, of course Empress Xu knew that.

But Queen Xu also knew very well that if Zhu Di's troubles did not come from Mr. Jiang, there could only be one answer.

——Zhu Gaoxu.

As the daughter of General Xu Da, Queen Xu had witnessed with her own eyes the bloody turmoil in the last years of the Hongwu Dynasty.

In order to pave the way for Zhu Yunwen, Zhu Yuanzhang killed almost all the generals who were accustomed to fighting.

Only Geng Bingwen, Li Jinglong, Xu Huizu and others whose abilities were not first-rate were left to guard the country.

This was still under the control of a powerful emperor like Zhu Yuanzhang. No one could compete with Zhu Yunwen for the throne, and so many people would die. At other times, the battle for the crown prince would be even more cruel than can be imagined.

Zhu Gaoxu is about to be released from prison, which means that a new round of formal battle for the crown prince is about to begin.

Even Queen Xu, who lived in the deep palace, learned from various news channels that the Jingnan Xungui Group, headed by the two Dukes Qiu Fu and Zhu Neng, almost made a collective noise to make the second prince Zhu Gaoxu the crown prince.

It should be mentioned here that the so-called "Four Dukes of Jingnan" in later generations were actually at this time only the Duke of Qi, Qiu Fu, and the Duke of Cheng, Zhu Neng.

Because Zhang Yu had died in battle, Rong Guogong was posthumously granted the title; and the more famous British Duke Zhang Fu was still Xin Anbo at this time.

Well, the reason why it is said to be "almost" a collective voice is because Xin'an Bo Zhang Fu did not participate.

It is precisely because at this time the Jingnan Xungui Group holds military power and is powerful, but it is rare for them to agree on the same opinion.

Therefore, there was a moment of shock between the government and the opposition.

Even Zhu Di had to pay attention to this.

But for Empress Xu, whether it is the eldest prince Zhu Gaochi or the second prince Zhu Gaoxu, the palms and backs of the hands are full of flesh.

Zhu Gaoxu, no matter how much he misbehaves, is still her son after all.

Empress Xu was even more worried about Zhu Gaoxu than anyone else.

In her heart, she was looking forward to him being released from prison as soon as possible, but she also felt vaguely uneasy.

Because once it comes to competing for reserves, there are too many things beyond her control!

"have a look."

Just when Queen Xu was worried, Zhu Di walked up to her carrying a piece of paper.

"If you don't watch, the harem is not allowed to interfere in politics."

Queen Xu, who was sitting by the bed, simply turned her head.

Instead, Zhu Di turned to face her, holding the paper in both hands and showing it in front of her eyes.

"Girls, let me see if there are any omissions in what I wrote."

Queen Xu's fake seriousness didn't stop, and she snorted and took the paper from Zhu Di's hand neatly.

Zhu Di's handwriting is not pretty, but it is neat after all, with wide open and close strokes, giving it a somewhat sharp feel.

And this piece of paper is an edict written by Zhu Di to all the noble military officials, including the founding nobles of Hongwu and the nobles of Jingnan.

"In the past, monarchs who created the world with martial arts must rely on the support of their generals. However, later on, it was often difficult to protect their generals. This is probably because people in high positions are prone to arrogance, perverting the law, relying on favors and refusing to repent. The monarch is a natural act. Yes, we cannot tolerate taking advantage of others for personal gain, so we must also punish our generals in accordance with the law."

"I, Emperor Hongwu Gao, have enacted the Constitution in order to ensure that future generations will abide by it. If any of the heroes violate the Constitution and do not obey the punishments, they will be killed according to the law. Even if they are close relatives, they will not be forgiven. "

"Emperor Gao is wise and decisive. In the past, you received great kindness from Emperor Gao, and now you support me. I wish you a long life and wealth. If anyone dares to persist in evil and commit evil, he will definitely be punished. Don't blame me for being ungrateful and unkind. Now I will make everyone aware of Emperor Gao's edict, and hope that everyone will never disobey it, otherwise, you will regret it too late."

Queen Xu was so smart that she understood Zhu Di's meaning almost instantly.

On the surface, this imperial edict was a warning to Hongwu's founders. Since they supported Zhu Di as emperor, they must abide by the laws and regulations according to the standards of Zhu Yuanzhang's era, otherwise they would be severely punished.

But in fact, they took the opportunity to attack the Jingnan Xinxungui Group, which had visibly swelled in just a few months after entering Nanjing.

In Qiu Fu's words, "I followed King Yan to conquer Jingnan, and fought with my head and waistband for four years. Now that I have conquered Nanjing and King Yan has ascended the throne, can't I still enjoy it?" In fact, Zhang Tianshi's dragon The elixir from Hushan was very effective. I heard that the Duke of Qi, who was always getting stronger, made Xinna's concubine pregnant with two more.

What Zhu Di really wanted to express in the edict was the first paragraph, preservation.

Both emotionally and rationally, Zhu Di wanted to try his best to protect these Jingnan nobles who had followed him through life and death in rebellion, but the prerequisite was that these people must be sensible and know what should be touched and what should not be touched.

Imperial power is something they shouldn't touch.

The unanimous statement of the Jingnan Xungui Group to support the second prince as the crown prince made Zhu Di feel vigilant, so he issued an edict to attack the Jingnan Xungui Group. This was inevitable under the system of exclusive imperial power.

Looking at Empress Xu who looked worried, Zhu Di patted her hand and comforted her: "Don't worry, I just hit them."

Empress Xu felt sad for a moment, but she still tried her best to say to the emperor: "Your Majesty, there is a lot of discussion in the court and the public about the dispute over the establishment of the crown prince. I will not say much about this matter. I will only say one thing, whether your majesty wants to establish Chi'er or Xu'er, your majesty also wants to do it." Try your best to protect the other one."

"It's natural."

Zhu Di exhaled and sat on the edge of the bed in a daze for a long time.

If it were an ordinary time of peace, if the emperor wanted to establish a heir apparent, he would naturally give priority to establishing a eldest son.

But what happened to Zhu Di was so troublesome.

On the one hand, Zhu Di was very dissatisfied with Zhu Gaochi's rapid closeness with the civil service group and their getting along with each other day by day.

This kind of dissatisfaction is very reasonable. Because of the special nature of King Zhu Di's rebellion, the civil service group has been his mortal enemy for four years. The civil service group has launched a propaganda machine to insult and stigmatize Zhu Di day and night. This makes Zhu Di feel guilty. A deep grudge.

At the same time, Zhu Yunwen was induced by the civil service group to abolish the system of Zhu Yuanzhang's era, which also made Zhu Di deeply uneasy. Zhu Di was very worried in his heart that Zhu Gaochi would become the next subtle inducement target of the civil service group.

If Zhu Di made Zhu Gaochi the crown prince, how could Zhu Di be sure that the future emperor of the Ming Dynasty would not become a waste like Zhu Yunwen, who would be deceived by the civil service group, and then the imperial power would be completely sidelined?

On the other hand, if Zhu Di made Zhu Gaoxu the crown prince, this situation would definitely not happen.

Because Zhu Gaoxu’s base is the Jingnan Xungui Group, and the Jingnan Xungui Group and the civil service group also get along with each other “a little bit unpleasantly.” Therefore, Zhu Di can be sure that if he passes the throne to Zhu Gaoxu, then at least three generations of kings will follow him. He can still firmly grasp the imperial power and will not be deceived by the inducement of the civil servant group.

But this involves another aspect. Zhu Gaoxu is the well-deserved spokesperson for the Jingnan Xungui Group to ensure that its interests continue to the next generation.

It can be seen from the collective clamor of the Jingnan Xungui Group to support Zhu Gaoxu that to a certain extent, Zhu Gaoxu actually violated Zhu Di's imperial power!

Because if Zhu Gaoxu is established as the crown prince, then once Zhu Di has three advantages and two disadvantages, Zhu Gaoxu will be able to seamlessly gain the support of the Jingnan Xungui Group and replace Zhu Di as the new talker.

This is a real threat to Zhu Di, the real talker at the moment!

That is to say, "three longs and two shorts", who can say it well?

If it really comes time to need Zhu Di to lead his army on the battlefield again, how can he be sure that there will not be "three longs and two shorts"?

After all, countless bloody battles between the Tian family throughout the ages have shown that imperial power should not be used to test human nature.

If tested, then the operation of regicide would be completely normal.

Then the problem arises.

From a legal point of view, Zhu Gaochi has an advantage, but from a fundamental point of view, Zhu Gaoxu has an advantage, so it's a tie.

But for Zhu Di himself, establishing Zhu Gaochi is a violation of Zhu Di's imperial power now, and establishing Zhu Gaochi will infringe on the imperial power of the future emperor in the future.

Who is Zhu Di more likely to appoint? The answer seems obvious.

"His Majesty."

The sound of the eunuch coming in to report came from beside him, breaking the silence.

Seeing that Zhu Di was still deep in thought, Empress Xu turned her eyes slightly and said calmly: "What's the matter?"

Zhu Di's personal eunuch said: "I just received the news that Master Daoyan is asking for an audience."

Seeing that Zhu Di was still deep in thought and did not express any objection, Empress Xu, who had been with him for decades, understood what he meant.

"Well, Master Xuan Daoyan, come in." Queen Xu nodded.

The palace maid immediately retreated, and a moment later, Dao Yan, wearing a black cassock, walked in.

In fact, Queen Xu hadn't seen the old monk for a long time. The last time she heard that the old monk had become obsessed with enlightenment, Queen Xu even sent an imperial doctor to Datianjie Temple.

Old monk Dao Yan is sixty-seven years old, but he is still energetic and has clear eyes.

"I pay homage to His Majesty the Emperor and the Queen."

Naturally, they were polite words. How could Empress Xu make the old monk really kowtow? She quickly said: "Your Majesty has already made a decree. Master, there is no need to be polite."

"No gifts. Give me a seat."

Zhu Di came back to his senses at this time, looked at Dao Yan, and said, "Master, what do you want from me today?"

The old monk was very polite today. After saluting with his hands together, he sat on the chair brought by the eunuch and explained his purpose.

It was still the dirty work that Zhu Di had assigned to the prime minister in black.

Secretly looking for an opportunity to deal with several main generals of the Southern Army during the Jingnan War, Ping An, Sheng Yong, and Mei Yin, who is still trapped in a lonely city in Huai'an and refuses to surrender.

There were no surprises in Huaidian. After some encouragement from the envoys sent by Daoyan, a rebellion broke out in Huaian City, which was already an isolated city. Mei Yin, the consort of Emperor Jianwen who was still worshiping Emperor Jianwen inside, was tied up and sacrificed by his men. , the situation in Huaidian is now basically stable.

Ping Jiangbo and Navy Commander Chen Xuan, who were responsible for leading the navy to monitor Mei Yin in Huainan, also took over Huai'an City and sent people back to Nanjing to report back to Zhu Di.

Because the people involved in this kind of secretive affair are relatively important, neither the Third Prince Zhu Gaosui's Jinwu Guards nor Ji Gang's Jinyi Guards are capable of handling it at the moment.

Therefore, it was still hard for the old monk to use the intelligence system of the former Yan Army in his hands to do it.

Of course, Zhu Di will definitely have to slowly hand over the matter to Jinwu Guard and Jinyi Guard in the future.

After all, the old monk is old, and this kind of authority is too sensitive, so it is not easy for him to continue to have monopoly power.

But Dao Yan's next words made Zhu Di slightly unhappy.

Dao Yan actually advised him not to kill Ping An and Sheng Yong?

Peaceful, prosperous and mediocre, what kind of people are they?

In the Battle of Jingnan, there were mainly two large battalions responsible for suppressing the Yan army from the east to the west.

The first is the Zhending camp, which has its back on Jingxing Road and relies on the two supply lines of Shanxi and Henan for supplies, and is led by Ping An; the second is the Dezhou camp, which has its back on Shandong and relies on the Xuzhou supply line for supplies, and is led by Sheng Yong.

And since they can command these two camps, as famous generals of the Southern Army, these two people are not ordinary people.

Ping'an came to prominence in the Battle of Baigouhe. As a powerful flanking force in Li Jinglong's plan, Ping'an severely damaged the Daning generals who were responsible for the rear defense of the Yan Army; in the Battle of Jiahe, he captured the Yan Army's powerful generals, and today's Xue Lu, Marquis of Yangwu.

Sheng Yong defeated Zhu Di in the battle to defend the city of Jinan, and then commanded the army to surround and kill Zhang Yu in the Battle of Dongchang, and killed Yan Army General Tan Yuan in the Battle of Jiahe.

The so-called hero is my enemy.

For a person like Zhu Di who holds grudges very much, he has never lacked generals who are accustomed to fighting, and the enemies are clearly remembered in his little notebook.

Zhu Di almost never forgives those who resist him.

For example, if warriors like Boyan Timur and Huo Erhui, who are now serving as bodyguards in the Zhongyi Guard, do not surrender to Zhu Di, no matter how brave they are, Zhu Di will order them to be killed without hesitation, as if they were being killed along with them. Just like the Tartar officials who took prisoners but refused to surrender.

Therefore, Qi Tai, Huang Zicheng, Fang Xiaoru, Lian Zining, Jing Qing, and Tie Xuan all ended badly.

But now that Zhu Di's originally hostile civil servants had been killed, it was naturally the turn of the generals.

Zhu Di frowned and said: "Ping'an, Shuzi'er. He came out of the fortress with me in the past years and knew how to use my troops. He was lucky enough to become famous during the Jingnan period. Now he is commanding and using it in Beiping. It's just a show of mercy. How can he not kill him?"

"Sheng Yong, as a military general, you are so spineless, just a loser on the roadside begging for mercy. Your courage has been broken. What's the use of keeping him?"

Dao Yan's answer was brief, but Zhu Di suddenly woke up.

"Checks and balances."