"Ma Jinzhong, you lead the army to Weifang immediately. If you can defeat the rebels, we will make you General Huaiyuan!"
Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly broke the silence and looked at Ma Jinzhong.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, General..."
"Your Majesty, no, if we don't go south in time, not only..."
Ma Jinzhong was originally unwilling to go south, but when he suddenly heard Zhu Yuanzhang's words, he immediately beamed with joy. He was about to respond, but was interrupted by Lu Zhenfei on the side.
However, Lu Zhenfei was not able to finish what he said because Zhu Yuanzhang turned to look at him.
After Lu Zhenfei saw Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes, he was ready to argue, but for some reason, he suddenly didn't have the courage to continue speaking, even though Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes were very peaceful at that time.
For a moment, the hall fell into silence again.
But the silence was short this time, because Zhu Yuanzhang quickly spoke again: "Ma Jinzhong, why don't you thank me? Are you unwilling?"
After hearing this, Ma Jinzhong came back to his senses and thanked him again and again.
Zhu Yuanzhang smiled slightly and motioned for him to leave.
Ma Jinzhong bowed respectfully, and then slowly exited the hall, followed by the sound of rapid and heavy footsteps.
Seeing Ma Jinzhong's behavior, Zhu Yuanzhang knew that he had nothing to worry about, so he looked at Lu Zhenfei again and said, "Lu Zhenfei, do you know the crime?"
When Lu Zhenfei heard this, he couldn't help but tremble when he thought of Shen Tingyang's beating.
In fact, he was panicking, not because he was afraid of being beaten, but because he felt that he couldn't afford to lose face, especially with a junior like Zhang Huangyan present.
However, he was upright and tough by nature. After a moment of panic, he said with a righteous face: "As the right deputy censor of the capital, I have the responsibility of admonishing..."
"presumptuous!"
Zhu Yuanzhang loudly interrupted Lu Zhenfei's words and said coldly: "The right deputy censor of the capital is responsible for admonishing, but he must not lose his etiquette."
"If everyone in the Metropolitan Procuratorate uses this as an excuse to act with total disregard for ethics and discipline, how can you stand up and what is the use of the Metropolitan Procuratorate..."
Following Zhu Yuanzhang's reprimand, although Lu Zhenfei looked ashamed, he still held his head high.
He neither surrendered nor confessed his guilt.
Because he felt that in this matter, Zhu Yuanzhang did not understand the overall situation and was stubborn and made a big mistake.
And he only made a small mistake and had no fault.
Zhu Yuanzhang originally just wanted to give Lu Zhenfei a beating, but now that he saw that he was unrepentant, he couldn't help but think of those censors who had intimidated him in the name of loyalty, and felt a little angry in his heart.
Then he thought that Lu Zhenfei was so eager to send troops just to protect the interests of the Jiangnan gentry, without considering the overall situation, let alone the Ming Dynasty, and he became even more angry.
So he asked loudly: "Lu Zhenfei, do you know - sin -?"
Although Lu Zhenfei was aware of Zhu Yuanzhang's anger, he still stubbornly said: "I inherit the law of Taizu, but I consider the people..." 33
When Zhu Yuanzhang saw that Lu Zhenfei actually used Taizu's method, and thought of how Chongzhen was often subject to this, he was furious and shouted loudly: "Come here, drag this clever and selfish sycophant out and beat him hard." Ten army sticks!”
As soon as he said this, Lu Zhenfei's face turned red with shock.
At this moment, Lu Zhenfei was not afraid, but angry.
Because he has neither been greedy for money nor loved power in his life, but he only values his reputation.
How could he endure it when Zhu Yuanzhang actually called him a "sycophantic minister full of selfishness"?
He immediately retorted angrily, as if Zhu Yuanzhang would be killed in the hall if he didn't apologize.
Zhang Huangyan saw that the situation was out of control and hurriedly stepped forward to dissuade him.
Li Wu and others who came in regarded Zhu Yuanzhang as a heavenly being. Seeing that Lu Zhenfei dared to be rude to Zhu Yuanzhang, they immediately stepped forward and captured Lu Zhenfei.
Seeing this, Zhang Huangyan hurriedly knelt down and begged for mercy: "Your Majesty, although Mr. Lu is partial, he has lived in the south of the Yangtze River for a long time, and it is human nature to be biased."
"What's more, the current situation is chaotic and Guo Sheng's movements are unknown. Lord Lu is just a civil servant and is not good at military affairs. It is normal for him to provide inappropriate advice."
"But even though he made mistakes, he is still better than those people who just eat nothing. Your Majesty, please show his loyalty and spare him this time!"
When Lu Zhenfei first heard that Zhang Huangyan said that he had selfish motives, he wanted to refute it, but when he heard that his advice was inappropriate and so on, he couldn't help but be stunned.
Zhu Yuanzhang had previously questioned Lu Zhenfei, firstly because he wanted to kill Lu Zhenfei's arrogance, and secondly, he wanted to create an opportunity for Zhang Huangyan to integrate into the Jiangnan gentry more quickly.
However, when Lu Zhenfei said "the method inherited from Taizu", Zhu Yuanzhang was really angry.
Seeing Zhang Huangyan begging for mercy at this moment, he was silent for a while, looked at Zhang Huangyan and said: "Zhang Qing, please tell me how he made inappropriate suggestions and make him understand!"
Zhang Huangyan was shocked when he heard this and couldn't help but steal a glance at Lu Zhenfei.
Seeing that Lu Zhenfei was surprised at first, and then showed anger, as if he was about to defend himself, he kowtowed first and said: "Your Majesty, although Mr. Lu made a mistake in his strategy, his crime will not lead to death. Please show mercy to your Majesty!"
Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly and said in a deep voice: "Don't say that he just gave wrong advice. Even if he is defeated, as long as he is devoted to the court, we will not blame him."
"But today he favored the front and sophistry behind. In the end, he saw that his goal was not achieved, and he dared to bring out Taizu to threaten us. Is this the way of a minister and the words of a loyal minister?"
"The reason why we kill him today is to let everyone in the world understand that we are the true Dragon Emperor destined by destiny and are not subject to any restrictions. Anyone who dares to threaten us will only die!"
As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang said these words, he felt inexplicably relieved.
Zhang Huangyan, Lu Zhenfei and others not only felt the fierce murderous aura, but also felt the aura that swallowed up mountains and rivers and looked down on the world, and they couldn't help but feel admiration.
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
Li Wu below was shocked by Zhu Yuanzhang's momentum. After being surprised, he knelt down and shouted in conviction.
When the other Jinyi guards heard the sound, they just woke up from a dream and shouted loudly.
In the end, even Lu Zhenfei lowered his high head and whispered in agreement.
Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at everyone coldly and motioned for them to stand up. Unexpectedly, Lu Zhenfei knelt down again.
Zhang Huangyan saw the murderous intent looming in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes and knew that he was really murderous this time.
He thought that if Zhu Yuanzhang killed Lu Zhenfei because of this, he would not only lose the hearts of the Jiangnan gentry, but also the people, and the situation would become even more passive.
However, if he tried to dissuade him again, he would be worried that Zhu Yuanzhang would mistakenly think that he was complicit, and he would not be able to make up his mind for a moment.
Just when he was hesitating whether to take another risk, he heard Lu Zhenfei's voice: "I know that I am guilty, please punish me."
As soon as Lu Zhenfei said these words, everyone present was shocked.
Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Lu Zhenfei and asked: "Aren't you innocent? Why are you guilty again?"
When Lu Zhenfei heard this, he kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am guilty, but I have no selfish motives!"
"The reason why I attach great importance to Jiangnan is because I feel that there are Jurchens in the north of the capital and rebels in the west. Although your Majesty used your natural resources to repel the powerful enemies, the mountains and rivers in the north are broken and the people's livelihood is in decline. It cannot be restored without a few years of hard work. "
"But although the Jurchens and rebels have retreated, their foundations remain. Apart from the fact that it was not a day's work, if war breaks out again in the future, all your efforts today will be in vain."
"So I believe that if we want to revitalize the Ming Dynasty, we must base ourselves in the south of the Yangtze River, follow the example of Taizu, and revitalize the imperial court. This is why I insist on going south."
"Because if Nanjing is lost, the south of the Yangtze River will inevitably be in turmoil, and the southern grain that maintains the stability of the north will not be sustainable. By then, both the north and the south will be in chaos, and there will be no pure land in the world. Even if your Majesty has the ambition to reach the sky, he may not be able to carry it out..."
Zhu Yuanzhang listened to Lu Zhenfei's story. Although he felt that he still had quibbles, his loyalty was unquestionable, and his originally gloomy expression gradually softened.
Some people died, but not completely...
