Zhu Di wanted to be the emperor in his dream.
He is also a human being and naturally longs for that position.
But he knew clearly that with his elder brother here, this delusion could only be buried deep in his heart.
It's just like a dream once in a while.
However, no matter how deeply he hid it, he was still seen by someone who was interested. This person is the current abbot of Qingshou Temple, Yao Guangxiao.
In the fifteenth year of Hongwu's reign, Queen Ma died of illness. Zhu Yuanzhang selected eminent monks from among the people to accompany the kings and chant sutras and pray for blessings.
At that time, Yao Guangxiao was recommended by Zuo Shanshi Zongli of the Senglu Division and successfully accompanied Zhu Di.
"Why do you want to find me specifically?" Zhu Di asked curiously at that time.
"I have a great gift for you, a poor monk." Yao Guangxiao replied calmly.
"What can you, a monk, give to this king?" Zhu Di said with a smile, not paying too much attention to it. He has no shortage of gold and silver. As the King of Yan, he can be regarded as inferior to one person and superior to ten thousand people.
"If Your Highness chooses me, I would like to send a white hat to Your Highness in the future." Yao Guangxiao said quietly.
When Zhu Di heard this, he was horrified, his face changed drastically, and he was about to get angry.
However, looking into Yao Guangxiao's deep eyes, all the words seemed to be stuck in his throat.
Finally, he just whispered: "Come with me."
Although Zhu Di has little education, he still knows very well what Wang Shangjiabai means.
Even though he knew that Yao Guangxiao could say such things, he was definitely not a serious monk, but Zhu Di still brought him back to Peiping and granted him the title of support of Qingshou Temple.
Perhaps only Zhu Di himself can know what he was thinking.
"Inform the prince to follow me to the capital to express my condolences."
After the postman left, Zhu Di took a long time to recover, and then gave the order.
Naturally, such an important event as the prince's death cannot be delayed. It is getting late today, and Zhu Di will set off early tomorrow morning.
"Yes, Your Highness." Upon hearing this, Ma Sanbao immediately went to find the crown prince Zhu Gaochi.
After the others walked away, Yao Guangxiao saw that Zhu Di's expression had recovered, so he walked up to Zhu Di and whispered:
"Your Highness, this is a God-given opportunity."
When Zhu Di heard this, he frowned and looked at Yao Guangxiao: "What do you mean by this?"
Yao Guangxiao was not afraid of saying anything treacherous, so he pointed it out directly:
"When the prince dies, His Majesty will naturally choose one more person to inherit the throne from among the many princes and grandsons."
"From the humble monk's point of view, given His Majesty's temperament, it is most likely to be chosen from among the emperor's grandsons."
"With Zhu Ying's appearance and temperament, if he appears in the capital city or is seen by His Majesty, he will definitely be regarded as the eldest grandson who died young."
"In this way, Your Highness will have a chance."
Yao Guangxiao's words had a very clear meaning. He wanted to take this opportunity to bring Zhu Ying to the capital, and even arrange a chance encounter with Zhu Yuanzhang.
Once Zhu Ying is identified as Zhu Xiongying, the former emperor's eldest grandson, it is very likely that he will be chosen as the heir.
Zhu Di and Yao Guangxiao naturally knew Zhu Ying's identity.
Zhu Yuanzhang was over sixty years old, which was considered a long life in the Ming Dynasty.
In a few years, after His Majesty's death, Zhu Ying succeeded to the throne.
Zhu Di once again revealed that Zhu Ying's true identity was not of royal blood, so naturally the emperor's position became vacant.
When the time comes, anything is possible.
"Why do you think my father will not choose me?"
Zhu Di said with some pride, and at the same time, there was a ferocious aura deep in his eyes.
Obviously being emperor made him a little irritable, after all, this was a possibility he thought about day and night.
Now that he finally saw the hope of his dream coming true, Yao Guangxiao came to break it, and Zhu Di couldn't help but feel a sense of violence.
He is the King of Yan. He grew up in a war-torn military camp and showed excellent military talent at an early age.
In the third year of Hongwu, when Zhu Di was ten years old, he was granted the title of King of Yan.
In the ninth year of Hongwu, Zhu Di married Xu, the daughter of the famous general Xu Da, who was the first hero of the Ming Dynasty and ranked first among the "six kings" of the founding of the country.
In the thirteenth year of Hongwu, Zhu Di, who was twenty-one years old, established a vassal state in Yanjing and Peiping.
In the 23rd year of Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang took advantage of the fact that the former Prime Minister of the Yuan Dynasty, Nai'er Buhua, the Taiwei, and Alu Timur, the Zhiyuan, had repeatedly become border troubles. He ordered the Jin King Zhu Fan and the Yan King Zhu Di to divide their troops into two groups to attack the Northern Yuan Dynasty again. .
In this expedition, Fu Youde, Duke of Ying State, served as the former general to conquer the captives. Zhao Yong, the Marquis of Nanxiong, and Cao Xing, the Marquis of Huaiyuan, served as the left and right deputy generals. Wang Bi, the Marquis of Dingyuan, and Sun Ke, the Marquis of Quaning, served as the left and right staff generals to supervise the troops during the expedition.
Wang Bi was ordered to lead Shanxi troops under the control of the King of Jin, and the rest were under the control of King Zhu Di of Yan.
Thirty-year-old Zhu Di became the army commander.
Peiping, where Zhu Di was granted vassal status, was the capital of the former dynasty. As the fourth son of Zhu Yuanzhang, it goes without saying that Zhu Di was trusted.
During the ten years of Peking, famous generals Fu Youde, Feng Sheng, and Lan Yu all used Peking as a starting point to conquer the Northern Yuan Dynasty.
For Zhu Di, these famous generals were his admirers in his heart. In every battle, Zhu Di humbly learned from them. When King Yan asked for advice, many famous generals also gave advice.
The most difficult thing about this expedition is not to defeat the enemy, but to find the enemy.
The Ming Dynasty has a strong military force and has the potential to crush it, but the climate in the hinterland of Mongolia is harsh and it is extremely vast. If you enter rashly, you will be in serious danger over time.
Zhu Di gritted his teeth and ventured in. He knew that this time was extremely important to him and he could only give it a try.
Just like the blue jade fishing sea in the past, Zhu Di finally found the remnants of the Beiyuan army after some hardships.
Then the King of Yan, Zhu Di, surrendered Nai'er without spending a single soldier.
The king of Jin, Zhu Fan, fought fiercely, but he did not dare to go deep into the hinterland of Mongolia for fear of excessive losses.
In this way, Zhu Di's military exploits are even more outstanding.
As far as the current situation is concerned, in Zhu Di's opinion, as long as his father makes a fair choice, he will be the most competitive.
Zhu Yunxi and Zhu Yunwen are just two little brats.
Looking at all the brothers, Zhu Di found that his second brother, Zhu Feng, was promiscuous, not to mention his third brother, Jin Wang Zhu Fan. He had only been compared to him two years ago and had already become a foil.
The fifth brother, King Zhu Ding of Zhou Dynasty, is Zhu Di's younger brother. Regardless of his ability, he is not in his turn based on his position.
From this point of view, who else would I rather be the emperor?
Yao Guangxiao looked at Zhu Di's extremely confident face, and there was no need to pour cold water on him and ask for trouble.
Then he said: "His Royal Highness currently has a great advantage, but no one can guess His Majesty's thoughts. From the perspective of a poor monk, if Zhu Ying is not placed in the capital, it can be regarded as a secret."
"It's great if everything goes well. If anything goes wrong, you won't be in a hurry."
When Zhu Di heard this, the anger in his eyes dissipated, and a thoughtful look flashed across his eyes.
He felt that Yao Guangxiao's words still made sense.
Just like the cunning rabbit in three burrows, he was not sure what his father was thinking.
The emperor's position is too big, so it is extremely necessary to keep a secret.
Thinking of this, Zhu Di called the guards.
"According to my king's order, businessman Zhu Ying prepares his luggage and sets off with me tomorrow morning to go south to the capital to express his condolences."
