In the palace, there was silence for a long time.
The expressions on Zhu Biao's face kept changing. His brows were furrowed for a while, and relaxed for a while. After a long time, he finally asked again: "Dad, is it possible?"
"As a wise king, do I have to abandon benevolence and righteousness, and be lawless and ruthless?"
"A gentleman and a villain, my child wants to be a gentleman! If so, then for the position of prince, I..."
"Bastard!" Before Zhu Biao could finish his words, Lao Zhu stepped forward in shock and horror, and slapped Zhu Biao hard on the face. "What do you want to say? Do you mean to call me lawless, ruthless and unjust?"
"What do you want to do? We have trained you for eighteen years! What do you want to do?"
As he spoke, his voice actually started to tremble. He also did not expect that he had gone to great lengths to find a famous scholar as his teacher for Zhu Biao, and it would have such a great impact on Zhu Biao!
They helped themselves teach a good son who is humble, benevolent and filial, but he cannot become an enterprising king just by being modest, benevolent and filial!
For the so-called benevolence and righteousness of Confucianism, this son just wanted to... actually wanted to voluntarily give up the position of prince?
Zhu Biao also had persistence in his heart. He did not dodge Lao Zhu's slap, and received it forcefully. As if to show his inner persistence.
Seeing that the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense, Zhu Su had no choice but to stand up again. "Dad, please don't worry. Brother, you are too honest, and now you are being coaxed into a corner by those old Confucian papers!"
"Brother, don't glare at me. Let me explain it to you. Let me ask you: Is it more beneficial to our Ming Dynasty to implement Confucian benevolence, justice, etiquette, wisdom and trust, or is it more beneficial to our Ming Dynasty to allow evil and reckless behavior and trample on the dignity of the law at will? big?"
Zhu Biao was stunned. Without even thinking about it, he replied: "Of course it is to promote benevolence, justice, etiquette, wisdom and trust..."
"Then it's over?" Zhu Su spread his hands, "Who said that to be an emperor, you have to abandon benevolence, justice, etiquette, wisdom and trust? We, China, are not a country of beasts. The promotion of morality can make our Han people different from the barbarians in the world!"
"As an emperor, you naturally need to take action first. Otherwise, how can you convince the public?"
"It's just that when a personal moral code is contrary to the interests of the country, as a king, you must put the interests of the country first! It will harm your own personal morality, but benefit me and all the people of tomorrow!"
"This is the most rare thing about being a king, and it is also the king's responsibility. To benefit the country at the expense of oneself, isn't this exactly the selfless act that a virtuous king can do? Why is the elder brother so despicable and only wants to care about me? You are your own body, but you want to escape from this heavy responsibility that you were born to bear?"
"Harm oneself but benefit the country!" Zhu Biao's eyes widened, and his eyes gradually brightened.
"Brother, you just made a sarcastic comment to dad. It must be because those staff and subordinates complain about dad a lot, right?"
"How can you know how the moral torment in dad's heart will be when he makes each decision? Doesn't he know that some people hate him to the core? Doesn't he want to be a moral gentleman who does nothing?"
"It's really a heavy responsibility on our shoulders and we have to do it! Dad reviews the memorials every day and doesn't dare to take a break at night. It's because when dreams come back at midnight, he often feels worried in his heart!"
Lao Zhu stared blankly at Zhu Su who was speaking emotionally. Since when have we been tossing and turning in the middle of the night feeling worried? As soon as we put on the pillow, we can sleep until dawn!
It’s also moral torture. We eat whatever tastes delicious on weekdays, and we eat a lot of fried pancakes. I really don’t feel the torture!
However, seeing Zhu Biao's eyes turned towards him, Lao Zhu quickly cooperated and made a haggard look of suffering. "Biao'er, your fifth brother is right!"
"What a moral gentleman must do, and what is even more important is putting the interests of Ming Dynasty first!"
"Why is the emperor called a loner? It's because whenever there is a conflict between the two, no one can help with the torment of conscience. The emperor has to bear it himself!"
"Everyone in the world thinks that being the emperor is easy, but you, the fifth brother, are smart. You can see at a glance that this position is difficult, and you want to stay away from it. You are the eldest brother, and you are too lazy to bear this heavy burden. Which brother do you want to carry the burden for you?"
"I..." Zhu Biao's eyes turned red at what Lao Zhu said. He opened and closed his mouth silently a few times, and finally knelt down on the ground with a plop:
"Dad! My son is unfilial. He can't see his hard work in daily life, and he still harbors resentment towards him!"
"Remember today's lesson to my son! My son must learn from you, father, to shoulder this heavy responsibility and be a good prince and emperor!"
"Okay! Okay!" Lao Zhu was overjoyed and helped Zhu Biao up. He laughed heartily and said: "This is our good standard, this is our Ming Dynasty's good prince!"
The father and son looked at each other and smiled, what a picture of a loving father and a filial son!
Zhu Su looked at Lao Zhu first, admiring Lao Zhu's acting skills in his heart. As expected of someone who started from scratch and became an emperor, this impromptu performance of bitterness fooled even Zhu Biao, his own son. In order to educate the prince, Lao Zhu really spared no effort.
Looking at Zhu Biao again, he didn't expect that the Confucian morality of benevolence and righteousness was so deeply rooted in Zhu Biao's heart. Today's argument of "putting national interests first" hopes to change this somewhat pedantic elder brother, help him break through the shackles of Confucianism, and plant the seed for him to become an iron-blooded king.
However, it is precisely because of the "pedantry" in his heart that he most hopes that he can become the next emperor, right? After all, if it were him, he would never take action against his brothers for no unfounded reasons.
Zhu Biao wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes with his sleeves. His eyes were firm, which was slightly different from his usual humble and polite appearance. Although his clothes were messy, he had an air of perseverance. "Dad, you are right."
"The son should not blindly tolerate Ru Taisu. Although what he did was within his authority, he only relied on his own assumptions to instigate the family relationship between his son and his fifth brother."
"Even after repeated orders from his son, he still acted arbitrarily. Although this matter is small, it cannot be ignored."
"My son will go to the cabinet right away and draw up a punishment statement. This will also let everyone in the government and the public know that my fifth brother and I are of the same mind and have no ill feelings at all!"
"Okay!" Lao Zhu was overjoyed. "We want you to punish him, and that's why!" After thinking about it, he finally didn't want his son to get a bad name, so he woke up and said, "You can think of some other excuse to move this Ru Taisu far away from the capital. That’s it. Those officials are smarter than monkeys, so they naturally know what you mean.”
"I will definitely not dare to look for your fifth brother under false pretenses again."
Previously, Lao Zhu had shouted that he wanted to kill Ru Taisu, but now Zhu Biao was enlightened. Regardless of what he had said, he began to consider Zhu Biao wholeheartedly.
"Yes. My son knows." Zhu Biao nodded. He said hello to Zhu Su again, thanked him a few times, and hurried to the cabinet. He already has a lot of affairs, and if the matter of Ru Taisu is resolved as soon as possible, it can prevent rumors from spreading to both the government and the public.
Put the interests of Ming Dynasty first and start from now on. Zhu Biao's steps were firm, and he felt that the guidelines for his actions were clearer than before.
"Not bad. He has some eloquence." Watching his eldest son walking out of the hall with satisfaction, Lao Zhu patted Zhu Su on the back. "What, you've also learned the emperor's art?"
"This is not an emperor's art." He didn't dare to admit it, so Zhu Su quickly shook his head like a rattle. "It's just that my eldest brother has been too deeply poisoned by Confucianism, so he thought of an explanation so that he can be consistent with Confucianism."
"It is better to believe in no books than to have no books at all. Hehe, if I want my eldest brother to become an emperor through the ages like you, I naturally have to think of ways to make him more ruthless."
"You kid!" Lao Zhu laughed. "He is a good material who is born to deceive people!"
(End of chapter)
