Daming Greedy Wolf Star

Chapter 539 The Last Step

Zhu Zhanzhen is an absolutely smart man.

What does it mean to retreat in order to advance? Zhu Zhanzhen called it retreat in order to advance, and he did not leave any room for it, but he was also careful to test.

The reason why he didn't leave any room was because he didn't even meet Zhu Zhanhe, his cousin, and only asked his son to send a body.

I'm all dead, just forget it.

Although Zhu Zhanhe didn't say it, that's what he actually meant. He was playing the famous card of "the deceased is the most important" in Han culture, which made Zhu Zhanhe feel a little more intolerable before he even took action.

But at the same time, Zhu Zhanyang was constantly testing Zhu Zhanhe's bottom line.

Why were Zhu Zhanyong and Zhu Zhanyong feared by the King of Wu?Isn't it because of their status as the legitimate son of Emperor Hongxi?Isn't it because of this identity that they may become candidates for the throne?
Therefore, in the eyes of King Wu's lineage, it is not Zhu Zhanyong and Zhu Zhanqian who are threatening, but Zhu Zhanyong and Zhu Zhanqin's identity as the son of Emperor Hongxi.

According to the rule of "distinguish between legitimate concubines and concubines, and order the elders and younger ones", it is not only Zhu Zhanyong and Zhu Zhanyong who are threatened, but their descendants are also threatened.

Among the rules of distinction between concubines and concubines and the order of elders and children, the most important thing is the distinction between concubines and concubines, followed by the order of elders and children.

This is why among the kings of Wu, it is clear that Zhu Zhanqi has worked hard to govern Xiangzhou Prefecture over the years. Not only has he made many achievements, but he has also worked hard, but he is still not as good as Zhu Zhan in the ranking order. That's why.

If all other external reasons are discarded and it’s not just a rule, then when the orthodox emperor dies and has no heirs, Zhu Zhanqian will be the candidate for the new emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and after Zhu Zhanqian, it will naturally be Zhu Zhan Chang's son Zhu Qiyong.

Then there is Zhu Qiyong’s son Zhu Jianshu, and then there is Zhu Jianshu’s son Zhu Youshu...

Therefore, for the lineage of King Wu, it is not only Zhu Zhanyong and Zhu Zhanqian who are threatening, but the blood and identity of these two people.

However, Zhu Zhanzhen used his own life, and even prepared to add the life of his son, in exchange for the lives of his grandson and future generations.

At the same time, Zhu Zhanyong did not get it right in one step, but tried a little bit. This is why Zhu Qiyong did what he did in front of Zhu Zhanhe.

That's Zhu Zhanzhen's gambling!
If you win the bet, your son and grandson can be saved; if you lose the bet, it doesn't matter, there is a high probability that you can save a grandson.

Of course, all of this ultimately depends on Zhu Zhanhe's thoughts.

After all, on the surface, it is the lineage of King Wu who controls everything, and when Zhu Gaoxu has been ignoring political affairs for many years, it is Zhu Zhanhe who controls the lineage of King Wu.

Under normal circumstances, no one will do everything right. After all, there is a saying: Leave a thin line in life so that we can meet each other easily in the future.

Ordinary people are like this. Zhu Zhanhe and Zhu Zhanzhen are still blood relatives, so it's not easy to make them look ugly.

If it's too ugly, what do you make other princes think?There is also the killing of blood relatives, how do you make the world think of you?
Of course, it is not ruled out that Zhu Zhanhe could directly do something wrong. After all, Zhu Zhanhe's previous behavior has always been very unexpected.

However, as the saying goes, people make plans and God makes things happen. If Zhu Zhanhe really makes up his mind to get things done, it is useless to say anything. After all, it is Zhu Zhanhe who has the advantage at the moment, and the advantage is not Average size.

……

It was night, and the Ming army was encamped.

Zhu Zhanhe still cares a lot about Zhu Zhanzhen.

Zhu Zhanyong was nothing. To put it bluntly, he was just a mediocre person, not outstanding, but at least he did not disgrace the old Zhu family. Unlike Zhu Zhanyong, who repeatedly killed innocent people with his stick.

But Zhu Zhanyi was different.

Historically, Zhu Zhanzhen played a very important role in the Ming Dynasty, especially in the first year of Hongxi and the 14th year of Zhengtong.

In history, in May of the first year of Hongxi, Renzong Zhu Gaochi died of illness. At that time, Zhu Zhanji, who was already the prince, was in Nanjing. After hearing the news, the King of Han immediately sent troops to set up an ambush on Zhu Zhanji's only way back to Beijing, with the intention of killing Zhu Zhan. Ji can't go back to Shuntian Mansion.

At that time, in order to have a backup plan, Queen Zhang asked Zhu Zhanyong to temporarily supervise the country.

It is conceivable that once something goes wrong with Zhu Zhanji, Zhu Zhanyong will replace Zhu Zhanji and become the new king of the Ming Dynasty.

However, Zhu Zhanyong's talent was mediocre, and Zhu Zhanji was known as a "good saint grandson" in the early Yongle period, so he received a lot of resources. Almost all the resources of the entire royal family were tilted to his side.

Therefore, although Zhu Zhanyong was supervising the country at that time, it was Queen Zhang and Zhu Zhanyong who actually handled government affairs.

At the same time, because of this incident, Zhu Zhanyi planted a seed for him when Baozong was captured in the 14th year of Orthodoxy.

In September of the 14th year of Zhengtong, the Zhengtong Emperor Zhu Qizhen went on a personal expedition. Because he was too willful and listened to the slander of the eunuch Wang Zhen, it eventually led to the Tumubao Incident.

The emperor was captured, and the whole country was in panic. Although Sun Ruowei was unwilling at this time, she also knew that she had to push someone forward, otherwise not only would the Ming Dynasty be completely in chaos, but her son might also be in danger.

At this time, Zhu Zhanzhen, who had helped handle political affairs in the first year of Hongxi, came into people's sight again.

However, Zhu Zhanzhen is very smart. He knows that with Sun Ruowei around, it will be difficult for him to hold real power even if he is elected as the new emperor. Once the orthodox emperor returns, he will become a very embarrassing existence.

Therefore, he strongly recommended Zhu Qiyu, the second son of Emperor Xuande, as the new king. Although Sun Ruowei did not like Zhu Qiyu, compared to Zhu Zhanzhen, Zhu Qiyu was undoubtedly a person whom he could control better.

In the end, Zhu Qiyu, who was originally the King of Yin, was expelled and became the new king of the Ming Dynasty, with the reign name Jingtai.

In the past, Zhu Zhanhe always felt that his arrival would change many things, such as the current territory of the Ming Dynasty, his cousin Zhu Zhanji, and the Jingtai Emperor Zhu Qiyu who disappeared because of his intervention.

However, he now discovered that although his arrival had changed many things and many people, there were still many people who were not affected by him.

For example, the old man, he was still the Yongle Emperor who wanted one generation to do the work of three generations, but in the end had no choice but to leave the matter to future generations.

For example, Yu Qian is still the same Yu Qian who only cares about the world, not the Zhu royal family.

Another example is the current Zhu Zhanzhen, who is still the "solemn, vigilant, and quite famous" Xiangwang Zhu Zhanxang.

His arrival has changed some people. For example, his cousin Zhu Zhanji is no longer the Emperor Xuande who was ruled by Renxuan in history, but a villain who colluded with Wala to get rid of his confidant's troubles.

However, he could not change people like Yu Qian and Zhu Zhanyi.

"where are you going?"

Zhu Zhanhe, who was sitting not far from the gate of the camp, was quietly in a daze, but he suddenly spoke, which scared some people.

"Uh……"

Zhu Ping stopped, but did not dare to turn around, feeling a little embarrassed for a moment.

"You are my guard, and you are directly under my control. Once you do something, you will do it. I know you are doing it for my own good."

"But I don't want this to happen a second time."

After patting his butt and standing up, Zhu Zhanhe turned around and looked at Zhu Ping quietly.

"Your brother is dead. Although it was not my wish, he died because of me."

"Your father is the only son left. You have to think about your father no matter what."

After saying that, Zhu Zhanhe walked directly in the direction of the Chinese army's tent.

……

Regarding Zhu Ping's thoughts, Zhu Zhanhe could guess a little.

Although it is not a good idea to take action at this juncture and in this place, and it is easy for Zhu Zhanhe to be criticized, Zhu Ping should not take action directly, but arrange it.

After all, if you really want to do something, there are so many opportunities. The only difference is whether you want to do it or not.

In fact, Zhu Zhanhe is a person who does whatever it takes to achieve his goals. In his view, as long as you win, you can control everything, including public opinion and people's so-called evaluations.

Especially after Zhu Ling killed Zhu Qizhen and cleared the biggest obstacle for his ascension to the throne, Zhu Zhanhe knew that it was time to let go of his few consciences.

However, some things can be solved in better ways.

At the very least, Zhu Zhanhe did not need to let Zhu Ping take action.

……

Shuntian Prefecture.

Zhu Gaoxu, who was already over sixty years old and heading towards his seventies, appeared in Shuntian Mansion again.

News of the death of the orthodox emperor Zhu Qizhen has spread, not only to Shuntian Mansion and the surrounding people, but also to Xiangzhou Mansion.

If it were something else, Zhu Gaoxu wouldn't care too much, but now his son is very likely to ascend the throne soon, and it's impossible for him not to come for this kind of thing.

As for him...

Zhu Gaoxu had thought about ascending to the throne before, but as his son became more and more outstanding and gained more and more momentum, Zhu Gaoxu slowly let go of the idea of ​​ascending to the throne. .

After all, although he coveted the throne in the past, he mostly fought against his elder brother to prove to the old man that he was not bad either.

Now, the old man has passed away long ago, and Emperor Hongxi passed away less than a year after he inherited the throne...

In Zhu Gaoxu's view, now is the era of young people. He, a remnant of the old era, can just quietly watch his son ascend to the highest position.

As for himself... Even if he ascends the throne, without the old man or his elder brother watching over him, what's the point?

Isn't the only meaning to be able to influence future generations, so that their lineage of King Wu can completely get rid of the word "wang" and become orthodox?
……

"No need to wait, just do it when it needs to be done, no need to delay it."

In the official department, Zhu Gaoxu was looking through the memorials sent by Chen Xun and others, making decisions one by one.

"According to the laws of the Ming Dynasty, these corrupt officials are unforgivable. Moreover, I see that you have gone through three re-examinations and verifications. These people are definitely guilty of corruption, and the amount is huge."

"Since the verification is beyond doubt, let the Criminal Department handle it directly."

"Yes!" Chen Xun lowered his head and picked up the memorial that Zhu Gaoxu pushed over.

Dealing with corrupt officials is what Zhu Zhanhe has been doing since he went north this time and took over Shuntian Mansion again.

In fact, inside Shuntian Mansion, especially the cabinet and the Sixth Ministry, the important authorities had already completed the investigation a month ago, but they have not dealt with it.

After all, there is no king in the court now, and Zhu Zhanhe is on an expedition again. Although the laws of the Ming Dynasty are there, and the fact that those people are greedy for ink is also there, without the people of the Zhu family, Chen Xun and other ministers cannot directly deal with.

However, now that Zhu Gaoxu is here, he has a backbone. Even if Zhu Gaoxu doesn't say anything, Chen Xun will find an opportunity to meet Zhu Gaoxu and mention the matter.

"Okay, put them all away."

After briefly reading these memorials, Zhu Gaoxu made decisions on the more urgent matters and those matters that could not be resolved because Zhu Zhanhe was not in Shuntian Mansion.

As for other less urgent matters, Zhu Gaoxu did not intend to interfere. After all, he had not dealt with government affairs for many years.

"Is there any new news recently?"

Compared with government affairs, Zhu Gaoxu is more concerned about where his son has gone.

"Back to His Highness King Wu, there is something." Chen Xun thought for a moment and thought of the news he just received yesterday.

Considering the distance between Shuntian Mansion and Xiangzhou Mansion, there should be an information gap in this news, and Zhu Gaoxu did not know it.

"Yesterday Shuntian Mansion received news that King Yue and King Xiang were gathering troops in Nurgandusi. As for the purpose... it is not clear yet."

Like Xiangzhou Prefecture, there is an information gap between the front line and Shuntian Prefecture. Zhu Zhanzhen's plans and actions have not yet reached Shuntian Prefecture, so Chen Xun does not know about them.

"Gather troops?" Zhu Gaoxu frowned.

"How many people do Nuergandusi still have now? How many troops can they muster?"

Zhu Gaoxu did not ask Zhu Zhanyong and Zhu Zhanyong why they gathered their troops, because this was definitely not a good thing for King Wu's lineage, and there must be some purpose.

If there is no plan, then Zhu Zhanyong and Zhu Zhanyong can go directly to see Zhu Zhanhe. There is no need to gather troops at all.

At the very least, this can also prove that the two of them don't fully trust Zhu Zhanhe.

"The specific number is not clear yet, but you may not know, Your Highness, that although no people have migrated to Nuergandusi in the Ming Dynasty in recent years, the population of Nuergandusi is not small."

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's campaign in Europe caused huge trauma to Europe, causing Europe's rulers to lose their prestige. A large number of people became refugees and left their hometowns in search of opportunities to survive."

"At that time, His Highness the Crown Prince had completely controlled the old territories of the Timurid Empire and the Ottoman Empire. The Golden Horde and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in Eastern Europe were also taken under his control, and he was sharpening his sword towards Western and Northern Europe."

"So, the only option for those refugees is to flee northeast through the Teutonic Knights."

"Finally, they passed through an inaccessible place and arrived at the place where the Beishan Jurchens are."

"Oh?" Zhu Gaoxu frowned when he heard this.

"So, you mean..."

……

Zhu Gaoxu felt a little unhappy.

Although he knew that the strength of Zhu Zhanyong and Zhu Zhanyong would not have any impact on his son, if they fought to the death, his son would definitely get a bad reputation.

However, due to poor information, Zhu Gaoxu did not know that his son had solved the problem and was moving towards the position where he was only the last step away...

The final step has been taken!
(End of this chapter)