Father can be an enemy country

Chapter 1392 Old Li is a real man

In the imperial garden, on the yellow-green grass, the cooks dared not breathe, and the blazing stove could not bring a trace of warmth.

"They say that the old minister instructed Li Cunyi to collude with Hu Weiyong to rebel." Facing Boss Zhu's questioning, Li Shanchang said calmly: "Do you believe this yourself? You are a great hero and hero that only appears once in a thousand years. How could you succeed with just a few clowns like them?"

"Really?" Zhu Yuanzhang remained unmoved and blew gently on the second bowl of noodles.

"I admit that Li Cunyi did lobby Hu Weiyong, but I firmly rejected his suggestions." Li Shanchang added, "I also broke Li Cunyi's legs twice, just to prevent him from getting involved in Hu Weiyong's suicide."

"Is it enough to just stay out of it?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked coldly, raising his voice, "As the Grand Tutor and Duke of the Ming Dynasty, you should report them immediately! Instead of keeping silent! Silence means acquiescence, and acquiescence means being an accomplice!"

"It's too inhumane to talk about ascending to the throne." Li Shanchang shook his head and said, "In those days, not only did the ascendant's entire family suffer, but the old minister's family was almost extinct, and only his younger brother was left. Even if he was useless, could I report him and send him to death with my own hands?!"

"..." Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a moment, then lowered his eyelids and asked, "Why didn't you confess to us after the Hu Weiyong case? You should at least explain your problems clearly, right?"

"Alas, I was indeed taking a chance on this matter." Li Shanchang sighed and said, "I thought that the superiors sent me from Fengyang to Nanjing, which meant that they did not need me to confess."

"You think, you think everything!" Zhu Yuanzhang was impatient and put down his chopsticks with a snap. He found sadly that his appetite was not as good as before, and he could not finish the second bowl of noodles.

"You are still playing tricks on me! Let me ask you, what happened with Yang Wenyu? What do you mean by 'I am old. You will do it after I die?'" He leaned forward with his hands on his knees, stared at Li Shanchang like a tiger, and asked:
"And who was the first person to send a message to the grassland after the Hu party failed, telling Feng Ji not to come back?!"

"If that's not enough, here is your handwritten letter to Hu Weiyong in the 13th year of Hongwu. Explain to us what it means to 'If you want to do great things, you must have the cooperation of several great dukes and marquises?!'"

"I was advising him not to act rashly!" Li Shanchang was anxious. How could he take something out of context in front of someone?

"You all knew that he was going to do it, but you didn't warn us. Don't you just want to sit back and watch him kill the king?" Zhu Yuanzhang slammed the table and shouted angrily, "You are such a heartless person, are you going to argue to the end?!"

"..." Li Shanchang was immediately exhausted. He didn't expect that the letter that he had instructed the servant to deliver the letter must be kept by Hu Weiyong and burned after reading it, but he actually kept it!

"I have nothing to say..." He finally lowered his proud head in dejection.

People's wills always waver. Yang Wenyu was indeed the closest to convincing him that time. But after that, his mind changed, so he sat back and watched Hu Weiyong rebel...

"Don't you think about how tolerant I am to you? Without solid evidence, would I force you to this point?!" Zhu Yuanzhang looked at Li Shanchang lying on the ground indifferently. Li Shanchang nodded and finally said frankly: "Your Majesty is right, I did waver, and my loyalty to the emperor is not as pure as before."

"Why did it become like this?" Zhu Yuanzhang's voice was filled with deep regret. "Old Li, do you know that in my heart, you are like an elder brother. You taught me to read, explained things to me, and took care of everything for me besides fighting. You are the most important person in my heart!"

"Why did he change like this? Didn't he know what was going on when he took the throne?" Li Shanchang raised his head and said expressionlessly, "He changed after he became the emperor. He doesn't take his brothers seriously at all."

"You're talking nonsense! Why don't we take our brothers seriously?!" Zhu Yuanzhang was angry.

"The superiors are guarding against us like thieves. If we occupy a little more land, build a few more houses, or indulge our servants a little, we will attract the wrath of the superiors!" Li Shanchang pointed in the direction of Fengtian Hall and said, "The day that the iron board is erected, we will know that although the superiors keep saying that they don't want to be like Emperor Gaozu of Han, sooner or later they will be an emperor more cruel than Liu Bang!"

"The subsequent developments were just as I expected. In October of the seventh year of Hongwu, I was ordered to go to Beiping to plant trees. When I returned to Guazhou but had not yet entered the capital, the emperor sent someone to tell me to return to Fengyang. As a result, I had just returned and had not settled down. In March of the eighth year, the emperor ordered me to return to the capital. The emperor punished an old man like this. Do you think I am a human being?"

"In the eleventh year, the old minister tried to save the ceremonial guards and angered the emperor again. He ordered someone to take the money to the inspection office at the door of our house, and then he was humiliated and sent home. At that time, the three of us were crying in the front hall. The sons said, "Father is a great tutor. It's really inhumane for the emperor to take it if he wants."

He went on and on about many old grievances, then laughed at himself and said, "These things may sound like old grudges now, but at the time, each one was like a spit on my face and a stab in my heart. I have lost face and my heart has been deeply hurt."

"Being bullied by the higher-ups, it's inevitable that I'll be a little confused sometimes. But I won't do it, and I won't do it in this lifetime, because I know too well how powerful the higher-ups are." He finally lowered his tone and said, "In fact, it's the same for Marquis Ji'an and the others. They're just talking nonsense, don't take it seriously."

"But the problem is, cough cough..." Zhu Yuanzhang was so angry at Li Shanchang that he started coughing violently. It took him a long time to recover and said, "When I get sick, old, or die, I may not dare to do it anymore, right?"

"I am fourteen years older than you and will definitely die before you." Li Shanchang said calmly.

"So it's like this: 'You guys do it after I die'" Zhu Yuanzhang suddenly realized, "Alas, it is indeed easy to share adversity, but difficult to share wealth."

"That's because the superiors don't really share the wealth. If you treat us half as well as you treat your son, who would rebel against you? At that time, I'm afraid that if they heard that someone was going to rebel, they would bring even their own son to their front!"

"Well, it's true that people are greedy!" Zhu Yuanzhang was furious and suddenly raised his voice and said, "I gave you the hereditary title of Duke, an annual salary of 4,000 dan, a big house to live in, and so many official servants to serve you, and this is not enough?!"

"More or less is all about comparison. When we were in Chuzhou, Your Majesty gave me two dan of rice every month. I was so grateful and contented because Your Majesty was also poor." Li Shanchang raised his voice and waved his hands:
"But now the whole world belongs to the upper class! We all have our heads tied to our waists, rebelling and doing business. There is no reason to let your Zhu family take all the spoils. We can only share some petty profits!"

(End of this chapter)