The Forbidden City is brightly lit.
Especially after nightfall, colorful fireworks bloomed in the sky throughout Jinling. The dazzling light, set off various lanterns, shrouded the entire palace in brilliance.
Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, a good day for family reunion and gathering together. The emperor’s banquet has been custom-made since the Song Dynasty, and it is also a way for the emperor to show his favor to his courtiers.
There is a person sitting on the right side next to Zhu Di. It is Empress Xu whom she has not seen for a long time.
Because Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Gaoxu came to Beijing, and their two sons were with them, Empress Xu's spirits improved a little, but there was a faint paleness on her face, and it was obvious that her body and bones were not in good condition.
On both sides of the emperor and queen's desk were the three princes of the dynasty.
The eldest prince Zhu Gaochi took the hand of the emperor's eldest grandson Zhu Zhanji and sat first in the order, which also meant that he was the first choice for the crown prince.
The second prince Zhu Gaoxu sits alone in the second position on the left, which means that he is the third candidate for the throne of prince, because in front of him, in addition to the eldest prince Zhu Gaochi, there is also the emperor's eldest grandson Zhu Zhanji!
As for the third prince Zhu Gaosui who had just been "released from prison", he was sitting in the fourth position honestly at the moment.
After being imprisoned for almost two months, His Highness the Third Prince, who was originally arrogant and domineering, has now restrained himself a lot, and his words and deeds are all well-behaved.
Obviously, Zongzhengji's life in captivity was not easy.
Behind Zhu Gaosui were the noble military ministers headed by the three great princes, Qi Guogong Qiu Fu, Cheng Guogong Zhu Neng and Cao Guogong Li Jinglong.
From the position, it is not difficult to see that the people on the left are all Zhu Dijing's confidants who can't rebel.
On the right side of the Dog Emperor, the first person is none other than King Zhou Zhu, the most senior person among the existing vassal kings.
Then there are the sons of Taizu from the older generation, the sixth king of Chu Zhu Zhen, the seventh king of Qi Zhu Zhu, the eleventh king of Shu Zhu Chun, the thirteenth king Zhu Gui, the fourteenth king of Su Zhu Xi, the fifteenth king of Liao Zhu Zhi, Princes such as Zhu Zhuan, the 16th Prince of Qing, Zhu Quan, the 17th Prince of Ning, and so on.
After all, they are both the biological sons of Taizu Emperor Gao and the biological brothers of the Dog Emperor Zhu Di, so their status is far beyond that of ordinary clan members.
Behind these first-generation princes, there are the second-generation princes, such as King Zhu Shangbing of Qin, King Zhu Jixi of Jin, etc. They are still young and humble. In addition, they experienced the deliberate suppression during the Jianwen period and the subsequent outbreak of Jing. The difficult battles and the change of dynasties caused these young people to be frightened and trembling in their seats.
After the second generation of princes, came the six ministers and cabinet scholars, the leaders and core figures of the civil servants and gentry.
Li Hongbi stretched his neck and quietly observed the situation in the palace, preparing to run away immediately if the situation turned bad.
I have to admit that his location is indeed very good, right at the entrance of the hall.
You don't have to sit around with a bunch of big guys inside, but you can just hear what's going on inside, and you can watch it live by stretching your neck, which is perfect.
At this moment, the atmosphere in the hall was already very lively.
First, the eldest prince Zhu Gaochi toasted to the Dog Emperor, and then the second prince Zhu Gaoxu and the third prince Zhu Gaosui were not to be outdone. Seeing this, all the vassal princes immediately followed suit, giving the Dog Emperor face.
Zhu Gaochi, the eldest prince, was indeed a little too fat. His fat body sat there, like a mountain of meat. Coupled with his gentle fat face, he was very full of joy.
Next to Zhu Gaochi sat a young lady with fine features. If Li Hongbi guessed correctly, he should be the eldest grandson of the Dog Emperor and the future Emperor Xuande, Zhu Zhanji.
The emperor's eldest grandson, and also his direct eldest grandson, so Zhu Zhanji was very popular with the emperor and empress.
Empress Xu hadn't seen her sweet grandson for a long time, so she immediately waved to him. Zhu Zhanji looked at his father, Zhu Gaochi, who smiled and nodded to him. The young lady then trotted two steps with great joy, and then jumped up. Into the arms of Queen Xu.
When Zhu Di saw this, he just frowned and didn't say much, because he also loved his eldest grandson extremely.
This scene fell into the eyes of Zhu Gaoxu and Zhu Gaosui, and they immediately felt very unhappy.
You must know that Queen Xu is now sitting with the Dog Emperor. In a sense, they are sitting on the dragon chair, and Zhu Zhanji is now standing next to the dragon chair, only one step away from sitting on the dragon chair. remote!
What this means, even a fool can see!
Qiu Fu, Li Yuan and others looked unhappy when they saw this.
When Xie Jin, Huang Huai and others saw this scene, they smiled happily and began to whisper.
No matter how miserable the eldest prince is, he still has the eldest grandson as his trump card!
When Li Hongbi saw this situation, he was also very sad.
Zhu Zhanji, Zhu Gaochi’s biggest trump card.
Well, he is also the biological father of the second generation of the Ming God of War!
Looking at Zhu Zhanji's pink and beautiful face, Li Hongbi was thinking about when he would have the opportunity to pinch him a few times, then give him a good meal and let him discipline his son in the future!
Beside Li Hongbi, a group of ministers and senior officials from the five temples couldn't help talking about him when they saw his appearance.
This boy is so brave. He actually dared to stretch his neck and look inside without paying any attention to his own courtesy!
Why is there your biological father inside, and you are so concerned about the situation inside?
Hey, wait a minute, it seems that Cao Guogong Li Jinglong is really inside, and his biological father is really inside!
When they thought of this, everyone was dumbfounded.
Yang Shiqi was shocked when he saw this, and hurriedly pulled Li Hongbi's sleeve.
"Brother, what are you doing? Pay attention to your courtesy!"
"Stop making trouble, we're watching a show! The show is about to start!"
"..."
The Dog Emperor coughed twice, and the vassal kings, nobles, and civil servants who were talking to each other all stopped and raised their heads in silence.
"Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, a good day for family reunion."
"However, some people will never be reunited or see their families!"
Hearing this, all the ministers' hearts trembled.
Most of them vaguely guessed what His Majesty the Emperor was going to say.
"When the young master took the throne, he trusted a traitor and caused a great disaster, killing my clan members!"
"It was difficult for my father and mother to start their own businesses, and the feudal clans dominated the world and their vassals continued endlessly."
"But Zhu Yunwen, this idiot, listened to the treacherous slander, ignored his bloodline relatives, and raised the butcher's knife against his own flesh and blood uncles. Man and God are outraged, and God cannot tolerate it!"
Qiu Fu, Zhu Neng and other noble generals were very angry when they heard this.
Back then, they followed King Zhu Di of Yan to raise troops to quell Jingnan, and the banner they used was "Fengtian Jingnan".
"The Instructions of the Imperial Ancestors" says: "There are no honest ministers in the dynasty, and there is evil in the government. We must train troops to fight against it, so as to eliminate the evil on the emperor's side."
This is the legacy of Taizu, and it is also the name of righteousness, so King Zhu Di of Yan can win the support of the common people and soldiers all over the world!
However, Xie Jin, Huang Huai and others chose to remain silent and did not dare to make any move.
After all, they are former ministers of the former dynasty, and it is not easy for them to speak at this time, let alone unable to speak.
Emperor Taizu Gao did leave such a legacy of Jingnan, but the premise was that the vassal princes and clans raised troops to pacify Jingnan, which had to be the emperor's decree. This was directly thrown to Java by Emperor Yongle.
As for the vassal kings, their situation is even more embarrassing, and they can be said to be as silent as a cicada.
They were the ones Zhu Yunwen tried to cut down the feudal clan back then. Every one of them counted, and none of them ran away with him!
Now His Majesty the Emperor has mentioned this matter again, and it is still at this Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. What does he want to express?
Is it possible that he also wants to cut down the feudal clan?
Some things cannot be thought about in detail.
The more I think about it, the more panic I feel!
Li Hongbi smiled.
The reduction of vassalage has begun!
The Dog Emperor kills without a knife!
