Chapter 172 The Seeds of Scholars in the World
The King of Yan was not trying to please the King of Zhou, but he really had something urgent to do at this moment.

The most pressing matter was none other than Zhu Yunwen.

However, as Zhu Di was riding his horse into the palace, he saw thick smoke rising from the palace wall in the distance.

Zhu Di’s heart skipped a beat, and an extremely ominous premonition rose in his heart.

He whipped the horse a little faster, and when he arrived at the place where the smoke was billowing, there were many eunuchs and palace maids here, but the former Emperor Jianwen had turned into a corpse.

Zhu Di still vaguely remembered the eunuch holding the corpse. He was the chief eunuch who often followed Zhu Yunwen.

But the eunuch was holding the corpse at this moment, tears streaming down his face, sobbing and saying:

“Your Majesty, why is it so?”

Zhu Di narrowed his eyes and looked at the eunuch with a calm expression, but no one could tell what he was thinking.

Among the people present, except for the eunuchs and palace maids, the one with the highest status was Fang Xiaoru.

As for Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai, although they were extremely unqualified as counselors, in terms of their loyalty, even Zhu Di could not deny or even criticize them.

At present, according to the information obtained by Zhu Di, Qi Tai went to Guangde to recruit soldiers for Emperor Jianwen, and Huang Zicheng went to Suzhou to recruit soldiers.

However, their original estimate of the King of Yan was obviously wrong again.

I originally wanted to use the tactic of “dragging” to make a comeback.

However, unexpectedly, Zhu Di liked the words “strange” and “fast” when it came to strategies. He came to Yingtian Prefecture from Longtan overnight, and did not make plans by honestly attacking Yingtian as most people thought.

On the contrary, Zhu Di didn’t want to fight at all.

Just kidding!
The city wall that the old man personally ordered to be built and the capital that the old man personally selected, how could it be so easy to break through?

As it happened, Zhu Di had his own men in the city, and by attacking from the inside, Prince of Yan easily came to Yingtian Prefecture.

This long series of experiences may sound long, but considering the time Huang Zicheng and Qi Tai estimated, it can be said to be surprisingly fast.

Zhu Di already had plans in mind for Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng.

But as for Fang Xiaoru… Zhu Di had a headache.

Looking at Fang Xiaoru, a man with red eyes, thin body and the demeanor of a scholar, Zhu Di’s intuition told him that the man in front of him would be the most stubborn person he had ever encountered since the Jingnan Campaign.

Although he thought so in his heart, as a candidate for an emperor who was well versed in the art of thick black, Zhu Di showed a look of regret on his face, and choked up with sobs to comfort:
“Sir, please don’t be too sad. I was just following the example of Duke Zhou in assisting King Cheng, in order to create a good story.”

As soon as these words were spoken, if the atmosphere hadn’t been wrong, generals like Zhu Neng behind him might have rolled their eyes.

What you said… is really shameless.

Fang Xiaoru obviously thought so too.

His face was full of contempt, and he said coldly: “In that case…where is King Cheng?”

“Dead. Right before your eyes, but I didn’t kill him.”

Fang Xiaoru obviously did not expect that the Prince of Yan, such a person, would be so unreasonable and shameless.

He said angrily:

“You didn’t kill Bo Ren, but Bo Ren died because of you. Doesn’t this have anything to do with you? Even if King Cheng died, why didn’t you make his son the king?”

Zhu Di thought to himself that it was just as expected.

This stubborn donkey is really stubborn.

Zhu Di thought for a moment and then spoke:
“The Ming Dynasty is in turmoil right now. The Tatars from the north have just moved south, and the Ming Dynasty is even more prone to disintegration. The Ming Dynasty needs an older king who is steady and steady.”

cut.

Wasn’t it because of Zhu Di that the Ming Dynasty fell apart?
As for the older and more mature monarch…

Haha, you’re bragging again.

After hearing this, Fang Xiaoru just sneered and threatened again:

“If King Cheng’s son is young, why not make King Cheng’s brother the king?”

It’s endless, right?
If Zhu Di did not care about Fang Xiaoru’s reputation among scholars, he would have been too impatient to argue with Fang Xiaoru by now.

The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit.

Zhu Di risked his entire family’s lives to conquer the country from Peking. His wife, children, and everyone else contributed to the Jingnan Campaign. Even a child like Zhu Gaoyu went to the battlefield several times…

Is it possible that Zhu Di would just give up the throne he had fought so hard for just because of Fang Xiaoru’s casual words?
Isn’t this pure nonsense?
Zhu Di was too lazy to say anything. He didn’t want to communicate with this annoying guy Fang Xiaoru for the time being.

He left only one sentence:

“This is my family business.”

Housework?
Fang Xiaoru still just sneered and looked at Zhu Di defiantly.

That look… is as if saying, if you don’t agree, just chop it down?

Zhu Di just pretended not to see it.

……

the other side.

When the news of Yingtian Prefecture spread, the entire city of Jinan was in complete chaos.

Zhu Yunwen died.

Zhu Di is about to ascend the throne.

The world has changed hands, but these soldiers are still serving their dead old master. Who are they showing this to?

For the dead Zhu Yunwen to see?
In comparison, what they are more worried about now is whether the fact that they worked hard for Zhu Yunwen in the past would be dug up again after Zhu Di came to power, affecting future developments, and even… affecting the entire family.

So overnight, the situation in Jinan city changed drastically.

However, after Zhu Gaoyu received the news that his father had ascended to the throne, he was unexpectedly not as excited as he had imagined.

Zhu Gaoyu had anticipated many of the reactions he would have.

For example, yelling and even being too excited to sleep…

But that night, Zhu Gaoyu fell asleep unexpectedly quickly, but he tossed and turned in his dreams and slept rather uneasily.

When he woke up in the morning, Zhu Gaoyu looked at the dark circles under his eyes that could not be concealed even by the dim copper mirror. He finally couldn’t help but fall into deep thought…

As he went out, Zhu Gaoyu turned and came to Yao Guangxiao’s tent.

Yao Guangxiao remained the same as usual.

He was dressed in black and white clothes, with a faint smile on his lips. His whole temperament was very different from that of ordinary people, except for his pair of triangular eyes, which revealed a bit of murderous intent.

When Zhu Gaoyu came in, he crossed his legs comfortably, sat opposite Yao Guangxiao, picked up a piece of dessert and put it into his mouth.

He forgot to have breakfast before he came!
Because of the changes in Jinan Prefecture, everyone was very busy at the moment and no one paid attention to Zhu Gaoyu.

Zhu Gaoyu was hungry and ate quickly. Halfway through his meal, the cake choked his throat. He drank several cups of tea in big gulps before he was able to swallow the cake.

After eating half full, Zhu Gaoyu asked Yao Guangxiao:
“Master, why do I feel that after the Jingnan Rebellion ended, there are more things going on?”

Yao Guangxiao glanced at him, puzzled for once:

“What’s your business?”

Zhu Gaoyu’s eyes widened.

Does the great monk look down on himself?
What do you mean, what could possibly happen to him?
Zhu Gaoyu counted on his fingers and started to count with Yao Guangxiao:
“For example, after the Jingnan Rebellion is completed, there are still ministers persuading the emperor to ascend the throne, dealing with the remaining ministers of Jianwen, rewarding the heroes of the Jingnan Rebellion, and even for the princes such as the Ning Wang, Dai Wang, and Zhou Wang, new regulations need to be put forward…”

When Yao Guangxiao heard Zhu Gaoyu’s mumbling, he looked at him in surprise, as if he had not expected that Zhu Gaoyu was not very old but had a lot of things in his mind.

but……

Yao Guangxiao just found it a little funny: “It’s good that you know these things. Can you make any changes?”

After saying this, Yao Guangxiao put away his smile and spoke in a strange tone that Zhu Gaoyu had never heard before:

“Your Highness, you must remember one thing. From now on, you must keep this thing firmly in mind.”

Zhu Gaoyu swallowed his saliva.

What’s going on?
Make it so formal.

It made him a little nervous.

Seeing that Zhu Gaoyu didn’t say anything, Yao Guangxiao continued:
“When the prince has completely ascended to the supreme throne, you must remember that he is first the king, and then your father. Your brothers will no longer be…”

“wrong!”

Zhu Gaoyu had never said this to Yao Guangxiao, but now he was very angry.

Super angry!

He cited the example of Taizu to oppose Yao Guangxiao’s remarks:
“Master, if what you said is true, then when one becomes an emperor, one loses all emotions? One loses all the love between father and son? If that’s the case, then why isn’t the emperor grandfather like this?”

Yao Guangxiao opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.

God knows why Taizu favors this little kid so much.

You know, at that time, Yao Guangxiao heard the daily interactions between Taizu and Zhu Gaoyu, and even for a moment, he wondered if Taizu would have lived longer, would he have skipped Prince of Yan and bypassed Zhu Yunwen to pass the throne to Zhu Gaoyu.

Although Zhu Yunwen’s frequent stupid decisions were one of the reasons, to say that Taizu’s affection for Zhu Gaoyu was fake…even Yao Guangxiao didn’t believe it.

Now, he really couldn’t refute it.

Zhu Gaoyu took advantage of the victory and brought out many examples involving his own grandfather, the Emperor.

To sum it up, there is one central idea – I, Zhu Gaoyu, am still my father’s treasure!

Yao Guangxiao had no way to refute.

Yao Guangxiao was a born conspirator and rebel, but because he left home at a young age, his relationship with his father and brother was not even as profound as Zhu Gaoyu’s understanding of this kind of relationship.

After a moment, Yao Guangxiao opened his mouth:
“What about your brothers?”

Zhu Gaoyu’s reaction was beyond Yao Guangxiao’s expectations:

“The relationship between brothers and sisters needs to be managed and maintained by both sides! My goal is to create a five-good family that has never been recorded in history books!”

Yao Guangxiao was silent.

Your ideal is a bit unique.

Zhu Gaoyu was still talking to himself:

“Master, do you know what these five virtues are?”

Yao Guangxiao listened to his chattering and felt a little confused for a moment.

Who is right after all?

The imperial family… can there really be such a pure relationship?
But soon, Yao Guangxiao thought of something and interrupted Zhu Gaoyu’s chatter.

“When your father was leaving, I didn’t tell him one thing. This time, when you hurry up and head to Yingtian Prefecture, you must remember to stop him!”

Seeing Yao Guangxiao’s serious expression, Zhu Gaoyu couldn’t help but be serious:

“What’s the matter?”

“Don’t kill Fang Xiaoru. After Yingtianfu falls, Fang Xiaoru will definitely not surrender. Remember to persuade your father not to kill Fang Xiaoru, otherwise the seeds of learning in the world will be extinct.”

“As for the so-called vassal kings, the rewards for meritorious officials, and the remnants of Jianwen, those are not issues you should consider.”

If Fang Xiaoru is killed, will the seeds of learning in the world be wiped out?

Zhu Gaoyu was a little confused when he heard this:

“Master, why do you say Fang Xiaoru is the seed of scholars in the world?”

In the memory of that rather uneducated guy who had only a superficial knowledge of history, most of his subjective impressions of Fang Xiaoru were negative evaluations such as stubborn, incompetent, stubborn, and foolishly loyal.

Ever since Fang Xiaoru carried out the reform, the conflict between the court civil officials and the nobles, and even the frequent stupid decisions made by Emperor Jianwen since the Jingnan Campaign, all seemed to confirm the subjective impression in memory.

However, Zhu Gaoyu did not expect that Yao Guangxiao, who rarely expressed his opinions, would have such a high opinion of Fang Xiaoru.

Yao Guangxiao seemed to see what Zhu Gaoyu was thinking and laughed:
“Fang Xiaoru has achieved such great results. Do you think he is really useless? It just depends on how we use him.”

“Let’s not talk about other things for now. Just talk about Fang Xiaoru’s fame among scholars all over the world. He only wrote an article and it was circulated all over the world. In terms of Neo-Confucianism, history and ritual system, he was able to summarize the knowledge of hundreds of generations and was very broad and detailed.”

“If the prince really kills such a person, what do you think…what will happen to the scholars in the world?”

When Zhu Gaoyu thought about it, it seemed to be true…

Especially the ending in my memory, it wasn’t too good.

If Fang Xiaoru didn’t surrender, dad wouldn’t really exterminate his entire clan, right?

When Zhu Gaoyu thought about this, he couldn’t stay any longer.

He spread his feet and ran away.

He is going to Yingtian Prefecture!

……

Inside Yingtian Mansion.

Zhu Di and others were performing the necessary ceremony – persuading the emperor to ascend the throne.

This is the fourth time that the kings and civil and military officials have urged him to ascend the throne.

After four consecutive rejections, things should be about done.

It’s enough to just show your appreciation, how can you really not ascend the throne?
Before leaving for the throne.

Zhu Di looked at the city in front of him, the palaces, and the sparrows flying from the eaves, and couldn’t help but take a deep breath.

It was at this time.

Zhu Gaoyu and his brothers arrived at the imperial palace in Yingtian Prefecture, exhausted.

Zhu Gaoyu remembered the monk’s words in his heart and was afraid that he would arrive too late. In a rage, his father chopped off Fang Xiaoru’s head.

It would be fine to chop off Fang Xiaoru’s head, but I was afraid that my father would be so angry that he would chop off the heads of the ten clans as well.

It’s just a matter of convenience.

And the other side.

On the way to the inner city, Zhu Di broke out in a cold sweat.

Just because Yang Rong stopped Zhu Di.

Before welcoming the emperor, Yang Rong said only one sentence, which made Zhu Di suddenly realize something and his back was covered with cold sweat:

“Your Highness, will you pay homage to the Emperor’s mausoleum first, or will you ascend the throne first?”

If this sentence had not been said and Zhu Di had ascended the throne first, then the so-called legitimacy of Zhu Di before that would have become a joke.

Zhu Di looked at Yang Rong deeply.

It seems to want to remember the person in front of him.

The next chapter is about to begin. I have just started work at the factory and am still planning. I am under great pressure and a bit busy. I feel that I can’t take care of writing a book. I will persist and wait for everything to be on the right track. I will get up early tomorrow to sort out the subsequent chapters and adjust the rhythm. I will start with 4,000 today. It is a new chapter. I will take my time and sort it out.

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(End of this chapter)