"Father, my son wants to go south to Nanjing, please allow me to do so!"
After Li Ruolian left, Zhu Cihong suddenly knelt down to ask for an order.
Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned for a moment, then he helped him up and said, "We had intended for you to go to Nanjing before, but now the situation is complicated. You have to wait for a few more days..."
When Zhu Cihong saw Zhu Yuanzhang directly rejecting his request, he felt relieved.
Because the rebellion in the north is still pending, and the Jurchens are about to arrive again.
He was requesting an order to go south at this moment, and it was easy for Zhu Yuanzhang to misunderstand that he was taking the opportunity to flee south.
As for Zhu Yuanzhang's character, if he had doubts about him, he would not refuse directly, but would take the opportunity to ask him about his plan.
As long as he opens his mouth, no matter whether what he says is true or false, he believes that Zhu Yuanzhang will be able to figure it out and make his plan come to an end.
But at this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang rejected him without hesitation, which showed that the other party had no doubts about him.
Therefore, Zhu Cixiang did not feel resentful because of the rejection. Instead, he respected Zhu Yuanzhang more and felt a heavier sense of responsibility in his heart.
Then he saw Zhu Yuanzhang frowning and checking Kun Yutu, and felt uncomfortable again.
He hesitated for a while, then knelt down and said: "Father, I know that requesting an order to go south at this moment will complicate the situation."
"But I really don't want to see my father working so hard, and Commander Li only has thousands of troops under his command. Even if he can capture the eastern part of Henan, he may not be able to hold it..."
"I know that my father is worried that the southern forces will use me to deal with you, but you can rest assured that even if I die, I will never give them a chance..."
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Zhu Cihong who was holding back tears, and was quite moved when he heard these heartfelt words from the other party.
In fact, when Zhu Cihong proposed to go south just now, Zhu Yuanzhang not only considered the reasons given by Zhu Cihong, but also thought that Zhu Cihong wanted to stand on his own in the south.
After all, the family ties in the imperial family are the coldest, not to mention that now is a time of impending disaster.
However, although he felt a little sad in his heart, he did not blame Zhu Cixiang. Instead, he felt a little happy.
Because if you want to become a wise king, you must not only have a strong government and a strategy, but also be able to judge the situation and make prompt decisions. Both kindness and ruthlessness are indispensable.
Otherwise, a kind and wealthy sheep will only become food for evil tigers in the end.
Although such a prince might bring danger to Zhu Yuanzhang, he didn't care much about it.
Because he is confident that he can control Zhu Cixiang, and even with this kind of risk, in the long run, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.
And if there is danger, this danger does not come only from the prince.
Therefore, he did not test or stop Zhu Cixiang, but decided to let Zhu Cixiang grow independently and truly become a wise king, instead of being unable to withstand the storm like Zhu Yunwen.
Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang is also a human being, and he also has seven emotions and six desires.
In particular, although he was the emperor, he also suffered from human sufferings. He experienced the grief of losing his father in his early years, his wife in his middle age, and his son in his later years.
Therefore, he also longs for family affection and desperately hopes to live a life of family harmony and children and grandchildren around his knees.
It's a pity that he is an emperor and the emperor of an empire that is in turmoil.
For the sake of his country and the countless people of Ming Dynasty, he had to put it all down.
This is not a difficult thing for ordinary people, but he, the aloof emperor, can only keep it deep in his heart.
He cannot and does not dare to let anyone find out, because he wants to be an invincible king.
At this moment, when he heard Zhu Cixiang's words, he was excited and his blood boiled again.
After Zhu Cixiang finished speaking, he firmly helped Zhu Cixiang up, and then shouted with an angry face: "Prince, we have trained you like this, how can you not cherish yourself so much?"
"Do you know why the Shaanxi rebels have not moved this time when Pingxi Marquis besieged Li Thief? It is because Li Thief has no descendants and is divided into two factions, which are suspicious of each other."
"Now that you are the crown prince, you don't think about protecting your body as a father and a king. You actually want to use your noble body to compete with the earthen jar. How can you be worthy of us, worthy of our ancestors..."
Zhu Cixiang was originally filial, but when he heard this, he realized how wrong he was.
His body trembled, and then he knelt down to apologize.
Zhu Yuanzhang did not help Zhu Cixiang up this time, but restrained his anger and continued: "We know that you are filial, but if filial piety is used incorrectly, it will be a bad intention to harm others and yourself."
"Especially because you don't have enough knowledge now, but you use your teacher's mind for your own purposes, and you are self-righteous. This will only make the situation worse."
"Do you think that as long as you don't surrender, the rebels in the south can't do anything to you?"
"Let me tell you, even if you die, they will still have thousands of ways to bring your body back to life. How can you stop them? And..."
While Zhu Yuanzhang reprimanded Zhu Cihong, he secretly observed his expression.
Seeing Zhu Cixiang's face full of guilt and holding back tears, he felt a little unbearable.
So he helped Zhu Cixiang up again and said softly: "Okay, we know your painstaking efforts. It's just a major political matter, which cannot be solved by benevolence and filial piety."
"If you have anything to do in the future, you can tell us. If you don't understand anything, you can ask us..."
Zhu Cixiang looked at the kind-faced Zhu Yuanzhang and was filled with excitement.
The tears in his eyes kept rolling, but they never fell down.
When Zhu Yuanzhang saw this, his eyes couldn't help but become a little blurry.
He patted Zhu Cixi's shoulder and said kindly: "You have worked hard these days, go back and have a good rest!"
Hearing this, Zhu Cixi shook his head repeatedly and said, "Father, I am not tired. Although I cannot help you, I will feel better if I can accompany you."
Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang felt even warmer in his heart, and said with a smile: "We don't need you to accompany us, and the matter has been taken care of. We will rest soon."
After he finished speaking, seeing Zhu Cixiang's suspicious look, he explained: "Although the Jurchens may invade the south, Dorgon will do anything to confuse us."
"So when he actually leads his troops to attack, it will be three to four days at the earliest. By then, Gong Yonggu and Wu Sangui's troops will be in place, and there will not be any danger in the short term."
"And judging from the previous situation, Zhang Huangyan and others are also quite strategic. In addition, Zheng Hongkui is about to arrive in North Korea. If they can do it, Dorgon may not have the chance to send troops at all."
"As for Li Ruolian, you don't have to worry. What you saw just now is only part of the troops in his hands. In fact, after the battles in Yuxian and Hengshan, he has nearly 20,000 people under his command."
"And Du Yinxi and Shen Yunying in Mianchi are both loyal men, and they also have 10,000 elite cavalry in their hands."
"In addition, Gong Yonggu pretends to make up for Huang Degong, but actually restrains his troops. It is not difficult for Li Ruolian to capture and hold the east of Henan..."
After listening to Zhu Yuanzhang's story, Zhu Cixiang relaxed a little from his worries.
Only his brows relaxed, then wrinkled again, and he looked at Zhu Yuanzhang worriedly.
