Zhu Yujian is 38 years old this year and is the ninth grandson of Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, while Zhu Cixiang is the thirteenth grandson of Zhu Yuanzhang. In other words, he was four generations older than Zhu Cixiang, so Zhu Cixiang was polite enough to call him his great uncle!
But now he is an unlucky commoner and he dare not discuss seniority with Zhu Cihong. But Zhu Cihong had heard about him for a long time.
Because among the princes in the late Ming Dynasty, if you want to find a ruthless person who is not afraid of hardship and death, there is no doubt that it is Zhu Yujian.
Although Zhu Yujian was born in an imperial family, he received a hard-working education since childhood. He was imprisoned by his grandfather, King Zhu Shuoyu of the Tang Dynasty, in the Chengdu Department of the Royal Palace for sixteen years, from the age of 12 to 28! In the second year of Chongzhen's reign, his father, the crown prince Zhu Qiqi of the Tang Dynasty, was poisoned to death by his uncle, and he himself almost lost his status as a descendant. As a result, he met Chen Qiyu, a local official who was mourning the prince of Tang Dynasty, who stood up for him, and only then did he retain his status as the grandson of the Tang Dynasty.
After becoming the king of Tang Dynasty, Zhu Yujian, who had been imprisoned by his grandfather for 12 years, also showed extraordinary cruelty. He actually killed his uncle Wang with a stick on the first day of July in the ninth year of Chongzhen (that is, he killed his father). That one) King Zhu Qishun of Fushan also beat his other uncle, King Zhu Qishun of Anyang, half to death.
And in August of that year, this fierce prince did something even more outrageous. He actually raised troops to march north to King Qin when the Qing soldiers entered the country to rob and invade Beijing! This move broke the ban on flying "the lord does not control troops". This made Emperor Chongzhen furious. In November of that year, he was deposed as a commoner and was imprisoned in Fengyang High Wall for eight years!
The so-called 38-year-old former Tang Dynasty King served a total of 20 jail terms! So I am definitely not afraid of hardship!
As for death... not only is he not afraid, but the two brothers who came with him today, Zhu Yuyan and Zhu Yue, are both ruthless people who are not afraid of death.
In history, Zhu Yujian was Emperor Longwu of the Southern Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuxuan was Emperor Shaowu, and Zhu Yue defended Wenchun City in Taishan and persisted in resisting the Qing Dynasty until 1659 when his two brothers died for the country.
The three brothers died for the country one after another in the fight against the Qing Dynasty, and they are worthy of being the queen of Emperor Taizu Gao.
As the reincarnation of Taizu Emperor Gao, Zhu Cixiang was of course very optimistic about these three "descendants" who were not afraid of hardship and death. He needs such a prince now to attract the firepower of the Manchus!
In addition to the three of them, there is also King Lu who Zhu Cixiang wants to make good use of.
So today he personally stood at the entrance of the lobby of his handsome mansion and greeted him solemnly.
"Three great uncles have worked hard all the way, please come in!" Zhu Cixiang greeted the three elders who were walking towards him with Ma Shiying, and looked at these three people carefully.
The three were brothers, and they looked somewhat similar. They were all good-looking, and they were not much different in age. They were all wearing casual clothes, but Zhu Cixiang still recognized Zhu Yujian from them at a glance.
His introverted and tenacious temperament, which he has developed after experiencing too many trials and hardships, is something that the other two pampered princes do not have.
So Zhu Cixiang took two steps forward, grabbed Zhu Yujian's wrist, and asked affectionately: "You must be Tang Fan, right? I have admired him for a long time, I have admired him for a long time!"
When Zhu Yujian heard the young man in front of him call himself "Tang Fan", he almost burst into tears with excitement.
Of course, he is the powerful Crown Prince of Fujun - Zhu Cixiang is wearing the Crown Prince's official uniform!
The prince calls himself "Tang Fan", is he trying to restore his title of feudal prince? Zhu Yujian had heard Ma Shiying talk about this yesterday. But I still can't believe it, but today I am really convinced.
It seems that the legend that His Royal Highness is the reincarnation of Taizu Emperor Gao is true!
In the Ming Dynasty, only Emperor Taizu Gao did not care about the military power of vassals...
Thinking of this, Zhu Yujian knelt down in front of Zhu Cixiang and said, "Common man Zhu Yujian comes to see His Royal Highness the Prince of Fujun!"
Seeing him kneeling, Zhu Yuxian, Zhu Yu'e and Ma Shiying also knelt down and knelt down to see Zhu Cixiang.
"Get up, get up, please get up." Zhu Cixiang helped him up with a smile on his face, then took his hand into the lobby, and ordered him to sit down with Zhu Yue, Zhu Yu'e, and Ma Shiying.
"Prince Tang, don't call yourself a commoner anymore," Zhu Cixi said warmly to Zhu Yujian, "My father's punishment of deposing you as a commoner and imprisoning you in a high wall is too severe and unfair. I will soon be here." I have vindicated you by decree, and you are still the vassal king of my Ming Dynasty!"
"I thank His Highness the Crown Prince for your kindness!" Zhu Yujian was so excited that his eyes filled with tears.
Zhu Cixiang looked at him with a smile, and waited until he finished wiping his tears before saying: "However, your fiefdom of Nanyang is still in the hands of the bandits, and it will be difficult to recover for a while. It is better to move to another place to guard it."
What? Want to change the fiefdom?
Zhu Yujian was stunned and looked at Zhu Cixi with some doubts.
Zhu Cixiang smiled and said, "Has the Tang Dynasty King heard about Dai Fan?"
"Dai Fan?" Zhu Yujian shook his head, "What's wrong with Dai Fan?"
"The vassal has been replaced!" Zhu Cixiang said, "The third brother of my palace has been replaced, and it has also changed from false to real, and I can control the civil and military officials and the garrison of Datong Mansion."
He paused and sighed: "My third brother is only 13 years old. He is really not a candidate to be the king of Sei. Letting him take charge of the acting vassal is a last resort. However, it is necessary to restore the system of vassal king commanding troops and guarding. ! There is a vassal king in the world. If you don’t come out to serve the country and guard one side, who can I and my father rely on?
Tang Fan, horse control army, do you think this is the principle? "
This is a human shield for the Tang Dynasty King to resist the Tatars and rogue bandits!
Ma Shiying immediately understood what Zhu Cixiang meant, and quickly echoed: "What Qiansui Master said is very good! The vassal king is the vassal of the Tianjia, and he should guard one side!"
Zhu Cixiang nodded and looked at Tang Wang Zhu Yujian again.
Zhu Yujian frowned and remained silent.
If he had not been deposed as a commoner by Emperor Chongzhen eight years ago, he would have stepped forward to defend the country's borders.
But now he has suffered enough and has restrained himself. Moreover, he is still empty-handed and does not even have a confidant. What can he do to defend the border?
"Master Qiansui," Zhu Yujian was silent for a while and then asked thoughtfully, "I wonder where you want this feudal lord to move?"
"How is Runing Mansion?" Zhu Cixiang asked.
"Runing Mansion?" Zhu Yujian frowned, seeming a little hesitant.
He is somewhat familiar with Runing Mansion, because Runing Mansion is close to his hometown of Nanyang Mansion, located at the intersection of Henan, Huguang, and Nanzhili. About half of the territory is south of the Huaihe River, and it also occupies half of the Dabie Mountains. The terrain is difficult and the folk customs are strong. It is also the shield of Huaixi and Huguang, which is very important.
Zhu Cihong gave Li Yan, who was sitting next to him, a wink.
Letting the King of Tang come out of Runing was Li Yan's trick for Zhu Cihong - Runing Mansion is the hometown of Hong Niangzi and Feng San, and Li Yan has some foundation there, and he can take over Zhu Cihong's management in the future.
However, his own brand is not strong enough - he has been a bandit after all, and although he has Zhu Cixiang's trust, it is still difficult to convince the public. So we need to borrow the signature of Tang Wang Zhu Yujian!
In addition, Runing, a remote and remote area, is also extremely important in Li Yan's plan for Zhu Cihong.
Because elite soldiers are produced in remote areas. Just look at the Red Lady and you will know how tough the folk customs in the Dabie Mountains are!
If Zhu Cihong went to Jiangnan, the problem of money and food would be easy to solve, but the source of troops would be a bit difficult. I am afraid it will be difficult to defeat the Tatars and rogue bandits relying on Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Yangzhou soldiers.
The soldiers in the Dabie Mountains should be good, so the Runing Mansion must be firmly in control and managed effectively.
Li Yan said to the king of Tang Dynasty: "Your Highness does not need to worry about the people of Runing being difficult to govern. The imperial court will send capable ministers to serve as chief historians, commanders of guards and magistrates of Runing Mansion to manage the business for Your Highness. Your Highness only needs to persist in Runing. Just to unite people’s hearts.”
Zhu Cixiang said: "Prince Tang, I know that Ruyang, the first county of Runing, is not dangerous. If the bandits arrive, it will be difficult to defend it. However, you still have Xinyang, a dangerous place, and the Dabie Mountains. I don't want you and me to defend you." Ruyang will die together, but I want you to stick to Runing for a long time. Even if you go up the mountain to become the king, you must persevere to the end!"
"Okay!" Tang Wang Zhu Yujian felt confident. He stood up and bowed to Zhu Cixiang, "Your Highness, this vassal is willing to go to Ruyang and insist, even if we die before we die, we will never waver!"
