I'm only seven years old, Lao Zhu, you let me supervise the country?

Chapter 64: Court meeting, please punish His Royal Highness severely!

Fengxian Hall.

The bell rang.

All civil and military officials went to the court one by one.

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 thirty years in office, Lao Zhu read an average of more than 200 memorials and handled more than 400 matters every day.

This is not counting going to court, meeting with officials, participating in various rituals such as offering sacrifices to heaven and ancestors.

But two days ago, Lao Zhu suddenly stopped going to court for two days.

Today's morning, the atmosphere is very serious.

The grandson of the Fourth Emperor, Zhu Yunxi, led troops to slaughter the Wu family. This matter has already caused a shock in the court 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 Four Emperors were punished and imprisoned because of this, would the business tax increase proposed by him also be shelved because of this?
Others believed that Lao Zhu loved His Royal Highness the Four Emperors too much before, and he was reluctant to establish a heir for a long time, perhaps because he had the heart to make him a heir.

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 common people in Jinling have reported this matter."

"Please ask your Majesty to issue an edict and punish him further."

He did not mention Zhu Yunxi directly, but impeached Jiang Yu.

After all, everyone knew that without Zhu Yunxi's order, Jiang Yu would never dare to do such a thing if he borrowed 1 courage.

As soon as this remark came out, other ministers also played it one after another.

"Dan Gu has never heard of it, Dan Gu has never heard of it!" A minister knelt on the ground and said, "There are more than a hundred people in the Wu family, all of them were beheaded, and the appearance is too horrible to look at."

"If this matter is not severely punished, all the laws of our country will be wiped out."

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."

"Jin Yiwei is so unscrupulous and disregards the laws of the country, it is really appalling."

"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 gave a faint "Oh" and said, "Do you know why Jiang Yu did this?"

The hall suddenly fell silent.

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's grandson is very talented, he is really too willful and reckless. I am bold, and please Your Majesty to discipline him strictly."

Other ministers immediately followed suit.

"His Royal Highness Four Emperors and Grandsons killed innocent people indiscriminately and insulted the reputation of the royal family. I request your Majesty to decree to imprison him."

"A father loves his son, and a father loves his grandson. This is a human condition. Your Majesty loves His Highness the Emperor's grandson, which is what you should."

"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 is for the public good. Your Majesty must not serve public interests for private reasons."

……

Zhu Yuanzhang's complexion was as usual, and there was no sign of happiness, anger or decline.

"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 slaughter the Wu family. It 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, more than half of the man in black died."

"The rest of the people have also been killed."

"The ministers also don't understand why His Royal Highness led troops to slaughter 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 Yamen. His Royal Highness killed the emperor without warning. It is not in accordance with the procedures and violates the laws of the Ming Dynasty. It must be severely punished."

Ying Tianfu Yin Gu Kuan came out to play.

He had not dealt with Zhu Yunzhen for a long time, so he would not let go of this opportunity now.

Zhu Yuanzhang gave him a deep look, and his eyes moved to Zhu Xi who was 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 and discusses matters in court, it has nothing to do with him.

Instead, he should stay away.

But for some reason, before dawn today, the palace suddenly sent someone to inform him to let him attend today's morning court.

This woke up Zhu Xi who hadn't slept until three o'clock in the morning last night. He hurriedly changed his clothes and came to court in a hurry.

"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 have the heart to watch him suffer, and make it difficult for the elder brother to rest in peace under the nine springs?"

He paused, then changed the subject:

"Brother is benevolent all his life, and most importantly is to uphold the laws of the country. He always has a heart of benevolence and righteousness. He never imagined that Xi'er would be so tyrannical!"

"In Erchen's opinion, it's better to let Xi'er go to guard the mausoleum of the elder brother to be filial, and let him experience the benevolence of the elder brother."

This speech is very level.

This is something Zhu Xi has thought about repeatedly.

He knew that Lao Zhu valued family affection, so he played the family card, saying that his eldest brother's son should be taken care of!

But the proposed plan was to let him guard the mausoleum and fulfill his filial piety.

In this era, princes and grandsons guarding the mausoleum are 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 came to the throne and punished those brothers who committed crimes, they were often sent to guard the tomb.

When the court officials heard this suggestion, many people secretly applauded it.

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 Yu even 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 Fengxian Hall.

……

(End of this chapter)