Faced with Yang Xuan's question, Zhu Yunwen's tone paused.
But then I thought about it, if he hadn't said that at the beginning, would he have been able to secure his position as Crown Prince?
Can you still be an emperor now?
"So what, now, I am the emperor of Ming Dynasty!"
Zhu Yunwen looked at Yang Xuan without any guilt.
Yes, he lied to Lao Zhu, but what happened to telling a few lies for the sake of his position as the Ninth Five Emperor?
Now that he is the emperor, does he have to follow his previous ideas when cutting down the vassals?
If the kings want to rebel, then it is better to rebel.
The imperial court has millions of troops, why are you still afraid of them?
Pick one out and take care of it yourself.
Yang Xuan looked at Zhu Yunwen and felt a little strange.
Was it because he was pretending too well, or was he mistaking the wrong person?
The previous Zhu Yunwen clearly looked a lot like Zhu Biao!
"My lord, please leave!" He needed to calm down now.
"Uncle, let's go slowly!" Zhu Yunwen said lightly without raising his head.
He is also very angry now.
I easily cut off Zhou Fan, shouldn't I be encouraged?
Instead, he allowed himself to submit to the kings.
What's the point?
He is the emperor.
But Yang Xuan was also doing it for the Ming Dynasty, so Zhu Yunwen didn't care anymore.
It's just that he must continue with the reduction of vassalage.
There is no turning back when the bow is drawn!
…
Changpinghou Mansion.
After Yang Xuan came back, he locked himself in the study.
He looked at Zhu Biao's portrait hanging on the wall and murmured: "Your Highness, he is really different from you."
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"who?"
"Master Hou, it's me, Lao Hu."
"Old Hu, come in!"
Creak~
The study door was pushed open and Lao Hu walked in.
"What's the matter?" Yang Xuan asked.
"Master Marquis, I have here a secret decree left by the late emperor." Old Hu took out an envelope from his arms and presented it with both hands.
"Why are you telling me now?" Yang Xuan frowned.
"The late emperor said that it can only be handed over to the Marquis when the time is right." Lao Hu explained.
"Okay!" Yang Xuan nodded.
He now wants to know, what kind of medicine is Lao Zhu selling in this gourd?
Taking the secret decree from Lao Hu, Yang Xuan opened it and was stunned.
What the letter said was very simple.
To sum up, Lao Zhu regretted it at the last moment of his life.
He didn't know whether Zhu Yunwen could be a good emperor, and he also judged that Zhu Di might rebel.
If he had to choose between Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Di, he would be more inclined to make Zhu Di the crown prince.
After all, at that time, Zhu Di was the eldest among the kings, so it did not violate the principle of establishing direct descendants and establishing elders.
But by then it was too late to regret.
It's too late.
As the son who is most like Lao Zhu, how could Zhu Di not have ambitions.
So Lao Zhu hoped that if Zhu Yunwen could be a good emperor, he would find a way to stop Zhu Di.
But if Zhu Yunwen is not good at being emperor, then let him be replaced by the fourth child!
The purpose of keeping this secret decree was just in case, and also to prevent Zhu Di from being accused of treason and usurping the throne.
Make it justified.
After reading the secret decree, Yang Xuan took a deep breath.
"Lao Hu, you go down first!" he said.
"yes."
Later, Yang Xuan looked at the portrait of Lao Zhu next to Zhu Biao's portrait, and said with a wry smile: "Father, Father, you really left me a difficult problem!"
He decided to seal the secret decree first.
Although what Zhu Yunwen is doing now is too radical, it is only in terms of reducing the vassal state.
In other respects, it's okay for now.
Yang Xuan felt that Zhu Yunwen could still be saved.
After all, I have been teaching him for several years, and I don’t want to give up on him just like that.
Unless... it disappoints him too much.
…
Beiping.
Prince Yan's Mansion.
The news that King Zhou had been deposed spread, and the Prince of Yan also felt that a storm was coming.
The secret room of the royal palace.
Zhu Di and Dao Yan sat opposite each other.
"Your Highness, the court's attitude is already obvious."
"They want more than just military and political power."
Dao Yan said slowly.
He was still very grateful to the little emperor in the capital.
This made him more confident in persuading Zhu Di to rebel.
"His Highness knows what kind of person King Zhou is."
"It's an evil intention. This is completely framed."
"The reason is simply that King Zhou and Your Highness are brothers from the same mother."
"The purpose of deposing King Zhou is very clear, which is to frighten Your Highness."
"It's also to cut off His Highness's helpers."
"Your Highness, don't you still understand?"
“The imperial court’s real target is you, Your Highness!”
"If you don't prepare early, you will just become a piece of fish on the chopping board and be slaughtered by others."
Dao Yan was speaking on the side, his words full of confusion.
But Zhu Di still couldn't make up his mind.
This is a rebellion!
My family has a great business, unlike the old monk who lives alone.
I think back when Lao Zhu rebelled, he struggled for a long time and finally defected to the rebel army when he had no other choice.
Therefore, this is not something that can be decided at once.
"It's better to wait first!" Zhu Di said.
Daoyan was unwilling to do so, but that was all he could do.
But he was already over sixty and couldn't wait many more years.
He could only hope that the little emperor in the capital would give him more strength.
…
Beijing.
Yang Xuan gave Zhu Yunwen some more advice.
The latter also agreed to Yang Xuan not to reduce the vassal status for the time being.
Put your mind on government affairs.
Now that the emperor has made concessions, Yang Xuan can't keep holding on to him.
However, he did not dare to be too reassured about Zhu Yunwen, so that during this period he went to work every day without asking for leave.
In November, Zhu Yunwen made another small move.
He appointed Zhang Bing, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, as the envoy to Peiping. Xie Gui and Zhang Xin were in charge of the envoys' department in Peiping, secretly supervising the affairs of Prince Yan's palace.
This is a normal work transfer, and others can't fault it.
However, Yang Xuan still persuaded Zhu Yunwen not to push too hard on King Yan.
Zhu Yunwen agreed wholeheartedly.
But he turned around and attacked the acting king Zhu Gui.
Someone reported that the acting king Zhu Gui was "corrupt and cruel".
Zhu Yunwen took a look and realized that this wasn't the reason why he was sent to his door.
As the saying goes, the prince's crime is the same as that of the common people, and the emperor's uncle is no exception.
He is the emperor, how can he protect his relatives?
So a man of great righteousness came to kill his relatives and moved Zhu Gui to Shu to take care of him.
Qianqing Palace.
"Your Majesty, how did you promise me? Didn't you agree not to reduce the vassal status?" Yang Xuan asked.
"Uncle, there is nothing I can do!"
"Look at the crimes that Uncle Thirteen committed. If I don't deal with them, how can I explain them to the people?"
"Go out now and see if the people are applauding." Zhu Yunwen said, not thinking that he was wrong at all.
"They know nothing." Yang Xuan couldn't help but swear.
"What the common people know is not all decided by the court and the civil servants."
"You know the truth in your heart."
"Uncle, I respect you as an elder, so I speak kindly to you."
"Don't be ignorant!" Zhu Yunwen's face also turned cold.
"Your Majesty, you..."
"Uncle, go back and don't go out again before the end of the year."
…
