Fengxian Hall.
The bell rings.
All civil and military officials went to court one after another.
Since Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, he ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor.
For decades, unless I was bedridden, I had to go to bed early every day and never rest.
He was a very diligent emperor.
Statistics from later generations show that during his more than 30 years in office, Lao Zhu read an average of more than 200 memorials and dealt with more than 400 matters every day.
This does not include going to court, meeting with ministers, and participating in various rituals such as worshiping heaven and ancestors.
But two days ago, Lao Zhu suddenly stopped going to court for two days.
The atmosphere in today's morning meeting was very serious.
Zhu Yunzhen, the grandson of the Fourth Emperor, led his troops to massacre the Wu family. This incident had caused a shock in both the government and the public.
Suzhou scholars in Jinling wrote letters one after another, demanding severe punishment for this matter, and they were almost unable to suppress it.
Many people lamented this.
His Royal Highness the Grandson of the Fourth Emperor is intelligent, well-spoken, and his poems are astounding to the world. Why is he so cruel?
Killing without asking, killing without trial, is too much.
Others were very happy.
If His Royal Highness the Fourth Emperor is punished and imprisoned for this, will his proposed increase in commercial tax be shelved and left alone?
Others believe that Lao Zhu was too fond of His Royal Highness the Fourth Emperor and was reluctant to appoint him as the crown prince, fearing that he did not have the intention to make him the crown prince.
It is a taboo to dethrone a direct descendant and establish a concubine.
Now that something like this happened to Zhu Yunzhen, this worry has disappeared.
In any case, many people believe that Zhu Yunxuan has done what he did, and Lao Zhu needs to give an explanation to the world.
Although Zhu Yunzhen was not killed because of this, he could not escape after being grounded for several years and strictly disciplined.
"Your Majesty!" A royal official came forward: "Jiang Gu, the commander of the Jinyi Guards, is so bold that he led his troops to massacre the family of the wealthy businessman Wu Wanggeng recently."
"Early this morning, many Suzhou businessmen, scholars, and people in Jinling have reported this matter."
"Please ask your Majesty to issue an edict and punish him further."
He did not mention Zhu Yunxuan directly, but impeached Jiang Yu.
After all, everyone knows that without Zhu Yunzhen's order, Jiang Yu would never dare to do such a thing if he had the courage to do so.
As soon as this statement came out, other ministers also came forward one after another.
"It's unheard of in ancient times, it's unheard of in ancient times!" A minister knelt on the ground and said: "More than a hundred people from the Wu family were all killed. The condition is too horrific to be seen."
"If this matter is not severely punished, our Ming Dynasty's principles and laws will disappear."
Another minister followed suit: "Although Wu Wanggeng is just a businessman, he is very philanthropic and well-known in Suzhou. The people call him a "great good man". After this matter spread, everyone in Suzhou in Jinling City became famous. This is full of righteous indignation, and I ask your Majesty to issue an order to punish him severely."
"The Jin Yiwei are so unscrupulous and disregard the national law. It is really shocking."
"If you don't kill Jiang Gu, it will be difficult to understand the law of the country; if you don't kill Jiang Gu, it will be difficult for the people to be angry; if you don't destroy Jiang Gu, it will be difficult to explain it to the world!"
"I bow down with tears in my eyes, and ask Your Majesty to issue an order to immediately show the head of the chief criminal Jiang Yuxiao to the public. A group of Jin Yiwei and others will immediately arrest him and hand him over to the Ministry of Punishments and Dali Temple for questioning."
…
In the court hall, all the officials spoke one after another, and after a while, a large number of them knelt down.
Everyone said that Jiang Qi deserved to be killed.
Zhu Yuanzhang said lightly "Oh" and said, "Do you know why Jiang Yu did this?"
The hall suddenly became quiet.
After a long while, the censor who took the lead said: "His Royal Highness the Fourth Emperor Sun ordered Jiang Yu to do it."
"Although His Royal Highness the Fourth Emperor is very talented, he is really too willful and willful. I am bold and ask Your Majesty to strictly discipline him."
Other ministers immediately followed suit.
"His Royal Highness the Fourth Emperor killed innocent people indiscriminately and insulted the reputation of the royal family. I ask your Majesty to issue an order to imprison him."
"A father loves his son, and a father loves his grandson. This is a human relationship. Your Majesty loves His Royal Highness, and it is as it should be."
"But His Majesty is not only the elder of His Highness the Fourth Emperor, but also the father of the people of the world."
"Loving His Majesty the Emperor is for private reasons, punishing lawbreakers, and upholding national laws and regulations are for the public good. Your Majesty must not serve public interests for private reasons."
…
Zhu Yuanzhang's face remained as usual, showing no signs of happiness, anger or happiness.
"Why are you acting like this?"
His voice sounded majestic again.
"His Royal Highness the Fourth Emperor was assassinated outside the city yesterday. After returning to the city, he led people to massacre the Wu family. This should be related to this."
"However, those who assassinated the Fourth Emperor's grandson outside the city yesterday were a group of men in black, not members of the Wu family."
"At the time of the assassination, most of the men in black died."
"The remaining people have also been killed."
"I also don't understand why His Royal Highness led troops to massacre the Wu family."
"It's just that regardless of whether the Wu family is related to this matter or not, the reason should be heard by the Yousi Yamen. His Royal Highness, the Emperor and Sun, was killed without complaining. It is not in line with the procedures and violates the laws of the Ming Dynasty. It must be severely punished."
Gu Kuan, Yin of Yingtian Mansion, came out to give a memorial.
He had not dealt with Zhu Yunzhen for a long time, so he would not let go of this opportunity now.
Zhu Yuanzhang took a deep look at him and moved his eyes to Zhu Ping aside.
Speaking of which, Zhu Xi did not have to go to court, he was just a vassal king outside.
Even if he returns to the capital to discuss matters between the DPRK and China, it has little to do with him.
Instead, he should avoid suspicion and stay away.
But for some reason, before dawn today, the palace suddenly sent someone to inform him that he should attend today's morning court.
This woke up Zhu Ping, who had been awake until three in the morning last night, quickly changed his clothes and hurriedly came to court.
"The laws of nature and human desires are the result of national laws and personal relationships." Lao Zhu asked, "Chang'er, what do you think of this matter?"
Zhu Xiang's heart tightened. Although he was crazy and violent, he was not stupid. He knew very well how much his father valued family ties.
"Yunren is young and smart, far better than ordinary people, but he is inevitably arrogant because of his talent. His behavior is indeed very inappropriate. According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, he should be severely punished without mercy."
"But he is the eldest brother's child. How can I bear to watch him suffer and make it difficult for the eldest brother to rest in peace?"
He paused and then changed the subject:
"My eldest brother has been benevolent throughout his life, and the most important thing is to uphold the laws of the country. He always has a heart of benevolence and righteousness. I never imagined that Fu'er could be so cruel!"
"In my opinion, it's better to let Fu'er guard the mausoleum of my eldest brother as a filial piety, and let him experience my eldest brother's benevolence."
This is a very well-spoken statement.
This is something Zhu Xi has thought about repeatedly.
He knew that Lao Zhu valued family ties, so he played the family card and kept saying that he had to take care of his eldest brother's son!
But the proposed plan was to let him guard the mausoleum and fulfill his filial piety.
In this era, keeping the mausoleums of princes and grandsons is almost equivalent to confinement.
It is even worse than being imprisoned, because not only are the mausoleum guards locked up, but they are also not allowed to have any entertainment activities, otherwise, it would be unfilial.
Therefore, in history, when new emperors ascended the throne and punished brothers who had committed crimes, they would often be sent to guard mausoleums and the like.
When the officials of the imperial court heard this suggestion, many people secretly applauded.
If Zhu Yunzhen is asked to guard the mausoleum, he will no longer be able to participate in important political affairs, and he will no longer be able to be established as the crown prince.
Zhu Xi felt that his idea was very good, and Zhu Yuanzhang would probably adopt it.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly became furious and picked up a memorial and hit him on the head.
"Thank you for remembering that you have a big brother!"
A thunderous roar resounded through the Fengxian Hall.
…
