NovelsAlex Chapter 1036 Compromise
Chapter 1036 Compromise
Chapter 1036 Compromise
"You!" Daotong was shocked when he heard Fan Xianzu's long speech. He asked, "Do you know what you are talking about?"
"Let's not talk about the great contributions that His Royal Highness Prince Zhou has made to the country. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness Prince Zhou are brothers from the same mother. The brothers have always gotten along well with each other. How could there be a problem of a fight for the throne?"
"Besides, Your Majesty has emphasized the status of the Crown Prince countless times. In order to properly place the other sons, he has already arranged for them to be granted fiefdoms in foreign countries... The position of the Crown Prince can be said to be as stable as Mount Tai."
"You have the presumption to criticize the King of Zhou... If His Royal Highness the Crown Prince hears it, it would be a crime of alienating the royal family!"
"Even if His Majesty finds out, is your head worthy of being chopped off?"
"Haha, I am appreciated by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, so I should make plans for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince... Why should I be afraid of losing my life?" Fan Xianzu said frankly. "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is sincere and filial, and he also cares about the relationship between brothers. As his subjects, we have to make plans for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
"For this reason, even if we need to use our own small minds to judge the heart of the king of Zhou, what's the harm?"
Dao Tong’s body was shaken.
"Even so." Daotong thought for a while, and still insisted: "The South Sea pirates are a matter of merchants colluding with the pirates. What does it have to do with His Majesty King Zhou?"
"Can we stop His Royal Highness Prince Zhou from threatening the Crown Prince by allowing these merchants to go unpunished?"
Fan Xianzu shook his head. "No, this merchant's situation has nothing to do with His Majesty the King of Zhou."
"But if we want to investigate to the end, it will inevitably lead to a surge in the power of King Zhou... The South China Sea pirates are far away from the Central Plains. To deal with them, we naturally need to increase military spending, or even add more naval forces."
"And most of the naval commanders were close friends of the King of Zhou."
"Isn't this a waste of national funds and a disguised way of giving His Majesty the King of Zhou more wings? My Ming Dynasty already has too many foreign soldiers. Many of them are related to His Majesty the King of Zhou."
"Strong branches and weak trunks are a recipe for disaster."
Daotong was speechless for a long while before he said, "Should we just ignore those bandits from afar and let the sea borders of our Ming Dynasty be controlled by others?"
"…Our Celestial Empire is vast and has everything. It is the most elite place in the world." Fan Xianzu shook his head again. "What's the benefit of interacting with the barbarians? The so-called trade is to exchange the precious products of our Chinese essence for the cheap products of the barbarians. Moreover, even if we abandon a remote piece of land on the sea, what will happen?"
He no longer looked at Daotong, but murmured to himself: "Barbarians are a disaster, and we should isolate them. As long as we protect our Chinese ancestral land as stable as Mount Tai, our Ming Dynasty will be able to last for thousands of years..."
……
"Grandpa Emperor, this is today's medicinal soup."
In the imperial city, Zhu Su, Zhu Biao, and the emperor's grandson Zhu Xiongying once again came to Zhu's bedroom.
Old Zhu half leaned on the dragon bed, but he had already woken up. Although his face was still a little gray, he had recovered some spirits. Seeing Zhu Xiongying bring in a bowl of medicine soup, the fearless Hongwu Emperor showed some disgust in his eyes, and said to Zhu Xiongying with some displeasure: "My dear grandson, this medicine soup is really bitter, I can't drink it."
"Take it away for now, we'll drink it later... ok?"
"Grandpa Emperor, this won't do." Zhu Xiongying looked like he had seen through Old Zhu's behavior, and on his face, he looked like he was coaxing a child. "Xiongying remembers when I was a child, I complained about the bitterness of the medicine soup, but Grandpa Emperor said that a real man would not be scared by a bowl of medicine soup... Is Grandpa Emperor going to be scared away by the medicine soup today?"
As he spoke, he deliberately extended the medicine soup forward.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Su could not help but laugh out loud in the back. Old Zhu looked embarrassed and glared at Zhu Su fiercely. Then he turned to Zhu Xiongying and said, "You, the eldest grandson, know how to use moral principles to deceive your royal grandfather... OK, let's drink this medicine soup, let's drink it." After saying that, he took the bowl of medicine handed to him by Zhu Xiongying, closed his eyes and drank it up in one gulp.
Zhu Su saw this and exchanged glances with Zhu Biao: It has to be Zhu Xiongying, the grandson that Zhu Yuanzhang loves the most, who is indeed the only way to control Zhu Yuanzhang.
A few days ago, upon learning the news that Zhu Yuanzhang had regained consciousness, Zhu Su and Zhu Biao rushed to the palace, and then witnessed Zhu Yuanzhang, the workaholic, ignoring Erhu's strong persuasion and preparing to move to Jinshen Palace to deal with the backlog of state affairs.
This frightened Zhu Su and Zhu Biao. Zhu Su had just recovered from his illness, so how could he withstand the torment of those memorials? Zhu Su immediately held Zhu Su's hand and persuaded him. After that, the great doctor Dai Sigong came and threatened Zhu Su, and Zhu Su finally calmed down. He ordered the crown prince Zhu Biao to take charge of all state affairs, and Zhu Su himself should rest assured and take care of his health first.
However, new problems soon followed. Zhu, who had been worrying all his life, could not rest. He could not lie down in bed for a day, and he summoned court officials to ask about state affairs, and asked people to bring Kunyu Wanguotu to ponder over the map. Soon Dai Sigong diagnosed that Zhu was too worried, and emphasized again that he must take good care of himself... But the more he took care of himself, the more irritable Zhu became. He even stopped taking the medicine to calm his mind.
Zhu Su and Zhu Biao tried to persuade him, but the old man was so stubborn that he would not budge no matter what. At that moment, the crown prince Zhu Xiongying came back from Daning. Zhu Su suddenly had an idea and gave the important task of watching over the old Zhu to Zhu Xiongying, who had just returned to Yingtian Prefecture.
果然，有这位老朱最为疼爱的大孙出马，立马就打中了老朱的七寸……平素对着朱肃和朱标吹胡子瞪眼，乃至于又是脱靴子、又是解腰带，要揍朱肃朱标兄弟两屁股的老朱，对上朱雄英的时候却那叫一个和蔼可亲。人说老小孩儿老小孩儿，朱雄英如哄小孩儿一般，把老朱给哄的那叫一个眉开眼笑。
"Has there been any major events in the court in the past few days?" Old Zhu asked Zhu Biao as he handed the medicine bowl back to Zhu Xiongying.
"My father, it's nothing serious." Zhu Biao replied. "Qingzhou reported a drought the other day, but the grain in the Changping warehouse is sufficient, and the prefecture government can still support it. I have transferred disaster relief funds from the Ministry of Revenue and exempted Qingzhou from agricultural taxes for the next three years. Although the drought is severe and ordinary crops are difficult to grow, the crops in Fengmingzhou are much more drought-resistant, which is just right for promotion in Qingzhou."
"The Ministry of Rites reported that an envoy has come to pay homage and has been properly accommodated in the Honglu Temple."
"In addition, the Baoyuan Bureau of the Ministry of Industry has produced 13,000 sets of new military equipment. According to the original plan, the troops of Duke Cao and Duke Liang of Lianzhou have been equipped with new equipment..."
Zhu Biao reported one thing after another, and he didn't need to worry about it. He handled every matter very well. If he just said "nothing", Zhu would not believe it, but after adding these trivial matters, Zhu believed that Ming Dynasty was really fine now. After listening to Zhu Biao's report on the "big things" in recent days, Zhu nodded with satisfaction: "Biao'er, you did a very good job."
"Well, it seems that we really don't need to worry too much about the affairs of the court."
"In the future, you can discuss and decide on matters in the court with your fifth brother. You don't need to report to me."
"In a few days, I will take Xiongying to Fengyang to recuperate... I always feel suffocated in this palace."
"You can rest assured and take care of yourself. If there is any major incident, I will report it to you immediately." Zhu Biao said.
Old Zhu nodded, waved his hand to let Zhu Biao and Zhu Su go out, and then asked Zhu Xiongying to bring the chessboard and wanted to play chess with Zhu Xiongying.
Zhu Biao and Zhu Su bowed and left the bedroom. Seeing that they were far away from the bedroom, Zhu Su walked to Zhu Biao and said, "Brother, you didn't report the matter of Abigail and the South China Sea pirates to father. Could it be that you have your own considerations?"
He was actually a little dissatisfied. This matter concerning the South China Sea route was a major matter and should be decided as soon as possible.
Zhu Biao's expression froze, his eyes flickered slightly, and he said, "Fifth brother, I have decided to suppress this matter for the time being."
"Suppress this matter?" Zhu Su was stunned. "Why?"
"The imperial court is currently unable to take care of the affairs of Southeast Asia," Zhu Biao explained. "Let's not talk about it for now. The matter of the pirates in Southeast Asia is just one-sided words of that foreigner. Even if there are pirates in Southeast Asia, the layout in Annan is more important than in Southeast Asia."
"The Nanyang Navy is currently unable to deal with the pirates in Srivijaya. Moreover, the pirates there have never robbed our Ming merchants. In this case, it is not a bad idea to give them some time to spare."
"...Brother, how could you want to condone their misdeeds?" Zhu Su was surprised. "These people control the economic lifeline of the Maritime Silk Road of our Ming Dynasty. How can I allow others to sleep peacefully beside my bed?"
Although Zhu Biao seemed kind, Zhu Su knew that if anyone touched the interests of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Biao would be decisive and would show no mercy. These remarks were not like Zhu Biao's style.
"Could it be that Big Brother has other considerations?"
"...Yes." Zhu Biao hesitated for a while and nodded.
"This matter must be very serious. My father is ill, and I am deeply worried." Zhu Biao said, with lingering worry and fear on his face.
"If a major case is uncovered, given the emperor's temper, I'm afraid he will fly into a rage again, implicating countless people... Not to mention the sudden turmoil in our Ming Dynasty. What if the emperor gets so angry that he gets sick again, then what should we do?"
Zhu Su was silent, thought about it, and nodded.
With Zhu's temper, if he knew someone was colluding with the bandits, he would definitely kill them. It would be fine if he killed people like in the four major cases, but now there is no Empress Ma to comfort Zhu. If Zhu gets too excited and his emotions affect his health, it will be harmful.
One Zhu Yuanzhang is worth tens of thousands of Nanyang trade routes... With Zhu Yuanzhang as the pillar of stability, the Ming Dynasty is absolutely free of internal worries and can develop and expand with peace of mind. Compared with a stable and powerful rear area, everything else is not worth mentioning.
"Fifth brother, you don't have to worry." Zhu Biao advised Zhu Su. "This matter still needs to be considered in the long run."
"We can deal with it slowly in the future. Right now, our father's health is the most important thing."
We have alerted the enemy this time. It will not be easy to deal with these parasites in the future... Zhu Su complained in his heart, but still nodded to Zhu Biao to show that he understood.
Zhu Su returned to the Zhou Palace, still looking worried. Sanbao, who was accompanying Zhu Su, brought him lunch. Seeing that Zhu Su put down his bowl and chopsticks after taking a few bites, he couldn't help but ask worriedly, "Why is Your Highness so worried?"
"Dong Ji...how is he now?" Zhu Su suddenly remembered his old subordinate and asked Sanbao.
Sanbao was also involved in the previous plot against Dong Ji. Sanbao was also concerned about Dong Ji's fate. He told Zhu Su, "The Dong family was stripped of their official positions and all their assets were confiscated. As for Dong Ji himself, he was transferred to the Ministry of Justice and is still in prison."
"The Ministry of Justice...what is its verdict on Abigail's death?" Zhu Su asked.
"Your Highness, I don't know." Sanbao replied. "This case has not been made public, but I heard that Zhu Fu of the Zhu family has been doing a lot of things for his son these days..."
"..." Zhu Su fell into deep thought. Seeing this, Sanbao did not dare to disturb him and just stood quietly beside Zhu Su.
After a long while, Zhu Su regained his composure and said to Sanbao, "Sanbao, go and prepare the horse for me."
"Where are you going, Your Highness?" asked Sanbao.
"Let's go to the Ministry of Justice," Zhu Su said. "I want to have a good look at my old subordinate again."
The prison of the Ministry of Justice was not as bloody and gloomy as the Jinyiwei, but it was still a prison built underground, so it was cold and damp. The clerk of the Ministry of Justice opened the heavy prison door, and the stench of decay hit Zhu Su in the face.
Zhu Su waved his hand to get rid of the unpleasant smell. The clerk of the Ministry of Justice had already brought him to a prison. In the prison, a dishevelled man with dishevelled hair was sitting with his back to the prison door. The clerk bent his waist and said to Zhu Su in a flattering voice: "Your Highness, King Zhou, the prisoner Dong Ji is the one here."
"Yes." Zhu Su said to the clerk, "Open the prison door. I want to have a good chat with this man."
"This..." The clerk hesitated and was afraid to open the cell door. If the prisoner got angry and hurt the prince, he would be held responsible. However, he saw the tall and strong Gou'er and the ferocious Di Meng behind Zhu Su, so he finally chose to open the cell door.
With two guards like these, those damned criminals here shouldn't be able to hurt His Highness, right? The clerk thought.
The prison door opened, and Zhu Su, Gou'er, Sanbao, and Di Meng went in. In an instant, the narrow prison was crowded. Zhu Su looked at Dong Ji, who was still sitting on the hard bed made of straw and didn't dare to turn around, and said, "Captain Dong, what's wrong? You don't recognize me?"
"How could Captain Dong, who is so brave and valiant on the battlefield, be ashamed to see others?"
"..." Dong Ji was shocked. In fact, when the clerk said "Your Highness, Prince Zhou", he knew that Zhu Su was coming. But now he was in such a state that he really didn't dare to face Zhu Su.
But when Zhu Su said the three words "Captain Dong", Dong Ji felt a pang of pain in his heart for no reason. He had wanted to play dumb to the end, but now he could no longer pretend.
He turned around and bowed slowly to Zhu Su, saying:
"General Dong Ji, I pay my respects to His Highness the Fifth Prince..."
(End of this chapter)